So are they just rubber? I should slice them in half? I REALLY don't want to mess these up!

I've searched Pelican's site...any idea what they are called? I tried 'Retainer' and got nothing that resembled what I'm looking for.

Thanks for the help.

There's a little round metal circular dealy in there with a hole in the center and relief cuts coming off of that. Like a speed nut sorta, I don't know the terminology off the top of my head. Bu thtese are really meant to be one time use probably. They push on to the plastic and dig in. That's why they break the plastic pins off oif the letters if'n you gorilla them. If you take a grinder to them, you won't be re-using 'em and I would imagine it would take some skill or practice to even do that without breaking the letter's pins.

QUOTE (CptTripps @ Mar 21 2005, 08:14 PM)

Drilled the holes for my 3rd brake light...

3rd brake light is a good idea. For a little less invasive look, I probably would have mounted it upside down on the bottom of the roll bar. Just my .02 though

QUOTE (9146986 @ Mar 22 2005, 09:16 AM)

QUOTE (CptTripps @ Mar 21 2005, 08:14 PM) Drilled the holes for my 3rd brake light... 3rd brake light is a good idea. For a little less invasive look, I probably would have mounted it upside down on the bottom of the roll bar. Just my .02 though

I tried that....it was too wide, and the way I could have made it work, would have put a lip that water could sit in. And we ALL know what happens to metal when water sits.

I used a Dremel (high-speed rotary tool) with a cut-off wheel to get the speed nuts off. Cut just left or right of the post all the way across so you have two pieces.
Pelicanparts.com sells new ones for 80 cents each. They call them Porsche Emblem Mounting Speed Nuts and are made of metal and rubber. -Mike

QUOTE (CptTripps @ Mar 22 2005, 04:47 AM)

So are they just rubber? I should slice them in half? I REALLY don't want to mess these up! I've searched Pelican's site...any idea what they are called? I tried 'Retainer' and got nothing that resembled what I'm looking for. Thanks for the help.

They are rubber on top with metal inside. Performance products has sets of 4 for $3.99, however the new ones are not the same as the factory ones. They are a pain to remove, I ended up damaging the retainers when I removed them anyways.

HIEDI

Tonight I was WICKED productive!!!


First things first...I needed some more light in my garage.

Went to Lowes, and picked up 4 Florescent 'shop lights' for $7.68 each! So for under $50 (with bulbs) I have LOTS more light in the garage. This is a good thing!

Now for 'real' work...

I started with an easy one...the guage cluster tin.

Sanded down, and primed. Ready for guages. Check it off the list!

Now it was time to dig into the brakes. First, we had to get the old ones off. Here's what happens when you try to use an adapter for something like lug-nuts!

(That's what prompted the trip to Lowes in the first place)

But since I had good tools now, it didn't take long to get all 4 off. Now fortunately, My car came with a set of rebuilt rear calipers, and I'd bought a pair of milled 320i calipers, so all I was really doing was cleaning everything up, and putting it on.

Just because they were gross, I took out the pins, and cleaned them up by putting them in a drill and hitting them with 220grit sandpaper. Then a scotch-brite Green pad. Good as new!

At the same time, I wanted to MAKE SURE that every inch of brake line was good, so I'm replacing all the rubber lines, and also the hard-lines between the rubber, and the caliper. (This is my first time trying this, so be kind!)

I had this handy flange tool I KNEW i'd use at some point.

Sweet! My first attempt at using my pipe-bender, and it looks good!

Here's a shot of the 320i calipers installed up front. I also replaced the rubber lines there too...

I was GOING to paint the calipers Red, but I think I'll wait to see if I do a 5-lug upgrade first.

And the lines I made for them.

Ok...Now I REALLY feel like I got somewhere tonight. I guess it just helps to change it up a little...

I'm going to take tomorrow night off, and then work more Thurs night, and all day Friday.

My Dad is coming over to help with the body filler all day on Friday. He's a flipping artist with drywall mud, so were going to see if he's any good with Bondo!

Again, nice work.

Keep an eye on those brake line flares when you get fluid in them. Making flares is a little tricky you first time out. Once you get the hang of it, you golden, but until you pump fluid through them you won't know.

