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strawman
Hi All --

This is my second post, but I've been lurking on this fine website for a while now. I've wanted a 914 since I was in high school, but always seemed to stumble upon other projects... until recently.

My neighbor gave me this 1973 Porsche 914 about a month ago. He told me he blew a head gasket and parked it in his parents' driveway in 1992. When his parents finally told him to move it or they were calling a local junkyard, he offered it to me since he knows I'm a gearhead. In for a penny, in for a pound...

I hauled it home, knowing that it has some rust issues in the battery area and rear trunk. But it appears to have never been in a wreck and it is complete. It turns out that an exhaust stud pulled, so he coulda fixed it for a couple hundred and probably kept another 914 from languishing but I guess all things happen for a reason (namely, so I would undertake this project!).

I sold the engine to a local Craigslister for use in his Meyers Manx dune buggy, and bought a wrecked but running 1993 Subaru Legacy turbo wagon. This is the closed-deck 2.2 liter engine, and 250 hp is easy with boost control and an open exhaust. I've already done a Subaru into a VW Vanagon and my daily driver is a 1992 Suby Legacy, so this won't be too much of a stretch for me. I plan to use the Suby 5-speed transmission (out of a 1998 Suby Forester) with the Aussie-sourced RWD elimination coupler and custom-mated 914/Suby axles.

I've got a suburban home with a crowded two-car garage (my 125 shifter kart and my daughter's FJA kart will likely get lonely!), a MIG welder, and a wide assortment of air/power/hand tools -- so the adventure begins! This project will likely take a year to finish, so please be patient.

I've attached some pics of the car as found in the driveway, some rust areas and the rear trunk repairs I've started. I'll chronicle the build as I go, so feel free to chime in!

Geoff
strawman
More pics of the rust in/around the battery tray and passenger side long...

Notice the dirt packed around the jacking point. Yuck!
strawman
Here are some pics of the front and rear trunks...

Note the standing water. More yuck!

Actually, when I opened the passenger side headlight bucket, I found that foul-smell that kept wafting up from the front of the car. I found a swamp caused by a plugged drain hole (sorry no pic). NAAAAASSSSTY!
strawman
Here are some pics of windshield/cowl area that'll need some attention.

The floors look strong (more pics to follow, once I scrape out the tar), and there is some rust bubbling under the sail vinyl and the rear trunk lid...
strawman
Okay, here are some pics of the rear trunk area. I started out using a 3/8" tri-point drill, but ended up using Harbor Freight spot-weld bits. The first HF bit lasted about 30 spot welds, the second bit lasted two spot welds and the third about 20 so far. For $3.95 apiece, tho, it was a bargain. I had to grind out a few spot welds in the rear corners because the space was too tight for the drill & bit and I had to cut out the trunk pan in one large piece and two smaller corner pieces.

I've already purchased an Auto Atlanta rear trunk replacement panel, as well as a rear suspension console. I'm not so happy with the fit of AA trunk panel; it fits pretty poorly around the left/right "humps." Looks like I'll need to section in pieces of sheetmetal to make it fit (notice the 1/2" gap at the forward edge of the humps in the later pics). It also sits higher against the rear panel than stock, so I'll have to rosette weld in the 1/8" holes I drilled through the rear panel.
strawman
More trunk pics...
strawman
More...
strawman
And some more, with the AA trunk pan mocked up...
strawman
Finally, here are some pics of the gaps near the forward portion of the humps...
strawman
I've ordered some POR-15 supplies and some Wurth Weld-Thru primer, but in the meantime I'll need to do some rust repair on the rear panel and try to massage the AA trunk pan into place. Once the rear trunk is shored up, I'll remove the suspension and get it up on a rotisserie to begin the frame repairs.

Anyone in the NorCal area have a rotisserie they want to give/sell/loan to me? I found some plans on this site that I'll build if that avenue doesn't work...

Finally a pic of me that my wife finds especially amusing. I always wanted to be an engine!

