Picked up this 72 914 a few months ago.
Click to view attachment
The story on the car:
The gentleman who owned it drove it until the 80's, when apparently the insurance on it became far to high. It was parked at his personally owned junk yard. After it sat uncovered a while, it was moved into his barn. Shortly after it was moved to the barn, the barn fell on the car. It sat for a good while.
We jacked up the barn, slapped some air holding tires on it (all 4 wheels were rusted flat), and pulled it out of there.
So far I've disassembled a decent amount of the exterior and interior. I have no "restoration" plans for this car, at least the factory flavor.
My plan is to swap a rotary engine into it. I haven't gotten my hands on the motor yet, but it'll more than likely be the 13b from an RX8. Stock they put down around 200HP+ which is double what this came with so i think it will be plenty.
This is a car ive wanted since I was a kid. And ive always wanted a rotary powered vehicle. so this will be a joining of those ideas. I've been toying with ideas to incorporate a Rasberry Pi based system in the car with a large screen (large being relative here, the car is tiny) but my first order of business is tear down, see what needs to be done structurally, and go from there. So far one of the rear trailing arms is no longer attached, and the typical frame rail area is gone. I will add more pictures later. I guess people don't really use forums anymore but I figured id give it a shot.
Full Version: New Here - 1972 914-4 "Collapsed barn find"
QUOTE(EliteEmerz @ Nov 1 2021, 05:54 PM) 
Picked up this 72 914 a few months ago.
The story on the car:
The gentleman who owned it drove it until the 80's, when apparently the insurance on it became far to high. It was parked at his personally owned junk yard. After it sat uncovered a while, it was moved into his barn. Shortly after it was moved to the barn, the barn fell on the car. It sat for a good while.
We jacked up the barn, slapped some air holding tires on it (all 4 wheels were rusted flat), and pulled it out of there.
So far I've disassembled a decent amount of the exterior and interior. I have no "restoration" plans for this car, at least the factory flavor.
My plan is to swap a rotary engine into it. I haven't gotten my hands on the motor yet, but it'll more than likely be the 13b from an RX8. Stock they put down around 200HP+ which is double what this came with so i think it will be plenty.
This is a car ive wanted since I was a kid. And ive always wanted a rotary powered vehicle. so this will be a joining of those ideas. I've been toying with ideas to incorporate a Rasberry Pi based system in the car with a large screen (large being relative here, the car is tiny) but my first order of business is tear down, see what needs to be done structurally, and go from there. So far one of the rear trailing arms is no longer attached, and the typical frame rail area is gone. I will add more pictures later. I guess people don't really use forums anymore but I figured id give it a shot.
Hey and welcome! That's quite a project. This forum is VERY busy, so you can get answers to almost every question about the 914 that you might have. I'm a lurker (meaning I don't currently have a 914, but I'm living vicariously through everyone else's 914).
Welcome. You are in the right place.
I’d concentrate on the basics. If you can drive it without putting much into it you can sort it out. Also means you can sell a running motor, instead of a boat anchor, if you swap out.
Let the fun begin.
BTW my 72 dynoed out at 65 at the wheels 200 is more than double.
I’d concentrate on the basics. If you can drive it without putting much into it you can sort it out. Also means you can sell a running motor, instead of a boat anchor, if you swap out.
Let the fun begin.
BTW my 72 dynoed out at 65 at the wheels 200 is more than double.
Those early fog light grille covers are pretty rare.
The color looks to be L97P Green Metallic (Grün-Metallic) which means it should be a '70.
I'd be curious to see what the VIN is on that car.
PS:
The color looks to be L97P Green Metallic (Grün-Metallic) which means it should be a '70.
I'd be curious to see what the VIN is on that car.
PS:
Welcome and more pics please 
Looks like Willow Green to me...L63K on the front drivers door plate. A rare and desireable color.
Welcome here and looking forward to this original project !
Cheers
Antoine
Cheers
Antoine
QUOTE(EliteEmerz @ Nov 1 2021, 08:54 PM)
Picked up this 72 914 a few months ago.
