Hey everyone. Been lurking here for a month or so and finally had the courage to post
Picked up an original '74 Light Ivory 2.0 liter that was sitting for about 15 years. Appears to be a Texas car that made its way up to Arkansas, which is where I found it.
Walked the first time I saw it because of rusted rear floor pans but it ran and everything was there, including the owner's manual (missing front cover) and tool kit (surface rust on all tools except tow hook).
Went back the next weekend after much thought and some discussion with a guy at church who restores vintage VWs and "cut his teeth on 914s" (sounds painful). He's busy cutting out the cancer and I've been busy ordering replacement panels from Restoration Design haha.
Anyway wanted to introduce myself. I'll get more pics up as the restoration progresses. Engine and tranny are out, as is most of the interior.

Here's one of when I picked it up. More to come later.

That car looks pretty darn nice just sitting on the trailer. Seems you have hit the ground running with the rust work and panel replacement. That is the best way to proceed as you want to make sure you have a sound structure before you start building the car. Please keep us in the loop with pictures.

You've come to the right place - Welcome!

From the pics, it looks like you have a decent starting point. Keep us posted on your progress.

For any significant "cutting out the cancer" you want to brace the body to keep everything square & true while welding in new panels.

Welcome to the fun. I think buying a complete car with rust may be a smarter starting point for someone new to 914. Better than buying a project that someone else has worked on. The later may be a way to save lots of money, but nothing beats the experience you'll learn taking the car apart.

Congratulations on your new 914. I was fortunate enough when I picked up my project to have an ex-VW mechanic that helped me.


Your car looks great enjoy the journey!!!

Vysoc

Welcome! Enjoy the ride. Love seeing new owners enjoy this great car.

Nice looking 914

Nice car! Picked the right color, too. I think statistics show that the Light Ivory color repels rust 53% more effectively than darker shades! I think it has to do with the evaporative effect of the suns rays or something. I'm sure the experts can fill in the details.

Lots of smart people in this community to help you with their advice and access to rare parts. These really are great little cars.

Welcome, and post more pics!

Good luck!

We also want more pictures!

Nice find with the original steelies

Marty

looks nice. Where in LA are you? I hope to have mine done this year There are a few of us here in Louisiana.

Thanks for the kind words. It is a solid car even with some of its issues.

One of the first things I did when I got home was start removing the interior to check for rust. Here's the interior after removing most of the carpet.


Removed the front trunk carpet and spare and found that the floors are pretty solid.


Found a little bit of rot around the headlight bucket and the front of the cowl.




Rear trunk has some surface rust but it can be wire wheeled and treated.




This is what scared me off initially -- the passenger's side floorboard is bad and the driver's side had a previous "repair".




Thought I could get away with just the short rear pan but the guy working on it recommended getting the full rear pan -- there are some pin holes just North of the e-brake area but he said the reinforcement, tunnel, and front pans (including the pedal box) were all in good shape. This is after he cut out the previous "repair". Reminds me of Fred Flintstone's car a little.


So this thing came out:


And we were able to get a closer look at the problem areas. Passenger's long is repairable and the rockers are solid, but will need a little work. He also said he could repair the engine shelf, including the separated seam.
Pass jack tube:


Pass rocker:


Pass long:


Driver's jack tube and rocker:




No battery tray, but suspension console below is solid:




Almost had a stroke here but this is all repairable:




Engine bay and bottom of rear trunk:


Should have some more pics soon. Restoration Design has sent me rear jack points, seat and hinge reinforcements, hinges, ebrake cable surround and short rear floor pans. Returning the shorts for a full rear on Monday and also getting a battery tray, the battery tray support and jack tube surrounds.

Also ordering the Tangerine Racing stainless fuel lines and other hoses. Really don't want this thing to burn up haha.

Have ordered some parts from 914rubber and will be ordering more -- first will be the engine bay seals then eventually (after it's structurally and mechanically sound) window, trunk and Targa top seals, probably other goodies too.

Ordered new seals for the motor along with all the necessary tune-up parts and shifter and pedal bushings.

Here are some of my other cars:

Daily driver


Weekend and sunny-day toy

Thanks -- I hope to have mine this year too I'm in Shreveport.

Nice! That could be a whole lot worse--I've seen worse used as daily drivers in the Midwest... Heck, we'd even want to save that out here in CA!

--DD

... from a fellow Light Ivory/Beige 73 914-2.0 & E30 owner!

The floor & trunk pans look good so far!

Tom
///////

...WELCOME,Lots of work ahead

big fan of the Light Ivory...

Like your tan interior too!

