Hi all,

Picked up project car about 2 weeks ago. I'm very excited to get started on this build, I'll try to document and share my progress as I go. I originally created a profile here at 914World back in 2006 when I was in High school, and had bought a 74 914 as my first car for $1200. It was a great first car, I had a lot of fun fixing it up while using it as my daily. When I went off to college, I sold the car, but felt like I had unfinished business to do.

Recently I started lurking here again looking to get back into a project 914 to hopefully take the car where I wanted to, but didn't have the funds, skills, or space to do so.

I posted a WTB ad, and was contacted by a member here who had a good start to a project I plan on finishing (Thanks Montreal914!)

My plan is to build my dream 914 that I absolutely drooled over when I was in High School. I've always loved the GT look, so my plan is to basically create as close to a GT clone as my budget will allow. Steel GT flares, 5-lug Fuch's (or replicas...) and a tastefully somewhat period correct interior. The car I recently purchased did include a freshly rebuilt 2.0 4cyl engine, so I need to make a decision on if I would want to run that engine for a while, and save my pennies to slowly build a 2.2, 2.4 or 2.7 flat 6 then do a swap later down the road.

I'm happy to see the 914 community thriving. Back in 2004 when I first bought the 914, Porsche snobs seemed to turn their nose at them which made them affordable enough for a high-school kid to own one. It seems like the 914 is getting more recognition in the collector community, so I'm happy I picked one up before they become too out of my price range!

I'll post some progress photos tonight and general status of the car tonight after work, but here's a few shots of the day I unloaded it off the trailer.

Cheers,

pencap914

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Welcome back! Excited to see how your build progresses. Lots of helpful people here....

Great @pencap914

What a great decision to jump in headfirst. Montreal914 is a good guy!

You have my attention as I have 5 widebodies in my P stable. Powered by 4's, 6's & 8's

None are Concours but are sound.

You're more than welcome to come look anytime you're in OC (90621).

Keep your dream alive.

Oscar

Welcome back to the fold. You will have a ball getting that car ready to drive. I would run the 4 cylinder and drive the car while you source/collect all of the bits you will need for the 6 conversion. As you likely already know, rust is the death nail on these cars so address any and all rust issues first and build from a solid rust-free chassis.

Previous to the last owner, the rear floor pans, hell hole, battery tray, and part of the fire wall were repaired using panels from restoration designs. Which works great for me, because I have some welding experience, but almost none with thin automotive sheet metal. It would have been a brutal learning curve to attempt to fix everything on my own, so I'm happy to report the car is virtually* rust free.

Inner and outer longitudinal stiffening kits were installed before I acquired the car, however the inner kit (Engman?) did tweak the pan to close the gap between the windshield frame and the roll bar by about 1/8" on each side. (Measuring 25" almost dead even on each side currently) So the door gaps are a little off as well.

It looks like this is a know risk of installing this kit, and it looks like a few members here have been able to correct this issue by simply making a few strategic cuts in the stiffening kit, jacking the car then re-welding it back into place.

I bought the car with the drivetrain and most of the interior removed, all that was left for me to remove was the wiring harness, dashboard, and the HVAC. So currently, the car is an empty shell with wheels to roll it around if needed.

I have more photos to share if I could only get iCloud to sync.... I miss the days of SD cards.

Click to view attachment

Seems like a good car to start your build. More pictures... damn iCloud!

Summer is the busy season for work, so I haven't had much time to work on the car, but I was able to create door braces, and weld back the lower door panels that were removed to install the outer long stiffening kit.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Next move: Steel Flare installation :-)

Click to view attachment

Nevermind, carry on.

Made some progress on adding the flares. Still a bit of a luddite for finding the best way to share photos here...


https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Z9X...8JD?usp=sharing

Sweet work!
Not looking budget to me. What size is that six?

Going back to white? GT flared cars look great in white IMO.

Question and request:
How did you attach the door braces under the dash?
Would you show some pictures of that area.
Did you have a lot of work on the longs and need to take the doors on and off to check?

Thanks and keep up your super work.

Sean

Looks great so far. Let me know if I can help with any parts in the future..or just advice.

Your welding skills are just fine if the patch under the compliance sticker is any
indication.
The original white is the optimum, finest, fastest, most beautiful, easiest, lightest
and sneakiest color. That's what I'VE heard.
Great start.... carry on !

Thanks for the kind words! I certainly wouldn't mind going back with Light Ivory. I originally picked up a 2.4 "7R" engine, but I found a pretty good deal on a 2.7 engine from a 75 that should kick this thing along just fine.