The story on the car:
The gentleman who owned it drove it until the 80's, when apparently the insurance on it became far to high. It was parked at his personally owned junk yard. After it sat uncovered a while, it was moved into his barn. Shortly after it was moved to the barn, the barn fell on the car. It sat for a good while.
We jacked up the barn, slapped some air holding tires on it (all 4 wheels were rusted flat), and pulled it out of there.
So far I've disassembled a decent amount of the exterior and interior. I have no "restoration" plans for this car, at least the factory flavor.
My plan is to swap a rotary engine into it. I haven't gotten my hands on the motor yet, but it'll more than likely be the 13b from an RX8. Stock they put down around 200HP+ which is double what this came with so i think it will be plenty.
This is a car ive wanted since I was a kid. And ive always wanted a rotary powered vehicle. so this will be a joining of those ideas. I've been toying with ideas to incorporate a Rasberry Pi based system in the car with a large screen (large being relative here, the car is tiny) but my first order of business is tear down, see what needs to be done structurally, and go from there. So far one of the rear trailing arms is no longer attached, and the typical frame rail area is gone. I will add more pictures later. I guess people don't really use forums anymore but I figured id give it a shot.
Did tou take the Thunderbird too ?
QUOTE(SirAndy @ Nov 1 2021, 10:17 PM)
Those early fog light grille covers are pretty rare.
The color looks to be L97P Green Metallic (Grün-Metallic) which means it should be a '70.
I'd be curious to see what the VIN is on that car.
PS:
I agree with Jeff about the Willow green, a fairly typical '70s color.
Was it possible to have a low option car ('70-'72 body color bumpers)
with fog lights ?
........meaning body colored fog light grills ?
That is a cool save for a great color on a 914. 
Who drew the short straw and had to crawl in there to hook up the chain? 
Seriously though, good on you for saving it!
.
Seriously though, good on you for saving it!
.
This car brought back a memory, I was 14 and my Mother took me to Kenilworth Illinois and next to the train station was a Porsche dealer - In the showroom was a 914 in that same color green. It left a deep impression - one that I still feel when I see an original green 914. The fog lamp covers got me when I saw this picture.
I am my 7th 914, I need more......MORE.......MORE!!!!
Always hate to hear that a 914 is going to be cut-up, BUT, it is your car. Have a great time with it!
Love the color!
I am my 7th 914, I need more......MORE.......MORE!!!!
Always hate to hear that a 914 is going to be cut-up, BUT, it is your car. Have a great time with it!
Love the color!
QUOTE(ctc911ctc @ Nov 2 2021, 02:52 PM)
This car brought back a memory, I was 14 and my Mother took me to Kenilworth Illinois and next to the train station was a Porsche dealer - In the showroom was a 914 in that same color green. It left a deep impression - one that I still feel when I see an original green 914. The fog lamp covers got me when I saw this picture.
I am my 7th 914, I need more......MORE.......MORE!!!!
Always hate to hear that a 914 is going to be cut-up, BUT, it is your car. Have a great time with it!
Love the color!
If it is an early car then it needs to be saved
Body color bumpers...no fogs. Yum.
I don't know about the second image...somethings are just not right.
I don't know about the second image...somethings are just not right.
I love it when the barn is on top of the car, in this case the only thing that saved the car was a drill press was in the middle of the barn and acted as a last ditch roof beam. Save them all!!!!!!!!!
Alright I'll do my best to answer some of the questions, but the whole quote thing is driving me nuts trying to answer multiples so Ill just freewing it.
@rgalla9146
The thunderbird was already set for a new owner, they just wanted to get the 914 out before disturbing anymore of the barn. Once the thunderbird came out they planned on just pushing the 1 wall thats left with their tractor and letting the rest come down.
As far as the color goes, I did verify the L63K color code in the door jamb, but this car was DEFINITELY resprayed at some point, and by the looks of the over-spray it was done without much care. There were no fogs on the car but there were some wires behind the bumper, so possibly they had some in the past? Not sure unfortunately.
