914 2.0 > 3.0 GT Conversion

[defianty]

Right let's get back on track, it’s been a while.

Rewinding back a few months you saw that I replaced the lefthand sail panel but didn't finish off that rear quarter. This was supposed to be the easy side, but it turned out to be a bit of a nightmare.

Here's where we were.


I took my door to a local metal fabricator and asked them if they could bend me a sheet of metal to the same profile. I would then be able to use that to fill in the hole on the rear quarter. Here's what they made for me.



It fitted perfectly.


Welded in and very happy with it.


I just had to weld on the flare and I'd be done with the last corner of the car. But when I stood back to look over my work I realised I'd made a big mistake.

[defianty]

If you saw my post a few months back you'll remember this.


I remember the bottom of the rear quarter got caught and bent on the axle stand. I thought I'd straightened it, but I obviously didn't do a very good job.

Here's a straight edge up against the bottom of the rear quarter. Yeah, that won't do.


Try as I might I just couldn't fix this, I made a section to replace the bent edge but then went and proceeded to totally mess it up welding it in place.



Frustrated I closed the garage door and left it for a while. Actually that while turned into a few weeks, but during that time I managed to source a used half rear quarter to replace what I'd messed up and I went on holiday.

[defianty]

On my return I felt relaxed, motivated and full of enthusiasm. That didn't last long though.

The replacement rear quarter panel had arrived and I intercepted it at the sorting office. Getting home I ripped the box open and lifted out the panel. I instantly knew something was wrong. An eighteen inch square piece of metal should not weigh anything near what this piece weighed.

I sprayed it liberally with paint stripper...


That's not metal


That's metal


Once all that s*&t was removed I ended up with this.


Not the prettiest of panels but most importantly rust free. All that filler was hiding just that dent on the bottom right and most of that I'd be cutting off to install the flare. For the first time since opening the box I was starting to think this may just work.

[defianty]

It was only now that I noticed something with my new sail panel I’d installed. The indentation for the door handle wasn’t quite the right shape. The more I looked at it the worse it got.



Here it is compared to the original on the replacement piece I got.



Now I know it’s not a million miles off but it’s off enough to warrant replacement. So I cut it out and used all of the used panel I could.



Already looking better




New support fabricated and welded in. Getting this the right shape and size was a little tricky but after measuring multiple times welding in this support made everything measure true to the other side.

[defianty]

And then finally time to install the last flare.




The arrow drawn on is a reminder to adjust the door gap slightly.

Finally back in one piece!


I’m so pleased to be at this stage now. It’s been way more of a job than I ever imagined. The ‘to do’ list before paint is now finally just a few small things.

[theorangeperil]

Great work Stephen. Inspirational!

[hot66]

Amazing work Stephen


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[jtparr]

Fantastic work Stephen...absolutely admire the perseverance ....that’s good looking welding and linishing to finish young man...

[911hillclimber]

Yes, perfect execution of sheet metalworking. Great to see.

Please; what MIG welder do you have?
Mine will not give such a controlled and consistent spot bead as yours, hence me asking.

[defianty]

Thanks again all. I appreciate the comments.

Yes, perfect execution of sheet metalworking. Great to see.

Please; what MIG welder do you have?
Mine will not give such a controlled and consistent spot bead as yours, hence me asking.

I use a R-Tech 180 (link below). After doing a lot of research I narrowed my choice down to a couple of machines. In the end I chose the R-Tech as I'd heard good things about their customer service and support. It's my first welder and I seem to be getting on well with it and it is very consistent.

https://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/mig-wel ... -i-mig180/

[sladey]

Great work Stephen. Thanks for sharing

[911hillclimber]

Thanks for the welder link.

[Gary71]

Really nice work as ever. Brave to take the panel back off, but the right decision.

Coincidentally I used an R-Tech 180 at the weekend doing the floor on an E46 and once I’d got the settings sorted it did a very nice job. Also really small compared to my Portamig.

[defianty]

Really nice work as ever. Brave to take the panel back off, but the right decision.

Coincidentally I used an R-Tech 180 at the weekend doing the floor on an E46 and once I’d got the settings sorted it did a very nice job. Also really small compared to my Portamig.

Thanks Gary. Good choice, as I said before, I've been really happy with mine.

[murph2309]

Just read all 16 pages straight through - what a build! Such quality workmanship. This is going to be a really lovely car. Have a hankering for a wide 914.... they're really cool...

Congratulations on everything so far.