good looking work. Lots of hard, dirty work to make those picts. One bit of advice I will give is reconsider your decision to delete the stock jack points. If you plan to run the car low, they are VERY handy. My first 914 had them deleted and I'll never do another without the jack points. My current car runs about 5 3/4" under the rockers. Even my relatively low profile Lincoln jack will not get under. Forget about your average craftsman jack. I use one of those thingys you put in the stock jack point and jack off of that. The stock jack also works very well if you get a flat on the road.

Perhaps others will disagree, but if you have the parts put the jack points on. You should be able to trim the tube and weld it right to the plate you have put on and then put the cover on. That's how I did mine.

Kelly

Now that it's many moons since the first coat of por15.....what's the scratch and dent hardness of the por in the pans and how's it holding up? Have you picked out a primer that's recommended with por?

Thanks for letting me pick your brain. You're doing a Great job. I'm about 60 days behind you on a car that should have been finished a year ago. Funny how these drag on when wife and kids interfere with real man's work! Thanks Bill

Never thought about removing the primer in the holes, makes sense now though!! I always thought 'weld thru' meant exactly that but sometimes I find it gives me more problems than I was expecting.



Great info. Looking back I wish I had used something like the copper spoon, I think one of these is mandatory for the GT fenders. I looked up the extended grinder and the carbide burr, thankyou, it is amazing what tools are out there to make life easier.



Thanks Tom, messages like yours and others also help keep me motivated when things don't go so well!



Good point on the jack post delete, will think about that one, if only they made the upper half of the jack point easier to access.




The POR15 seems to be holding up fine and has adhered really well to the metal, there were lots of opinions on the stuff but I think like everything else prep is key.
As Charlie mentioned above the people who make POR15 also make tricoat primer to use with it, I will be trying that out later, everywhere else will get epoxy primer.

BTW, if you can't find the copper plate, go to LOWES/HD and in the plumbing dept get the copper pipes. Go home and pound them flat. It's cheaper and quicker than trying to find the copper plates...

-- Rob

After removing the undercoating I printed the template from the Pelican write up and placed it as best as I could. The second side was more accurate (i.e. more level) but not too different. I then drilled pilot holes and the larger holes with one of those step drills.

Inside I cut the metal parallel and then find I ran out of those small dremel blades to do the rest. I decided to wait on welding the brackets in place till I actually get the stabalizer just incase something needs adjusting. Nothing worse than removing welded parts after you have put them on.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Next I started to remove some of the engine bay sheet metal which the Subie engine will not need, I was partly motivated to do this so I could get a better weld on part of the GT kit at the same time. While I was there I removed the underseal (getting better at it with the heat gun too) on the lower section and then got some paint stripper and cleaned it up.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Last but not least I removed the front suspension, see where the bend on the control arm is? I think this was me when I tied the car down on the trailer .... I think with the aid of a press I can straighten it out. Thoughts?

Click to view attachment

Please tell me that you are independently wealthy, unemployed, and without wife and kids. I have a '75 in similar condition (when you started) that I have had for almost 10 years. I probably had about 15 hours to work on it in that time.

Fantastic work - you are keeping my vision alive and the motivation building!

Ken

Pretty much no to all of the above, if you keep chipping away say an hour every evening when you can it is amazing what progress you can make. Tough when you leave it for a while ... well that is my story.

Chris

I was going to leave most of the underside which I had not touched, then I found that in a lot of places the underseal was pretty thin and just scraped off with little heat and in some cases just pealed away. So I got sidetracked from where I was at and started the messy and time consuming job of cleaning the underside.

For the moment I am thinking epoxy primer and then coat with some tintable bedliner, anyone have any experience with the bedliner?

Here is the underside after I removed the underseal and ready for some stripper.

Click to view attachment

After final clean up, little bit more to do around the rear a-arm mount but apart from that, pretty much done.

Click to view attachment

Now started on rear and this area is turning out to be more work as the underseal is in general thicker. Before:

Click to view attachment

After removing some of the underseal, taking a break now to rally some more enthusiasm.

Click to view attachment

Nice work!

For peace of mind, I'd find another control arm. They are cheap when you consider how much work you've put into the rest of the car. There should be plenty of them around from guys that have parted cars installed 911 arms.

