I'm actually gonna have a pretty car., First time in 30 years Options

[aircooledboy]

I have owned a 914 for the most part of the last 30 years. 5 drivers and 3 parts cars later, for the first time EVER, I will soon have a 914 that runs great AND looks great. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

The PO did a great job of collecting and installing all the right and best parts. I've had to "adjust" the execution from time to time, but I still believe there are few conversions out there that can hang with this one mechanically. I have really enjoyed the last 3 years with her, but between work and family, other than driving it, unless there is a problem that demands attention, I've had very little time to love on the old girl. The paint has always been a generous 3/10, and I certainly can't justify the cost of making it right with the oldest starting college in the fall, and her sister 2 years behind her. So, I try to keep it clean, and don't let anybody get closer than 30 feet to the car. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Recently, I had a client who was so grateful for some things I was able to accomplish for him, that he told me he wanted to paint my car. This guy is a world renowned restorer of British vintage cars. Just having him agree to work on my car would be amazing, and that's what I thought he was offering. I politely thanked him, but explained the whole $, kids in college blah blah blah. . ., and he said, "no, you don't understand. I'm doing it to show my appreciation. Free." (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)

I still can't wrap my brain around this, but this spring I will for the first time in my life have a 914 that looks as good as she runs. I'll try to keep up the progress here.

[aircooledboy]

Nice to see you post Chris! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

Thanks Rick. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

I miss keeping up here, but you know the drill as well as anybody. Family, job, house. . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) Too much to do, way too few hours to do it all in. I lurk when I can, but don't have time for much more than that very often.

My favorite threads are usually the progress threads with lots of pictures. I thought this adventure might interest a few folks, so I'm going to try to keep this one up to date. Just got called to dinner, so I'll post a few more pics after chow. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chowtime.gif)

[aircooledboy]

Here are some better pictures of the problem with the hood latch & cutouts.

Here you can see how PO really only left the bare minimum or metal behind the bumper.



And, as it turned out, less than the bare minimum, since it cracked right across and left the hood latch without any support in 2 of 3 directions.

Steve is going to come up with something to replace the strength without closing down the air flow any more than necessary.

(BTW, we are planning to come up with something a little nicer than chicken wire when we put her back together)

[aircooledboy]

Here you can see the wheel well cutouts. Again, bigger than Renegade recommends, and they both cracked where you see the primer.

[aircooledboy]

I found one of the hoods on my parts pile was very good. So, thanks for the offers, but it looks like I'm covered there.

Steve's plan on the wheel well cut out problem is that he's going to make custom "grills" out of rod to try to carry the load the same way the original metal did before it was cut out.

Steve's savant like skills came from his time as an aircraft guy in the Marines in Viet Nam. There were times when lives depended on fixing battle damage to the planes and choppers, but the proper parts weren't available. He's also a mechanical engineer, so he became the guy everybody knew when they were in a jam, he could fabricate and fix things whether parts were available or not (and he's got the medals to prove it). As a result he's got a great understanding of how structure carries weight. He thinks that rather than brace the struts to the front of the torsion bars to regain the structural stability, he can make the grills in a way that it can carry the same load that the sheet medal did. Honestly, I'm skeptical, but given the guy's resume', I'm more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

He's got some one of a kind 1927 Rolls Royce Silver Spur Cloud Coupe' Saloon something or other that he's doing a body off bare skin repaint on. The show is in 4 weeks, and the car is already on the cover of the show program, so it HAS to be done. (I don't know what the car really is. I know it's some ultra rare one off. He gets on a roll telling me all the spectacular details about these cars and after 5 minutes my eyes glaze over. After another 25 minutes, he's usually almost done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) ) Anyway, he's going to focus on that for a while, so I may not have anything new for a couple weeks.

[Chris H.]

Yikes on the cutouts...but at least you're fixing them before anything happened! You caught those cracks just in time.

The front (intake) cutouts are getting smaller and smaller around here. Take a look at SpeedMetalArmy's and 76 914's build threads. Good plan on the exhaust side. A lot of people are just drilling holes with a hole saw rather than cutting a larger hole. Seems to be just as effective.

[aircooledboy]

Holy crap!! I didn't realize it had been almost exactly a year since I updated. Steve had had some really good big jobs come it, and since he's doing my car for NOTHING, I have of course given him unqualified approval to push my car to the shadows when he has opportunities to make some cash. He has really kicked it into high gear for me as spring approaches, and I have a full-on 914 puffy after seeing my car today. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

All four corners are done. (I only had my phone, so forgive the pic quality) I now have hand made, all metal flares which are exactly what I wanted.



The flare is still "sleeper", but he has given me 3.5" in the back and 2" in the front. No offense to the those of you with the factory flares look, but the "beer can shelf" has never been my thing. I wanted a gentle bulge (yeah baby), not a rounded 90' corner. He absolutely nailed what I was looking for.

