Help - Search - Members - Calendar
Full Version: Intro from Montana: '73 2.0L rustoration thread
914World.com > The 914 Forums > 914World Garage
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45
bbrock
My name is Brent and I’m new to 914 World but certainly not to 914s. My 1973 2.0L has being lying dormant and neglected for over thirty years now and is long overdue for a resurrection. The path to where I am now has been a long one so forgive me for the long introduction, but some of you might be able to relate.

History

I wasn’t much of a car guy as a kid growing up in NE Kansas. I liked cars, but I didn’t LOVE them. But when I saw my first 914, it spoke to me in a way that no other car had before… or since. My first ride in a teener didn’t come until my senior year in high school when a co-worker took me for a spin in a 914 he had borrowed from his dad’s used import car dealership. The car did not disappoint and I was hooked! I knew I had to have one.

The year was 1981. I was 19 and beginning my second year of college at Kansas State when I took out a small loan to buy my first car. I found a barely road-worthy 1970 1.7L in Missouri for $2,300 and was beaming with pride when I rolled up to the college dorm with my new, but rather shoddy looking, prize. But being as I was 19, and that organ that would eventually become a brain was not yet developed, I managed to shove the nose of my new Porsche under the tail end of a pickup truck at an intersection the very next day. Devastated; I had the car towed to a little one-man body shop at the edge of town. The front left corner was toast. I had enough money left from my loan to buy a partial front clip from AA. I got a call from the body shop the day the clip arrived and was told there was a problem. I went to inspect and saw that AA had sent a wrecked clip. The fender was smashed and the cost to hammer out the panels was 3X the cost of the part. I got in a heated argument over the phone with AA when I was told that sort of condition should be expected with used parts. What a bunch of BS! Surface rust and a few dings is one thing, but this part has been smacked hard enough the turn signal opening was half the width it should have been. Pointing out that their own advertising promised used parts would be collision free got me nowhere. In the end, I had to pay return freight and a restocking fee to get rid of the shitty part. That was the first and ONLY time I’ve done business with AA and I’m still pissed 36 years later. Luckily, a 914 had arrived at a junk yard 60 miles away and I picked up the parts, minus the lid, for a fraction of what AA had charged and hauled it myself.

But my woes of fixing my 914 were far from over. The body shop guy told me he found a trunk lid and that if I prepaid for parts and labor, he could put my car back together, shot with primer, for $400. Like an idiot, I believed him. I took out another small loan and wrote him a check. Every time I stopped by to check out the progress, there was a different excuse. The lid was at another shop getting MIG welded to repair minor rust… things like that. Then the guy just disappeared. I spent a few weeks stopping by almost daily to find an empty shop. Finally, one day a crusty looking old guy was there. “Are you looking for Joe?”, he asked. “Join the club.” Joe had been bilking lots of people out of money and had skipped out of the country. The guy telling me this had recently entered partnership with Joe and had lost thousands of dollars. We would both shortly receive a bankruptcy letter listing us as creditors and leaving us with little recourse to recoup our losses. It was my first hard lesson in trust. The silver lining was that the new guy had another shop and took pity on me and completed the work that was promised at a very reasonable price. I know he lost money on the deal.

My now patchwork-colored teener was back on the road but I wasn’t any smarter at 20 than I was at 19 so my car would again suffer the consequences. It was a cold, snowy, Kansas winter when I was home at my parents for Christmas holiday. I had learned from experience that if I put the 914 to bed in that weather without adding a bottle of drying agent to the gas, she was not going to start. But I wasn’t alone and shop after shop was sold out of HEET. On the fifth stop, I finally found a few bottles and was heading home to my parents when I hit a patch of black ice at low speed on possibly illegal balding tires and wrapped the front neatly around a fire hydrant. Well shit! Here we go again. I was done with body shops and con-men so decided it was time to learn to weld. I found donor parts at the same junk yard as before and set about cutting out the damage and replacing using my brother’s oxy-acetylene torch. Amazingly, I managed to get the car back together in drivable condition. I won’t pretend it was a good repair job, but adequate. I learned a lot about working on 914s because just about every week, something new broke – clutch, torsion bar, struts, and the constant battle with bad wiring in the FI and ignition. I’m sure there is a part on a 914 I haven’t removed and replaced, but I can’t think of what that would be.


About a year later, my then girlfriend and now wife of 30+ years needed to replace her aging Honda and a nice looking 914 appeared for sale. It was a ’73 1.7L and looked much prettier than mine. We shouldn’t have bought it because it had been wrecked and not put back together right. It had a barely detectable sideways crab as it rolled down the road that a 4-wheel alignment couldn’t fix. But it made a good daily driver and was nice enough that when Elizabeth and I were married, her cousin hid the car for us so my original patchwork 70 got the traditional “Just Married” treatment.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Around that time in 1984, I spied an ad in the college paper for a 914 for $500. Always needing parts, I thought this was my chance to get a big pile of parts at a bargain price. After talking with the owner, I discovered this was a 1973 2.0L. (my dream model and year). It had suffered the dreaded hell hole and the RR suspension console was dangling free. The PO (the car's second owner) couldn’t get a shop to even quote her a price on fixing it, and I was welcome to go have a look. I found the car in a parking lot next to the local import car parts shop. I couldn’t believe what I saw. Not only was it my dream ’73 2.0, but it was metallic silver with 4-spoke Fuchs, center console but not appearance group (black bumpers and no targa vinyl). This is exactly the car I would have ordered at the dealership. I knew that the wheels alone were worth the asking price. From 30 ft., the car looked gorgeous. From 10 feet, it looked really good but you could see it had been repainted, and not well. The interior was complete and clean. The only thing wrong with this car was a rotten battery tray and suspension console. And even that rot was limited and hadn’t spread to other bits of the hell hole. I finagled another small loan and didn’t quibble on the price. THIS would be my car.

