After EZ Off...

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I quick polished one of them. Can you tell which one?

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Added the decel valve to the engine. I was getting backfiring on high rev (4K RPM) deceleration.

I read on pbanders rennlist FI site that the decel valve was designed to allow more air into the plenum on high vacuum conditions to get the fuel to burn more efficiently. It worked as the backfiring has stopped.

I adjusted the opening to about 15psi vacuum which is a little low since the engine hangs sometimes at 1800 RPM instead of returning to idle. I've adjusted it up a little to allow return to idle speed.

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Installed the booster fan for the heater. Getting cold these days. Yep, that's PVC tubing for the warm air guides.

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Got most of the grind marks off of the one 6x16 wheel. Had to use 80 grit sand paper to get the grind marks out. Damn PO used some sort of power tool to remove the paint/anodizing instead of using chemicals to do the work for him.

Now starting to polish by starting with 220 wet-o-dry sandpaper. Will use 400, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, then rubbing compound, then polishing compound, then paint.

Finally got around to doing some more work on the longs. The bottom of the inner longs were completely gone and the PO spot-brazed some patches on connecting them to the top of the patch on the inner long and the rusty floor.

What I plan to do is remove the patches and securely patch the inner long then put on Engman's inner long support kit.

I left the driver seat in the car and the center console so I used some 1/4 inch plywood to protect the interior from welding splatters.

Got the first patch off. Lots of rust and rocks inside the longs. The top of the outer patch piece was never closed up so flying rocks were able to get inside the long along with water. I sprayed as best I could with stop-rust.

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Now it's all cleaned up and primed for the new, stronger patch. The new patch will be installed from below and will wrap around to the bottom of the long patch. I cut a slice in the bottom of the long patch.

BTW, the entire bottom and outside of the long are one piece of 16-gauge steel the PO bent and welded where the totally gone part of the outer and bottom long went.

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Here's the bottom of the long. This one piece is the entire bottom of the long and wraps up the outside of the long. Such is the fate of a PA 914 rust bucket.

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Here is the new patch cut, drilled and primed and ready to be welded in. Unlike a lot of guys who would've cut out all the PO's patches and put in new steel, I have no desire to start over from that point. With the PO's patches, the car was ok solid, not great. The work I've done has really solidified the chassis so far.

I want to drive my 914, not work on it for years. I had it off the road for 2 years changing the engine and tranny. I couldn't fathom taking it off the road for another 2 years to put all new steel in the longs. I know it's not stock but it's getting pretty stiff (That's what she said - Michael Scott) with all the new patches.

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First patch is welded in.

Finished polishing the new wheels. Not quite Ed Reed shiny but shiny enough for me. Will clean them up and paint the background.

Continuing to reinforce the inner long on the passenger side. The entire long was rusted out on the bottom.
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Here's the piece that was brazed on and went behind the center brace.

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Got the center plate welded in. Now to work on the front plate. The long was rusted out all the way to the wheel well.

Got the front patch panel welded in. The inner long will be further strengthened by Engman's inner long kit. But I have to do the same thing to the driver side.

Added one piece on to tie the inner long patch to the wheel well.

Had a couple of holes in the floor so I cut out most of the rust in that area.

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Made a new piece just like the old one (except with no rust).

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And all welded in.

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Nice patchwork! Good looking welds!

Thanks, all the metal I'm adding will require me to put a bigger engine in it later.

I've been using the angle grinder to cut the steel as to not deform it with snips.

Then using various fender hammers and my vice to bend the steel in the right places.

Got the Engman's inner long welded on the passenger side. Covers up all those patches on the longs.

This access plug was all bent up and loose so I straightened the floor and plug and welded it on.

So I just noticed this patch that was brazed on. Off with the patch and will weld in a new piece. Also need to finish attaching the cross member to the inner long.

Nice, you'll really like the inner long kit. It makes a big difference.

Got the wheels painted. Not really happy with the paint job but it will do for now.

For the rest of the 5-lug conversion, I need to:
- Find late 80's 911 strut/hubs/rotors/calipers (have A-Arm & underbody swaybar)
- Redrill rear rotors (have 5-lug hubs & new bearings)
- 19mm master cylinder
- Tires
- Roll the rear fenders for the 7x16 wheels

Found another weak spot in the floor and cut it out.

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Patched the hole and the small strip of floor next to the long.

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Also patched the hole in front of the crossmember.

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The wheels look great!

Nice patch work! What ga steel are you using? 14ga?

Thanks. Compared to what they looked like when I got them, they turned out fantastic. I can't wait to 5-lug the car and mount them.

