Jeff, nice solution to the tow hook. I often wondered if that stock one didn't need some extra reinforcement. Great job on the car. Keep the pics coming.

I added a reinforcement plate inside the mounting housing too just to make sure it wouldn't flex too much.

Thanks for the encouragement. I plan the keep chipping away on this project until I get it finished.

Jeff B

Keep up the good work Jeff!

I recently welded in the battery support on mine then epoxy primered it before I attach the tray itself. Hmmm, wondering about your bolted tray idea; might be a good idea for painting and cleaning behind later I suppose. I'm going to think about that for my build..

I went ahead with the bolt in battery tray idea this week. I drilled and tapped five 6mm holes into the reinforced frame section of the car to mount the lower part of the battery box.

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Then I drilled two holes through the top part of the battery tray for 8mm bolts and welded the nuts on the back side of the inner fender well.

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I added clearance holes in the top of the lower battery tray support to accept five 6mm studs that I had stud welded to the bottom of the battery tray.

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The test fit looks like everything will fit well once it is painted.

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Jeff B

Moved to the front of the car and removed the front bumper support that was slightly bent most likely from a previous fender bender. Media blasted the surface rust and then applied epoxy primer then welded the bumper support back in.

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Applied epoxy primer to the inside of the new fender section before spending many hours lining it up with the door gap and fender flare.

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Thanks to everyone for their input on setting this gap. I finally welded the fender to the flare and finish ground the weld.

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Still have to finish all the spot welds around the outside of the fender section.

Then the next step is to put the rear trunk back on and figure out where to locate the hinge support that is broken off. Not looking forward to this step for some reason.

Jeff B

I fabricated an engine mount that was as close to the original as possible and then welded it in.

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Somewhere along my cars history a PO modified the firewall for some reason.

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I decided that the best option was to cut the area out and put a plate over it so that I can service the 6 cylinder that will be going in the car.

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The top of the hole is 5.25 wide and the bottom of the hole is 5.62 wide. It hole is 6.75 high and the bottom edge of the hole is 10.12 up from the top of the center tunnel.

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This weekend my granddaughter stayed with us and she helped me clean up the garage and get the car ready to go to the media blaster.

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My son let me borrow a car hauler and we loaded the car up on the rotisserie.

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The car looks great after it was media blasted and then we dropped it off at the painter.

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Now I just have to wait for it to get painted which from past experience may be a lot longer that what the painter estimates. I hope he gets it done since I have a lot of assembly time to get this done in time for the 914 Build Challenge!

Jeff B

Wow great build, and excellent work. Your ahead of me, and a few others.

Trust me, I have a very long way to go!

Jeff B

Great thread, continuing to watch with interest...

Like the idea of removing the bumper supports to access under the headlight buckets..I was wondering how to clean-up under there.

Keep it up!

Great work

Since the last update the painter sprayed the car with epoxy primer. I have been going over a couple times a week and helping with it which has helped keep the painter on track. I have been doing the seam sealing while he works on the smoothing out the doors. There are about ten hours of work in the seam sealing so far and the rear trunk is not done yet. We are using a two part epoxy seam sealer.

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It is really getting exciting seeing it finally progress to this point!

Jeff B

Terrific work.

My car finally got painted this weekend. The interior still needs to be painted but ran out of paint. My painter did an amazing job on it. He really takes his time to make sure it is a great looking car!

I may even be able to get it back into my garage by Christmas or shortly after. I can’t wait to start reassembling it over my time off during the holidays.

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Happy holidays!

Jeff B

Wow! Looks fantastic. Congratulations and enjoy reassembly.

What color? Looks great!

Thanks, it is Phoenix Red. It looks red in the pictures but it is sort of an orange color. It is basically somewhere between an orange and red in color depending on the lighting.

Jeff B

Very nice progress!

Looking great, more pictures please !

Jeff - Looks fantastic...must make you feel great! Merry Christmas - what a Christmas present too! Hope you get it back quickly...

Tony

Very Familiar with Phoenix red I thought thats what it was.

Wow, beautiful that's going to be really fast!

I have the exact same area behind the passenger door to replace. I do have a good quarter panel but I'm using it obviously. I look forward to seeing your repair work on this! Good luck! Here's my same damaged area. Click to view attachment

Gorgeous

Looks great!

Below is my car finally back in my garage the day after Christmas---Some assembly required!


