How To 2002: Rear Shock Towers and Differential Support Install

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Interested in seeing more of our BMW 2002 restoration? In this video, Adam shows you how to install the rear shock towers and differential support on our 1972 model.

Our particular model was in rough shape. First, we took some measurements before we took out any parts. We’ll need these measurements when we put the new parts in.

If your car is beat up like ours, we recommend taking a look at the manufacturers’ specifications for their measurements as a guide. When you’re removing parts, make sure you have all of the necessary components. Not all of your new products will come with all of the parts, like rear seat mounts.

You might have to remove parts of the inner panels to take the towers out properly. If you have to do this, make sure you have the backup pieces you’ll need to replace any parts you cut out.

After you take out the towers, take advantage of having them out of the way to complete any necessary repair work around the wheels. We prepped all of the wheel wells and got them fitted for installation.

Before welding any part of your restoration project, be sure to do all of the necessary prep work including removing rust and prepping the area around your weld.

For more tips and tricks about this installation, check out our video!

How-to: Pedal Area Installation on a 912

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In this follow-up to our floor pan installation video, Adam shows you how to complete the process on a 1967 Porsche 912.

The model is fairly similar to a 911: the only difference is the engine size, so that makes the mounts a little different.

At Restoration Design, we make our gas pedal area pans oversized. There’s extra material in case you need it, but we recommend cutting the majority of the extra material off. The car we’re working on was pre-prepped from the previous floor pan installation.

Make sure you meausre your pedal area pan against your specific car to ensure a good fit. During this process, make sure to identify any other parts in the surrounding area that might need to be replaced. We had some rotted flanges and had to replace parts of the tunnel.

On the other hand, if you see any parts that aren’t looking too bad, feel free to leave them as the original. Parts with rust but little rot are fine to keep, to ensure your car is as authentic as it can be.

In addition to the pedal area, we replaced the bearing brackets as well. You can make yourself a jig so you have positioning to attach your bearing brackets.

Watch our video to see more of the process and get even more tips for installing a pedal area pan!

How-to 2002: Frame Rail Repair

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If you enjoyed our last post, installing a trunk floor on our 1973 BMW 2002, we’ve got a great follow-up for you. In this video, we take a look at the frame rail repair on the same model.

Frame rails are pretty particular. They play a role not only in suspension, but in holding the entire car up, so you’ve got to be careful and precise with any frame rail repairs you do. They should be secured properly and installed nice and straight.

To make sure of this, we added a piece of steal and welded it to the rotisserie with the original frame rail in place. This makes it so that the frame rail will go exactly where it was before.

When doing this kind of restoration project, you want to take a number of measurements. You want to get the measurements between your frame rails, from your frame rail to suspension and solid points on the car (like the jack posts), and make sure everything is straight.

Because we plan on replacing the inner quarters in the future, when we put the frame rails back in, we just used self-tapping screws to secure it to the inner weld.

Next, we used a strap along with the frame of the rotisserie to hold the frame rail in the right position while we removed a section of the floor.

When repairing the frame rail, like most restoration projects, it’s always a good idea to remove one portion of the car at a time. With the frame rail, we removed the driver’s side frame rail first and installed that one and made sure it was in position. After replacing that side of the floor as well, we could finish installing the frame rail to the new floor.

We took care of any rust areas, then moved onto the second part of the frame rail repair.

Check out the video for more in-depth info on a frame rail repair below!

How-to 2002: Trunk Floor Install

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At Restoration Design, we love cars. And while Porsches are our specialty, we also carry a number of parts for BMWs as well.

In this video, Adam shows you how to install the trunk floor on our 1972 BMW 2002 restoration project.

To start off, we did all of the preliminary work. We cut out the entire trunk panel which would be replaced, as well as the wheel wells. The channel connecting the two wheel wells is also a good idea to replace. The rear valence runs along the back of the trunk and down the sides, behind each tire, which we will also be replacing.

When installing the trunk floor, the first step is to put it in place and use C clamps to hold it in place. The trunk floor comes in a number of different parts, so make sure you have all of the parts you need before starting this part of the project.

To determine the height of the trunk floor, install the lock post. Once that’s in place, secure the trunk floor with self-tapping screws. Then you’ll want to install the valence.

