Pploco Sti-defiling a 914, such a BLAST! Options

[dakotaewing]

I would agree with Andy based on the bottom photo.
In the case on this photo, I'd clean that up with ospho, neutralize the ospho,
coat it with about 4 coats of Zero Rust, and put in good patches and then the Mad Dog kit.
You wont be able to weld through the Zero Rust, so keep that in mind.
I know you want to have the best car you can,
but also remind yourself that this is not going to be a $100K original six.
Its your car - The only other thing I would say is,
whatever your decision to proceed is - enjoy it.

I decided to spend some time cleaning up some of the rust in the interior. I got out the wire wheel and started cleaning up some of the metal around the passenger footwell. Cut out the rusted bit, and welded in a patch.

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Feeling pretty good about myself, I worked my way back stripping the floor down and really digging into the pitted spots. With the exception of one small spot under the passenger seat, there were no pinholes or spots needing repair. Overall it looked pretty good. That is until I saw what was peeking out from behind the firewall (IMG:style_emoticons/default/fyou1.gif)

I found a few spots on the passenger firewall that I started poking and digging out with a screwdriver. Before too long, the cutter came out and I ended up with this:

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Now I'm afraid to see what the driver's side has hiding. What a friggin setback... Oh well. I think to do this right, I'm going to have to get it up on a rotisserie to fix the rear pan, and I'm super tempted to have the whole tub media blasted. I hope (fingers crossed) that the longs are still okay. I know there's a small spot under the hell hole, but everything else looks pretty solid.

I've heard it said here many times - its never the rust you can see in these cars, its what you can't see. Well, here's proof to that.

[rjames]

Nice job!! Totally get the ‘overthinking things’ when it comes to certain tasks, especially cutting bad metal out and replacing with good.
I remember agonizing over cutting out 1/4th of the floor pan for days. When I finally decided there weren’t any shortcuts to be had and dove in, the entire job- cutting out and replacing with new metal took only a couple hours. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Keep up the great work!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[pploco]

Well, it's been a while since I've updated this conversion thread. But, I have a good excuse. I've been hating my current garage workspace for a while. Its been a huge source of fighting between my wife and me over the years. She gets tired of my "crap" crowding her parking spot in the garage. And, now that my son has the welding and fabrication bug, the problem has compounded. So, back in October I started a search and found a solution to the problem:

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I found a barn. Sure there was this annoyance of it sitting on a 2.4 acre lot, and it required selling and buying a house. But these are just small details right? After lots and lots of begging (and a commitment to install a new kitchen and flooring in the process), my wife agreed. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

So in between house projects, I've gutted the barn, roughed in some plumbing for a sink and toilet, and had a concrete floor put in. It should be a MUCH better space for these types of projects. The problem is that all work on the 914 has come to a screeching halt. BUT, hopefully soon I'll have things put back together in the new place.

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It's wired for 220, but needs a little insulation and heat before its ready to see any action. I'm still debating on whether to run gas from the house (about 100 feet) or just get a pellet stove with a thermostat. Either way, I'm super excited and have serious motivation to finish my home remodel projects. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Cairo94507]

Run gas! Pellet stoves are a pain in the rear.

[PanelBilly]

My father-in-law had a barn like that for the horses. We had to dig up every pole and replace the lower portion, because of rot. The horses piss and it runs down the pole. Horses produce alot of liquid. Hope that's not am issue for you

[PanelBilly]

My father-in-law had a barn like that for the horses. We had to dig up every pole and replace the lower portion, because of rot. The horses piss and it runs down the pole. Horses produce alot of liquid. Hope that's not am issue for you

[lierofox]

A barn almost exactly like that is what I pulled my 914 out of before I ended up STI-defiling it as well!

She was rough lookin' at the time.

I mean, she still is...

[pploco]

After two years of renovating a new house and barn, I'm finally finding the time (and space) to work on my project. After discovering all the rust spots, I built a rotisserie from some old home depot shelving at the local metal scrap, stripped the car down, and got it up on the skewer, and as I write this am having the tub bead blasted. I also got my RD order with most of the body repair pieces I think I'm going to need.

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[pploco]

The sandblasting is finished and wow, what a difference. Being able to see everything gives me renewed excitement. There were a couple of surprises - like the tapdance someone had performed and then covered with filler on the targa roll bar. WTF!! Also, the seal trim in the front is a bit worse than I thought. But otherwise, nothing that I didn't suspect.

So after a few well-spent bucks, a huge mess in front of my shop, and an hour with the leafblower - here's what we're looking at...

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Here's the money shot. This made sandblasting worth every penny:
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[pploco]

One surprise was finding what I assume are trim holes along the sides (plugged with filler). Was there an option for trim pieces down the fenders on 914s? I've never seen a 914 with trim.