Stay tuned.
charliew
Hi Strawman, Good work sofar, I hope you don't get discouraged on the rust challenges. I'm also accumulating all the subie stuff.
Mind explaining the 99 forester tranny choice? I have a 96tt tranny I have done the Bremar conv too and just got a helical lsd to put in it. I'm pretty sure I can make the spline adapter on the bremar conv. out of the old parts by welding them up. The plate is just that but their's is prettier. I kinda hate to tear up the center diff though. I was hoping the tt tranny would be stronger since it was one of the first higher hp versions. (260/280) I also have a 02 5k miles wrx tranny but it's a early version and supposedly has weaker gears that they updated in late 02.
My 914 is pretty rust free. You might consider while you are fighting the longs putting the cooling tubes in them and it might also add strength to the tub. You might even consider some 3x3 thinwall tubing to replace the long and save the money on the replacement parts. I haven't got a good answer on the front of the long for the radiator tubes into the front trunk.
I'll be watching, good luck.
I've used lots of por 15 products. I wish you could sandblast all the places that you find rusty and use PPG DP epoxy primer. Paint sticks to the epoxy primer much better than the por 15. I have a jeep truck that I have used a lot of por 15 on and am going to need to redo some of it. It's about 5 yrs old now. None of the rubber undercoating has stayed on over the por 14.
Charliew
Zaney
Awesome start! I am going to dive into my Suby-rustoration after this summers WCC 08 meet here in the PNW. Hopefully by then some of the other fellow Scooby projects will have some products that I can purchase to complete the bolt in conversion.
Keep the pics coming! aktion035.gif
strawman
QUOTE(charliew @ Apr 18 2008, 09:16 AM) *

Mind explaining the 99 forester tranny choice?


It is what came in my donor car. The PO replaced the stock wagon auto with a 5-speed transaxle & rear diff (4.11 gears, IIRC) out of a '98 Forester, which also uses a hydraulic clutch actuation system like the Legacy Turbo sedans. I'm considering picking up a FWD Suby trans, since it is cable-actuated and I would not have to buy the Bremar kit. But I can't find any info on NASIOC on the strength of that unit. Do you know?

QUOTE(charliew @ Apr 18 2008, 09:16 AM) *

I've used lots of por 15 products. I wish you could sandblast all the places that you find rusty and use PPG DP epoxy primer.


I've never personally used POR-15, but my old 4WD buddies swore by the stuff. But they generally used it on their frames to ward of the Utah salt. I have a HF pressurized sandblaster; I'll have to do some research on epoxy primers vs. POR-15 -- thanks for the tip.

QUOTE(charliew @ Apr 18 2008, 09:16 AM) *

You might consider while you are fighting the longs putting the cooling tubes in them and it might also add strength to the tub. You might even consider some 3x3 thinwall tubing to replace the long and save the money on the replacement parts. I haven't got a good answer on the front of the long for the radiator tubes into the front trunk.


I'll have to do some research on this, too. This is strictly a fun car, since I know I can't compete well against the big bucks SCCA SM2 autocross guys. So the 3x3 idea might have some merit. But how do you tie well into the rear longs with this setup?
strawman
Been a while since I last posted, but I've been making some progress. I built a rotisserie, purchased the Bremar 2wd conversion kit for the AWD Subaru transmission, removed doors/suspensions/trunks, and got further into the rear trunk/panel rust repairs.

The original rear panel was too far gone, so I picked up a rear clip (thanks Echocanyons!) to replace the rear portion of the trunk floor and the rear panel. The rear panel is "pinched" between two panels at the factory, so I was forced to cut (vertically) a portion of the rear quarter panel "wrap-arounds" to get the old panel out and to install the replacement one. Pictures below provide a better idea...

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strawman
Here is a pic of the rear trunk/panel, ready for installation.

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Voila, now it is tacked into place. I used Wurth Weld-Thru zinc primer on all joints (after using Marine Clean and Metal Prep to knock out the surface rust), but that made it very difficult to spark the welds. For subsequent welds, I think I'll clean off the Weld-Thru in those areas that will actually be welded.

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On the right of the lower picture, you can see one of the two the vertical pieces that I had to cut out of the quarter panel wrap-around in order to install the rear panel. It is "swiss-cheesed" from cutting the spot welds, but the compound bends suggest that I should repair it rather than trying to bend up a replacement piece. Most of it will be hidden behind the rear bumper anyway...
strawman
Here are two closeup pics of the rear corners, that depict the vertical strips that were cut out.

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strawman
Now for a pic of the rotisserie parts. I bought a couple of engine stands off Craigslist (one was purchased from a guy that lives only four doors down from my house!) -- I got one for $25 and the other for $30. I also bought another $100 of 2" x 2" x 1/8" square tubing, and got some scrap 1.5" for free that I'll use to connect the two stands (see the rusty piece on the ground?). I had some scrap steel sitting in my garage that I used to extend the height of the two stands, and used some leftover steel to triangulate the base/vertical portion. I hope to have a small beer/pizza party this weekend to lift the chassis onto the stands.