Click to view attachment
@Literati914
The whole reason I met these guys was my buddy Mike. Mike loves to do this kind of thing. He didnt draw any straws, he ran in that unsafe situation quicker than I could figure out what to do next.
@ctc911ctc
Trust me, this thing is way to far gone to be considered for a full restoration without a lot of $$$, and I'm definitely not doing any of that.
Man is finding image hosting frustrating. I tried using IMGUR and FLICKR but neither show the proper .img link or whatever so I'm having trouble getting them to just show up, so for now ill just post a picture or 2 per post real quick since they're all apparently to big to have in 1 post.
@rgalla9146
The thunderbird was already set for a new owner, they just wanted to get the 914 out before disturbing anymore of the barn. Once the thunderbird came out they planned on just pushing the 1 wall thats left with their tractor and letting the rest come down.
As far as the color goes, I did verify the L63K color code in the door jamb, but this car was DEFINITELY resprayed at some point, and by the looks of the over-spray it was done without much care. There were no fogs on the car but there were some wires behind the bumper, so possibly they had some in the past? Not sure unfortunately.
Click to view attachment
@Literati914
The whole reason I met these guys was my buddy Mike. Mike loves to do this kind of thing. He didnt draw any straws, he ran in that unsafe situation quicker than I could figure out what to do next.
@ctc911ctc
Trust me, this thing is way to far gone to be considered for a full restoration without a lot of $$$, and I'm definitely not doing any of that.
Man is finding image hosting frustrating. I tried using IMGUR and FLICKR but neither show the proper .img link or whatever so I'm having trouble getting them to just show up, so for now ill just post a picture or 2 per post real quick since they're all apparently to big to have in 1 post.
Ok so, starting with the day I picked up the car was May 22 according to the picture. I resized these to post them directly via forum because my hosting options are annoying RN. Seems like shrinking them still makes them look OK and allows me to post multiples
This is the car IN the barn:
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Here is mike contemplating death:
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Here is the car once we got it out far enough to be "safe":
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A few shots of it out of the barn:
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It went on the trailer surprisingly smooth:
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Here you can see me (the 40's shirt) caught in the perfect moment of "what have i done to myself":
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And right around the same time, I picked up this 1980 Glastron from a family member that also needs a bit of a rebuild (motor runs, but the hull needs some love)
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You could say I'm a glutton for punishment.
Just for a bit more background on me and my projects, I love turning wrenches on pretty much anything.
Just finished up this 94 SP over summer (oil injection delete, new plugs, new oil lines (still requires an inlet/outlet line for the lower half of the motor), repainted the hood, added the handle bar cover, new handle bars, new stator, new battery, and some other things). This took me a few months at the beginning of summer after it sat for about 15 years under my buddys parents porch.
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I owned an 82 240D for a little while. My cousin moved to Canada and gave it to me. I loved it but I couldn't customize it because it felt wrong to start tearing it apart. I got bored of it after a few years and sold it to fund the Porsche:
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And lastly my "camper". Bought this off another car buddy already done. It needs things but it was to cool to pass up.
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
This is the car IN the barn:
Click to view attachment
Here is mike contemplating death:
Click to view attachment
Here is the car once we got it out far enough to be "safe":
Click to view attachment
A few shots of it out of the barn:
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
It went on the trailer surprisingly smooth:
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Here you can see me (the 40's shirt) caught in the perfect moment of "what have i done to myself":
Click to view attachment
And right around the same time, I picked up this 1980 Glastron from a family member that also needs a bit of a rebuild (motor runs, but the hull needs some love)
Click to view attachment
You could say I'm a glutton for punishment.
Just for a bit more background on me and my projects, I love turning wrenches on pretty much anything.
Just finished up this 94 SP over summer (oil injection delete, new plugs, new oil lines (still requires an inlet/outlet line for the lower half of the motor), repainted the hood, added the handle bar cover, new handle bars, new stator, new battery, and some other things). This took me a few months at the beginning of summer after it sat for about 15 years under my buddys parents porch.
