Full Version: Father son, 73 Porsche 914
My father and I bought this white 73 Porsche 914 that has some rust issues but we bought it as a running driving car. It had a leaking Trany, fixed that and some other little thing but nothing major till we had some oil leak on the exhaust and cause quiet a smoke out. So we decided to pull the engine and trans, as well as further inspect the car for rust. The major amount is in the rear trunk, which was fiberglassed over to hide the rust, as well as on the passenger side rear pan all around the jacking donut and this car was equipped with a aftermarket a/c setup so the front trunk pan has a large cut into it. My ideas consist of doing a Subaru swap with renegade hybrids kit and going with a EJ257 motor. My fathers has the idea of taking the car completely down to bare metal and repaint the car. I am willing to live with the paint it has, the car does have some bondo on the passenger side front fender. We do plan on take our stock motor apart and regasketing it at the least, we don't if it's a 2.0 or not but it does have dual weber carbs. So I ask the world for your wisdom and guidance in this project, we have beefing looking at restoration design.com to buy our metal parts from.
Here is where the bondo isClick to view attachment
Here you can see in the fender well where they punched it out to put a/c dryer in.Click to view attachment
The car did come with all 5 Fuchs.Click to view attachment
Over the past weekend we did take out all the a/c components and the seats and backrest. As well as the rear trunk lid, and Click to view attachmentthe rocker panels.
well, I hope you can weld. You have some floor pan replacement in your future. Looks like this was an ac car....rd makes a patch panel for that
Yes it was a a/c car. Question though, could I utilize this cut out area for a radiator install if I went with a water cooled engine?
That rust will be deeper than it looks and your RD shopping list will look a little like this: inner rocker, inner long, floorpan, wheelhouse, engine compartment long, inner firewall, outer firewall, threshold sill...
Ask me how I know...
Ask me how I know...
How do you know? From experience I am presuming, we already do have a RD list which consists of the outer rocker panels, rear trunk pan, quarter rear pan, jacking donut and the corner cross member connecting the two pieces. And the front trunk pan is up in the air at the moment.
My rust looked really similar. I'm having a lot of fun fixing the rust and it's not too hard of a job (yet), just be sure to make a frame jig before you start and brace really well.
I rustored an equally roached out old Triumph with my dad about 13 years ago (I had just graduated college) and it was a bonding experience into manhood I will never forget. I think you have the perfect car for such a project.
I rustored an equally roached out old Triumph with my dad about 13 years ago (I had just graduated college) and it was a bonding experience into manhood I will never forget. I think you have the perfect car for such a project.
Engine serial numbers will be on a raised pad on the right half of the crankcase, or in front of the oil filler tower. The 2.0 914 motors will have serial numbers that start with GA, GB, or GC. W, EA, and EB are 1.7s, EC and AN are 1.8s. (You won't have GB or AN, as those were Europe only, but I'm listing them for completeness.)
If the intake manifolds are held onto the head by three studs, one on each side and one down in between the pipes, the heads are 2.0 heads. If there are four studs (two down in the middle) they are 1.7 or 1.8 heads, or VW heads.
You can build pretty much any displacement 914 engine on any 914 crankcase, and on many of the VW Type IV cases as well. So the serial numbers are only an indicator, not a guarantee. The 2.0 heads are expensive, so it is more likely that an engine that has them is a 2.0 or larger. But again, not a guarantee.
--DD
If the intake manifolds are held onto the head by three studs, one on each side and one down in between the pipes, the heads are 2.0 heads. If there are four studs (two down in the middle) they are 1.7 or 1.8 heads, or VW heads.
You can build pretty much any displacement 914 engine on any 914 crankcase, and on many of the VW Type IV cases as well. So the serial numbers are only an indicator, not a guarantee. The 2.0 heads are expensive, so it is more likely that an engine that has them is a 2.0 or larger. But again, not a guarantee.
--DD
Once you start digging in, and remove some paint, you will find more rust than what you see in the pics. All the foam filled areas rust from the inside out. I'm betting the rear suspension consoles will be affected as well.
imo you will need
1. concrete etch from Home Depot or Lowes ( for rust removal )
2. a plasma cutter ( I have one that runs on 110 and does a great job )
3. mig welder
4. replacement panels and some sheet steel sheets ( different thicknesses)
5. time you will never get back so enjoy yourself
6. treat rust like cancer and get into good material before adding more.
1. concrete etch from Home Depot or Lowes ( for rust removal )
2. a plasma cutter ( I have one that runs on 110 and does a great job )
3. mig welder
4. replacement panels and some sheet steel sheets ( different thicknesses)
5. time you will never get back so enjoy yourself
6. treat rust like cancer and get into good material before adding more.
QUOTE(Beesonjohn94 @ Oct 25 2015, 08:06 PM) 
Yes it was a a/c car. Question though, could I utilize this cut out area for a radiator install if I went with a water cooled engine?
A perfect candidate for a Suby conversion. If you do the power plant upgrade do the Subaru 5 speed transmission as well.
Don't cover that opening. Use a louvered panel there to help vent your radiator. I would suggest you take care of impending rust issues prior to any other work, though! That center cushion is perfect for hiding the cable shift mechanism, too.
Starting to make progress, here is the donor car we used for both of its trunk pans.
Here is our car coming together, also I removed the refrigerant lines which you can't see in the pictures. Hope you guys like it.
Check your parts car for the section of the engine shelve cut away due to the AC. Get a heat gun, some assorted scrapers and remove the tar on the floors.
QUOTE(rhodyguy @ Apr 9 2016, 03:36 PM)
Check your parts car for the section of the engine shelve cut away due to the AC. Get a heat gun, some assorted scrapers and remove the tar on the floors.
The parts car has been saw sawed into 4 sections for a easy junk yard trip.
QUOTE(Beesonjohn94 @ Oct 26 2015, 04:38 PM)
How do you know? From experience I am presuming, we already do have a RD list which consists of the outer rocker panels, rear trunk pan, quarter rear pan, jacking donut and the corner cross member connecting the two pieces. And the front trunk pan is up in the air at the moment.
your asking for advise,and got a replies from many that know and someone that has been there,please listen,your car has serious rust ,that isn't going away regardless of your somewhat clever? answers.
Do some research many (good ?) cars on here are restored and all sorts of unseen horrors are found.
Today's work
Today we finished welding the front and rear trunk, battery tray and engine tray. Now we just have what is underneath the car. The passenger side jack donut and rear quarter panel.
The welding is finally complete. I forgot to take pictures of it after we primed and undercoated the bottom. Tomorrow we go pick up our motor from FAT performance our motor is going from a 2 liter with dual 40 webers to a 2.3 with dual 44s 78mm crank 96 mm pistons. Hopefully this 914 will see the streets soon.
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