Keep up the good work! I know that it can sometimes become frustrating when you believe that you've made some BIG progress, only to find more rust in a place you thought was solid. But it helps to post the work you've done so that you can look back at it someday in the future and admire the work you've done. Kudos!
Geoff

Thanks Geoff,
Its starting to feel like a job so i really think i need to take a day off. My girlfriend called me and said she is in Jacksonville FL and will be there for a few days, i'm thinking about driving down in the morning and surprising her. I started putting the drivers side back together today but ran out of wire for my welder and nobody has any .023 in town so i might be screwed till monday. I knew i should of picked up a big spool last week when i was getting my gas bottle filled but i thought a small one would be good, opps. I used them clamps for sheet metal today and wow, they are great, i love when i find a new tool that works great. I also picked up a body saw, that thing is great, don't know how i lived without it. Well here are some Pics from today.

Whoever said "hell have no fury like a woman scorned" never had to take the rust off a 914. Today i feel like i am being punished for something i did in a past life. I finished up the drivers side, the one i thought was the worse and turned the car around. After cutting off the section of the quarter panel i found that the PO did some work and replaced the hell hole but never welded behind the quarter panel. I don't know how this thing didn't fall apart. I went over the car a measured everything its all still within specs and true. I spend more time un&%*#ing what the last guy did then fixing the current issues. At the rate i'm going it would of been much easier and cheaper to just buy corvette. Well i'm going to wash the bad juju off me and call it a night. Crap i spent so much time in the garage i missed the steelers play today. I really need to hook up cable to the TV out there.

Yesterday started off great, car bit me in the knee and god forbid the first aid kit have anything in it thanks to my brother. After making a bandage out of a shop rag and electrical tape i was back in business. Got the car back up in the air and ready to start on the other side. I got the really bad rust removed from the passenger side long and treated the inside with some (a lot) of pro-15. I then moved on to some body work. Got the drivers side quarter panel feathered out and the door jams looking pretty good. Some final touches will need to be made when i block sand it. I'm really trying to get the rust taken care of before i concern myself with the looks. Last night i thought the car might be mad at me so i bought it a present, something to remember its homeland. Today was more of the same, waiting for primer to dry and fixing some old bad repairs along with some more sanding. Got the drivers side fender stripped and reworked where the marker light was. The last owner just stuck a peice of aluminum behind it and filled it with a 1/4 inch of bondo. Now its welded up and damn near flush.

Jason--You're kickin' ass on this project!!!

very cool!

Great thread, great commentary and impressed you have made it this far.

Someday soon you'll be driving this car and incredibly proud that you pushed through the crap and made it your own.

Most people just use cars, you have made this your own.

Awesome progress!

go go go!! lol great progress and great thread keep it up and dont let those jackstands get comfortable!!

Today i got tricked, my dad told me it was going to be nice and cool out and we should put a new roof on his house today. It was cool and rained on an off all day. Roof is done so i can get back to work on the car in the morning. I can't wait for this vacation to end so i can go back to work and relax. Oh my dad asked if i got the sheet metal for his floor pan in his car, i pointed at the pile of scrap tin roofing. Told him i was going to pop rivet it down and call it a day. He didn't find any humor in that. I couldn't do that too him, i'll use a street sign.

Thanks for all the encouragement.

It is one of those days where everything goes right. Got the passenger side just about finished about to weld on the new outer long, jack post and sill. I got lucky and didn't have to remove as much of the outer long on this side as it was in much better shape then the drivers side. If all goes well i may be putting in my new floor pan tomorrow and i will be rust free.

I like your Becks present to the german lineage car. Bought a 12 pack last weekend, good beer. Love seeing the progress.

Dave

16 days (without shaving), 32 beers, 20 plus pounds of rust removed, got a new roof on the house, the longs are complete, and i now have a beard Grizzly Adams would be proud of. One last major repair (the floor pan) and then i only have body work to do, wait, crap i hate body work!
At this point i think its safe to say i will never sell this car nor will i ever restore another 914 well perhaps not one with this much rust, maybe.
Well I'm off to the pub to have a victory beer.

