In 2009 I bought this '76 from The LeMay Museum. It had been donated to the museum by one of their members. They in turn decided to sell it and use the proceeds towards other projects they had in their inventory. Google them and you'll see it would not have been a good fit.
Upon delivery I discovered there were areas where rust had staked it's claim. The sail panels had, as I now know, the usual rust; the battery tray and the area immediately behind it plus a small area on top of the long beneath; and finally a few spots along the front rain channel.
To say I was distraught would be an understatement. Thirteen years and 2 more 914's later I know it was a good deal. Did I mention I paid $1600 for it delivered. The longs were solid as was the rest of the car. I removed the wiring mess for the car alarm & CB radio then reconnected all the wires to their original terminals. Next I replaced the Fuel Pump relay, added gas. After a turn of the key it coughed, farted and started. That's pretty much the Reader's Digest version but little more was done than that.
I hadn't worked on any cars since I was a teen and none of those needed rust repair. However, after building an airplane years earlier, I had some experience with aluminum and fiberglass. Do you see where this is going?
I thought it time that I go back and do a proper repair job on the old girl. Don't get me wrong. I thought that the aluminum angle patch pieces on the rain channel, the fiberglass in the Hell Hole and Bondo on the sail panels was "good enough"! Looking back, I didn't know Shit from Apple Butter.
It has remained as such but Since both of my Subaru conversions are basically finished, sans a paint job on the '73, I decided to go back and correct my "Get're done" repairs. I bought the rail repair pieces from 914rubber which in turn gave me an excuse to buy a metal shrinker/stretcher.
Bore yourself if you will, as there are more interesting and detailed metal restorations going on here, but I thought I'd better post these improvements for the next owner.

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2 of 4 and I just noticed I need to resize my camera so bear with me. The next update will have more pics per post.

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2 of 4

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another angle from 2 of 4

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3 of 4

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This is one of the aluminum pieces I had riveted in a curved section.

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And 4 of 4 which I'll tackle tomorrow. Seam seal is enroute and will be added afterwards.
Mr Rust moved a little beyond the channel but still a minor repair.

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New toys!

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On the operating table

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Really cool Kent. Was wondering when you'd get to this one. Keeping it stock this time? What are the last 4 digits of the VIN? Wondering where it falls in the last year of production.

Get Er' Done right!

Nice work. I was just looking at those rail replacements at 914rubber but didn’t really understand how they’re used.

Absolutely stock Chris. I'm just realizing what a nice car it is. I'll be posting some pics showing some of it's attributes. The dash is original and not cracked. The rear trunk, pad and carpet look like brand new. The two conversions aren't talking to me since I stepped out with this gal. Last 4 digits 1295.

Jeremy, Look closely at your rails and you'll see that it isn't one solid piece. It is 2 pieces spot welded together. Both are L shaped but one is much wider than the other. When one is placed on top of the other they form a "U" shaped channel. I ordered one 4ft section which is 2 pieces. A 3/8" belt sander is your friend when doing these.

Trivia question: Who here knows where else the channel pieces are used on a 914?

To hold the foam door seals on the doors.

This is the car I drove for the Rt66? I had no idea it came from LeMay. If a WA car, the rust is typical as is the nice dash and interior. The glued in trunk seals lead to disaster in a wet climate. I found it to be a nice, stock driver.

Keep the pics coming, looks great! Looks like a very clean 76' which is rare.

Moving forward - actually I started at the front and am moving towards the rear - so moving backwards the next repairs will be on the sail panels where I cleverly hid the bondo'd repairs behind the vinyl. But first a pic of the last repair on the rain channel right side. This one had moved up and into the cowling but not much. I ended up cutting about 4" off the cowling which isn't much compared to most of those I've seen repaired here. Before and after. Still no seam sealer but shows to arrive Monday. Who knew that Wurth's seam sealer wouldn't last 11 years in the can?

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I'll locate the original pics from when I went through her the first time showing the Hell Hole rust cut outs and the condition of the longs but in the meantime I'll throw out a couple of pics for @Root_Werks . Since the front trunk is stuffed with tools and such I took a few pics of the arse end. She's tighter than a Nun's rear on Christmas Eve but dirtier than a 5 term Senator so bear with me.

Is this the normal jack location for 75-76. Half covered by carpet or should the carpet be placed beneath the jack?

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Pulled back the carpet to show the condition of the original pad.

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Opps. Hit the wrong button but the previous pic was to show the lid. Like new for 45 years old.

Two more of that area.

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A shot of the back of the trunk. This area of the trunk and the headlight buckets seem to attract dirt.

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A quick view of the interior. A period correct radio would ne nice. New carpet will be needed. I spilled a pot of Chili on the passenger side floor years ago. Don't ask. It was cheap carpet anyway. Check out the welding blanket on the windshield. That is a proper accessory indeed. Yes, I made that mistake once before.

