Well, in my ignorance I, apparently, bought a death trap piece of shit.

So. . I put a new motor in it. . etc etc etc. . about 10K in something that I've just been told is going to fall apart?

Totally frustrated and no clue what to do.

sucks, but can you tell us more? Is it rust issues?

If it is a rust issue, pretty solid tubs come up regularly on here. You could transfer all of your nice stuff to a solid tub, assuming rust is the issue. Still sucks though.

Rust rust rust.

Before I bought it, I looked at bunches of pics. . guess I was stupid

Front end rust, firewall rust "so bad I can't weld a repair for the clutch tube"

I haven't gone to pick it up yet, that'll be a tomorrow project.

"Never seen control arms this bent"

And this isn't a jackleg guy. .this is one of the best in the South Bay

The guy said he didn't expect to see these issues as it looked decent until he got it on the lift.

I'm not sure I'm capable of doing that kind of transfer. . or patient .. or. . . (kinda ready to beat the computer right now)

Can you post the pics you looked at?

No I can’t.. No longer have them. Computer switch..

Every 914 looks good in pictures. It's almost impossible to know what's hiding under the paint. Rule of thumb is never spend more than your prepared to loose. Will the seller work with you? Show us what you got and maybe someone here can help.

You have not taken possession, have you paid yet? Oh, you have it at a garage to be repaired.

Take some pics when you get it back and post them here ...

I have been a part of at least 3 body swap flesh roasts and had a blast with each and every one!! Here in the Bay Area it has helped people learn about thier cars by working on others while getting free food!! It doesn't get any better than that! and don't forget the beer, FYI!

I've had it over a year and a half

I roast flesh better than I wrench, although I do wrench decently.
AND my brother is a cook. . .

Fine a nice roller and have a build party!!!

I'm 90 minutes from you......and I can take stuff apart just fine!

.... not too good at the putting back part, though.

In short..... I would be in for a body swap party. (uh, that didn't come out right)

Keep me posted!

So, I guess I have no clue as to how to find what I need, what it costs. . and to make sure it doesn't end up being a "smog" year??

Just pick up a 75 or earlier car. There are plenty that show up here and on craig's list. You are looking in the $1000-$3000 range for a decent roller.

And at that price you will have lots of parts to sell off and make most of your money back!

Not to be "that guy", but I've got this one listed, it's been soda blasted down to bare metal so that you'll KNOW what you've got.... no more surprises

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=211082

Chris

It's an interesting challenge. Do you buy another roller (replete with hidden issues), or, do you " bite the bullet" and buy a known good car? Personal history (not that I am one to learn from my own mistakes! ) tells me that you will come out MUCH further ahead on the latter. As an added benefit, you can be driving day 1

That's good advice. And Bill is speaking from experience. He even took his own advice on the his last 914.

Well...sort of!

I did pick up another project that will be going to Scott's for paint very soon! The good news is that it is NOT rusty!

It may be better than you think. Most running 914s including mine have significant rust issues. They still work, and I think they can be safe. The devil is in the details and you need to have someone who knows and who isn't a perfectionist tell you what the problems are and whether or not you should try just enjoying the investment. Then over time you can ponder alternatives. If the car is bending in half that is another story. There are a lot of ways you can get that clutch tube to work, but if the control arms aren't contolling then you canna steer, and that is a show stopper. Even that can be dealt with though. Go to the restoration designs web site.

FWIW, I bought a "rust free Texas car". The clutch tube isn't physically attached to anything and just when I was fitting in the rear floor replacement last night I found some holes in the front floor under the center. As Joe Walsh put it, welcome to the club.

well, this was the guy that I was told to use. . so, maybe I need more "grounded" advice or a less intense person to scrutinize it?? It seems to have steered fine when I lived in Siskiyou County and had windy highways and around corners here in the South Bay??

I think it is in your best interest to have the toughest critic around scrutinize your car. That's the only way to see the flaws that you either don't recognize or have grown used to seeing and now ignore.

The really good critics can tell you the flaws that you can live with and the ones that must be fixed.

Now we need a name. Who is this person that is "too intense"? Out with it ...

and we still pictures!

I actually don't think the man is "too intense" at all. I think he is a terrific mechanic that, once I was in person, explained it much more clearly.

Rust (probably not going to be able to do pics for a while):

Firewall-clutch tube pulled through and he didn't feel he could repair it as he had on many other 914s

Floor is oddly rusted from the top down rather than the bottom up, but also from the bottom. Both inside and outside floor (in my simplistic terms) are "gone" but replaced with interesting solutions.

Front end: Parts replacements would fix this. (Control arms mangled, ball joints) .

Body issue: There is a place near the rear of the driver door sill that has a not so good weld. When you close the driver door, the windshield frame flexes forward at the top a bit. This was not noticed until I replaced the rubber stuff.

His call (Don at Don's Autowerks) was that it might be less expensive to find an excellent donor tub (1975 or older) and move everything given the cost and complexity of the repairs. . . although someone else might want MY tub at a lower cost once it is naked . .to save it.

Thanks for all your comments and help and offers to do a parts switch once a donor is found. . . and what type of seared flesh and barley pop would be specified

Sean

If you cook it, they will come...

why a 75' or 76'?

Enjoy the drive up to Mark's shop.

I think he said "75 or older", to avoid the smog issues of CA.

Good luck to you man! Do what you can to save the car.

Older than a 76. . because you need not get it smogged in CA.

Drive to Mark's shop?? What did I miss?