Second time around. First 914 project last year was a rust disaster and turned into a parts car. BTW, you guys who bought parts off it, hang on to them, I'll probably need them back.

So now I've got me a more viable candidate - '73 with a rebuilt 2.0, usual rust issues, but otherwise pretty decent for a $1500 car. I've always thought trhe 2.0 was a very nice engine for the 914, but I've got a Rover 3.5l all-aluminum V8 short block sitting in my garage that needs a home and this seems to be a logical fit - light weight, compact, easy 200hp and hey, it's a V8!

So here's the starting point...
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Doesn't look bad, but of course, there are issues...
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Ok, here's where I'm going with this thing. Rover 3.5 conversion, looking to get 200-225hp out of it, GT flares all around, 5 lug conversion, upgraded master cylinder, all new suspension bushings, boxed trailing arms, body reinforcements and really cool paint job, which I'll probably do myself.

Stay tuned. BTW, anybody looking for a complete rebuilt 2.0 FI engine, have I got a deal for you.

Tom

Since the longs are toast, How about you cut them out and build your own custom longs that are wider, giving you room to run the water lines. Something different.

If you ran 1 pipe on each side couldn't you already run the pipes under the rocker panels?

Depending on the configuration of the water pump (probably going to be remote electric) and radiator, running one on each side through the long's would be ideal. I am building my own long's but I don't think I'll even have to make the any wider since the existing ducts are at least 3" in diameter.

BTW, I built my own brake press to flange 34" of 16ga for less than $20 in materials. It's pretty crude but it works great and if anybody wants the "plans", just PM me.

Tom

There's only one way to determine the full extent of rust and that's to tear the car down to its bare bones and look into places no man has gone before. I guarantee, you'll find rust you missed upon your first inspection (we all put on our rose-colored glasses at first, don't we?). First thing to do is clean up all the gunk and crud so you can actually see the rust. Here's what pressure washing looks like in a November snowstorm.

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Once I got into it I found that the hellhole was a little softer than I had anticipated but what the heck, patching a big spot of rust isn't that much harder than patching a small spot of rust. The front trunk floor was one area I hadn't counted on. I pulled the spare tire to inspect it before I bought it and it looked good, but it was simply a solid layer of paint and goop holding a bunch of rust together. I probably would have bought the car anyway, knowing about the unforeseen rust issues but it's always better to know about them upfront.

Next thing to do is strip it down to the bare essentials. No real surprises here, other than what's to be expected in a 35 year old car. Once the engine/tranny, suspension, doors and hoods and interior are out of the car, it becomes a much more user-friendly project since you can see and access things so much better and you don't have to worry about dinging something up.

In order to give myself some mobility, I set the tub up on a cradle that I fabbed out of 4 jackstands riding on 2x8 laterals riding on a set of four furniture dollies from Harbor Freight ($9.95 each). The front and rear sets are tied together by a couple of 1x4's to make it one unit. If you do this make sure you attached the jackstands to the 2x8's to prevent them from sliding around or tipping. It works great.

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However, once you get it up on the jackstands you find out why they call these things flexi-flyers, especially when the structural integrity of the tub is compromised by rust. I was able to grab any corner of the car and easily lift it off the jackstand without disturbing the other jackstand contacts.

Time to do a body alignment. I tried using the spec. body dimensions but the critical one that determines body sag (door frame opening) was not even close and if I had aligned to that measurement I would have had to INDUCE sag. Instead, I decided to wing it by aligning as best I could, using a combination of equalizing side to side measurements, leveling, door fitment and good old common sense. After a couple hours of putzing with it I think I've got it pretty good. The 4x4 posts you see under the long's took out about 3/4" of sag. The special lubricant on the roof is critical to a good job.

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Next weekend I hope to actually fix some of that rust. It'll feel good to actually see something going onto the car vs. coming off.

Can't wait to see this when it's complete. One day at a time... ; )

After 2 months of rust repair I think the end is in sight and not a minute too soon. As is usually the case, I found more rust as I went along. One of the trailing arm ears was cracked, the hellhole was much worse than I had figured and there "minor" rust-throughs throughout the floor and engine room.
With the thinking that I can do it better, I fabbed all my repair pieces from 16ga and beat and welded them into shape. It's amazing how agreeable this stuff is if you use a little forethought and finesse. The main advantage is that I could retain any structural strength that the old metal gave me, after the rusted and weakened metal was removed of course. Lapping new metal over the old would actually make it stronger than new metal alone. Also, by keeping as much as possible of the old metal in place, maintaining proper dimensions and squareness is much easier. On the negative side, I know I left some surface rust on the inside of some of the remaining metal. I tried to get as much as I could but Where I couldn't reach it I sprayed copious amounts of rust converter. Not the best solution but a fair trade-off in my opinion. Here's some pics...
RUSTORATION PURISTS MAY WISH TO AVERT THEIR GAZE.

Driver's long, hardest part about this is finding good solid metal to weld to and then getting the stinger in to weld it. I used plenty of plug welds. Getting 16ga to conform requires a lot of patience, really big C-clamps and a bit of imagination.
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Floor pan wasn't too bad except for this area that I cut out.
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The floor to bulkhead joints were solid so this was a good candidate for a lapping patch. The aluminum colored coating is Rust Bullet. That stuff is amazing but DO NOT get it on your hands. Also note the corner gussets. There was a small hole in the inner long that could have been covered with a small patch but I decided to wrap around the corner and weld it all to the floor for a bit of extra stiffening to the chassis. How much, I don't know but it can't hurt. I did the same thing with the trunk floor, flanged up a piece of 16ga, about 2" on each leg and welded it all the way across. Now that I'm pretty sure has added some stiffness, but alas, can't find the pics I took.
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Somewhere, I've got pics of the hellhole and suspension console repairs but can't find them so take my word for it, they're impressive. Next, and hopefully l;ast rust task is the front trunk. I've got a whole rust-free trunk bottom so that should be a pretty straightforward job (famous last words).
I can't wait to get this rust done so I can get on with the fun stuf. I'm slowly gathering parts to put my engine together. Ever try to find parts for a Rover 3.5 V8? Onward.

Tom

Looking good!