Gave the engine bay a final once over with scotch brite and sandpaper, blew it out with compressed air, wiped everything down with a tack cloth, then shot 3 coats of acrylic enamel. There are so many curves & edges in this area, I tried to keep the coats light to avoid runs. It was tight working in there with a paint gun, respirator & wires & cables in the way. I looked like a slightly milder version of the incredible hulk when I was done. I had two cans of rattle can paint to match that I used for areas that I couldnt get to with a gun. I had a few runs when I first started on the firewall...adjusted the trigger on the gun for less paint:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Looks good to me Bob...and with any luck you won't have to do that ever again!

How d'you keep your garage so tidy?! Mine's a mess although I guess I'm still doing alot of paint and underseal stripping. It's about -5 centigrade outside right now and my garage isn't heated....brrr.

Ollie.

Used a heat gun on low setting and a plastic razor blade to remove the PORSCHE decals from the car. Once the heat gun softened the plastic, it peeled right off:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Strafed my emergency brake cable with a wire wheel while cleaning the engine bay& damaged the plastic. The ebrake worked well a few years ago, so I used a piece of heat shrink to cover the damaged area:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Had to go back and add some more weld to the passenger side fender brace. I had to bang it up a little with a hammer and drift to get the suspension bolted on. I couldn't get it to sit properly without a lot of heavy banging on the lower part of the fender, so I worked with it the way it was. Brushed on two coats of acrylic enamel:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Put two coats of color on a section of the rear firewall and door jam:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Bolted the drivers side suspension:

Click to view attachment

The body braces came off last week. I cleaned up the areas and brushed on two coats of acrylic enamel. Hollywood and Flying J came over to help me push it up on ramps to gain better access to the floor pan:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I was never a fan of the luggage rack that came with my 914, so I removed it and welded the holes shut with a copper backing plate. Overall, it was a smooth operation:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Started putting parts back on the car. The first one was Mikeys center cap which I bought about two years ago. Installed aluminum rollers for the engine bay deck lid using a deep well socket and extension, re-installed the brake proportioning valve:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I knew there were a few small holes in the underside of the center tunnel. I hit the area with a wire wheel and gave it a closer inspection. A good cleaning revealed more than a few pin holes...I estimate about 30 or so holes spanning the rear 24" of the tunnel. Cleaned the bottom areas of the adjacent floor pan - they looked good, aside from some surface rust. I was pretty irritated with all the rust thru and really want to be driving the car this spring...wasn't thinking clearly, so I Ospho'd the area and even cut a fiberglass cloth patch for a quick repair. After some thought over the last few days, I decided to order a new floorpan from Restoration Design, cut out and replace what I need. My deal all along was to do this right, once and then enjoy the car without more major rust work:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Had to go back with a brush and touch up a few areas in the engine bay that were impossible to reach with the spray gun or rattle can:

Looks great Bob!






(as usual)

You keep working this hard.
We're going to put you on like permanent. LOL.

Looks like your tearing it up. I might have to skip the Super Bowl and get back to work.

Un stinking believable! I am inspired to do real repairs on my 76 as a result of the crazy incredible repairs you did on this! wow!

...hear hear, glad you didn't go any further with that fibreglass, I think you'd have been kicking yourself ever since.

Seems like you're turning a corner now you're starting to put it all back together. Great!

The shop is kept clean out of necessity. My laundry facilities reside in the garage, so I have to keep it clean (or at least give it a good cleaning before laundry day). It still gets out of hand sometimes.

On the bright side, I have heat! Two small electric heaters with thermostats are able to keep my small shop warm on the coldest of days.

The HVLP paint gun really helped cut down on overspray. After each coat of primer or paint, I open the garage door and window for about 15 minutes and let the area vent.

Bob

My e-brake cables weren't in terrible condition, but after closer inspection, I decided to replace them with a set ordered from PMB. It just didn't make sense to NOT replace these "while im in there."

