Good Day,

I am new to 914s, but not to Porsche or auto restorations, though I've never done a Porsche restoration. I have been looking around for a 914 project for a while, and somehow ended up with 3 cars all at once. I've been assured by former 914 owners that this is a normal occurance :-)

The current project car is a late 72, 1.7 barn find, 20 years. After stripping everything that could retain mildew and dumping it into an ozone tent, I am moving on to the unit body. The front and rear are in very good shape, with the exception of the missing battery box. The rust damage is largely in the side structure under the doors.

The inner rockers are gone. Even less remain after I pulled off the painted fiberglass that had been slapped over rust holes at some point. The bottom of the inner longs is gone as well as part of the side, particularly around the seatbelt bolts. The floors are good. The threshold are good. All 4 of the lift points are unusable. The unit body folds in the middle.

I jacked the car around enough to get the top corner of the back door seam to 3/16 and then welded in a top brace across both door openings. The bottom corner of the back door seam is 0. No lifting changes this.

So, I am looking for a couple of things:

- First and foremost; are replacement inner longs available to bridge from back to front firewall? Who makes/carries them?

- Advice on how to handle to body, ie lift, realign and rotate? It's not stable enough to do much with right now. I need to raise and support it to pull the power plant, and then to get it onto a rotisserie.

Many thanks for any advice!

Welcome to the club!

This type of restoration has been discussed here plenty. Try this classic link

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=16748

His work is a true inspiration. As for parts, Restoration design and Automobile Atlanta have the parts. Restoration Design has a bad habit of being difficult to reach. Nice guys but they seem to work at their own pace. Lots of luck with your project and post pictures.

Also check the string "bringing out the dead" by Jeff Hail. It's currently "on going" and you should find it by scrolling down through the current strings.

I'd post a link, but I'm not sure how.

Wes

find somebody near you with a celette bench and then rent the fixtures for the 914. it's not cheap, but you won't get anything better than that ...

Andy

PS:

read more about celette benching a 914 here:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=50809


and here:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=52631


Andy

There are tons of links and posts on this topic. Do your home work and you'll be fine.

Andy,

Thanks for those links showing the pulls on both of your tubs.

Are there any more (or higher resolution) pictures showing the jig setups on the bench?

the bench with all the fixtures in place:

Click to view attachment

Andy:
That photo is the first time I've seen a Celette without the car on it.

Questions: Do the tall columns at the four corners mount to the shock mounts?
Also, what mounts to the tabs that are on the rack that's the second in from the foreground? Swing arms?

1: rear transmission mounts
2: rear shock tower mounts
3: rear trailing arm mounts
4: rear engine mounts for a 4-cylinder car
5: front donuts
6: front shock mounts
7: front steering rack crossmember mounts
8: front a-arm mounts


missing in the picture is:
- the rear 914-6 engine mount fixture (which we didn't need for the red car)
- the rear donuts


Andy

Welcome!

I am doing a similar replacement right now. Here is my progress thread...

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=77746

I don't think that anyone makes a replacement for the inner longitudinal. I am fabricating a replacement for the bottom half of the inner for my car. Restoration Design and elsewhere offer the outer.

I currently have my car on a rotisserie, but have extra supports in the middle while I have been performing surgery on the longitudinal.

Are the rear donuts not located off of the forward protrusion from the rear trailing arm mount fixtures (one is visible in the picture which would be the passenger side)?

Thanks for the extra information. (and the larger pictures).

AA shows 2 pieces: 1. the inner long replacement from the front of the cabin to just beyond the firewall; and 2. from the firewall to the rear engine firewall on page 84 of the new catalog.

I have a driver's side inner longitudinal, NOS factory part, it welds to the inner wheel house at the front, and the engine bay bulkhead at the back, and includes the engine shelf. PM me if you are interested. It's not cheap, but it is the real deal, and you won't find it anywhere.

I'm guessing this won't be a show car restoration, so you can also have suitable pieces fabricated, and with Engman's inner long kit you can make a good functional repair.

A few views:

Right Inner Long through cabin:




Right Inner Rocker:






Paul

No show car here. A driver.

What are you asking for the parts?

Thanks,
Paul

Thanks for all the advice regarding Celette and other frame benches. I presume that a careful set of repairs, and then straightening the tub on a bench is a reasonable course of action? This phase will likely take me a few months to complete on my own. This is fine with me. A few hours a week of puttering about with a project like this is it's own kind of "therapy"

Where might I find factory tub measurements so I can keep dimensions close to where they should be while cutting and fabrication? I think I can cross tie the suspension mount points with a temporary subframe and then put it up on a rotissiarie.

Thanks for the help!

Paul

http://www.914world.com/specs/underdims.php

right here on this site. go to 914 info and then underbody dimensions

Good evening,

So fast forward a couple of years, one rotisserie fabrication and a few more cars...

I actually have the first body mounted and am starting on the unibody work. The floor is in mostly good shape, but the inner rockers are going to have to be replaced and a few small repairs made to the longs, after I bend back the longs under the front jacking points. The thresholds are fairly good except for a 3 inch chunk out of each one.

A few pics, upside down of the passenger side:

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment

I am looking for some guidance. What order do I attack removing sheet metal to replace the inner rockers?

Is there anyone making the front filler piece that is attached to the inner rocker, the threshold and the front wheel well? If not, what are the options?

What are the better options for metal coating/painting/etc... for long term rust prevention?

Thanks,
Paul

Dude, you are a quick worker...

Rich

My biggest tip is not to rely on your bracing. You need to weld slowly. Measure multiple times. Add supports and bracing if necessary (floor jacks, jack stands, etc).

If you're careful, methodical, and attentive, you won't need any fixing or adjusting after the fact.