And the left side.

But the left side had a surprise! First, some bondo in the channel, hiding distortion of the channel side.

And then LOTS of bondo on the cowl top surface, hiding a big divot in the sheet metal. I can imagine the trunk lid flying up and whacking the cowl hard enough to bend it. But I can't imagine why somebody did not straighten it better, before slathering on 1/4 of bondo.

Festival of holes, part 2, is done. I patched and welded all the holes in the passenger side firewall...

...driver side firewall...

...and dash under-panel. Plus the front right inner fender wall.

Put windows in the doors and seals too.
I had a big issue of the doors seeming to fit, but when I installed the door glass and seals, nothing fit above the doors.
Meaning the opening for the side glass in the doors wasn't wide enough.

It necessitated me to push the entire windshield assembly, posts and all, forward.
Not the best of situations.
I accomplished it though and the side windows fit much better.

Bob....seems like you're going to have a field day grinding down all your welds?
Or are you doing it as you go?

I try to spend time grinding as I go, but I have fallen behind. I definitely have some grinding party days ahead.

Speaking of grinding, at least bondo grinding, I decided to check out the right side of the cowl. Sure enough, about 1/8 inch of bondo. And then another surprise (but not completely).

I guess PO decided not to have a radio antenna.

Got the Dremel tool out and cut the brazing. The hole is whole again.

And in keeping with PO repair quality, check the piece they brazed on the underside. Nice shape!

One more job for the grinder: the left front fender. And if you are keeping score, this means the only panel not (yet) subject to repair or replacement is the left rear fender.

Anyway, I knew the front part of the fender had been repaired, with puller holes showing on the inside and some filler. Turns out quite a bit of filler.

The metal can be made lots better.

Am I seeing right that the antenna hole is in the cowl? I've never seen one mounted there. Usually on driver's side fender or sometimes passenger side.

Thats my guess for the purpose of the hole. Now you reminded me to do more research for the standard location for 1973.

In any case, the metal is not really strong enough there.

Just a little time today to play 914, so I worked more on the right side of the cowl. I got the alignment pretty good, but the channel might need replacing.

Finished the festival of holes, with step 3: grinding. Here is the right side of the firewall.

And the left side.

And the dash under-panel.

I also refilled the antenna hole in the right cowl. Besides not being a stock location, the metal is not strong or stiff enough. Here is a patch cut to fit from genuine 914 sheet metal.

Welded in place.

And after a quick grinding.

Nice work as always!

You are really good at welding thin sheet metal.

Do you use copper backers or just have a really skillful trigger finger?

Do find the spark to be distorted when using strong magnets nearby?

John

Thanks. I have a copper spoon and use it whenever I can. I have also learned (the hard way) to weld one dot at a time.

I have not noticed any affect from the magnets.

I got to try my latest tool acquisition: a shrinking disk. This is a polished stainless steel disk with a raised edge. On the grinder, it spins against sheet metal and the friction creates local heat. A quick spray of water cools and shrinks the hot spot.

I did this for about 20 minutes on the left side of the cowl, where previous deformation and repair had stretched the metal and created a 4 inch spot that oil-canned up and down. The shrinking worked great and made the cowl section flatter and more rigid.

After the shrinking work, I decided to cut out a smaller area than planned.

And I had time to fit a cardboard template for the patch. Too bad metal does not work as fast.

Translating cardboard into recycled 914 sheet metal. Here is the piece cut out and marked.

And after an hour of metal work, I had this. I evened managed to get some curvature in the piece.

And fitted into place.

While in the mood, I started on the last big job--reinstalling the right front fender. Here's the mounting flange on the A-pillar after cutting out a segment that was mangled.

And a small patch ready for welding.

MIG time today. First, the patch in the left side of the cowl.

Then a bit of grinding.

And then another session with the shrinking disk, to get the profile near right.

Then the right side, welding up the semi-rotten metal in the trough.

And ground down.

Finally, the section of the fender mounting flange.

Looking ahead, the next job is the last big task on the body shell: remounting the right front fender that I cut off months ago to start this restoration.

The fender needs a little work first, along the leading edge where it meets the side of the front panel, by the end of the bumper.

Got to work on the fender today. Here it is in a quick jig to stabilize it while I removed the crumple along the leading edge bumper recess. And my big movement tools (section of 2x4 and 4 lb hammer).

With the recess 90% straight, the next step is stripping paint to expose the bare metal. Guess what--bondo!

And with metal exposed, I can see what I need to fix: mostly along the leading 3 or 4 inches.

Before any more metal work, I wanted to see how the fender fits overall. Here is it roughly in place.

Another view.

Besides dealing with the seam along the top, inside the weatherstrip channel, and the fit along the rear, the biggest challenge is the front, where the fender meets the front panel. Both were deformed, so I can't use one to guide the other.

Time for lots more measurements and comparing distances and angles from right side to left side. And also check against the frunk lid and bumper.

Looking inside the fender, where it meets the mounting flange on the A-pillar.

And from the back side of the A-pillar.