Good to see you haven't given up on your incredible project. I've been having withdrawals these past few months waiting for an update. Hope you can back to the project soon!

Geoff

The house stuff is close enough. Shop has been fitted. Now its time to get back to work. Winter is coming and no time like the better to.......GET THIS BITCH DONE![size=7]

First class, I hope to have some news on my project soon also...

Where was I? Oh yeah....rust

I pulled the tack welded ft tube structure from under the hood to access the lower control arm bracket, floor and corner reinforcement. Wasnt as bad as anticipated. Always new it was there under the reinforcement.

Remove the corner reinforcement

Hello floor

Wire wheel the area. Floor repair will follow later as I have to make a template
and didnt have the correct guage sheetmetal.

Made a template of the reinforcement using the old one.

Salvaged the inboard portion and fabricated the new section. Lots of weird contours on this piece to duplicate. You can see the holes where the spot welds were on the old section that remains.

Presto!

BTW

Clayton, Clayton. Calling the Twisted one. Think were overdue for a cup of really strong Joe. Glad your back.

What did you coat that rusted area with?

Its not coated. Just Jasco metal prep. Cheap as water and works as well as anything. I just sprayed a bit on after wire wheeling the area. The rust is going to get cut out anyway under the corner reinforcement.

Well...Did you get a bigger garage?

Actually the shop is 2 feet shorter than the old one. But I have a hell of lot more cabinet and storage space. A 6x6x10 storage closet plus 400 square feet of floored attic storage! The shop is still in a bit of disarray but one less car equals more work space. Fire resistant dropped ceiling tiles, better lighting and sound proofing. 800 watt stereo. I cant complain and the neighbors cant hear a thing. I wanna bang all night. In space no one can hear you scream!

A 914 in process. A 1965 Harley Davidson Golf Cart (250cc Aermacchi powered 2-stroke) that will tear the balls off an EasyGo or Gator cart. The nightmare of the greens keeper.

An awesome and special woman in my life. Only the best will do.

Life is good.

Before I start cutting the rusted area from the front floor which really isnt bad. I had to fabricate a jig for the control arm mounting points. This is a critical area that cannot be left to guessing so when in doubt build a jig. Fifteen minutes of fab time will more than make up for improper positioning of the front lower control arm pivot bracket during repair of the affected area.

If I have to remove the bracket during repair, concerns that can be eliminated by doing this are:
Incorrect caster/ camber
Incorrect Steering Axis Inclination (SAI)

Do it once right the first time and sleep well.

Cut the affected sheetmetal back to good metal. Traced a template and fabricated the repair panel. In she is. Next I will install the corner reinforcement I made earlier.

Every 914 I have worked on has its own unique rust signature.
Good work Jeff!

Whoo Hoo, Jeff is back!!!

We are ready to learn from you once again.

Nice looking workshop.



John

Ft floor done. Well almost... a ding just behind the nose panel needs some dolly work but that will take just a second.

Front tube structure fully welded in and spot primed. (A Thank you plug to Mr. Foley for the pipe work)

Ok
I lied... I did do some work back in January. Better living through chemicals, gelcoat and carbon fiber mat. 14 inches from the inner wheel well to the outer lip of the flair. Something tells me my 9 inch Rota's are going to need some spacers.

Don't ever tell a girl her ass it fat! It will give her complex!

That is wide!
A stock rear is about 10" to the edge of the fender lip, measured from just above the step on the inner wheel well.
You need to put 275's in there or she'll just look flabby.

One of last years unfinished area's. In a previous post I rebuilt the drain trough and the corner just behind the hood then life got busy.


The driver side cowl.... Done !

Ground down the rear side area and fabricated a new layer. This area is super thin from the factory where the dies stretch and thin the sheetmetal. Lots of trigger on/off to stitch it in.

Funny I forgot to reload the spool of 023 wire and had 030 in the mig. Oops but hey good penetration.

After shaping and grinding. Came out a lot better than the passenger side.

How's the hood fit this area? The pics make it look a little too flat/forward at the corners to me.

Hood fits perfect. Only the best will do.

Did ya notice the hinges? Weight Watchers for Fat Girls style.

Not planning to have any ventilation blower so no need for the cowl intake anymore. Notice the bulkhead duct (oval) holes are gone too.

Yes that is filler dust you see (holy crap he actually finally used some mud)

Forward bulkhead compartment denuded of seam sealer. Stripped to bare metal looking for rust. I did find some minor surface rust scale where the two bolts secure the hood lock cylinder housing. Chemical metal prep was all that was needed. Self etching primer applied. Very clean.

Notice the brake fluid bottle bracket and hood spring brackets are removed along with the cowl vent intake.

The windshield molding clip hole's are all welded up. No need for these any longer. I will use a rubber reveal molding. Pilot holes are all welded up and epoxy primed.

WOW, I just sat here and read your entire post.

Amazing commitment to the cause.

My '74 2.0 has the same issues as yours on the Driver and Passenger cowl area.

