Suby-engined rustoration, 23-Mar-2021 update: new tires & wheels Options

[strawman]

Got the car up on the rotisserie today. Used my cherry picker to lift the rear, while three of us lifted the front and a neighbor slid the front stand onto the front mount. Then we just slid the rear stand onto the rear bracket.

Now I can finish up welding the rear trunk clip from the underside, and then begin replacing the rusty hellhole parts. Stay tuned!

[strawman]

It has been a while since I last posted, but I haven't been dormant. But first, a pic of what I like to call "Buzzing the Flight Tower"...



Unfortunately, I didnt' take very good pics of the passenger side long before I started digging in, but the inner suspension console was toast, as was the motor mount, and portions of long, firewall and passenger side "wall." Here is a pic from the top.



Here is a pic of the area I cut out... it includes the small connector piece to which I'll weld the larger inner patch piece. As you can see, the area has already been treated with POR15 Marine Clean and Metal Prep.

[strawman]

Next up is a pic of the patch piece, made of 16 gauge steel. Since the factory piece used inner "ribs," I added these reinforcements made of 1" 14 ga. square tubing ripped into angle pieces. This pic shows the Metal Prep stage, prior to painting the inside with gray POR15.



Since I'm using a rotisserie, I don't want to completely muck up the dimensions by cutting out too much at a time. So I'm replacing pieces in relatively small increments, and checking to see that the suspension jig I built still lines up as I go. Here is a pic of the patch during welding into the hole.



That piece will be covered with an 18 ga. outer shell, in order to attain the same thickness that the factory used (two pieces of 17 ga.). That outer shell will be welded in as soon as I provide a good foundation to weld. From a previous pic, you can see the "wall" has rusted out and portions need to be replaced -- and that area is necessary in order to install the "outer" shell.

Here is a pic of the area I've cut out to complete this next phase.

[strawman]

Here is a pic of lower patch piece, made of 18 ga. steel. I forgot to take a pic of the upper patch piece.



When I get going, it is tough to remember to take pics... so here are two pics of the patches that were needed. It was almost 100 degrees today, so I shoulda taken pics while I took water (and beer!) breaks while the welds cooled...





I forgot to mention in the previous post above that I cut out the lower portion of the passenger side quarter panel in order to get to the various rust damage areas hidden by that piece. I also have a sizable rust hole where the sail panel meets the quarter panel.

Porsche (Karmann?) really screwed the pooch when they decided to put that nasty-ass foam and seam sealer in places where the tires would kick up water... I've spent too many hours picking that (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stromberg.gif) out.

I hope to weld in the outer shell over the inner upper long this week, and to cut out / patch the outside long (where you can see the rust holes!). Next up is to install the inner suspension console that I bought from Auto Atlanta a few weeks ago. I also ordered a new sill plate and outer long from AA this week; still awaiting shipping confirmation from George... and I'm part of the GT Flare group buy, too, so I'll be a busy guy in the coming weeks/months!

Stay tuned...

[Hammy]

Awesome progress.

How are you planning on mounting your Suby engine? Sorry if you mentioned it already, I only skimmed-read.

[strawman]

How are you planning on mounting your Suby engine? Sorry if you mentioned it already, I only skimmed-read.

I haven't yet nailed that down. I might go with the Smallcar setup, since I used that for my prior Suby-powered Vanagon project and liked the build quality. Of course, I'm a CSOB, so I might try to fab something myself.

The slate is pretty clean (at least on the passenger side right now, since I had to cut that side's motor mount out!), so I'll have to finish with the rust repairs before I figure out those details.

Geoff

[plymouth37]

Very cool! Looking forward to following your progress!

[roadster fan]

Nice work, makes me wanna go fire up the mig and tackle some on my project. Keep the updates coming (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

Jim (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

[strawman]

It has been a while since I last posted and work has required more time than I would otherwise like but I haven't totally ignored my teener. Unfortunately, I didn't take a lot of time to take many pictures... but here are a few of my continuing effort of shoring up the upper/inner long & hellhole.



In this pic, you can see the outer 18 gauge "shell" that I bent up to cover the inner 16 gauge piece described above. This outer shell is tied into the inner piece and the fender wall. You can also see the AA inner suspension console. You can also see that I had to plug the suspension mounting hole, since that hole didn't line up exactly with my jig... which you can see below.



The jig ties into the outer suspension holes, the inner suspension console on the driver's side, and the driver's side motor mount. Ignore bolt/washers/nut that is being temporarily stored in the slot; that bolt is lined up with the "tube" and eventual new hole in the console (two washers are spaced between the tube and console).