Today was great, I found more rust, much like most day but i got the old floor pan out and test fitted the new one. There isn't much you can say about spending a day on your back eating rust and catching dirt in the eyes, i'm going to start wearing my SCBA goggles when i got to work on my back like this. That is the best idea I've had in a long time. Wish i would of thought about that this morning. I had a good talk with my father about back in his day when he restored a 37 Buick using only a set of wrenches, a 10 gallon sears air compressor and a Vise grip (this was the late 60's early 70's). I guess were lucky to have all these cool new tools. Maybe they were out but you just couldn't get them in BFE Pennsylvania at the time. It must of been a real challenge to restore a car back before the internet, he told me if you needed parts you just went to Hersey and walked around with a cardboard sign (looking for _____ ) that was only once a year back then. For perhaps the last 10 years every payday i buy a new tool so over the years its grown to a rather large collection but it always seems like there is always something i need (or want as my girlfriend puts it). Well i'm tired and going on and on about nothing so i'm going on and on, maybe the rust got to my brain, but i need to jump in the shower.

Today is a total loss. Last night while taking a shower i got something grit in my eye and on top of that i feel like crap today so i'm going to take it easy and watch my first Steelers game since i've been on vacation. On a side note i gave up the whole not shaving till i get the car done thing, i couldn't take it anymore.

Got back from the ER. That was a waist of time. Doctor asks whats wrong? i said " i got a piece of metal in my eye" doc says "no thats an eye cold" i said "are you going to look at least?" doc says "i can see from here, thats an eye cold" i said "I saw and felt the piece of metal go in my eye" Doc said "here is some drops for your eye cold"

Jason,
Sorry to hear about it, glad there wasn't metal in them. Be carefull and use eye protection, you only have one set of them.

Dave

I too got some metal in my eye once and waited (3) days. When I couldn't take the pain any longer I went to the doctor. They said the metal had started to rust and it was very difficult to hold my eye open while they used a small drill to take all of the rusted metal out of my eye. If I would have waited any longer, they would have admitted me to the hospital for eye surgery.

Jason go to an Optometrist and get that eye looked at immediately.

--Rob

BTDT, go ASAP to take care of this...

Geoff

I had a bunch of stuff come off the angle grinder and into my eye. The thing was it was all so small, it was hard to get out. after three days, I did this thing, took a paper towel and rolled it into a pointy nub. I then kind of twisted it against my eye which sort of lifted my eye lids out of the way, to actually rest it against my eye. Then by sort of wiggling my eye, in combination with the capillary action of the eye fluids drawn into the absorbent towel, I got out all these small black specs.

I'm glad I didn't go to the doctor, as, since they can't feel the thing, and since their means are barbaric, involving scraping and drilling your eye... no fun

I hope your eye works it out. I'm doing much of what you've been doing, on my 72.

Yes, go to the ER of a different hospital. I had some fireproofing fall in my eye and wow impossible to clean out myself. Went to the ER and they clamped my face and eyeball in a jig so they could flush it out. Very weird experience but what a relief when it was all done. About a 1/4t of stuff had gotten behind the eyeball....no wonder it hurt like hell.

Thanks everyone,
The eye is getting better but still hurts in the light a bit, however my vacation ends tomorrow and i'm sorry to say the car defeated me. I go in for shoulder reconstruction in a couple weeks and will be on leave for another month but will not be able to much of anything on the car. On a good note i told my girlfriend that i was bummed not being able to finish the car and she wants to help when she gets back next month. I forgot that a year or so ago i showed her how to weld and she did some patch panels in my Studebaker and did a pretty good job. She also has an bachelors in art with a background in metal sculpturing, jewelry and she speaks German so the car will understand her when she curses at it. I have to say i am afraid to let someone work on my car and I'm even more afraid that she is going to one day wanna drive it. I'm not going to lie I was getting burnt out working on the car day and night and i never thought that would ever happen however this is by far the biggest car project i have ever done and i really didn't think i was gong to even get this much done. Now this doesn't mean i'm giving up. I will finish this car, its just going to take a lot longer then what i thought then again i thought a quick paint job and some engine work and i would turn this thing around and sell it. If i could go back to the day i got it i would still buy it. I can't get over how much i've learned. I grew up in a family that loved muscle cars and American antique cars. I was brought up to hate foreign cars. This car has not only changed my mind about German cars but also my fathers. He is always asking me about them now. Well someone once told me that the car always finds you and i feel that is very true. I really do love all my cars except my mustang, i never really bought that car i loaned my brother the money for it when he was 16 and he never paid me for it so i took the car and gave it to my dad to use. I'm getting off topic. I'm not going to give up on this i'm just going to be doing little things in the mean time.