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I'm planning on using the engine stand steel wheels to save cash on buying new casters. Anyone want to chime in to say this is a bad idea???

Yes, I'm an SF Giants fan, so I had to paint the rotisserie orange. I'll eventually paint the car orange, too.

You can also see the turnbuckle system I'm using. I bought two 3-point tractor connectors (one for each side) for $20/each at Tractor Supply Company. I then cut 'em in half and welded in some Schedule 40 pipe to extend them the proper length. I'm following Jeff Hail's lead by welding in the lower support to the kick panel so that I can install the doors to check gaps as I weld in the hellhole repair panels. I used the lefty-tighty heim joint for the upper mount, and used a 3/4" bolt welded onto angle steel for the lower mount. Here's a closeup of the upper mount:

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I've committed to the GT Flare / rocker group buy, so those will be welded in after the rust issues have been tackled. I also bought the Desert Hybrid chassis stiffening kit and trailing arm stiffening kit that'll be installed while the car is up in the air. Stay tuned!

tdgray
Good work... keep it up... I've done worse and made it through... I'm sure you'll get there.
strawman
Look what showed up today at my doorstep... the Bremar kit to convert my Subaru AWD 5-speed transmission to FWD. This item cost about $385 and arrived in less than two weeks from when I placed the order. More pics to follow once I begin digging in!

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I didn't get a chance to get the car onto the vertical stands last weekend, bu tI hope to do so on Saturday. I'll post more pics soon...
rick 918-S
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strawman
Got the car up on the rotisserie today. Used my cherry picker to lift the rear, while three of us lifted the front and a neighbor slid the front stand onto the front mount. Then we just slid the rear stand onto the rear bracket.

Now I can finish up welding the rear trunk clip from the underside, and then begin replacing the rusty hellhole parts. Stay tuned!

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strawman
It has been a while since I last posted, but I haven't been dormant. But first, a pic of what I like to call "Buzzing the Flight Tower"...

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Unfortunately, I didnt' take very good pics of the passenger side long before I started digging in, but the inner suspension console was toast, as was the motor mount, and portions of long, firewall and passenger side "wall." Here is a pic from the top.

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Here is a pic of the area I cut out... it includes the small connector piece to which I'll weld the larger inner patch piece. As you can see, the area has already been treated with POR15 Marine Clean and Metal Prep.

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strawman
Next up is a pic of the patch piece, made of 16 gauge steel. Since the factory piece used inner "ribs," I added these reinforcements made of 1" 14 ga. square tubing ripped into angle pieces. This pic shows the Metal Prep stage, prior to painting the inside with gray POR15.

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Since I'm using a rotisserie, I don't want to completely muck up the dimensions by cutting out too much at a time. So I'm replacing pieces in relatively small increments, and checking to see that the suspension jig I built still lines up as I go. Here is a pic of the patch during welding into the hole.

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That piece will be covered with an 18 ga. outer shell, in order to attain the same thickness that the factory used (two pieces of 17 ga.). That outer shell will be welded in as soon as I provide a good foundation to weld. From a previous pic, you can see the "wall" has rusted out and portions need to be replaced -- and that area is necessary in order to install the "outer" shell.

Here is a pic of the area I've cut out to complete this next phase.

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strawman
Here is a pic of lower patch piece, made of 18 ga. steel. I forgot to take a pic of the upper patch piece.

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When I get going, it is tough to remember to take pics... so here are two pics of the patches that were needed. It was almost 100 degrees today, so I shoulda taken pics while I took water (and beer!) breaks while the welds cooled...

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I forgot to mention in the previous post above that I cut out the lower portion of the passenger side quarter panel in order to get to the various rust damage areas hidden by that piece. I also have a sizable rust hole where the sail panel meets the quarter panel.

Porsche (Karmann?) really screwed the pooch when they decided to put that nasty-ass foam and seam sealer in places where the tires would kick up water... I've spent too many hours picking that stromberg.gif out.

I hope to weld in the outer shell over the inner upper long this week, and to cut out / patch the outside long (where you can see the rust holes!). Next up is to install the inner suspension console that I bought from Auto Atlanta a few weeks ago. I also ordered a new sill plate and outer long from AA this week; still awaiting shipping confirmation from George... and I'm part of the GT Flare group buy, too, so I'll be a busy guy in the coming weeks/months!

Stay tuned...
Hammy
Awesome progress.