Back at the junkyard I found a console from the same donor I had taken the front for my 70 from. I spent a weekend in my parent’s garage welding it in and spent the next several years enjoying the hell out of that car. In the meantime, I rebuilt the engine on the old 70 to donate it to a VW bus and sold the chassis for parts. My wife’s ’73 became my project car and I earned my label as a DAPO botching an outer long replacement by overheating the weld and using poorly placed door bracing. The result was an increase in the sideways crab and a passenger door that didn’t close as cleanly as it should. I continued my assault on the car by stripping it down to respray in black lacquer – a purposeful choice to reveal all of the flaws. It was a lot of work and there were many goofs to be redone, but the end result was actually quite stunning. It didn’t last long though since I didn’t have a garage at the time and black lacquer is no match for the Kansas sun. But it did convince me that I could prep and spray a car with respectable results; better than the job on my 2.0L anyway.

I don’t remember the exact catalyst that caused me to tear it apart, but as much as I loved driving the 2.0L, it didn’t always love me and I was frequently stranded – and this was pre-cell phone days. The problem was almost always some damn thing with the FI. Plus, the car was leaking oil badly and there were rust issues that needed repair. I convinced myself it was time for a complete tear down and rebuild, and I commenced to do just that. I was in my mid-twenties and Reagan was President.

Restoration Begins… and Stops… and Stops Again

I made a rookie mistake and started with the engine. I did a complete teardown and had all the bottom end parts machined and balanced at the local machine shop. Although I am kind of regretting it now, I decided to ditch the D-Jet that caused 95% of my reliability woes and opted for dual 40IDF Webers. Carb conversions were all the rage back then and I had lost patience with the FI. If I were to start this today, I’d probably keep the FI which I still have in storage. But to complement the carbs, I installed a “street grind” cam from Automotion. I’ve tossed my old Automotion catalogs and there are no other specs on the invoice. I only remember that the folks there recommended this grind to get the most from my carbs while staying close to the performance of the FI. The other mod I chose for the engine was a new set of OEM euro spec (8.0:1) Mahle pistons and jugs. I’ve always had this crazy idea that the euro spec cars were how Porsche intended and American spec was a compromise. As part of that rebuild, I stripped and repainted all of the tin with high temp paint and replaced the little hardware. Heads had not yet been touched, and Reagan was still the President.

Then life intervened. Elizabeth had put her college on hold while I finished mine, and it was while she was finishing her degree that I tore the car apart. Then it was my turn to go back for a graduate degree so the project went on hold. Time was in short supply. Clinton was President by the time I got my grad degree. Now neither time or money were as much of an obstacle, but having adequate shop space for the restoration was. All I had was an open carport that was not up to the task although I was able to turn it briefly into a makeshift plastic spray booth for the last car which we had since given to our nephew (kicking myself now). So, Elizabeth and I set about building a two-story barn with plenty of space for a large woodshop, mechanics shop, and spray booth. When I say build, I mean we picked up hammer and nails and built the thing. I must say; the thing was a work of beauty. All that was left was to install windows and then my restoration project could resume in earnest. And then I got offered a job in Bozeman, Montana which had been a long-time dream for this wildlife biologist. So without so much as ever rolling a car into the new shop, we packed up and headed to the mountains. That was 13 years ago and I’ve gotten a lot of grief for hauling my little project 1,200 miles across the continent. And she has weathered through many Montana blizzards sitting neglected in my driveway; waiting for me to come to my senses.

And Now…

Maybe I am having my mid-life crisis but the itch to get this car back on the road had gotten too strong to ignore. Over the years, I would periodically cruise the Web for 914 news, but would quickly put it aside with the resignation that I’m back where I was with no good space to work on the car. But then I read Darren Collins’ amazing odyssey on this forum. Not only is it inspirational, but it also gave me an epiphany. The bulk of the work in a restoration is in cleaning and refurbishing small parts. I don’t need a big-ass shop for that. In fact, we do have a 2-car garage but half of it is filled to the gills with woodworking tools and the other half has to remain open for the daily driver so we don’t have to scoop and scrape several inches of snow off every morning, and to protect the car at least a little from the horde of deer mice that plague every vehicle parked outdoors in the mountains. But I have a plan. I purchased a set of 10” pneumatic castors at HF and will build a rotisserie on them. That will allow me to roll my chassis over my gravel driveway and in and out of the garage as needed. That will still leave the challenge when it comes time to paint (I don’t have the means to farm out a $10K paint job). But it will get me through strip, patch, and primer. We have planned on building a detached garage since we built our house. Maybe I’ll figure out how to fund it.

