I managed to find some photos that we had thought were lost. This doesn't take me all the way back to the start of the project, but I've decided to start the photo story of the project.

April 2004

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The 2 liter engine I sold with the fuchs

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Here's some shots of the damage that I found when I got the car in the air and cleaned it off

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The car was walnut blasted and sealed with primer. Now I could see even more work to be done.
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I enrolled in autobody at the local CC and stared working on the doors. Making the metal strips that hold the rubber strip on the doors was my first big job

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Flares from AA arrived and I started the process of fitting them. One of the photos shows a view of the work I did on the sail panels. I'll find the photos I took of that process and share them soon.

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I cut away the rust holes on the inside of the sail panel and found more rust. Surprise, its a good time to practice welding. I goated everything with POR and then ground it off the endes so I could weld it. I should have used weld ready spray, but didn't know about the stuff at this point.

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After I welded I recoated with POR. I purchased some defective sail panel skins from AA and reworked the metal to match my car. My welding skills were poor and I spent more time fixing holes than I did attaching it.

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Next came the installation of the Engman kit. I didn't brace the door openings, but the car was solid and I didn't let any one area get too hot. A weld here a weld there. I moved around the car alot. I had ground the surface were exch hole was so I was metal to metal. At this point I had discovered welding paint.

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When do we get to the Gulf Blue part?Looks like you did some extensive rustoration.Nice Rotisseri.

Great pictures! I have really enjoyed watching your restoration.

John

have you checked your door gaps since welding in those reinforcements?

This is a retro thread. I'm going back and shoping what I've already done. And yes the gaps are fine.

I don't have a lot of photos showing the flare installation, but trust me I spent way too many hours attempting to line everything up. I think tacking the flare to the body and then cutting the old part out with an air saw is the best method because it leaves an equal gap for welding.

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The entire car was sprayed with fill coat and block sanded

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The bottom was coated with Poline. Later I had it coated with kevlar LineX, but this gave the underbody an extra layer of protection.

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Here come color, trunks and interior first.

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Taping off trunks and interior. Trusty helper who worked for beer and dinner. I did feed her more than tape. (I think she was having fun too)

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And now for body color (the first attempt at finding Gulf Blue)

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And the color is on (but not for long!)

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The color I used was from a code that matched a powder blue, but after it dried, it just wasn't a rich enough color. On top of that I wasn't happy with the clear coat. Out came the sand paper and off came the color.

ouch. I can only imagine the frustration!

Resanded the color off the car, resealed it, color and six coats of clear.

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The /4 engine mounts were removed the /6 welded in, and the relay board post cut out The underside and engine bay were coated in the kevlar LineX

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In the last group of photos, you can see part of the Prelude I worked on while I let the 914 sit for six months. I've heard different opinions, but I choose to let the paint and clear sit and shrink back. I guess some folks like to cut the clear right away and let it breath...., but that wasn't my direction. Lots of sanding and lots of water came next.

The body wire harness was rewrapped in the best electrical tape I could get and reinstalled

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The headlights were redone and installed

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The air distribution was installed

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Some odd parts were painted

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Billy,

The teener looked great when you had the gathering at your shop.

WOW! Now I see all the hard work that went into the finished product.

Mine just gets rougher all the time. I spend most of my time rebuilding the mechanicals from all the wear and tear from track days. The cosmetics just get more duct tape and Krylon.

Hope to see you again soon.

Cheers,

Eddie

The only mechanical I've completed to date is the tranny and the suspension. I've got the engine hanging from a stand in the garage and I've only started to figure out what to do with it. Know anything about changing cams?

Hey Billy
We had fun looking at the work you have done on your 914 baby. It was good chatting with you.
j & s

I should have taken some photos, but this weekend I actually got some forward movement on my car! The windshield (with the help of Jurgen) got installed 2 weeks ago and this weekend I finished the chrome trim and putting the window in the passenger door. Goes up and down and the squeegies stay in place. Next week I plan to get the door panels on and work on the glove box.

I'm really glad to see you moving forward on your car again. What a SWEET ride!! the photos just don't do your work justice. What's next with it??

I finished assembling the drivers door and mounted the interior face that I had made many years ago. Its leather and I should have stored it laying flat.
Hopefully the wrinkles will relax. I couldn't find all the square nuts that fit in the retainer clips for holding the passenger door handle on, so that one isn't on yet.


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Next I need to figure out the interior trim for above the windshield. Mark hade one recovered for me with the clips deleted for the visors.
They just get in the way on my line of sight anyways. There was a little confusion and the center mount wasn't deleted, but at least it doesn't have any holes drilled in it.

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oops, the photo is up side down, but it shows the part just fine

Tonight I got the passenger door panel attached. Lining up the bolts was a pain in the ass. I finely put the bolts in backwards so the stuck through the
new panel and put nuts on the interior side.

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Then I worked on installing the frame that holds the ash tray. Note to anyone else who is doing a total restoration. The ash tray goes in BEFORE the dash cap.
Otherwise you need to remove the plastic nuts the hold the cap in place.

One step back...

Progress is always good. Even when it involves removing something to make progress. Just means your actually working on your car Congrats bud

Billy, let me know if you need a helping hand again, happy to come down!
- Juergen

I got the interior trim for the roll bar screwed in tonight. I used square drive screws so I could hold them on the screwdriver. Nice to have something else finished.

This was another part that has new vinyl on it that's to 914Rubber.

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Dadgum , that do look great !!! Not to hijack , but is the lever cover plastic or metal ?? I got a set of those top lever covers that are made of metal as well as some plastic ones . Just didn't know that they ever came in a metal edition.
Fantastic color and build here dude !!!!

Jack

Metal is on the early cars, plastic on the later ones. Someone smarter than me probably knows the transition year.

I put on plastic, but I had a metal set in my garage too. The plastic ones fit better with the reupholstered trim

Looks Awesome!!! Nice work

With Jurgen's help, I figured out that I needed to cut a slit in the reupholstered upper windshield trim, so the targa latches could grab the catch

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I got the trim screwed into place

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I got the lower seal for the targa installed (thanks to the one I got from Rich)

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Here's the vertical trim on the windshield

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Installed the vertical trim on the roll bar and the coat hook clip

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and now that's done

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Nice new trim sure looks good

Next, I need to figure out how the seat belt attaches and what hardware I need to use

yer killin me

I read too many stories about how the sound of the /6 was sweet, but would quickly cause pain to your ears. The under carrage and engine compartment are coated with LineX, but I lined the interior too.

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I installed the seat belts, although i know I'll need to pull them out again when the carpet goes in. I'll also need to pickup a set of "PRESS" stickers for the belts as these have long ago faded

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I edged the rear window with black gorilla tape when it meets the top of the back pad

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