My posts have been quiet lately, but not because I haven’t been busy on the project. The challenge is that I have some more difficult things to fabricate and make work. I finished up getting the inner console installed, which included fabricating the sheet metal sleeve, welding that in, placing the console in the right place using my jig I made early in the project and doing some fairly complicated welding. Then I started to finish up the fabrication of my tube carrier for the big battery wires that will run on the inside of the inner longitude. I have to fabricate up the ties for the suspension and these tie together the bottom on the suspension consoles so that they are tied together for strength.

I finished up positioning my outer wheel-house and having it sit there taunting me for two days was too much for me, so tonight I welded it in. It went in fine, I then added an overlap with the chassis stiffening kit which I have installed rear-ward and finished. I blew a small hole around one of the stupid spot welds I drilled out, so I need to patch that before I am completed. It is really nice to be over this hump!

I am ready to do some “critical” positioning and welding. I had to recover the outer trailing arm console as everything around it was rusted, yet once I got it cleaned up, it was in pretty good shape and had a little rust on the inside. I treated that, put POR-15 on that and then welded on a new top part so I could attach the top as the removal of the spot welds weakened the metal. Note to self/others, if you have to recover this part, I would cut it out and then grind down the metal to preserve the ability to put your own plug-weld holes in later.

In order to make sure the part goes in correctly, you need to make sure the part gets back on the car in the same place. I could have saved myself some hassle in making a full jig for the placement of the part, but I did have the sense to measure and triangulate everything to record the placement. The following measurements were taken and validated to put the holes right back where they need to be…

• Front center of the outer console bolt hole – Exact to intact measurement 138.5 cm
• Front center of the outer console bolt hole leveled and measured off the firewall, even and exact
• Template over the wheel well to position outside of outer console seam
• Triangulated measurement from middle of firewall to side, outside to the center of the outer console bolt hole
• Pitch of bolt heads for 2 angles on outer console

I now have the part positioned and ready to weld in. A few more days to contemplate and ask the 914 World forum their opinions and feedback. Then we are all done in the outside rear repair. Onto the rocker and jacking post. That is the boy helping weld his first metal parts!