Well, after a few quick spring spins I decided to take a look at what I am dealing with. The thick bondo in the rear passenger long was a concern. After 30 minutes with a cutting disc I am at a stop. I knew the best case scenario would be outer long replacement, unfortunately it is not the case. I am ready to do all the work. I bought a fantastic Lincoln mig welder with a tank, stand, the whole nine yards. Over the past 6 months I re-arranged the garage, got two dedicated 30 amp circuits in, bought all the tools, for welding and metal work, monster compressor, air tools, I have parts for a nice dolley I designed. I have braces from another board member, manuals, read all the welding and metal fabrication books from our local library. Watched all the videos, read all the forum threads, memorized Restoration Design catalog.

It is an early numbers matching 1970 that starts, stops, drives. Interior is nice, targa top is mint, dashboard is perfect, lights work. Came with original manual, passenger foot rest, original spare with what looks like the original tire. Two coats of paint. Odometer shows 27k

Pictures below, comments are welcome.

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Looks like you want to dive in the deep end.

Short of having a frame bench I'd lift the car as high as you can with a set of these.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/bti-rr-w...iEaAjBWEALw_wcB
That has the car frame loaded. Jack stands only has the weight hanging off the ends. Which could cause you grief down the road. I'd do both inside braces and door braces. That way occasionally thru out your journey you can re hang the doors and take a look at your door gaps.

Oh yeah , more pictures ................

Life is a journey. Fix it.

How rusty is the rest of the car?

This car would have been a throwaway for most people not all that long ago. Easy decision, game over. BUT if this is the only bad spot, the list above makes me think the car is worth saving—and the trend of sales on BaT and elsewhere would suggest the same. If the rest of the car is pretty good, I'd get to work.



pete

If you want a project, repair it. If you don't want to wait a couple years (or more) to drive a 914, get a better chassis.

agree with mepstein, but I would not suggest learning to weld as you are repairing that car.

learn how to weld before you fix the car.

-Pete-

That car is still a throw away on the west coast. That is more rust repair than the car is worth. Even if you do all the work yourself on weekends... This is a 20 year and $20k journey.

If you are up for a challenging project, go for it. A year ago, mine looked way worse. It took about $4K and hundreds of hours of work to make it solid, but now I'm winding down the metal work and hope to have it in primer by mid summer. Check out this post for the short version: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&...t&p=2593168 or the build thread in my signature for the long version. It can be done. It's a lot of hard work, but very rewarding. Good luck!

Or look at my thread.. Its savable.. Well worth it in the long run

Hey Mike,

I woulda said the same not long ago, but I think that logic is changing before our very eyes. Witness the prices on a number of low-mile, highly original 914-4s. Then consider the OP's statement:

"It is an early numbers matching 1970 that starts, stops, drives. Interior is nice, targa top is mint, dashboard is perfect, lights work. Came with original manual, passenger foot rest, original spare with what looks like the original tire. Two coats of paint. Odometer shows 27k."

If the above is accurate, and it's the longitudinal and a paint job away from turning into a great low-mile car, this car might be a break-even already and money ahead by the time it's done (so long as it's done to a level that honors the car's originality). Also a car well worth saving regardless of the future value—truly stock first-year 914-4s are probably rarer than 914-6s. So now is the time to undo stuff like the Porsche crests on the hood, stripes, etc.

If it isn't a low-mile car, and the parts above aren't mint, then I'm with you...

pete

Ive got a similar project. Without the motor, and im restoring it.
Its time and money. The values are there to suport doing it. Your not going to get rich doing it, but as others have said its the journey. And you won't be upside down at current values.

Mark

Sometimes with Porsches you have to be forward thinking. Would the next generation benefit from having another 914 to enjoy, I think the answer is yes. I normally tell people you are better off welding angle steel to the side of your car and enjoying it rather than scrapping it. Let the next owner fix it right, but at least there will be a next owner. I know of lots of Porsches that people wish they kept but they were worthless at the time. This car comes to mind, bet any one of us wish we had a Speedster.
https://www.pca.org/news/2018-04-13/barnfin...rline-worthless

My 356 was fixed with flat floors back in the 80s because no one was making correct replacement floors. Several decades later they are still there. Is it a correct fix to repair the rust? No. But you can't see the floors while you're driving.
My advice if you like your car, buy a welder, fix it, even if it's a horrible fix. The world needs more vintage Porsches not less. I'm saying this because your car is a running, driving, car you enjoy. If it was a bare tub I would probably tell you to find a better tub, but since a little bad welding and you can still be out cruising, I vote for cruising.