Determined to make progress, it was time to take stock of what I have ahead of me. The car had been mostly stripped prior to our move, but many of the parts that had been carefully stored in sheds wound up strewn haphazardly in the trunks and cockpit during and after the move. The old pitted windshield had been removed long ago and donated to the other car. The plexi I had installed to seal out the rain had cracked to shards and only the tarp over the car kept out rain and snow. The old tires turned to dust years ago, leaving the belly of the car only a few inches above the damp earth. Not the treatment I intended to give my car but it is what it is. I was prepared for the worst last week when I began excavating to survey the damage of years of neglect. The car wreaked of weasel piss and I actually found a weasel skull in the front trunk. But that weasel piss probably accounts for the surprisingly low amount of rodent nests found in the car. Considering the abuse, things could be worse.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Thirty years ago, I had all kinds of plans to modernize this car. But history gains importance as we age so now I want to keep it mostly stock. That’s also the easier and cheaper route given that the car is disassembled, but nearly complete. My rule for mods is to do nothing that can’t easily be reversed to original stock. The biggest sacrifice is that I won’t be blanking out the side markers as originally planned even though I really hate them.
Mods planned are:
Engine: These have already been done. Otherwise I might rethink them.
  • Euro 8.0:1 compression pistons
  • Weber 40IDF carbs
  • “Street” cam grind for carbs.
  • Dizzy – I have an unused 050 on it now, but will probably replace with an SVDA 034. My carbs already have vacuum ports.
Chassis
  • Euro lenses
  • Black windshield and targa trim. I already sanded and painted my dinged-up trim when I tore down the car. I like the look so will keep it for now.
  • Relocate fuel pump to front and replace fuel lines.
  • 2-stage paint on exterior. Still not completely married to this but think it will be easier to do and less maintenance than 1-stage. Open to comments though.
  • Modern radio or retro radio with modern BT module.
  • Hand throttle lever to operate carb chokes.
Workplan
  1. Stabilize engine – It has been stored in an unheated shed. Checked on it last week and was horrified to find the pistons stuck. Luckily a half hour soak of the pistons with PB blaster and some light taps with a softwood drift freed them up. Cylinders had a little rust crust at the bottom where the rings were sitting. I pulled the worst looking cylinder. Rings look fine. A few seconds with a hone and the bore was shiny like new again. Will do the same with the remaining cylinders and will refresh the assembly lube on cam lobes and lifters. I have a 3-arm engine yoke from VW Alley arriving Wednesday and will move the engine into my heated garage where I can keep a better eye on it. Once inside, I’ll clean it off and brush the case with tectyl, spray Stabil engine fog on the piston tops and cylinder bores, and bag it. I’ll turn the crank once a month to make sure it doesn’t seize again. Open to suggestions on how to protect it until it is ready to go back in the car. I’ll probably go ahead and get the heads rebuilt sooner rather than later so I can get the engine completely assembled and not have a bunch of loose parts laying around.
  2. Build a rotisserie and start on rustoration. Here’s what I know I need to do:
    1. Replace front trunk tub.
    2. Repair rear trunk lid.
    3. Repair both door sills.
    4. Repair lower sail panels.
    5. Repair or replace RH engine tray in hell hole.
    6. Replace RH outer long. Won’t know about inner until outer is cut off.
    7. Misc body sheet metal patches, mostly lower edges.
  3. Inventory and clean parts. I’ll develop a plan of attack after I have a better idea what I’m dealing with. But this will keep me busy for a while.
Thanks for reading.
RAX914
Great intro, good luck with your project!
76-914
welcome.png Be sure to post lots of pics during the Rustoration. The 2 stage is more forgiving but I certainly wouldn't say it's more durable than single stage. Just the opposite, IMHO. This little project should keep you busy for a couple of years. Enjoy! beerchug.gif
sb914
Friggin AA beer3.gif
jmitro
cool story! Good luck.
You have a lot of work ahead of you, but it will be worth it. You have many sentimental memories with the car so it will be worth every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears
bbrock
Thanks all.

Good point on 2-stage paint, I think I should have said lower maintenance rather than more durable. That may not be accurate either, but it seems with cars I've had with clear coat, I get better shine with less waxing. Plenty of time to change my mind before paint time comes.

What is the record for the oldest incident being screwed by AA? I can't be too far off, right? blink.gif

And yes, many sentimental memories. It seems weird that I only spent about 5 years driving a 914 out of more than 30 years owning at least one. But they were very important years... first car, first wife (and so far, the only wife), first dog, first house, first real job... I guess I've always driven the teener in my mind.
mtn flyr
Wow, quite an intro! I am in Bozeman, is your car up Timberline Creek?
welcome.png
Unobtanium-inc
QUOTE(bbrock @ Mar 27 2017, 06:22 PM) *

Thanks all.

Good point on 2-stage paint, I think I should have said lower maintenance rather than more durable. That may not be accurate either, but it seems with cars I've had with clear coat, I get better shine with less waxing. Plenty of time to change my mind before paint time comes.

What is the record for the oldest incident being screwed by AA? I can't be too far off, right? blink.gif

And yes, many sentimental memories. It seems weird that I only spent about 5 years driving a 914 out of more than 30 years owning at least one. But they were very important years... first car, first wife (and so far, the only wife), first dog, first house, first real job... I guess I've always driven the teener in my mind.

Growing up in Atlanta I can tell you AA was not well liked.

---Adam
ConeDodger
It isn't often that we don't have to tell the new guy about AA! LOL! Good luck with the project! Oh, and your wife deserves a medal for letting you keep those cars around for decades... evilgrin.gif

Good luck with the projects!
Cairo94507
welcome.png Great intro; loved the whole story. Laughed at the AA screwing you took (sorry)- I guess that mold was cast long ago and they have never (apparently) changed.