Click to view attachment
I owned an 82 240D for a little while. My cousin moved to Canada and gave it to me. I loved it but I couldn't customize it because it felt wrong to start tearing it apart. I got bored of it after a few years and sold it to fund the Porsche:
Click to view attachment
And lastly my "camper". Bought this off another car buddy already done. It needs things but it was to cool to pass up.
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Looking forward to watching this project unfold. If you need anything, we are all here to help.
Looks like a later style bumper, and with a spray, I'd look and see if they did any repairs. Might look like hell on the surface, but be a jewel under.
QUOTE(JeffBowlsby @ Nov 2 2021, 07:37 PM)
Body color bumpers...no fogs. Yum.
I don't know about the second image...somethings are just not right.
The wheels are out of sync with the 'no trim, painted bumper era'So the painted foglight grills could be a personalized touch too.
QUOTE(rgalla9146 @ Nov 4 2021, 11:35 AM)
QUOTE(JeffBowlsby @ Nov 2 2021, 07:37 PM)
Body color bumpers...no fogs. Yum.
I don't know about the second image...somethings are just not right.
The wheels are out of sync with the 'no trim, painted bumper era'So the painted foglight grills could be a personalized touch too.
The wheels that were on the car rusted flat, so the wheels on it now are actually just 4 randoms my buddy Mike had in his garage spare. He unfortunately wont sell them to me, so I've been on the hunt for "rollers" so to speak. I got a pair of 4x130 wheels from a local buddy for 20$ which I realize I wont find that deal twice, but I definitely dont want to spend a lot on wheels i just need to be round and hold air.
At the moment, I'm crossing my fingers when I get it inside I can either borrow wheels from the shop it's at (they have a few old VWs around), or find another pair on the facebook relatively close to me. I check the classifieds at least once a wheel for them.
QUOTE(EliteEmerz @ Nov 4 2021, 04:31 PM)
QUOTE(rgalla9146 @ Nov 4 2021, 11:35 AM)
QUOTE(JeffBowlsby @ Nov 2 2021, 07:37 PM)
Body color bumpers...no fogs. Yum.
I don't know about the second image...somethings are just not right.
The wheels are out of sync with the 'no trim, painted bumper era'So the painted foglight grills could be a personalized touch too.
The wheels that were on the car rusted flat, so the wheels on it now are actually just 4 randoms my buddy Mike had in his garage spare. He unfortunately wont sell them to me, so I've been on the hunt for "rollers" so to speak. I got a pair of 4x130 wheels from a local buddy for 20$ which I realize I wont find that deal twice, but I definitely dont want to spend a lot on wheels i just need to be round and hold air.
At the moment, I'm crossing my fingers when I get it inside I can either borrow wheels from the shop it's at (they have a few old VWs around), or find another pair on the facebook relatively close to me. I check the classifieds at least once a wheel for them.
rgalla9146 is confusing the issue for you EliteEmerz.
he is talking about the red car mr. b posted a photo of - not yours.
he is right, but thats because VW changed the wheels on their museum car themselves.
(the red car is the vw museum car)
it used to have hub caps and steelies at an earlier time. mr. b will know the facts, but i think the red car is an extremely early car, (maybe a pre production not sure). in any case it does not even have the correct star steelies on it for a 914. if you look close they are deeper offsets and they have the fake plastic nut hubs - they come off one of the beetle sport editions VW did.
your car probably is a full painted car. looks like it copped a fair hiding when the barn fell down. its a nice color though.
i fully endorse your rotary hot rod idea.
Alrighty, so I basically get up to the car about 2 hours a day after work before the sun goes down, at least twice a week, so this progress you're about to see is from various days.
