Someone took the time to braze, rivet and glue in galvanized patches on my car. Which I never understood, because it would likely have taken the same amount of time for them to just weld it in correctly. It took me quite a few hours to grind out all of the brazing.

A lot of people cannot gas weld sheet. I know I have to work really hard to get it right. So they braze. If it isn't stressed and looks good I am not so unhappy. Most cars of this era have braze points from the factory for set up.

Ever MIG into a piece of lead work that you didn't notice wasn't steel? Blue flames.

Typical floor repair. Tin panel riveted in with fiberglass overlay and door hinge mounted on gas pedal.

Also what do you do when the plastic slider in your door handle is broken???? yep use a small ty-wrap to keep the "good half" in place. Still doesn't work, but what the heck.

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No, but I've had the reverse happen. I was gas welding a crack up on my Ghia's driver door during resto when the area 4" above began to liquify. Factory lead lay up.

That is BRUTAL George. The STYX tape evened things out though....

I encountered one yesterday, car came in for F. end service. Didnt get a pic but it was a mess.
SOMEONE decided that it would be great idea if they install Zerke grease fittings smack in the middle of the A-arm tubes...stock bushings, they just FILLED the arms entirely with grease !! Presumedly was to stop the T-bar grinding noise from the sacked rear bushes.

not my p.o., found on craigslist. apologies if this is anyone here but then again, what the heck!?

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here's the ad;

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/pts/d/san-...7334347214.html

"Won't take much to make this car perfect. "
I guess we all have our own definitions of what perfect is.

let's have some more fun with this one!

i really like a woman who'll happily pose for a glam pic with such a car!

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Go San Jose!!! I used to live in Santa Clara.

At some point I am going to have to do something about my trunk hinge plates.

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I was encouraged to add this picture here.

Enjoy

Jeff

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Same car different location of previous work.

Jeff

Spent some time today helping a fairly new owner sort out some issues. Removed front and rear hard wired radar detectors and a satellite radio system with Bluetooth leaving just the am/fm/cd head installed to fill the hole in the dash. Pulled out 6 feet of antenna cable and other wiring that was wrapped around the steering column by the upper flex joint and other remnants from an ?alarm system?. In the engine compartment were two pull knob choke cables hooked to the heater boxes even though the stock cable were still there and working. But the best DAPO WTF was the 50+ pound steel ring bolted to the floor of the trunk to center the spare tire. Next thing to sort out is fuel pump toggle switch hanging under the dash and slop in the shifter.

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Ballast?

4cents a pound at the scrap yard you just scored 2 bucks

Back in the 60s, one of my brother's friends had a Corvair. He wanted to lower the front end, so they snatched a manhole cover from somewhere and tossed it in the frunk

Apparently, these days, some people are stealing them for scrap value - not for lowering their cars

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/nyregion...ole-covers.html

Why you ask... you got me!
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Ive got a lot more from this poor car.

+100% at least.

Thanks moderator for bringing this in view. Good for a few laughs and maybe even learn a thing or two.

Rich, that white 914 has some bizarre stuff going on!

Thats just the tip of the iceburg

When I see the stuff done to these cars, I’m not sure if it is a testament to how desperately folks want to keep them on the road, or just how many people have no clue about what they are doing.

Some of this stuff is just plain scary. I guess a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing holds true.

Think: Rube Goldberg

Do you think it squeaks?

I bet if we look under the car that the two black plastic wind flaps have been taken off.

I like the custom PORSCHE layout!

Reminds of the only rear engine 914…where is that photo?

American ingenuity? or maybe I have a great type 1 motor laying around and a cutting torch

I vote for clueless.

Another possible explanation is that not all that long ago, around here these cars were darn near worthless if they had rust or were in rough shape.
In good condition you could pick one up for under 3 grand, if it didn't run or was rusted out you might have to pay the junkyard $50 to tow it away.

If you look at it through the lens of today, it seems hideous to hack on of these very expensive, very sought after collector cars.
But if you Look at it through the lens of 25 or 30 years ago, it would make sense to cobble a beat up old 914 just to keep it running than to let it go to the scrap yard. And a LOT more reasonable than spending a lot of money on it to fix it up.

Spending a great deal of time and MONEY to go concours-weenie on a beat up 914 when it was cheaper and easier to find a decent one made almost no sense at all.
Plus, these cars tended to attract a demographic that was either financially challenged, or were simply very frugal. Probably because you could pick up one so cheaply at the time.
Not many people would spend $10k to restore a 914-4 that would be worth $5k unless the car was something very special.
I remember when a really nice example of an original 914-6 could be bought for under 20 grand.

Although most 914 enthusiasts were into fixing them up and making then right, lots of folks out there were just interested in getting that ole VW out back running again without spending any money on it.
Or maybe they bought a rough one for not much $$$$, and then realized just how much of a money pit it was to fix up so they found the cheapest way to get it running they could.

I remember going to a sawzall a party where they cut up a rust free 914 because the quarter panel had a dent in it.
Or at a D&G event when we were asked to bring our sawzalls and help ourselves to parts of a collection of shells that were destined to be scrapped.
I scrounged over maybe a dozen 914s in junk yards over the years, and about the only things I can remember snagging was a driver's door mirror, a front bumper, and a transaxle.
The rest just wasn't worth bothering with.

PO left me a couple spare Berus Note the masking tape on the installed plugs, guess He didn't have a spark plug socket.Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment Glad I decided to do the top end!

Liked his rtv blue tooClick to view attachment Click to view attachment

Bad mtr mnts? why replace them when youve got a welder & some metal scrap ....

If you are down, just page through this thread, should bring a good laugh, if not something is wrong

Oil cooler

I still find it hard to believe that folks out there find these cars and then just expect to fire them up and go drive without severe consequences.

Good call to teardown and know what you’re dealing with!

Oh yeah the oil cooler Wondering if someone would notice

So heres one I see all sorts of variations of: Fuel Pump circuit not working?
Why bother to figure out what the cause is when you can simply add some wires & bypass the whole thing?!?
Fuses...We don't need no Steenking FUSES!!

"Welds". Poor customer actually paid for that work.Click to view attachment
I removed the battery tray with a screwdriver and putty knife.Click to view attachment
These came off with vice grips and a twist.
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It didn't take long to un"weld" everything, and the battery tray was virtually unblemishedClick to view attachment

This thread has ruined it
Next time I pass a 914 on the freeway I'm taking the furthest lane away!
I used to pull up along-side with the "Thumbs Up"