I've got a welder and a pan on the way, so I'll be doing the same thing soon...

Chris,

Excellent job, and you're making great progress. I have all of the above responsibilities (plus school) and haven't made near the progress you have. Good job. Plus I keep getting distracted building the V6 engine I'm planning to install.

I am curious about a couple of things. What type of citrus paint remover are you using? I tried one of the Por products - it works OK, but not great. Plus it has nasty fumes.

Also, where did you find the replacement rear jack points? I need to replace both mine too. I think the PO - or whoever stole the car then - ran this thing over numerous parking curbs or something.

Keep up the great job!

Enjoy!

Citrus paint remover is "Citrastrip" from HomeDepot, I got luckyI guess as it works great on paint and the fumes are OK. Comes in a spray can and is inexpensive to boot. Will not work on undercoat though.

Rear jack points are from RestorationDesign.

Good luck with your project !

Cheers

Chris

Chris,

You're doing a great job, keep up the good work and keep posting pictures.

Another long break but work has been progressing, sometimes prepping areas of the car takes a while.
I finally removed most of the underseal and primer from the rear underside, I drilled out the spot welds for the heat shield and am glad I removed it. There was some surface rust under there and needless to say the area was devoid of underseal. Still needs a final going over but 99% there.

Click to view attachment

Next I attacked the trunk area, rust looked much worse once I got rid of the paint but no holes so that is good. Interesting that paint is much harder to strip and remove when it is covering corroded metal.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Next onto the front and under the fuel tank, it is a bear to clean that area up and been through most of my tool kit to get it like you see below. First pic shows the corrosion after paint stripper and the second pic is after wire wheels and abrasives.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Looking good man, keep the pics and the progress coming.

So this week I decided to attach the flares as I now hvae the GT rockers, started on the passenger side front as I figured that the second side would inevitably be an improvement over the first. That way every time I walk up to the drivers door I will see less mistakes ... well that is the hope.

There are plenty of other threads with more talented individuals showing how to put the flares on so I will spare you the amatuerism. To get the flares snug before major cutting I removed slots on either side so the bottoms of the flare would slide in. Second pic is bit blurry but you get the idea.

Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

Then I got the jig saw out and started to tack weld, my mistake on the first one was to align both bottom edges and then work my way up either side so the top was the last. Big mistake, don't anyone else do that. I made it work and in the end I am sure no-one will ever know but I created some work for myself.

Here is the passenger side front tacked.

Click to view attachment

Drivers front is much better, right now I am just tack welding them all on and will do the finish later. I found that 2 hours at a time was just about right to avoid getting frustrated and just taking my time.

Click to view attachment

I now have the passenger rear mounted and ready to be completed tomorrow.

Click to view attachment

I also found out that the drives side rocker is over 1/2" shorter than the passenger side so that will need some modification in the future.

I bought a HF blasting cabinet and have been cleaning up all kinds of stuff.

Click to view attachment

Above shows an 'M' caliper before and after, I also cleaned up the a-arms and have those and the x-member at the powder coaters.

I also procurred some late rear calipers and SC hubs.

Fingers crossed I may have some 3.5" struts in the next few weeks.

You've been busy. Looks good.

Good plan!

Thanks for post on rust bullet info. I asked a well known Porsche resto guy about por15 and he never said anything bad but rather recommended other products...Not sure you all know this but por15 must be painted over in a very short time or bond is flawed ...trust me I haev experienced it. i have also had people say por is just not reliable. Have it on one interior and painted over quickly but you must be ready to go ...(not the way most of us do things though).
Any more info would be helpful for me..

TOT

I will be covering with Triprimer in the next couple of weeks, hopefully all will be well. Have been hanging out at www.autobodystore.com and seems zerorust is in favor there, evidently more forgiving.

OK, finished tack welding the rear flares.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Got my powder coated front parts back, makes a change to see some nice shiny parts for sure !! Makes you think this thing might go back together at some point.

Click to view attachment

Calipers are ready for disassembly and some plating, I think I have enough parts to make it worth a visit to the platers now.

Click to view attachment

OK, now to some hammer and dolly work and finish welding on the flares.