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I welded new swaybar tabs on the 911 front control arms and then sent all of the suspension pieces out to be powder coated.

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I am starting the reassembly process which entails cleaning and installing the wiring harness.

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Cleaning parts is taking a lot longer than anticipated but it will be worth it in the end.

I am considering using all stainless steel hardware wherever possible except on suspension components.

Jeff B

you are making great progress, love freshly painted cars. Time for some microfiber, and moving blankets to protect that fresh paint.

I made some additional progress on my 914 project over the last week. Below are some pictures showing the dashboard and heater controls installation and a good start on the headlights.

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I am finding that the assembly time is only about 15% and that finding the parts and cleaning them is about 85% of the time for reassembling this project.

I really wish I had labeled things better and taken more pictures!

Jeff B

I glass beaded some parts this weekend and dropped them off at Akron Plating on Monday.

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They had them finished by Wednesday so I picked them up this morning and I think they look really nice.

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Jeff B

I got back my suspension and other misc. parts from the powder coater last week and they came out really nice.

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I was able to assembly the pedal assembly which wasn't too hard at all.

So far I have been able to assemble everything in the right order until this post. Can you find the assembly error that I made?

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Jeff B

Not installing the outer weather strip aluminium holder and fuzzy before the door glass.
You wont drop the glass low enough to get the screws in!

This restoration/mod of yours is a joy to behold!

We love these kinds of builds!!

Kudos!!!!!!!!!

We have a WINNER! That didn't take long at all!

You are right that I am going to have to remove the window to fix this assembly error.

Jeff B

Nice progress. Nice detail. Your not going to want to drive it!

We have a WINNER! That didn't take long at all!

You are right that I am going to have to remove the window to fix this assembly error.

Jeff B



I'll take points as a prize on my Build-off Challenge, Jeff ;-)

Regards
Darren

Jokes aside you're doing a great job and get my vote!

Thanks for the compliment but I assure you I can't wait to drive it. That is what these cars are all about!

Jeff B

You don't own a 914; you have a relationship with one. Nice work and Rick's right. You won't want to drive it.

This month I have had a lot of help from Mark at 914Rubber both technical and financial with the discount. The discount has really helps since I have replaced almost every piece of rubber on the car. The most helpful tip when trimming the rubber strips to the correct length was to put soapy water on the knife blade. It cuts like butter with soap water but without the soap water it grabs and gives ragged edges.

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I got the new stainless fuel lines installed this weekend along with the clutch cable and speedometer cable.

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I assembled some of the suspension components last week.

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I have started to install the suspension this week along with the brakes that PMB upgraded so that I can run the wider vented rear rotor.

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I also mounted my adjusting links to make tuning the suspension settings easier.

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I was even able to test fit a wheel on the back of the car.

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I still have a lot of work to go but I am making some progress thanks to a milder than usual winter!

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I am really getting excited to get this finished!

Jeff B

So shiny!

Impressive !!!

I have been making some good progress on the car this month. I have the front suspension mounted along with the steering rack.

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I also mounted the calipers and made all new brake lines. I used a NiCopp Nickel/Copper brakeline material since it is easy to work with and won’t corrode.

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I borrowed this tool to do the ISO flaring and it work great and was easy to do.

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I also got the front turn signal lights cleaned up and converted to the Euro style.

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Jeff B

Wow looks great very similar to what I am doing..

Where did you get dimensions for the original firewall side of the engine mount?? Could you pm me them or provide a link?

I sketched up the mount from a friend's 914-6 and then made it about ten years ago. I would be glad to share the sketch but I have no idea where it is now. If I come across it I will let you know.

Jeff B

The 914 is finally off the rotisserie!

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Jeff B

Did you ever find that mount drawing?

Unfortunately I have not been able to find my sketches of the motor mount that I fabricated. I looked for over an hour last weekend but found nothing on my old computer or in my stacks of 914 info. If I do happen to find it at some point I will post it.

Jeff B

Thanks I appreciate it. I know a couple others are working on it.. Something will work out..

I have started to reseal and clean up the engine.

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I test fit the transmission to the engine and found that I will most likely need to shim the pivot point based on some previous posts on this.

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Unfortunately the clutch release bearing is frozen so I have to replace that too. They seem to be very expensive ($150+), are used release bearings worth considering?

Jeff B

Even my granddaughter is helping me finish this project! We have to get them interested at a very young age.

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Jeff B