The rear valence will go in place first. Not every car is the same, so you may have to cut the rear valence to make it the appropriate size for your specific car. The side valences can be tricky, so you may need to spot weld a couple of pieces of sheet metal to secure the side valences to.

Side valences come with necessary cutting and trimming, so you need to fit them and scribe them to the cut you have so you get a nice, neat, tight fit.

Before you put everything together, you need to prep the material and remove any paint from the edges you’ll need to weld.

When you’re satisfied with the placement of all the panels, put some weld-proof primer to prevent any rust from developing in the future.

To see the rest of the process and learn more about how to install the trunk floor on a BMW 2002, check out the video below.

How-to 914: Rear Trunk Floor Pan Install

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Ever wonder how to install a rear trunk floor pan in a 1973 Porsche 914? In this video, the guys at Restoration Design show you just how to do that.

As always, we recommend doing a lot of the prep work before starting on the installation itself. We’ve drilled out all of our welds, ground down the steel and prepped it with weld-through primer.

It’s also worth mentioning that we coated the inside of the transaxle support channel with POR-15 to help reduce any potential future rust.

We also recommend prepping the floor pan itself by punching holes for the rosette welds and do any necessary trimming to get it the size you need for you specific car.

Next, put the piece in place in the car so you can scribe your line and cut the existing piece to fit the replacement piece. Then, using self-tapping screws, put the piece in place and use your hammer to make any necessary adjustments for fit.

After this, you need to make sure your trunk support fits properly. Using the two holes on either end of the trunk support, make sure at least one of them lines up with the floor pan.

Once you have a nice fit, go ahead and weld in your trunk pan. When doing your rosette welds, make sure to leave enough space between the welds to keep the temperature of the steal down. Then, roll the car over and take care of your sway bar mounts.

You always want to make sure the measurement from centre to centre of the sway bar mounts matches manufacturers’ specifications. If your 914 didn’t come with sway bar mounts, as some of them don’t, make sure you’re installing them properly as they’re essential.

Get more details about this installation and see the finished product in the video below!

How-to 914: Rear Engine Compartment Shelf Installation

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Next up in our 1973 Porsche 914 restoration project is the rear engine compartment shelf installation. This is the follow-up to our suspension console installation video.

The part we used is customizable and none of the flanges are bent. This is to allow you to fit it perfectly to your specific Porsche. After years of being on the road, none of them will fit exactly the same so it’s important to be able to fit it snugly to your model.

Prep your part by bending the flanges and prep for all of the plug welds. It will probably take some time to bend the flanges to fit your car, as this part is very particular.

When installing the engine compartment shelf, make sure you use clamps and self-tapping screws to secure the piece in place. As always, we coated the new part with weld-through primer before installing it.

When you’re happy with the way the part is fitting and everything is secure and in place, you can start welding. Take the time to weld in the corners to get a better seal.

After inspecting your welding and making sure you haven’t missed anything, grind it and clean it up.

Watch the video below to see how we did it!

Porsche 911ST Update

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Did you check out our introduction to the Porsche 911ST project we were working on? Check out this follow-up video update.

Adam takes us through levelling the sled bench, panel installation and fittings for the doors and windows.

The most exciting update for this project is the new car bench. By adding some adjustable legs to the car bench, it allows us to make it level and help with using the zero plane on the car.

You may remember that the 911ST came to us with very little metal left on it. When replacing parts on a car, don’t take too much metal off at one time. In the meantime we’ve taken care of the front end and the door placement. Adam put all of the panels on the front of the car, but is still working on making the left side level.

We’re going to be redoing a lot of the bracing. Once we have door towers on, we can get to mounting the doors, then taking care of the rockers and other essential parts of the front end.

To level the bench, we used an old school machining level.

Adam uses a bunch of jacks and jigs to prop up the car and mark the zero for the car.

Find out how Adam found the zero plane for the car, and see the rest of the Porsche 911ST update!

 

How-to 914: Seat Frame Install

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As part of our series of videos for restoring a Porsche 914, we bring you how to install the seat frame.

As usual, Adam has the prep work done beforehand, by preparing the risers and bolting on hinges to the seat frame. The hinges have to be bolted on in order to position the risers on the new floor of the car.