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That's it for now. Onward thru the Fog and onto the Sail Panels.

The very same Kevin. Except with a new ignition switch since you drove it last. My bad.

Hmmm. Not sure about that one Roy. I'll check the doors tomorrow. But there is another place I'm referring to.

Yep- the pad goes under the jack; the carpet goes over it. Keep up the great work and updates!

Well thank you for the compliments but it's time to reveal my ignorance. I need some pics of sail panel repairs. As the pics show, there is very little rust in this area so I believe I don't need to replace the entire sail panel. But before making a patch piece I'd like to see what this area looks like when intact.

I removed the bondo and plan to square up the opening for a patch piece

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But I'm not sure how this brace is attached to the sail panel or it's original shape. Was it "L" or "Z" shaped. did it attach to the sail panel, etc. The brace is actually in good shape and just needs a wire brush to clean it up.

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I've managed to dig out most of this cancer causing caulk with a screwdriver. Is there an easy method e.g. heat gun?

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Immediately above the clip holes the metal or whats left of it appears to turn back towards the brace? A pic would be worth a 1,000 words. TIA

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It is not attached. The factory used a butyl type caulk rope seal. I thought I had a better photo buy you can see a flat vertical surface the rope stuck to and a small lip sticking out pointing at the panel.

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Found a better photo

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Perfect Rick. Thank you very much. I know what I need to do now. This should keep me busy for a couple of weeks.

Thx to Rick's fast reply I was able to keep moving today albeit at a Snail's pace. A slow Snail at that. I put a wire brush to that rusty piece of angle I had asked about then treated it with some ospho. I put a backer piece in that will be plug welded then the finish piece (the one with the purple dye) will be butt welded to the existing panel. Everything will have weld thru primer or primer depending upon the need. I'm fortunate to have a lift or this would have been much more difficult. I ashamed to say this took about 6 hr's. I anticipate the other side will take less than 2 hr's since I understand the task at hand a bit better now. I will weld both sides when I start welding so to stay in the groove, so to speak. I also made a tool to safely and easily remove/install the hood springs. I'll make another post for that since most of the members won't read this one.

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Left side is done. God willing and the creeks don't rise I'll prep the metal and weld them up tomorrow.

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Dang, that took longer than I thought. Now I know why body shops charge what they do. Anyway, the sail panels are almost finished. Just need to grind down the welds then move on to the next item on the list.

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Nice work Kent! Don't see any distortion at all. Won't even be able to tell that was repaired once you grind it.

Thx Chris but there is a little shrinkage at the weld spots which I suspected. I was very careful to cool the metal during welds and grinding. Very little shrinkage. Less than a 1/16". A skim coat will be all that's required. This has proving to be a real confidence builder so far. First time to tackle the thin metal. I placed a light in the wheel well and no pin holes to go back and re-weld which, in all honesty, surprised the Hell out of me. There are a few things I want to remove from the car before painting which I'll do before tackling the Hell Hole repair. The reason is that I want to be able to move the car in and out as long as possible since I have 3 914's and a 2 car garage. Anyone want to Baby Sit the red one so I don't have to play MUSICAL ChAiR'S?

Todays work

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I couldn't sleep thinking about those low spots that remained after welding the panel patch pieces in (look closely at the dark spots in the previous pics) so I went back and welded over every one of those damned little spots then sanded. I think it was worth it.

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A skim coat on each panel and a quick sanding later.

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Then I thought, as long as I'm welding & while I'm in there, I'm getting rid of that "Identity Crisis Badge".

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That's about the time my OCD kicked and said "Screw it. Take that damned 911 reflector off too. And while your at it take those Vitaloni door mirrors off and replace them with the proper OEM mirrors. And if your going to do that strip the car and repaint it". I tried to silence it but to no avail. The Vitaloni's sold in the first 30 min's; who knew they were an item? I wonder if the reflector and solenoid trunk release will sell that quickly as well? Check out the rivenuts on the right door! Who would do this?

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OCD and 914--a dangerous combination. Ask me how I know.


BTW, rivnuts are a higher level of PO "quality". Most of them would punch holes with an awl, and pound in some big sheet metal screws.

A negative PORSCHE side stripe would look really nice on that car.

@bkrantz or worse. I was one of those PO's with this car 13 years ago. BTW, I forgot to thank you for that front panel piece. It tidied up another PO's work on my '70.

I don't have that "gene" that enables me to see that far ahead unfortunately Chris. I'm torn between Dead Nuts Stock and that beautiful L80E w/ black accents that PMB @Eric_Shea turned out last year.

ditch the mirrors for stock. I did that on 7 of 9.

