Greetings...long time lurker first time poster.

After staying in the shadows for a little while watching and learning I figure I'd finally take the plunge and say hello and show progress of my latest undertaking.

I've spend the last many years over on the 'Bird' in regards to my old 911 and other projects but it was time to try something slightly different and get back into a 914. I say get back since I had one as a young university man and was my version of a low brow Risky Business

I wasn't necessarily looking for a 914 but a few things fell into place that made me finally take the plunge 1) There was what seemed a really decent roller nearby 2) I had a friend of friend offer me the spoils of a left over failed conversion attempt 3) I have the 2.4L from my 911 sitting in a box doing me no good

And finally I'm also and avid DIYer. I'm no pro by any means. I drive a desk for work, but I grew up always trying to build and do things on our own so it does come a little naturally and with the complete satisfaction of my 911 journey why not another. I'm also in Canada so when winter hits I need to figure out something else to do besides watch hockey and drink beer (not that there is anything wrong with that)

Anyway, this is a great forum, love the resources, banter, etc, and figured I'd share another car/build.

So, of course we all love pictures...this is what I started with. Kinda of a barn/garage find. 1972, no motor/trans, rough interior, some sort of re-spray, prior right fender accident. Key point was that besides the hell hole I couldn't find too many problem areas at first glance.

So, comment away, constructive criticism is always welcome and I'm sure to reach out with a bunch of questions since I haven't figured out a few items yet for the conversion process.

Cheers,
Marlon


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Here are couple more starting point pics...and of course to make fun of myself; Risky Business in all it's glory. Blazer, T-Shirt, Ray Ban Knock offs...good times and good memories.

All I remember it was a 1970 model, maybe a 1.7 with a singe Carb and intake runners. But to me it was a Porsche; taught me how to really drive a car (since under powered, keep up the RPM, etc)

That's one of cool things about cars if you are a car guy, err, person...the emotional attachment, memories, freedom.

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Welcome! I’m tuned in to see where this project goes. I have a 2.4 going in my six conversion as well. Interesting rims? (Black ones, first pic) American racing LeMans rims? The snowplow front spoiler on the yellow one seems appropriate for a Canadian 914! Heheheh
Good luck with the project.

Yes, American Racing wheels, which are great.... in 5 bolt configuration. To me they just don't look right as a 4 bolt. Anyway, I have 7 and 8 x 15 Fuchs for the end game.

The whole project really started when I was offered first dibs for a bunch of conversion pieces from a 20 year old conversion attempt. It was one of those opportunities I couldn't pass up on. The project never made it to any form of completion but what I did find out was that they spared no expense. Most of everything was new and it sat in a garage. They loved paint so they painted everything weird colors so I send a few weeks cleaning and stripping paint and found out I ended up with NOS..Bilstein Struts and inserts, Welmeister front and rear sway bars, new sway away T-Bars, New 930 cross vented rotors, brake shoes. Looks like 1972 Aluminum S- Calipers, and they beefed up the rear trailing arms I gather for some sort of V-8 Conversion.

So basically the entire undercarriage was ready for me to convert...almost too easy

Took this...

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Ended up with this...I didn't even have a car yet.


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Looking forward to seeing this thread progress!

Looks like some nice puzzle pieces you've got there!

Keep the posts coming and .

- Tony

Looks like a fantastic start! Good luck.

Looks like a great start.

Thanks for all the greetings. I figure one more post for my initial day. I'm about 8 months of spare time, odd weekends, and skipping work days into this. So, I have a few more worth while posts to get caught up.

As with many of us, once we get the car in the garage it's hard not to start tearing into it.

I was again very surprised at the over all condition on this since I had no history at all. I've seen some of the projects on here and I am in awe and amazed at some of the fantastic 'rebirths' and saves that many have done. Luckily this car seemed to have fared well over the years. My welding skills are probably my weakest point and I was hoping to do very little of it.

I think an earlier accident may have given this car some life as it must have been still worth saving and some replacement panels must have come into play. The right fender looks to be a replacement from the seam brazing I noticed and the rockers are rock solid. The hood looks to be a replacement as well.

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Of course one thing leads to another and I really started to strip items away...that's future me's problem when reassembly is required.


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I love the American Racing Wheels. They are my favorite 4 lug wheels. I agree 5 lug wheels look better than 4 but if I've gotta go with 4, the American Racing wheels you've got are the best.

That is a nice blue color... sorry colour

Decided to jump around and tackle different items...maybe so I don't get bored doing one continuous thing?

I also try to clean and prep everything as I take them off. It sometimes slows down the process but I think it really speeds up the assembly and fun stuff when you can simply pick an item off the shelf, or in my case the downstairs family room and spare bedroom to my wife's dismay

Grabbed the fuel tank and tried the POR15 treatment. I have never done this...I assume good results. Anyone try this themselves on a crusty tank? The etching process worked quite well and really the tank looked good.