I am finished (or hope I am) welding on the 1st flare, posting mainly to see if there is anything I am not doing correctly so I do no propogate my mistakes onto the next one.

At this moment in time my next step with this flare is to add some filler, this is what I plan on using for the first step.

Filler Step One

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

POR 15 has a tiecoat primer, it's baby blue colored, that can be put over POR15 and it works good to get other paint to adhere. The problem with that is is more cost involved to use their products. If I were doing those flares I would epoxy primer the welded areas before applying the filler. You can't hammer epoxy primer off of well prepared clean metal. The welds will be sealed and if there are any pin holes they might also be sealed to stop the rust from starting under the filler and bubbling it after a few years.

I have the tiecoat primer for the inside and I agree all the steps are a PIA but if you do not have a compressor and spray gun then it is a good alternative.

Got some parts plated, calipers came out crap so are on their way to Eric.

Click to view attachment

Finally decided it was time to unpack the spray gun and all of the associated gear and give it a go. I bought the DeVilbiss Finishline 3 for primer use with the cup liner kit for easy clean up. Epoxy sprayed on great, two wet coats as advertised, jsut did under the front trunk to get the feel.

Click to view attachment

Funny every time you do something on the car you always go one step too far, should have quit with the Epoxy while I was ahead. Got out the 3M Schutz and applicator gun and thought this would be the easy bit ... noooo. This stuff is messy, it is up there with CV grease IMO. Anyway I tried a patch and it came out way to rough a finish, no change in pressure had an effect and then I realized it is probably gravity working against me as this is supposed to be sprayed horizontal with the applicator gun. I am thinking I should have bought the cans.

Click to view attachment

Still working on the fenders, got the third (passenger rear) pretty much completed now. A dent in the rear made this a little trickier but getting better, next to get some filler.

Click to view attachment

Dismantled and cleaned the rear trialing arm as best I could, this is ready to head off to the powder coaters with the same finish as the front a-arms. Hubs, bearings and bushings ordered from Eric.

Click to view attachment

Front arms are now rebuilt and ready for assembly at some point in the future.

Click to view attachment

Now have some 3.5" struts (thanks Jeff !), they sure are purty, just need some shocks ($$$$) and a sway bar.

Click to view attachment

One things for sure Chris, you aren't afraid of work. That upside down scraping and stripping and wirewheeling is hard work. I've done several bottoms, dune buggys, vw sedans, jeep and chev pickups, international harvestor scouts and such and it doesn't get easier with each one.

I think I will try a rotisserie I built a few years ago on the 914. I'm almost 65 and maybe it will finally get easier if I go that way.

One thing though the 914 is also the smallest car I've ever done, maybe that will also help.

Chris, I have the HF bead blast cabinet and am using glass beads but do not clean up near as nice as yours. What media are you using? Al.

I think a rotisserie would be a great idea, no doubt. Work smarter not harder, right ?!




Al, I use the same stuff you probably do HF Glass Beads although the ability of the cabinet to keep the stuff inside is limited. I really need to empty it and seal it. For a while I did suffer from a lot of dust then read that >80psi just turns the beads to dust, turning down to 70 worked much better.

Chris, I also got the small vacuum system from HF and it works great. Keeps the cabinet clear and you can see what you are doing. Al.

I love this post!! Awesome!! Keep it up bro!! Love to watch the progress you are doing! Cheers

I just read through this entire thread. What a fantastic job you're doing! Very inspirational. I did a lot of work to my car, but nowhere near as involved as what you've done. Keep the pictures coming.

Went back to the local paint and supply shop and picked up some filler as well as some rattle can underseal.

I think this filler is a little overkill but the idea is to seal up the weld and then cover with normal filler. For that step I am going to wait and perform that operation outside, good excuse to catch somes sun (we actually saw 50F yesterday) and the dust stays outside.

Also making enquiries to see if I can get someone to come around and soda blast the rest of the bodywork that I have not gotten too.

This is the filler I used:

Click to view attachment

Here are the results

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

After the failed experiment with the Schutz I bought some 3M underseal, they did not have Schutz in a can and evidently this is nearly the same stuff ...