It has been 5 long cold months since i last worked on the car. Since then i have bought a new garage with a house. I have decided to take next week off and weld up my floor so i can finally give my jack stands a rest and move the car to its new home. Its been so long since i have even looked at the car i think i may have forgot how to put it back together, it may end up with the engine in the front. I guess i'll just have lots of extra parts, perhaps i'll just play it off as weight reduction. I am so excited to bring the car back to virgina so i can start working on it when the weather gets better. I refuse to work on it when its cold. I hope getting back on here will help keep me motivated so i can get this thing on the road this summer. I should start reading eveyone's posts in the forum so my memory will come back to me, if only it was like riding a bike.

Hi Jason,

Glad to hear you are back and thinking about the car! I was wondering what had happened to you.

I have had to take an extended break from mine as well (what's 5 or 6 years hear or there). I can't wait to get a shop and get back to work.

Good luck and keep us posted.

-Pete

Jason,

You took on a (helluva, but good) project. Looking forward to your progress. You've certainly dealt with the hard parts, so far.

Once you get to sit down in her and turn the motor over, you'll know why you got into it.

Sean

When you putting it back togeather be sure to ask lots of dumb questions. That way I can get some of the serials I need for assembling my car without it looking like I need help every step of the way

So i made it to my dads where the car is currently resting on its jack stands but i ran into one small problem, 5 months of it just sitting there has turned it into storage for my dad and my brother, i cant even see the car. I guess before i can even start working on the car i'm going to have to clean house. Since i'm alittle under the weather i'll use tomarrow to tow my mustang to my house, with that out of the way and its extra parts gone that should give me some room to work. I really can't wait to start painting the car, i know i'm far from that but i'm excited to see it all come together. I might be just a little ADD. Well i should get some rest since i have about 4 hours of towing more then my truck should ahead of me. Before anyone gives me crap about safety my truck is rated to tow more then what i intend on and i'm very careful. Its just an old POS but yet that by some act of god still runs.

Jason,
Glad to see your back attempting to work on your car. These little cars are an adiction and get under your skin. Can't wait to see new picts of the progress. Good luck.

Dave

My plans got fouled. My really awsome boss decided to not make a decision on me takeing vacation this week so i had to drive back to VA and put the car on hold for what will more then likely be a few more months I was looking forward to making some headway on it this week, i hate not being able to finish project and i need the jackstands so i can put a lift kit on my girlfriends jeep. On a good note i was able to dig the car out from the random things everyone stacked on it. I took some measurements and everything is where should be and the doors line up good. Its was still a productive weekend i guess, i was able to tow my mustang up to VA and i guess i can work on it this week since its going to be nice out. The more i look at that car the more i see i could of done some things alot better. If anything i have learned more about metal work then i ever would of thought. One of these days i may get good at working on old cars, or die from rust overdose.

Well its been a very long time coming but my jack stands are free, just in time to get the girlfriends jeep lifted and its rusted out frame repaired. I seriously feel I am cursed to be surrounded by rusted out vehicals. I guess I have plenty of practice with rust repair now. I got my floor pan and the section of quarter panel welded in this weekend. Now i just need to get the body work done and i can bring the car back home for paint and interior.
Oh I also saw my first real live 914 driving down the road last week. I thought about stalking it but traffic was bad and I was running late for an appointment.

Great progress man!

Getting it off jackstands is the first big step, then paint, then engine, then its back to jack stands again.

Glad to see you are working on it again.

John

Its lookin good. Was the plan for the original color?

Im not sure at the moment, i've been recently thinking about doing a candy apple red with a ghost racing stripe if not that then silver.

I have not forgot about my car. I will soon be moving it back to Va to finish the bodywork and paint it. I had to put the project on hold for awhile due to work and another time sensitive project.

I decided on a color yesterday and got my primer and paint. I doubt I will be painting until september, I have to paint my GF's jeep before she gets back from deployment. It feels good to be getting back to work on the car, I've been missing it.

I finally got my car home the other night. Its been almost 2 years since I've gotten anything done. It seems like I have about a million things left to do so I figured i should pick somewhere to start. The engine bay seemed like a good place. I made up a new shelf to replace the one that rotted away and mounted the new battery tray support. Once I finished that up I soaked everything down with purple power and pressure washed it. I've decided to just paint the engine bay high gloss black so it will be easy to keep clean and will go with whatever color I decide to paint the car.

Engine compartment complete. I would love to get the body work done this weekend but I used up all my sand paper on another project and forgot to resupply so i'm kinda limited as to what I can do. I still have a few rust spots to patch on the body and a bent trunk lid to repair so that should keep me busy.
I somehow forgot how much I like working on this car.