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After rolling around the tank with big nuts and bolts and final etching.
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Final coating treatment...looks fresh and clean.
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No leaks that's the main thing right?

haa...you must be part Canadian, not only knowing the other spelling, you even said Sorry.

One tip when using epoxy like that on a gas tank is to make sure that the thread holes have Vaseline on them so they don’t get coated and then required Remedial attention.

Thanks for starting the thread, please continue to keep us posted and good luck!

Hey, that's a pretty handy tip...luckily the threads for the fuel outlets are on the exterior but I did have to clean/chase a little on the small fuel bung holes.

So, even though I have a budget, and trying to stay near it, and I'm only installing a 2.4L I figure I would go with a front oil cooler. I want the over all end project to have a little street hot rod feel. Plus the 2.4L is the matching number to my 911 and will have to stay with it in the end, so I'm trying to design the over all engineering to be able to take any Porsche Air cooled 6 (within reason)

I followed some great threads showing the process to removing/reinforcing the front end for pan removal etc. Again, welding is not always the nicest but I over engineer and plan for covering any of my welds...gotta love that seam sealer and undercoating.

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It think the intake and floor pan worked out all right. Once cleaned up, epoxy primed, coated, and finally painted it will look all right...plus a shroud goes over top of it all.

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I'm not worried about originality or duplication of the real grill/cover or other components...I'm more of a believer of "Function over Form"... but I am happy with the fit and finish of my attempt.

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Welcome ..looks like you’re in the South Okanagan.... there’s a few 914’s around ..At least 2 here in Summerland ....reach out if you need any local info otherwise see you at Cars and Coffee in the spring

Summerland is a little hotbed for Early Porsche's! I'm familiar with a few old P-cars and owners from there. As for Cars and Coffee, if you've been in the past I'm sure we've probably have met. Most know me by my 911 since it kinda sticks out from the rest of crowd.

Marlon

Got some more progress pics from the project....after fooling around with the front grill I started on the undercarriage. Project idea is for me to do all the underside, inner's, trunks, etc. Then get a real pro for the shiny parts.

That being said I started to tackle the wheel wheels, rockers, and floor pans looking for trouble. Again, got very lucky. The underside had I gather some sort of early undercoating. It was a pain to remove since no real quick mechanical method seemed to work. Wire brushes, sanding or chemical would just gum up or make a mess so really it was and sharp scraper and chip away. It chipped of fairly easy and exposed a really well preserved underside. The only few floor pan issues were from water sitting in the interior and rusting through to the bottom. The rockers were rock solid too.

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So, decided to play and try my hand and making cool racing bits. Not really necessary but why not. Made some gusseting and sway bar reinforcement. There is my poor welding skills in all it's glory. Didn't look too bad after dressing the welds and once under undercoating they will look just fine.

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The rear has a lot of surface area but wanted to do the job right (and cost effective)
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Couple more shots before the final scrub down to metal on the underside and inners...Once on a roll I kept forgetting to take pictures but got some major milestone ones regardless.
One question...for the life of me, I can't find the shortcuts for subscribed threads. I know how to subscribe but once done where is the link/shortcut? I know it must be simple but I can't seem to find it.

My final fix for the hell hole..it wasn't that bad but after I patched it I decided to over patch, kinda like the body reinforcement kit which I also did...wasn't necessary but I thought again why not.

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So after this I took everything down to metal and found a few other little problem spots. Finally after all that I cleaned and cleaned and then built a tent (hint: not to sleep in)

Welcome to 914 World!

Looks like a very solid car to start with. The original color appears to be Marathon Blue Metallic.

You clearly have some skills, this should be a good build.

John

Nice rescue!

Welcome aboard. I’d support the door openings while your working on the body. Double check the door fit first to make sure your happy with it.

Thanks for the comments...I've tried my hands at 2 911 builds and each time I try to do a little more. The 914 is the farthest I've gone in one go and I keep changing the end result in my head. I'm having fun with this platform.

Next up Epoxy primer...makes the car look real good real fast. I found it fun and easy to spray. I've done inner fenders or panels before but nothing this large in one go.

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Once cured I decided to texture undercoat the underside and certain areas before applying color.

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In the end I'm really happy with the end result and next would be a dash of color. Again, something I've never really tackled at this size.

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There's a fun new racetrack in that neighborhood too.

Picked a color...love the color.

Hard to get feel for any color from pictures. Base plus clear Blau Metallic

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Can sort of get a feel for the metallic flake.

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Excited to see what the exterior will look like with a real painter shooting.

This concluded another huge milestone. Now I can reassemble some of the chassis, suspension and the likes. Plan was to ship it out the door to a good friend and learn some real body work and prep for paint.

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Few more in progress...Re-install of suspension. Was going to forgo a parking brake but had most of the 911 e-brake parts on hand and a parking brake really is handy.

