Love that color combination!!

euro front lights please

Wow, what an amazing accomplishment!

So, how the heck do you know how to do all this? Schooling, or is this something you do professionally?

If you ever want to "tweak" a 83 Cabriolet, just for practice, let me know!

Great job!

Mechanically speaking, I was an auto tech (Honda mostly) for ten years. As far as the body work goes, a neighbor got me started buying cars at the insurance auto auction and fixing body and paint. I started with some fairly minor ones but that's how I learned how to spray. I'm a sprayer BTW, not a painter... there's a difference. The rest I learned along the way, painting, body, welding and so forth. I once bought a boat that was just going to need upholstery and paint but quickly turned into a two year project where I removed the inner liner (fiberglass top part of the boat where you sit) and replaced the entire stringer system and sub structure. I learned most of that type of work from books. I even repaired a boat that had gotten loose and got all banged up on the rocks. It had a gaping hole in it that had to be patched.

I've wanted a car like this since I was eighteen. Likely, I won't do this again.

Thanks for the kind words.
Derek

Derek, you make things happen. Enjoying your thread and good craftsmanship. Freddie

I like the sugar scoops:)

Wow , what a project. This car will simply be sex on wheels, once they get installed. Great work. Can't wait to see the finish product.

Derek, interesting project. Man, that's allot of grinding. I don't know if you are aware but there is an alternative to Dansk replacement panels. Look at Restoration Design Porsche Parts. It's a Canadian company located in Ontario. Good luck with your project. Cheers.

LOL, I was wondering if anyone would comment on my two scoops. I went back and forth myself on this but personally I think they fit very well on this car. As more things are finished and installed, I think most will agree with my choice. Not that I REALLY care. ;)

Thanks again for all the cudos Pelicans.

Thanks for the inspiration.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...02652483_n.jpg

For the record, I'm for euro lights too but didn't want to say so.... Love the project!

Merlin,
If that's your home shop, you're a lucky spoiled man and I'm jealous! Someday...
I can't take credit for the rotisserie (PO made mine) but I'm glad his idea was of help.



Dully noted!
Here's the deal on the lights... If (and that's a BIG if) I ever change them out, I'll likely install some form of projector beams. Thus far however I haven't come across any that I really like that fit the euro lenses (save for the Singer units) at any rate, I'll stick with what I have for now, at least until it's on the road.

I'm not saying I would have gone a different route on the lights but $ IS a factor.
:)

I'm just reading your thread again. It's an excellent project. I had the same issue with their stuff. I threw it away after 50 hours and bought MA Shaw stuff. It fit straight out of the box. Ultimately, I think GT Racing's stuff is fine for race cars. It was a lot lighter than the MA Shaw stuff. But I was building a street car, so the MA Shaw worked better for me. I only spent about 4 hours on the MA Shaw stuff. All I had to do was get it smooth enough for paint. There was NO fitting at all. It was straight and all the bolt holes lined up.

The corner lights were like yours but I just filled in the gap with kitty hair and smoothed it out.

H

This is a gorgeous car.

Are you planning on doing black trim or bright?

H

Thank you very much.
I'm going with bright on this. I think it will go well with the somewhat vintage look I'm after. The deck lid grill has already been polished and I just got a stand for my bench grinder (no more drill motor polishing) I have a few more parts to de-anodize before I go to town.

I'm really excited to get back to work on this... I just got my Setrab 172 oil cooler and some other small parts to install so stay tuned all. I hope to have some progress photos up around the first of the year! I don't want to bore anyone with the small stuff.

:) :) :)

I got my duck tail from them or Ghetty, I forget which, but believe me if they made the front bumper for narrow fenders I would have got both bumpers from them too. I did it this way to save on shipping... Live and learn.

this car is amazing but I love the color of your car. I have subscribed!