Have made some progress in the past few weeks. Lots of metal work and also got the chance to work on the motor.
Ended up getting an engine shelf from RD in addition to the other parts. They make great products and are great to deal with.

Some more carnage. My buddy said it's not as bad as it appears. I still almost started having buyer's remorse but felt OK once I saw the repairs in person.


The inside of the longs were treated and then buttoned up.






A little more grinding discovered this:


More and




Floors and jack points are in and inside of frame is treated.






Next time I do this, I'm springing for a rotisserie...

We replaced all the hoses, fuel lines and ignition parts (used Bosch or Bremi except for NGK plugs), along with injector seals, and intake gaskets and seals. Fuel lines and clamps came from Tangerine Racing, who I also highly recommend. Still need to install the stainless lines but motor refresh (except front and rear seals) is done.





Removed the transaxle and found the flywheel had seen better days. Was able to get it resurfaced for $75. Hopefully it has another 40 years left haha.





The clutch had plenty of meat left but my buddy suspected it was from the late 70s or early 80s because it had Audi markings on it. Regardless, I got a new kit from Sachs as wells as new flywheel bolts, clutch fork bushing, locking plate, felt washer, flywheel seal and pinion bearing. New front and rear seals and alternator belt will be going on soon.

Also got the engine weatherstripping and other goodies from 914 rubber. Will install those when we reinstall the drivetrain. The guys from 914 rubber are great too. It's really nice to have so many good resources for these awesome cars.

Should have some more updates soon. I know the structure is the priority right now but I'm still sending the steering wheel off to get recovered. Also splurged on one of those fancy stainless steel keychains.

You're making rapid progress with everything. Seems like your friend doing the welding is very good, he knows his steel surgery and how to put the metal back in the right spots. Seems like you could be driving in a couple days. Make sure to check all the shift bushings and ga et all the slop out, these cars are known for having vague shifting otherwise. This will make for a better driving enjoyment. Also, make sure you have good ground connection to engine and trans to avoid electrical mysteries. Lights may be dim, such as in guages, again, clean grounds to improve. N Joy!

I am impressed that you tackled all of the rust issues immediately. The work looks very good and you are saving a terrific car. Nicely done.

Thanks. I'd definitely be overwhelmed if I had to do all this by myself. I do have a shifter bushing kit and also the bronze pedal bushings but thanks for the suggestion. New ground strap too. It's the shiniest part of the tranny right now haha.



Appreciate that. Still have some ways to go but will be worth the wait.

It's been a little more than a month since my last update and there's been some progress.

Most of the welding is done. The interior was cleaned and treated and is solid again.




And the hell hole is a thing of the past...

Before paint:



After:






New stainless lines are in. The old ones weren't too bad except the return line was clogged:


Inspected the tank and it's solid but I took it to a local radiator shop to get cleaned. There was a lot of junk in the frunk.

Was relieved to see only minor surface rust hiding underneath the tank. Treated that too.


Reinstalled the motor...


And took care of a few odds and ends: shifter bushings, brake and pedal pads, had the steering wheel recovered, new horn return rubber deal, new driver's door brake, new trunk rollers from 914rubber, and some other minor items I'm forgetting.
Had to order a new accelerator cable too. So waiting on that and the refurbished fuel tank before we can try to crank her up. I can't wait.

Still to do (have parts, just need to do it) are reinstall the interior, replace the pedal bushings and install the turbo tie rod kit. Suspension is next and then maybe in a year or two I can redo the exterior.

Slow down! You are putting us all to shame

Nice looking work...seriously!

Your car is looking really nice. That clean engine bay is an inspiration for me to get mine cleaned up. Great job to you and your mechanic.

really! but nice to see that in such a short time. usually we see this amount of work done over months or years not weeks!!

- btw, who is doing most of the welding and metal work? really did a great job. my 75 has some of the same cancer in the rear longs and jack points and have not been able to find anyone locally and have to get those done. but watch out once the community gets wind of his ablilities he will get an onslaught of requests!

enjoying the posts! keep up the good work

While the tank is out, it a god time to pull out the fan unit and give it a service.

thanks. Am just really anxious to finish so I can drive it


Appreciate that. Hopefully I can keep it fairly clean.


Thanks. He really has done a good job so far and has been very patient with me as I learn about these cars. I wish I had his welding skills


Thanks. I'll make sure to pass this along.