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After this is was a little more paint removal that i wanted to undertake before it was out the door for some fender treatment.

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Looks great.. Please note don't drill the tank holes until you get the tank. Make a template off of that 1st. It will benefit you..

Just noticed your handbrake setup,can't see a top brake shoe retainer on the trailing arms ? don't rely on the back plate to retain the shoes,its simply not strong enough for an emergency brake...ask me how I know.
If you have them ignore my comment,if not you need to weld a 40mm wide tab on the trailing arms,the car these parts come off (911) already has that piece on the trailing arms.
You are making amazing progress on this build and I love the colour...keep it up the good work

Thanks

Tank was in when I took the plunge. Just doing the raw hole like what I did on my 911. More racer like ? Trying my hand with my own bolt it filler neck to the existing tank and whatever one calls the existing overfill/spill surround.

Marlon

It's hidden but it's there, I did weld in a 40mm tab/retainer in the rear between the shoes. Everything I believe checks out. I say believe, since the one item I'm missing is the short cable piece from the e-brake handle to the equalizer bar. On the list of little items to finish.

I think you are doing a great job and I love the color. Looking forward to seeing the exterior body work and paint.

My duhh moment. You are of course talking about your oil tank yet to come. I was already thinking of this pic that was upcoming in which I got out the big hole saw for the hood.

This is when I dropped off the car with a good friend who happens to be a a real awesome body dude. Idea was that I was still going to do and learn the body prep and finish under his mentorship but he would do the heavy lifting and of course the fenders.

Spend a lot of time test fitting, string lining, measuring and aligning the fenders so both sides are symmetrical, straight and flow together front to back.

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Watching with interest! I'll be doing something similar later this year....

Thanks, its been a fun project thus far. It has been a sort of open canvass. I don't really have an end product in mind except for the fenders and the 2.4L. I look at all the awesome threads, builds and cars on this site and keep getting ideas.

Body Work Time...so really starting to understand the amount of time required for a good end result. I great paint job is only the result of great prep and finish and you truly get what you pay for. The amount of hours is quite incredible especially the hand work. I'm amazed on the amount of product that ends up on the ground even with well prepared metal.

The fenders even though seemly great reproductions from RD are far from weld on and good to go. They took a lot more massaging to make a great fit. I left that to the pro while my work out consisted of the doors and deck lids.

Doors were in really good shape and besides a few areas for the rubber seal trim I had solid panels to work with.

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After epoxy and time to cure it was on to primer and sanding, guide coat, sanding, guide coat, sanding, spot reapply, guide coat, sanding...you get the idea. I worked through various grits with the eventual final being 600 prior to shipping off to paint. You can see the master indicating all the areas that still needed attention as I progressed along various stages.

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Never really did take too many early pics as we progressed but I'm sure we all have seen many pics before...various stages of fender install, application, and finish.

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Initial stages of shaping and blending of flares.

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Starting to look like something good now.

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And eventually after all prep the initial epoxy application...the begining of the end product. Of course posting pics makes it look so easy but many many hours of labour.

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Any updates?

Man you are flying through this. Love the way it is looking

Yup...final stages of body work. Into the finish primer and one afternoon a quick spray of the backsides of the tins and doors so that we could re-hang and do final prep before shipping it out the door. Everything looks real good but still so hard to envision what the paint will look like on top of that grey mass.

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Haa, well pictures do make it look quick...I still have a day job and a family so there is a few months here. I think I spent 'calendar wise' about 40 days for body prep. So, basically whenever I could get to it with my buddy. He of course probably could have got it all licked in 10 days but that wasn't the idea nor did I want to pay the dollars for it

I'm lucky with the desk job, I do most of my reading/research/ideas at work so spare time is optimized for fun (outside of course family).

Cliff hanger pic's...outside paint shop and a fuzzy inside paint booth awaiting a splash of color.

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that colour is BEAUTY

What is the color code on the Karmann tag ?
That is an unusual color for a '72 car.
Beautiful

It's not the original color code...the car didn't have the tag and from some of the original paint maybe it was Marathon or Gemini Metallic Blue?

I wanted to go a little darker so I went with a special order 1972 911 color which is just called straight Blue Metallic. (code 8484 or 8410)

It turned out great in my opinion...a young painter got her chance to spray it and the paint tech came down for the spray job. They used high end Glasurit Clear Coat and it looks good.

These phone pic shows a little of the finish from 20 feet.

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Started with some of the easier assembly items. Again, pictures make it look so fast and easy.

Lots of nice new 914rubber seals and gaskets going in at the same time.
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During mock up made my own hood pin plates from some nice stainless pieces hanging about. Not worried about originality, but it does look the part?
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Managed to get everything back to where I think it goes. Hopefully it all works eventually.
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Your car looks fantastic. If your going to paint it, why not use a color that is unique.