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I needed more room under the car to inspect the entire floor pan, so I raised the front as well:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Started to fiddle with the new rear sway bar bushings:

Click to view attachment

Applied a thin coat of bondo to the filled holes in the rear trunk:

Click to view attachment

Ordered a new rear floor pan from Restoration Design. Cut out the damaged area with a die grinder and cutting wheel right at the seam where the tunnel is spot welded to the floor pan. I took a good look around in there and discovered very little rust on the verticals of the tunnel where it meets the pan. The tubes show some surface rust, but no rust-thru. Started cleaning the area with a Dremmel tool and wire wheel attachment. The plan is to clean everything in the tunnel well, treat the surface rust, and rosette weld the new section to the existing pan from the bottom. I really hate welding upside down, but I think it is my best option. I know it's not a concours repair, but I feel it will be a good strong repair as the original spot welds that connect the tunnel to the pan will remail intact. To prep, I had to grind down some weld on the rear edge and straighten it:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

With the temperature over 40 on Sunday, I was able to cut down the new floor from Restoration Design outside. I bought the "rear floor pan half" and cut out the center tunnel, leaving enough of a flange to drill for rosette welds. My die grinder kept binding on me, so I switched to the angle grinder. Found it ironic that I ended up buying an entire floor pan after all the time spent fabricating and installing the rear section on both sides...lesson learned:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Finished sanding the rear trunk lid and banged on two coats of primer:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Finally got three of four bushings installed in the drop links for the rear sway bar. I did a lot of reading on how others did this before actually starting. After trying heat guns & boiling water on the stove, I ended up having my best results boiling the inserts in a coffee cup with water in the microwave, applying pressure with a vice and working the edges in with a small dull screwdriver. I ruined one before figuring out the technique & ordered a new set:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I realized that I would never have better access to some areas of the center tunnel & areas in between the inner & outer firewall than I do now. Ran an extension magnet in between the firewalls & tunnel & drug out a bunch of grinding dust. Followed up with a blast of compressed air, then applied a coat of Eastwoods "Internal Frame Coating" to all areas before buttoning up the bottom. I have an extension wand & nozzle that lets the product get into places that are otherwise unreachable:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Fitted & installed the bottom section of tunnel on the car. Used a floor jack and an assortment of 2X4's to line everything up. Measured off the ridge of the remaining pan for proper fore/aft orientation. I was left will a little excess at the rear that had to be trimmed off. Drilled holes for rosette welds & coated everything with weld thru primer. Started at the rear and worked my way forward. Angle cut a 2X4 and used a bottle jack to apply up pressure along the sides & front.

My biggest concern was getting burned during this operation...I did not. After filling the first eight or so rosette welds, I pulled the welding helmet off and leaned up...forgetting that I had the rear trunklid on sawhorses very near my head. Managed to bury my scalp about 1/4" deep on the corner of the trunk lid & immediately had a face full of blood. Managed to get the bleeding stopped, so I was able to avoid a trip to urgent care for stitches. The head wound set me back a few days.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Refinishing the floor pan was supposed to be a weekend project for me after I got the car on the road. But after finding all the rust in the tunnel, I decided to knock it out now. Wire brushed all suspicious areas, blasted with compressed air, wiped everything down with mineral spirits and brushed on a coat of ospho. After seeing how much rust the old undercoating hid, I will be painting the pan with good old rustoleum so I can see if there are problems down the road:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Burnt some of the rust encapsulator off the top side of the pan when welding from below. Hit the areas with a wire brush and brushed on another coat:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

My snorkel tube had some holes near the bottom of it. I did not want to pull the wiring harness out to install one from 914 rubber, so I used some mastic rubber waterproof tape...I am pleased with how it turned out and hope it will hold up over time:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

The dishwasher did a great job cleaning the rear trunk seals:

Click to view attachment

I got burned by a set of rear jacking donuts and supports bought from Restoration design. They acknowledged the problem and immediately shipped me a new set. I compared the new ones to old and saw that the donut was installed backwards on the originals (there should be more rise on the rear half to keep the donut parallel to the ground). I realized it would be less work to flip the donuts on the support than to install the new pieces. Drilled out the welds with a dull spot weld cutter and re-welded the donuts:

I think all welding is done on the car now!

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Damn I've got a pair of those to weld in...better check to see if they have the same problem. Did RD say it was just a bad batch or what?

RD didn't give any explanation...they just sent new ones. Chris mentioned that he had seen the problem before with this part. Yes, absolutely check yours before installation. I should have caught this before welding them on.

Ya there was a batch a while ago that were welded incorrectly. Im not sure how long ago this set was purchased, but if there are anymore sets out there get in contact with us and we will sort it out.

BTW, your car is looking great Bob. Looking forward to seeing it in Hershey this year!

