i have a line on a '73 1.7 carbed car. hasn't run in a while. but supposed to run. reported to have little cancer.
so give me some pointers
where is the hell hole. can you inspect the longs. with out removing the rockers? and starting the engine after a long sleep

QUOTE

where is the hell hole

Directly below the battery tray (behind the passenger side firewall) You may have to dif through leaves/debris/crap to really look at it. I take a small pocket screwdriver with me and "dig" with it.

Pull up all carpeting..everywhere.


B

thank you

This is the hell hole:

He removed his battery tray.

B

See his weld "burn through" marks ?? right above that you can see where he had some cancer. This is where the battery tray welds to the tub.


B

wrgq

Make sure the rear trunk is solid (or has minor surface rust)..

Look carefully around the jack posts on the outside of the car. Pull the jack post "black" plugs.. poke around. See if there is dirt/mud/shit packed all around the jack post. This is the first sign that the car may be rusting.

B

Take a flashlight to see deep in the hell hole.
Take a small hammer so you can tap on the longs from below to see if it is solid.
Try turning the engine over without starting it. Don't try to run/start in on old gas.

There will be plenty of others telling you what you need to do, just wait.

Paul

If it has rust, it will ALWAYS have more rust than you can find in a reasonable amount of time. Check all the way around the floor pan, including the pedal area. Poke hard with a screwdriver, as the tar can easily look perfect and hide bad rust. The hell hole is under and in front of the battery. The bad version goes down into the longitudinal. The less bad version goes through the firewall and is most easily inspected by removing the backpad and insulation from behind the seats. Poke with a screwdriver if you can. The outside of the longs are hard to inspect without removing the rockers. You can barely get at the side of the outer longs from the bottom towards the rear where they start to bend inwards and away from the rockers. Taking off the rear wheels and using a bright flashlight helps. Check the floors of both trunks, the front especially as the suspension mounts to the bottom of it. Rust near the indent for pulling the outer door handle is common and difficult to fix (there's a brazed seam there that complicates repairs).

Hope that helps, good luck and take lots of pics. Bring a pro if you can find one.

QUOTE

and starting the engine after a long sleep

Take a jump box with (or a battery)..

take:

fuel
small cheapy fuel pump
fuel line (4 feet or so)
take some wire with you (in case you need to hot wire the fuel pump into a gas can.. redneck style)
plugs/cap/rotor/points..


B

The "hell hole" is below the battery tray. Thats on the left side looking at the front of the car. Right behind the passenger. Check out the suspension console. There is an ear hanging down that meets the trailing arm. Look for rust and structural damage. I beleive the rockers are riveted on. Check out the rubber fuel lines before you start her up. The clear ones dont seem to go bad as quikly as the black. Check out this:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/How_to_buy_a_914.htm

QUOTE

There will be plenty of others telling you what you need to do, just wait.

"On My Command.. Unleash HELL"

Paul is correct.. there will be a lot of help on the way. Be patient. I'm betting one of the NorPacWest guy's will go with you. We have several people in the Puget Sound area.


B

I'll jump in.
Open the engine lid. On the pass side, just in front of the battery tray. BTW - it either has a batt tray on it's been removed.
Anyway, look all the way to the front of the engine compartment. Down to the bottom & as far forward as you can; Reach down & clear out all of the leaves, cats, rats, etc. Look for rust & "thru" holes. You should not be looking thru to the ground. Then do the same thing to the other side.
Next:
Take the top off, Get a BIG buddy (bigger 'da better) . Have him sit in the car, close the door. If the door closes much diff than w/ without the weight, run away -
More?
Lift the carpet in both trunks. More rust? If all good, GREAT find!!!
If not, welcome to the club!!! Rust free 914's are a lot like Grasshoppers.

thanks guys keep it coming.
or if you had a choice between a one owner '75 green 2.0 less than 100k miles for 4,500. or 1,500 for 1.7 red. wich one would you pick?

75 all day... back date the bumpers (sorry guy's..I know some of you like them)

Dont mess with the carbed car. Buy the most stock car you can find.


B

Depends on the condition. If the 1.7 is in very good condition then it might be a good buy. more then likely the 75 is a safer choice. ( if you have the money)

If it passes all those rust inspections and you are still interested you should check the compression. A compression tester is less than $20 at Harbor Freight Tools. Before you turn it over open the gas tank and sniff. Is it lacquery? If so don't try to start it and pull that junk into the carb. Do the redneck thing out of your gas can. Also don't try to start it untill you install a fresh (but cheap) fuel filter BEFORE the fuel pump. If you are lucky the PO left the tank empty and all you have to do is put in some good gas and maybe a little chemtool. Oh, don't forget some 99 cent carb cleaner spray (oh and maybe a fire extinguisher). If you get good even compression, relatively rustfree body and cheap, brother that is hard to beat (uh, as long as tranny, clutch, brakes, electrical, weatherstripping, tires and suspension are all good!).

yeah i'm almost thinking that an extra $3,000 in preventative shopping might be the better way.

well update on that '73 for 1,500
i ran screeming!!!!!!!!!!1
first sight was door sill on pass. side rusted thru and could see rust hole in long. further inspection knocking with my fist along inside of long on pass. side started to leave knuckle indents in the long. thru the carpet!!!!! aaahhhhhgggg didnt even check the hell hole. rear and front trunks and doors are ok.
so i passed. put would make a good parts car all pieces and parts are there and in fair shape.

do the "big-butt" test... for chassis flex: take off the top, sit in the car and stand on the door sill, each time checking to see if the longs are "flexy" make sure the doors close smoothly, and easily without effort... if you way 200 # (or have someone with you to sit on the other side) , just get in with the top off and pull the door gently, if it shuts easily, you are good...

if you can(if the owner allows) undo the bottoms of the rocker panels with a screwdriver and look for a lot of dirt and rust... remember, whatever amount of rust you find, bet on double that you won't see...

ALMOST anything you find CAN be fixed, we're here to help, but make sure you aren't biting off more of a project than you really want...

HHHhhhaaa!!! This is the place to come for the pre-inspection criteria. I am glad you were able to have the information you needed to look in the right places. Kudos to the guy's that chimed in. By the way; everyone keeps telling me I won something at the WCC? I've asked the authorities and they say no?

oh yeah
way more than i want to take on. i want a driver.
no need to do the fat boy test . i was worried we wouldnt get the top back on. the car was parked kind of diag. on flat drive way and hill.
i could hear the rust flakes rattled in the longs. as i tapped on the bottom of the long.
the rust thru part of the door sill and the long. was right at the back of the door sill.
i just took all this as to much work.
and i didnt want to drag it home just to have a bunch of parts i my garage and a shell waiting for a sawzall party..

QUOTE (messix @ May 1 2005, 06:56 PM)

oh yeah way more than i want to take on. i want a driver. no need to do the fat boy test . i was worried we wouldnt get the top back on. the car was parked kind of diag. on flat drive way and hill. i could hear the rust flakes rattled in the longs. as i tapped on the bottom of the long. the rust thru part of the door sill and the long. was right at the back of the door sill. i just took all this as to much work. and i didnt want to drag it home just to have a bunch of parts i my garage and a shell waiting for a sawzall party..

good man! I learned the hard way to be willing to pay more initially rather than take on a "rust" oration... I wanted a project car, not a pattern to reinvent everything with... get the best you can afford, and you won't be sorry