When Well Enough Can't Be Left Alone; Backdate, EFI/ITB, AC, and more!

[Showdown]

Day 10

Sometimes it’s the littlest things that consume the most amount of time. Little things like concealed filler panels and seal channels.

I really wanted to wrap up the work on the front end of the car so that was my focus for this installment of “how can Julian injure himself today” or “When Well Enough Can’t Be Left Alone”

I installed and started to weld in the stiffening panel that goes under the hood extension. Of course, I ran out of gas. All I had on hand was pure argon but with the MIG that was a waste of time and gas. So, the welding will have to wait to be completed. In the process I burned my finger.

I did fold over the lip of the hood extension and hammer/dolly it down. It’s remarkable how much stiffer and solid the hood is with just that little action. I’ll throw a few welds on that seam once I get more gas just to keep it stiff. I also hit my fingernail with the hammer and now have a nice blood blister to go with my burned finger.


This little piece of steel does a remarkable job at stiffening up the extension


With the hood basically done (ok, not really but more done that not) I could focus on the front gap between the trunk front panel and new bumper. Some choose to leave that area open but I wanted it to be more complete so I spent some time beating the living hell out of some aluminum and shaping it to fit. I chose aluminum because it’s easier to shape and won’t rust. Aluminum is also great for slicing through human skin…yup, add that one to the list.


Spending so much time on parts nobody will see...

Another issue that backdates that don’t replace the trunk front panel have is that of the seals as there’s often nowhere to mount them. With the front filler panel complete I started fabricating another aluminum channel to receive the front bumper/hood seal. This darn thing took so much time; curving it, adding 3 bends all with just hand tools was kind of ridiculous. If I knew how much time was going to be consumed with the aluminum forming, I would have rented time at a metal shop to use their English wheel/pneumatic hammer and bead rollers… lesson learned. I probably could have also just bought a new trunk front panel but then I would need a new hood and that slope is slippery… next thing you know all the body panels are aluminum or carbon fiber…

In any event, I got the channel all shaped and riveted to the front filler panel and the seam fitted. It goes in really tight and stays put. Currently the whole shebang is just screwed in place and I’m not sure if I’ll rivet it, screw it or devise some other time consuming esoteric mounting system.


Even though it's thin, shaping aluminum into a complex curved profile isn't easy.



The underside of the seal fitting onto the profile



The top of the seal on the profile.



The seal profile on the aluminum filler panel ready to be riveted

The best part is that the hood closes and the hood/bumper, and seal are all aligned and even across the front of the car. I know it’s a small thing and this car isn’t a show car, but it always irks me when people omit the seals; for some reason it just draws the eye to any irregularities.


Everything "dry fitted" in place. It seems to work



Looks legit


Even-ness


Even more evenn-ess

I still have to deal with the hood lock mechanism but I have a plan for that.

So with a bit of my actual blood now on/in the car I'm feeling pretty good about reaching the end of my time with the front of the car. I still have to deal with the rear bumper but that should be pretty easy, after all it's just a bolt on piece...right?

[Showdown]

Day 11 Part 1

Some days are spent doing a lot of little things that individually feel irrelevant but then once you’ve swept up and put everything away in order to take in the day’s work, you’re pleasantly surprised. This Saturday was one of those days, and hey, I didn’t cut, burn, or hammer myself. In the words of the immortal Carl Spackler: “so I got that goin’ for me.”

Let’s start with the back of the car. All engine work is on hold until it’s a bit warmer and I can start tuning the car, but I still have to get the rear bumper installed. The Rennspeed bumper is thick and sturdy (still pretty light though) so it won’t require a lot of mounting points. That said, there were no brackets glassed in, tabs, or any mounting provisions like every other bumper I’ve bought- all 6 of them. I wrote Rennspeed and was told to “just bolt it up to the sides of the rear quarters.” Um, no. While I’m sure it would work, I’d rather not have the body carrying any weight. And that means making brackets and glassing them in.


Super fancy!

