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Montreal914
Although I could have elected to use steel braded lines or rubber hoses, I really like the idea of having rigid oil lines. Being on a tight budget, I studies my options and decided to use aluminum 5052-0, 3/4" x 0.049" tube from Aircraft Spruce. These come in 6 foot length and cost $39 ea. They also sell the -12 AN flared tube sleeve and nuts for them at very reasonable price (~4$ ea). Total material cost ~$105! sunglasses.gif

Since I am not in business of bending tube, I got a cheap 3/4" tube bender on ebay for $38 and was ready to get crafty. smash.gif After very carefully studying the path I wanted to take, I started bending, knowing there wasn't any room for error since I was going to need the entire 6 feet to go from the back to the front.

First bend:
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Without being perfect, I was actually pleased with the result that this $38 toll was giving:
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After a few hours of trial fit and bending, I was making encouraging progress. The thickness of the Brad Mayer panels allowed me to drill and tap M6 holes to mount the Abel style SS clamps (Amazon $11):
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Details of the back end:
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Then I fabricated a rear support that will use one of the two engine mount bracket bolt:
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The last few steps were to complete the ends. This mean trimming the length on the back end and bending the front end upwards in the fender well. Last, obviously install the AN fittings and flare the end of the lines. For this I was fortunate enough to borrow a 37degree flaring tool from a friend.

Result once flared:
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And the final pre-installation with fitting and mounts. I plan on fabricating a front support to hold the lines at the junction with the flexible lines. The front mount should serve two purpose: supporting the end of the rigid lines and being an anchor point for a partial fender liner to protect the lines from flying road debris.
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Inner fender area:
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And finally, the back end with the mockup connection to the filter/thermostat assembly:
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And there you have it! My $115 rigid oil lines! sunglasses.gif


Montreal914
Now, that the rigid part has been completed, it is time to look into how we will get to the front oil cooler. Connecting to the rigid lines, I am using -10AN Parker push-lock hose.

After locating the right spot to make the openings in the body, I used a knock-out tool I got for $35 on Craigslist. This makes this task a breeze. smile.gif This a picture of the upper left trunk area near the lid hinge (removed) and windshield washer bottle area.
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And now with the grommets:
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The next openings are through the lower part of the partition wall between the trunk and the fuel tank area. This being a little tighter area, I had to get the lines closer and overlap the holes. We are looking at the rear bottom left area of the front trunk. Next to the paired holes is the air pressure line from the spare to the washer bottle.
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And finally, with trimmed grommets and mock up hoses (out of focus picture but you get the idea... biggrin.gif :
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So the final result looks like this in the fender well:
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And in the trunk area:
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Upcoming next, the front oil cooler! smile.gif

bkrantz
Nice work--looks great!
Montreal914
I am using a Mercedes Diesel oil cooler I got from Bruce Stone a few years ago. There are at least 2 versions of their coolers that are normally mounted vertically to the driver side of the main radiator.

The one I will be using is the smaller one. The main reason is that I wanted it to fit under the arched structural shelf in the front of the car. The cooler came with the mating fittings which makes it convenient.

Using my trusted cheapo hack saw, file and vise, I fabricated a couple of brackets out of a 2"x2"x1/8" aluminum square tube.
The result is this:
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The brackets actually use the stock MBZ cooler mounting points. So the cooler gets attached to the front shelf, suspended from it. The only modifications made to the car at this point are four 1/4" holes in the shelf and the removal of the front rubber plugs. Noting that will weaken the front of the car.

Using a torch, I gently heated up the driver side cooler fitting to change its angle to get a smooth path for the blue hose (mock up with black hose here).

Also, since the car will be converted to 5 lugs, I am using a 4 1/2" wide Fake Fuch wheel with a small donut spare. The smaller diameter allows me to push the spare against the back end of the trunk while using the stock spare anchoring point but in one of the lug hole instead of the center of the wheel. This creates enough room for the air to exit from the back side of the cooler. Venting will be achieved through the round access ports in the back of the trunk floor. Finally, a new lower trunk floor will close tight and create the plenum for the air flow.

Result: Larger trunk space, inflated spare tire, and obviously an oil cooler. smile.gif

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pete-stevers
Inspiring thread! that is a job well done! biggrin.gif
Montreal914
QUOTE(pete-stevers @ Dec 12 2021, 08:09 PM) *

Inspiring thread! that is a job well done! biggrin.gif


Thank you!
I get my inspiration from this forum! first.gif
In a way, sharing the progress is motivating.
Anyone who has been down this road knows that motivation can have its ups and down. I try to apply the wisdom a good friend once told me: "A little every day!", but it is not easy... Progress and knowing others here are in the same boat is definitely encouraging! smile.gif
Cairo94507
Very nicely done. That should keep your engine nice and cool. I really like the hard lines you made - great work. beerchug.gif
Montreal914
Here I will need the input from the experienced people! smilie_pokal.gif

My car has been hit in the rear driver side quarter at some point and this translated into an irregular curvature. Recently, I removed the bondo that was causing most of the hump, but as you can see in the pictures below, this was a half way straightening job of the fender.

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I am pretty sure this fender can be saved by the right qualified person (which is not me) but I fear the cost might be more than cutting and replacing, which is something I can do up to the level of work seen throughout this thread. dry.gif
This is not a show car, it will continue being a regularly driven car with a fresh paint.

I do have a donner quarter I got from Bruce Stone. Unfortunately, it was cut a little shy on the back side but is probably manageable. Another option would be to get a whole fender from Vince and replace it but that involves dealing with the door, vent area, and sail.

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So, should I get this fixed or should I cut and replace? If I do cut/replace, should I replace the whole fender to prevent the vertical scar in the middle?

Thank you for the inputs! smile.gif

Luke M
I've done both of these type of repairs. My brothers 914 did just that, section the rear q-panel. It was kinda of a pain to line things up just right. Took several tries but we did eventually get there. You can see where I cut and butt welded the panels together. Then cut for the flares. Getting the panels to mate just right is hard and it still doesn't look right. Bondo either way we look at it is gonna be the fix now. On my 6, I replaced the whole q-panel. It wasn't that much more work to do. Getting the panel off was the easy part. I cut off the panel then went back and removed the rest of the spot welds. Cut carefully in the targa area as you will cut into the inner support if you go too deep. If you can get your hands on a clean, rust free q-panel just replace it. Have you looked at your targa/door handle area yet? Mine looked great except it was filled with bondo over rust.
Montreal914
Thank you for the advice and pictures Luke. smile.gif

My door handle and sail area is in decent shape. My fear of replacing the whole quarter is dealing with the tubular vent in the door jamb and all of door edge alignment.

I am sure I can get a good condition quarter that would be cut beyond the mating surfaces. I can clean it up to the mating surface making it a "new" part to install.

So, from the three options initially mentioned, the current recommendation is:

1- Replace whole quarter
2- Replace partial quarter
3- Straighten whole panel - not commented




Luke M
QUOTE(Montreal914 @ Dec 15 2021, 02:27 PM) *

Thank you for the advice and pictures Luke. smile.gif

My door handle and sail area is in decent shape. My fear of replacing the whole quarter is dealing with the tubular vent in the door jamb and all of door edge alignment.

I am sure I can get a good condition quarter that would be cut beyond the mating surfaces. I can clean it up to the mating surface making it a "new" part to install.

So, from the three options initially mentioned, the current recommendation is:

1- Replace whole quarter
2- Replace partial quarter
3- Straighten whole panel - not commented



The vent tube is not that hard to deal with. If you can get a full q-panel have it cut with that vent in place. When you get it trim the metal off it. On the chassis you cut that vent out there's only 2 welds holding it in place. Clean up the area and the new/used section will fit right in. It was pretty easy to do. I used a spot welder to install most of the q-panel then mig welded the areas that I couldn't reach with the spot welder. Replacing the whole panel also gives you access to the backside of the targa. You can clean up and spray epoxy to help future rust in there. On my brothers car I used eastwood internal frame coating in all of the hard to get areas. If you never used that stuff it comes with a long hose and a nozzle tip that sprays in a pattern. It coats pretty well.

Montreal914
So am I understanding that you keep the tube on the donner fender and join it to the body inside the cabin here? I have seen in another thread that you simply grind off the edge weld to free up the original tube.

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Unfortunately, I don't have a spot weld, this will be a MIG plug weld operation. Yes, having all of that section open will definitely allow me to inspect and protect. I do have a can of Eastwood with the tube, thanks! smile.gif
Luke M
Correct. Keep the tube on the donor q-panel. Remove your old one and clean up the mating areas. The new tube should slide right into place then you can see where everything lines up on the chassis. I'll snap a few pics later on my 6 as it's still apart.
Montreal914
After removing the blower box and the wiper assembly, I have noticed this "custom" enlargement of an original hole about 5/8" dia. I notice there is one too at the same spot on the driver side.

Anyone knows the use of these hole? confused24.gif

My car
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Another project car
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Luke M
QUOTE(Montreal914 @ Dec 17 2021, 05:30 PM) *

After removing the blower box and the wiper assembly, I have noticed this "custom" enlargement of an original hole about 5/8" dia. I notice there is one too at the same spot on the driver side.

Anyone knows the use of these hole? confused24.gif

My car
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Another project car
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I believe that's for the antenna wire. Here's pics of the fender air intake from my NOS panel.
Montreal914
@Luke M Antenna, humm seems like a good explanation. idea.gif

Thanks! This is very clear now as to how to tackle the fender vent area. thumb3d.gif

Those NOS panel... drooley.gif
Montreal914
A little progress this weekend. I delicately removed the rest of the ventilation system in the front trunk, i.e. the selector valves and diffuser. I did leave them connected together by the actuator cables in hopes of easing the process upon reassembly. I will probably take them apart though to see what needs rebuild. No picture, sorry...

I also plugged the two holes that had been done on the passenger side door for a stock mirror. Clearly, the person who did this wasn't aware that the threaded plate is behind the door metal and instead, simply drilled in the door skin. blink.gif No wonder why I was never able to tighten that mirror properly... rolleyes.gif In front of the now plugged holes are the ones I did a while back using a Dremel bit after drilling a 1/16" hole in the center. I took measurement references from the driver side door. Both of my 1/16" holes where close to the center void of the threaded plate. The rest was easy, carefully digging with a small burr. sunglasses.gif

Before:
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After:
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Finally, I moved on to finish the oil lines project. I fabricated a couple of brackets to support the front end of the aluminum rigid lines in the wheel well. Each bracket has an M6 nut welded on its back side allowing easy installation of the Abel clamp. Everything is now nicely secured. smile.gif

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Montreal914
Today I removed the master cylinder and pedal assembly. This is a stock 17mm Ate. I removed all the parts from it in case I will need them on my new 19mm Ate MC once I reassemble the car. I will use a 19mm since I am upgrading to 911 front struts.

So, after removing the plastic/metal feed lines and grommet from the MC, here is what I am left with (picture). I thought there was supposed to be a washer underneath the rubber grommet?

I drove this car daily for 10 years and the MC was bone dry. I thought without the washers, the feed lines would leak? confused24.gif Do I have a different setup here?

I will check to see if my new 19mm MC has the washers but please confirm that I do need the washers under the rubber grommet.

Thank you! beerchug.gif

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Montreal914
Happy New Year!

Being stuck at home for the Holiday's, I had the chance to work on the fuel pump relocation. I went the route Porsche did for the 75-76 models. Having bought a pump panel a while back from Bruce Stone, this was the foundation for this little project. I also have all of the hardware to install the new 2 port Bosch pump.

New fuel pump assembly on my 75-76 panel smile.gif
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As mentioned, in 75 Porsche relocated the fuel pump to the front to eliminate the common fuel vapor lock issues that many of us have already encountered. rolleyes.gif

Below is a picture of a stock 75-76 setup. We can see the pump on the access panel, and the filter mounted on the opposite firewall. The fuel filter featured a tab on one of the mid plane ridges that would slide into the fork shaped bracket. Unfortunately these filters are very hard to find now. Since I plan on putting a lot of miles driving.gif on my car over the next 30+ years (hopefully), I want to use the readily available square filter which looks identical to the rare one with the tab, but without the tab. smile.gif


Stock 75-76 fuel pump/filter setup:
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Hard to find 75-76 fuel filter:
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Based on Porsche's concept, I decide to removed the filter bracket located within the passenger side engine body mount as seen on the right side of this borrowed picture. I will recycle this filter mount and install it under the fuel tank.
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After cutting, straightening, and modifying the attachment points of the bracket, I tried my cheap and readily available square filter in it. Very nice snug fit, this will work as it was designed to work.
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Now, on to the body modification. First step, establish the location for the 75-76 pump access panel and drill pilot holes in the firewall. Next, using a hole knockout tool, I generate the four corners.
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Then I cut the opening leaving about 1/4" metal to create a folded edge like the factory did, but not as nice though... rolleyes.gif
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I should have kept material to create the folded corners but I thought it would be difficult to achieve in this tight area and without the proper tools. So instead, I welded in four strips to make the corners. Then I drilled the four holes and tacked M5 nuts to mount the pump access panel on the bulkhead. After some trimming and massaging, here is the final result with the pump access panel installed. The opening is pretty much the same size as the panel flange:
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Trunk side view:
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Last task, install the recycled filter bracket. Measure twice weld once... Using the new firewall opening, and installing the fuel tank back in, I carefully established the best location for the filter bracket, making sure there is enough space above the filter to remove it once the tank is in place.
Mock up before welding in place. Notice the edge of the black fuel tank running above the filter.
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After fixing the filter bracket with a few tacks, here is the final result:
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And now with the pump and filter in place:
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Another angle:
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Front trunk view:
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Another item crossed off from the list! beer3.gif
bkrantz
Very nice work!
nivekdodge
Looks good Eric, let me know if I can help
Montreal914
Time to add some of the progress... smash.gif

