My 914 cracked from the pickup point on the undercar of the chassis. I drove the car like this for a while, but it got worse. I decided that I am not gonna risk my life anymore driving with this. I pulled the engine and trans morning to diagnose the problem.

I was wondering if anyone else here has run into this situation? If so, could you offer some advice in re-inforcing what very little metal is left. Even a picture of one of these welded up would be nice. Thanks


- Ricky

run some searches.
its pretty common.
especially with race cars.

we run braces to solve the problem.
CFR does a beautiful repair kit.
you can also buy this piece of metal new
I would do that instead of welding one back together.

check the classic threads and old threads.
covered many many times
brant

AWESOME! I just got off the phone with Chris Foley and the reinforcement plates he makes should be here by next week.

Check out these two classic threads:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=16191

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=25681

cheers,
Rusty

I am curious, does Cris Recommend using his "brace" to repair such damage or is it intended to to enhance an solid piece for prevention?

Yeah.. whay he said!

I dont even want to hear that somebody is selling a "patch" for an issue like this. His ear is rusted. It NEEDS to be replaced.. not patched. IT will continue to RUST behind the patch.

Help me understand.

I have done 6 of these now (ear replacements) + raising 3 cars.



B

Brad so would you advocate new or repro steel over spot cutting one off an existing car and using it to correct?

New. They are not expensive for what you are getting.

Why cut off an old ear only to replace it with one from the same vintage?

I honestly dont beleive you could cut one off clean enough to reuse it.


B

that looks like a rust crack and not a stress crack you sometimes see on a full blown racecar ...

patching this up will buy you a year, if that and then it'll have rusted and cracked somewhere else ...

cutting out the cancer is the only way to go. and the repro console is not the much $$$ ...
Andy

What they said rust, first then

I talked to Sergio Nardi at Game-Face Motorsports, the race car expert, about this situation and he recomended that we just patch it and be done with it. What I will do is after its installed, I will inspect it periodically to check how its holding up. Thanks.

You would need to at least open up the section to be able to assess the condition of the suspension console. If it is indeed rusty inside, it would behoove you to remove the console and repair any damage to the long before replacing the console.

If the rust isn't much worse than surface rust (doubtful) inside, then I would also probably patch it, reinforce it and ultimately brace it. But on the other hand, if it is rusty inside and you just cover it with a bandaid, the long will eventually rust away from the bandaid and you will have a bigger mess to clean up later. It really is easier to do it right the first time (and it will last longer).


just my $0.02


and now back to your regularly scheduled program....

no offense....

sergio doesnt know 914's like the above people....

New piece from the Porsche factory is $985.00.
CCL

Putting a patch on it will only slow down the end....the metal has been weekened by the rust. To fix the problem and fix it properly (when I say properly I mean fix it so your car dosen't dog track when you drive it and wear the tire unevenly on that side or have a catastrophic break down when you going 60 in heavy trafic and hit a pothole) you have to cut it open and treat the rust on what's left of the good metal and replace the too thin to weld to metal that's there with a new piece.

Yes it's more work, but it's either that or part the car out now........

i don't think your "race car expert" knows rust as well as we do ...
Andy

You guys might be right, but the picture is deceiving. We walked underneath the car car as he descibed what needs to be done. Besides, from the poor mans perspective, that $900 part is way out of reach. Plus, its been a socal car all its life to talk about rust issues..

uhm, you must be new to 914's ...

first, the part craig is talking about is the original porsche part, the aftermarket part from RD is *much* cheaper ...

second, the rust on that suspension ear has nothing to do with so-cal or canada or vermont.
it's from the battery acid dripping down and getting inbetween the sheet-metal, meaning, there's going to be substancial ROTT in there already.
patching it up won't fix the problem and i can assure you if you do patch it up the way it is, you *will* continue to have trouble with that spot ...

i have seen quite a few pass. side suspension ears just like yours, same story on each and every one ...

your car, your life, your choice, you're free to ignore the advice given to you here ...
Andy

Yes, I appreciate the input here and especially the amount of knowledge that the search option has. Everytime something goes wrong with my car, this is the first place I head towards, the next place is SSF.
I have been studying the 914 for about a year now but I have certainly learned a ton through my father who has been the original owner of the car since 1973.
Ive been working with Sergio for almost 2 years now and have certainly seen alot of interesting defects from 356s to 997s and everything in between.

Sergio sounds like the typical hacks that work on these cars. Replace the ear . That is all you need to hear. Fix it right and it won't come back to bite you in a few years. Plus if you are doing any spirited driving, do you want this "patch" lurking in the back of your mind mid corner?

I have a replacement ear from Restoration Designs that we didn't use when repairing my car. RD's price is $196+tax+shipping. I'm in L.A. and will give you a good deal on it if you're interested.

buy it.

Ricky~!? Who's Ricky

Try reading the first post Rich.

My bad