The PO did the inner and outer stiffening kits, so I never got to see how the original longs looked before they got encased. Judging by the rest of the car, I would imagine they had little notable damage. See below for how I attached the door brace to the front of the car. I made it so it (shouldnt) be difficult to dremel cut the weld tacks then grind flat like it never happened.

Click to view attachment

Perfect. Just what I needed.
Been thinking of something similar but helps to see it done already.

Thank you!

Thanks Ben! Got your oil tank and engine sheet metal. I haven't yet done the research for what its going to take to mount that 914/6 oil tank... I'll need to cut the car for the oil here pretty soon, so I'll need to gather the hardware to mock-mount that. Any suggestions on where to find the mounting hardware for the tank? I was just going to use a parts diagram from Auto Atlanta and either source the parts from the hardware store or just purchase them from AA.

You just really need 2 8mm bolts through the bolt holes you will drill in the factory locations. Once you have that make a template of the tank to transfer the hole layout. The trickiest hole is the return line.

Be on the look out for black friday deals..

Almost finished with the flat plate that I'll weld in between the two suspension pivot points to mount the oil cooler and perhaps add some rigidity.

Found someone in town that has a dimple die set. Wish I squeezed a few more holes to keep things light as possible...



Click to view attachment


Click to view attachment

Great looking work so far, I missed your favorite beer?

Keep it going and keep us in the loop with your progress

I am seeing this for the first time and am very happy to look at the progress! Very nice Glenn!

As for the condition of the longs before the installation of the RD outer clamshell, below are a few pictures from the work done.

Here the original long was stripped from the original paint to see what was underneath

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Then the metal was painted with PPG 2 component epoxy primer. Round stickers were applied where the welds would be to mask the metal in these spots. Weld through primer was then sprayed in these spots.

Click to view attachment

Then the RD panels were also given the same preparation treatment on their inside.

Click to view attachment

And the clam shells were installed on the car.

Good luck with your project. I will follow this thread with great intererest

BTW, I think I might recognize that tall FedEx box near the car @pencap914

Just sent the gas tank yesterday! Should arrive by Thursday.

Update:

So I bought this car knowing the tub was slightly curled inwards due to the installation of the inner/outer longitudinal strengthening kit. The door gaps to the rear were a little tight, and the measurement between the Targa bar and the windshield frame was measured to be 25" even, about 1/8" closer than it should be.


I tried a few different things to straighten the chassis after an installation of the inner longitudinal kit curled the tub a bit. I followed a few threads on this forum for a "how-to" first using a lengthened turnbuckle purchased from tractor supply.

I attached the turnbuckle from the upper seatbelt bolt to a piece of angle iron tacked in place just inside of the door, then actually welded a tab just in front of where the heater pipe exits the longitudinal, because I found I needed to apply force lower down in front.


I cut the inner long in 3 places and reefed the turnbuckles until I stretched the tub to 25-5/16" between the targa bar and windshield frame. (I only chose this to stop because I felt I was really wrenching on those turnbuckles... Then tacked the inner longs.

Click to view attachment

Long story short, I think I got the tub to only go about 1/16" back... about halfway there.

I don't know if anyone tried to re-straighten the tub after installing both the inner and outer long kit, but I just cant apply any more force to using the turnbuckles, since I found that I had actually bent the seatbelt bolt:

Click to view attachment

After finding the bent seatbelt bolt, I brought out the big guns: The hydraulic ram.

Click to view attachment

I tried pushing the tub apart using the ram, but had the same results. The tub sprung right back to the 25-1/16" measurement. Albeit, the attempt with the hydraulic ram was with the inner longs tacked from the previous attempt with the turnbuckle.


I kinda feel like I had one shot and blew it with welding the inner longs back before attempting with the hydrauilc ram. I could grind out the welds and try again, but I have little confidence that the juice is worth the squeeze. Perhaps I can live with slightly tight door gaps and let this be a cautionary tale about why you need to be careful when welding stiffening kits.

To maintain forward progress with this project, I decided to just mount the car on the rotisserie to make a few minor repairs to the underside of the car, and get it ready for media blasting. So here's how she sits today:


Click to view attachment

Most all of the rear pillar strength comes from behind, where battery tray is.
I'm not sure how much time I would invest in this 1/16'' space. If your going to fix this, I would make a few cuts inside and out side.
I'm not even sure they came perfect from factory.....
Matt

Thanks Matt,

That's what I was thinking. If I really needed to stretch the car back I would probably have to cut the outside longitudinal stiffener too. I just don't see it being worth it. I feel as if any sort of chassis straightening attempt without a Cellete bench is guesswork anyhow. Its possible I could invest another weekend in trying to get it absolutely perfect, but end up worse off than it is now. I care less about the door gaps being perfect and more about how the suspension pickup points line up.