Believe it or not, my car upon previous ownership was equipped with an alarm system (ok), power lock unsure.gif , and not one, or two, but three individual speakers in each door! screwy.gif

So below is the result of the bastardization done by one of these too many stereo shop that shouldn't be allowed working on ANY car... icon8.gif

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I guess the logical thing to do would be looking for a good set of doors, but who said restoring a 914 was a logical thing... wacko.gif Anyhow, for some reason, I preferred giving a new life to the car's original doors, than getting another set (don't try to find the logic rolleyes.gif )...

So in comes Bruce Stone @bdstone914 to the rescue! Bruce had a set of heavily damaged door on the outside but un-messed with on the inside smile.gif .

And so the patch work begins! smash.gif welder.gif

Donner door:
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First step, repair the opening "created" for the power lock actuator. I cut that area out of the donner door while keeping half of the nearby holes as reference for positioning and prepping the car's door.
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Seems to be fitting well!
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Now nicely cut the door to fit the piece.
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Finally, weld in place.
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Now ready to tackle the large piece! smash.gif Same concept, first cut a rough piece out of the donner door. Then trim down to what I wanted. Trace on the car's door and cut excess to make it clean, fit, once, twice, nineteen times... rolleyes.gif
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Then weld in place. welder.gif Rince and repeat for all the areas and you get this! A door with character biggrin.gif
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Next, the other door... dry.gif
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nivekdodge
How are you coming along?
Montreal914
Thank you for asking! Clearly not as much progress as I would wish for. More house work got in the way... dry.gif

But the passenger door got the same treatment as the driver's side one. smile.gif

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But now the next and hopefully the last major metal fix is the driver's side rear fender... sad.gif

The car had been hit and poorly repaired in the past. Here is what I have to deal with. The rear part of the fender bulges out.

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After removing the Bondo, not very surprising, here is what lies underneath. dry.gif

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I have been looking at this for quite some time and have had a few recommendations as to how to tackle this. I have a couple of options: removing the rear half of the fender and fix it using this piece I got from Bruce Stone a few years back:

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Although this might be a lesser intrusive surgery, I am very concerned at the vertical and other butt weld scars it would leave. I am working with a 120V Lincoln MIG with 0.025" wire, not a TIG welder, but most importantly, I am a beginner welder... rolleyes.gif headbang.gif welder.gif

The second option which is a lot more work would hopefully keep the line of the rear fender.
I got this whole dry and straight fender from Vince and I have been starting to prepare it for the swap. The fender is almost complete but has been cut short in some areas that I will need to be address. That being said, these are somewhat in hidden areas so should be more or less masked.

Here is the doner whole fender:

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First area of some missing material:

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And second area missing metal dry.gif

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This means I will need to cut the car in the trunk seal gutter in the outer vertical portion and weld there.

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In the meantime. I have started preparing both doner parts the rear half yellow piece and the marathon blue fender. It is coming along but this actually more work that I expected. I drill through the spot welds in some areas, while I grind them down in others where I want the mating flange to be hole-less, all depending on which side I plan on doing the plug weld.

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Finally the fender is almost relieved from the other parts smash.gif

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This corner was no fun to deal with...

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The work continues in the preparation of the donor parts. Still fully undecided as to which option to use, but I am leaning towards the whole fender replacement. I am definitely not looking forward to cutting the car's fender and prep the shell to match the "new" fender. There are a few zones that I can see as being tricky... sad.gif





nivekdodge
I think I'm still leaning to the whole fender also. The trickiest part will be the Trunk jamb. I would attempt to double flange it where you can. the strength will be better. There will be a lot of on-off- with the door and deck lid. the areas where the foam is I would clean and prime before install. Your welding skills seem more than accomplished enough to handle it


I'm stuck between FI and carb so don't feel bad.

Kevin
Cairo94507
Really nice work Eric. I agree with replacing the complete driver's rear quarter panel. The end result will be worth the additional work where it was cut short. Pretty soon all that rust and old damage will be a distant memory. beerchug.gif
Montreal914
@nivekdodge : By double flange you mean this classic assembly setup?

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If so, yes that is the plan where the Marathon blue fender still has its flange. I originally was hoping to get a whole fender with all of its joining flanges but that was the best Vince had. Many passenger side fenders but that was the best driver side one. I hesitated a lot when purchasing it. The rear corner is a bit shot too and will require some thinking. I will post pictures of that area too when I get to the fitting part of the work.

