What can I use to take off the sticky stuff & ugly black crap that held the backpad to the firewall? Is there anything that won't get me off If not I'd like to use some good shit & just be done wit it

..........b

P.s. NO RUST IN THE HELL HOLE!! Woohoo

laquer thinner works pretty well although the fumes are killer. Wear a mask

Bruce, I thought you'd have that 2 litre in by now?

Just kidding, lacquer thinner should do the job.

Bruce,

This was the worst part of any area on my car to restore. Tried paint remover, sanding, scraping, wire wheels and just about everything else I had in shop to remove factory and PO installed glue. Since my car is black, I would have had to put more effort than I did to end up with a surface finish equal to the exterior.

After spending countless weekends on my back, knees or bent over engine bay, I settled by spraying entire engine bay with one of the truckbed liner type coatings. It turned out OK but not as easy to keep clean as a smooth paint finish would have. The rougher coating I chose seems to collect anything that comes in contact with it. Just another case of "90% prep".

Have you considered sand blasting?

John

Bruce we could tow dolly the car out to OC and have it media blasted. Ledt me know.
CCLINBLASTERBAY

gumout carb cleaner worked the best for me. let it work a bit and the glue will roll up like snot balls. not a paper mask either. go to home depot and get one rated for vapors with the screw on canisters. you'll need it to paint anyways.

kevin

TA-DA!

1001 uses for Berryman's Brake Cleaner! It'll take you about 4 hours total and will remove the original paint, but it'll be gone and you can then repaint it. Make sure your garage door is open. Fumes aren't as bad a laquer thinner though. Note: Berrymans!

You could always try the "poorman's method."

Worked fine for me.

Oops.

Forgot the other important piece . . .

Uh, those are "wood" chisels. I just pulled a 1.7 last week that had the worst oil leak ever. The blanket had been removed a few years ago and there was about a half inch of oil builup on the fire wall. A good stiff 1 1/2" putty knife with the corners rounded off (keeps ya from digging into the metal) worked like a champ. the glue had been soften by the oil and came right off. So, all you need is a good oil leak

My wife says there is something called unisolve, that is skin-safe that dissolves adhesives.... (designed to remove bandage and tape residue).

Maybe that would work?

Yeah, I know it. (I build cabinets in my spare time). Though, the chisel I used was dull as a hoe and so screwed up I figured it wasn't worth trying to fix it for the 1000th time.



You only need to be gentle to avoid killing the metal (as chisels slice through it like butter)


BTW I didn't actually take a pic of my tools (these are from google images)

Cool, I build them for a living, and fix 914's in my spare time

Way to be

Wood chisels and heat work great for removing undercoating from the wheel wells and under the car.

I second the brake cleaner method. From Brad's school of automotive. Works great. Have a fan nearby circulating air though. I remember getting pretty loopy working in the engine bays. I removed that shit from both the orange and silver cars.

Jen

Everyone had great suggestions Thanks!
Curt, I know I should'a had it back in by now but, I'm sure you know, as you're working on one thing on the car, another catches your eye & it's off on a different tangent until you get re-directed back to what you originally started! I got the tranny off the 1.7 yesterday & cleaned it up. Raised the car another 4 or 5 inches, pulled the blanket off the back then removed the motor mounts off the 1.7 to use them on the 2.0 since thay are almost brand new. Must have a wee bit of Attention Defficet going on Wanted to stay home this morning & put the tranny on the 2.0 but my boss called & said they needed a 4th for a scramble... (& if I didn't attend & was fired)! So, after 18 holes & a couple beers...........

Craig, thanks for the offer but I don't really wanna go that far since I have the car up on blocks. After I see if this 2.0 runs then I will consider taking it back out & do a total clean up of that part of the car & engine.

Thanks again for everyones help

........b

See? You're already talking about pulling it out again.
The more ya do it the easier it gets. My son in law have done 5 together now. Out and back in. We pulled one two weeks ago in 25 minutes. He did the top while I was underneath.

There is a foil insulation pad listed on ebay which will cover that mess and give you some sound deadening. It is cut to fit perfectly.

Bernie

Ya, Ya... I'm already looking forward to the install & another removal When you have the moves down pat & the way you lift the car it really ain't that bad. I think I just might buy an RV lift like the one I borrowed from JP. I also want to get a "C" or "I" beam that will catch under the control arms. The beam would rest on the RV jack. With the wide table area of the RV jack (2'x2') it makes a sturdy way to lift the rearend.

Bernie, I was thinking along those lines just so I wouldn't have to scrape all that crap It would seem to add light or brightness to the bay too. Gotta check it out.

.....b