I bent some aluminum, drilled some holes into the plate (I saw my father and his flying buddies do this when they mounted flat aluminum panels to carbon or fiberglass- the holes act as “keys” for the resin which bonds to other resin well but not as well to the aluminum. It helps lock it all in place.) and then glassed it all in. I used 4oz fiberglass for its flexibility.


Fiberglass is amazing stuff, I still hate working with it.

Once dry I installed some rivnuts and got it all fitted up to the car. This way the weight of the bumper will be carried by the shock mounting points and brackets and not by the wings of the bumper and body metal. And the rear fenders will be used for alignment only. Overkill, maybe but I feel better about it and who doesn’t like making more work for themselves.


This should do better than "bolting it to the sheetmetal"

While dealing with the rear bumper I glassed in the single exhaust opening. I really wish these fiberglass pieces just came with no openings; we can cut our own… oh well. I threw on a coating of fiberglass filler and roughed it smooth. The final sanding will come when I prep the bumper for paint. I also cut in some notches for the muffler pipes. I’ll line the inside of the bumper with self-adhesive heat shield- I used it on my last rear bumper and it worked amazingly- the rear bumper was only ever slightly warm even after hours of driving.


Out, damn hole, out!


I'll rue this day when I end up cutting in a hole for a rallye out

And with that the bumper is hung and rock solid. The side seals fit nicely though they need to be trimmed. I haven’t yet decided what to do about the center panel-to-body seal; I guess I’ll have to make another aluminum mounting channel. Yay.

I picked up a pair of used TRE R tail lights but am not sure if I’ll use them yet. I now have USA-spec lenses, Euro-spec lenses, clear lenses and R tail lights with both amber/red and red/white lenses. Hi, my name is Julian and I have a tail light problem.


I swear, I can quit any time I want.

Part 2 to follow...

[Showdown]

Day 11 Part 2

With the rear bumper all good to go for sanding and paint prep (feels good to type that!) I moved to the front of the car once again. There’s still a lot to do up here and I have a feeling this will be a long part of the journey.


Baby's got back

I mentioned that the light box frames that I welded to my fenders were just ok. I take that back, they are mediocre at best. Honestly, I should have just fabricated my own. Yes, it would have taken more time but the result would have been better. These were so wonky when they arrived that I seriously wondered if they weren’t for a different car, luckily the price was right. I worked them a lot to get them to fit but even then, they were just barely better than nothing. I guess I just didn’t have the confidence that I could do it myself… If I only knew then what I know now...

Another thing that I would have done differently is to weld them to the bottom of the existing fender and not cut down the fender to accommodate the light box frame sheet metal. I asked on the forum and everyone said to cut the fender, and while it worked, I think just welding to the bottom of the existing metal would have been wiser and easier… oh well, maybe someone will learn from this.

I got the light boxes and lenses installed but the seals didn’t fit- they were too large and the gaps were uneven and gross. I research this and apparently there are no seals on the planet that aren’t junk. I pondered my options and played a bit of “choose your own adventure”:

1.) Cut the frames off and make my own; oy vey, a lot of work and no guarantees.
2.) Buy new fenders in metal or glass; a huge financial penalty and no guarantees that they won’t also need work.
3.) Ignore the problem and chalk it up to “old car”; I really liked this option but know it would kill me later on.
4.) Fix what I have; oh come on, you knew this was going to be the winner!

I opted to fix what I have with fiberglass reinforced filler to compensate for the gaps and unevenness. I have no illusions about this car- it’s going to have more icing than a kid’s birthday cake. Haters be damned, I’m ok with that.

I seriously considered using lead to address these issues but after researching I came to the conclusion that lead was expensive, had a high learning curve and not fundamentally better or worse than modern filler. Using Evercoat fiber filler (body filler with ground fiberglass in it) I laid down several thin layers until I had the base of the profile that I wanted and the fender-to-light transition was really nice. The Evercoat product is pretty amazing. It goes on really easily and is pretty stiff so it doesn’t sag too much. It starts to harden in about 5 mins so you have to work fluidly. Then you have about 10 mins to use a rasp or file to do the rough shaping/removal. Then the stuff turns into stone. If you don’t do the rough shaping while it’s curing, god help you and the thousands of sheets of sandpaper you’re going to go through. After a few passes with filler and file I was happy with the result. It’ll need more shaping and regular filler but this is good. This is really good.