So the first few visits I just focused on cleaning the various small animal poop areas, what looked like mouse bones, nuts (from i assume squirrels), and pieces of the barn that fell on top (mainly roof shingle pieces)
Trunk - what looks like a giant court transcript, and a few odds and ends. the carpeting in the entire car was soaked, some had moss growing on it, it was all bad
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Frunk
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Driver side (this was after i vacuumed, im terrible at taking pictures before/after). Driver seat came out just by lifting if you couldn't tell by the giant holes
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Also cleaned up the frunk
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Passenger side after the vacuum
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Pile of what I removed so far. Driver seat, cushions, center console, some odds and ends, the original wheel caps are in the dewalt box, though they're in roughish shape. I kept some of the original carpet but after letting it dry out it was all garbage. I dont plan on keeping anything OEM anyway so I'm not worried.
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Butt shot just because I LOVE the engine cover on these
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One quick frunk pic after cleaning
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Sort of the second day I was able to get into it
Started with the front end. I basically was going through the car, and removing anything I could that was basic screws, and not so rusty it couldn't be removed easily
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Driver side door. wasn't in great shape but I did keep it
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Removed. The window is rusted in place (well the frame underneith) so I havent touched it yet
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I've been using the frunk as my temporary trash can. So at each stage of taking it apart ive just left shenanigans in there. The old gas tank is rusted through and full of small animal poop so I just tugged it a bit and left it since it was getting dark
Click to view attachment
So the first few visits I just focused on cleaning the various small animal poop areas, what looked like mouse bones, nuts (from i assume squirrels), and pieces of the barn that fell on top (mainly roof shingle pieces)
Trunk - what looks like a giant court transcript, and a few odds and ends. the carpeting in the entire car was soaked, some had moss growing on it, it was all bad
Click to view attachment
Frunk
Click to view attachment
Driver side (this was after i vacuumed, im terrible at taking pictures before/after). Driver seat came out just by lifting if you couldn't tell by the giant holes
Click to view attachment
Also cleaned up the frunk
Click to view attachment
Passenger side after the vacuum
Click to view attachment
Pile of what I removed so far. Driver seat, cushions, center console, some odds and ends, the original wheel caps are in the dewalt box, though they're in roughish shape. I kept some of the original carpet but after letting it dry out it was all garbage. I dont plan on keeping anything OEM anyway so I'm not worried.
Click to view attachment
Butt shot just because I LOVE the engine cover on these
Click to view attachment
One quick frunk pic after cleaning
Click to view attachment
Sort of the second day I was able to get into it
Started with the front end. I basically was going through the car, and removing anything I could that was basic screws, and not so rusty it couldn't be removed easily
Click to view attachment
Driver side door. wasn't in great shape but I did keep it
Click to view attachment
Removed. The window is rusted in place (well the frame underneith) so I havent touched it yet
Click to view attachment
I've been using the frunk as my temporary trash can. So at each stage of taking it apart ive just left shenanigans in there. The old gas tank is rusted through and full of small animal poop so I just tugged it a bit and left it since it was getting dark
Click to view attachment
Welcome to your new addiction.
To wrap up day 2 you can see I was able to at least get some of the side marker stuff off as well
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Just a pile of shenanigans after this day or 2 of taking things apart
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New day maybe? I dont remember close enough!
The trunk was my next goal to see what I could take out.
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Removed the driver side cover, but the buckets were broken and rusted in place. Again, for now I was just looking to remove anything that would come off easily. The passenger side was the side under what was left of the barn so those come right off.
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Cleaning out the frunk of what its accumulated so far as well as I got in on the headlights
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Headlights, headlight trim, motors, all removed. Boy are they in bad shape so I'm hoping they're salvagible. I'll have to take pictures of the parts I've removed in the near future. Most of them just went into plastic bins I've been filling a shelf with.
