Steve's 73 1.7 Restoration Thread Options

[Steve_R]

Hi, I would like to introduce myself and share my project. I’m Steve, I live in San Diego and I picked up this 1973 1.7 914 about a year ago. It was in great shape with no rust and had been sitting in a garage for the past 13 years. My plan is to restore it to its original condition. At this point I think the car is about 50% done.
The car had door guards riveted to the sides and I had them welded up. One of the first things I did when I got the car was to build a dolly to be able to work on the suspension and make it easy to move it around the garage. It’s made from 4 X 4s and plywood and it took about 4 hours to build. If you don’t have a wood saw Home Depot will cut the 4 X 4s and plywood to the correct length. There are lag screws on top of the vertical posts that stick up ½” that fit into the 4 jack points cups under the car. This keeps the car from falling off. Also, I removed the engine before I put the car on it. To get it up there I used some cement blocks, 4 jack stands and 2 scissor jacks.
Over the past year I’ve learned a lot from reading your posts and now I would like to give back some of the knowledge I’ve learned.

[saigon71]

Impressive work...very clean and meticulous! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Steve_R]

The front bumper had a rust hole that needed some patching. I cut out the section and welded in a piece. I made a crude form out of wood to form a slight curve in the piece before I welded it in place. I also welded up the bumper guard holes. After a lot of grinding and filing it turned out really good.

Also, the front valance needed a lot of work. I built a frame out of 2x4s to support it while i did the body work. I used wood screws to hold it to the support.

After a long search, I found the perfect semi gloss paint. It's called 2K urethane underhood black from Eastwood. I think it matches the original semi gloss black perfectly.

[ndfrigi]

The front bumper had a rust hole that needed some patching. I cut out the section and welded in a piece. I made a crude form out of wood to form a slight curve in the piece before I welded it in place. I also welded up the bumper guard holes. After a lot of grinding and filing it turned out really good.

Also, the front valance needed a lot of work. I built a frame out of 2x4s to support it while i did the body work. I used wood screws to hold it to the support.

After a long search, I found the perfect semi gloss paint. It's called 2K urethane underhood black from Eastwood. I think it matches the original semi gloss black perfectly.

wait!!!! Is that front bumper that was repaired is the same bumper that was installed in the car? Metal bumper to chrome bumper?

[Steve_R]

Yes, it is the same bumper. I forgot to mention that I took it to the chrome plater and had him strip off the chrome so I could weld on it.

[ndfrigi]

Yes, it is the same bumper. I forgot to mention that I took it to the chrome plater and had him strip off the chrome so I could weld on it.

Sir Steve, that is an amazing job! It seems you prepare to do that than buying a clean chromed bumper. Is it cheaper that way sir? Can you share how much for the chrome plating and what shop in San Diego?

Thanks in advance and God bless!

Noel

[Steve_R]

Yes, it is the same bumper. I forgot to mention that I took it to the chrome plater and had him strip off the chrome so I could weld on it.

Sir Steve, that is an amazing job! It seems you prepare to do that than buying a clean chromed bumper. Is it cheaper that way sir? Can you share how much for the chrome plating and what shop in San Diego?

Thanks in advance and God bless!

Noel

Noel, I think it was a lot cheaper. It was a lot of work on my part but, I really enjoy the process.
Since I already had the bumper the only cost was chroming it and the $20 I paid the muffler shop to weld it. Don at Escondido Plating did the chrome and he charged me $400 for the front bumper He also plated both bumpers, shifter, inside and outside door handles and the seat belt loops.

In the end I think it was cheeper than buying another one and having it rechromed.

[ndfrigi]

Yes, it is the same bumper. I forgot to mention that I took it to the chrome plater and had him strip off the chrome so I could weld on it.

Sir Steve, that is an amazing job! It seems you prepare to do that than buying a clean chromed bumper. Is it cheaper that way sir? Can you share how much for the chrome plating and what shop in San Diego?

Thanks in advance and God bless!

Noel

Noel, I think it was a lot cheaper. It was a lot of work on my part but, I really enjoy the process.
Since I already had the bumper the only cost was chroming it and the $20 I paid the muffler shop to weld it. Don at Escondido Plating did the chrome and he charged me $400 for the front bumper He also plated both bumpers, shifter, inside and outside door handles and the seat belt loops.

In the end I think it was cheeper than buying another one and having it rechromed.

Meaning Sir Steve, $400 for all those? (2 bumpers, shifter, handles and belt loops). Can I chrome plate a bumper which is originally a painted bumper? Thus it has same metal thickness for those original chromed bumper and painted bumper?

Any plans of doing a 914 guys BBQ fellowship at your place soon?

[Steve_R]

Yes, it is the same bumper. I forgot to mention that I took it to the chrome plater and had him strip off the chrome so I could weld on it.

Sir Steve, that is an amazing job! It seems you prepare to do that than buying a clean chromed bumper. Is it cheaper that way sir? Can you share how much for the chrome plating and what shop in San Diego?

Thanks in advance and God bless!

Noel

Noel, I think it was a lot cheaper. It was a lot of work on my part but, I really enjoy the process.
Since I already had the bumper the only cost was chroming it and the $20 I paid the muffler shop to weld it. Don at Escondido Plating did the chrome and he charged me $400 for the front bumper He also plated both bumpers, shifter, inside and outside door handles and the seat belt loops.

In the end I think it was cheeper than buying another one and having it rechromed.

Meaning Sir Steve, $400 for all those? (2 bumpers, shifter, handles and belt loops). Can I chrome plate a bumper which is originally a painted bumper? Thus it has same metal thickness for those original chromed bumper and painted bumper?

Any plans of doing a 914 guys BBQ fellowship at your place soon?

Noel, It was $400 for just the front bumper. I can't remember how much the other parts were but the rear bumper was around $350. He charged me a little more for the front because he needed to add a little more copper to fill in some of the small pits from welding.

[Steve_R]

One of the more challenging projects was to rebuild the seat belts. I had all of the hardware zinc plated and I bought some 2" webbing on ebay for $15.00. I took the webbing to a upholstery shop and they sewed on the end pieces and charged me $10.00

The hardest part was getting the springs back in place. For the plastic covers I used some Meguiar's Professional Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner. This stuff is amazing. It makes plastic look new. I'm not sure how long it will last but, I've applied it to some other plastic parts over two months ago and they still look new.