What areas were MIG welded on the 914 from the factory on a '75 1.8? I'm trying to understand how non-spot weld areas should look. For example. the rear consoles have bracing on the underside that's welded and I've seen this in some other photos. I don't know if this is after market or from the factory.

As I examine the chassis, where would I expect to find MIG welds?

Thanks,

DaveB

Dave
If there is no access to the other side of the sheet steel, the area would be mig welded. I think I know the weld you speaking of.
Kevin

Yes, those reinforcement plates on the rear consoles were migged, and I believe a couple beads were put down on the edges too but can't recall for sure. Going from memory on my 73, a few beads of mig along the rear edges of the floor pan where it attaches to the firewall flange in the engine bay. Also a few beads on the inside (cabin side) of the firewall where the floor pan attaches. Seems like there were a couple spots up front too but can't recall.

So as I go through the car, I find a log of MIG welds with feeder wire.

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I find small lap welds and joint welds which seem reasonable due to the locations and quality then I run into this:

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I assumed that MIGs at the factory were dialed-in so all the areas with the feeder wire and spatter are POs poor work.

DaveB

Those look factory made to me. I've seen a few instances of mig wire over an inch long hanging off cars. I recall seeing some under the rockers where the supports are welded to the sills. The top rear of the door skins to the inner frame I think is mig welded. The corners of the front trunk channels.... Some mig globs where the front fenders attach at the top rear in the door jambs. Quite a few places that I have seen and not always very pretty. There are some places were they brazed stuff with bronze also.

There are also MIG welds at the front of the longs where they join to the front wheel well.

I think you got someone new that was just put on on the the MIG station on a Monday in the 70's after a weekend of On the job training.

You will also find some braze down at the door jamb to door sill transition, and also around the control tubes where they pass though the rear firewall.

This is weld spatter from the spot welder electrode tips that needed replacement, dressing, misaligned tips, parameters not set properly, etc. This is a quick way to get the paint shop manager into a heated discussion with the body shop manager. Been there, done that.

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70's was a really rough era for automotive worldwide w.r.t. to quality. Japanese were ramping up their game, and the others were sort of coasting on their legacy processes.

Agree with the others. The factory MIG welding I saw on my car was not cosmetically clean at all. The welding on the rear consoles, in particular. Mine looks very much like the OP's.

I appreciate all the feedback.

The PO added a lot of undercoating that I've been removing in prep for dipping. When I saw all feeder wire and spatter around most of the MIG welds, I thought I was

I had different expectations on finishing of the welds from the factory. Now that I know what the factory welding looks like, there are not as many repairs as I initially suspected. So in completing the sheetmetal repairs, I can rush through the welds, not bother to clean them and say I'm using original factory standards. I thought that only allowed on Fords.

Thanks,

DaveB

We often forget, these were an economy version of a real Porsche.