The seat mount adjustment should be mounted in already, and Adam sets the risers in place ready for alignment.

The first riser is easy to install: place it over top of the seat support channel in the floor of the car. Take your seat frame and get it into the height adjustment bracket on the lowest setting and push it down at the back.

You want to align it with the riser’s centre right on the seat frame hinge. When you’re happy with the placement of the first side, take a square and align the frame with the crossmember. Begin securing your risers to the floor with self-tapping screws.

Double-check that your hinges are aligning with the centre of the risers, and start tacking your hinges to your risers.

Once attached, make sure the seat frame adjusts properly. If you’re happy with it, remove the seat frame and risers to make completing the welding easier.

Find out more about how to complete the seat frame installation on a Porsche 914!

Restoration Spotlight: Mike’s 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster

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Back in the summer of 2006, Mike bought his 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster from an Ebay seller in Washington, DC. The former racecar had already had all of its paint and decals removed from the body with chemicals.

This Porsche 356 Speedster had been sitting in the owner’s barn for the previous 18 years. When Mike brought it home, he started by sorting all of the parts that came with the car. By cataloguing all of the parts first, he was able to identify which parts were missing.

Then he dismantled the whole car, had the car sandblasted and stripped, and built a rotisserie to make the restoration project easier.

Once the car was stripped, Mike started to replace panels. Part way through the metal restoration part, the de Jonges purchased Restoration Design, putting the project on hold for about three years.

Mike took the car to Cambridge Collision for some body work that he didn’t have the time to do himself, and the team then took the car to the East Coast Holiday in Boston, displaying it on the rotisserie with all of the metal work done.

After the car was finally painted, Mike brought it home and started on the electrical wiring and replacing all of the parts that had been taken off, while the upholstery was farmed out.

See more of this amazing restoration in the video below:

How to 914: Battery Tray and Support

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In this instalment of our 1973 Porsche 914 restoration project, we show you how to install the battery tray and support properly.

After you remove the battery box, take some measurements to be sure you’re putting it back in the right place. While it doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s nice to get it back where it’s supposed to be.

Coat the area where the battery box will go with POR-15 to keep rust at bay, and grind the area you’ll be welding the battery box to. The battery box will come in two parts, the bottom and the and the top. This gives you the freedom to replace just the top of the battery box, leaving the frame as it is.

Prep and drill the holes for your plug welds, and coat the whole battery box with weld-through primer. We welded the two pieces together using a spot welder, as we have one readily available.

POR-15 is not easy to weld to, so you’ll have to take a measurement and make some marks on the frame and grind it down to get a good weld.

Attach the battery box to the frame once it’s in place and you’re happy with the fit, using self-tapping screws.

When you’ve done all of the plug welds, give it a quick inspection and clean up some of the welds. Then, top it off with some weld-through primer and you’ve got yourself a battery tray and support.

Check out the video to see how we did it!

How-To 914: Complete Floor Pan Installation

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If you’re restoring a Porsche 914, chances are you’ll need to replace the floor pans at some point. That’s why we’ve put together this video to show you how.

Before removing any of the floor from the car, it’s important to give the rest of the frame lots of support, as it’s a lot of metal to remove from the car and can put pressure elsewhere. Also, when you’re measuring the top of your car, you’ll need to make sure the measurements are correct.

Drill all of your spot welds and remove the entire floor pan. Remove the jack points from both sides at the back, and use the new floor pan as a template to cut the front edge of steel.

We also pre-drilled holes along the centre structure and tunnel for the rosette welds. It’s also very important to remove all of the rust and prime all of the bare metal areas with weld-through primer.

It’s always a good idea to inspect all of the inner tubing from the channel to make sure there’s no major damage from rust – if they need to be replaced, now is the time.

To prep the floor pan, pre-drill your holes for the rosette welds all along the perimeter and spot weld the seat mount reinforcements onto the part.

When the floor pans are in place, you can make any final adjustments on the seam running up the centre of the floor pan. Use clamps to get a good butt weld on the seam.

When the floor pans are in place, you can continue installing the pedal cluster bracket – as long as you’ve installed the pedal cluster first.

Continue watching our video to find out more details about the floor pan installation on a Porsche 914!