What kind of tubing bender did you use?

I am trying to buy one to bend 3/16" stainless (I think) lines and all of the ones I have seen are for larger tubing or have a huge bend radius.

QUOTE (Gint @ Mar 23 2005, 12:11 AM)

Again, nice work. Keep an eye on those brake line flares when you get fluid in them. Making flares is a little tricky you first time out. Once you get the hang of it, you golden, but until you pump fluid through them you won't know.

That's what I figured, but I wanted to get everything installed and made first. (I'm keeping all the old lines 'just in case'. I'm waiting on my pedal cluster to come back from being rebuilt, so I can't test them out yet anyway.

I'm going to try and get the master-cylender and resivoir installed Thursday evening so I can conventrate on body work and primer this weekend.

With any luck I COULD be driving it around the block in a few weeks!

QUOTE (jkeyzer @ Mar 23 2005, 12:14 AM)

What kind of tubing bender did you use? I am trying to buy one to bend 3/16" stainless (I think) lines and all of the ones I have seen are for larger tubing or have a huge bend radius.

Just the el-cheapo Harbor Freight one...It's one of those tools that turns out to be a real good deal from them. For $7, you can't beat it.



http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Disp...itemnumber=3755

QUOTE (jkeyzer @ Mar 23 2005, 12:14 AM)

What kind of tubing bender did you use? I am trying to buy one to bend 3/16" stainless (I think) lines and all of the ones I have seen are for larger tubing or have a huge bend radius.

You'll also have to manually bend a few times once you get it close. Just to make sure. I also burned up a spare line 'learning'. ALWAYS buy extras! (3ft for $2.50)

Gint: Thanks for calling me on the flaring tool. I got to thinking...

I put regular flares on there. NOT the 'Bubble Flare' that they need. Off to the auto parts store for me!

I just went out there and re-did all my hard lines. (Again!) I feel loads better about it all now. Found better ways of making them too. (Practice makes Perfect!)

I'm going to hang out with some friends tonight...More work tomorrow!

QUOTE (CptTripps @ Mar 22 2005, 09:17 PM)

I'm waiting on my pedal cluster to come back from being rebuilt, so I can't test them out yet anyway. With any luck I COULD be driving it around the block in a few weeks!

Here it is, ships tomorrow morning. Thank you for allowing me to do your re-build. I threw in a brake light switch, as the one on your cluster was broken when it arrived. Not sure if it was like that when you shipped it.

Martin Baker

NORTH BAY 914

KICK ASS! You rule man! Did you happen to take any 'before' pics of it?

Sorry no "Before Photo". I guess I should do that once, I have a couple more on the way to me. Can you e-mail me the Fed EX info, just to make sure I have it. I am glad that you are happy with it. I bought a new compressor and sand blast cabinet since the one I normally use is down at the moment. Now I never have to leave the house to do sand blasting.

Sent...

I'll see if I have any 'before' pics of my own, and then some more after I re-install everything in a few weeks.

Here's yesterdays progress...

Started the day with this dash...



And here is the one I got at the junk yard for $75!

And now my first attempts at body filler...

I removed the side lights, needs another 'coat' too, but I'll get there...

I'm not sure WHAT happened, but the entire driver's side was hammered back into place. It's all at the same level too...shopping cart?

QUOTE (CptTripps @ Mar 26 2005, 06:23 AM)

And here is the one I got at the junk yard for $75!

A junk yard near Cleveland with good 914 parts
Dude, where?

Keep up the good work!
Samson

Intercity on Northfield. They are both pretty picked through. If you need body stuff, forget it. The motors may be good, but I doubt they'd be worth the effort, and I'm SURE they'll want too much for them. (Although I'll bet we could get them to give some interesting 'associated' parts.)

PM me your info...let's get together for a coffee or a drink some time.

Here is yesterdays dealio...

Started the day by visiting our friends at Harbor Freight. I needed another pair of jack stands, and the wife wanted me to pick up an ubrella for the back porch. Before I went, I decided to check and see if they had a sander for body work. GLAD I DID!

Anyone attempting to do a 'back-yard' restoration without one of these is itching for an ass kickin'.