I appreciate all of the help and encouragement, I knew this was going to be a journey, and I am really looking forward to the end of the metal repair segment of the restoration. smash.gif welder.gif headbang.gif
nathanxnathan
You know my original advice was to splice in just what you need, but if you do end up doing the whole fender, I would drill out the parts that the donor fender needs from the car and patch it on the bench.

Spot/resistance welding the donor in would be so much easier than plug welding. Every seam of it is spot weld-able except the top of the targa bar. If you want I could come by with my spot welder some weekend — if you have everything prepped and fit up/clamped, the whole thing would only be a few hours. PM me if you want to — seriously soo much easier — and easier to make it clean than with a mig.
Montreal914
QUOTE(nathanxnathan @ Sep 26 2022, 09:45 AM) *

You know my original advice was to splice in just what you need, but if you do end up doing the whole fender, I would drill out the parts that the donor fender needs from the car and patch it on the bench.

Spot/resistance welding the donor in would be so much easier than plug welding. Every seam of it is spot weld-able except the top of the targa bar. If you want I could come by with my spot welder some weekend — if you have everything prepped and fit up/clamped, the whole thing would only be a few hours. PM me if you want to — seriously soo much easier — and easier to make it clean than with a mig.


Nathan, yes I still have all the pictures you sent me and did like the "simplicity" of cutting and replacing only what is damaged. That being said, I am very worried about the scars. sad.gif

If I understand what you are saying, you recommend I make the doner fender whole using parts from the car. Actually, I believe with the yellow fender and other loose body parts I could complete the doner fender before even cutting the car. smash.gif

Now, as for your spot weld idea, that is quite an offer! pray.gif What kind of voltage is required for this 110 or 220V?

I am getting more and more confident about this challenge. I will continue the prep work and keep you posted. smile.gif



nathanxnathan
QUOTE(Montreal914 @ Sep 26 2022, 10:20 PM) *

Nathan, yes I still have all the pictures you sent me and did like the "simplicity" of cutting and replacing only what is damaged. That being said, I am very worried about the scars. sad.gif

If I understand what you are saying, you recommend I make the doner fender whole using parts from the car. Actually, I believe with the yellow fender and other loose body parts I could complete the doner fender before even cutting the car. smash.gif

Now, as for your spot weld idea, that is quite an offer! pray.gif What kind of voltage is required for this 110 or 220V?

I am getting more and more confident about this challenge. I will continue the prep work and keep you posted. smile.gif


It's nice that you can build a complete fender without what's on the car. That means you can grind the spot welds and leave what remains on the car undamaged, and save having to fix any holes etc.

Ah yeah I was thinking about what sort of outlets you have. My Spot welder is a Miller LMSW-52 which is 220 single phase with a 20 amp Nema 6-20P plug with a pretty long cord. I do have an extension cord that goes from the 6-20P to a Nema 6-50 which is what I have in my wall for my Synchrowave, but that's probably not going to help. It wants a 20 amp plug so converting to a 15 amp dryer plug isn't a great option.

Miller Spot Welder Specs

I do have a nice variety of tongs which are actually pretty hard to come by. The "standard" ones, the TT-9's, and the FF's shown in the spec sheet above. I've got more into the tongs than I do the welder — it's crazy what they go for. I don't know if you need anything special for tongs, possibly for the tail light area the FFs would help.

I was looking at the 110v spot welder that Harbor Freight sells. If your plug/breaker situation is no good for 220v, it could be a good option. It's really low cost compared to what the miller stuff was.

HF 110v Spot welder

Let me know what you think. I'm happy to help.
930cabman
QUOTE(Cairo94507 @ Sep 26 2022, 07:36 AM) *

Really nice work Eric. I agree with replacing the complete driver's rear quarter panel. The end result will be worth the additional work where it was cut short. Pretty soon all that rust and old damage will be a distant memory. beerchug.gif

agree.gif

Will give you the best odds of a long lasting good repair
Montreal914
All good inputs!! smilie_pokal.gif

@nathanxnathan I have a drier outlet nearby not sure if this could work. But I have another option too biggrin.gif , the shell is still a roller, even better, it is registered and insured, and to top it off, it has the tow bar bracket on and can be pulled by the family minivan. And yes the drive shafts have been removed and the stubs put back in to save the rear bearings. beer3.gif sunglasses.gif


nivekdodge
Eric
I meant in the gap beside the trunk lid. I would leave the bottom of the original and add the replacement to it as much as I could

Kevin

OOps loooking now you dont have the bottom
nathanxnathan
QUOTE(Montreal914 @ Sep 27 2022, 07:03 PM) *

All good inputs!! smilie_pokal.gif

@nathanxnathan I have a drier outlet nearby not sure if this could work. But I have another option too biggrin.gif , the shell is still a roller, even better, it is registered and insured, and to top it off, it has the tow bar bracket on and can be pulled by the family minivan. And yes the drive shafts have been removed and the stubs put back in to save the rear bearings. beer3.gif sunglasses.gif


The drier outlet probably isn't the best option as they're rated at 15 amp. The spot welder only has 1 setting. Each weld only takes about a second, but it's fully onm, and may trip the breaker...

