New Here Metal Replacement Order, Body repair order of process Options

[SeanP]

Hi All

New here and this is my first post. Located in the UK. Have restored my 66 912 back to near factory standard with some owner modifications, (think Fuchs, carbs, and exhaust).

I have purchased a 74 2.0 914 to restore.

I have got the car running on its original fuel injection system and have sorted a majority of the electrical issues, (Ignition switch and some fine wiring mods removed). So the mechanical side of the car is fine.

Having been through the car I need to replace the usual floors battery, tray, front suspension pan, (YIKES), and the rocker panels. Someone had welded some folded flat plate over the floors and rockers so I am having to cut that fine piece of work off to replace all of the corroded metalwork.

Is there a preferred order of replacement?
Which bit should I tackle first?
Also need to brace and pull the car back into alignment as the door gaps are narrow at the the bottom and wide at the top. Thinking of using some metal box welded to the inside of the cabin with a turnbuckle to pull the rear back into alignment. What do you guys think?

Many thanks in advance for the help

Sean

[Dion]

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Welcome. You have your hands full. (Maybe) Not sure of the door gaps
Could just be door adjustments, unless you have serious rust mites. To be sure if the longs are shot, then yes
the doors will sag. May be worth getting it to someone with a “Cellette” bench
to check proper measurements before you begin to tear down.
Definitely need door bracing. Keep it square so your not throwing everything out of kilter. I’m working on a long repair myself currently. Didn’t need
floors thankfully. Doors are braced!
It’s a lot of work, but rewarding. They are fun cars.
The experts will chime in soon and will ask the appropriate
questions. provide pics, these guys here will definitely steer you right.
Stay tuned. Good luck.
Looking forward to seeing your project.
Cheers

[mepstein]

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[Cairo94507]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) Great car to repair. Tons of excellent rust repair and body panel replacement threads here to check out so the pit-falls can be avoided. Pictures will help the process along too. Good luck and enjoy mate. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Lucky9146]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png)
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif) We love pictures and you have come to the right place.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/white914.jpg)

[76-914]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) If you've not seen it yet, in the upper right corner there is a tag "914 info". Inside are critical body dimension points you'll need. There is a current resto in this forum called "Intro from Motana" that will cover just about any body work you'll run into. Cheers. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[David Billo]

...and the rocker panels. Someone had welded some folded flat plate over the floors and rockers ...
Also need to brace and pull the car back into alignment as the door gaps are narrow at the the bottom and wide at the top.

That seems to be the opposite of what usually happens when the longs rust and the car starts to sag. In that case the door gap gets wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. Possibly whoever welded on that folded flat plate ended up building an upward kink in the longs. Once you get that stuff off, it should be clear what is happening. Be prepared to support the middle of the car when you do.

[bbrock]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) Sounds like my kind of project! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) I'm the idiot in charge of the aforementioned "Intro from Montana" thread. I think you answered your own question about where to start with your door gap observation. I'd get the car level and sort out the longs before moving on. Use the tech info already mentioned to make sure all the important measurements are where they should be. If something is out of whack without an obvious vix, you might need to find a bench to pull the body back into alignment. My gaps were also much wider at the top and narrow at the bottom due to rotted longs (with no previous repairs) so I think it can go either way. I think it depends on where and how much of the structure is corroded, but I agree the previous "repairs" might be contributing so cut all of that out before welding anything new in.

I think you are on the right track for braces. I took the advice of @cary and made braces similar to what you are thinking so braces stay on and gaps can be adjusted with the doors on. I just used iron pipe with turnbuckles. You can use the upper seat belt mount to bolt one end of the brace, and temporarily weld a nut near the front of the inner longs. There are better and fancier brace designs out there, but this one worked for me, was cheap, and allowed the doors to be on.

Most important, post a build thread with lots of pics here. That sure helped make sure I didn't make huge mistakes.

Good luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) and... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif)