The Raven e9 project

[Gary Knox]

Stephen,

I remember struggling with the seat latch mechanism removal about 5 years ago, but for the life of me, I can not remember how I solved it!! I just remember it was pretty easy to get out once I unlocked the mystery of how Fritz had designed it and Helga had installed it. Good luck, and sorry I can't be of more help.

Gary

 

[eriknetherlands]

Love the journal; as an engineer, I'm fully for data

The seat adjustment comes out only after you have seperated the black plastic lever from it's arm. It needs to be pulled up from the arm.
The mechanism, including spring, then rotates out through the side opening.

 

[autokunst]

Love the journal; as an engineer, I'm fully for data

The seat adjustment comes out only after you have seperated the black plastic lever from it's arm. It needs to be pulled up from the arm.
The mechanism, including spring, then rotates out through the side opening.

Thanks Erik. I guess all I needed was license to pull those knobs off. With your description, I had the hardware out of the car in a a minute. It took about 5 more minutes to put that sprint back on, but I overcame (as I think I will probably disassemble these things again in the future to re-plate and clean up). I'll add to the journal entry: 6 minutes to remove seat hardware.

 

[Ajay]

Stephen, The seat Latch mechanism is a bit tricky. before you loosen the 3 flat head screws, wedge a medium to large flat head screwdriver under the Black handle, wedge it on a strong area (like a see saw), then POP the handle and the Black handle will POP off (usually flies). Then remove the 3 flat head screws (sometimes they are very tight (I use a flat head on a ratchet if they are), then wiggle the latch under the area and it comes out from the front side of the area underneath. If you damage the "black" handle, sand it with 200 then 500 and then spray it with SEM Satin Black and it looks like new. When I run a batch of blue zinc plating, i throw those mechanisms in there and they come back looking brand new.

 

[mulberryworks]

Okay, I feel like progress is being made. I wanted to get a push in before the holiday weekend as I might not be able to spend as much time in the garage as I'd like.

Nothing to see here
View attachment 96592
Whether I go out the top or out the bottom, there's not much left to fit through either hole. I am feeling really good about this. Starting to really get to know the car.

But this is what I found from the shop that "threw" the DCOEs on. Quite a mismatch between the gasket and the head. I'd like to know what the story is behind that new hex head bolt under the number 6 intake port.
View attachment 96593

And as a side project, I cleaned up some tools I've had for an age. I picked these up used back in the 80's when I worked at the BMW dealership. And I have to say, they have been some of the best tools in my toolbox. The adjustable wrench is so tight and precise, and the adjustable pliers adjusts so easily and really grips. I treated them to a nice bath and hope to get another 20 years out of them at least.
View attachment 96591

I picked up an early BAHCO adjustable wrench at an estate sale. Yes, a very nice quality wrench. It was about the first adjustable wrench and inspired the Crescent wrench here in the US.

European Tool Makers

An article on various German tool companies and brands.

alloy-artifacts.org

 

[autokunst]

Day 69
57 hours

I think I am very close to bringing the car to the dipping facility. The solutions they dip the car in don't affect the steel, but will harm any alloys or aluminum. I've removed the gas door, the door brakes, all of the tags and plates (VIN and Karmann). I think I've removed all plastic and rubber parts as well. Are there any other hidden allow pieces I should look for?

When I removed the Karmann plate, I found these numbers stamped in the a-pillar jamb. They do not correspond to the VIN nor the production date. Any idea what these indicate? I think I read this on the forum years ago but can't find it in a search.

Tar pads - I don't think I'll be replacing these. The damage/corrosion to the steel below them is deplorable. It is a real tragedy. I'll hold pictures for after the dip.

I plan to start fabricating a custom chassis dolly this weekend. I picked up the steel last week.

 

[Ajay]

First off, that garage is beautiful. That is a proper clean and organized garage..nice job.
When you and fabricate the car dolly to move the car make sure to add 2 "arms" in the back and front to secure the dolly to the car with bolts. The guy who made mine, made a coffee table style dolly with no securing points. We had to strap the car down with tie downs...it was a headache when towing.

4 securing points front and back and you are good to go.

 

[Stevehose]

The number behind the Karmann plate is their sequential body number

 

[adawil2002]

When My 2002Tii was stripped, it was blasted with plastic beads. As I recall it was ~$2K. Is media blasting an option or are you set on dipping?

 

[autokunst]

When My 2002Tii was stripped, it was blasted with plastic beads. As I recall it was ~$2K. Is media blasting an option or are you set on dipping?

Hi Andrew, I am set on dipping. The extent of hidden nooks and crannies on this chassis combined with the level of corrosion in the same, and I think media blasting will not be that effective. Add to this the risk of warping the larger panels, and the fact that the media blaster said they couldn't remove undercoating so I'd need to do that myself, and dipping was a pretty good deal. I plan on dipping it twice - once now, then once again after all metal work is complete. Then they will apply an e-coat (cathodic electrodeposition coating) which will seal absolutely everything on the car. The 1st dipping will cost about $2,500, but then they do the second complete dip for free (right before the costly but worthwhile e-coat).