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Also, this is a total headscratcher. How the hell does this happen?

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[mepstein]

The side trim was an aftermarket thing.
Barbaric (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

[VaccaRabite]

Beltine trim was a dealer option. Ruins the lines of the car, but was a popular thing in the 70s.

No idea about the targa bar.

Zach

[76-914]

I'm glad to see you back on it. Centering your output flanges with your wheel centers was a good idea. You'll never have the axle separate from a CV since they're now centered. I built my first cradle with that in mind and I've never lost an axle or CV yet. I used Ian's cradle on the 2nd conversion and popped the axle loose from the Subaru (inboard) CV when I punched through a turn. Interestingly enough I spoke with Steve Williams last week (he is in Idaho also) and his popped out of the Subaru CV after punching it in a turn. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif) I think I'll modify this cradle to center up as well. None of my business but you don't need that (Renegade V8) large cutout in the front. My 70 came with that huge opening and I welded it back up because I felt the area had been compromised structurally. I cut out the 5 centermost factory holes and that is all I need to cool the Suby 6's. I can't speak to the 4 cylinder turbos and maybe you need a larger inlet with those. Looking forward to seeing your 914 at one of the upcoming events. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[rgalla9146]

One surprise was finding what I assume are trim holes along the sides (plugged with filler). Was there an option for trim pieces down the fenders on 914s? I've never seen a 914 with trim.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/live.staticflickr.com-22225-1642614524.1.jpg)



Also, this is a total headscratcher. How the hell does this happen?

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/live.staticflickr.com-22225-1642614524.2.jpg)

The roll bar damage is caused by a careless drop of the roof when installing or
someone standing on the flat surface.
I'm surprised it's not seen more often.
The roof can be a struggle for a small person.

[mgarrison]

FWIW, my Targa bar had all kinds of dings & dents in it. One rather large on the driver's side. Mine had never been filled until I took the effort to do it. All the dark areas are lower/dents... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[mepstein]

When I worked at the Porsche shop, we had a Ferrari Testarossa with dents in the roof and all over the body. Guy said his kids used to drop things on the car in the garage.

[tazz9924]

how much did they charge you for the sand blasting if you dont mind me asking?

[pploco]

how much did they charge you for the sand blasting if you dont mind me asking?

It was $450 total - took him about 3 hours to do.

[pploco]

I've been picking away at the rust repair. This is definitely a "slow and steady wins the race" type of effort. It's been super cold in Boise, so I'm not able to do any priming as I go. With that in mind, I've been working on the areas that are open so I can prime once things warm up. Feels like a bit of a puzzle.

The passenger floor plan was swiss cheese.

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The seat hinge mount looked to be in good shape. I'll clean it up and reuse it.

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The floor pan has lots of spot welds. After drilling out about 10 of them, I realized that I didn't need to save the old pan section. Out came the grinder.

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now I have to fix a small section on the drivers side just under the inner firewall, and fix a couple small sections of the outer firewall. Overall the metal under the tunnel is good, there are a couple of small pinhole areas that I think I can fill. I'm debating if I should open the tunnel up. I really want to clean things up and pull the old tubing out.

I cut the old section out leaving about 2 inches overlap. I lined up the new section and used clecos to hold it in place. I then cut through both layers. As I went, I'd pull the cleco, peel back the old metal, and add a butt clamp. Once it was flush, I tacked it in place.

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Still need to do a bit more clean up, but it turned out pretty nice. Keeping the heat down with a copper backing and small stitch welds was definitely the way to go.

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[pploco]

I've been making steady progress on the rust repair. I finished up all the outer firewall patches, and decided to replace the passenger door sill. I debated on it, because it wasn't terrible, just pitted in several spots where the rockers attach. I decided to just pull it - I'm glad I did. Besides shaping the front, it wasn't bad and I was able to clean up the rust underneath. It's still too cold to shoot primer, so I've got it mocked in with Clecos for now; I'll pull it all apart to spray once things get a bit warmer.

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I decided to tackle the passenger sail. Partly so I could open up the top of the quarter panel and dig out the seam sealer. What a mess. Fritz got slap happy with the seam sealer gun - I had to dig a brick of that shit out of the space between the door jamb and the sail panel.

I'm sure there was a good reason for it, but why would a big chunk of sealer be sprayed up inside the panel. Is it for sound deadening, or to keep rigidity? Either way the stuff sucks!

I'm pretty conservative when I do cuts like these, but it looks like I'm going to have to pull the sail panel all the way to the top of the targa bar to clean up all the rust.

I'm definitely tainted now when it comes to rust in these cars. Whenever I see an ad for a 914 that says "little to no rust" I vomit a little in my mouth.

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