Went to change a broken clutch cable, discovered car has cancer, bit emotional at this moment. Knew it was coming, didn't expect the scope |
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Went to change a broken clutch cable, discovered car has cancer, bit emotional at this moment. Knew it was coming, didn't expect the scope |
davebrossi |
Sep 8 2018, 04:39 PM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 52 Joined: 6-December 11 From: Idaho Falls, Idaho Member No.: 13,868 Region Association: None |
Hi All,
I prefer most often to lurk, but after a spin to a nearby autobody shop about filling in some rock chips on the rear fender flairs of the clown car netted me a 13,500 estimate, I've been a little on edge for rust. This morning I set out to change the clutch cable which had snapped last weekend. As I was getting myself situated I noticed some of the undercoating seemed more...flaky than usual. I moved my finger towards it, brushed it and off it came! along with another small piece. I was now staring in disbelief at a mixture of pink body filler and carpet. OK! I told myself, this seems relatively minor, let's just clean the area, I can fix this, maybe not the best way, but I can!. That was five hours ago. As I worked I realized I needed to see where the damage was on the interior, so I removed the carpeting. Once again, I spied a familiar orange tinge... under the urethane installed at the factory. I started working with a chisel and hammer. What was a small hole was in fact a seam running along and right up to the driver's side right seat bracket. The concrete below glared at me menacingly. The clown car (my 914-6) was the result of an venture from a forum member offering turnkey restoration of 914s. I have no interest in flaming or anything mean, so I will not say who, and that's not a challenge either, since frankly all of this was beneath urethane, and said individual cleaned, primered and properly painted surfaces all the way to the old urethane on the floor pans. but it is worth mentioning because rather than spiral down the inception styled road of 'oh god I'm doomed, DOOOOOMMMMED!' I sat back and thought about what they -had- restored and what I had to go back and work on. The interior of the door panels was rusty, I sanded, sealed with POR15, clear coat has a craze to it, but stable and looks fine. Small side sail bumps. Originally thought body filler, probably tin worm, but unlikely to fail while driving and drag me half out of the bottom of the car. Longitudinals, hell hole both extensively reviewed during restoration, both are clear. I don't see bubbles all over the car, and the 13500 was with a note saying "we don't serve yer kind round these parts try these guys since they do antiques" from a shop filled with classic american muscle cars and more of a 'get lost' message, which I understand because scope creep is real. I want to believe this is one of those typical stories where I don't wind up with the Porsche 914 equivalent of "you have died of dysentery" on the Oregon Trail PC game, but I also have to face up to the fact that I will have to acquire new front and rear floor pans. Happily they can be ordered from Pelican without much fuss (the available weld in panels for the 914 is really REALLY a reason I love them in an odd sort of way.) I know I have to invest in a welder as I lack the skills. I want to prepare the area as best as humanly possible because A.) I believe in being a good steward and B.) I'm afraid while I'm happy to pay for their services, I am cheap and would prefer to do the prep work myself. Advice (maybe prayers?) is/are appreciated, but I will be searching threads and educating myself accordingly as I know I need to. in the meantime, here's some NSFW Porsche Floor pan gore; the initial discovery and early cleaning The point at which I realize I should probably look at the top end of things. because regrettably I am a millenial, I wanted to show off my PPE for working with fiberglass and sanding. The moment my heart sank, the colour drained out of my face, and I had to go have a little sit down. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif) This is the extent of the rot. You can see the garage floor clearly a menacing glare fixed on it's eyeball-less face :E! I wont blame the consumption of Hubert's lemonade, wait, no, yes I'll blame it for the rust after all! The start of (and at which point I realized that the floor pans were toast on both sides) the surface rust on the other side. I'll admit it was heartbreaking to discover. I wanted to give up and throw it all away, sell it and be done with it. But then again, new front and rear floor panels are made for a reason, and the last undiscovered country (Star Trek) both my father and I were starting into was body work in the last couple years. I'm hoping I'm not right thinking this will require the selling of one of both a kidney and a lung, frankly I have no idea, though (in a phrase I use talking with my employers often) I look forward to the opportunities it will afford me moving forward. Bonus points here in how my dad managed to cause the usual reaction that always happened when there was a setback and he had to tell mom one last time. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chair.gif) |
burton73 |
Sep 9 2018, 12:39 PM
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#2
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burton73 Group: Members Posts: 3,515 Joined: 2-January 07 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 7,414 Region Association: Southern California |
“(they have, I might add, been reinforced by a kit developed by the very mentionable Brad Meyer of 914 ltd fame,”
This worries me a little as you have some rust. This is done on cars with badly corroded longs. If it is done and you wanted to put in new pans, it is just drilling out the welds and welding in new floors. I did this on my 6. It was a rust-free car except for a few lower areas of the floor right where yours has the rust in the pictures. Your car is not going to melt away in 2 years. Just do not water it daily. If you do not want to fix it up today just clean it up and fix the pans when you have time and money to do it. I remember when my first 73 911s and I needed to put a fuel pump in it. The shop said it would be $330. That was a lot of money in 79. Then I heard I needed to rebuild the engine because of a rod knock. $5000 for parts and machine work. This was for a $9500. Car in 79. I did all the work on engine and at 500 miles Someone stole that car and the insurance co paid me $12,500. That car is worth$120,000 - $150,000 today. Steel your nerves and look up people that have done this themselves and figure what you want to do. I see your car is a 6 because of the Motoric. This should be a very desirable car. I like my cars perfect. It is a curse for me. I was in my mid 20s when I got my first P cars. Good luck. Just BREATH. Bob B (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) |
davebrossi |
Sep 9 2018, 03:39 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 52 Joined: 6-December 11 From: Idaho Falls, Idaho Member No.: 13,868 Region Association: None |
“(they have, I might add, been reinforced by a kit developed by the very mentionable Brad Meyer of 914 ltd fame,” This worries me a little as you have some rust. This is done on cars with badly corroded longs. If it is done and you wanted to put in new pans, it is just drilling out the welds and welding in new floors. I did this on my 6. It was a rust-free car except for a few lower areas of the floor right where yours has the rust in the pictures. Your car is not going to melt away in 2 years. Just do not water it daily. If you do not want to fix it up today just clean it up and fix the pans when you have time and money to do it. I remember when my first 73 911s and I needed to put a fuel pump in it. The shop said it would be $330. That was a lot of money in 79. Then I heard I needed to rebuild the engine because of a rod knock. $5000 for parts and machine work. This was for a $9500. Car in 79. I did all the work on engine and at 500 miles Someone stole that car and the insurance co paid me $12,500. That car is worth$120,000 - $150,000 today. Steel your nerves and look up people that have done this themselves and figure what you want to do. I see your car is a 6 because of the Motoric. This should be a very desirable car. I like my cars perfect. It is a curse for me. I was in my mid 20s when I got my first P cars. Good luck. Just BREATH. Bob B (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) Hi Bob! So the reason behind the reinforcement kit was due to the installation of a 3.2 911 motor out of a wrecked 88 Cab. Along with a steel reinforcement plate for the 904 transmission and a strict "no dumping the clutch unless you really want to literally dump pieces of the clutch behind you on the road" policy it was to help with any issues caused by increased HP/Torque. I'll need to check upon removal of the side covers how the reinforcement was installed, I suspect weld. I -can- say with some certainty when Brad did his reinforcement there was no conversation about rust, or the discovery of any unforeseen issues, just a video from Dad showing off how nicely the car idled in -5F weather. You're right on desirability as well, there are three parts to my ownership; enjoying my dream car rather earlier in life than I expected, being a good steward to the legacy of the build, and also to make certain as a tangible asset if the time comes to part with the car I do not have to worry about answering the questions regarding rust. I should also add MB911's custom exhaust system made it possible to actually -enjoy- driving the car in -5F as inside it was nice and warm. I probably sound like a bit of a shill now name dropping, but it helps to know what one is working with. Other note; When I dropped the motor to mend a pesky oil leak (which unfortunately I did not mend, banjo fitting to oil pressure sender to chain tensioner housing curse you thirty cent washer!,) I looked over the engine bad including the area around the battery tray, the back of the firewall, etc. While this was a couple years ago, no signs of corrosion. all the metal was clean and painted. Where I nicked the paint I went back with POR15 (I don't recall corrosion, but what's that reality TV show's saying about Safety Third?) and then applied touch-up paint. ....Come to think of it I got my first P Car in my mid 20s, but while you had a 911S, I had a 931 which wasn't running/never ran (eight years ago I did not have the level of confidence to tear the entire car apart so I never fixed it correctly) and then a 986S but though "No, what I'd rather have is something rusty!" though truth be told short of adding heated seats I like the 914 experience -much- more albeit somewhere down the road I know with the advancements made in A/C Compressor technology I fancy the idea of adding that to complete what I'd consider the modernity package I started with heating. Maybe by then I'll have properly replaced all the rubber too (still after a main targa seal, Dad and I buggered the install of the repro he found years ago) and wont have to explain why I have mud all over me when I stop to refill on a rainy day. |
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