So I spent a week working on the car, and I have to tell you, I forgot how COLD it could be in my home town, Geelong. In the time I was there, I don’t think it got above 12°C. I don’t know what that is in Fahrenheit, but it was bloody cold! I was having to wait hours, sometimes overnight, before I could sand bondo! The paint that I sprayed on just sat there in little droplets on the metal, and would hardly flow. I ended up having to heat everything up with a hair dryer just to be able to work.

I didn’t try to start the car this time, because I really wanted to concentrate on the windscreen frame, and getting the screen in. Of course, “while I was there” I figured I’d try to clean up the dash a little, and I spent way too much time filling the seams between the fenders and the… the… what do you call the panel between the windscreen and the front trunk??? Anyway, I filled those seams. I also fixed the broken hinge pin in the front trunk.

The bumpers are off, and at some point will need re-chroming. My one perfect panel, the rear bumper is looking a little worse for wear after three years in storage, not to mention that little ocean voyage. The chrome is actually peeling off in spots.

The windscreen frame had a little rust, but nothing that went through, so it was just a matter of using a wire brush and some rust converter on it. I had the strangest thing on the driver’s side of the frame, though. I stripped it all down, primed it, used spray putty to get a really smooth finish, and painted it, (a really nice bright white). All good, except for one little patch where little bubbles formed in the paint. No biggie, I’ll just sand it down, more spray putty, and paint again. Same thing! OK, I’ll strip that area down to bare metal, and start again. Same thing, in only that spot! Stripped back again, more bubbles (only in the top coat, not the primer!) So finally I just put a thin film of bondo over the paint, primed and painted again, and no problem. I just hope I never get a stone-chip in that area, because it’s pretty thick!

I bought a windscreen fitting kit from Automobile Atlanta, so I had all new trim clips, and a big roll of butyl-rubber tape to stick it down. That had to be heated up too. The windscreen arrived in six days – from Germany! When I ordered it, they said that the only legal windscreen available for Australia was toughened glass (yuck), but what came in the box was laminated. I think that when they brought out two 914’s to test the market in 1970 screens here had to be toughened.

I also bought new chrome trims for the screen, as some of mine were bent or missing. Of course they look so good that now I’m going to have to replace ALL the trim pieces!

The rest of the time was spent going over the car for any small dents that needed filling or beating – one above the right rear wheel popped straight out with just a bit of levering with a piece of wood.

I also removed and filled the side indicators at the front. I always thought they were kind of ugly, and I don't need them here in Australia

Pics to follow...

Rick

The covers are off...

To work...

Getting there...

The screen's in...

filling, sanding...

I'll be back for more in November (I think)

Cheers,
Rick

C to F....double it and add 32 ...is close

12C X 2 + 32 = 56F


Looks good

Congrats on being hard-headed enough to keep going!

11C is 52F so I'm guessing that 12C is still below 60F - definitely below ideal painting conditions!

Rick,

Thanks for the pics. I speak to quite a few Aussies that own 914's but I dont think they know of each other. I know the country is HUGE, but the populated area's dont seam to be *that* far apart.

Do you HAVE to convert the car to right hand drive ?? Will the cops arrest you or ticket you if you dont have a right hand drive car ??


B

Hi Brad,
It's not the distances between cities, it's the big empty in between... the east coast is fine, but anywhere west of, say Adelaide in the southern half or west/north of Townsville, or anything in the center, makes Arizona look like Manhattan.

I exchanged a few emails with HowardR, and keep meaning to give him a call and take a look at his car, to see his RHD conversion. He's quite close to where I live, in Sydney.

There is a guy in Melbourne, Brian Clearihan, who runs the Aussie 914 Registry. He owns the only officially imported 914 in Australia. Two 6's were brought out (Crayford conversions?) in 1970 or so. One stayed, one was sent back.

There are a few others out there, I've spoken to or emailed a couple. I hope to catch up with some of them when my car is on the road.



If a car is over 30 years old, it can be registered as is (in Victoria & New South Wales anyway), so long as it passes the roadworthy requirements and Australian Design Rules for the year of manufacture. That means, for a 914, euro indicators & tail lights, RHD headlights, a mirror on the right, new seatbelts (for a U.S. import), and no rust holes in the floorpan. At least none that they can find!

I *think* I'll leave mine LHD. I drove it that way for six years when I lived in L.A. and I cringe when I think of chopping it up. I'm not sure how comfortable I'll be being the only one driving on the left, though.

Cheers,
Rick

PS: Hey did anyone see a white 914 sitting neglected on the side of the road near the river in Martinez, Ca for a year and a bit until September last year???