 

[Stevehose]

Any risk of this oozing out later and messing up the paint?

 

[autokunst]

Any risk of this oozing out later and messing up the paint?

Hi Steve. Honestly, who knows? I've read that on the internet, too. But I think those accidents are few and far between. This process is pretty sophisticated, and they spend "days" rinsing out the car and all of its nooks and crannies. The particular facility I am using does dozens of cars for The Werkshop, and that says a lot to me. I will, of course, harbor a small concern over this, too. But I think the benefits of this entire strip and coat solution far outweigh the internet comments. At least for my car.

 

[Markos]

Hi Steve. Honestly, who knows? I've read that on the internet, too. But I think those accidents are few and far between. This process is pretty sophisticated, and they spend "days" rinsing out the car and all of its nooks and crannies. The particular facility I am using does dozens of cars for The Werkshop, and that says a lot to me. I will, of course, harbor a small concern over this, too. But I think the benefits of this entire strip and coat solution far outweigh the internet comments. At least for my car.

I doubt I will proceed due to budget constraints, but I would prefer to dip also. I think the horror stories are 80% urban legend and 20% shoddy work. It is very common in the UK to dip cars. One reason why I would hesitate is the inaccessible raw metal post dipping. It makes sense to me to dip a car if you can e-coat it after. For some reason e-coating shops are few and far between. My guess is EPA issues. The midwest does have some options though.

 

[adawil2002]

Sounds very cost effective, Stephen. Looking forward to seeing the stripped car.

Note: When the metal work starts, reinforce the door brake pin bracket on the door. That little bracket has one little pinch weld holding it which can fail and is a pain to repair. Just weld a little bead top & bottom. ( Yes, I set the hinge pin & touched up the paint. )

 

[autokunst]

Note: When the metal work starts, reinforce the door brake pin bracket on the door.

Great tip - thank you! If you could try to remind me of that in a few months when I am posting welding and sheet metal pics. Else, I will almost certainly forget this when the time is right. I also want to look into other reinforcements that I've read about but haven't actually detailed in my mind. The rear diff connection is one. I think there is discussion about something under the rear seat also (Coupe King mod?)? Not sure how much the '74+ rear trunk (wheel well gussets) are necessary on this '73. I might skip those unless the gruppe convinces me otherwise.

EDIT: Curious what the purists have to say about the door brake welding reinforcement. I like to think that I am more purist than not, but feel things like this are a benefit rather than a detriment. How many points would be deducted for these welds?

 

[CSteve]

I love the handwritten journal. You should name it, add your musings, ideas, emotions, insights. Like DeFoe's "Journal of the Plague Years" which I reread when this plague started.

For me, an email compared to a handwritten letter is the same as a Power Point Presentation compared to a Carousel Slide Projector show. I much prefer the handwritten and the sound of the slides dropping and popping.

 

[CSteve]

I love the handwritten journal. You should name it, add your musings, ideas, emotions, insights. Like DeFoe's "Journal of the Plague Years" which I reread when this plague started.

For me, an email compared to a handwritten letter is the same as a Power Point Presentation compared to a Carousel Slide Projector show. I much prefer the handwritten and the sound of the slides dropping and popping.

Andrew's suggestion for the reinforcing would make an excellent first entry in your journal.

 

[autokunst]

For me, an email compared to a handwritten letter is the same as a Power Point Presentation compared to a Carousel Slide Projector show.

Much less convenient? Ha ha.

 

[eriknetherlands]

The rear diff reinforcement is something I would consider if you're thinking about higher hp. Automatics have been soft to the diff mounts ( zero deformation nor crack in my automatic) Worst pics I've seen were from non-automatics.

I'm reinforcing mine, as I just want to have the option later to up the power. But I'm doing it, so no-one sees it. My complete boot floor is out so real easy to do it now.

 

[autokunst]

I've made a chassis dolly from scratch. This marks a change from "disassembly" to "fabrication", which feels good. I've been a "hobby" welder on and off for over 35 years. And as I laid out this dolly project, I realized I hadn't really welded anything of substance in about 2 years. So I started by mocking up a joint with the tubes. Here's a pic of the first tig weld I've done in two years. Not perfect, but I'm feeling pretty good.

All the pieces cut and prepped. Laying out and squaring up the basic frame.

And welding it up.

I was going to bolt the casters on, but I would have had to fab some tabs because the caster plate was larger than the tube, so I just welded them on.

And here is the dolly complete save for drilling the chassis attachment holes. These need to be precise within about a millimeter, so I wanted to drill these after everything else was welded up. The heat of welding can make things move, and I didn't want that to affect the attachment points. I did check the dims, though, and everything is pretty spot on - within about 1/32" in one dimension and about 1/16" in another. Tomorrow I'll layout the hole locations and start drilling.