Restoring my first 914

[glovebox]

It may have been said before, but I now realise why Darren has taken so long over this project (ahem).

What you need sir is a couple more LED lights that you can switch on after the first one loses charge. That way you you can work through the night.

That's brilliant!!! )))))))

[Darren C]

I have two LED lights already and they can't keep up with me.

Today I continued to stone guard the front arches. I finished off up inside the shock towers and moved on to the rear of the wings down the back of the door hinge post and up and over the inside of the wheel arches to the front valance on both sides. This took quite a while to work it into every corner and around the panel seams. It’s a bit like decorating a room, do all the fiddly cutting in then paint the bulk of the walls after with a roller. Just need to do the roller bit now. Last night (and tonight hopefully) it was mild so still good for painting. Its supposed to get colder overnight next week, so I need to get a move on this weekend!

[911hillclimber]

I do hope you get these blessed arches done this weekend.

Every time I read about it the old song 'Underneath-the-Arches...' keeps going round my head!

Work harder!! Get more LED's, get a bigger roller!

[Darren C]

I'll have to dig out my old wind up Gramophone from the trunk of one of my old cars and dust off the Flannigan & Allen 78 for you

Today was a good day as far as progress goes. I finished painting the front suspension in a Saturday paintathon moving from side to side, front to back, inside, outside upside down and back again. I feel like I've had a real workout today!
More of the same tomorrow with the stoneguard and I might just get this bit done before the weather breaks.

[nrc914]

Well. Done Darren, keep at it. I was beginning to wonder whether you were going to post tonight but wasn't disappointed!

Cheers

[911hillclimber]

Many say a good day in the garden is a good DIY keep fit session, few know that a day on a classic is its equal..

It was 11 deg all day yesterday at Silverstone, today might be your last good paint day now.

[Darren C]

Yes, it was really mild today and the sun came out for a good part of it which heats up the garage roof and acts like a mini radiator.
This morning I got up early and started to clean all the bolts and washers in my shed that hold the suspension to the car with my detail wire brushes. They were surprisingly good condition beneath the old underseal. Most of the original BZP was intact and after an hour they were all clean. I then gave the underside of the car another coat of stoneguard just where the suspension fits before my son came over for an 8:30 driving lesson.
After which we flatted the remaining half of the Morris bonnet, rubbing pasted and T cut it back to a glass shine before a couple of coats of wax. After cooking a large fry-up brunch, my son left for his part time job, and I continued on the 914.
I undersealed for a couple hours and with sidelights removed I finished painting the inside of the wings and around all the fiddly bits before filling in the remainder.
Coming up for air with all the paint fumes making me a bit heady I made a quick cuppa got some fresh air and returned to fit the suspension back up onto the car.







I need to let the paint harden a few days now. They’re a few spots I’m not happy with on the suspension, but the paints too soft at the moment to address them. I’ll see how the weather pans out this week and get back to them; now I’ve got the thankless task of the floor pan next!

[Darren C]

Today was a long day.

I got up early and wet and dried the suspension and shocks. I wasn’t happy with the finish. There were a few tiny paint sags and a few tiny bits of dust in the paint that ended up being foam from my new roller stuck in the paint!
I got picked up this morning and taken to work early because I needed to get ahead as this afternoon I was back in hospital for more tests.
This evening I had to catch the train back home from the city and got home later than normal.
I did manage however to get a fresh coat of paint on the areas of the suspension that were displeasing me this evening with foam shedding free roller.
There were a few scary moments in the torchlight this evening as a massive eight legged friend scampered across the garage floor towards me as I lay under the car. I did scramble out in a flash but now I don’t quite know where it went?

[Darren C]

Today I telephoned the wheel refurbishers who are bead blasting the rear of the wheels to see how they are getting on as I haven’t heard anything for 3 weeks.
Unfortunately they haven’t even started them yet!
They've promised to take a look this week. A bit frustrating though as I was hoping to get them back and off to be electroplating stripped this week. Hey ho, just have to wait a little longer.
I also called Vintage Tyres at Beaulieu where I have 5 new tyres reserved. It’s been a little longer than I anticipated having them reserved so to be fair I’ve paid today and should have them this week. They've found me some brand new 165 SR 15 Michelin XZX’s, which I’m pleased to have as they are the same as the originals the car came to me with and the paperwork in the history file shows were purchased by the PO way back in the early 1980’s.
This evening I fitted the Torsion bar adjusting screws that I’d removed and cleaned up then began to start the deep clean of the floor pan. I began with covering the garage floor with lots of old newspapers and with a bucket of hot soapy water and scrubbing brushes I cleaned the drivers side floorpan up to the centre line from the steering rack back to the rear bulkhead. It’s not easy working upside down with water! With a little patience I got most of the mud sand and dirt off. Unfortunately most of it ran down my sleeve and I now have muddy elbows!
Tomorrow the passenger side.