I remember seeing this car for sale on Craigslist for a couple years. You should come to Morts monthly 914 BBQ gatherings in Chester N.Y. not too far from you where you can see some similar rust repair of a car Mort is currently working on. My own car is in a similar state but not quite as bad as yours. If can be fixed but you will at least want to take a welding class and practice on some scrap or other projects first. There is a welding school in Schenectady that I went to. They give you an expensive welder to use and a lot of scrap metal and you just go welding for 6 hours straight for $200.

Thank you for all the encouragement. I slept on it and decided to continue with the project. Might go the "long route", not stripping it down to the frame. I will concentrate on making it structurally sound fixing both longitudinals, floors and the fire wall if necessary. The hell hole and engine shelf are surprisingly in good shape. The battery shelf is broken off but the rest looks OK. Not going for a show car, want to drive it and have fun. My 16 year old is starting to get interested in cars, he want to drive it, told him he has to help fixing it first.

Here are the next few steps, I appreciate feedback to the order.

1. Remove seats, carpet, speaker covers so that I can take a look at the floor.

2. Attach the "traveling door braces" that are kindly on loan from saigon71.

3. Build by dolley, I have all the parts, it will consist of 2x6 on the side, two of them bolted together on the long end, one to cap, has angle braces on the corners. I have 6 industrial steel casters with brakes to go under. Plan is to have 2x4 running horizontally across that I can reposition as the project dictates. Goal is to have the floor 24" off the ground. I will have 4 bolt through eye loops on th dolley so that I can strap the card down.

4. Hoping I can do the structural metal work engine in.

5. I have budgeted for parts from Restoration Design, I want to save time. For metal areas that you can't see and are easy to shape I plan on making patch panels myself whenever possible.

Thanks again for all the support and help.

I would also suggest removing the fuel lines before you start welding and replace them with stainless steel from tangerine racing.

I would plan to drop the engine. It isn't hard and just not worth trying to work with the engine in place.

When you inspect the floor, make sure you scrape all the tar off. The tar tends to hide rotted floors.

Post pics of your progress. Good luck!

The question I would ask first:
Which are you?:
o I am a guy that loves welding and metal work, and having a sweet car at the end will be a bonus.
- or -
o I love to drive a sweet car and I don't mind doing some repair work to get there.

My observation is that everyone on this board falls strongly into ONE of these categories. Figure out which one you are - all the advice is good, but follow the advice from the like-minded ones.

Totally doable!
Doable with engine in the car, use door braces and/or multiple point frame support and make sure you monitor door gap.
That said, I did mine with jack stands on front axle, engine mount bar, and several other adjustable stands under the longitudinals and under the rear bumper. I removed no more than half the longitudinal at a time. I basically replaced the bottom half of the longitudinals, cabin side and exterior "inner" longitudinals.

Putting it back factory may be important for a concours restoration, but it is only as good as the original design and manufacturer made it to sell. Your repair can actually strengthen and make it so that it will outlast an OEM repair. I hid some flatbar inside that ties the rear suspension, engine mount, and the longitudinal way forward to the seat crossmember. I also added an extra layer on the inner firewall and over the longitudinal in the cabin and on the outside using plug welds. Stiffens the car really well for track events.

Remove tar from floorboards if you find rust. Your can replace sections of the floor where needed.

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Thank you for the cool images. Not going for show car, I want to enjoy driving it. Always wanted to get into welding, I am a total DIY guy, built an addition on the house, plumbing, electrical, cycling mechanic, high end ski tuning and boot fitting - I know my way around tools.

Seats and carpet going out is next, strip down the floor and evaluate. I will post some pictures when I am at that stage. Will try to do this with engine out but not sure if I can weld a new battery tray and mount while the motor is in.

I will fall into one. I have to do it all myself to be able to afford this. If it all goes well I might strip down to bare metal at the end and have it professionally painted. Looking at driving this next year the earliest, I get really busy with work between May and October, I am in the cycling industry, sales rep.