I was wondering what was underneith there and how to repair/replace it. Thanks for posting the pictures as you go.

Way more skills than I have, that's for sure. Looks like I need a Body Shop.

Currently no welder or skills.

What does this do? Sorry if a dumb question. But seriously, I don't get it. Why add weight there? And for what purpose? Seems superfluous.

Where's Aaron? He's been doing this to bike frames.

I love this thread!!! Nice work Jeff. Keep it alive.

Picture the bigger picture. Front substructure ties the towers into the lower control arm mounts and crossmember mounts, kind of faux triangulation Front substructure tied to front loop from the towers through the dash and rearward into a main loop. Central cage tied to rear longs/ towers. The 6 motor mount plates will be tied into the lower loop tubes at the lower firewall.

Ok the real reason is so I can ram shit out of the way that doesnt belong in front of me and keep driving:)

Ever notice a 914 in hard cornering? You know when the hood corner lifts up? I HATE RADICAL BODY FLEX because it defeats the purpose of suspension. Thats an easy example to picture. A properly set up car should be fun and easy to drive also providing feedback. Good suspension will only be a compromise if the chassis that supports it is the weak link.

Weight? Everything that is non essential is gone. Except one heater tube silencer which I still dont know why I put that back in? Now its an oil line guide device.

I love your tude.

Forgive me, I'm still clueless thinking that anything forward of the suspension is pointless. What are you bracing to up front?

Dual purpose: Support a fuel tank and stiffen the lower control arm front pivot points. The front pivots do not take much of a side load at all but a simple floor jack test proved the floor just behind the nose panel does rise and fall with body twist.

Porsche knew this when they added a crossmember between the front pivots just behind the nose on the factory racers. Does it really do anything? It simply links the two sides together.

Porsche thought they knew something with the GT stiffening kits too. Turns out they made some mistakes. I guess I'm just overly anal when it comes to adding anything superfluous.

Have to agree with you on the GT stiffening kits.

Personally I think when they cut the opening for the oil cooler the front floor was weakened between the pivots. With or without I think linking the two points does make that area more rigid keeping the control arms as parallel as can be with a minimal modification. Not eliminating flex but minimizing at best undesirable toe changes during loading.

Look at all those old original stock lower control arm bushings at the front pivot. Have you ever seen any that arent oddly deformed no matter a 914 or a 911? Normal wear for a rubber bushing with age yes but the front bushings do not take much of a load as much as just locating the control arm. Taken to the extreme of racing both 914's and 911's have been known to have contact (rubbing)between the torsion bar and inside of the control arm tube. I have seen this many times on cars that have no structural misalignment at the control points or damaged arms. The rub marks are always at the crossmember end. Torsion bar is fixed at the front of the control arm. What gives?

"The rub marks are always at the crossmember end. Torsion bar is fixed at the front of the control arm. What gives?"

At the crossmember end, the ID of the a-arm bushing is rotating with suspension travel, but the OD of the bushing is stationary. Consequently, over time gravity and twisting will cause the torsion bar to burrow through the bushing until it contacts the crossmember.

The further forward along the torsion bar you go there is less rotation of the torsion bar so there is less wear at the forward bushing.

But, here is something to consider. Continued loading and unloading forces around the front a-arm mount fatigues the sheet metal leading to cracks. It happened on my car and others I've seen. At its extreme the car would fall onto the tire, just like a broken torsion bar, although I've never heard of this happening. If you joined the front mounts with a hoop you could alleviate stress on the chassis. When you had the brace removed for rust repair I thought maybe you had this in mind.

Delete

Just before I left I have was assessing the left inner long. Removal of the motor mount and console. I figured time for more measurements before committing to more alchemy. The next step is repair of the left long in preparation of the installation of the highly awarded Racer Chris raised rear pickups.

I measured from the rear console outer hole to the front suspension crossmember rear mounting points. Triangulate both sides. I have never been a fan of the factory measurements. They provide a good detail of the body dimensions but the suspension control points have always been lacking with published data.

I know of a healer (nagual) in Bali who also teaches a series of invigorating movements not unlike Tai Chi, called Dragons Tears and Tapping. He goes by the name Lujan Matus and is very effective at helping people get to the inner source of their troubles, either physical or emotional. He is the living embodiment of the ancient knowledge written about by Carlos Castaneda.

BTW, the reason the torsion bars rub the inside of the control arm is because the bar is supported by the torsion bar adjuster which acts s a lever since its point of contact is 2 inches away from torsion bar centerline. This lifts the rear end of the bar as the vehicle weight is transferred through the a-arm.

The torsion bar is nowhere near the bushing, which is outside the control arm tube.

Both bushings are affected equally by the a-arm rotating as the suspension moves up and down. They have no contact with the torsion bar but they do lose plasticity as the rubber ages. As the rubber hardens over time it may transmit greater forces into the carriers instead of absorbing them.