Fixing flawed metal with filler


Crisp


A good first attempt

I also laid down a coating of the fiber filler on the hood- both the top and the underside. Though nobody will see it, I wanted the underside where the reinforcing panel was welded to be even and for it all to feel smooth- this part you’ll feel even if you don’t see it.


Just because you can't see it doesn't mean you won't notice it

I mentioned that I needed to deal with the hood latch so I cut it off and welded on an extension. I can now pop the hood and lift it up enough to get my hand in there without the use of Origami. I’m not sure if I’ll use rubber hood tie downs or not but having this addressed is a nice option.


Not pretty but it works!

I picked up a few used horn grills (one original and one aftermarket) and low and behold the aftermarket piece is junk. I actually don’t think I’m going to use the chrome horn grills- I have a plan for that opening… but more on that later


Aftermarket parts, I hate you. Porsche OEM parts I hate you too

So, a bunch of small projects complete that individually seemed minimal but together I now have the essence of a long hood; bumpers fitted and hung, seals fitted, fenders welded and shaped, and hood addressed.

It should be a walk in the park from here, right


Oh, hello there friend

[chrisbalich]

Looking great, Julian!
I'll call you when I need help with fiberglass.

[Gabe.]

Look great! Always nice to see the final form start to take shape.

[Hulley]

I am loving this thread, car is looking great!

[ToySnakePMC]

Originally Posted by Hulley

I am loving this thread, car is looking great!

Wish we had like buttons. This is fun to follow along.

[sozaysven]

I'm getting ready to start an ITB (drive by wire), coil on plug, and backdate on my '79. So this thread has been gold!!! I will have many questions over the next few months but my first... where did you source the hood extension and the light boxes? Would you recommend that route vs just purchasing fiberglass?

[Showdown]

[mention]sozaysven [/mention] sounds like a fun project!
I don’t know the first thing about anything but the brain trust here will certainly be your best resource when you have questions.

The long hood extension can be got from two sources: Stuttgart Classica and from Pelican Member Michel Beaudry in Canada (michelbeaudry935 at hotmail com).

The metal fender light frames can be got from TRE Motorsports in California and from ST Parts in Germany (st.parts @ hotmail com) but you need a tax ID to import from ST Parts. You can get fiberglass glue-on ones from Rennspeed too but I don’t know anything about them.

I chose this route as I wanted a project and to feel like I made this car, I’m also cheap and the idea of buying new steel hood and fenders to be unpalatable. Of course you can buy fiberglass for a lot less, Rennspeed has the fenders for 800 a piece but even fiberglass pieces add up.

Ether way, the pieces will need work- fiberglass is notorious for requiring lots of adjusting to make it fit. Then again, steel also demands a fair share of labor.

I guess it all depends on how much of a project you want… either way it’ll be fun!

[Showdown]

Mid-week Slippery Slope Update.

What does one do between weekend work sessions. Research, that's what!

And by research I mean scrolling infinitely on Instagram, Pelican and the world wide intertubes for inspiration images and seductresses. Gentlemen, this is a dangerous pastime because for DIY idiots like myself the shots of professional built Porsches permeate my creative brain and have me thinking that I too can tackle impossible projects.

I have thus far been able to ward off these sirens with a glance at my rapidly dwindling bank account, quickly shrinking calendar and ultimately coming to my senses.

I fear I may have finally reached a point where the temptress's song is too much and I'm steering my ship toward the rocky coast.

Hi everyone, I'm Julian and I hate the fuel filler on my Porsche.

Mine is kinda bent and doesn't sit flush so it looks stupid, it opens but needs the force of a thousand angry German grandmothers to close it and it just looks meh.

