Recommisioning a '73 Driver Project, making another 914 roadworthy again Options

[Literati914]

Got that repaired, and re-taped the whole area.

[Literati914]

Next on the agenda - As I had mentioned the heat/defrost unit was completely missing, the cables had been cut. Also, note the missing “fasten seat belt” fixture and wiring in this picture.

[bkrantz]

Great work! I am curious how the suspension ear rotted from the inside when the hell-hole was solid.

And you might already know, but that Porsche horn button is worth restoring. Buttons for aftermarket wheels are pricey.

[Literati914]

Great work! I am curious how the suspension ear rotted from the inside when the hell-hole was solid.

And you might already know, but that Porsche horn button is worth restoring. Buttons for aftermarket wheels are pricey.

Not sure how the moisture gets in there generally.. but Porsche added a small "drain" at the bottom of both ears from the factory, long before any hell hole issues existed. Besides, the hell hole is down stream of the ear. There is actually a factory hole about the size of a quarter at the very top of each long rail on these cars (near the torsion rod mounts for the trunk hinges), so maybe there? Never the less - the "drain" on this particular ear was pinched closed and was holding dirt/mud. Also the three small little plastic caps that seal the mounting bolts for the outboard trailing arm mount were missing here too. I suspect that was a contributor. Those bolts were definitely rusty and difficult.

Lesson - check and open those drains with a flat screw driver, and make sure your plastic seal caps are in place.

[wonkipop]

phoenix red.

what a great color (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) .

keep up the good work. love what you are doing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Literati914]

Wiring reconnected and put back into place.

[Literati914]

Slider unit and FSB light back in..

[Literati914]

Great. Except after I went through removing the cut cables and reattaching the good ones from my good slider unit - the center slider would not move (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) . So I ended up breaking an arm on the driver’s side defrost unit, trying to free it.

Broken part and replacement

[Literati914]

So then I got to do this (fun! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) )

[wonkipop]

Basic Appearance:
First of all, it obviously needs paint. There are nick, chips and scratches as well as some hail damage. Also, a previous owner applied a clear coat to the paint (Phoenix Red) and it has flaked off in large areas. So paint is needed.. not sure if I'm gonna do that for a while or not. It's not as bad in person as the picture, and could be seen as a descent patina car for now, in imo. The Targa surface is in bad shape and I will do addressing that soon. Black steelies with all hub caps and beauty rings present (I kinda like the look tbh). All glass is good though the front windshield has been replaced at some point with an aftermarket one.. it was glued in but the trim did not make it back on the car (nor was it included). On the interior door cards need work, carpets were missing and seats could stand a re-do - all things I plan to address. The stock fuse panel has been replaced with a modern style and there is a working push button start button on the dash. For some reason the Fresh Air Defrost controller unit has been removed from the dash and lost (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) , but the box is still present under cowl. Luckily I have extras. Oh, and there is an interesting steering wheel (let me know if anyone knows anything about it) with a Porsche crest horn button. I may paint it and have it recovered.

yeah that steering wheel is interesting if it is what i think it is.

at first look i think its a formuling wheel. a french company that made aftermarket sports steering wheels - very popular cult item during late 60s, 70s and into the 80s.
big in the VW modding crowd back then. company closed in the 90s.

reason i say its a formuling is they are recognizable by the spoke hub pattern around the centre boss. at top a curve matching circular steeing hub and at bottom two inverse curves to bottom wheel spoke.



this is mine. has been on the car since the 70s.

second reason is i am looking at what appears to be the brending name on it and its hard to tell from your photo as the brand name looks heavily worn or dirty and difficult to distinguish clearly.

but it sure looks like this? or am i mistaken.
at one point during formuling's time manufacturing the branding looked like this.




lastly its interesting because it also looks like it was branded porsche on one of its spokes. never seen one like that before. probably super rare. most formuling steering wheels were sold with a horn button that carried particular car model you were fitting it two. VW or Renault or Porsche---- whatever.

definitely keep that wheel and restore it. suspect its been on the car for a long time.
i can't identify which era it dates from. could be 70s. could be 80s. suspect its 70s.
and i think pretty rare formuling model.

cult item. VW crowd is still searching these things out.

[Artfrombama]

Great restoration thread, thanks for documenting the steps. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/clap56.gif)

[Literati914]

..
yeah that steering wheel is interesting if it is what i think it is.

at first look i think its a formuling wheel. a french company that made aftermarket sports steering wheels - very popular cult item during late 60s, 70s and into the 80s.
big in the VW modding crowd back then. company closed in the 90s.

reason i say its a formuling is they are recognizable by the spoke hub pattern around the centre boss. at top a curve matching circular steeing hub and at bottom two inverse curves to bottom wheel spoke.



this is mine. has been on the car since the 70s.

I think the steering wheel may be a Racemark.. Raid model specific to Porsche. I think someone has spray painted a super dark iridescent bronze color over the spokes area (btw, the plastic headlight surrounds have this too, and it's flaking off there too).

There is a recess on the spoke with the word "PORSCHE" inside of it.. but it kind of looks like the letters are small vinyl decal and may be de-laminating also. I have not found this exact wheel on google. but here s a very close example (note - that the ends of the spokes are not upholstered, they just dissapear into the outer part of the wheel)

[wonkipop]

@Literati914

i'm guessing you already googled this.

https://www.racemark.com/news/2018/10/9/the...carscom-journal

https://thepaddock.xyz/steering-wheels/race...-by-italvolanti

definitely worth keeping that wheel.
maybe even more of a cult item than a Formuling wheel.
manufactured for mark donohue owned company by italvolanti.
nice in-period piece to have in the car. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Literati914]

I managed to get the defrost unit replaced, cables re-run and sliders working

[Literati914]

Time to re-install the fuel tank… not so fast, because the 53 year old, brittle drain tubes want to shatter in to 10 pieces first! Ok fine, I replaced them with softer hose meant for pond pumps.

[Literati914]

Tank back in.

[Literati914]

The harness in the frunk was bothering me with all it’s overspray..

[Literati914]

So I cleaned it up and re-taped it.

Ps - note in this pic a hint at a problem at fog lights, I’ll get to that later

[Literati914]

Both the areas by the headlight motors looked like this - had painted everything including the ground points.

[Literati914]

So I cleaned these areas up and probably avoided a bad ground somewhere in the process.