Grassroots Motorsports

The tough part is done May 4, 2001

The metal work is now complete on our 914. On the one hand, the tough part is over, on the other hand, the boring messy stage of sanding, priming and painting has begun. Even before the addition of any seam sealer (that magic substance that hides imperfect work) we are very pleased with our results, especially since we did it all ourselves.

Everything is straight, professionally repaired and should last the life of the car. Our resident body repair expert, Tom Prescott, owner of the Body Werks, in Holly Hill Florida, came over to our shop, inspected our metal work and made it clear that if this magazine publishing job doesn't work out, we've got a good shot at a career in car restoration (God forbid!).

After much discussion we have decided to now completely disassemble the 914 (it still is a roller) flip it on its side and paint the bottom first. Then we will paint the front and the rear trunks and the engine compartment. Then, and only then will we take the car to Body Werks and let them finish the final block sanding, minor dent filling priming and painting of the exterior of the car.

We have decided that we can paint the chassis, trunk and engine compartment out doors or in our shop as long as we gain enough ventilation. This "spot" type painting is fairly easy, but a show quality exterior paint job is best left to professionals with a top quality spray booth.

With the body work about finished, our attention is turning to mechanical things once again. We have completely pulled all four corners off the car and will begin the suspension, steering and brakes restoration and upgrading soon.

In the mean time, after our annual foray to the Import Carlisle show, we plan on hooking up with noted 914 guru and Pennsylvania resident, Gary Wigglesworth, who has agreed to show us how to go through the Porsche 901 gear box.

With the transmission rebuilt, we will mate it to our already finished engine and head this old Porsche back to the street.

Stories on this project in Grassroots Motorsports will begin late this year, after our Porsche 944 and BMW M3 project car series conclude. 

Zambezi Green Glory Sep 5, 2001

We have been sanding and cleaning, sanding and cleaning and we have finally reached the point where we can start painting our 914 2.0 project car back to its original Zambezi Green glory.

At this point we have the front and rear trunks done, including the area under the front lid where the gas tank sits. The engine compartment is nearly ready for paint. Next comes the tedious task of flipping the car back up on its side and finishing the chassis.

The process sound easier than it is. First, we clean all dirt, wax and tar off with Prep Sol cleaner. Next, we scuff everything with fine scuff pads (about 320 grit). Then we sand out any bigger nicks with 220 grit sand paper. The places where we go to 220 grit, we generally see bare metal again. Our original steel repairs were covered in DP 40 rust inhibiting primer mixed with DP 402 LF activator/hardener. If an area of bare metal is large enough, another coat of DP40 is sprayed on. If not, we are using a fantastic high filling urethane called Omni Au MP182. This stuff does a miraculous job of hiding any small scratch marks and can be painted over in half an hour with no additional sanding. Any deep gouges are filled with Evercoat Polyester glazing putty.

As for paint, we using PPG Concept urethane #2582 SC in the original Zambezi Green. We are mixing it per instructions with DT 870 mid-temp reducer and DCX 61 high-solids hardener. This is excellent high-end paint (not cheap) that has proven very easy to use. It covers great and doesn't run at all. For the exterior of the car we will go to a base coat/clear coat finish, but couldn't justify this for the trunks and chassis.

With the underside of Project 914 painted over the Labor Day weekend, both of the Porsche's trunks, the gas tank compartment, the engine bay and the entire underneath of the car were painted at GRM world headquarters (Tim's garage). Now, the shell is at The BodyWerks for final painting and buffing.

With the many time restraints that we are under (Fall is championship event season) and the desire for a truly concours quality paint job on our Project 914, the decision was made to turn the car over to the pros at The BodyWerks. They have the proper expertise, spray booth and the equipment to obtain first class results. 

Paint progressing perfectly Nov 8, 2001

Work is progressing very quickly now on our Porsche 914 project. The paint work is all done, and we have begun the arduous, yet intensely fun task of putting the entire car back together.

We are extremely happy with the way our paint and body work came out, and the guys at The Body Werks are to be commended. While we are not concours kind of guys, we think the flawless Zambizi Green paint and body work we have would hold up at any show in the country. The car was entirely disassembled, and every single part was painted properly, including the entire underside of the car.

This weekend, we plan on reinstalling the engine and transmission; soon after, we will begin the suspension rebuild and reinstall. Our initial setup will be 100 lbs./in. rear springs, Koni shocks at all four corners, while various suspension goodies from Weltmeister, GPR and Shine Racing will be tested out. 

Marching toward completion Mar 4, 2002

Our Project 914 rolls steadily towards completion. At this point it has been largely reassembled. All four corners have been completly revitalized and reinstalled so that the car is now a roller. The completely rebuilt engine and transmission have been reinstalled. The shift linkage, steering system and clutch systems are all up and working. The front and rear bumpers and most of the trim have been reinstalled.

The front end has been upgraded with GPR's BMW 320i brake upgrade kit with Magnum pads. A 19mm Porsche 911 master cylinder and Turbo tie rod ends have been fitted. Shocks are externally adjustable Koni at all four corners and the rear road springs have been upgraded with GPR 100 pound units. The wiper motor, heating system and fuel system have all been restored and reinstalled. The fuel pump has been moved to the front of the car following Porsche's recommendation and Automobile Atlanta's explicit instructions.

Presently, the glass is being reinstalled and we are sanding, buffing and clearcoating all the bright trim ourselves to keep the concours looking appearance of this restoration. Plans call for the interior and doors to be finished next. After some thorough sorting at our private test track we plan to publicly debut this car at the PCA school at Roebling Road the first weekend in May. From there, it is most likely on to the Import Carlisle show and then and local autocrosses. 

Department of Interior Apr 4, 2002

We now have the interior nearly finished. The seats, back-rest and carpets are all installed. All of the weather seals, the aluminum trim (outlined in our last update) and the scuff plates have been installed. Tommorrow's project is to neatly build in some high quality 5.5" round Kenwood speakers into the factory speaker housings. From there we will rebuild and install the doors.

The factory Fuchs alloys are now polished. We will be painting the background of the wheels and installing them next week.

On the mechanical front, we have the entire fuel system and electrical system hooked up and we have turned the engine over. We still need to finish hooking up the brake lines and a few other odds and ends. We are just a few more weeks from having the car done and running, and then it will take a month or two to sort everything out. Our next magazine story in scheduled for the August issue- so stay tuned. 

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