im totaly bummed out about this. after about 50 hours of research and electrical work on my new toy, i found this while hooking up my fuel line.

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its really bad. to the point where i dont think its safe to drive the car....

do you guys think this is something i should try fix this myself and box it in? im not sure my fab skills are up to the task....

or should i leave this one up to the professionals? is there a shop in so cal. that is competent enough to fix this? forgive my noobieness for not knowing any shops around. i'm not out to insult anyone. i just dont want a hack job. i could do that myself. LOL

heres another shot.

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Better check the other side too!

IMHO - get 1 or 2 new repro consoles from Restoration Design (see member vendors & banner ad) & replace one or both - don't try to patch those up, cuz they'll just continue to rust & fail later. IIRC - AA also sells them in repro form.

If not up to your skills, PM to Ed Arango in HB, or to Kevin/kconway in Long Beach about his guy referred to me below -

<snip>
Message Forwarded From kconway
Tom,
I received a call from Milt Becker this morning and he said he would be interested in speaking to you about your car and perhaps coming out to take a look. You can reach him at this number: 562-424-5943. Not sure of his schedule but if you leave a message he's sure to get back to you.
Good luck,
Kev
<end snip>

I think both guys can bring their eqpt. to your place to do the work, and Ed may be using the same guy. I haven't used either one yet, so ask them for referrals.

PS - no, definitely NOT safe to drive that way!

don't be bummed! Happens all of the time. We have two cars in the shop right now that we are installing new ones. We manufacture the piece and sell it to all of the usual suspects, but you will need to drop the engine to install it. If you can weld you can install it. Do not drive the car though!!

Not safe to drive!

The good news is, this is a pretty common failure.
Restoration Design makes a complete replacement piece:
http://www.restoration-design.com/

The bad news is, this is NOT a newbie job. You'll need someone experienced to fix this correctly.

The Slow-Cal guys should be able to point you to a good shop ...

well i do have a mig welder, and a tig welder. and more time than money. my fear is not getting the alignment of the pivot correct. is ther a jig out there to use? i have converted swing arm vw's to irs in the past. my confidence level is going up. im going to have to fix it myself. im already starting on taking the engine out.

is there a thread or tutorial on the repair? i have searched but really havnt found anything.

We have a friend in your neighborhood that can help you. He doesn't post here and I believe he lives in Yucaipa. PM me your phone number and I'll try to get you 2 together.

That looks very familiar:



http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...113186&st=0

I just finished fixing mine, but it was the drivers side.
I assume your is the passenger side.

The passenger side can be purchased new, but not the DS.

I welded the crack with a backup strip, then put the reinforcement plates from tangerine racing on BOTH sides.
THEN.... I will be putting the support in that braces the ears to the firewall.

Stu

wow, im not the only one with this problem. im going to check out your thread know. thank you. i googled 914 suspension console repair and got a bunch of hits. i helps to use the correct terminology.

I used our search and typed in:
+suspension +console

and got hours worth of reading ...

I have posted at least 3 of these repairs here and on club. the factory manual has teh measuring points explained in detail. I use 1/8 stainless wires cut to facory spec and measure as illustrated in teh manual. I have secrets to share but cant post them here..."they" are watching us"

I have done more than I remember now. please do not patch it. they are ALL rotten inside

the driver side is not available and must be fabricated but it rarely fails. the battery above teh right side is teh main cause

bvmncgh

mn,

whoever welds it up: be sure they passivate the rust before welding it up

thanks alot sean. a picture is worth 1000 words.

well, im doin it fellas. i replaced the rear console and welded it up today. this is my first time doing anything like this so take it easy on me.

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Looks great! nice welds!

looks pretty damned good to me..keep it up...

Looks good!

thanks. i should be on the road in the next few weeks

Hmmm... had thoughts of scrapping my car because of this problem. Perhaps I will read some more threads and check into the repairs.

vs

Nice work Doug.

thanks joe. it was a pleasure meeting you. next time your out this way, come on by.

Dang- wish I could weld like that...

Wait until you drive it. The whole back end had probably been swinging around for a while. Makes for pretty squirrely handling.

missing the plate that bridges he two ribs together. grind welds flush and add second layer of metal to overlay and connect outer to inner console
looks very nice. bolt up the arm and measure toe adjustment BEFORE any more welding. or measure per factory manuakl with wires

ear to ear is less critical than ear to pin hole in center of firewall about 1/2 way up

thanks sean. i'll check that measurement right now. im not sure what you mean about the ribs. do you mean to box them in? i put it back together exactly the way it came apart. i was able to reuse the pieces that i removed from the bottom. the to pieces that over lapped the (ribs?) got put back on.