Your project seems reasonable. Personally, I would leave the engine be for right now and tackle the chassis rust and once that is whipped into shape deal with the motor. Regardless, it looks like a fun project. Best of luck. beerchug.gif
PanelBilly
You have a lot of work ahead of you. All the parts can be found and there's plenty of free advice to be had. Be careful to pay attention to the alignment of the body as you start welding parts back on. I'd also contact Restoration design and see if they'd give you a discount for volume
mark04usa
welcome.png Enjoyed your 914 story very much. I sure can relate to your experience with the car. Mine has been down for a year or two at a time during several periods over the 41 years I've owned it, and every time I get it back on the road, the car reminds me why I've kept her so long. You'll have miles of smiles when you drive yours again!
bbrock
QUOTE(mtn flyr @ Mar 27 2017, 08:36 PM) *

Wow, quite an intro! I am in Bozeman, is your car up Timberline Creek?
welcome.png


Yes! How did you know?
bbrock
QUOTE(Cairo94507 @ Mar 27 2017, 09:07 PM) *

Your project seems reasonable. Personally, I would leave the engine be for right now and tackle the chassis rust and once that is whipped into shape deal with the motor. Regardless, it looks like a fun project. Best of luck. beerchug.gif


That is the plan except that I need to get it into better storage to protect the investment I already have in it. I just set up an HF engine stand in the garage tonight and should have it mounted, protected, and bagged by the weekend. I go back and forth over whether it would be better to store it with heads and carbs bolted on or just stuff the jugs with rags. But at least with it in the garage instead of in a shed on the back 40, I can keep a better eye on it.
Frankvw
Nice story. It will be a lot of work, but since you have this car for such a long time, your emotional side talked to your rational side and that will give you the extra push you will need at certain moments. Good luck with all the work, looking forward to see the pictures and updates !
JawjaPorsche
Such an amazing story. A story of life. Thanks for sharing.

welcome.png
EdwardBlume
welcome.png

Get a move on! You have a dream to fulfill!
cary
I'd start with digging into the RH long first, no need for a rotisserie for that. You need to get it off the ground and perfectly level. You need to get in there and get a better understanding of what your up against. My .02c.
Click to view attachment

Here's what I did before I bought a frame bench.
We built a jig that attached to the front and rear suspension to keep the ends from drooping when you cut into the long. Plus you'll need door braces. I'd start with ones that allow you to keep the doors on.
Click to view attachment

I'd do a WTB on the rear trunk lid. If you did roll and weld in a patch. You'd be forever getting the metal leveled up. That is about the softest spot on the car. Once again, my .02c.

If I was still in Montana I'd have loved to come for a weekend and give a hand.
Good Luck ..................... sawzall-smiley.gif sawzall-smiley.gif welder.gif


KELTY360
Great story and kudos for hanging on to that car. You've got an ambitious project but you've found the right place for advice, support and resources.

BTW, since you're only going to keep it kinda stock, I'd get rid of the warts. They were just there for USDOT regs and not what Porsche intended for the car. 914s delivered in the rest of the world didn't have them. You'll be very glad you deleted those ugly things.
Mikey914
Welcome. You will have many questions posting up progress and what's holding you up will benefit you and others in the future. You can look at similar threads here as many have done project simular.
Restoration design will be a very good contact for you to have. The package will save you money. Assess your damage and make your list, it will be well worth it when you are done. welcome.png
mtn flyr
QUOTE(bbrock @ Mar 27 2017, 08:51 PM) *

QUOTE(mtn flyr @ Mar 27 2017, 08:36 PM) *

Wow, quite an intro! I am in Bozeman, is your car up Timberline Creek?
welcome.png


Yes! How did you know?



I have done excavation work up there and noticed your 914 as I drove by.
cary
I hope I didn't come off too abrupt. welcome.png

Your going to have great journey. Take lots of pictures. Dont be a dumbass like me, once a month rename the pictures so you can search them at a later date. Bag everything in freezer type bags. I label the bags with blue tape.
bbrock
QUOTE(cary @ Mar 28 2017, 01:56 PM) *

I hope I didn't come off too abrupt. welcome.png


Not at all! I appreciate the advice. You have me rethinking my sequence as I was going to save the long for last to get the rest of the car as sound as possible first. But it does make sense to hit it first. As I mentioned in my long story, I learned what NOT to do the last time I replaced a long. But my welding skills and patience have improved greatly since then. Do you have details on those braces that work with the door on? What is the lower end mounted to? And do they have turnbuckles built in?

I've gone back and forth over whether to start with a rotisserie or build a jig similar to what you did. I see the wisdom in the jig. My challenge is that I can't occupy our one open garage bay with the car more than a weekend or 3 days at a time. So I need to be able to roll it in and out onto the gravel driveway. But now I'm thinking I can build that jig on my castors. Put it on stands when in the garage working on it. Then re-purpose the steel for a rotisserie later. Truth be told, I could probably do this without a rotisserie. But I'd like to flip her up to make sure the belly is done right. Plus they look pretty fun. But for now, I think that jig is making more sense to get here solid and straight.

Good tips on organizing too. I already have a mess on my hands. Parts were semi-organized before the move to Montana. Not so much now. And it's amazing how much you forget over 30 years! confused24.gif


bbrock
QUOTE(KELTY360 @ Mar 28 2017, 08:32 AM) *

BTW, since you're only going to keep it kinda stock, I'd get rid of the warts. They were just there for USDOT regs and not what Porsche intended for the car. 914s delivered in the rest of the world didn't have them. You'll be very glad you deleted those ugly things.


Da@$ you! ar15.gif I hate those warts and deleted them on the last car I painted. I had decided on this one to draw the line at anything that would require cutting or welding to restore to original. But I really do hate those ugly things. Worse, one of my lenses broke, so I would have to spend $ on a part that I hate. On the last car, I also welded and leaded the fender to cowl joint ala the 916 but frankly, didn't think it added much to the appearance so won't be doing that again. IIRC, the Italian cars also had warts, but with clear lenses. Is that correct?
914_teener
QUOTE(bbrock @ Mar 28 2017, 02:50 PM) *

QUOTE(cary @ Mar 28 2017, 01:56 PM) *

I hope I didn't come off too abrupt. welcome.png


Not at all! I appreciate the advice. You have me rethinking my sequence as I was going to save the long for last to get the rest of the car as sound as possible first. But it does make sense to hit it first. As I mentioned in my long story, I learned what NOT to do the last time I replaced a long. But my welding skills and patience have improved greatly since then. Do you have details on those braces that work with the door on? What is the lower end mounted to? And do they have turnbuckles built in?