That seems like a good option, if you can get it here for the day/a few hours. I can totally make space right in front of my studio as my project is mobile now on the rotisserie/dolly.

Depending on how together it is when you bring it, it might be pretty quick — spot welding is really nice that way.

Let me know if you need help with anything. I have a pretty decent number of c-clamps, which this sort of stuff always needs.

I would use 3m weld-through primer on both sides for the spot welding.

You'll want to look into what others have used to do the seal which is at the base of the sail panel. The fenders I have taken off it is a foam seal — which seems pretty bad like it would trap water. Is there some better, like rubber/adhesive option? I was thinking maybe 3M NVH Dampening Material? — it's an adhesive gap filler that is often recommended to bond like hood and door skins to their frames.

I was thinking about what I said, about the top of the targa being the only area you can't spot weld. This is I think true. I was thinking though about how the factory attached the front/lower of the inner/door jamb to the sill panel. They actually braze it, like with a torch and bronze there. I guess capillary action allows the bronze to flow between the 2 layers which overlap quite a bit. I don't have an oxy acetylene torch unfortunately, and I've never done it. I guess we could spot weld there as well. Maybe someone else has input on joining that area. maybe I'm overthinking it?
Montreal914
I would probably attach the fender using a few self tapping screws. Yes the surfaces would be weld through primed.

Jamb, I was simply thinking of mig welding it. Spot weld will not be an option as I have a Brad Meyer panel that will not allow to reach the actual back side of the sill where the jamb comes tangent to it.

As for the base of the sail panel, everywhere Karmann sprayed on or applied any kind of goop, rust tends to be there. I am not sure I would even want to seal the sail area. Sealing also means trapping moisture that could make it though. This car will be in SoCal and rarely seeing the rain. idea.gif

I really appreciate your help, and feel more comfortable in bringing the car to your known working environment vs running into issues at my house. smash.gif

I will keep you posted with my progress. This should still take a few weeks, I work slow... rolleyes.gif
nivekdodge
I removed the tubes and almost welded the holes up solid. Hopefully no one closes the doors together.
Montreal914
OK, time for some update. The current work is focused on preparing the donor fender to make it whole again before removing the damaged one from the car.

A couple of areas will need attention. The first one I have been working on is the gutter area where the trunk seal lives. As shown before, unfortunately that area was removed during the fender's salvage yard days. I actually hesitated a week before getting this fender but the rest of its condition made me get it and deal with this down the road.

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Using the yellow rear fender portion I have, I first removed the gutter section by cutting near the bend of the exterior surface so I can line the yellow piece over the new (old) fender.

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With both parts nicely lining up, I was able to trace on the yellow piece where it should be trimmed.

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But before trimming it, I decided to plug the holes I had previously drilled out when preparing this fender section as one of my potential option for this whole fender repair. That was before @nathanxnathan 's very kind offer of using his spot welder beerchug.gif for the installation. I had originally planned on plug welding the repair sheet metal in place. So now I need to plug all these holes back! lol-2.gif rolleyes.gif

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After trimming and removing the paint for welding. I positioned the piece using magnets.

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Measuring on my car, I established the depth of the gutter at about 19.5mm, so before putting any tacks down, measure three times, and weld! welder.gif

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Current state of fabrication! smile.gif

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Cairo94507
Very nicely done. beerchug.gif
nathanxnathan
Lookin' good welder.gif @Montreal914
nivekdodge
Yes it does, it looks great! make sure to clean and sand or even prime tha before you put it on
Montreal914
I was able to continue the slow process of making one stitch at a time while cooling everything and moving around. Eventually, I closed all the gaps. smile.gif

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Then, time to grind down this long string, still trying to keep the metal cool with a wet towel stuffed in the back. Finally got to this.

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Another angle.

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And just to make sure everyone understands... rolleyes.gif

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Needless to say that the fender is a lot stiffer now on its tail end. I think this area is pretty much done with metal work. cheer.gif



Now moving on to the other area needing attention before I can start thinking about installing this donner fender on my car.

As shown before, the lower part of the door jamb was unfortunately cut where the fender mounts to the body. dry.gif

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Luckily, when purchasing the fender, I was able to get this lower door jamb from another wreck.