$29 later...Say hello to my new best friend. 2.75" X 17.5" - 50 pack of 80grit paper was only $9.

Yup, the flat file is one of the best ways to make a panel straight. I have 2 of them. Keep the posts coming, I should have mine all in primer before next weekends BBQ. Not sure if I will have everything put back on or not but it will be one color and straight.

Got my cluster from Martin yesterday. NICE work! I'm SO glad I had this done...I was all set to just hit it with a wire brush and put it back in.

I'm going to work out a way to build a bracket that these can mount to. I picked them up at AutoZone for $19. (clutch, brake, accel) They are aluminum, and match the MOMO steering wheel I got pretty well.

I'm not sure how I would have managed to get this straight and looking good with my 5" Random-Orbital. 3 attempts and it still sucked. So I tool all the bondo back off, and hit it with the new sander...I was DAMN close after my first pass. Second pass and it's perfect!

I'll hit the big-nasty patch behind the door again tomorrow. There is a lot more build-up than I wanted there, but I can't hammer it any more, so I'll have to live with it like that.

I keep looking at the picture in the top post of this page and it is amazing how much yours looks exactly like mine right now. Stripped with little bondo spots everywhere. I must have removed about 30 or 40 pounds of bondo when I stripped it. Then got in there with a hammer and dolly and got it really close and now I am putting bondo back on but in very thin layers. You can tap on the side of the car right over the bondo and the sound doesnt change. The idea is for it to be no thicker than a coat or two of paint. It sure is a lot more work than I thought it would be.

I'm going to walk away from it for a day. I'll work more this week in the evenings on it. I've got it all CLOSE right now, but every time I go over a panel 'one more time' I find more little nics and nacks. I can see why people say spend one week getting it good, two getting it close, and three making it perfect.

I'm only painting this thing once...time to make it count!

QUOTE (skline @ Mar 27 2005, 10:51 AM)

The idea is for it to be no thicker than a coat or two of paint.

Easier said than done for me. Most of the body work I've had to do has been on the doors, just on the other side of the 'brace' inside the door. No way for me to get to the other side of it. I used a dent-puller and got it about as close as I could there. the area behind the pass-door is almost a lost cause. I've re-fabricated that area twice. It's solid as the day is long, but will never be close enough for me to use any less than 1/8" of filler.

I'm NOT skilled in the SLIGHTEST with body work. I'm decent with drywall mud, so I think that's how I'm able to do well with the filler.

One of the best investments I made was this little tool. It was about $350.00 a few years ago but I have seen them for less in recent times. Its for the areas you cannot get in behind. It works awesome. The only problem I have is with the damn slide hammer. Everytime I use it I seem to slam my hand or fingers with it. It makes nice little blood blisters. But the tool does work and very well.

This is the injury from yesterday. It really smarts.

Just an update...I've done nothing for 3 days, and I feel great about it.

Sometimes you just need a break.

i feel ya there bro! I did nothing it seemed all weekend. After spending some money on stuff i needed for the re-assembly, i headed to the garage tonite for our first warm spell in months. I had to talk myself into it but i got the hood and ds door in primer and im still working on the ps quarter like you!

That looks real good Dan. Yeah, I just ran out of steam...and I think that's a good thing sometimes. Its suppossed to be 65 tomorrow, so I think I'll play hookey and see if I can get her into primer too. I'd like to get it all sanded down and MAYBE paint early next week.

But now that I have this 73 parts-car coming, maybe I'll be playing with that for a day or so...who knows.

Hey CptTripps,
realy good thread. Reminds me on my adventure .
I think you are much more faster than i

Can´t wait to drive mine again.

Go on with your restauration

Spent the whole weekend doing more body work. I wish I was one of those guys that could half-ass something and just get it done. This is taking about 5X longer than I anticipated! I guess that's good though....right?

Dad came up on Saturday, and gave some much needed assistance with the bondo application and blocking. He's awesome with drywall, and good with filler too!

There was WAY too mich filler behind the door, where I had to re-weld after a repair. I warped the panel because I was too hot on the voltage.

So I marked out a larger section to cut out and replace with a piece from the donor car in the driveway.