were those lower gaps/holes covered with bondo and sealer or did you already start to cut away bad metal ?

Ferg

No they were covered by that light blue metal piece.. It had about 6 tack welds holding it in...un painted metal behind there rusting away... Im gonna make up some new metal, to fill in the gaps.

Getting it sorted out
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Keep the comments coming
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Welded up a couple of bondo spots that had nothing under them other than fiber tape!!! and also was very glad the PO did not weld up ther fender to cowl joint like he said, he must have meant cold weld like jb weld wonder why it cracked back out? Oh well I got it ground back out and now I heve to take out all the filler around it.
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Oh man, every time you post another picture, it just makes me cringe ...
Andy

Also major progress.. We got the passenger inner fender and all supports straight and welded back in this represents at least 15-20 man hours of repair.
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Well we got the front slope nose back into shape the PO had told me that another person did one side he did the other. Hmm Well I can guess which side he did the drivers side had been barley spot welded not primed just bare metal on the underside as you can see in the first few pictures of this original post. So I wheeled it all down. re welded it, then I shaped the metal because he had over 1/2 " of bondo making the shape. then it wasent seam sealed or anything so water got up ther and had cracked the filler I made 3 template of the curve on the other side. so I could transfer the shape over the the driver fender. It worked out great and there is only a light skim coat of filler now.. Paint will be in my furure soon I spent at least 8 hours on this fender today. most of that was with the body hammers and dolly.... glad thats done
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Well with those holes, you should just turn it into a v8 car and add a radiator.

Great Work!

The guy that sold you that car should have his name and location posted so no one else will ever do any transactions with him ever again. Forever, forever and ever. He knew the only way was to sell it before the repairs started to shrink and rerust. I don't care if it was only 2500.00 or 500.00, the deal is he wasn't truthful about the cars original shape before the repairs were attempted. The fact that there were no decent repairs is a subjective thing as to the knowledge of the seller and buyer and their knowledge of real unitized body repair. A unknowing owner can even pay for a "bodyshop" repair and still get marginal work done if the shop is not educated on real quality repairs in unibody construction and metal prep for a long lasting repair with good metal prep. and sealing processes. Once rust is boxed in it's there till it comes back for the next repair. When metal is welded the weld is always going to rust on the inside unless there is a way to clean the weld and coat it with a galvanizing or at least a good epoxy primer. At the very least the cavity should be sprayed with a wax. Thats mainly why the panels are spotwelded so as to not burn the metal so bad and make it so brittle and rust prone on the inside where it is hard to prep. If a panel thats welded to wasn't rusty it will be after it's welded over or too. Condensation happens under any condition in a unibody car unless it's never taken outside of a controlled very dry enviorment.

None the less you are saving your car for awhile to enjoy and be proud of your accomplishment.

Oh yeah, plastic fuel lines never oxidize and are the lightest thing to use and don't rattle.

Lots of progress ... Well I tore into the passenger side slope nose. I was tempted to leave it alone because there was no cracks, but if you look at the first few posts it was screwed together no welds!.. but I knew that it needed to be cut out and new welded in... so here is the carnage... man it looked grafic with that big hole there. I got a little discouraged, as it felt like a huge step backwards, but I knew I needed to just get to it and get it done. So I did just that and started got it apart and ground down in 1 night then yesterday I got some metal because I didnt have and big enough, and got to cutting and got it welded up last night.. .. now just some more shaping like the other side and it will be good.. my buddy spent some intimate time in the engine bay and front trunk area. it lloks like someone started to paint her red at some point only in the front trunk area.. Im going back to the beetle yellow it was when I got it it just looked right on it so I'm going with my gut and keeping it ... I also got to blocking the drivers side and the door and fender looks pretty good, so that is good news. I guess if you have been following this thread the PO was not really truthful about the car. It Was purchased off a member on here 1bad914 he is in battle creek Michigan. I have alot of mixed thoughts about how this played out. but I have given him at least a few chances to redeem himself. including Pm message, and he was reading the thread about the oil pump that he said was in the car but was not. I asked many questions over the phone like had the fuel lines been replaced, and he said yes but they clearly had not. the listing said HD oil pump but it was stock.. and of course the rust, he clearly said the hell hole had been treated but solid, as you can see from the pictures it defiantly was not. along with the por 15 being used to cover up major rust holes. and the motor mount that I cant believe was actually holding the moter Which is what stared this whole thing.. there is almost always fault on both sides.But I also blame myself for just taking his word, I spent no time looking at the car as I promised and commited over the phone. since we were both driving to meet in the middle. it ran and looked pretty decent but it was hiding alot of dark secrets. Man he was th bondo shaping master I have it give him that But I'm one of those guys that says there is no time machine, you cant go back in time, I have the car, just fix it.. At least now I have almost touched every bolt and almost every inch of metal, so I now know it is going to be around a long time.. and I have almost enjoyed it to some degree. Yeah it sucks finding out you have a ton of work, and $ ahead of you that you had not planned on, But I feel that probably most of us share a certain "love" for these cars. I always wanted one since I was a boy, now I know I will have a good one.. Any was I have been asked many many time about it, so now that that is out of the way I need to get to work on her..
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Kudos to you Wayne for showing such a good attitude and fixing everything right. The PO really dumped some crap on you, but you are turning it around. Awesome example!