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Time to remove the non-needed extra metal smash.gif

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Now the part can be used.

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Here both the "new" door jamb area and the fender have been cut to be put together. The idea was to have a good portion of the jointed area to be hidden behind the VIN decal ( that I need to get...). You can also see the template I traced on the thin sheet of wood from the the car as a reference. When welding the repair piece in, the fender flange will lay flat on a 1/2" aluminum plate that is underneath. This part of the car being straight (vertical door jamb weld flange) makes that alignment portion easier when set on a flat plate.

The gaps are a little larger than what I like them to be, but at this point, unfortunately, there is no going back. I will have to weld the two pieces like this, just a little more challenging for an beginner welder like myself headbang.gif

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Second important view point, the lower curve.

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Looks like we are ready to go! smile.gif welder.gif And the result... wacko.gif

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As they say, that'll buff out rolleyes.gif . Well after grinding, I ended up with this. The jamb area did not give as good a result than the trunk seal fix, but overall I am happy. A few more areas to be looked at and it will be time to remove the car's original fender in preparation for the spot welding of this one! smile.gif beer3.gif

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nathanxnathan
Coming along nicely. smile.gif

I'll have to take another look at the back of the trunk seal area to see how that ties in with the rear panel above the tail light.

Other areas to think about... the bottom of the door jamb, how to tie that to the sill. The factory I think gas welded that joint with bronze, as there's an overlap of the 2 panels.

The top of the sail panel where the flange goes I think under the top of the targa bar. Plug welding that seems like the best option. It's a tricky area because you can't back the weld.

The other area to think about is the fresh air inlet. The ones I've seen, the factory mig welded the lip of the 2 layers. I've removed one, and was able to just grind off the lip/weld and carefully separate the tube inner from the flanged hole in the inner fender.

What are your thoughts on prepping the inner fender before mounting it? Areas like behind the sail panels or the area where the foam is at the rear of the fender by the tail lights aren't going to be accessible once the fender is in. The factory I think there's just primer there.

I've thought about this for my front cross panel project on my car. My thoughts are 3M Weld Thru Primer on both surfaces of the seams where it'll be spot or plug welded. ... tape off the flanges that will be welded, epoxy primer, then tape off and spray weld thru primer on just the flanges — seems like the best way. I'm not sure what others do?
Montreal914
@nathanxnathan Thank you!

My comments in italic in your post smile.gif

QUOTE(nathanxnathan @ Dec 18 2022, 12:39 AM) *

Coming along nicely. smile.gif

I'll have to take another look at the back of the trunk seal area to see how that ties in with the rear panel above the tail light. Yes, that will need further investigation. My donner fender insn't 100% complete on the rear end either and there will be some butt welds needed there. So overall the installation will be a composition of spot and butt welds.

Other areas to think about... the bottom of the door jamb, how to tie that to the sill. The factory I think gas welded that joint with bronze, as there's an overlap of the 2 panels. I was thinking just weld and grind. This gets hidden by the aluminum door sill.

The top of the sail panel where the flange goes I think under the top of the targa bar. Plug welding that seems like the best option. It's a tricky area because you can't back the weld. Yes, plug welding seems to be the only option as the fender flange does go under the Targa bar panel. I made sure I didn't drill through the donner fender when I prepped that area. On the car those spot welds are more of an elongated shape instead of round and they are at an angle (Pictures below). Not sure yet how I will proceed to remove that part. I might try to grind from underneath to leave the Targa piece exempt from holes. Then, planned holes could be done for the plug welds.

The other area to think about is the fresh air inlet. The ones I've seen, the factory mig welded the lip of the 2 layers. I've removed one, and was able to just grind off the lip/weld and carefully separate the tube inner from the flanged hole in the inner fender. The donner fender came with all of this and I had to proceed in grinding the factory weld to clean it up. I plan on doing the same on the car when removing its fender. I didn't do the cleanest job rolleyes.gif (pictures below) but it is done. Once the "new" fender is in, I will put a few tacks.

What are your thoughts on prepping the inner fender before mounting it? Areas like behind the sail panels or the area where the foam is at the rear of the fender by the tail lights aren't going to be accessible once the fender is in. The factory I think there's just primer there.

I've thought about this for my front cross panel project on my car. My thoughts are 3M Weld Thru Primer on both surfaces of the seams where it'll be spot or plug welded. ... tape off the flanges that will be welded, epoxy primer, then tape off and spray weld thru primer on just the flanges — seems like the best way. I'm not sure what others do? AHHH YES! That is a great question that I have been asking myself... wacko.gif How to prep the inner fender. If I was to apply epoxy paint, it would have to be with a brush or roller. I don't have a compressor/gun and any experience in painting. For under the car, I have been considering using those truck bed liner product and roll it on. Could this be used for both the inner fender and the fender back side? confused24.gif I have seen that some can be colored to match(!) the car color. A lot of questions to be answered on everything prep and paint related... unsure.gif



Here is the sail panel top flange when I was cleaning up the extra metal from the donner fender.

