Yes it is a sickness; and I believe other World members have it. I went so far as to transfer the stickers and felt bad from my broken fan housing to the new one. Only I will know.


Inspired by the crew here, I spent more hours than I should have on my blower. Though a hidden part, I am happy with my results.

I started with my original system paired with a donor system I purchased several years ago. I used Easy-Off to remove most all of the overspray, followed by a combination of 1000, 2000, Autsol, and Magic Eraser. New 914 Rubber seals and plated hardware finished if off. Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment[attachmentid=673
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Nice work!

Not sick........awesome!

Love it!!!

And here is my favorite part:

Damn. That looks awesome! Bet you're tempted to get another one to install in the hidden spot under the cowl and mount this one in the trunk where it can be admired.

Ya but it’s a enjoyable sicknesses! Did a great job looks like a new.

Nice job. You're not alone, I also suffer the same sickness.

Nothing better than done correctly.

Wow, looks new.

Dang! That's nice!

A tutorial? for those of us who are happily 914 sick. Those plastic pieces weren't just/only cleaned, right ?

You’re making me want to tear mine apart again to detail it.

Stop it!

Ditto. Mine cleaned up nice but rather than have the hardware replated, I just painted them. After seeing Stephen's work, I decided I'd tear it apart again and send the hardware for plating. Now with this, I HAVE to!

Love it, but I would have to make two of them because there is a good chance that the first one I try to install will end up flying across the garage in a fit of rage

That is a sickness we all enjoy.

Since a few members have asked, here is how I did it without using paint. I carefully removed all the metal clips and pulled the cases apart exposing the fan and the flapper valves. I believe the nuts/bolts on the flappers were 8mm. I removed the fan sensor, cleaned the contacts, and lightly brushed off the fan blades. These blades are thin, brittle, and easy to break.

While all the metal parts were getting yellow zinc'd, I ordered the 914rubber seals and removed the overspray with Easy-Off oven cleaner. I did not let the Easy-Off sit for very long before I hosed it off and the easy off makes the paint easy to scrape/sand off. I then used 1000 and 2000 grit, in that order, to wet sand most of the scratches, and dullness left by the Easy-Off.

I used Magic Eraser and Autosol, sometimes together and sometimes alone, with great success to get to the areas that I could not with the sand paper. And I used a lot of elbow grease.

I used a soft toothbrush to clean up the areas close to the letters and in the cracks. When the clips arrived I reversed the process, being very careful to not break the fragile plastic.

I used my original system from an early car and some common parts from a later car. I plated as much as I could and sold all the leftovers to help offset my costs.

Really nice job! I plan to do a similar job (without the plating) this winter. I'm curious, does the easy off somehow not remove the black paint below the overspray in a way that laquer thinner would?

@914_7T3

Functional ART!!!!

Oscar

Any paint ? The plastic looks great ! Nice work

Unless a PO painted it, there is just black plastic under the overspray - no paint. Anything that softens paint without damaging the plastic will work. I used brake fluid but it was a slow, messy process and brake fluid is not fun to work with.

Oh, good to know (I haven’t touched it yet so thought it was metal). What’s the best option out there for the job?

Looks great! And, the sickness is contagious

That.s an amazing job.

One of the hardest things I.ve done on a 914 is installing that back in the car.

Although tempted, I did not use paint. The system is black plastic with no paint unless it is overspray. The easy off just serves as a paint remover, but you can’t leave it on there very long or it will start to eat at the plastic. For the record @defianty , your job drove me to this.

Can't really say. All I know is that brake fluid works but isn't fun and is nasty stuff to work with. My experience with oven cleaner (never used it to remove paint from plastic) is that it is not fun and is nasty stuff to work with. I guess pick your poison.

I think it's interesting that there are 3 different approaches/restoration levels presented in this thread now: cleaned and polished, cleaned and painted, and just cleaned. Looking at these, I may need to polish mine now. For sure I need to have the hardware re-plated!

Does the shine come from dancing with 1,000 and 2,000 grit W/D ? Or, it there more to be done ...

Yep, w/d 1K/2K sandpaper Worked great for the big areas like the front of the box. I also really liked the Autosol and Magic Eraser for the more contoured and hard to reach areas.

What is Autosol ? Is is like Simple Green ? Never seen it in a store ...,

Autosol is a metal polish I first heard about on here. Turns out is does a good job on plastic. Probably lots of products like it, but it worked for me.

If your sending your bits out for plating. Make sure they get baked.
Spring steel needs to be baked to keep from getting brittle.
Seems my batches are inconsistent at being baked so I'm going to make sure I request it next time I have springs in the batch. I haven't had one of the c clips break yet. But I've heard stories.

I think it's known as 'hydrogen embrittlement'

I think it's known as 'hydrogen embrittlement'
The detail work is fantastic. I'm jealous. DP !

Thanks:

@cary , curious if you use any kind of acid to clean spring steel before having them plated and baked. I've read that acid clean can contribute to hydrogen embrittlement and I have used vinegar to dissolve heavy rust off many parts. My hope is that this kind of exposure to a mild acid isn't a problem. I also know the parts are typically dipped in strong acid prior to plating so I'm thinking as long as they are baked at the end of the process, it should be okay.

BTW, the US military found that long term exposure to Simple Green also causes hydrogen embrittlement. I learned that on a woodworking site because Simple Green is commonly used to clean pitch off of saw blades. Works great, but if you soak the blade overnight, you are asking for trouble.

Man, it now makes sense. When I was putting the springs on the drain tubes, post plating, I broke three of them. It is a good thing I had more plated than I needed because they snapped as I was compressing them. I suspected the metal had fatigued due to a combination of age and chemical treatment. Now I know is was "hydrogen embrittlement". The World is also a chemistry class it seems. For future plating I will certainly request the metal be baked.

That is some nice work Bill!
Can't wait to see the car in person

In the cycling world, we learned that soaking the chain in simple green will weaken it and the plates will crack and break.

No, not as a general rule. If plating is coming off sometimes I'll soak them in vinegar to remove. Going forward never on springs. Usual prep is blasting cabinet or wire wheel.

I'd like to thank everyone for the chemistry lesson.

You guys got it bad. Only cure is cowbell. If that. Also to original poster, well done!