 

How-To 914: Frame Stiffener Installation

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Last month, we showed you how to install the suspension console on a 1973 Porsche 914. Now, check out this video for installing a frame stiffener.

As always, the first step in any part of the Porsche restoration process is to prep the area you’re working on before doing any work on it. We prepped the area we were going to weld by grinding it down, as well as taking off the jack plate which usually rots. We then prime it with a weld-through primer.

To prep the jacking plate, prep some holes in it so it’s ready for attaching. We then attach it to the car with self-tapping screws. After screwing it into place, we weld it to the car.

When welding, you want to take your time around the perimeter so that there isn’t any concentrated heat on any one spot for too long. After the piece is welded in place, you can take out the screws and weld those holes.

Next, grind and smooth out the welds. When that’s all cleaned up, pre-fit the overlay, keeping in mind that the frame is meant to stiffen the frame and shouldn’t be laid over top of any rusty metal.

When welding a piece like this, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. If your car isn’t fully stripped and still has the glass on it, make sure no sparks are flying into the glass when you come to weld. The sparks embed and melt the glass. You should also remove the ground strap from your car whenever you’re welding, to avoid damaging any electronics.

Clamp the edges of the part to your car so nothing moves while you’re welding it and you can get a better weld. You should also put self-tapping screws into every other pre-drilled hole in the part. If there are any spots you can’t reach with your screw driver, use clamps.

Check out more tips for this kind of installation and see the finished product!

How to: Porsche 914 Suspension Console Installation

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At Restoration Design, we love to help fellow Porsche fans with their own restoration projects! In this video, we address the suspension console installation of a 1973 Porsche 914.

Up to this point, we’d done a lot of work on this restoration project:

• New floor from front to back
• New pedal cluster bracket
• New section of trunk

Before you embark on any restoration project, make sure you make a note of the new parts you have. When you take your Porsche apart, be careful not to throw out any parts that you might need to put it back together.

When we got to the suspension console, we made sure to get rid of all the spot welds and clean everything up. We also took the opportunity to put a rust-prevention product on the area that’s covered by the suspension console.

Make sure to clean up any areas that you’re going to be welding on. Then, cover these parts with a weld-through primer to prevent future rust.

We always pre-drill our holes, and we did this for the suspension console and coated it with weld-through primer.

Watch the video to see the rest of the suspension console installation.

How to: Floor Pan Installation on a Porsche 912

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When we restored a 1967 Porsche 912 at Restoration Design, a lot of prep work went into the floor pan installation.

First, we replaced all of the flanges in the tunnel and front and back perimeter. This inspired us to put together a kit for purchase to make this part of the process a lot easier and less time-consuming for all of you.

Our professional steal beater, Wes, replaced the inner and outer rocker on both sides of the floor and took the time to replace the heater tube while we could still access it.

We also took the opportunity to replace the brake line which was rusted. You should always take the time to replace or repair any pieces in the tunnel during this stage of the process, while you still have access to them.

The floors we make come in three pieces: rear section, front section and gas pedal piece. In this video, we focused on the rear and front sections.

When you first put the floor pans in place, you’ll need to determine what adjustments you need to make to fit it into the flanges.

When both floor pans are in place, make some final adjustments for the scribe lines.

Check out the video for more tips and tricks for a floor pan installation!

How To 911/912: Install Your Front Gas Tank Support

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As a follow-up to our last blog, How to 911/912: Front Suspension Pan Restoration, we’ll be showing you how to install your front gas tank support.

Because our vintage Porsche’s lateral gas tank supports were rotten, first we installed new ones.

Next, we had to install the suspension reinforcements and the gas tank support.

After covering the lateral gas tank supports with weld through primer, we can install the gas tank support.

Depending on the year of vintage Porsche 911/912 you have, you’ll need to choose the corresponding front gas tank support to fit your model.

While some companies believe in “one size fits all” when it comes to front gas tank support, at Restoration Design we aim to get you the right part for your model year.

After you’ve screwed in the gas tank support, you can start welding it – starting at the top corner, moving to the opposing corner, to the diagonal corner and back and forth. This makes sure no one part heats up too much and prevents distorting the metal.

Check out the rest of our front gas tank support installation process by watching our video.