Olympic Blue / Silver metallic 1972 US Import 1.7L

[LMR]

And the wheels - borrowed from Chief!

[LMR]

I was away with work for a few days last week. Getting back to a painted car was such a joy.

My bodywork skills are pretty limited. I can do rust removal, cutting, grinding etc, but for the clever stuff like welding, fabricating panels and paintwork I leave it to the experts. I am incredibly lucky in that the best expert I know is only a few yards away from me in the workshop. As you will have seen in other parts of the thread, Mark has done welding, body repairs, and all of the paint. I cannot recommend him highly enough.

The fit and finish of my car is superb. The bodywork hasn't been completely without its challenges. I sent a number of panels to a well know specialist for paint stripping. I am not sure they treated my panels brilliantly, as they came back with several links in them which I doubt were hiding under the paint. There was also some adhesion issues with the protective epoxy layer on one of the doors. This had to be stripped back to bare metal again. I am not sure I would use such a process again, although I think it is the only way to ensure there is no rust lurking under old paint.

I have put a coat of wax on the paint. I just need to get around to start fitting all the parts back on - I am terrified of touching the paint or scratching it at the minute but that will soon pass

[LMR]

Lots of time in the workshop today but little progress as I spent most of the morning chatting

There was an impromptu meeting of West Midland 914 owners. Three Two, Green Ernie, Canarydelia, and Chief all visited. Not sure what the collective term for a group of 914 owners is.......



sorry that my BMW is spoiling an otherwise interesting photo.

[LMR]

Some progress today, dynamite fitted inside doors and against bulkhead



I feel it was well worth the effort, the doors now close with a very satisfying clunk

[Green Ernie]

Some progress today, dynamite fitted inside doors and against bulkhead



I feel it was well worth the effort, the doors now close with a very satisfying clunk

You do like a satisfying door clunk don't you
BTW I left my bag of bits there in all the excitement. I'll pick them up when I have the Boxster serviced at Zuffenhaus.

[LMR]

Yesterday I used a lot of shoe leather at the NEC. Today I took my car on a journey. Okay, so I haven't secretly finished the car (I don't work at the same rate as Darren C!). A workshop became free on the estate where I have been based for a while, and whilst I it is costing more cash, I am gaining some additional space, which will enable me to work on more than one of my fleet at anyone time. I know that could be counter productive but I will try and persevere.

So, as I am sure few people read the words, here are a couple of photos

Thanks to Gavin and Paul for pushing the car



In its new home



It is amazing how much stuff (some say junk) that one accumulates. I am aiming to complete the move over the next couple of weeks, by which time I am hoping that a number of parts I have ordered will have arrived. The photo below is a small sample of what I need to sort.

[Darren C]

Car looked superb this weekend, congrats on the work so far and the new move. You should have it finished by the weekend

[chief]

DEFINATELY swing a cat in there our Phil!

[LMR]

Moving workshop has taken a bit longer than I thought (doesn't it always....!), and I definitely own too much stuff. following on from the last pics, it certainly got more messy before it got tidy.



Now with everything roughly in place (including Chief's Amber Alert - his 914 is taking over his workspace)



I am still waiting for a parts delivery, which I am hoping will be tomorrow. In anticipation, I have had one of my periodic work bench tidy up sessions - it stays like this for 15 mins.



I will be staying busy - workshop temps are pretty cold at the minute.



So its a good job I did some cold weather training last weekend

[Darren C]

A place for everything & everything in it's place

See you got the car back from Zuffenhaus after its restoration

[LMR]

I am not sure who was more annoyed about that piece of fake news, me for the lack of recognition of the efforts I put in, or Zuffenhaus for the potential to have to make provision for the cars and coffee mornings that they don't run

Another box of parts arrived today. I will have to start fitting some of them soon. Roll on the weekend

[chief]

Progress, progress and progress!
Looking good Phil. Especially attractive Cayman there sunshine!
I'll be down Saturday.

[LMR]

Some progress this weekend, but a frustrating one. On the upside, I arrived at the workshop with a car full of parts.



On the downside, said car decided it was not getting enough attention and spat its dummy by its window falling off its regulator

Chief turned up and helped my try and fix the regulator - we nearly did so but eventually decided to order a new one.

The steel wheels have been blasted, powder coated and new tyres fitted - and look great



Stacking the new tyres next to some modern Porsche wheels shows how much tyres have grown over the years.



I have put another set of parts through a cleaning and plating process.

Before



After



Finally, the big box is full of goodies



I have bitten the bullet and bought the 914 rubber restoration kit. Not everything has arrived as some items are on back order, but I should be able to get on with something - once my BMW is sorted.

[LMR]

The metal underside of the dashboard has different fittings either side.

The left side has a stud



The right side has a bracket which I am fairly sure did not leave the factory in this shape, and has a nut and bolt



I assume they should both be studs? Removal was a pain, and I can't imagine reassembly will be easy. Am I wrong?

[Darren C]

Straighten bracket
Clean up
fit new bolt (correct length)
Tack weld the bolt head to stop it spinning

Most importantly

Do a dry run on the fitting the dash panel while your screen & blower box (etc) is out and before anythings trimmed, just to make sure the straightened bracket is in the right position/angle.