Hey everyone, I have been lurking around on this site for about nine months and came across what i thought to be a great deal. But im now starting to think i may have just dug my own grave. This is a '75 salvage title with what I think is the original engine and tranny. I have not even really looked at it mechanically so I could not tell you why it stopped running, ( according to the PO six months ago). Up untill that point he was using it as a daily driver. Then the feul delivery stopped, and he decided to "spyderize" it. Anyhow, the main question i have at this point is what to do about the targa sails/bar???? I would like to bring it back to a stockish look; with the option to put the top back on it in poor weather. Let me know if this is a possibility and how much a PITA it will be. I plan on installing a roll cage, so the original targa strength is not paramount. However i would like to be able to drive in the rain and not worry about taking on water. Any advice is encouraged and appreciated

to me that would just be a parts car.

This thread might give you some ideas:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=84842

Either way, you better be handy with a welder ...
Andy

PS:

And whoa, did you buy a project.

Find a roller and swap everything IMO

Parts Car.

if you want a stock looking 914, there are plenty of good platforms out there for cheap enough. Getting that one to look right, is the definition of PITA

Good Luck

and

Okay so i bought a PITA project car . Lets say i am determined to replace the targa; any constructive advice on how to go about it... honestly most of the body is solid , the only issue is the hack top and windshield frame. I was thinking that i could make a plywood jig/template from a whole car, in order to set the windshield frame at the right angle and tac weld it as well as a new targa sail ans set the top in place before i seam weld it all back together. I am curious as to weather or not this would offer substantial structual support. Thanks again. maybe i should rename this thread PITA. Too bad i cant use this as a title

i don't think that it's likely you would be able to repair this with the proper structural integrity. and a roll cage on the street is more danger thsn it's worth [hard bars close to your head].

There is a page of 914 Body measurements in the 914 Info section at the top of every page here. That's a decent place to start.

But remember that you're putting a HELL of a lot of work into a car that will NEVER be worth much money because of the salvage title. A year from now, you'll be much happier if you find your self a better body to start with. Even this 914 would probably be a better starting point.

Get a good rolling tb and swap the parts.
The car you have will never be safe, unless you put THOUSANDS of dollars into it. And it will never be worth more the a few hundred due to the salvage title.

You are in San Jose. People around there give away rollers. For under $500 you could have a solid starting point to just swap parts over. You would be done faster, have a car that is worth something, and a car that will be a lot safer to drive.

Zach

Know when to throw in the towel. If your a lurker, you know if there was a reasonable chance that the car was worth saving, the folks here would be telling you to spend more money than you should to rebuild it. This car looks like parts to me. There's so many better cars on the market (and in our garages) that you could repair. I'd start collecting parts off this one and organize them well, so when you find the right shell, you can put them on that car.

Looks like a fun project to me.
I have a race car project with a cut off targa. I started replacing it with one from a parts car but haven't found time to finish the restoration.
A bit more work to re-install both the targa and the a-pillars.
Probably better to continue down the road the PO started and make it a spyder or a race/ax car. F/G targas are available.

Or as mentioned a few times, find a decent tub that doesn't have a salvage title and start swapping parts.

I would make the Spyder and not worry about the Targa.

I remember years ago I saw a 914 that had the Targa Bar removed, a rollbar was installed and the Targa Top was able to attach to the Windshield as usual and the roll hoop in the back.

T.C.

I'm in total agreement!

Find a decent roller & use all the possible parts from this tragedy. Sorry.
Pat

I would check the hell hole and the long. If they don't need any work I would re-install the targa and windsheild frame.

Sleeve the windsheild post at the weld joint. Remove a section of the outer targa bar so you can properly weld the inner structure reinforcement then replace the outer skin.

at least its yellow

When I first got here, I had just bought a "project car," and then asked for the same advice you are asking for. Everyone told me the same thing, "parts car, don't bother." I was pretty upset, because I had already gotten my hopes up that I would be driving my Porsche in no time. Eventually, I found a MUCH better roller, and I have the first car donating parts as I need them.

The point is, listen to these guys. If the majority is telling you to move on and find another one to fix up... listen to them. With my little amount of experience (and I do mean little) I would tend to agree with the majority. But keep looking, trust me, there will be a better one showing up next week now that you are looking for them.

ill take some pics of the hell hole and longs and post 'em.( If anyone is interested?). I like the idea of a full cage and f/g targa sail panels. However, the salvage title is a bummer. Initially i just wanted the drive train, but the rest of the frame is good enough to make me concider building on this platform. Thanks for the all the input. ( and i do mean ALL ). Ill have to sleep on it

Welcome to the fun.

What are your long term plans? Autocross? Back to complete stock? Or a wild custom. After you answer those questions, then you will know if this is a good candidate.

-- brett

Check Out BEACH BOYS RACING Long Beach Ca. they have convertables and all kinds of cuts, Also I see rollers come and get it Free or $100 all the time, I did not read where your at in the world but there are alot of people wanting to just rid themselves.. Also it may be easier and even bestter way to restore a car to what your looking for.. You could dial in the roller, and fix nice everyting else as you swap out the guts, easier than you think and whenyour done you will be familiar to the core.. Then with your new learned info, that Spyder may not be much of a project in the first place and you could finish it as a 914 Spyder whihch does look like a fun project anyways..

We are all drivng parts cars man!! don't let any one else bug you on that, It is like saying we are all not dying.. Just putting it off for now..