Got the car back tonight. Was glad to drive it again. Runs great. Still needs some work (suspension is sketchy) but at least it's at my house again. Hope to have it street legal and road ready soon

Abridged to-do list:

- Adjust shift linkage
- Fix reverse lights (need to check the bulbs, but suspect switch is bad)
- Suspension/steering (have turbo tie rod kit and rear shocks; need springs, front strut inserts and ball joints)
- Reinstall interior (cleaned old carpet but plan on replacing it once the funds are replenished, have new carpet vinyl from 914rubber and sound deadener, also plan on replacing the dash top with the 914rubber group buy )
- Fix horn (recovered steering wheel is nice, but no horn is bad)
- LED rear tail lights (on order from Spoke)
- Fix rear glass and replace engine deck lid seal (have seal from 914rubber)
- New outer rocker panels from RD

You are a quick study! The way to learn about these cars is from the ground up and you are doing that. Nice save….

It's been about 10 months since I updated this thread. Have gotten much done, especially in the past few months.
This car is a solid driver and is definitely a keeper. Now I'm looking for an '84-'89 Carrera to tinker with but man are they expensive.

Anyway, here's the list of what me, my buddy or a shop (tires and alignment) have done since I bought the car last January. Oil and filter changes are not shown (three oil and filter changes last year).

*Front wheel bearings
*Bleeder valves and rubber caps, front and rear
*Front and rear rotors
*Brake pads, clips and inner adjustment covers, brake hoses
*Bronze pedal bushings; cleaned and treated area underneath cluster and repainted the cluster
*Turbo tie rod kit and alignment
*Ball joints, pins/bolt, nut, washer
*Clutch tube
*Trigger points
*Speedometer cable
*Seat belt decals
*914rubber: targa holders, screw caps (need to be installed)
*Engine lid rubber
*tranny seals, speedo drive o-ring and shaft seal, cv joint bolts
*Radio
*Fuel pump - aftermarket Bosch 69133 and new fuel filter
*H6024 - headlights
*Fixed fresh air and heater blowers
*Set of 5 Fuchs alloys, caps and lug bolts
*Shift knob group buy (not installed; kept original)
*Headlight arm with clips (not installed)
*Heater lever knob
*Seat adjuster handle driver's side
*2.0 TPS board
*2.0 throttle body gasket
*Transmission tail cone gasket
*Front trunk drain tube
*Sunvisors
*Seat belt interlock relay - bypassed starter wires and removed relay
*Fuel injectors
*Clean AAV
*Windshield wiper blades
*Seat belts
*Relay board
*Ignition switch
*Pedal board hardware
*Door light switch rubber surround
*Drivers side deflector/cooling flap
*Flexible hose pcg261235a
*Accelerator cable
*Passenger fog light grill
*Passenger turn signal lens
*Rear glass - Napa 4196 Martin Senour butyl tape
*Refinish flywheel
*Flywheel seal, pilot bearing, felt washer, clutch fork pivot bearing, bolts and locking plate
*Sachs clutch kit
*Used outer rocker covers
*Rocker panel rivets - didn't use
*Fuel injection boots
*Weatherstripping for engine bay
*Spark plugs - NGK 7432 B6ES
*Engine front and rear seals, gaskets
*Injector seals and intake gaskets (manifold and plenum)
*Dist cap, rotor, points, condenser, plug wires, dist seal, oil tower gasket
*Breather and vacuum lines
*Shift bushings
*Used transaxle (original wouldn't shift into 4th or 5th)
*Inspection plug cover
*Fuel lines and hoses - Tangerine Racing
*Expansion tank hose 3 mm
*Expansion tank and sender gaskets
*Gas cap gasket installed
*Gas tank - acid etched and cleaned
*Dash top - 914rubber group buy
*Rear springs 100lb
*Front strut inserts (Sachs)
*Rear shocks (Sachs)
*Targa top handle - front driver's side (used)
*Drivers side door brake
*Clutch and brake pedal pads
*Heater hoses
*Vinyl kit for floor
*Sheetmetal from restoration design
*More sheetmetal
*Muffler
*Reverse light switch and plunger
*Pass side taillight lens
*LEDs for parking lights and rear lights (front set ordered last week)
*Side markers - used assemblies and new gaskets and clips
*Trunk rollers
*Shift knob crush sleeve
*Fender to cowl seals
*Door actuator cams
*Fatmat
*Tires
*Seal along bottom edge of rear window and engine lid
*Steering wheel - refinished at Custom Craft
*Horn - 90134782301 spring return and 91161510901 relay; aftermarket horns
*Horn spring plate, new contact ring and base plate
*Battery mat

Still to do:
**Fuse box cover
**Top seals, door seals, trunk seals
**Jack tube covers
**Odometer gear
**Fix clock
**Rear trunk lid :/ find good used or repair??
**Sail panel vinyl kit
**Recover seats, center console and door panels; might as well do carpet too

Eventually the car will be stripped and repainted but maybe next year.
Here's how she sits now:

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