Pete

"Tented" the lower section of the car and fired two coats of Rustoleum gloss black on the floor pan:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Used the rest of Eastwoods "Internal Frame Coating" on the new section of tunnel just welded in:

Click to view attachment

Took a look at the hood...it is in good shape aside from some surface rust. Wire brushed the bad areas and applied a coat of Ospho:

Click to view attachment

With the car supporting its own weight, I took a look at the door gaps. Overall, I am pleased. The doors open & close well and the windows are snug against the seals. The Drivers side gap is consistent all the way up. The passenger side becomes slightly more narrow at the bottom. I found during restoration that the front right fender was replaced at one point, so the car was hit at some time in its life. I regret not checking the gaps before major structural repairs started:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

So, are you driving the damn thing to Hershey this year or what?

I hope so...it's gonna be close.

You driving a teener up this year Shoe?

Ran new accelerator & clutch cables:

Click to view attachment

Touched up the underside of the hood with two coats of color:

Click to view attachment

Seam sealed the floor pan:

Click to view attachment

Cleaned the area under the gas tank for SS fuel line and tank installation:

Click to view attachment

The J-Man came over to help last Friday. Got a lot done. We ran the stainless steel fuel lines & firewall grommets I bought from Chris Foley a few years ago at Hershey. I shoved a 2 X 4 under the wiring harness to avoid getting hung up in it. Jacked up the car and removed the passenger side rear wheel to get the right angle to start them. Installed new fuel line (about 2') on the tank and connected everything. After dropping the tank in, I had a kink in the line that I was able to work out from the access hole in on the bottom of the car:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Rear trunk lid on...we ended up leaving the bolts a little loose and lining it up with the latch, then raising it slightly and tightining the bolts:

Click to view attachment

Got a new set of rear sway bar bushings and pressed the last one in the drop link. Installed them on the sway bar:

Click to view attachment

Installed the pedal cluster, being careful to NOT cross the accelerator and clutch cables:

Click to view attachment

Bought a shifter bushing kit & started replacing all of them. For the one on the firewall, I microwaved it in boiling water to make it pliable. The others I pressed in with a large vice and assortment of sockets:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Re-installed the airfoils on the bottom of the floor pan:

Click to view attachment

Hollywood stopped over and helped me get the hood on:

Click to view attachment

Disassembled, cleaned & re-greased the shifter mechanism. Getting those springs back in was hell. I ended up holding one end with needle nose vice grips while starting the pins:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Cleaned the back of the engine bay sticker with mineral spirits, applied double sided tape and reinstalled it:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Measured the height from the floor to the rear fender wells and discovered that they was a 1/8" difference between the driver & passenger side. Had to drop the passenger side suspension console and add a washer under the retaining nut. Then installed the seals & buttoned up the rear trunk:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Great to see it all coming together! Nice one...

Light work on the car over the last few days. Finished scraping out the remnants of the rear window seal:

Click to view attachment

Re-installed the hood seal with 3M adhesive. Applied the adhesive then closed the hood to apply pressure:

Click to view attachment

Decided to paint the rear targa area separately from the rest of the car, hitting this area well during the "full" body paint job would have been a hassle. There was some surface rust in the cravaces, so I applied a coat of Oshpo followed by two coats of primer. Not to mention, I want to black out the areas where the engine grills sit. Will follow up with custom fill Zambezi rattle cans. Masking this area was a bitch:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I'm proud of you!

While you are in this area get a mirror and check the underside of the cowl for rust or holes. In my observations if you are getting rust above the hood lock handle water is getting in at the cowl or under the fender press in seal.

Sanded, primed & painted the engine deck lid:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Installed the tunnel shift linkage...it was shifting well when I pulled the engine so I set the shift rod at the shifter at the same setting (about 1/4" splines exposed):

Click to view attachment

The J-man came over to help install the rear glass. We first tried installing it with 1/4" butyl tape with epic failure...there just wasn't enough meat on the tape to seal properly. I did a search and found Eric Shea's rear window install write up and made a trip to NAPA for their 3'8" butyl. SUCCESS!!!

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Painted the two tone area below the rear targa:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

you amaze me outstandinh

GO BOB GO !!

Hershey

Front hood needed more spring tension so I moved the springs to the most forward notch. After reading a few threads on 914world on how to do it, I went with the "Heavy coat hanger/large vice grip" method:

Click to view attachment

Picked up some lengths of brake line at the local NAPA to replace the rears that run from the rear controller to the rubber lines. Used an $8 HF brake line bender. Installed new rubber lines from PMB Performance on all four corners. Discovered two of my line retaining clips were so rusty, they lost their spring. Mr. Shea was kind enough to sell me two at a very reasonable price - thanks Eric!