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And this is the top of the Targa corner on the car.

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As for the vent tube, this is what I started with on the donner fender:

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During the dismantling wacko.gif A bit of a wrestle... I will try to do better when removing the fender from the car.

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Once free and reshaped, this is what I am working with.

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nivekdodge
https://www.semproducts.com/product/rust-sh.../28104#product-

For the insides . it can go on over rust and can be brushed. Se if there's a local jobber who can put stuff in spray cans.

Kevin
Montreal914
QUOTE(nivekdodge @ Dec 18 2022, 06:21 PM) *

https://www.semproducts.com/product/rust-sh.../28104#product-

For the insides . it can go on over rust and can be brushed. Se if there's a local jobber who can put stuff in spray cans.

Kevin


Thank you Kevin! smile.gif Will definitely look into this!
Montreal914
Another overdue update...

As mentioned in the previous post, the donner fender is pretty much ready (we'll get back to this...) so it was time to remove the original fender from the car.

So here is the current situation which should seem 100% familiar to everyone, except the mess... rolleyes.gif

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First, the vent tube in the door jamb needs to be freed. By grinding the edge weld, it allowed me to pry away the inner tube which is attached to the fender.

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Then I cut the whole fender with a thin disk on a cheap angle grinder to leave only the spot welded strip attached to the car. This clears the access to grind the rest off in a second step. So here we go, rough cut, and out! smile.gif

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Next, I started on the top of the Targa bar. The spot welds have to be drilled here because the replacement fender will go underneath, and therefore will be plug welded in place. After drilling the welds I carefully pryed off the remnants.

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And here you have that segment pretty much done. smile.gif

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Next going down the edge on the door side. Along the Targa, there are actually three layers of metal, the inner fender/Targa panel, the corrugated reinforcement piece, and the fender. This transitions to only layers the inner fender and fender itself from the door down until the very bottom where there is again three layers. Carefully grinding away each spot weld, I was able to cleanup this flange to receive the donner fender flange.

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Cleanup almost finished. Note that the latch bracket is actually not attached to the fender. The fender gets sandwiched between it and the door latch.

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Now working my way along the trunk seal area, removing about 1 1/4" at time grinding each spot weld.

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And there we have it! smile.gif Well the rear corner will be addressed when the fender grafting strategy has been established... idea.gif

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Montreal914
Next, time to fix some of the scars created during the rough fender cut. dry.gif

The cutting disk actually cut a little in the trailing edge of the sail panel. Nothing that a little welding can't fix smile.gif.

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Moving along to the rear corner. Current situation, and donner fender current end cuts...

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But what is hidden in the donner fender corner is the underside corner cut. headbang.gif

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So before going any further, this needs to be addressed somehow...

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So I delicately cut off that missing portion from the removed original fender, now the "easy" task of welding this on the fender... wacko.gif

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Crazy the amount of time one can spend fixing such a small area... rolleyes.gif But it got done in the end...

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OK, now back to fitting the fender on the car. Very first placement is definitely very encouraging! smile.gif

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That being said the rear end still needs to be figured out. Now all of this wouldn't have been an issue if the donner fender was 100% complete, but it isn't, so we need to improvise a little. That corner (yellow arrow) has been deformed and isn't part of the fender...

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...out of space for more pictures, to be continued! bye1.gif

Montreal914
OK, so let's continue with this problematic lower dented corner. After trying to hammer it back to match the shape of the fender, I realiazed I had cut to much material off of it and was left with too large of a gap. rolleyes.gif headbang.gif

So, luckily among my various sheet metal parts, I had one from the yellow fender piece. So here it is now attached to the car and nicely matching the new fender.

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And now with the fender nicely matching ready for the butt weld.

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After many subtle little adjustments and on and off, I want to think the fit is pretty much ready for welding! smile.gif

The door gap is pretty uniform at 5.27mm near the top and 5.08 at the bottom held by a few vise grips. Let's hope it stays during welding...

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More pictures of it simply held by a few clamps.

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Next, prepping the surfaces and weld! smile.gif beer3.gif
bob164
Great progress Eric, thanks for the detailed photos, you are an inspiration.
Cairo94507
Great work Eric; a thing of beauty when the new quarter goes on and lines up nicely. All that careful removal and prep pays off in perfection. beerchug.gif
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