It is the aging rubber which causes the forces to be transmitted into the sheet metal. There is hardly any force around the front mount from the torsion bar. If the sheet metal actually breaks it will not cause the suspension to drop like a broken torsion bar since the lifting forces aren't transmitted through the front mount.
The only thing I have ever seen in that area is the mounting reinforcement broken free, due to inadequate spot welds from the factory.

Wow, Jeff your metal workmanship is off the chart. Your personal life is too.

Advise: Shoot the monkey's with your handgun and send a photo of (Nurse Carol).

You are an inspiration to all 914er's.

Tom

[quote] Continued loading and unloading forces around the front a-arm mount fatigues the sheet metal leading to cracks. [/quote]

It is the aging rubber which causes the forces to be transmitted into the sheet metal. There is hardly any force around the front mount from the torsion bar. If the sheet metal actually breaks it will not cause the suspension to drop like a broken torsion bar since the lifting forces aren't transmitted through the front mount.
The only thing I have ever seen in that area is the mounting reinforcement broken free, due to inadequate spot welds from the factory.
[/quote]

Not true. And the bushing is irrelevant. If 500 ft-lbs of clockwise torque is required at th rear of the t-bar to suspend the car, there better be 500 ft-lbs counterclockwise torque at the front, or that sucker is gonna fall. The chassis sees 100% of that torque. Dynamically, the forces can vary considerably depending on spring rate and etc, and those forces do in fact fact fatigue the chassis - I've seen it.

Yup, almost all of it through the rear support crossbar - at the adjuster. Nearly 0% is applied through the front mounts, except for the resistance of the bushings!
If your car is any different you have something else wrong.

The end of the t-bar connected to the a-arm is at the front. The end of the t-bar connected to the chassis is at the rear. QED

I forgot to post these before I went out of town. Boredom today and itching to burn some metal when I get back. I hate leaving in the middle.

Left inner long: Typical rust at the bottom of the rail from the motor mount forward.

Exploratory cutting until I hit good steel. Fabricate the lower portion of the long, flange it and burn it in. It was easier to shape the rear upward angle after the front lower portion was tacked in. 16 guage tends to want to hold its memory.

Still not done here but had to leave in the middle. Lots of finish work and weld grinding to do. Need to add a piece at the rear of the motor mount recess area but will hold off until I see what Foleys raised pickup kit extends to.

As a side note: The motor mounts, heater tube and silencer, ebrake handle mount will not be reused.

mis·cel·la·neous rambings

I'm back. Interesting leave of absence. Women can be strange at times. Never can understand them can we?

Back to work. Anyone ever notice my photos are semi myopic? Cant ever show too much can you?

Here is where I am at:

Front body is 98% done. Front bumper and fenders just need to be hung. Dzus fastener mounts are all located. Just need to complete the finish work on the left fender and basicly done.

I havent come to a conclusion on headlamps yet but I hate the pop up lids - so they must go. Considering the CA laws on lamps some ideas have come to mind. Just like a formula in racing its all really open to interpretation and the risk.

Working on the left inner long. Its done. Just need to replace the outer long and good to go. Threw the Engman stiffener on there for looks.

I am getting ready for the rear floor section and lower firewall installation. I'm excited.

Completed the tunnel repair patch for both sides. This will be plug welded once I install the floor. Fitment prior to floor cut and trim.

An afterthought! Porsche/VW should have made the tunnel the same height as the longs. Would have made a much stiffer platform. Shorten the shifter a bit and well.. it didnt happen.

Hi Jeff,

Lookin' great!

I can't wait to see what you come up with for the headlights. I have mocked up my radiator mounting for my Suby swap, and the upper mount bar and airflow would be much better IMHO without the headlight boxes to deal with.

I've got a front fender cut that I hope to use to mock up HID bulbs inside the factory turn signal pods... much easier on the workbench than on the car.

Geoff

The turn signal pods are just begging to be stuffed with some nice HID lamps. I found some high/low HID's from PIAA and i believe they would fit nicely. The only problem being the cover and the price . This project looks great by the way... I wish i had half the tools and 1/8 the skills you have. Keep it up

The recent copy of Exellence provided a few extreme ideas.

The Redhead has me stirred up!!!


Need to take it out on some 16 gauge steel.

Ok,
Fabricate the closing plate at the rear of the left outer long (rocker to us body guys)

Start with a big flat piece of 16 gauge steel. A little bending in the brake. Some trimming and there you go.

The Red Head has me really stirred up! And she probably still has the link I sent her 8 months ago. I do care about her.

Left inner long has been repaired. Last will see of it. Should have signed my initials on the inside before I closed it up.

Next: Prepare the new outer long. Fit and add a sleeve for the infamous Hail butt weld. Sleeves make the joint twice as strong and provide a solid joint to burn in without blowing holes. A tight fitting backer is the key to a good structural joint. Really not a butt weld but a modified butt/ lap... kind of.

Test fit of the Left Outer Long. Check for level and top and bottom flanges.
Clamp in place.

Punch the requisite holes and grind the flanges as appropriate.