I've gone back and forth over whether to start with a rotisserie or build a jig similar to what you did. I see the wisdom in the jig. My challenge is that I can't occupy our one open garage bay with the car more than a weekend or 3 days at a time. So I need to be able to roll it in and out onto the gravel driveway. But now I'm thinking I can build that jig on my castors. Put it on stands when in the garage working on it. Then re-purpose the steel for a rotisserie later. Truth be told, I could probably do this without a rotisserie. But I'd like to flip her up to make sure the belly is done right. Plus they look pretty fun. But for now, I think that jig is making more sense to get here solid and straight.

Good tips on organizing too. I already have a mess on my hands. Parts were semi-organized before the move to Montana. Not so much now. And it's amazing how much you forget over 30 years! confused24.gif



Take the tub to Cary for the tub resto.....do the small stuff yourself.

Then drive it.
cary
Hmmm. The in and out deal really won't work for the long work. You'd be spending more time setting up and re-leveling ............. I'd set the car up outside in a portable awning for working on it this summer. It's light till 11 pm.

The rotisserie won't roll on the gravel worth a damn. You'll need some sheets of plywood to roll it on.

I'll dig around for some door brace pictures. From 25,000 ft. The top is anchored to the upper seat belt bolt. The bottom, I weld a big nut to the side wall.
cary
By chance is Kelly Seevers one of your neighbors? He lives up one of those canyons. Old friend from Albertsons.
bbrock
QUOTE(cary @ Mar 28 2017, 07:59 PM) *

By chance is Kelly Seevers one of your neighbors? He lives up one of those canyons. Old friend from Albertsons.


Amazing! Yes he is. Just around the bend. I don't really know him, but neighbors speak highly of the whole family. They are tucked up in "the holler" on Goes Nowhere Road which is aptly named. You'd probably be able to see their house in some of the photos I posted if you cut down the trees.

The roller problem is the whole reason I've put this off for so long. Winds can be wicked in this canyon so awnings would have to be built hell for stout. And my MIG is worthless outside because it is rarely calm enough not to blow the shielding gas away. I picked up a set of these casters at HF to handle rolling on gravel. Snooping the Web, it seems others have made these work. I will know soon enough as I plan to pick up tubing for the jig this week. I can leave the car in the garage for the time it takes to complete the long work. I think the rest can go in and out as needed. Worst case, I may have to throw up a temporary shed around he car in the drive. But I'll try this first. Ideally I would wait on this project until I had built another garage/shop. But the longer I let this car sit, the more expensive the project gets. So I will muddle forward as best I can.
cary
Forgot about the MIG gas ...................... and the east wind.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&...t&p=1717209
We built ours with the rotisserie, sorry kind of cheating.

Sounds like your on the right track. Maybe I can break away for a couple days this summer and come over and check on you.
But the main thing is getting started and staying after it. Your passion is coming thru loud and clear .................
bbrock
QUOTE(cary @ Mar 29 2017, 07:56 AM) *

Forgot about the MIG gas ...................... and the east wind.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&...t&p=1717209
We built ours with the rotisserie, sorry kind of cheating.

Sounds like your on the right track. Maybe I can break away for a couple days this summer and come over and check on you.
But the main thing is getting started and staying after it. Your passion is coming thru loud and clear .................


I spent a lot of time yesterday pouring over those photos on your rustoration thread like a scholar studying the Dead Sea Scrolls. Thought about giving you a hard time about using a rotisserie to build it too happy11.gif I'm going to try to replicate what you did with the addition of the biga$$ tires.

You are welcome anytime! Bring Super-In Law! He looks like about the handiest shop tool a guy could have. Maybe we can get Dave out here and make it a party.

QUOTE(914_teener @ Mar 28 2017, 07:32 PM) *

Take the tub to Cary for the tub resto.....do the small stuff yourself.

Then drive it.


Now where is the fun in that? biggrin.gif I confess I'm a pathologically extreme DIY guy. Spent the last few weekends pouring, finishing, and installing these:
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

That's the second set I've done. The weekend before that was welding in a rocker panel rustoration on my Nissan Pathfinder/snowplow. A couple years back, I did a major patch on the same truck (thanks Kansas road salt mad.gif :
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

I'm ready for this.
bbrock
Made a little progress today. My engine yoke arrived so I hauled my engine out of the shed and mounted it on the stand.

Click to view attachment

That Mehling oil pump will be coming off and replaced with stock before final assembly. I let some yahoo talk me into it way back when. The 050 dizzy will also go. I paid dearly for it back in the day as they were getting hard to come buy.

Click to view attachment

To my horror, one of the cylinders that I had just freed last week and soaked with penetrating oil had already seized again. It took a little coaxing to get that one off. It turned out to be minor but scared the post-2-1117899824.gif out of me.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

It only took about 15 seconds with a hone to clean it up. You can still see a slight discoloration on this one.

Click to view attachment

Unless someone says this is a problem, I'm going to leave it alone. The other cylinders look perfect after a very quick hone. Tomorrow I will give the jugs a hot soapy bath to remove any honing residue and then give them a light coat of motor oil before slipping them back on.