[aircooledboy]

When I saw the flares, I was speechless. As I'm looking at them, he's saying "if they aren't exactly what you wanted, I can still change them. . . ." and I'm just thinking "I know it's wrong, especially when he's gnawing on that cheap stogie, but DAMN I want to kiss that man" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif)

If you look at the picture above, you can see how he has modified the rear valance already to perfectly match the new curve of the fenders. He had to reshape it and extend it to make it match, and it is so perfect, it reminds me of the perfect curves on a late 928 rear.


It's hard to appreciate from the crappy pictures, but the flow of the lines from the flares to the valence is just beautiful.

[aircooledboy]

As I was leaving his shop today, Steve hit me with a question I hadn't anticipated, and it really got me thinking. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

We had planned all along to paint the car "ultra black". He has a '68 Camero in the shop that he's just finished, painted in the ultra black, and it literally looks like it's made out of black mirror. Not sure it will be a great mix with my gravel driveway, but damn, it's incredible. Today he shows me 2 metallic blacks he has mixed up to show a customer who is trying to decide what color to paint the '69 Camero Steve is restoring right now. He suggests either of them would be nice on the "914 Plus Body" (as he's begun calling my car. I think it's some quiche eater terminology from the Rolls Royce crowd he's used to. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) )Initially I'm thinking "No glitter for me, thanks", but then he shows them to me, and they are really striking. Very subtle. So much so, in the shop it's hard to see the flake, and we have to take them outside to really see, but now I've got some thinking to do. (I took a pic, but the colors and metallic flake are really so subtle, the pics are useless). Nonetheless, I'm asking: You guys have any opinion on a very subtle flake on a 914. I'm afraid that on the whole car, it will look like an 80's bass boat, but dang those samples were pretty. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[PanelBilly]

I say solid black with satin highlights.

[scott_in_nh]

I have a metallic black a PO painted mine and I like it a lot.
I also get a lot of unsolicited compliments on the color from woman.
So I say if you like it - go for it!

[Cairo94507]

Solid black. Looking good BTW (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[rick 918-S]

The solution. Black top the driveway. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[billh1963]

I like those flares!

[Dasnowman]

Looking really nice so far!

Pearls, candy's and metallics can look awesome done right!

[hot_shoe914]

I had an Acura that was a black metallic, very subtle and very pretty, but just wasn't as nice as a pure black, IMHO, but as they say, if you like it, go for it.

[Bartlett 914]

Hi Chris

I love the flares! The lines look so much better to me than the more abrupt flares normally seen. Looks like it should be ready this summer.

[KELTY360]

Solid black is pure.

[jaxdream]

Holy crap!! I didn't realize it had been almost exactly a year since I updated. Steve had had some really good big jobs come it, and since he's doing my car for NOTHING, I have of course given him unqualified approval to push my car to the shadows when he has opportunities to make some cash. He has really kicked it into high gear for me as spring approaches, and I have a full-on 914 puffy after seeing my car today. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

All four corners are done. (I only had my phone, so forgive the pic quality) I now have hand made, all metal flares which are exactly what I wanted.



The flare is still "sleeper", but he has given me 3.5" in the back and 2" in the front. No offense to the those of you with the factory flares look, but the "beer can shelf" has never been my thing. I wanted a gentle bulge (yeah baby), not a rounded 90' corner. He absolutely nailed what I was looking for.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)
Jack

[ww914]

Holy crap!! I didn't realize it had been almost exactly a year since I updated. Steve had had some really good big jobs come it, and since he's doing my car for NOTHING, I have of course given him unqualified approval to push my car to the shadows when he has opportunities to make some cash. He has really kicked it into high gear for me as spring approaches, and I have a full-on 914 puffy after seeing my car today. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

All four corners are done. (I only had my phone, so forgive the pic quality) I now have hand made, all metal flares which are exactly what I wanted.



The flare is still "sleeper", but he has given me 3.5" in the back and 2" in the front. No offense to the those of you with the factory flares look, but the "beer can shelf" has never been my thing. I wanted a gentle bulge (yeah baby), not a rounded 90' corner. He absolutely nailed what I was looking for.

I love that look. Nice job Steve. I am looking at Chris Foley flares here:
Tangerine Flares. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

[ww914]

Holy crap!! I didn't realize it had been almost exactly a year since I updated. Steve had had some really good big jobs come it, and since he's doing my car for NOTHING, I have of course given him unqualified approval to push my car to the shadows when he has opportunities to make some cash. He has really kicked it into high gear for me as spring approaches, and I have a full-on 914 puffy after seeing my car today. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

All four corners are done. (I only had my phone, so forgive the pic quality) I now have hand made, all metal flares which are exactly what I wanted.



The flare is still "sleeper", but he has given me 3.5" in the back and 2" in the front. No offense to the those of you with the factory flares look, but the "beer can shelf" has never been my thing. I wanted a gentle bulge (yeah baby), not a rounded 90' corner. He absolutely nailed what I was looking for.

I love that look. Nice job Steve. I am looking at Chris Foley flares here:
Tangerine Flares. Scroll to the bottom of the page.