I'm using 18ga on the floor and body panels and 16ga on the longs. I have a big piece of 14ga that I will put on the outside of the long for further reinforcement.

Finished up all the small pieces of the floor next to the inner long.

Also tied in the crossmember.

The passenger side floor is now done unless some more rust-through holes show up.

Wow 18ga really? I didnt realize the floors were so thin.

You really think you'll need another bit of reinforcement after the engman kit? I have the engman kit and it is pretty damn solid. The next step is tieing in the suspension points to the long IMHO

I don't know about what gauge the floors are. I guessed at 18ga since the longs are 16ga I think.

I was thinking about how to better tie the front of the long to the door pillar. Any suggestions?

Hmmm that is a good question, I havent looked at that piece in a while, you got any pics of the area?

Cleaning up the front portion of the long. Found 2 holes so time to cut it open.
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So this is what is left of the bottom of the long.

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Prepped the area for new metal.

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Center support done.

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Outer long is much more solid now.

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Where's that home-made tool thread? Here's my temporary metal break. I scored this 14 gauge piece so it would bend easily.

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Finished piece ready for installation.

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14 gauge outer clam shell all welded on.

Putting the door support back together.

The support plates will help bind the support to the bottom piece.
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I put a support piece from the top of the long to the door support.

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Finished the door support. Used 16 gauge for all new metal.

For the finishing touch, I put ribs on the outer long. For now I'm finished welding on the passenger long.

Next steps:
o Clean up welds on long.
o Sandblast the rear fender replacement. It will need some new metal.
o Install fender replacement.
o replace sill.
o Paint outer long and door jamb.

Thats a shitload of metal there!

The Ribs were an interesting idea!

Wow, that is a lot of welding!

Very nice work.

John

Sandblasted the fender replacement. I knew it was rusted through. Now the damage is obvious. The whole corner of the fender needs replacing.
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I will make 4 pieces to do the repair. This is the base plate. Next will be the bottom lip, then the door jamb, then the fender and underside wraparound.

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My latest purchase. Not bad for $150 delivered to my home.

This is from a 74 and has the 3-inch front calipers.

Rotors will likely need replaced. Front calipers will need rebuilt.

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Separate purchase. Saves me from widening and rebuilding my existing calipers. These look too nice to use.

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With the spacers for vented rotors? Nice!!

Talk about a score!

Bottom lip is welded on.

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Now the door jamb piece.

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Finally the fender piece. Too late tonight to grind the welds down. Good as new.

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Got around to grinding down the welds on the fender. The repair came out very good.

WTF are these appendages? Any guesses?

One shortcoming of the inner fender well is that all the rocks and debris kicked up by the tires can end up trapped between the rocker panel and the jack point.

With these brackets I'll attach a rock deflector to keep the jack point relatively clear of debris. I'm thinking of using a plastic-type mudflap for the material. Don't really want to use steel.

Well, with all the work I did to the inner and outer longs, I managed to shrink my car by about 1/8 inch such that the passenger door wouldn't close.

After the accident, the door gap was quite small but today when I mounted the door, it wouldn't close. So I had to shorten the rear fender a bit and push the door jamb back a bit.

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The last piece to attach on the passenger side. I cut the piece to near the right size then used the angle grinder to get it to fit nice. Looks good not to see the big hole in the fender. I bought this piece about 2 years ago.

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This is the original door sill. I cut off about 5 inches of the back part of this cause it was totally rusted out.

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The last job for now. Finished attaching the door sill.

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The sill supports are made from 16 gauge steel.

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I may have added a lot of steel in my rustoration but I took off 26 pounds of steel, rust, and tar.

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The 914 is out of the garage for the first time in 4 months. The metal work is done on the rear fender but bodywork is needed now. The 911 is going in the corner for now and I'll drive the 914 for the time being.

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One fat ass and one narrow one.

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I see you used weld-through primer on this. How well did that stuff work? Did you always get good welds with it or did you have to remove some of it? What type/brand did you use?

Great job btw. Your project is inspiring me to finally start cutting the rust out of mine.

Thanks,
Don

Thanks, and BTW,



I don't know what brand I used. The welding wasn't bad through the primer. It does smoke a bit but you do want primer between all the layers of steel or behind panels you can't paint after installation.

Looks like some good progress. The turbo doesnt look to bad either!

Got my front M-calipers back from Eric Shea. Wow!

Brake calipers front and rear ready to go for 5-lug conversion. Just need to get new rotors, and sell my 911 rear hubs & half shafts.