I finished welding in the seat supports and kinda ran out of stuff to do Saturday so drove down to my dads and got the engine and some more parts. I was able to get the engine installed this morning however I'm missing a few things such as the bolts for the CV shafts. Thats what I get for being in a rush to get back on the road before a storm hit. With any luck my sand paper should come in tomorrow and I can start on the body work. I would like to have the car ready for paint by this weekend but I know I'm going to realize i'm missing stuff so most likely I'll end up having to drive back to his house which could delay me painting it.

Keep going this time

I was able to finish up the floor this week and get some paint on it. I think as some point i'll end up bed lining it as well as the fire wall. The other night my sand paper arrived, only a week late. I was able to start the body work yesterday but couldn't get much done with all the heat.

I wasn't near as productive as I would of liked to have been but it was way to hot outside. I was able to get most of the drivers side done. The drivers door took up most my time. It had a ton of bondo on it and about 2 dozen dents. I think someone got angry and beat it with a sledge hammer, perhaps a PO's ex or something. I was able to get most of them pounded out and used a shrinking hammer to get the metal back into shape. I did need to give it a skim coat of filler just to smooth everything out. I'll need to wet sand it in the morning and remove the scratches from the sand paper. With any luck I'll be able to wrap up the drivers side tomorrow and start working on the trunk lid that seems to be the second work body panel on the car.

The heat sucked again. I put the drivers door back on and I was happy with how it came out. The lines seem pretty even and the door skin matches the curves of the fender and quarter panel. I took the trunk lids off and when it cools down this evening i'll finish taking the paint off them and give them a skim coat of filler and make them all pretty.

I'm having such a hard time picking out a color for the car. I was going to paint it silver and I even got the paint but lately I've been getting sick of seeing silver cars. My girlfriend thinks cream and black would look good but I've been on an orange kick lately. I really need to make up my mind soon since the car may be ready for paint next weekend and if that's the case i'll need to get the paint by Friday. Perhaps I should just go visit some car dealerships for ideas or maybe just leave it primer and just put some big chrome rims on it.

I haven't updated much lately but I finally painted the car this weekend. I went with silver with a ton of metal flake in it. I still have to paint the bumpers, top, rocker panels and wheels. Now that its silver I think the tan interior will not look good in it so i'm trying to get a black interior for it.

Looks great jason, very similar color to mine. Keep it going to the end this time!

Silver with black is a good choice. Keep going, it's starting to look good!

Thanks. I figured its hard to go wrong with silver and black. I didn't realize how silver it was until I put it up against my mustang. It made its silver look gray. I got my wheels finished and new tires mounted. My rocker panels and a few other parts are on there way up from my Dads so i'll be getting all the black parts painted tonight. I have a few parts left on order that should be here early next week. I expect it to be completed by next weekend. I didn't get to sanding it and buffing it out so now the paints gonna be really hard and a major PIA. I thought I had the right paper at the house turns out I didn't so I had to order some.

Looks good!

That is a great looking color combination on a 914.

John

Centric brake parts offer a complete caliper seal kit including adjuster seals and e brake

Thanks for the brake advice. I finally got around to wet sanding and polishing the car today. It always impresses me how much better the car looks after its been polished up. I took a break from sanding to plug the air injection ports on the heads. Once I got those plugged I started it back up to see if it sounded better and it still didn't sound right. Now i'm no expert on VW engines but I know something was off. I happened to notice my exhaust pipe from the number 4 cylinder was cold. Im hoping its something simple like a bad spark plug or wire. I had to pick my son up from school so I didn't have time to trouble shoot it any further. I hope to finish sanding and buffing tomorrow and with any luck i'll have time to tend to the engine. I have a new set of plugs and wires here for it so i'll just put them in and check the valve clearance, maybe that will solve my problem, if anything it won't hurt to give it a proper tune up. I enclosed a picture of the fender sanded and polished next to the hood which hasn't been. It was overcast today but you can still see the difference.

Made good progress the last couple days. Paint is polished, started putting the weather striping on and installed the lights. I was able to score a new set of calipers, well an old set thats in much better shape then my old ones. I got it running on all four cylinders again and it sounds real nice. I guess I'll be finishing up the interior this weekend and that should it. I thought it was gonna be done a long time ago, life seemed to have other plans. Its going to be so nice to get the garage cleaned up and move on to another project.