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Picked up a pair of 1/4" body plugs at the local ACE hardware store to fill the old fuel line clips on the firewall. New fuel lines were to fat to fit in & will be tie wrapped in place. Added a dab of permatex on the back to make a water tight seal:

Click to view attachment

Installed a new rear window to engine decklid seal from 914rubber. Easy install:

Click to view attachment

Two-tone targa area:

Click to view attachment

No way this car makes it to Hershey this year. I can say with 90% confidence (it's a teener, come on) that it will make it to the ECC in the fall. I thought about banging enough parts in to make it driveable to get to Hershey 2013, unpainted & all, but decided to not rush and do it right.

Hershey 2014!

Pulled the front bumper. Removed the "tits" and welded the holes shut. There were tiny spots of rust throughout the whole thing, partially covered by at least two paint jobs. I decided to strip the whole thing down to bare metal. Started with chemical stripper and ended with a DA air sander, scoth-brite pads on a die grinder and wire wheels, applied a coat of Ospho to the backside:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Bob,
Great work, looks better than new.

Let me know if you want to sell the bumperettes or 'tits' as you call them. I'm working on my daughter's car and don't want to fill the holes on the bumper.

Dave

Installed a brand new set of engine bay seals that Matt gave to me at the ECC last year - thanks Matt! They were from 914rubber.com and went in easily with a dull screwdriver:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Finished painting the front bumper. Shot Rustoleum gloss black on the back (over the ospho) and semi-gloss Rustoleum on the front:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

After a lot of research and posts on 914world.com, I pulled the trigger on some sound deadening material. I went with rattle trap, a thicker version of Fat Mat. I would like this car to be my daily driver, so I want it to be reasonably quiet & comfortable inside. Thoroughly cleaned the entire interior, wiped it down with mineral spirits twice, then started installing it, leaving the channels open as recommended by Scotty B. & others. The stuff isn't bad to work with, but the process is a bit tedious:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Took a look at both front & rear valences. Both had some damage that had to be bumped out. The rear had some rust-thru on the outer layer above the stock muffler exit. With specks of rust everywhere the only way I could get a decent finish was to strip them to bare metal. Did the front with purely mechanical tools, then went back to three coats of chemical stripper for the rear. Managed to get some paint stripper on my wrist where the gloves didn't cover. Suddenly I have hours invested in these things. Fabricated a patch for the rear.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Sweet

A friend gave me a fine Porsche key ring. Put the key on, sealed it in a zip-loc bag and taped it above the work bench as further motivation:

Click to view attachment

My rear bumper top was trashed, and I wanted them to match, so I went with a set of fiberglass bumper tops from 914rubber. Installed the front on the bumper - it looks great!

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Using the old bumper top as a reference, I started figuring out the cut outs I will need in the rear bumper top to mount the license plate lights (which I can't find)

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Continued work on both front & rear valences:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Getting tight in the garage down the home stretch:

Click to view attachment

Kept moving on the tedious task of soundproofing. I ran into a some problems installing large pieces over irregular areas, so I started using 3-5" overlapping strips - much easier to work with:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Great progress, must feel great to be putting everything back together.

How much would say all the sound deadening stuff weighs?

Shipping weight for the roll was 23lbs. Looks like I will end up using about 18 lbs of it.

This site is getting to me I weighed what was left over - 7 lbs, so I used 16lbs.

Hit both valences with a coat of ospho & Rustoleum gloss black on the backsides:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Finally found my license plate lights so I cut the new fiberglass bumper top with a Dremmel tool and a cutoff wheel. Taped the finished side of the fiberglass to keep it from splintering:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Removed everything reasonable from the car so I can get sanding:

Click to view attachment

Cleaned the rear emblem with scotch brite and shot it with primer:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I bought one of the 914rubber.com replacement firewall pads through a group buy a while back. I went with the stock mounting system + velcro. Installed the pad and ran a pick through the pad to guide the plug. Marked anywhere I wanted extra hold with masking tape. Stuck the velcro together on the pad, then starting in the center, removed the adhesive from the velcro so it would stick to the firewall. It turned out nice!

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment