Olympic Blue / Silver metallic 1972 US Import 1.7L

[LMR]

I would love to report a massive amount of progress over the weekend, and be somewhere near Steve and Darren, but I had a very slow one. Still beavoring away stopping parts out. Dashboard removal is a pretty tedious exercise.........

[Darren C]

Keep at it

Some days you can work all day and seemingly have nothing to show for it. Other days you can bolt something on in 10 minutes and it looks like major progress

[shandyhaggis]

If only all the space was mine.......

Me and a friend found the unit a couple of years ago. We couldn't afford it, but got others interested and split the space to enable it be sustainable long term. Having people around helps with motivation and access to a spare pair of hands. It also means we club together and buy stuff jointly. For example, our air compressor is much bigger than a hobby one - it can actually keep an air tool going.

Downside is, however much space you have, you always fill it

Never feel guilty about all that space and filling it with stuff. I always relate these urges to my wifes wardrobe, shoes and hand bag addiction. For me a bloke needs workshoes and non workshoes, walking boots and garage boots. Anything else is too complex when it comes to getting dressed. My wife seems to be able to make an art out of flaunting these simple laws of nature.

On the flips side she simply doesn't understand why I need to keep stuff that I 'might' need at some point in the future. Ive decided to tackle the problem head on and build her a garden shed as big as I can get it so I put her garden related 'tat' in there freeing my garage to be a 'more focussed' workshop and somewhere I can mess up if I feel like it. Thats the plan anyway Ill have more space and Ill activity go out of my way to fill it with stuff!

One thing for sure though is that we are both a million miles away from some of the chaps visited by Henry Cole on Shed and Buried. Now theyve taken the concept of shed filling to a whole new level...and Im quite envious:-)

Love the Beemer by the way, like that a lot

Andrew

[LMR]

Thank heavens for forum members! An eBay purchase during the week led me to meet Green Ernie yesterday (thanks for the delivery!). Today, fellow 914 owner Chief popped over. Together with him and another mate, we went from this;



to this



I think the process of fuel tank removal has been covered plenty of times before, so I won't repeat it. As expected, the fuel pipes were pretty rubbish, whilst I was cutting one of them, it snapped in my hand.

As with the rest of the car, the condition of the hidden metal was pretty excellent. There are no holes to deal with, just some paint to sort.

The fuel tank itself is in pretty excellent condition - it will need cleaning and painting, but no holes to repair. I do have one question. Inside the tank the outlet appear to have a gauze filter on it. Can this be replaced or do I just need to clean it?



I have also taken the demister fan out. The plastic above it has a little bit of overspray (!) which I need to address. I can feel a session with the brasso coming!

[Darren C]

Great progress

If you undo the pipe union beneath the tank, the filter/strainer should pull out attached to the short metal pipe. I soaked mine in cellulose thinners to soften the sludge, then brushed it off with a soft bristle paintbrush.(pictures near the start of my thread at the end of January) If the mesh is damaged you can still buy it.

[LMR]

Thank you Darren - as ever, your advice is both spot on and very much appreciated

[LMR]

Gentle day today, cleaning and fettling sub assemblies. I had a quick root around in the boot and found the other speaker cover. Before cleaning, with plenty of sand.......



And after cleaning



The condition of these are pretty good, with only one grill cracked. I will also need to replace a couple of the threaded inserts at the rear, but pretty minor effort compared to other parts of the car.

I have also been cleaning out the various fans. I want to test these before reassembly. Before I dive into the wiring diagrams, can I connect these up to a battery and see if they work? If so, which wire where? I am not the greatest fan of vehicle electrics.............

[LMR]

I have managed to squeeze in a couple of days off work this week. NEC show tomorrow, and a workshop day today

I am still working towards getting the car onto a rotisserie. Today has been about removing more parts. Seat belts, trim, rear window and other bits removed. I was particularly please with the condition of the soundproofing within the cabin. It may not show in the photo, but it is in excellent condition, with no rips or tears.



The fluid marks are from penetrating fluid used to release the seat belts - which were very tight

I was even happier to get it out in one piece, and find only minor surface rust on the bulkhead



The photo seems to make some of the glue look like rust - it is far better than it appears.

I also removed the rear lights today. It's fair to say there is some overspray to address - I can feel a session with a tin of brasso coming on......

[LMR]

Lots done this weekend, but few photos to back it up!

On my previous restoration I worked hard to get the car to paint and sorted components for refitting as they were going back onto the car. with the 914, I am being more patient and refurbing items as I go. I have been cleaning the contact adhesive off the back of the rubber pad which sits on the bulkhead. Very dull and tedious but will make refitting far easier. I have also been tidying up the rear surfaces of the interior trim. some of the panels have metal backing - I have tidied these us and given them a coat of paint.

The brasso has been getting some action cleaning up the rear lights.

Rear window removed, cleaning, wrapped with bubble wrap and pipe lagging, and placed on an inaccessible shelf - finger crossed it survives..................



I went to the Classic Car Show at the NEC on Friday. I have bought a pair of these for when the car gets onto the rotisserie. I thought I should trial fit them.

[jackstowers]

The braces look good Phil, good to meet you last night. Wise move to not go 'out out' !!

[LMR]

So, I meet up with a few of you from DDK and go quiet for three weeks..........

One of my other vehicles has been distracting me. I have spent the last few days lying on my back with various power tools doing some repairs on my motorhome sills. I have viewed it as practice for my 914 bodywork.

But I have been accumulating parts. Some bits arrived from the USA, but I am very happy to have bought these;



Now, if only another member on this forum could give a step by step guide on how to get these polished

[Green Ernie]

Hi Phil, nice "Baby Fuchs". I'm looking for one to use as the spare to match my set if you know of one for sale.

Regards

Matt

[Darren C]

Now, if only another member on this forum could give a step by step guide on how to get these polished

Yeah, I wish someone would, I'm having to make it up as I go along.

[LMR]

So, the other vehicles are sorted for a bit, so, Christmas parties aside, my '14 is getting some attention. I had started removing the dashboard a while ago. Whilst not a complicated task in itself, I had got stuck with removing the bezel off the light switch. I am guessing it hadn't moved for over 40 years. Penetrating fluids didn't help, and various tools wouldn't shift it. I ended up drilling 2 small holes and using circlip pliers to remove it - which was very tight.



And with a few other bits disconnected, I now have the dashboard out



There are a few bits to address before the dash goes back in

[Darren C]

Looks like you've made great progress

Does your dashes overspray colour match the car's or is it completely different?