OMFG

i am inspired, i love this, cant wait to see the final result

This is one of those threads you hope that has been finished already from years ago.... So you can read it from start to finish without waiting! Impaitience takes over when watching a Thread like this one! Great work! You are quite a fabricator!


Thomas

This has to be the most mind blowing buildup that I have ever come across. Dana you have to be the most productive fab'er that I have seen. I have a couple of questions... how much of this just comes out of your head and how much have you designed out on paper that we don't see? And how much weight could be saved if you redesigned the rear trailing arms to a chromoly tubing setup...maybe 20-25 lbs a pc? It took me 12 hours to read it all from the start. Very impressed and looking forward to seeing the finished product.

I ran the coolant lines today. There are a few ways to run them through a 914, I used to have rubber lines running below the floor but wanted to integrate them into the car a little better so I decided to try a different route. I poked around the site and really liked the way Britain Smith ran them in his subie conversion and decided to follow a similar path.
First I welded in tubing that led through the front firewall into the passages that pass beneath the gas tank,
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Then I opened up the other end of the passage and the end of the long and welded in tubing to protect the hose from sharp edges.
Next step is to make some nice covers to seal off the area where the hose passes through the cabin.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Finally I opened up the back of the long and welded in a tube that passes through the firewall.
Click to view attachment

Hmmm........
I like it.

Glad you done your homework,Dana!

Looking good. I want to see what you come up with to cover the lines inside the cabin...I might want you to make an extra set Needs to be lightweight!

-Britain

I mounted the radiator today, I am running the standard Renegade unit, due to the new position I had to change the outlet tube's angle and the location of the bleeder. Luckily there is a helicopter repair place close to my house that can weld anything to anything so they could handle welding the aluminum radiator easily.
Keeping with my tradition of mounting everything as low and inboard as possible, the radiator is mounted far inside the trunk, it is at a pretty steep angle but with proper shrouding I believe it will cool the engine just fine.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Here is a close up of the mounts, the radiator is rubber insulated at all 4 corners.
Click to view attachment

Yeah yeah I know
I actually picked up the last bits of tubing I need for the chassis this morning.

Coolio

DAMN.

You get us all together for a meeting here, and there's no recent emergency/build??

OK

We'll wait

Checking back in after quite some time. I like the progress.

Still excited to see this puppy on the pavement again...

Pete

Where's Dana? Why has he foresaken us?

I saw him post on another thread yesterday so he's around. Maybe he's taken up pottery.

Sorry everybody, I am around, I am applying to grad school this December and am rushing to get applications and portfolios submitted. Have no fear, I have not forsaken you, just super busy with school!

It's a shame you don't live close to me.....I have a feeling if we parked our cars in the same big garage side by side we could motivate eachother through several productive sleepless nights in the garage

I would like to take this opportunity to say WOW~!

Hi, I just found your thread, What did I miss?

Seriously though, I just spent the last two days reading from the top, and have concluded 3 things:

1) I suck!
2) I have a new hero.
3) You can hate your hero.

All the other necessary praise has already been heaped upon you in sufficient quantities.

Rock on!

Is it soup yet?

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Haha, no, I graduate in a week, between the chaos of school and applying to grad school I haven't had any time to even look at the car.
Hopefully once I graduate on Friday I will have plenty of time to work on the car.
I am really looking forward to getting in some 914 time soon!

So are we.

Congrats on your graduation Dana and good luck on getting into grad school. Now, enough with the excuses.....

Seriously get to work.

Dude

What do you do for a living, you have to be a engineer.
I'm not trying to kiss up, I am just giving credit were it is due.

Rudy

I started out trying for a degree in Mechanical Engineering, then switched to Architecture, I just graduated first in my class with an undergrad in Architecture on Friday.

Congrats Dana That's awesome news.


Now get to work

Congratulations! Can't wait to see the garage you design for Anklebiter.

Congrats, you should move out to the DC area and work at my wife's architecture firm. Then you could help me on my car

Grats Dana. I'll buy you a beer the next time I see you.

That's fantastic news, Dana - congratulations!

But before you start building really cool looking buildings will you PUH-LEEEZE get back to work on the car.

I dunno. I just feel like I have no direction without this project moving forward. It's like waking up every morning to an overcast sky. I just don't know.

Absolutely!

great work.

My son changed from Biomedical to Electrical and then to Mechanical and Math recently. I like that combo

It's obvious you have a great number us waiting for your every next move.

In reply # 872, we get to see your project in it's 'fabrication aesthetic'...it is purely visceral. Naked. Far from purist. The culmination of vision and the epitome of execution.

As we await the next chapter, would it be possible to see other views of the car?


...the 914world is watching.


(btw, one architect to another)

I have finally managed to make some time to work on the car!
I had an entire day so I decided to finish the last section of the cage; the connection between the front shock mount and the existing cage.
This is a pretty tricky spot to run tubing through on the 914, especially with my low knee bar but I did the best I could with it.

I started out by welding in base plates for the cage.
Not my best welding work by far but welding 1/8" plate to sheet metal is super tricky.
Click to view attachment

Next I welded in a tube from the knee bar to the shock tower.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Finally I welded in a second bar to triangulate the connection.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Here is a quick mockup with the tank.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I've been waiting for this day to come

Looking forward ot seeing more Dana

Welcome back, Dana!! Immaculate work as always. I kinda did something similar on Dave's car.

Ahhh, The "DANA-NATOR" is BACK!

Not a ton of progress made today, I had a job interview this morning so I only had a couple of hours to work on the car this afternoon.
I didn't get a chance to seal off the holes where the tubing runs under the dash yesterday so I tackled that today.
I am glad I am pretty much done welding in this area of the car, access is a nightmare, welding upside down in a footwell sucks!

Before:
Click to view attachment

After:
Click to view attachment

Today I started tackling the rusty spots on the tub, luckily most of my car's rust was on parts that I removed but there is still a little eating the door sill.
Click to view attachment

First I made a template of the opening to ensure everything lined up once I was finished.
Click to view attachment

Then I rebuilt the rotten area.
Click to view attachment

Finally I test fit the rocker.
Click to view attachment

Man finally! I was starting to have withdrawals.

you and me both brother...

Awesome Dana! Glad to see you back at it! Excellent work as usual

Oh, Dana? Happy Birthday!

Thanks!

Dude, you need to send in a tape to Spike or Speed! I would much rather watch you work than most of the JOs that have shows on those channels now. Throw in a little architecture work as an added bonus - the ultimate man show!

Today I repaired the other door jamb's corner that was rotted out.
Click to view attachment

I also welded in nuts to mount the Jwest shift rod bushing.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I never really finished the area around the door handle recess when I built the firewall so I decided to clean that up on both sides.
Click to view attachment

I am shaving the door handles so I filled the area where the recesses used to be and generally cleaned everything up.
Click to view attachment

Awesome work. Where and how are the door popper's being mounted then?

Since the car will be a true roadster I am imitating the MGA door setup.
The doors will be hollow with a cutout for storage, inside the cutout will be a cord that runs horizontally through the door.
It will be anchored at one end and attached to the latch mechanism at the other. To get in you will just reach in the car and pull the cord. Super simple, super light.

MGA door cutout:
Click to view attachment

Cord behind door panel:
Click to view attachment