How are you planning on mounting your Suby engine? Sorry if you mentioned it already, I only skimmed-read.
strawman
QUOTE(Hammy @ Aug 17 2008, 03:06 AM) *

How are you planning on mounting your Suby engine? Sorry if you mentioned it already, I only skimmed-read.


I haven't yet nailed that down. I might go with the Smallcar setup, since I used that for my prior Suby-powered Vanagon project and liked the build quality. Of course, I'm a CSOB, so I might try to fab something myself.

The slate is pretty clean (at least on the passenger side right now, since I had to cut that side's motor mount out!), so I'll have to finish with the rust repairs before I figure out those details.

Geoff
plymouth37
Very cool! Looking forward to following your progress!
roadster fan
Nice work, makes me wanna go fire up the mig and tackle some on my project. Keep the updates coming popcorn[1].gif

Jim welder.gif
strawman
It has been a while since I last posted and work has required more time than I would otherwise like but I haven't totally ignored my teener. Unfortunately, I didn't take a lot of time to take many pictures... but here are a few of my continuing effort of shoring up the upper/inner long & hellhole.

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In this pic, you can see the outer 18 gauge "shell" that I bent up to cover the inner 16 gauge piece described above. This outer shell is tied into the inner piece and the fender wall. You can also see the AA inner suspension console. You can also see that I had to plug the suspension mounting hole, since that hole didn't line up exactly with my jig... which you can see below.

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The jig ties into the outer suspension holes, the inner suspension console on the driver's side, and the driver's side motor mount. Ignore bolt/washers/nut that is being temporarily stored in the slot; that bolt is lined up with the "tube" and eventual new hole in the console (two washers are spaced between the tube and console).

It should be noted that AA's inner suspension console cannot be blamed for this misalignment -- I fabbed up my own upper/inner long replacement, so the suspension console required some massaging to fit, and the mounting hole was off by about 1/4".
strawman
Here is another pic of the jig...

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Here is a pic of the first reinforcement piece that I fabbed up to tie in the rear portion of inner suspension console to the long; I still have to fab up a small piece to tie in the inner and outer suspension consoles, and some pieces to tie in the front portion of the inner and outer consoles.

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A couple of weeks ago, I received an inner rocker panel from AA, as well as a new sill plate, jacking post kit and a floor pan triangle. Yesterday I received my fender flares from the AA group buy, as well as an Engman stiffening kit that I bought from a member on this board. I'm hoping to finish up the hellhole work and outer/upper long repairs this weekend. Then I'll begin replacing the inner rocker panel & sill plate. Gonna be making some more sparks soon!

I bought a new-to-me 220v compressor & Devilbiss HVLP spray gun so that I can begin some paint work. Anyone near the Sacramento area want to buy a Craftsman 33-gal 110v compressor?
pktzygt
OK, this and a few other treads are my motivation to get serious about buying a 914. I feared the rust repair for a while, but I'm starting to look foward to the challenge. I'm about 3 days away from selling my WRX and then seriously looking for a 914. Keep the updates coming, I'll be following closely.
FourBlades

Nice work! piratenanner.gif Take more pictures, you will be glad later.

popcorn[1].gif popcorn[1].gif popcorn[1].gif

John
rick 918-S
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tronporsche
You will no doubt be able to be one of the guys that says "I built this car" !!!!!! Good work.
strawman
Been a while since my last post, but I've made some pretty good progress. Per the pic below, I've finished up the inner suspension console install.

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Here is a pic of the passenger side long, open for all the world to see...

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strawman
Next up are some other pics of the passenger side long and the state of repairs necessary...

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strawman
I sandblasted the entire inner long to get down to bare metal. Since I'm using a water cooled Suby engine, I have removed the stock heater tubes. Here are some pics of the long without the tube, including the lower rear patch panel.

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In the pic below, note the new lower seat belt attachment -- I pulled my hair out trying to find a tap to chase the threads after welding it in... until I realized that it is not metric (D'oh!). You'll also note the piece welded in behind the jack post. I sandwiched 16ga and 18ga sheetmetal to equate to the two pieces of 17ga used by the factory in that area, and bent it to fill in the rusty outer piece. I neglected to take a pic of the masterful (if I do say so, myself!) piece I hammered out to replace the compound bend where the long makes the swoop up toward the rear.

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strawman
Next up is a pic of the jack post, followed by the inner (outer?) piece sourced from AA. The second pic also shows the jack post support, as well as the hole cut into the forward section just below the door hinge area.