While the jugs were off, I made sure all of the piston rings were floating free in their grooves. A few were gummed in and had to be work a bit to get them free. One of the compression rings from the cylinder that was really stuck and took about 45 minutes soaked in PB Blaster and a lot of gentle tapping with a wooden mallet before it popped loose. Once they were all free, I sprayed blaster into all the grooves and worked the rings around until I was sure they were all floating properly. I plan to give the pistons a wash with lacquer thinner before putting the jugs back on to remove any residue and then smear of motor oil unless someone has a better suggestion. I just don't want to leave anything behind that might interfere with the rings seating when I finally fire it up.

While things were open, I also peaked inside at the crank and camshafts. Everything looked good except some very minor flash rust on one of the rods. I put a drop of assembly lube on a gloved finger and rubbed it out. I smeared a drop on each side of all of the rods for protection. I also added a drop to each of the wrist pin oil ports while they were available.

Finally, I pulled out all the cam followers to make sure there were no issues there and turned the crank a couple revolutions just to make sure things were smooth. Tappet faces, bore and cam lobes were still well protected and lubricated with the assembly lube from when I assembled the case.

Once I have the cylinders back on, I'll spray the piston tops with Stabil fogging oil and stuff them with clean rags to hopefully keep them protected. The tectyl I ordered shipped today so I'll spend a few evenings recleaning the case and will brush it with tectyl when it arrives. Then I'll put a bag on the engine and move on to more important things. Should I fill it with oil?

I'm just glad I caught the engine in time. Maybe its screams were what prompted me to raise this project from the dead. I think if I'd have waited another year, it would have been a very expensive delay.
TM_Corey
Love the story!!

welcome.png
mepstein
You should decide if you want a restoration project or a 914. Once you start stripping down the car, you will find that every panel has rust, multiples of what you see now. A rotisserie wont help at this point, the car will bend, even with door braces. You will spend more money on replacement sheetmetal than you will to buy a nice running 914. And be years ahead.
dcheek
QUOTE(mepstein @ Mar 30 2017, 07:57 AM) *

You should decide if you want a restoration project or a 914. Once you start stripping down the car, you will find that every panel has rust, multiples of what you see now. A rotisserie wont help at this point, the car will bend, even with door braces. You will spend more money on replacement sheetmetal than you will to buy a nice running 914. And be years ahead.

In practical terms you are right but, I understand the emotion involved with this project. It's just the way it has to be done in the owner's mind.

Dave
bbrock
I intended to get the car on a roll-around jig over the weekend but Rocky Mountain spring weather and other obligations slowed progress. At least I got the hard part done which was to mount a cross bar to the trailing arm mounts. The will ride on 2" rails supported by 10" pneumatic casters. I had rotisserie envy since this job took half a day and would have gone much quicker with the car upside down and inside the garage where I could weld without taking it off the car. I thought I had some flux core wire but couldn't find it. So I had to bolt the supports to the car. Jack the cross bar into place, and then haul my welder out to the car to make enough crappy tack welds without the benefit of gas to hold the bits together enough to bring it back in the shop to finish the job. But that's the way it goes.

Had another issue when I returned from the hour round trip to town to buy some bolts, only to discover that some yahoo had mixed non-metric bolts in the bin so half of what I bought won't work. I'll know to always take a voucher nut with me from now on.

Click to view attachment

After the weather turned bad, I spent some time sorting and reorganizing the various boxes of parts that have been moved and stored for thirty years. My box of NOS had an eclectic array of treasures I had forgotten I had bought. Including: caliper rebuild kits, flywheel shims and crush washers, ebrake cable, ignition wires, rocker hardware CV boots, and more. Some stuff won't be used and will wind up FS in the classifieds.

Click to view attachment

Overall, not a lot of progress; but at least it's progress.
Dave_Darling
Sorry, but I gotta ask...

Are you gonna be a dental floss tycoon?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSsCU1Dym-Y


--DD
bbrock
QUOTE(Dave_Darling @ Apr 3 2017, 04:07 PM) *

Sorry, but I gotta ask...

Are you gonna be a dental floss tycoon?

--DD


beerchug.gif Of course! But then again, there are many dental floss tycoons here in Montana.
bbrock
New Wheels and Tires

Well, they aren't exactly stock but seem appropriate for the moment.

Click to view attachment

If I were to do this again, I would have put the car on a rotisserie first and then build the dolly jig. It's just near impossible to jack the car up in a way that the jackstands don't interfere with fitment of the jig. Add to that that one of my jack points was rusted out, I was doing it on a gravel driveway, and it wasn't exactly level. Let's just say that the operation was not OSHA approved and took two solid days to finally get the car on the dolly. Just in time too because within hours of wheeling it in the garage, it started to snow - that's spring in Montana for you. The 10 inch pneumatic tires work reasonably well on our gravel driveway. My wife and I were able to wheel it into the garage without too much trouble. But the pneumatic tires add a lot of rolling resistance and having swivel casters on all four corners makes steering a bear. I think I'll swap the tires our for solid core rubber wheels and see if that helps. I might replace the rear swivels with fixed casters but haven't decided yet.

Just having the car on the dolly makes it look a lot better and I was able to continue with what was left of stripping to the chassis and make a better assessment of the condition of the sheet metal. It looks like about $1,100 of RD panels plus a lot of fabricated patches will get the job done. But I'm hoping to sore at least a few panels from donor cars but so far, no luck on that.

I got most of the tar off the interior floor. The rear section is toast and will need to be replaced. The bottoms of both inner longs are badly rusted but can be patches with sheet metal. The outer flanges of the front floor panels where they attach to the longs are rusted in spots but can be patched. If money were no object, I'd replace the front floor with the RD panel but money is always an object. The two large holes under the pedal cluster that were a major reason the car was mothballed to begin with, did not repair themselves in the thirty years since, so those also need patched.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment


The left outer long is in pretty good shape. I had forgotten that I had patched that long and replaced the jack pyramid and tube and those look good. There is a small patch needed on that long but thanks to the rusted out bottom of the inner, I was able to get a pretty good look inside and don't see anything major over surface rust. I did a lot of stabbing with a screw driver to make sure it was sound.

