I knew when I got my 914 that I needed some work on the floor pan and some hell hole repair. I pulled the rockers, and the longs looked good. Not a bad starting point... I thought.

I stripped the tar off the floor pan, and found that the tar was the only thing keeping the drivers feet off the pavement. Okay, so I'll replace the pan instead of patching it.

I started cleaning up the rust in the hell hole, and when it was clean, there were some perforations. Yeah, I knew that I'd need to patch some metal there. But the engine mount ear is toast. Well, add it to the list.

Yesterday, while I was stripping crud off of good metal, I found that the suspension console is cracked. This is not good... now I am into critical alignments and major surgery.

I cut away the cancer in the hell hole, and looked inside. It is rotting away from the inside, and the longs will need replacement.

At this point, I have come to the realization that my car is beyond my ability to repair. It's not as bad as what Jeff Hail has resurrected, but it needs the same level of work, and I do not have his skills.

Now I have to decide what to do. I love this car, even though I've never driven it.

1) I can buy nearly $1000 worth of metal and attempt the repair myself. This would be either very rewarding, or very disappointing.

2) I can buy the metal and pay someone else to install it. I expect that I can't afford this option.

3) I can buy another project car. None of the money that I have spent is actually in my current car... it's all been for parts. I do not have room for two cars, though.

4) I can sell my Jeep and buy a nice runner. If I'd have been to this stage a couple weeks ago, I'd have seriously considered the car that rdauenhauer was selling at the WCR.

Another factor in the consideration is that the left rear fender has been replaced due to a collision (I knew this when I got the car), but what I didn't know is that the replacement is brazed on. Maybe not a big deal.

I have a couple weeks to figure things out... at which time I'll need to decide whether or not I need GT flares!

Show pics.
The suspension console can be repaired, or replaced...its just metal.
ALL the cars are rotting from inside the long...you will never find one that is not...it was BARE metal...so its rusting inside...they all are.

Show pics to get valid opinions.
Can you weld? Do you own a welder?

Rich

I know that it can be repaired, I just doubt my ability to do it. I used to weld when I worked in the Louisiana oil fields 25 years ago, but that was stick welding. I had planned on buying a MIG to do the pan and other minor repairs. I'm sure that I can learn to MIG.

I'll go take some pics...

To do the suspension ear, its really not to bad.
Measure up where it is now.
Make a few fixed length piece of plywood to line it up from two places.
One piece goes to the firewall and gets bolts through the ear hole.
The other goes from one ear to the other.

Then measure up the long to the side of the ear...
Measure from the rear trunk firewall to the ear...

Its all (ALL) about the hole location...
The new part will be different from the old one...
All you need to make damn sure of is the hold location in relation to the chassis...

Then you get to drill out 30 odd spot welds and clean it up.
That part of the project in total is probably two good days of methodical measuring, drilling, cleaning, tacking, measuring, welding, measuring.

Its not that bad really..
the harder part is really the outer long up under the fender..
Its just a PITA to get to ...

Rich

That's the key question and also;

Do you find this sort of work rewarding?? There can be a lot to do, and it's very time consuming.

Here is a link to my "rust-diary". It may help you figure out how much you want to get into it. (I'm not done yet!!)

"rust diary" link

(in answer to the question above, Ya, I find it rewarding)

Wes

To echo what Rich said.
All these cars are crap inside the longs.

My car had MINIMAL hell hole rust, but I could feel junk in the longs once I cut the bad metal out for re-welding.

About all you can do is spray some sort of rust preventer in there (I used Por15 Metal Ready, in SEVERAL applications).

If your car is not sagging, then it can easily be fixed.

Zach

I look at it as time vs. $$$. How much of your time will you spend fixing it vs. $$$ buying a good chassis to swap your stuff into?

That being said, I have a virtually rust-free roller for sale!

A few pics:

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Another question...

This is the underside of the dashboard. Are these junkyard markings? The dashboard is not the same color as the rest of the car... it is red. The car is L21E Tangerine. There is no other evidence of damage that would warrant replacement of the dashboard, but this sure looks like a replacement to me:
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Its not as bad as it looks.

Check the thread called "winter Project" over on the club site...
New floors, those are really not that hard.
The hell hole is not as bad as some.
The suspension console and engine tray, battery box and support are as easy as writing a check to get them ordered.
Both the engine shelf/tray and the suspension console are just spot welded in place...so its just a matter of drilling upteen spot welds out to get them out of there.

the top piece of the long is just that...a single piece...simple to fabricate.
The hardest piece there is the inner fender...just buy that and cut ONLY what you need...its got a few odd curves that are hard to duplicate.

Remember..leave as much as possible and only replace what needs to be replaced...this keeps everything lined up as you go along.

