DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

A very busy summer working meant I didn't get as much done as I'd have liked. I did however spend time finishing off a few bits and revisiting a few others. Not much really worth photographing hence the thread being rather quiet.

My original fuel tank wasn't in the best condition and I decided to replace it with one of the new Dansk reproductions. I'd already fitted one to 23eHeure's car and knew they looked and fitted well. Unfortunately the paint on mine replacement didn't even come close to being acceptable so I decided to give it a fresh coat of satin black.

Looks like it was painted with no preparation and with surface rust.





So I started to rub it down for fresh paint. At one point I turned around to grab some more sandpaper and behind me heard the tank falling off the table on to the floor





Great, new tank not looked worse that the old one!

There was no way of banging out the dents so the only choice was to fill them.



After lots of sanding and painting the end result was just about perfect.



Whilst fitting the tank I completed the fuel system...

Finishing off the interior...

I bought new door panels a couple of years ago with a big bundle of parts. I won't go into details here but I had a few issues with them and had to completely strip them down. modify and recover them. That was quite a frustrating weekend but the end result was worth it.



The last piece to finish off the interior was the back pad. It had been sitting in the loft was some time now and looked a lot worse than when I put it there



Under all that dirt I knew it was salvageable.

The main area of concern were the bottom corners, they had both suffered water damage. In fact one of the corners was missing.

Not exactly pretty.





For the missing corner I replaced it with cardboard and then fiberglassed over it for strength.



Typically when you're dealing with fibreglass you tend not to pick up anything like your camera as it'll stick to you fingers so I didn't manage any progress shots. But here's how it turned out.



Before I put it in the car I finished off the firewall access panel. This will probably come out again whilst the engine is installed.








Interior complete!

The next update, hopefully coming very soon will be a big one.

Engine install!

Maintaining a very high standard
Nicely done

Looks sharp Stephen, well done

It looks better than when new Stephen I'm sure! Congratulations

Awesome looking work (as usual!). The hardboard mouldings for my original back pad are in very bad shape. I bought another one which is better, but far from perfect. Putting one complete panel together with the best bits from both, I still have a couple of small parts have broken away at the lower corners. It's clearly been wet at the bottom, with some parts which should be flat having dried curved. I plan to try a penetrating epoxy that East Coast Fibreglass sell to stiffen up the damaged areas, and persuade the curved parts which should be flat to stay flat by clamping it between two flat things while the epoxy dries. If that works, hopefully I'll then be able to bond the broken away pieces back too, no doubt with fibreglass added too. Not a job I'm looking forward to!

Great work, very high standard, excellent to see a DIY approach too.

Just love that steering wheel!

After a couple of hours fighting with the rear trunk torsion bars it was time to start the engine install. To be honest I didn't really have the time and the plan was to get the engine as far in as I could ready to lift up and bolt in tomorrow afternoon.

However I only got this far when I realised I wasn't going to be able to lift the car high enough for the driveshafts to clear the carbs. So tomorrow, with a bit more time I'll drag it back out and remove the carbs and try again.

Hi Stephen

You will find it much easier with the nose up in the air too when it comes to lifting it in, so the car is almost level. I used to have mine set up at the same height as your rear end all round, and then for the purposes of getting the engine physically in;

1. Bungee the driveshafts up to the under body so they are clear but can still be moved
2. I made a low trolley using an old workshop under-car creeper. I took the mat off and replaced with a board so only about 2" high
3. Did a high 'temporary lift' of the rear off the stands (I made something up to do this with one jack)
4. Slid the trolley in slightly on an angle, to clear the tighter starter motor side first, then the other
5. Drop the car back to the stands and safety.

I know a bit more challenging with your car due to the level of perfection, but hope this helps.

Good to see 'the marriage' after all this time!

Good luck
Wayne

Thanks for the input Wayne.

I planned to lift the front too once I'd got the engine in a little further. I needed the extra height in the rear to clear the rear panel.

With the car at the height it is at the moment someone asked why I don't just take the driveshafts out and then put them back in after. I can't think why that isn't possible, is there any reason I can't do that? Seems easier than taking the carbs off should it come to that.

You could if not done up, but is not necessary. You will be able to get the back up again on the 'temp lift' I described. I jacked the light body using an adapted piece of timber under the bulkhead, forward of the engine. This means a small lift on the jack gets it really high.

For you car, I would maybe make some cradles to go round the rear trailing arm mounts to do the same. Definately no need to take the carbs off if you do this. However, come to think of it I usually took the carbs off to prevent the risk of breaking the manifolds if the engine slips on the way in.

So forget what I said, whip the carbs off

rhd racer wrote:
So forget what I said, whip the carbs off

I'll post an update in a couple of days when it's in. Cheers Wayne.

I haven't check this thread in a while and I must say your car looks amazing!
I really miss my 914

Loving your work Stephen. Hopefully might see it in the flesh at the 2021 Scottish DDK tour which Mike is organising

bjmullan wrote:Loving your work Stephen. Hopefully might see it in the flesh at the 2021 Scottish DDK tour which Mike is organising

You might see it before then.