Moving to the hell hole. Thing were not too bad. The console replacement I did when I first got the car has held up pretty well. I didn't get the rust stabilized as well as I should have, so there are some minor spots to patch but nothing major other than the right long which wasn't touched int he earlier repair. The engine tray is still pretty solid with a few minor spots to be patched, and I need to replace the engine seal track bead. The battery tray is toast. The support is still sound but will need to be removed to access other spots to patch.

The left outer roof pillar needs some minor repair and the right needs major repair. There is about 1/4 inch of bondo and a bunch of "California rivets" on the right quarter panel and pillar so there is almost certainly some metalwork to be done there. And there are lots of small patches in door corners etc. that need to be done.

On the ends, the front trunk floor and rear section of rear trunk floor need replaced. There's a good change the rear trunk lid will get replaced but I'd like fail at hammer forming a patch there first. It seems like a low risk skill builder.

It's a big project ahead. There will be surprises, but the sheet metal bill is about what I was expecting and doesn't seem horribly out of line. Last Friday I upgraded the gas bottle size for my welder and finally got a cart for the rig. I also made an offer on a 60 gal., 6.5 HP air compressor from Craigslist this morning to replace the one I sold with the house when I moved. Still waiting to hear if I was able to snag it. I hope so because I don't think I can do this without good air.

burton73
Hi Brent,

I love your story and the picture of you and your wife from the 80s I was married around then as well.

I do not want to come off as rude but I was born in California and lived here my whole life and have had a number of 914s from my 25th birthday on. I have bought and sold cars over the years and mostly rust free cars have spoiled me. I think you should see if you could get a roller from a dry state and get it delivered to you.

I think you will be ahead of the game. If you do not get a full car look for parts like hoods and doors. I know that I have an old hood and doors with little to no rust. Bruce Stone here can help you get good body parts if you need. Patching panels may save one more 914 but there are still a lot of them. You could get a pallet of parts sent to you from California. “California knows how to party” I was a huge Frank Zappa fan. It should not cost you that much if you combine a bunch of parts.

See what you can find as a roller. I paid $3,500 for a primo roller from Palm Springs that had been repainted really well and had a fresh interior in real leather. Radio, lots of great stuff. New windshield ECT. Carpet. I got the car in my Avatar from Camp914 and he had it delivered to me for $500.

This will all add up plus your time to do all of the work. There will still be plenty to do and you will be on the road much faster if you find the right roller. A fixed rusted car in my option is not as good as an original car. It would take so much more work to fix the rust that you do not see. The sail panels in side are crying. Lots of body panels inside that you cannot see are crying. The problem is if you do not get it all it comes back to haunt you. The perfect paint job 5 years later gets bubbles in it in some areas.

I had a 70 Challenger convertible that I bought in 1983. Looked premo. $3,000. back then. It was Hemi orange, fresh paint. Bought it at a car show in Pomona from 2 guys that brought it down from Canada. Sold it 5 years later for $4,000 after the rust started to creep back through the rockers.

One mans option. But one man that loves these cars as well as you do and as a businessman I look it all over.

Welcome to the board. Great guys and lots of knowledge. I hope I am not out of line.


Bob B
welcome.png
r_towle
welcome.png

NICE mullet!
burton73
Posted twice
JOEPROPER
QUOTE(Dave_Darling @ Apr 3 2017, 06:07 PM) *

Sorry, but I gotta ask...

Are you gonna be a dental floss tycoon?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSsCU1Dym-Y


--DD

av-943.gif I was thinking the same thing!!!
bretth
+1 Zappa! (Whips out old vinyls)
KELTY360
QUOTE(burton73 @ Apr 11 2017, 08:12 PM) *

Hi Brent,

I love your story and the picture of you and your wife from the 80s I was married around then as well.

I do not want to come off as rude but I was born in California and lived here my whole life and have had a number of 914s from my 25th birthday on. I have bought and sold cars over the years and mostly rust free cars have spoiled me. I think you should see if you could get a roller from a dry state and get it delivered to you.

I think you will be ahead of the game. If you do not get a full car look for parts like hoods and doors. I know that I have an old hood and doors with little to no rust. Bruce Stone here can help you get good body parts if you need. Patching panels may save one more 914 but there are still a lot of them. You could get a pallet of parts sent to you from California. “California knows how to party” I was a huge Frank Zappa fan. It should not cost you that much if you combine a bunch of parts.

See what you can find as a roller. I paid $3,500 for a primo roller from Palm Springs that had been repainted really well and had a fresh interior in real leather. Radio, lots of great stuff. New windshield ECT. Carpet. I got the car in my Avatar from Camp914 and he had it delivered to me for $500.

This will all add up plus your time to do all of the work. There will still be plenty to do and you will be on the road much faster if you find the right roller. A fixed rusted car in my option is not as good as an original car. It would take so much more work to fix the rust that you do not see. The sail panels in side are crying. Lots of body panels inside that you cannot see are crying. The problem is if you do not get it all it comes back to haunt you. The perfect paint job 5 years later gets bubbles in it in some areas.

I had a 70 Challenger convertible that I bought in 1983. Looked premo. $3,000. back then. It was Hemi orange, fresh paint. Bought it at a car show in Pomona from 2 guys that brought it down from Canada. Sold it 5 years later for $4,000 after the rust started to creep back through the rockers.