Ive sent this advertiser a message thanks.




mostly i just want a fun car for weekends/ AX / DE as long as its a 914. Also i am plannig on a project. ( if you couldent tell)

I think the advice you've gotten is exactly right. But if you want to just have some fun with the car to find out how much you want to get into 914's I think that's also valid. Normally I wouldn't do this because these guys seem very, very cheezy, but they have something that might give you some ideas:



It's Red Dawg Racing so if you shake hands remember to count your fingers afterwards to make sure you got them all back. I have no idea what they do to cool the engine, so ask. Or alternatively just weld up those targa holes yourself. Scars make your body more interesting, right?

It varies from state-to-state and I don't recall for sure but I don't believe that you actually have to have a DOT-glass windshield in California. Or it doesn't have to be stock or something. You'll need to research that yourself, but I think you can actually use aero windshields like some of the 550 Spyder replicas do (from spyderclub.com):

http://vintagespyders.com/parts/windshields.html

http://www.fibersteel.com/ (in the "Body" category)

http://www.spydersports.com/

http://members.shaw.ca/dman550/windscreen.html

Or search for "spyder windscreen" on e-bay and see this: E-Bay Plexiglass 550 Windscreen

I seem to recall a requirement for windshield wipers, but the hot rod guys would put on little cut-down 4" wiper arms that they'd take off after the inspection and throw them in the trunk just in case. To be sure why don't you ask at www.spyderclub.com, they'll be able to tell you for sure.

Notice though that those windshields are all pretty expensive, so it might be more sensible to just weld yours back into it's general position, weld the targa panels back, assume the both won't ever be exactly right so not even worry about their alignment to fit in the targa top back in. Plan to not drive it in the rain, or instead of the targa top just use a sewn canvas bikini top between the windshield and roll bar. Have some fun with the car and then decide where to go from there.

As a note, the John Deere green enamel isn't THAT far from Ravena Green, and some of the industrial safety yellows aren't so far off what was on the car. At less than $50 bucks a gallon you can at least make it all one presentable color without any large commitment.

And finally realize that none of what I've said here is good advice. The others here have given you the good advice. But as long as you know the limits to resale value, return on investment, not winning concours events, etc, go ahead and have some fun. THEN use it as a parts car if that's what you want.


_________________

Thank you all for the advice/ warning. I have decided to use this car as a practical knowledge tool, and fix some stuff untill i find a roller to do right and swap just about every thing out of the spyderized '75.
On that note i would like to drive it if i get it running; what would be the easiest way to return some structural integrity, forget about looks ant roofs, just reiforcement. Maybe a 2" cage weld at the targa sail points, down to the longs, and across th firewall under the dash, with additional lateral bars across the doors from upright to upright (firewall to hellhole) ? whaduhya think??

gut the doors [edit: of the hardware] and weld them inside and outside to the rear quarters , front fenders and to the longs. that should make it stiff enough. and your gonna make it a spyder so no doors needed.

Just for fun and something to beat on, stick some box tubing in the window pillar, weld it up and back on, do a roll bar hoop and take it to frank reins out in patterson and beat it on the fire roads!

Or go all out and make a full race car out of it.

I've got a roller for you. I just need to finish taking some parts off it. Send me a pm for more info.

OK i think im going to go this route and hone some welding/ roll cage fab skills until i can find space for a transfer tub. Now i need to know what points of attachment are best for planting a cage in it. The longs have virtually NO rust the floor pans are solid and the hell hole is great not even rust on the battery tray. Skrew the targa top i just need to get the windshield back in and a roll bar welded in so i can drive it a bit. Any advice on fabricating a tube "targa bar" and slapping some fg sails on it? i have driven this thing around my neighborhood and it handles better than my dd civic ('97) I dont care about resale at this point, its just a fun driver/ project i know but its really not in as bad of shape as it looks. and im pretty sure roll cages are safe... or else why would they be in race cars im thinking of keeping a chopped windshield and building the targa to match. c'mon guys this'll be fun ... i promise . i just need some guidance.

when your in a race car what do you have on your head?..... a helmet! are you gonna wear a helmet all the time?
most roll cages come very close to your noggin and are a terrible thing to have an unprotected head hit.
if your stuck on build a cage and the targa is off try to build the rear hoop back where the targa bar would have been, then go diagonal from shoulder high down to the front part of the long. use large plates to weld the tube to and then weld the plates to the car.

The law in California does not require a windshield. You can wear goggles to comply with the law. The Law does require winshiedld wipers if there is a windshield.
It would not be too hard to re-weld the windshield back in. find someone close to you with a 914 and make a template from the door to set it at the correct angle.

Goggles! Cool!

I like this guy already.

Cut it...
Chop it....
Your mind is a blank canvas.... Fear not! Its just steel!

Thank you that is exactly what i was thinking. And i considered wearing a helmet but i think a 4 point harness and the roll bar in the stock location should suffice. Additionally i dont think at this point my emaciated 1.8 could get me moving fast enough to go rubber side up....




I was thinking of using the corner glass as a template but ... if i chopo the windshield frame i would need to fab some corner windows too, maybe out of lexan or something .


i looked into the cal laws and the only exceptions to having a wind shield are for cars manufactured w/o one i think .... If you know otherwise please guide me toward the proper documentation so that when i get pulled over i can present that to Jonny Law I will post my progress as i continue to butcher Frankenteener untill i learn how to know when it is time to throw in the towel... I am just so excited to have such a beautiful running thanks all

I had a friend ( a very long time ago) who had a Austin Sprite without a windshield. he used to drive it with a helmet and googles. He got pulled over ALL the time. Not sure if they thought he was street racing or what. he finally put the windshield back on...

-- brett

I had a friend ( a very long time ago) who had a Austin Sprite without a windshield. he used to drive it with a helmet and googles. He got pulled over ALL the time. Not sure if they thought he was street racing or what. he finally put the windshield back on...

-- brett