My floors look good, do I have to rip up the tar boards and what is the best way?

Yes

I used a scraper and heat gun.

Yes clean it up ! It looks as though it has been repaired at the firewall the metal at the fire wall doesn't have at seam at the bottom. Looks like an angle welded on. Don't go too deep or you'll be on the rotisserie

Easy job....just a little time consuming...
If making a track car it removes a fair amount of weight...
Filled up a 5 gal paint bucket...can't find the stats on the weight...
You never know what you will find under there...usually a little rust...

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Yes, tar sheets don't rust but the metal underneath sure does. Electric mult tool with a scraper blade.

I've used wood chisels in the past, but that was before I got a multi-tool. Fortunately I haven't had to do this since I got the tool.

If you've got it up on stands, I found it easiest to have the heat gun on its lowest setting, and position it nozzle up on the shop/garage floor beneath the area you're cleaning. That way, you heat the metal and the layer of tar just adjacent. Using the heat gun from the passenger compartment works, but you have to heat the entire layer of tar to the 'gooey point', which I found was a bigger mess.

Use one of the cheap HB angle sanders with the scraper attachment. The vibration makes it come up much easier. I would try it cold before heat. I think I got much bigger pieces coming off when it was really cold.

Chipped all mine out of my Six. Took a while but its all out.

What do you guys think about removing tar on highly original cars?

I don't meant to hijack the thread, but I pulled a piece of tar in a spot likely to breed rust and it was clean. Would you sacrifice originality to prevent future rust?

Harbor Frieght's $39 tool with a blade attachment (as was mentioned).

It makes quick work of it. Jamie mentioned it working well when cold. Temperature definitely plays a factor. Last one I did it was a Reno summer, and I found that a little heat from a heat gun released the adhesive (which runs in strings, not like a full coverage, so follow track of that as you go) and it peeled off in big chunks super fast. Surprisingly fast. Even just a wide scraper will work well with a heat gun or careful targeted use with a torch.

Then a wire wheel to clean up the remains.

Hope you find good metal under there. Pay special attention to what you find at the base of the firewall in the passenger seat corner. It gets crunchy there on most 914s.

What does your hell hole and longs look like? Is the firewall insulation pad in the engine bay intact? Does the rear window show any signs of being resealed? Is it still tight? I'd inspect all potential areas of rust inside and out before making the decision to tear up the tar. Use your best judgement at that point.

Teen Hulk is my 15 year old.

He's going to start a resto thread soon, he's stripped the car right out and we're building a rotisserie.
He got his 914 last summer.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=282052

Hell hole and longs are great. Firewall insulation pad is intact. No signs of rust on either side of the firewall. Even with a scope I snaked behind the pad. My guess is that, if there's rust under the tar, it's probably minimal. For now, I'm erring on the keep it original side, but I'm open to other opinions...

Thanks!

Hey Mark: What, he wanted more opinions? LOL. The older he gets, the more he will trust you.

Not really trust, his floors look real good, he likely could have gotten away with just removing the tar boards in a couple spots. He has most of one side done and they look good so far. We were both wondering if it was real necessary, he suggested asking here and I told him to go for it.
He's doing most of the work himself with my guidance.

Actually with this resto he'll have one up on me...I've never restored a 914.

Dry ice also works well

I have heard this too. My son and I are going to give it a try. I have peeled 2/3 my tar out and have a little left. I used a pneumatic multi-tool from HF with a quality blade and heat gun. Works well but I am curious about the dry ice.

Dry ice will probably delaminate any undercoating so think about that before you do it.

My floors look good, little surface rust around the e brake area but no rust after that.
How do i get the glue off?
My dad and i have already tried paint thinner and it didn't seem to work.
Also should i leave the hole plugs alone they are not rusty.

This is how much of the tar board I have gotten off.

DP

Shouldn't you be doing school work?

Damn now I have to watch who's logged into the world....

I finished my work dad so it's fine

Related to the tar removal question:

Would it be a good idea to put sound dampening material (dynamat type) in the lower portions of the floor-pan?
Would it do enough to dampen sound, while also making the floor more flat?

My floor tar is already removed, just wondering before I finish my interior out with paint and carpet.

I'll go against the grain here and recommend replacing the floor. You are already building a rotisserie, and isn't Restoration Design just a few blocks away from you? Hit them up, perhaps they have seconds they are willing to sell you.

Timothy - I think his floor is pretty much rust free.

What did you see, Timothy? I'm listening, but I don't see anything that needs major replacement? As far as removing the goo, I'd use a wire wheel on a grinder. A little muscle and done.

I saw nothing. This kid has nothing but time on his side before he's able to get licensed. He's a big kid that's still growing. With that said, if he happened to score new floor pans, he could then drop the floor to maximize interior real estate for this growing boy. This way he will never out grow the car.

So, if it ain't broke....break it...then fix it?

Yes the floors look real good, slight surface rust in a few spots, but no pitting. He'll clean them right up but no on replacing, he has bigger fish to fry.
He needs the money for the RD panels in other areas.

xylene or goof off works really well at getting the adhesive off, but will remove some of the paint also

I was in the same place with a 914 in the past. Just cleaned the floors really well, removed the surface rust, primed and painted with an oil based paint and added dynamat on the interior leaving the "channels" in the floor open. (So if moisture got down there it could dry out)

I have a McCulloch steamer that I use to clean under the car, found it works great at softening up the tar and then scrap.