feel solid, look a little worse in pictures - I'm trying to assess what I'm working with here and any potential ways forward since solid replacement chassis seem pretty rare.

Apparently this was important when I was researching - 2 people can be inside without targa top and doors still close easy and have the same gaps as with targa top on and no one inside.

Repair work was done in the 80's I believe.

Long stiffening kit possible? Worth/possible to replace jackpoints? Right know it's blocks of wood screwed to the solid metal to hold the rocker panel plugs.

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This is Pandora's box. Don't open it.

It really is a catch 22. I don't like the look of the work at all but if it's not sagging or flexing, than it's probably functional.

Unless you're handy with a welder, and have lots of patience, this is a money pit to repair it correctly at shop rate of $75 - 100/hour plus the cost or reproduction sheetmetal & paint when done.

The main thing I'd look at is the condition of the longitudinal inner panels and where the seat belt attaches.

Addition of the MadDog inner longitudinal stiffing kit wouldn't be a bad idea but depends on having solid inner longitudinal sheetmetal to weld to. Adds more weight but could help with a belt & suspenders approach to what has already been done to it.

I woudn't mess with the jack points.

The worst thing would be to get in a minor accident and have those seat belt anchors tear free due to rust on the inner panels allowing tear though of the seat belt anchor. If those are sound, I'd probably just drive and enjoy it.

It's sort of like a Model T. You can't expect modern crashworthiness no matter what you do. Once you accept that, it all comes down to functionality.

+1 superhawk996.

I’m in the same camp as @Superhawk996 Correctly repairing that car will be a huge project that might not be worth it. It looks like they tried to replicate the Mayeur longitudinal stiffener. It also looks like there’s a lot of body filler, so simply keeping it roadworthy would be my suggestion

BUT I WANNA OPEN IT, I WANNA OPEN IT!!

haha but in all honesty, I basically maxed out the functionality with my purchase, so that's why all I got left to worry about is the chassis and why I really want it to have a solid one the components deserve.

I plan on owning this car forever (I'm 30 now) and will only be driving it, maybe 30 times per year and never in rain.

It's surprising how clean/functional the components are vs. the amount of repair work done to the chassis.

professionally rebuilt 2.0/engine tranny with original FI by reputable porsche mechanic
unmolested complete original interior with zero cracks and appearance package
like new heat exchangers
original 2.0 exhaust
sway bar
original carpets and mats
chrome bumpers and new rubber tops
100% fully functional, including all latches, lights, and components.

molestation:
electric window washer using original steering column wiper arm
trunk latch solenoid and rear reflector
blaupunkt stereo
drilled rotors and 5 lug wheels
painted targa top

I've been told to cut my losses and get a new car by a few resources, but I really like it so I'll probably double down on my "914 tuition" and look for a new chassis in the long term while leaving this one alone and enjoying it. Mine is originally a 1.7, so it would be nice to be able to match the engine numbers to a 73 2.0 chassis as well.

I paid what I think is a fair price for what it is, so even though I'm not looking to make appreciation, I have some wiggle room going forward.

Thanks a lot for your advice! I'm new to cars so everything is very appreciated.

Is that why they are flat as apposed to having the original indents? I have only been able to find one restoration kit like that from research, probably the mayeur you mention, but it's obviously not actually them, looks like it's been done in sections.

How does it go, "drive it like you stole it"

lol, I think you're right.

I have it couped up, waiting to get saftied (needed to install window washers) so instead of driving it I just admire it looking for issues to fix lol

hopefully I'll be doing that by mid week

This guy always has some of the best advice. Whenever I see those all I can think of is all of the rust that wasn't fixed properly hiding behind them

I think its fine - just ugly. Look around the inner floor seams for any sign of rust, if you dont find anything, that should give you some piece of mind.

If you want to add jack pyramids, I don't see why it would be an issue. Test fit with your side skirts on, scribe it, and weld into place.