I wonder if I could borrow those Brunson precision optical levels from work to perform a suspension survey....

Meh I don't want this to be a science project. I need to maintain forward progression. Next on the list:

Finish fender flare installation (need to weld undersides)
Repair clutch tube
Install 6cyl engine mounts
Install rear sway bar mounts

Well, finding more issues with some of the previous to the previous owners repairs...

The rear floor pan and bottom half of the rear firewall had been replaced with panels from restoration design, and the shop that did the work didnt bother to use a straight-edge to line things up. So now, upon receiving the Maddogs Motorsports OEM style mount I see about a 3/8" gap at the bottom:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment


So I think I'll have to make a cut in the Maddog motor mount to get the bottom portion to line up correctly with the inward caved in bottom portion of the firewall...

Its going to be painful to have to butcher up such a nice piece of fabrication from Maddogs motorsports. Oh well, it looks like I'll need to trim off a bit to make clearance for the brake pressure equalizer valve too.

I like this approach to the front cooler mount/reinforcement.
Anymore pics you could add/share? What was the steel thickness used for this?
Keep up the the great work.

Just leave the bottom hang out. Start your welding on the top, by the time you get to the bottom its going to be hot enough and will bend with a blow of 5lb hammer.
Matt

[/quote]


I like this approach to the front cooler mount/reinforcement.
Anymore pics you could add/share? What was the steel thickness used for this?
Keep up the the great work.
[/quote]


The main plate with the dimples is 14 gauge steel, which I'll admit seems overkill for this application, but the price was right (free scrap!). I welded a few M6 nuts on the bottom of the plate for retaining clips for the oil cooler. Then welded a 3/4" -1/16" wall square tube between the two suspension plates set this 14 gauge steel plate on top.

Hopefully, will add some rigidity to the front suspension pickup points, but probably nothing really noticeable.

It took me a while to get the shape correct for the side walls of the duct, as you can see its a pretty complicated shape. A pin contour gage and using CAD (Cardboard Aided Design...) came in handy for this.

I removed the upper portion of the steel that was spot welded to the front of the car, just under where the hood latch mechanism lives, welded a few M6 nuts to the bottom of it to secure the top of the duct, which I plan on fabricating out of aluminum.

Seen here is the extra holes punched in the front for air intake:

Click to view attachment

Oil cooler, rubber 1/8" rubber pad and sidewalls to direct airflow:

Click to view attachment

And how it sits in the car:

Click to view attachment

Top left you can see a M6 all-thread to secure the top, and bottom center of the photo one of my clips to secure the bottom of the oil cooler.

Click to view attachment

Well before I weld on the motor mount for the 911 engine, I should address the broken clutch tube inside the tunnel. I'm debating how to approach this.

I purchased a replacement section of steel tube, just need to pull the trigger on cutting an access hole in the bottom of the tunnel to make the fix then weld the bottom pan back.

Click to view attachment


Also, debating what to do about the replaced floor board.... The shop that did this work did a simple lap joint, then tacked it in. this obviously creates a path for moisture, so should I just fully weld this joint to seal it up?

Click to view attachment

I fixed some lap joints the PO left on my car, including the outer right rear fender. Maybe I am aiming too high, but I prefer to have butt joints wherever possible.

Where possible, you might consider the “cut and butt” technique promoted in the Fitzzee Fabrication videos on YouTube. Looks like it might work on many of the panels shown in your pictures.

Yeah I've skimmed through your build thread. Quite impressive!

I can understand the fenders wanting to upgrade this splice to a butt joint, but underneath the car I'm wondering if its worth the effort. I would just be doing it for longevity.

Yeah I've seen that video where he takes a thin blade and makes a 45 degree cut... that's what I'm debating on doing. on the transition between the front floor pan and rear.

I too have the same 3/8 gap at the bottom of my maddog mount.

Also my clutch was previously repaired with a hack job. I did my best to correct it.

Lastly, the rear pans on mine were also replaced with restoration design ones and the job was sub par. I know I'm on the east coast, but I'm wondering if these two "welders" purchased their welding degrees from the same dollar store academy.

Made some progress this summer:

Clutch tube repair:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Found the oval bracket inside the tunnel was broken, leaving the throttle and clutch tubes pretty floppy:

Click to view attachment

Couldn't reach the inside exactly where it was broken, so I just made a little bracket and closed the oval. Tubes are rock solid now.

Click to view attachment

New clutch tube at the back end, with a sleeve around butt joint.

Click to view attachment

Floor pans welded back up. Surgery scars still visible before ground smooth with flap disc.

Click to view attachment

I had a few distractions this summer... Not to mention its construction/vacation season. So time is in short supply.