Click to view attachment

Well it went on much better but still a messy operation. I covered the floor in plastic and the key is to spray it on lightly in multilple coats, you could do it in one session but that means crawling over the mess on the floor so 3 evenings worked better.

Click to view attachment

Quite the inspiration to say the least. I am following this thread and have subscribed to it.

How many cans did you use to coat the underside? Do you plan on using this in the engine bay (I have seen it done recently or with LineX)?

Cheers!

I'll be doing the same with my project shortly, but I won't be using the rubberized product, as it appears to come off to easily for what I want-

why not apply a PVC coat and paint the underside and wheelhouses in carcolor ? (orange) ...

Hi Mike, it took about one can for the area you see in the photo and at that point there was more left but the can is useless as the top is pretty much gummed up. Aim is to paint the engine bay.



Yep there are many solutions to work with, if I had the car on a rotisserie I would have gone another route. Also the car will be fair weather so I believe what I am doing should be good enough. Only time will tell.



I am not yet decided on the wheel wells but some of the old undercoating is very well adhered which will mean undercoating again. I was originally hoping to have body color on the underside and wheel wells but looking at other projects I thought the undercoat looked good.

Well not too much to report, I took a 3 week break while we had visitors and took a vacation. I am nearly complete on welding the fenders, just another hour or so on the drivers side rear and should be done, I was going to finish yesterday and then ran out of welding wire.

I have been receiving boxes of goodies though, the re-plated calipers from Eric looked great and they also came with new rear bearings and 5 lug rear hubs. I am picking some more parts up from the powder coaters next week so I can start putting the rear arm back together.

Couple of pics of the front calipers, once I have some of the small seals I can put the halves back together. Still waiting on rebuild kit for the rears but they look just as good.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

This weekend I finished the priming more of the underside.

1st coat epoxy primer

Click to view attachment

Then apply seam sealer

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

And add a second coat of Epoxy

Click to view attachment

Now ready for underseal.

You might want to check out a caliper rebuild thread. Your pistons are not positioned in the correct orientation. The missing part of the piston rim faces the incoming part of the rotor when it is mounted on it's proper side. 20 degrees is the term they use when positioning each individual side. Wes V has a good thread and I'm sure there are others.

You are correct, found this pic on Pelican.

Click to view attachment

Chris, just finished reading through this thread; that is some inspired work - can't wait to see more.

m.

Thanks, inspired by brilliance or madness I do have to wonder at times.

Anyway got these back from the powder coaters today, they did an excellent job. I had the brake protective plate done in black rather than plated like OEM, I am not after originality and the plating does not seem to hold up well on this part.

Click to view attachment

At last the lowest part of the car is done, the 2nd and 3rd can of underseal worked waaay better than the 1st, much easier to apply. Two coats and about 1.5 cans to do the floor pan.

Click to view attachment

I added the following because someone posted and asked if this happened to others, you do your best to align everything but when you get to the finishing the bottom of the flare it doesn't align quite right. In total this happened to me twice and is no doubt because I did not pay enough care and attention and I am a novice.

So the bottom was hanging maybe 3mm or so too low, first thing to do is cut off the bottom edge.

Click to view attachment

Align up the removed part to the remanents of the old fender (i.e the bottom), draw line and remove sliver of material.

Click to view attachment

Make adjustments where needed and get the part to fit as good as possible, tack into place.

Click to view attachment

Complete welds and grind/finish.

Click to view attachment

Sure looking good, very nice job.

Nice job Chris, keep up the good work you are an inspiration.

Cheers!

I held my fg rocker from aa up to my 75 body and I can't decide how to get a small gap at the joint of the flare and also work with the bevel on the bottom of the body, that seems to be a tough fit. It really looks like the fg rockers need to be straighter down more than angled in at the bottom edge.

Not too much going on but took some parts to the platers and cleaned up the garage a bit. I wanted to make the body movable so I could do some of the filler work outside, off to Homedepot for some wood which is not my best medium. Anyway made up a dolly which sits nicely on the finished underbody.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Seems to work OK and pretty stable, will see how it works in the coming weeks. Got a 928 track day this weekend and the wife wants me to refinish one of the bathrooms so May not going to be a stellar month for progress.