I've been thinking a lot about options:

1.) Center hood cap: everyone does this and it's cool but for a street car that's going to be used daily it seems impractical.
2.) Hidden filler in the trunk: super clean but inconvenient
3.) Exposed RSR fender filler like on Emory's 911K: very cool and convenient but not original.
4.) Pop-up flush fuel filler: clean, convenient and novel
5.) Do nothing and be happy that Porsche designed a good fuel filling system: path of least resistance and perfectly adequate.

The more I think about it the more I like #4



Or if I want it painted:



Small, flush with the fender, easily accessible and convenient and unique (ok, not really all that unique but I can pretend)

My question dear brethren, is am I falling down a rabbit hole? Is this something that should just be left alone?

Ultimately I have to wonder how I'd do it:

Drain gas tank, remove rubber connector between tank and neck, seal up the tank, remove all the filler stuff from the fender, weld in an extension to the fuel neck, cut a hole in the fuel lid for the neck extension, weld up the fuel lid, trim the extension, weld it to the fender, weld in the fuel cap... Party time.

Sound right?

I welcome thoughts, hopes and prayers and particularly and guidance, advice, or photos anyone has that can help.

[1979-930]

Something custom should be done.

i assume the cap unscrews on the pop up. So is the base welded to the panel? If so that means the fuel nozzle gasket presses against the paint.
I like the idea. But how do you protect the paint from scuffs and gas?

I like the magnet door with the box. I assume the nozzle will fit in the door and any drips would end up inside with a drain attached.

I'm leaning that direction with mine.
Or a pop open headlight with the filler behind it as Focker suggested in another thread.

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by Showdown

Mid-week Slippery Slope Update.

What does one do between weekend work sessions. Research, that's what!

And by research I mean scrolling infinitely on Instagram, Pelican and the world wide intertubes for inspiration images and seductresses. Gentlemen, this is a dangerous pastime because for DIY idiots like myself the shots of professional built Porsches permeate my creative brain and have me thinking that I too can tackle impossible projects.

I have thus far been able to ward off these sirens with a glance at my rapidly dwindling bank account, quickly shrinking calendar and ultimately coming to my senses.

I fear I may have finally reached a point where the temptress's song is too much and I'm steering my ship toward the rocky coast.

Hi everyone, I'm Julian and I hate the fuel filler on my Porsche.

Mine is kinda bent and doesn't sit flush so it looks stupid, it opens but needs the force of a thousand angry German grandmothers to close it and it just looks meh.

I've been thinking a lot about options:

1.) Center hood cap: everyone does this and it's cool but for a street car that's going to be used daily it seems impractical.
2.) Hidden filler in the trunk: super clean but inconvenient
3.) Exposed RSR fender filler like on Emory's 911K: very cool and convenient but not original.
4.) Pop-up flush fuel filler: clean, convenient and novel
5.) Do nothing and be happy that Porsche designed a good fuel filling system: path of least resistance and perfectly adequate.

The more I think about it the more I like #4



Or if I want it painted:



Small, flush with the fender, easily accessible and convenient and unique (ok, not really all that unique but I can pretend)

My question dear brethren, is am I falling down a rabbit hole? Is this something that should just be left alone?

Ultimately I have to wonder how I'd do it:

Drain gas tank, remove rubber connector between tank and neck, seal up the tank, remove all the filler stuff from the fender, weld in an extension to the fuel neck, cut a hole in the fuel lid for the neck extension, weld up the fuel lid, trim the extension, weld it to the fender, weld in the fuel cap... Party time.

Sound right?

I welcome thoughts, hopes and prayers and particularly and guidance, advice, or photos anyone has that can help.

Originally Posted by 1979-930

Something custom should be done.

i assume the cap unscrews on the pop up. So is the base welded to the panel? If so that means the fuel nozzle gasket presses against the paint.
I like the idea. But how do you protect the paint from scuffs and gas?

I like the magnet door with the box. I assume the nozzle will fit in the door and any drips would end up inside with a drain attached.