Judging from his username, he knew exactly what he had ...


He didn't weld the top of the shaved fender ???

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Yeah he said it was welded but.... He must have meant J-B weld It came out with a drywall bit in a roto-zip. Yeah it was a "bad914" I just have to laugh it off now

I feel for ya man.your a better man then me cause i would have stuffed it up his ass piece by rusty piece..keep up the good work and you`ll be cruz`n in no time

Wow we have been putting in the hours on the 914. Well I got the passanger fender hammered into shape using my templates from earlier and it came out awesome just a light skim coat to even out the tiny hammer dimples and it will be good.. Shaping that metal takes forever, especially since I'm fairly new at it, but I'm so pleased with how it came out, (I'm pleased at how both of them came out I just had to start from scratch on this side so it was more involved)... I threw in a picture of when I was grinding out some of the old bondo to show how thick the PO had it in spots... then we started to tackle what is hopefully the last of the rust I hope... I had noticed a while ago there was some expanding foam under the sill extension metal on the drivers side up real high the other night, which I thought was odd, so I started scrapping it away and guess what, it was there to hold in the bondo under the sill plate there were rust holes where the outer screws hold on the threshold plate. and a larger hole in the front from who knows what.. I had looked at the longs before and knew they were solid but I hadnt laid down with the car high enough on stands to see this... Not a huge deal as the sill plate covers everything so it doesnt have to look pretty just need to be structural. (And there was zero rust on the actual long)... What I dont understand why would you go the the trouble and time of putting filler in this rust holes and not fixing it right, when its going to under the sill plate it probably only took 2 hours to cut out the bad make up some metal weld it in and grind it down. I know it took longer than that to put in filler sand it down and make it paint worthy, because again the bondo looked decent, Who knows. I just think its funny.. So now thats done the screws will have something to thread into now, imagine that. also my buddy drew the short end of the stick since my ankle was killing me and he wire wheeled every inner fender getting all the grime and grease, and non sticking paint behind there removed, so now the inner fenders and under fenders are getting pretty close to being paint worthy . well here are some pics .. keep the comments coming they keep me motivated.
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Some of the PO handy work the cars gonna be alot lighter without all that filler Click to view attachment

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The start of the sill plate mess

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This is grafic He though to himself that should hold it, Wrong Click to view attachment

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New metal
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Its looking great Wayne! The slope nose is really starting to grow on me. I don't know if its enough to cut the fender tops on one of my cars, but it really does look nice.

Good attitude too; if only more people thought that way. At least you're getting some good welding practice.

Sheeesh.... What a mess. Great work cleaning it up! Just get in there and get it done. Nice work.

Got the drivers side all blocked out!
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Here is a pic of the newly stripped front trunk
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Well me and my buddy have still been putting int the hours on the car but man the body work and paint prep has been taking forever, every time I think I got it whipped I find another spot. either a small pin hole in some filler or some faint scratch in the old paint or a chip in the old paint,,,, it been a couple of years since I have done any paint and body work (although I used to do quite a bit) and man its been taking longer. but the end is near although it doesnt look much different here is a pic ..
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Good job. I'm going through some rustoration myself and it seems to take forever to do one little thing. You are doing some fine work.

Alot more progress, I finally finished the paint, I ran into some problems since it had been a while since I had done some paint work, Thanks to Rick 918-s, he actually called me over Christmas and helped me out with a problem, talk about going out of your way... Thanks again. The paint came out really nice, I have a couple of spots to buff out but nothing major, The biggest is a condensation drip from my respirator,,, but it will sand and buff out nice< I already got excited and did a quick spot on the hood. Also big news (but no pics sorry) the engine case is back together, the cylinders and heads are also on and the rocker arms are in place, but not adjusted, and I need to finish up the tin and get it painted I think I'm going red.. now I need to do a inventory on the rubber seals I need since the PO did replace some and get them ordered from mike, and I need the carpet, who is good to use for that? here is some pics...
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Try 914ap.com for your carpet and interior needs. I love the yellow!