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The inner piece was sectioned in just below/behind the door hinge area. I used a Miller spot welder to make the joins along the upper and lower seam. Use of that device was a godsend -- it made quick work of it and kept heat input into the chassis less intense in comparison to if I had to rosette weld that sucker on.

Gotta love the mid-November heat wave in NorCal -- it was over 70 yesterday and today, and I was sweating!!

I welded in a patch for the hole forward of the AA piece, but it got too dark for good pics. Next up is welding in the Engman chassis stiffening kit, and then the GT chassis stiffening kit and trailing arm reinforcement kit (from Desert Hybrids). I'll need to read up on the GT stiffening kit, as a couple of the pieces that tie into the suspension console look like a bear to correctly form. Anyone have a suggested thread to peruse?

BTW, I picked up a complete 911 suspension last weekend. I got it for $600, including Bilstein sports, alloy calipers, 1" wheel spacers and stock torsion bars -- it came off a late 70's turbo.

I also bought a bunch of paint supplies from Rainbow Supply in Woodland, CA to strip the paint, epoxy primer the chassis, and to practice a full paint job (PPG Omni 2-stage) on my Subaru Legacy daily driver. I won a fire fighter breathing apparatus on Ebay a few weeks ago that I'll use as a basis for a home-brewed fresh air system while painting the nasty isocynates.
FourBlades

Beautiful work dude! piratenanner.gif

Keep it going for us resto junkies! smilie_pokal.gif

John
Zaney
Awesome work!
Make sure that breathing apparatus still makes a good seal and positive pressure before wearing in the fumes.
If you are unfamilar with it then, drop by your local FD (with some treats too) and ask some questions about your BA. I'm sure that most firefighters would be more than willing to answer questions about your new toy! smile.gif

And if you can't find any local then, myself or other smokeeaters on this board can help you out!

aktion035.gif Nate
strawman
Had all of last week off work, but we had family in town... so I only got to work on the car last Saturday and Sunday. Got a lot done and took pics on Saturday, which I'll show below.

First up are two pics of the driver side engine bay, showing removal of the engine bay seal channel. I first sawzalled large pieces off, then attacked the spotwelds. Instead of using the PITA spotweld cutter (which sometimes pokes thru the base metal!), I used a round-head burr in my air grinder to weaken the spotweld and then tore the metal in small strips using Vise-Grips. Way faster. The second pic also shows the hole where the heater tube entered the long; I ground that area flush, since I'll be covering that hole and tying in the rear firewall to the long with a piece of 16 ga.

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Next up is the passenger side engine bay, which depicts the repairs I made to the hell hole. I still need to ground down the heater tube hole lip and install the reinforcement discussed above.

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strawman
On Sunday, I finished up welding in the rear trunk floor and removing most of the remaining seam sealer from that area. I also finished up welding in the final patch on the forward passenger side outer long (as described above).

I picked up some ESAB Easy-Grind .023 MIG wire, and I like it... it does seem to grind down easier than the standard ER70S-6 wire I was using. Flapper wheels on a 4.5" angle grinder do a good job knocking it down, whereas the other wire seemed to need abrasive wheels.

I also finished up the removal of the heater tube from the driver side long. There is no rust through on this side, which was a welcome relief after spending so much time on the passenger side long repairs. The pic below depicts the hole I had to cut in the forward portion of the long to remove the heater tube. The pic also shows the area I sandblasted, Marine-Cleaned, Metal-Ready-ed and then covered in POR15.

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Although not shown in a picture yet, that whole area of the driver side long has already been patched and covered by the Engman long stiffening kit... unfortunately, the rechargeable batteries in my digital camera died and I, too, ran out of steam.

Gotta say -- even with the car on a rotisserie -- welding in the Engman kit takes a lot of patience and you're best advised to do some serious stretching before attempting to weld in all those rosettes. I spent the better part of two hours trimming the three pieces to fit just right, and another 90 minutes welding in only the driver's side (wedge myself through the chassis brace, weld, extricate myself while catching my welding helmet on the brace, curse like a sailor, blow compressed air on it; repeat about a hundred times...). I knew I was "done for" when I reached for a beer from the fridge after finishing the last rosette weld and my upper right oblique muscle locked up!

I won't be able to work on the car until the middle of the month, when I'll try to finish up the Engman kit installation. I'll post more pics soon.
FourBlades

Looking good. piratenanner.gif

You made some great progress.

John
Root_Werks
Wow! Great work, I can't believe I didn't see this thread earlier. Keep the progress coming!