One mans option. But one man that loves these cars as well as you do and as a businessman I look it all over.

Welcome to the board. Great guys and lots of knowledge. I hope I am not out of line.


Bob B
welcome.png


I respectfully disagree. The man has a car he's obviously attached to that is also desirable in the 914 world. He's got the skills and desire to bring the car back. Why would you recommend he go chasing after the mythical rust free roller? We've seen many cars in worse shape than this restored and driven happily. I think you overestimate the number of restorable 914s out there and you certainly denigrate the value of those that are left. You're correct, you are spoiled by the rust free 914s you've owned.

All the best to bbrock for his determination to bring his 914 back to the road.
bbrock
QUOTE(burton73 @ Apr 11 2017, 10:12 PM) *

Welcome to the board. Great guys and lots of knowledge. I hope I am not out of line.


Thanks Bob! Not out of line. Just honest. I realize there are much easier, and most likely cheaper, paths to getting to a nice 914. But that isn't what this is about. If I didn't have this car, I wouldn't be in the market for one. I love these cars and look forward to having one on the road again, but I live in the boonies, 3 miles from the nearest pavement, with 9 months of winter. It's not the worlds most practical car here. But it's the car I have, and I have two choices: restore it, or sell it for parts. Only one of those puts me behind the wheel of a 914 in the future. The other just leaves me with fond memories of how much I enjoyed driving these cars back in the day. But that would be the end of my 914 story.

I realize I could probably get more for just the engine and Fuchs than the whole car is currently worth. I was just joking with my neighbor about that the other day. He has a 71 Challenger BTW and my brother has a 70 Charger. But I work with my brain by day and really enjoy working with my hands in me free time. I love building things, and even more, I like restoring things that have fallen into disrepair. I've also been wanting to take my metal working to another level and I think this car makes a good project. I have very little $ invested. $500 for the car and about $1,500 in the engine. Both paid when the Soviet Union was still a thing and parts were much cheaper then. I know enough about rust on these cars to realize that what is seen on the outside is only a fraction of what is hiding inside. I've been able to get a good look inside the members that would have been a deal killer for me. I think this car is in better shape than many of the projects in rebuild threads I've read through. So I'm moving forward. My only real trepidation is that I know my shop space is woefully inadequate. The plan was to build my shop and THEN work on the car. But time is not this car's friend and I don't have the funds to do both right now. That's just the way it is.
Rusty
Welcome to the board, just a little bit late.

With unlimited time, money, and patience all our little cars could be restored.

I've been down the road you're traveling - you have more skills than I did when I started. I wish you lots of great memories. smile.gif
aggiezig
welcome.png

Really admire your passion for your 914. Best of luck, will be watching this thread!

P.S. - I had those same HF casters on my first body stand and ended up trashing them. The "swivels" got loose over time with the weight of the car and I became concerned one of them would topple when trying to steer around. Granted, my stand was much higher off the ground and made of wood.

If you have access to steel, consider building a rotisserie or octisserie (see mine). Really wasn't too much more work and being able to flip the car over has made it incredibly easy to do underside repairs.
bbrock
QUOTE(aggiezig @ Apr 13 2017, 12:05 AM) *

welcome.png

Really admire your passion for your 914. Best of luck, will be watching this thread!

P.S. - I had those same HF casters on my first body stand and ended up trashing them. The "swivels" got loose over time with the weight of the car and I became concerned one of them would topple when trying to steer around. Granted, my stand was much higher off the ground and made of wood.

If you have access to steel, consider building a rotisserie or octisserie (see mine). Really wasn't too much more work and being able to flip the car over has made it incredibly easy to do underside repairs.


Thanks! You've confirmed what I suspected with those casters. They are cheap HF after all and not top quality. I figure at $15 a pop, I can replace as needed during the project. I'm probably going to swap 2 of he casters out for fixed casters which will take a couple of those cheap swivel bearings out of the equation and give me spares. I think that will help enormously with being able to steer this when rolling in and out of the garage.

A rotisserie is definitely in the future. My plan is to get the longs repaired while it is on this jig with car supported by suspension mounts and doors braced, then cut the jig up to repurpose some of the steel for a rotisserie. I sized the tubing with that in mind. I looked at your octisserie option and like it a lot. But decided with my tight garage space, it wasn't going to work. I found a neat rotisserie design that uses a couple of HF worm drive winches to raise and lower the car. I will probably go that route.

I'm giving your rebuild thread another read to see how you tackled some of the repairs I'm getting ready to dive into.
worn
Off topic. But I too admire the plan.

I am thinking of driving out to that region this summer. Are there any Montana Wyoming Idaho etc group events such as drives? Made it to Arizona last year and had a blast.
cary
QUOTE(bbrock @ Apr 12 2017, 10:02 AM) *

But I work with my brain by day and really enjoy working with my hands in me free time. I love building things, and even more, I like restoring things that have fallen into disrepair. I've also been wanting to take my metal working to another level and I think this car makes a good project.


That's what got me started. It's now become my semi retirement career.
I too hate to throw things away. Keep up the good work.

As for the $$$$ portion of the deal. You have figure your time has no value. It's a hobby and it's all about the learning. It's not for everyone. Keep track of your parts and project consumables. The $$$ you would have calculated as wages will be gobbled up with painting the car. Maybe you'll get lucky on painting. I had my Carrera RS replica project painted for $500. I did all the bodywork, he did the paint. Montana pricing.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911...rs-project.html

Which morphed into this :
Click to view attachment

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911...s-begun-13.html

This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.
Invision Power Board © 2001-2024 Invision Power Services, Inc.