I'm really happy with how the paint is coming out, Man I forgot how time consuming it is to buff out paint, especially a single stage, it is so hard to photo the shine but this is the best I can come up with.


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Wow, you've been busy, great work! If I was there I'd buy you a Bells!

Ferg

Looks like your on top of it now!

Looking good! I wish I could do paint and body work like that!

Paint looks great! keep up the good work!

Engine is almost totally together couple of teaser shots, The engine tin came out decent but not perfect, so I did a slight texture using paint blobs like old splatter paint , then a nice coat , it hid most of the surface imperfections.

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Progress has been SLOW.... the engine is in I made a mistake , I had looked at the carbs and could tell that indeed they had been recently rebuilt, by the new rubber around the accel pump and other clean things, so I assumed they were fine... well I guess from sitting the got crap in them, So we took them back off and tore them down, and I got the rebuild kits. my buddy did the tank treatment at his work and they cleaned up nice ... Then we were putting them back together last night and the accel pump spring looked funn and there was a weak spot in 1 of them so now more waiting on parts Anybody else find this the most frustrating part of owning a 914???? it is driving me crazy.... so anyway I have done a few other things like reassemble the doors with the glass and paint the floorboards, assemble the headlights completely. install door strikers , worked on refinishing the tail lenses.. and generally putting the car back together and sorting out which rubber pieces I need. Here are a couple pics to keep me going ....

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Almost forgot I got the bumpers on!! here is my tail lens, I sanded it and heve cleared it about 5 times. It looks pretty good. I just didnt want to spend the $ for new ones. And the freshly cleaned and rebuilt carbs

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Also I got the parking brake installed and working!!The PO had just removed the metal guide, due to rust and had taken out all the parts, I used the handle and cable from my parts car, and made the guide piece,,, I am so happy with how my metal skill have come along during this project,, In the beginning I would have tried to source a used piece , trying to hunt it down and going to great lengths to get it and then waiting for it to arrive... now it wasn't much for me to fab this up in about 20 minutes or so... And it turned out great,,, I had to wait to paint it just to show you guys... I know its a small piece , but it was curve and was a little challange,,,this and my engine shelf pieces and the new slope nose pieces that I made have came out great. in the beginning I would have never attempted to make any of this.

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ton of work ...nice job .....rubber buggy bumpers look like there on the wrong side

Keep it up! Looks like someone took you for a ride. You are the bigger man for not slammin the guy and puttin his name here.

Now all you need to learn is how to drill holes and spot-weld your pieces and how to use a grinder afterward to make them welds look nice.

Andy

There is always that I thought about it after the fact.... my next rusty replacement e brake guide plate,,, deal....

Did I understand you correctly? You sanded and then cleared the rear lenses? I never thought of that one. Did you just doo the outer side?

Yeah there was a crack in mine So I used the hobby version of super glue,, its called "Zap a gap" you can use a spray accelerator, so it cures instantly,,, then a quick sanding, to flaten out the glue,,,, (600 wet ) Then I smeared red nail polish in the crack to give it some color... then I sprayed some clear in the cap and smeared it in the crack to build it up.... let it dry... then did a meduim coat of clear,,, let dry sand and repeat till it comes out the way you want,, took me about 5 coats... I used Krylon Fusion clear it dries to touch in 15 minutes, and I cheated and put it in our ovens warming drawer to dry it quicker, but dont tell the wife I was baking a tail light lens in the oven.... I figured I only had $6 and some time to loose. But even up close I can hardly tell on the car you will never know...

Still making small progress, I got almost all the wiring cleaned up, all lights work horn works eliminated the mess the po made under the pass seat, ran the wires for the oil pressure and oil temp.. then we have been polishing all the trim on the car,.. it is coming out great I had done the triangle windows before, we got the windshield trim done and got it put on , what a difference....

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The rear targa trim polished also

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Then the new mod... I realised I have no front parking lights and turn signals up front because of the slope nose. So I took the fog lights apart and added 2 sets of led lights, a small set in the middle for parking lights, then a flexible strip around the ring of the light for the turn signals.. they are bright and because of the reflective piece in the light they can be seen off angle as well. I'm pumped they came out so well. and now I'm legal. What do you guys think? I got the the headlights totally finished also and the rear glass mounted

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Your car is looking good man.

I like your turn signal lights idea.

John