I'm leaning that direction with mine.
Or a pop open headlight with the filler behind it as Focker suggested in another thread.

I have nothing constructive to add.
I'm just here to commiserate and hope we can find, and implement, our fuel filler fixes before April is upon us.
**Derrick, I know you have more time than that. But you'll take as much time as you allot. So get to work, hippie.

[Showdown]

Chris, I singularly blame you for this problem I now find myself obsessing over. Until you mentioned it I was blissfully ignorant to my deep need to fuel filler solutions. Damn you!


Thinking about the options:

The pop up one pops up when pressed and unscrews to reveal the filler neck. No provisions for drips as it's more of a motorcycle product. I guess there's no paint protection but I'm ok with that because my paint is meh and it'll never be bling.

The other one is just a spring loaded door panel that pops up when pressed to reveal the cap. That one may be better as the sheet metal is oversized and could be trimmed to fit the existing opening and I may not need to tinker with the filler neck at all. This one would allow for drips to be caught and potentially a fuel bib to remain. This seems "easiest" but kinda feels like a lot of work for basically what exists now, just round.

Ugh, is this me talking myself into an RSR style filler cap?

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by Showdown

Chris, I singularly blame you for this problem I now find myself obsessing over. Until you mentioned it I was blissfully ignorant to my deep need to fuel filler solutions. Damn you!


Thinking about the options:

The pop up one pops up when pressed and unscrews to reveal the filler neck. No provisions for drips as it's more of a motorcycle product. I guess there's no paint protection but I'm ok with that because my paint is meh and it'll never be bling.

The other one is just a spring loaded door panel that pops up when pressed to reveal the cap. That one may be better as the sheet metal is oversized and could be trimmed to fit the existing opening and I may not need to tinker with the filler neck at all. This one would allow for drips to be caught and potentially a fuel bib to remain. This seems "easiest" but kinda feels like a lot of work for basically what exists now, just round.

Ugh, is this me talking myself into an RSR style filler cap?

I accept the responsibility.

As such, I have an idea.
You leave yours alone and we combine our super-powers* to do something to mine.



*Super-powers include Julian's fabrication prowess, my willingness to try dumb things, and our unilateral insistence on doing everything the hard way.

[Showdown]

HAHAHA!

The hard way is the fun way!

I'm going to think on this one a bit more. I now have so many tab on my browser open. I'm deep into aircraft fuel caps now.

[al lkosmal]

Julian,
I have an RSR project in the queue...and I've also been thinking about fuel fillers. The drivers side filler lid has already been welded closed on my car and i like the idea of having the fender smooth with no door. That helps me to focus on either a through the hood or under the hood filler.
I like the looks of the through the hood fillers, but I don't like the idea of dragging the fill/hose across the hood...ok for racing, not so much for a daily driver/canyon carver..... so, I'm thinking that an under the hood filler might be best. A slight pita, but worked fine on the old VW bugs.

regards,
al

[chrisbalich]

An under hood filler isn't really that bad. I've been running one for two years.
The only times it's remotely inconvenient are during a downpour with wind or when you have the whole trunk smashed full of stuff. And even those can be mitigated with careful parking and the use of a paper towel, respectively.

[AG81]

If you have the means and the time I am for something cool like the pop up #4. Definitely the way I would go and have been considering for some time.....just hate to repaint a perfect fender.

[Jonny H]

Looking good! While you’re looking at the front bumper / valence I recommend to trial fit the AC condenser. There are numerous was to do a backdated front end and it’s easier to resolve fitment now.

[tk32]

Originally Posted by al lkosmal

...
I'm thinking that an under the hood filler might be best. A slight pita, but worked fine on the old VW bugs....

Also worked great on those old 356s I think all the way until the T6 body style (1963 +/-?) when the thru fender passenger side filler appeared. That is a lot of Porsches with factory under hood fillers to draw inspiration from.

Also at the pump people look at you extra funny when they wonder to themselves why you have the hood open and are pouring gas directly on the engine