Weekend Three
As you can see, this is the engine from the car. Matt and Shawn are going to rebuild this engine to drop back into the car. It'll make getting the car around a little easier. Ultimately our high-performance engine will live in the car and this engine will be sold. Let me know if you'd like to own it - treadway@autoatlanta.com and we'll make a deal.
   
       
The flares fit beautifully. First the flares are fitted to the front and marked in place. Tim, our master craftsman welded these in for me. He was not pleased with the rear flares, so he insisted on showing me the proper installation. For the first cut, a loose line is made on the existing fender.
Once the initial cut on the existing fender is complete, some refinement is needed. Refit the flare, clamp is with some C clamps and make your lines again. Once you're happy with the alignment, remove the clamps and flare and trim your cut. When finished there should only be about 1/8th of inch gap between the new flare and your cut. Reclamp back in place and spot weld. Only spot it at this point until you get both side on and you're happy with the placement.
Repeat the procedure for both sides. Once the placement is right on the money, it'll be time to weld. It is amazing what a difference the flares make to the statement of the 914. You'll also be amazed at how quickly these perfectly fitting flares will go on the car. Dr 914 was present for all the flare installation so as to confirm placement and measurements. Luckily Automobile Atlanta has more than one original GT car to compare with.
Of course you must completely weld the flare into place after the spot welding which will fill any gap you may have. I'm choosing to leave the side-marker off (European specs) so I'll have more gap in that area to take care of later. The is no right or wrong to the side-marker, some like it and some don't.
After the welding process, we ground the weld smooth. After grinding smooth, these flares already look like a million bucks. Tim did a great job showing us his process, what a real treat. This meager looking 1976 914 has been transformed into a beefy 1976 914 GT right before our eyes.
Shawn and Rolf, my expert engine mechanics, pulled this 2.0 case right off the shelf.  The first case they grabbed turned out to be perfectly straight. No, the case is not from a 1976 914, but that doesn't matter. The case was then taken to our local machine shop to be dipped. It should be back in a couple of days.