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First meeting with the car and discussing plans with the owner

Converting a 1972 Porsche 914 to a 914/6 GT – Part 1

A new project has arrived at The Metal Surgeon headquarters: a 1972 Porsche 914 conversion to a 914/6 GT race car.  First stop for the car was tear down at the owner’s late model German car repair shop in Colorado, then media blasting to remove the paint down to bare metal, for a clear evaluation on the body.  The car originally came from Arizona, so fingers crossed it spent most of its life there!

antique cars, automotive repair, automotive restoration, car body repair, classic cars, metal working, porsche, restoration, vintage cars
First meeting with the car and discussing plans with the owner

From the media blasters the car shell was delivered to us and here are the pictures after media blasting:

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The car is now dismantled and components bagged and labeled by the owner. Picture shows condition after media blasting.

After evaluation of the body, areas to repair  are as follows:

  • Passenger’s and driver’s side floors.  Remove and replace with new metal.
  • Trunk lid. Metal finish.
  • Hood/hood structure. Repair and metal finish.
  • Passenger door. Metal finish.
  • Medium damage to whole of drivers side.  Make front/rear quarter and graft in.  Save original door skin and metal finish.
  • Repair right-hand rear damage from previous accident.  Inner panel replacement and panel repair /metal finish.
  • Hood channel restoration.
  • Passenger foot well /cockpit repairs.
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Rear view of body and signs of previous accident damage.

Modifications to achieve the 914/6 GT conversion:

  • Remove original arches and graft in GT flares
  • Suspension /handling upgrades
  • Rocker panel modifications to flow into GT arches
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Decayed floors, a typical sight.

Reproduction Panels purchased from Restoration Design are as follows:

  • Four GT  metal arches,
  • Full floor halves,
  • Inner truck panel,
  • Left and right-hand 914 rocker panels.
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We offer up the GT arch to get a feel for the transition.
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Front quarter damage covered with filler ,along with ‘A’ post structural damage.
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Rear quarter panel damage causing bad door alignment and gapping.
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Left-hand door is heavily repaired with body filler, filler remains even after media blasting. After removing the filler we can evaluate the door skin for saleability.

We hope you enjoy the transformation of this awesome Porsche.

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