I would recover with rubber undercoat, or at the minimum, black paint. (red isnt a great look there)


The BM kit is flat and sectioned in the rear. I have one of these kits, you could jump on my longs with the doors open if you wanted. (dont do that)


Jared

When I started my 914-6 GT Tribute I also found the rusted out jack area. Rest of the car in very good condition, floors, trunk, so I just had that area cut out and new welded in. Picture shows the area of rocker. MarkClick to view attachment

If it is holding consistent door gaps, not necessarily perfect, but not getting any worse just drive it. Have some fun, do some motoring, basically enjoy and use it as a car for a year.

If after that you want to take it off the road and spend 200 hours on it by all means, but the least fun car in the world is one that isn’t drivable because it’s waiting on welding repairs.

200 hours? I think you left out a zero.

Yep. My green car is in the realm of 700 hours. At least 10-12 hours a week for about a year. That is turn and burn restructure. Not nearly as in depth as yours!


But it's "fun'!

Jared

@Superhawk996

Is the inner long viewable from the interior, like the inner door sill under the carpet? Or does the actual inside of the longs have to be inspected to make a proper assessment?

thanks!

Inner longs are indeed visible if you remove the carpet.

Areas of interest:

Pay attention to the area where the seat belt anchor is.

Look at the base where the floor pan attaches

You'll find two oval tar patches that cover two holes that can be removed to allow access for a borescope if you want to inspect the inside. Given the state of the outside of the long, we can pretty much guarantee that the inside of the long isn't pristine. Not uncommong to find rust chips on the bottoms of the longs.

Be on the lookout for fiberglass and/or other 1/2 fixes that are cosmetic but don't have structural integrity. My own car had a ton of fiberglass on the floorpan hiding rust and other issues.

Focus on assessing structural integrity of that seat belt anchor.

Door gaps look Ok, like others have said, go out and drive it. Mine was 10 years old when I had to replace the battery tray and support...Just rusted away and sagging, battery was bungee'd in place . So assume there is rust and collect sheet metal for the future. Looks nice, have fun

Instead of talking how compromised it might be ... Talk about how great it is and fun to drive with a for sale sign in the window

@superhawk996

Feels solid

Drivers Side:
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Passenger Side:
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I see fiberglass.

Others have said it, if the car feels solid and you like it, drive it! With repairs such as those, it'd be a significant project to go back and do it correctly.

You've gotten good advice here and it does look like that repair is solid enough to drive (at least as far as can be told from pictures). But to answer your original question of whether it is worth adding stiffeners, that would be a hard "no" if it were my car. The reason being that the quality of the repair is still a question mark. I would tear out the repair and rebuild it with the proper pieces before adding stiffeners to a questionable long.

The nice part is you don't have to be in a hurry and can drive it and enjoy it until you decide what, if anything, you want to do.

Thanks! I'll probably do just that, I do think it is a lot more solid than it looks.

More than anything I'm just trying to learn as much as possible about it, it's my first classic car and more of a learning experience than anything

Where do you see fiberglass specifically? Just out of curiosity for what it looks like!

I am in the midst of my second 914 welding exercise. In these training incidents a whole lot of rustiness is cut away and replaced by new metal. You cannot weld new steel to rust - the rust simply catches fire. So, I think my repairs will make it strong. However, I am still wondering if it would be EVEN better with some sort of clamshell or strengthening kit on top of my now really great welds. Still wondering. Would such a route be wise in cases of uncertainty as described in the original post?

I of course could be mistaken, sure looks like FG matting to me:

Yup- looks like fiberglass from here, too.
Check it out with a magnet.

I know everyone is saying just drive it, but I'd want to be sure that the car was repaired well enough so that it wouldn't completely fold up in an accident. I'd be at it with the 3M wheel removing all of that paint to see what's under it, especially since that whole area (outside and in) is covered up anyway. You're not going to devalue the car by removing the paint- it's clear that it's been repaired and not done that well (aesthetically speaking). If you take the paint off and it's all solid, then just rattle can it back to get it close and call it good.

If it's not sound, better to know.