Click to view attachment
And I have to share my buddys Bronco. After whichever day this was I grabbed a quick shower and asked if I could take it to grab dinner at the grocery store. Working on cars at his shop (mainly my own) and our relationship gives me the opportunity to drive some awesome vehicles. I dont know about you guys but I love trying different cars out. I really enjoy the Bronco II because you can feel why they called it a death roller RIGHT AWAY
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So "new" day? The floor became bluetooth as soon as I started touching it for soft spots
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Ok shot of the dash before I started to get it apart
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Removed the roof rubber trim, pillar trim and rubber. it was all rotted and barely holding on. unfortunately besides the roof seals its pretty much all in the garbage. I think the visors are OK but they're also pretty bad. Saved some, tossed the real bad stuff
Click to view attachment
Just more shenanigans accumulating between dumpster trips (its around the back of the building, and I'm a fat dude so I'll admit I'm not taking that trip daily)
Click to view attachment
Removed the grilles, horn, got some more of the wiring harness from the front out. For the most part I haven't had to cut any wires, but the ones going through to the corner lights up front did get cut. To be fair I probably wont end up reusing most of it because its not in the best shape.
Click to view attachment
Quick shot from the other side and the trim removed
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Now the temperature where I live has dropped a bit, so enjoy my dog in a hoodie
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So just to show you, i enjoyed pulling this down due to the various nuts that fell out, as you can see by the nut shell
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
These are from this past week. I'm trying to get the dash frame out, and most forum posts said nuts were hidden under the cowl, so I decided to remove the blower unit? assembly for HVAC
Click to view attachment
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Decided to take a shot of the plate under the hood and the door jamb plate. I did add this door jamb plate to a previous post but I'm hoping it posts right side up
Click to view attachment
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I'm missing a few pictures in here since I removed the dash (upper and lower), steering wheel, and steering assembly as well. I'll have to toss those up later.
Click to view attachment
Just a pile of shenanigans after this day or 2 of taking things apart
Click to view attachment
New day maybe? I dont remember close enough!
The trunk was my next goal to see what I could take out.
Click to view attachment
Removed the driver side cover, but the buckets were broken and rusted in place. Again, for now I was just looking to remove anything that would come off easily. The passenger side was the side under what was left of the barn so those come right off.
Click to view attachment
Cleaning out the frunk of what its accumulated so far as well as I got in on the headlights
Click to view attachment
Headlights, headlight trim, motors, all removed. Boy are they in bad shape so I'm hoping they're salvagible. I'll have to take pictures of the parts I've removed in the near future. Most of them just went into plastic bins I've been filling a shelf with.
Click to view attachment
And I have to share my buddys Bronco. After whichever day this was I grabbed a quick shower and asked if I could take it to grab dinner at the grocery store. Working on cars at his shop (mainly my own) and our relationship gives me the opportunity to drive some awesome vehicles. I dont know about you guys but I love trying different cars out. I really enjoy the Bronco II because you can feel why they called it a death roller RIGHT AWAY
Click to view attachment
So "new" day? The floor became bluetooth as soon as I started touching it for soft spots
Click to view attachment
Ok shot of the dash before I started to get it apart
Click to view attachment
Removed the roof rubber trim, pillar trim and rubber. it was all rotted and barely holding on. unfortunately besides the roof seals its pretty much all in the garbage. I think the visors are OK but they're also pretty bad. Saved some, tossed the real bad stuff
Click to view attachment
Just more shenanigans accumulating between dumpster trips (its around the back of the building, and I'm a fat dude so I'll admit I'm not taking that trip daily)
Click to view attachment
Removed the grilles, horn, got some more of the wiring harness from the front out. For the most part I haven't had to cut any wires, but the ones going through to the corner lights up front did get cut. To be fair I probably wont end up reusing most of it because its not in the best shape.
Click to view attachment
Quick shot from the other side and the trim removed
Click to view attachment
Now the temperature where I live has dropped a bit, so enjoy my dog in a hoodie
Click to view attachment
So just to show you, i enjoyed pulling this down due to the various nuts that fell out, as you can see by the nut shell
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
These are from this past week. I'm trying to get the dash frame out, and most forum posts said nuts were hidden under the cowl, so I decided to remove the blower unit? assembly for HVAC
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Decided to take a shot of the plate under the hood and the door jamb plate. I did add this door jamb plate to a previous post but I'm hoping it posts right side up
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
I'm missing a few pictures in here since I removed the dash (upper and lower), steering wheel, and steering assembly as well. I'll have to toss those up later.
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