Click to view attachment

Installed the rear suspension stiffening kit: Was in between doing this or the Heim joint stiffening kit. This will probably suffice for 8" wide DOT legal tires on curvy mountain roads.

Click to view attachment

Also added the front sway bar stiffening kit. Probably overkill for my application, but its an excuse to drink beer in the garage while listening to 70's British Metal.

Click to view attachment

Also cut the holes for the oil tank:

Click to view attachment

And mounted the Mad dog OEM 6cyl motor mount:


Click to view attachment

So now I have a problem to solve: What to do about the brake proportioning (err.. pressure equalizer?) valve. My car is a late 74 build so its the later style more commonly found on 75-76 cars, so I had to remove the valve and bracket to make way for the /6 engine mount. I may see if PMB would be willing to take this one as a core for a rebuilt early valve, then find some hard lines from an early car, or bend my own.

Next big project: Take on this ugly mess found on both sides of the car:

Click to view attachment

A previous repair attempt was made, but unfortunately its just insufficient. I purchased the cowl repair panels from AA. Not really looking forward to this repair, but it has to be done. This certainly will push my skills to the max. Lets hope I don't c**k it up too bad!

Click to view attachment

Glad to see all of this progress being done on the car!

I originally purchased this car in hopes of making it my dream 914 while still driving my DD 73. I felt the condition of the white 74 was a better base than my 73. After doing some of the work (inner and outer kit) the project car sat in the garage for a couple of years. It also made me realize that my dream 914 was my 73 DD because of its sentimental value, even though I didn’t think it was as good of a foundation as thé 74, now yours.

I am sad to see all of the issues you are having with the repairs that were done before my ownership. One thing I never understood was why they cut the lower firewall through the shifter port...

For the front fender, you saw and commented on the work I recently did on mine. I wasn’t impressed by AA’s repair piece and that is why I got an original fender part from Vince (Hesperia area) but I took my sweet time to find the right one in his yard.

I will send you AA’s part if you want it. This repair definitely pushed my level of craftsmanship and I am happy with my modest work. Go very slowly and analyze. I did get excellent inputs from Cary.

This will be a very nice car when completed, keep up the good work!

Thanks Eric! Yeah its been a great project for me.



I know right?!? And why would someone replace the entire rear part of the floor without repairing the blatantly obviously busted clutch tube? I saved the invoice you gave me for the shop that did all that work, if I remember correctly, it was over $3000. Someone paid a lot of money for some sloppy work.



Ah shoot I should have reached out to you earlier, but I bought it months ago, I doubt AA would take it back. I think I can make use of them rather than chopping up a good original fender. I think I have a plan... I'll get started on that later in fall. I'm thinking the car will have to come down off the rotisserie and onto a frame dolly before I start on the cowl repair. I'd imagine the rotisserie puts a lot of stress on this area of the car.

Anyone have a frame dolly they want to sell?

Figuring out the oil system for the 2.7. Was on the fence about using Ben's SS oil lines since I didn't realize the 4-cyl engine mounts are going to have to be cut off for these to work. I've read from others here that its not an easy task getting those off. However, after closer at the mounts, and figuring out a "demolition plan" I think I know how to take them off without much issue.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Also working on restoring the fiberglass engine shroud for the 2.7. Few cracks in the fiberglass will have to be addressed, then sanded and painted. This week I'll stop buy the automotive paint shop to talk about what would the best paint options would be for this. A fiberglass engine shroud is a challenging place for automotive paint....

Click to view attachment

Really like where this thread is headed!

Fantastic work thus far!

Got the 4cyl motor mount removed yesterday! Wasn't too bad to remove, a spot weld cutter and a 90 degree die grinder with a 3" cutoff wheel did most of the heavy lifting. Clean-up took a variety of tools to polish off the old welds. (Forgot to snap a pic of the finished product before leaving the house this morning...)

Now on to final fitup for the SS hard oil lines, and more weld cleanup on the outer longitudinal stiffening kits.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Thx for posting progress on this build!

Lots of parallels to my GT build (not well documented here), some very similar issues with rust repairs; good to see you getting the stiffening panels in and removing the -4 mounts. On a real -6 there is a small bracket which holds up the oil feed pipe - which you might want to add "while the welder is out". I had a car I could measure dimensions off of, and cut it out of flat plate. I have pics somewhere if you're interested....

Also: oil cooler looks like the Behr Mercedes one?

- Tony

Your car is coming along well. I'm at the point of plumbing a 3.0 to the front oil cooler. I'm looking at Ben's SS GT oil lines as well. What's your plan on a T-stat location and hose layout ?

Post pics please.