THAT is a winter 914 for sure.
Drive it and enjoy it

Looks to me like the PO did put a layer of reinforcment metal over the seat belt anchor (and whole inner longitudinal lower 1/2) which is a good thing.

I assume that is welded in, but, I'm baffled by what all the goop (i.e. fiberglass & resin) is above it. It doesn't seem like the intent was to hide anything. Maybe it was just from someone having fiberglassed it prior to your prior owner adding the metal?

Either way - prudent to use wire wheel to get down to metal and ensure that the lower metal repair was welded to longitudinal and to the floor pan. I think I see weld bead under the goop?

Take a good look at the inner mount for the passenger side rear trailing arm. When you have the amount of rust this car had at one point in time, that suspension console is usually pretty weak. At best it will fail and leave you stranded when you least expect it.

Personally, I like to know what I'm dealing with. Then I can assess the risks that I wish to take. At worst - you're dealing with the crashworthines of a car before seat belt era. However, that is a bit of a shame because a 914 with good structural integrity actaully has a suprising amount of crash worthiness for a vehicle designed in the late 60's with early implementation of front and rear crush zones.

Based on what I think I see, I'd just drive it. Restoration of what you have is daunting prospect. In my case (see build thread in signature) I only had to replace a rotted passenger side long. In your case, it looks like both passenger side and driver side were corroded badly engough that someone did the work that you see to keep it on the road. If you decide to stick with 914's in the long run, you can sell this one for what it is, and then find a better specimen down the road if you wish.

@Superhawk996

It was well represented as a driver by the seller, no surprises and I'm actually thrilled with it so far - I'm just trying to be proactive about keeping it on the road and driving well for as long as possible I believe most of the repair work was done over 20 years ago. I'm keeping my eye out for a replacement chassis for the long term if one ever pops up but I definitely feel comfortable driving it in the meantime.

Here's some pics, I tried to document everything surrounding to that area as well.

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I personally think a replacement chassis is overkill. To break this down from my perspective -

Your car has been repaired in common rust areas using non-traditional (i.e. fabricated) parts. That opens questions about how good the repairs were but doesn't automatically mean they were bad. The two concerns are:

1. are the repairs structurally sound?
2. are the repairs hiding rust that continues to rot the metal?

From the pics, the long repair looks pretty solid, maybe even battleship stout. Whatever the goop is raises questions about the second part. That could be seam sealer that was applied over the welds to prevent moisture getting trapped which would be a sign the person doing the repairs was thorough. Or it could be fiberglass or bondo slapped on to make bad metal look pretty, or worse, to patch over a hole. The last two seem unlikely to me given that whoever did the repairs obviously could weld. Fiberglass patches are usually done by people who can't, or won't, weld.

I agree with wire brushing those ares down to bare metal to put your mind at ease. After that, the worst case is that you yank out the repaired longs at some point and replace with proper parts. It's a job and could be expensive to hire out, but it really isn't THAT bad and if you can weld yourself, not terribly expensive. Personally, I still rather save the tub you have than find a different one.

Looking more broadly at the car - there is a lot of heavy undercoating that has been painted over and I see a crack above your outer rear suspension console I'd want to stab with a screwdriver to make sure it is sound. Again, in the long term I'd like to know the undercoat isn't hiding anything nasty, but I wouldn't condemn the chassis without thorough investigation.

It's impossible to say from long distance, but I think you have a nice driver. Enjoy it!

Suspension inner console looks to be in pretty decent shape.

I'm with Brent, I'd give it a few pokes with a pick around that outer suspension console where it seems like the undercoating is cracked but overall not as bad I thought it might look.

I agree. I think you have a good driver. Enjoy it.

As Brent states, anyting can be fixed, only matter of blood, sweat, and tears.

Fuel lines in the engine bay are the original plastic lines. They need to be replaced.
What fuel lines are in the tunnel? If original, think about replacing them before doing much mileage.

Looks like a great start.

I would borrow or buy a bore scope, and feed it into the longs to see what the insides look like.