The side stripe was a dealer option and comes in positive or negative versions. 914Rubber makes a great reproduction. I vote you keep it stock, but hey, it's your car and you probably saved it from the crusher. It'll turn out great either way.

Random side stripe internet image example:

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Glad to help. We have all been POs at some point. I would probably hate the past me that thought I could repair stuff when I was in my teens and twenties. Or maybe even last year.

OCD and 914, how can those go together?

Great looking repair work and thanks for posting. Keep it coming

Well thx for the vote of confidence. I'll do my best to live up to it. For a change of scenery I began removing some things in preparation for paint. I'm very pleased that the area where the cowl meets the fender is a rusted out canyon. Here are a few pics of that area.

Right side

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Left side

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The reflector is gone and just a few holes to weld up.The panel itself is in great shape.No signs of a previous collision.

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Inside of trunk looks good too

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But upon closer inspection I found this cack. Aftermarket torsion bar mount. I need to repair and weld this up.

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And I won't need to repair any of the rain channels back here either.

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Both headlight buckets look good

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Front panel looks straight with no signs of any prior collisions.

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Lots more pieces to remove and more places that may or may not need rust repair.

Continued with removing pieces before paint. The front stabilizer was an add on like the rear stabilizer but the attach plates looked rough compared to the rear plates.

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My intent was to clean things up and reattach but the plate was too rough and I didn't care too much for the slotted holes so I made another pair from 3/16" plate.

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When I cleaned the trunk metal I found this.

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I welded the crack and the pitted spots before grinding smooth. Then I primed the pan and brace before tack welding in place. I'll add some seam seal around the base to prevent a replay of this repair in the future.

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3 of the 4 attach points had cracks, tears or rusted out slots. The 4th had an 1/8" pilot hole that wasn't ever welded close. The left rear was the worst tear that was basically a distorted "X". The backing plates should have been welded to the pan but were not. Wasn't expecting this detour but they're done and I'm ready to move on to the next thing. Plugging those holes where the rear reflector mounted.

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One more item off my list.

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Any signs of your front clip being replaced earlier in life? It doesn't look like it has holes cut out in front with the plastic plugs.

See this thread for more info:
914 Front Cross Panel, how they are different

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Very interesting. I'll take a close look today and check the serial number. Thx for posting that link.

First let me respond to @rjames question. No evidence of the front panel being replaced as it is spot/fused welded in place on the right side. However, it appears the left fender was replaced as there are some seam welds on that side. And from seeing the red oxide primer I'm thinking/hoping it was an OEM replacement. More on this as I progress. This is the good news!
During the sanding process on the left side quarter panel I found a large area of Bondo. After sanding down 1/4" I decided to grab the torch and putty knife. The abortion was about 3/16" deep at one point and thinned out from there. Obviously an insurance repair. Anyway as the title says, time to fix it right, weld some studs and pull the metal out so a skim coat will suffice. I found a similar repair on the front fender but his one was only a 3" long crease which could have been accessed with a dolly and hammered out. The quarter panel I kinda get but the front fender. Give me a break. Anyway, I have quite a bit of work yet just to get the rest of the car down to metal so it will be awhile before I have anything or anytime to update this thread. Here is a pic of the qtr panel. I didn't capture the entire panel in this pic but you can see the holes that were drilled for the slide hammer which I doubt they used effectively.

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One off the back panel; not done with sanding here yet. I keep moving around to avoid the doldrums.

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And the right qtr panel with it's many parking lot dings. Hopefully I'll have some updates in a week or two. Unless I find more insurance repairs and commit Hari Kari.

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You never really know what you have until you start removing paint. My 75 had a front end repair that was so-so. Shop that's painting it did better work to correct a few things.

Looking good!

I guess you have to expect it with a 50 yo car, eh? Whoever replaced the right front fender did a good job. But the guy that did the left qtr panel; not so much. Sanding is 85% done. I need to do the frunk lid, windshield frame, door jambs and those hard to access areas. The windshield is just sitting there since it's safer than sitting on the floor.

This little rear panel took lots of different attachments to get it down to metal

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After removing the the bondo on the qtr panel you can see holes from when they used the screw type slide hammer. They didn't pull it out much though. They must have had bondo on sale that week. Before I could weld those closed I need to remove the undercoating and clean up that inner fender.

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Some more pic's of sanded areas.

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Oops. I see a little bondo spot I left on the right front fender.

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Looks like a Porcupine with the all the studs. Many more were added and sanded down as it progressed. You can't do them all at once or it's a PITA getting the slide hammer attached. That and it would be like reaching into a Cactus patch. You can better see the holes that needed to be welded up in this pic.

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A few more:

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Some almost finished profile pics. I'll hit it with the DA once more then a skim coat.

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Looking really good, Kent! The Copperweld is interesting stuff. I wasn’t aware of that product until you posted.