Overdue Update
 

With the cold weather settling in here in PNW things have been going pretty slow. First I got a nasty cold and then another and then another. I've been buying up more engine parts and am happy to say, I have ALMOST everything! I am planning to buy Nickies and JE pistons from LN engineering when the time comes. I will be putting in slip-fit 100mm cylinders that will make the engine an honest 3.3ss. :eek:

On to some updates:

First up, some upholstery work. I now have the A, B and the trim below the rear windows complete. I used OE vinyl sourced from Autobahn Interiors... I think.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327618011.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327618047.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327618081.jpg


I finally sourced another Tach since the one that came with the car had been boogered up by the PO. Also, it didn't come with a clock so I bought one of those too. Most of you know the original Tach, Speedo and clock all have plastic lenses which pretty much suck ass! Oddly, the others are glass, which is much better at resiting scratches. Soooo... I called around for new glass lenses from the usual sources and could only find the Tach lens in glass??? I COULD get new plastic ones for the Speedo and Clock but not cheaply and still plastic! What to do???
I search around on Fleabay and purchased a circle cutter for $15. I also got some diamont tipped bits for drilling glass. I got some glass sheets from Lowe's... $8. Went home and got to work. I went through some glass trying to cut my first lens, the Tach. Once I finally got that down, it was easy peasey. Onto the Speedo and clock... I quickly found out the bits I got off Ebay were complete junk for making holes in glass so off to Lowe's again. I got some hollow tipped drill bits designed specifically for drilling glass and viola! They did the trick!

Here are the results:
Total cost: about $60... Those core bits were $15ea!
Couldn't quite get the first digit rolled back so I guess I'll start out with 8 miles on her.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327618992.jpg

More Updates!
 

Before it got too cold in the garage, I decided to raise my spindles about 28mm IIRC. To do this I purchased some DOM tubing that was the same diameter and wall thickness as the lower section of my strut tubes. Basically the procedure is to cut a section out of the top part of the tube and weld in an equal section to the lower part of the strut tube. Mine are Boge and won't allow the usual "drill out the weld and move the spindle up the tube and re-weld" trick. Later I'll heat the arm where the tie rod attaches and move it back down so as to not induce bump steer.

Here's how they turned out so far:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327619555.jpg


Finally found a rear glass WITHOUT the heating element and installed it after polishing the trim.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327619657.jpg


I've been doing lots of work in the trunk area too. I still need one section of hose and a master cylinder but pretty much done now.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327619819.jpg


Another small batch of plating is back... hopefully the last!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327619893.jpg


Lastly and my personal favorite photo... the dash. With the exception of some polished aluminum trim rings for the gauges and that cloaking device that one dude makes (waiting for him to make the L231 size) and a couple things you can't see... It's finished!!!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327620154.jpg


I just want to say thank you to everyone for checking out my thread.
My goals for this year are:
1) Complete the front suspension
2) Install the rest of the glass
3) Install my massive Setrab oil cooler
4) Install the fuel tank and oil tank

I know it doesn't sound like much but I have a ton of polishing, welding, sandblasting and painting to finish before the above items can take place and dammit if it doesn't all cost money! :D

Summer is on it's way so stay tuned! SmileWavy

just curious, what the cost is of plating a box of parts like that,...and where did you send them,...

The cost both times was $65 for the lot. I had a bit more the first time I think. I used a local place called Novation. The plate is yellow zinc. The parts must be free of rust before plating... I soaked these in white vinegar for a couple weeks twice and cleaned with Super Clean in between.
In order to get the very best results, the parts should be bead blasted. I don't care that much so I did it this way. I mainly didn't want things to rust again and wanted them to match the rest of the car. I even considered just doing regular bright zinc but I had parts that didn't need any work so I went with the yellow. As it turns out, I'll have some nuts and bolts that ARE bright zinc in the mix since they are readily available at the local hardware store.

Perhaps a better photo of the dash... I love that Porsche Design steering wheel, it's really the shiznit!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1327623372.jpg

Wow, I hadn't visited this since the first few months, when you first had the body shipped in.
Impressive.
Enjoy!

Not sure if anyone is still following this but I plan to post some updates soon. Lots going on and probably some missed photo opportunities... when I'm on a roll its hard to stop and take pictures. :)

Still following ;)

+1

+1

Still following as well

I admit, I am creeping this thread also....

Aaaaalrightythen...

Mostly I've been just tinkering but I finally got myself a blast cabinet and media blasted the remaining parts I have. Things like e-brake handle, pedal cluster, suspension and brake components etc.

Then it was on to paint which were coated with black epoxy primer. Most parts will be left with the epoxy finish but there are a few things that received some color.