If you focus on each project as a simple and small issue and DONT look at the overall amount of work...you will get through it.

If you clean, prep, cut and fit all the pieces...I am certain a welder friend...914 guy would come over and weld the pieces in for you so you know its done safe.

RIch

We discussed this a while back.
The dashboards were all painted whatever color of the month...no issue there.
They just used up old paint.

The number hand written is a build number from the factory line.

Rich

Markings are from the factory. Todd PLEASE do yourself a favor and remove that suspension ea as well as the motor mount. You WILL find issues under those that NEED to be addressed.

Yeah, I know... that's why I am doubting my ability to deal with it

The motor mount doesn't seem like such a big deal to me, but I'm really concerned over the suspension... a 1mm error there seems like it could fuch up the rest of the alignment pretty drastically.

Its a simple matter of measuring prior to removing the suspension console.
If you make two or three jigs out of metal or wood....(tape measures bend while holding them) you can get the new suspesion console right back into place.

Dont over think it...its just a piece of metal and many many many people have replaced that piece before and they are not driving sideways down the street.
The outer part of the trailing are is quite adjustable, to compensate...thats why its adjustable..nothing is perfect on these tubs..
The margin for error is +-2mm or more in most cases so dont sweat.

A jig will hold it firmly in place...you tack it...then get a decent welder friend to come over and lay down some solid welds that allow you to sleep well at night.

Or, call Gary Emory...I am sure his crew could do the job...no question.
www.emorymotorsports.com

Or, trade it to Craig at Camp 914 as a downpayment of a better car and go from the point that you are comfortable with.

I have to say that as these cars are getting harder to pick up cheap...the lower cost cars are going to be larger projects.

BUT...a well done car that has a documented rust repair and paint session under its belt will be worth alot more than an unknown car...that is for certain.
If I was looking for a "rust free" car, I would only trust one that has undergone a restoration within the past 5 years...anything older is once again rusting...
I would also require the full monty of pictures inside and outside of the long...otherwise to me its just smoke and mirrors that is rusting from inside...

Its just money...if you can afford to buy a better car, do it.
If you cant afford to buy a better car, learn to weld and dont be scared..
It can be welded and removed 10 times till you get it perfect...its just metal.

Every car has a place in your life...maybe this ones place is to teach you how to weld.
If nothing else it will be very hard to sell in its current form...so learn from it...weld it up and enjoy that experience.

I totally forget the correct saying here, but it sums it up nicely.
Wash the dishes to wash the dishes.
Dont wash the dishes to watch the football game.

Rich

Tod,

I learned to weld by burning a lot of scrap metal before starting on my 914. I replaced my passenger suspension console and motor mount and as others have said it is not that difficult. It took me a weekend to do the suspension console. The hardest part is getting the old one off. I took a lot of measurements and was able to get it right on putting it back. I recommend buying repro parts if available for anything you need to fix because it is so much easier than making your own parts. I also treated the inside of my longs with metal ready and then high zinc primer. An unrestored 914 is not going to be treated in these areas.

I think it is really a matter of whether you would enjoy doing it or not. The satisfaction you get from looking at the repaired sections lasts a lot longer than the time it took to do them. Everytime I look at my engine bay I get a kick out of how good it looks compared to how nasty it was before. Good luck...

John

i dunno todd. i think you've see that light at the end of the tunnel and the train behind it. you've got the parts. strip the tub. pm sent.

k

If you are worried about getting the suspension back in the correct location, just make up a jig prior to taking it apart!

Here is a photo of the jig I made;



I can remove it from the work platform and still put it back in the correct location due to an "indexing" bracket welded to the work platform.

It attaches to the suspension on both sides of the car.

If you are not using a platform, you could make the jig so that it attaches to the shock mounts and also on the firewall. Actually it could attach to anything that isn't getting removed or could move.

Wes

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Others on in this group are telling you the same thing, but I'm going to repeat it.

Its all about what you want to do and where you get enjoyment. If you want to drive a car or show it off, then buy one as nice as you can afford, but if you want an adventure building something, then you have a project right in front of you. In my case, I may never finish my car and if i don't that's OK. I'd like to see it on the road some day, but the process, the learning how to work the metal and the paint and keeping things aligned is all so much fun. Even when I fuck up and do it wrong, it isn't the end of the world. Its just another thing I need to put on the list to do.

And the investigation part of the project is fun too. Seeing what other people have done with these cars. Seeing that other people are having the same challenges as I am. Trying to figure out what is the right way or is the way I've decided is right for my car is a blast too. This whole group of members will help you in whatever direction you head.

And if your enjoying yourself while restoring the car and you decide enough is enough and want to quit, that's OK too. Try to do the right thing for the car and I'm sure someone else will pick up the ball for you.

I totally agree with billy!!

Wes