[Darren C]

The 5 new Michelin tyres arrived this afternoon at work. Looking really nice, but I had to move them out the office as the ladies didn’t like the smell of the rubber…
Suffice to say there were a few jokes going around this afternoon.

This evening more of the same I’m afraid. Scrub, scrub and more scrubbing under the floor pan. At least with it raining this afternoon I was already wet before I started so it didn’t matter at all having more water run up my sleeves.
Hope to have the floor cleaned for painting this weekend.

[Jonny Hart]

I really like your restore and refresh approach rather than buying new parts. This thread will be a great reference and inspiration for others. Can't wait to see the finished article!

[Darren C]

Thanks Jonny,
It’s a balance of new v refurbished. I’ve bought my fair share of new parts, but mostly mechanical/safety items that you shouldn’t fudge, and perishables like rubber seals, the rest of the stuff is 9 times out of 10 salvageable.

Today I took a look at the 1st “trial” light bead blast of the rear of the wheels



I’m going to replate them with the clear anodise like they were originally, but the rear of the wheels needed a good clean up to prepare them for the process. Painting the rear or powder coating would be the easy option to “hide” corrosion, but my OCD wouldn’t let me live with a compromise here.
The result looks pretty good and I’m happy to let them do the remaining 4 rears of the other wheels. (the front face has been heavily masked up to stop the bead blasting getting anywhere near the polished surface).
This evening after work I continued with the floor pan scrub and finally tonight I have all the mud, sand and dirt off it.
Tomorrow its scrapers and wire brushes to remove any small areas of flaky underseal.
(Really looking forward to that)

[Darren C]

This morning before work I started by painting the front brake discs that I purchased from Pelican parts so that they are ready to assemble this weekend. Using the same very high temperature paint as I used on the rears, I painted the hub section and the outer diameter edge of the discs and left them to dry.
This evening I scraped off a few area’s of loose underseal and carried out some local texture repairs (as I did under the arches) to replicate the missing underseal so that it will dry overnight for a full re-coat tomorrow.
Wanting to progress further I retired to my shed and de-greased the front hub bearing caps, carefully removed the rubber grease seals and sanded the caps carefully before applying new satin black paint to finish them like new.
I cut a small piece of wood and made a nice tiny shelf to fit on top of my kitchen radiator and sat the bearing caps on it to keep them warm overnight so the paint doesn’t bloom in the cold night air.
It was a late start this evening afterwork, with food shop (using a friend as a taxi) and weekly washing chores, so after painting the caps it was gone 9:30pm so I called it a night as I needed to cook some dinner.

[Darren C]

Today I made very good progress with repainting the floorpan.
I started this morning and with a combination of brushes of varying sizes and a sponge roller I painted the whole of the floorpan from the steering rack right back to the rear bulkhead and suspension.
It was a bit like painting a concrete block wall for the first time. In the end I gave up with the roller and used brushes. Due to the very textured underseal it took a lot of effort to work the new paint into the texture. Especially difficult were the circular areas and sides closest to the sills where the seam sealer is the heaviest stipple texture.
Again all this working upside down was a messy job with the runny stoneguard.
By mid afternoon I’d completed the floorpan. The stoneguard dries quite quickly and the front of the car was dry by the time I reached the back. I could then see some areas/spots that I’d missed so spent another hour filling in.
Tomorrow I plan a second coat and some photos

[Darren C]

With the clocks going back this morning I made use of the light hour and started early to assemble the front hubs. It was too cold first thing to paint so I started by fitting my new bearings into the Pelican Parts discs that I’d painted the other day.
I then re fitted the recently blasted and powder coated disc backing plates to the hubs followed by the discs.
I cleaned the paintshop dust from the brake callipers and refitted them next with new bolts and tab washers.
Finally the brake hoses were connected just in time for my son coming over to visit. While the morning air lost its chill, my son and I bled the brakes.





Afterwards we cleaned up and went into town, as I’d promised him some new clothes and a haircut.
Arriving back home early afternoon, the sun was out and the temperature into double figures. It was warm enough to give the floorpan a second coat of stoneguard.





I’m quite pleased with the result. Just need to get the wheels back now and I can move the axle stands and fit my blasted and powdercoated steering rack undertray.