repaired long condition?, worth stiffeners/jack replacement? Options

[914lover17]

@superhawk996

Feels solid (IMG:style_emoticons/default/whack_3.gif)

Drivers Side:


Passenger Side:

[Root_Werks]

I see fiberglass.

Others have said it, if the car feels solid and you like it, drive it! With repairs such as those, it'd be a significant project to go back and do it correctly.

[bbrock]

You've gotten good advice here and it does look like that repair is solid enough to drive (at least as far as can be told from pictures). But to answer your original question of whether it is worth adding stiffeners, that would be a hard "no" if it were my car. The reason being that the quality of the repair is still a question mark. I would tear out the repair and rebuild it with the proper pieces before adding stiffeners to a questionable long.

The nice part is you don't have to be in a hurry and can drive it and enjoy it until you decide what, if anything, you want to do.

[914lover17]

I see fiberglass.

Others have said it, if the car feels solid and you like it, drive it! With repairs such as those, it'd be a significant project to go back and do it correctly.

Thanks! I'll probably do just that, I do think it is a lot more solid than it looks.

More than anything I'm just trying to learn as much as possible about it, it's my first classic car and more of a learning experience than anything (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Where do you see fiberglass specifically? Just out of curiosity for what it looks like!

[worn]

I see fiberglass.

Others have said it, if the car feels solid and you like it, drive it! With repairs such as those, it'd be a significant project to go back and do it correctly.

I am in the midst of my second 914 welding exercise. In these training incidents a whole lot of rustiness is cut away and replaced by new metal. You cannot weld new steel to rust - the rust simply catches fire. So, I think my repairs will make it strong. However, I am still wondering if it would be EVEN better with some sort of clamshell or strengthening kit on top of my now really great welds. Still wondering. Would such a route be wise in cases of uncertainty as described in the original post?

[Root_Werks]

I see fiberglass.

Others have said it, if the car feels solid and you like it, drive it! With repairs such as those, it'd be a significant project to go back and do it correctly.

Thanks! I'll probably do just that, I do think it is a lot more solid than it looks.

More than anything I'm just trying to learn as much as possible about it, it's my first classic car and more of a learning experience than anything (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Where do you see fiberglass specifically? Just out of curiosity for what it looks like!

I of course could be mistaken, sure looks like FG matting to me:

[rjames]

Yup- looks like fiberglass from here, too.
Check it out with a magnet.

I know everyone is saying just drive it, but I'd want to be sure that the car was repaired well enough so that it wouldn't completely fold up in an accident. I'd be at it with the 3M wheel removing all of that paint to see what's under it, especially since that whole area (outside and in) is covered up anyway. You're not going to devalue the car by removing the paint- it's clear that it's been repaired and not done that well (aesthetically speaking). If you take the paint off and it's all solid, then just rattle can it back to get it close and call it good.

If it's not sound, better to know.

[r_towle]

How does it go, "drive it like you stole it"

lol, I think you're right.

I have it couped up, waiting to get saftied (needed to install window washers) so instead of driving it I just admire it looking for issues to fix lol

hopefully I'll be doing that by mid week (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

THAT is a winter 914 for sure.
Drive it and enjoy it

[Superhawk996]

If it's not sound, better to know.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Looks to me like the PO did put a layer of reinforcment metal over the seat belt anchor (and whole inner longitudinal lower 1/2) which is a good thing.

I assume that is welded in, but, I'm baffled by what all the goop (i.e. fiberglass & resin) is above it. It doesn't seem like the intent was to hide anything. Maybe it was just from someone having fiberglassed it prior to your prior owner adding the metal?

Either way - prudent to use wire wheel to get down to metal and ensure that the lower metal repair was welded to longitudinal and to the floor pan. I think I see weld bead under the goop? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Take a good look at the inner mount for the passenger side rear trailing arm. When you have the amount of rust this car had at one point in time, that suspension console is usually pretty weak. At best it will fail and leave you stranded when you least expect it.

Personally, I like to know what I'm dealing with. Then I can assess the risks that I wish to take. At worst - you're dealing with the crashworthines of a car before seat belt era. However, that is a bit of a shame because a 914 with good structural integrity actaully has a suprising amount of crash worthiness for a vehicle designed in the late 60's with early implementation of front and rear crush zones.

Based on what I think I see, I'd just drive it. Restoration of what you have is daunting prospect. In my case (see build thread in signature) I only had to replace a rotted passenger side long. In your case, it looks like both passenger side and driver side were corroded badly engough that someone did the work that you see to keep it on the road. If you decide to stick with 914's in the long run, you can sell this one for what it is, and then find a better specimen down the road if you wish.

[914lover17]

@Superhawk996

It was well represented as a driver by the seller, no surprises and I'm actually thrilled with it so far - I'm just trying to be proactive about keeping it on the road and driving well for as long as possible (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I believe most of the repair work was done over 20 years ago. I'm keeping my eye out for a replacement chassis for the long term if one ever pops up but I definitely feel comfortable driving it in the meantime.

Here's some pics, I tried to document everything surrounding to that area as well.

[bbrock]

I personally think a replacement chassis is overkill. To break this down from my perspective -

Your car has been repaired in common rust areas using non-traditional (i.e. fabricated) parts. That opens questions about how good the repairs were but doesn't automatically mean they were bad. The two concerns are:

1. are the repairs structurally sound?
2. are the repairs hiding rust that continues to rot the metal?

From the pics, the long repair looks pretty solid, maybe even battleship stout. Whatever the goop is raises questions about the second part. That could be seam sealer that was applied over the welds to prevent moisture getting trapped which would be a sign the person doing the repairs was thorough. Or it could be fiberglass or bondo slapped on to make bad metal look pretty, or worse, to patch over a hole. The last two seem unlikely to me given that whoever did the repairs obviously could weld. Fiberglass patches are usually done by people who can't, or won't, weld.

I agree with wire brushing those ares down to bare metal to put your mind at ease. After that, the worst case is that you yank out the repaired longs at some point and replace with proper parts. It's a job and could be expensive to hire out, but it really isn't THAT bad and if you can weld yourself, not terribly expensive. Personally, I still rather save the tub you have than find a different one.

Looking more broadly at the car - there is a lot of heavy undercoating that has been painted over and I see a crack above your outer rear suspension console I'd want to stab with a screwdriver to make sure it is sound. Again, in the long term I'd like to know the undercoat isn't hiding anything nasty, but I wouldn't condemn the chassis without thorough investigation.

It's impossible to say from long distance, but I think you have a nice driver. Enjoy it! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[Superhawk996]

Suspension inner console looks to be in pretty decent shape.

I'm with Brent, I'd give it a few pokes with a pick around that outer suspension console where it seems like the undercoating is cracked but overall not as bad I thought it might look.

I agree. I think you have a good driver. Enjoy it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

As Brent states, anyting can be fixed, only matter of blood, sweat, and tears.

[seanpaulmc]

Fuel lines in the engine bay are the original plastic lines. They need to be replaced.
What fuel lines are in the tunnel? If original, think about replacing them before doing much mileage.

Looks like a great start.

[bkrantz]

I would borrow or buy a bore scope, and feed it into the longs to see what the insides look like.