Here are the A-arms installed along with the thru-body sway bar. The bushings are Weltmeister street compound. The second photo shows the grease fittings I installed per instructions from another thread. I also installed some 993 brake scoops to help keep things cool.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341343430.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341343655.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341343706.jpg


Here is the oil cooler installed... I wish I had taken some photos of the lines and brackets I made but like I said, I was on a roll. Now the front bumper is bolted on permanently so you can't see the brackets. Basically I used some angle aluminum and shaped some pieces to accept four rubber isolation bushings, one at each corner. It worked out perfect!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341343458.jpg


Here are how the spindles turned out. I used the original John Deere grean out of a spray can to match the Bilstein shocks they will house.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341343475.jpg


I've got the rear arms on but only temporarily as I'm saving up for some ER poly-bronze bushings for the spring plates.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341344096.jpg

very nice!

I snagged some Rennline sealed mono-balls for the rear arms and thew those on too. They should prove to be a good improvement over the stock bushings.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341344739.jpg


Gratuitous photo of the tunnel area... lots of new parts sticking out of there but not done yet. I ran into a little snag with the e-brake cables I picked up from our host. They didn't fit over the metal tubes coming out of the tunnel! I sourced some good used ones that have yet to be installed but long story short, be aware the cables our host sells may not fit.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341344795.jpg


I'm just about finished in here now. The tank is done, the steering rack is in, washer bottle (from an MK1 Rabbit) hooked up... just a few finishing touches plus a battery in the smugglers box and that should do it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341344816.jpg


My rear lights are installed and wired in along with the plate bracket and lights. I still need to install the bumper seal but you get the idea.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341344835.jpg


Lastly, here's a nice shot of the polished aluminum door trim, chromed door handles and door glass installed. I also picked up some nice stainless steel door sill plates that have the "911" in script just like the engine lid emblem on them.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341344867.jpg


I forgot to take a photo of the pedal box installed but I have Rennline pedals in black. I'm going for the inconspicuous but sporty feel. If I haven't mentioned it before, the only real bling I have planned for the interior are the polished rings that Rennline sells for the gauges.

Thanks for looking Pelicans. Now if I can just get that lucky lottery ticket so I can get this bad girl finished.

Thanks for the update. I used JD green for the powder on my front coil overs also. I felt it was a perfect match.

I found that info here on pelican. My housings are Boge but I'm installing Bilstein inserts in them.

One thing I'm curious about is how the brake fluid reservoir is vented. It has a small tube sticking out that looks like a hose could be attached and routed somewhere. Is that what the factory did or is it left as is with no hose attached?

I'll have to search my pictures and see what mine was like before I disassembled.

The vent hose from the reservoir was originally routed out the front trunk panel and allowed to drip on the ground. Of course, this meant that any brake fluid hitting the body would lift the paint there.

We have used 35 mm film canister to serve the purpose of collecting the fluid. So the hose goes from the brake reservoir to the canister. then from the canister to outside the car.
Check and absorb out the overflow from the canister
No fluid on the paint means the paint gets to stay attached to the car. Also don't over fill your brake reservoir. About 1/4" above the divider bar inside the tank is enough. It expands when it gets hot

nice project

thanks Dave. Now that I got the jist of the brake reservoir vent, how about the fuel tank vent???
I just need to make it vent without making a mess, no canister is or will be in place. Any ideas?

I took some photos of my most recent little project... When I get some more time, I'll post and explain.

What Material did you use for the flat spoiler plate, that looks cool. Do you have a better picture ?

I was planning to make something like that for my AX car.

Thanks
Engelbert

The splitter is home made from FG. There are some photos a page or two back of how it was made. EDIT: oops, I guess not. Easy ton do though. Just make your patter and cut up about six layers of fabric for each side and wet them out on a piece of wax paper, then its just beat to fit and paint to match.

Beware if you do your own that each side might be slightly different.

Finally got those pesky Weltmeister bushings fitted... I hope they work!
I know, I know, I should have got the ER bushings...

So here's my process:

They start out as new but aren't perfectly round or true on the outside soooo...


I don't have a lathe so I did this all by hand and some measuring tools.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1343051223.jpg


Now they are flat on the outside so they can be pressed into their respective orifices.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1343051252.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1343051294.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1343051363.jpg