It should be noted that AA's inner suspension console cannot be blamed for this misalignment -- I fabbed up my own upper/inner long replacement, so the suspension console required some massaging to fit, and the mounting hole was off by about 1/4".

[strawman]

Here is another pic of the jig...



Here is a pic of the first reinforcement piece that I fabbed up to tie in the rear portion of inner suspension console to the long; I still have to fab up a small piece to tie in the inner and outer suspension consoles, and some pieces to tie in the front portion of the inner and outer consoles.



A couple of weeks ago, I received an inner rocker panel from AA, as well as a new sill plate, jacking post kit and a floor pan triangle. Yesterday I received my fender flares from the AA group buy, as well as an Engman stiffening kit that I bought from a member on this board. I'm hoping to finish up the hellhole work and outer/upper long repairs this weekend. Then I'll begin replacing the inner rocker panel & sill plate. Gonna be making some more sparks soon!

I bought a new-to-me 220v compressor & Devilbiss HVLP spray gun so that I can begin some paint work. Anyone near the Sacramento area want to buy a Craftsman 33-gal 110v compressor?

[pktzygt]

OK, this and a few other treads are my motivation to get serious about buying a 914. I feared the rust repair for a while, but I'm starting to look foward to the challenge. I'm about 3 days away from selling my WRX and then seriously looking for a 914. Keep the updates coming, I'll be following closely.

[FourBlades]

Nice work! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif) Take more pictures, you will be glad later.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

John

[rick 918-S]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[tronporsche]

You will no doubt be able to be one of the guys that says "I built this car" !!!!!! Good work.

[strawman]

Been a while since my last post, but I've made some pretty good progress. Per the pic below, I've finished up the inner suspension console install.



Here is a pic of the passenger side long, open for all the world to see...

[strawman]

Next up are some other pics of the passenger side long and the state of repairs necessary...

[strawman]

I sandblasted the entire inner long to get down to bare metal. Since I'm using a water cooled Suby engine, I have removed the stock heater tubes. Here are some pics of the long without the tube, including the lower rear patch panel.





In the pic below, note the new lower seat belt attachment -- I pulled my hair out trying to find a tap to chase the threads after welding it in... until I realized that it is not metric (D'oh!). You'll also note the piece welded in behind the jack post. I sandwiched 16ga and 18ga sheetmetal to equate to the two pieces of 17ga used by the factory in that area, and bent it to fill in the rusty outer piece. I neglected to take a pic of the masterful (if I do say so, myself!) piece I hammered out to replace the compound bend where the long makes the swoop up toward the rear.

[strawman]

Next up is a pic of the jack post, followed by the inner (outer?) piece sourced from AA. The second pic also shows the jack post support, as well as the hole cut into the forward section just below the door hinge area.





The inner piece was sectioned in just below/behind the door hinge area. I used a Miller spot welder to make the joins along the upper and lower seam. Use of that device was a godsend -- it made quick work of it and kept heat input into the chassis less intense in comparison to if I had to rosette weld that sucker on.

Gotta love the mid-November heat wave in NorCal -- it was over 70 yesterday and today, and I was sweating!!

I welded in a patch for the hole forward of the AA piece, but it got too dark for good pics. Next up is welding in the Engman chassis stiffening kit, and then the GT chassis stiffening kit and trailing arm reinforcement kit (from Desert Hybrids). I'll need to read up on the GT stiffening kit, as a couple of the pieces that tie into the suspension console look like a bear to correctly form. Anyone have a suggested thread to peruse?

BTW, I picked up a complete 911 suspension last weekend. I got it for $600, including Bilstein sports, alloy calipers, 1" wheel spacers and stock torsion bars -- it came off a late 70's turbo.

I also bought a bunch of paint supplies from Rainbow Supply in Woodland, CA to strip the paint, epoxy primer the chassis, and to practice a full paint job (PPG Omni 2-stage) on my Subaru Legacy daily driver. I won a fire fighter breathing apparatus on Ebay a few weeks ago that I'll use as a basis for a home-brewed fresh air system while painting the nasty isocynates.

[FourBlades]

Beautiful work dude! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

Keep it going for us resto junkies! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

John

[Zaney]

Awesome work!
Make sure that breathing apparatus still makes a good seal and positive pressure before wearing in the fumes.
If you are unfamilar with it then, drop by your local FD (with some treats too) and ask some questions about your BA. I'm sure that most firefighters would be more than willing to answer questions about your new toy! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

And if you can't find any local then, myself or other smokeeaters on this board can help you out!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif) Nate