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my928s4
Nice fabrication work, you have given me some ideas for my fixer upper. Keep it up !

Chris
strawman
Been a while since I posted, and work/family has gotten in the way of big progress, but I haven't been totally dormant. Since my last post, I finished up the Engman kit. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the progess.

I started the GT stiffening kit that I purchased from Desert Hybrids, as well as the trailing arm stiffening kit. Neither of these kits is drilled or pre-bent, and the instructions were not very helpful. Nonetheless, I found some some good guidance on this site (duh!). The passenger side was made a lot easier by removal of the lower/forward portion of the rear quarter panel.


Rear portion, including part of outer suspension console:
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Far forward portion, by the jack post:
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Here's a pic of of everything ground down:
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strawman
Here's some pics of the driver's side. As I got deeper into this portion of job, I realized that the jack post was too far gone. So I cut that portion out and just won a replacement on Ebay.

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Here is a pic of the jack post half-way removed. Getting the upper spot welds out was a bee-otch, but the burr bit in my die grinder helped knock it out. Fortunately, there is no rust through, so I'll treat it and weld in the new piece.

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strawman
Finally, here's some of the trailing arm stiffening kit install. I still have to weld the outer seams and clean up the rosette welds.

First up is one arm, smoothed, weld-thru primered and ready for the install.
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Next up is the plate, drilled and weld-thru primered.
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Here are both arms, with the plates rosette welded and ready for seam welding.
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Finally, here is a pic of the underside GT stiffening kit on the passenger side. That one was the most difficult and it took a lot of muscle/grunting/swearing to bend it in to shape.
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I really recommend cutting out templates of each piece in posterboard prior to drilling the holes... I had to fill-in a couple holes that the "instructions" otherwise suggested would be over solid metal. The template also helps you pre-bend the pieces. I believe that is most important on the trailing arm kits, since you want to make sure the rosette welds are in places that will help you bend the sides over. Does that make sense?

I'm heading to DC for work for a week, but I hope to finish up the trailing arms and the GT stiffening kit next weekend. Happy New Year!
jc914
Nice work popcorn[1].gif
strawman
The AA rocker covers that I bought as part of the GT flare group buy arrived late last week, as well as a few Ebay items that I won (jack post kit, poly trailing arm bushings and bump steer kit). I also had a chance to spend some quality time with the car on MLK, Jr. Day. In short, I finished cutting out the old driver's side jack post, installed the new one, and finished up welding in the GT Stiffening kit on the driver's side.

First up is a pic of the jack post welded onto the long, complete with SEM weld-thru primer covering everything. The welds match what the factory did (only along the vertical sides):

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Next up is the jack post "cover." I found the only way to install it without removing the lower/forward quarter panel was to cut the upper/forward corner of the cover, and flatten out the bend that wraps over the top of the long. Maybe a pic would better explain this...

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After rosette welding the cover to the long and welding along the post/cover joint, I was able to hammer down the upper edge and finish up the rosette welds along on the top. Here is a pic of the completed installation:

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Next up is completion of the GT stiffening kit that was begun and chronicled earlier. A pic of that effort:

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I still have to grind down the welds to make it look purty. I also spent about 4 hours scraping off the tar undercoat from most of the underside and driver's side inner fenderwells. I still have about four hours to finish the underside and the passenger side inner fenderwells. I can't imagine doing that without a rotisserie!

Next up is fixing the rust in the windshield area, then fix some rust holes in the sail panel area on both sides, then some frunk rubber channel rust repairs, then reinstalling the lower/forward passenger side quarter panel that I cut out to do the hell hole repairs, then two small firewall rust hole repairs, then welding in the passenger side long sill, etc. This list might seem never-ending to some, but I am making progress -- and that feels good. In fact, this project is cathartic for me and helps me deal with the stress of work/life/etc.

Unfortunately, my left hip is failing due to advanced osteoarthritis (and I'm only 42!), so I've scheduled surgery in late February to have it replaced, too. My right one was replaced in October 2007, and it is about 95% healed, so I'm confident this surgery will go just as well. So I won't be able to do any heavy lifting or acrobatics (i.e., welding upside down!) for a few months. Over the next few weeks, I'll try to set up projects that I can do on the workbench -- things like finalize the shifting mechanism, grind down welds on the reinforced trailing arms, new gaskets on Suby engine, etc. during my rehab. I might need to convince my wife to help move some things around to keep things moving along, which might pique her interest in this project (but I'm not holding my breath!).

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