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

[RDM]

I love it when a plan falls apart. It's just so fascinating to read how we each deal with the inevitable unexpecteds.

[Showdown]

Originally Posted by RDM

I love it when a plan falls apart. It's just so fascinating to read how we each deal with the inevitable unexpecteds.

Haha, well I’m glad someone is loving it because I’m incredibly anxious over it.

Honestly though, this whole build is really a catalog of how things kind of go sideways and hopefully some graceful recoveries- but I think that’s the norm, especially for DIY. Isn’t that part of the fun (he tells himself over and over hoping that he comes to believe it)

I think if I tackle the hood and engine lid first and notch an easy “win” I’ll have some momentum.

I haven’t even discussed bumpers yet… Oy vey!!

[Gabe.]

Originally Posted by Showdown

I’ll be honest, I’m tempted to vote for others’ builds too- yours for sure!

The plan for paint is to build an enclosure around the car with 4mil plastic- basically a little spray room. The overhead door will be open and exhaust fans will pull the air out while fans on the other side will bring air in.

Before I had my exhausted spray “room” that’s what I did and it was pretty effective. Plastic on the floor is key though!

I have a pretty nice HVLP system with an inest awata gun and feel that if I can get the gun dialed for paint as opposed to the varnish I normally spray it *should* cut down on the amount of sanding I need to do. The reality is that I’ll probably be doing a lot of sanding one way or another.

Seeing Gabe’s work on the Avocado helps build confidence but I’ll be honest; I’m still pretty anxious about it.

You got this! We're always here for moral support.

If you're looking for perfection in a paint job doing it in our garages probably isn't the best plan but if you're looking for something you won't be upset to drive anywhere/everywhere, a garage job is a pretty good solution.

After doing this a couple times I feel like lighting plays a huge part in the end result. Get as many lights as you can + maybe an LED on the spray gun itself. Seeing what we're doing is half the battle.

[Jonny042]

Gabe is right about the light, I make the point in the post below but don't really elaborate on it. I have a 20V cordless LED worklight that I hold in my left hand and spray with my right hand. Pro spray booths have lights down the sides for a reason.

Anyone planning to do any paint work owes it to themselves to get a dekups system, and use 3M masking film:

The 9oz cups are big enough to paint all but the biggest panels without having to refill, and save GALLONS of gun cleaner. Since all you are cleaning is the very short wetted part of the spray gun and not a full size cup, it way faster and easier to mix, spray, and clean up. I use metal cooking measuring cups to mix small batches of paint and thinner and activator right to the dekups liner. I generally mix up just enough for the job at hand. The investment for the system isn't that much but you'll save it in time and materials in no time.

The masking film is neat. You mask off the outline of the panel you want to spray, drape the masking film over the whole car and cut out the outline of the panel along the middle of the masking tape, then seal up the edge to the tape underneath. It's slick and amazingly fast. And saves on time and tape and headaches.

(EDIT!!) - the very bottom picture in the quoted post below shows a good example of masking a single panel - all the masking "paper" is draped over the entire car as one piece and just the rear fender was cut out.

Originally Posted by Jonny042

Once I finally came to grips with the fact that I was going to have to re-paint the car, I started to think about what I could do to improve the experience (and the result). Lots of reading on the internet, and talking to my paint supplier, and even spraying out a test panel, revealed some room for improvement.

First off, when I masked the first time:





I didn't give it that much thought. It turns out my masking film was getting in the way a bit, when trying to spray around the window apertures. I did things slightly different this time:







Notice also, that I decided to paint the cowl and roof separately from the rear quarters. Like I said I'm not that great a painter, and due to my hokey-ass setup I tend to favor lower air pressures and higher transfer efficiency to keep the overspray to a minimum...... so making things easier for myself meant I could relax a bit, take more time, and slow things down a bit, less worry about bumping into stuff (done that), dripping sweat (been there) running out of paint in the cup, etc.

Finally, slowing down and carefully inspecting the spray job in front of me with LOTS OF LIGHT!! to make sure I had complete, even, wet, coats really helped. White paint is tough to spray, because it's so hard to see. But I was actually enjoying myself this time and not feeling stressed because the previous application never felt like it was gong that well.

As for the "split" at the rain gutter, this worked out really well, the gutter actually produces it's own soft edge over most of the length, and will only require a tiny bit of sanding/buffing to be an invisible division.

[Jonny042]

Sorry, don't mean to clutter up your thread, but I think that DIY'ing it means you can get BETTER than professional results. If you aren't punching a clock or have a boss or client tapping their foot on the ground behind you, YOU have all the control in the world and can work wonders. It might take longer or require some experimentation but there is no reason to accept results that you feel you have to make excuses for.

[Showdown]

Clutter away, this is the real world data I need!!

I've been using the DeKups system for years with great success. I also have banks of kelvin and intensity adjustable LED panels that I use for my day job.

I feel confident in my equipment having a good gun, compressor, lights, cups, etc... it's me that I'm worried about

You found the plastic film was better than the paper with tape on the edge? I suppose it's 6 of one and 1/2 dozen of the other as long as it's a good masking job.

[Jonny042]

Of course it's always good to have multiple methods, but the masking film is a miracle. Here's an example that only took a few minutes to do, and that includes masking the ENTIRE vehicle. It also tends to statically attract overspray which is a very nice added benefit.

[Showdown]

Day 25

This weekend’s work, like last weekend was abbreviated as I trekked up to the great North of Wisconsin, behind enemy lines in Milwaukee for one of my wife’s work functions at MIAD. She’s an alum and an arts educator and was asked back to jury the senior thesis shows. I went to art school (Purchase College, SUNY) and love being back in creative cauldrons; there’s a great energy in an art school even if the quality of art is… developing. MIAD is really interesting as they’ve done a hard pivot to digital and industrial arts and touring the 3D labs was awesome to see CNC machines, all sorts of additive printing and some really cool 5-axis CNC + 3D printing combination machines running to make stuff. It kind of made my head spin thinking of all the cool stuff that could be made for these old cars that Porsche could have never envisioned. And given the relative low cost and ease of design, the sky is the limits. Don’t think that I didn’t plant some seeds with the lab manager…

En route back home I passed this future beauty on I94…. A sign from the heavens…?


She gonna be pretty!

Anyhow, back to the car…

Many months ago, I ordered glass bumpers and a whole bunch of ancillary parts from Germany. The bumpers were a bust and forced me to order more bumpers. I still have an RS rear glass bumper for Carrera flares for sale BTW:

ST Parts rear fiberglass backdate bumper

Included in that batch was a set of R-style engine lid hinges. I had planned on installing those as my first project as it seemed easy enough, but at the time I was poopy scared of drilling into my car…haha. It’s funny how our perception of what’s difficult changes as we get better, or at least get more comfortable throwing caution to the wind.

I installed the R hinges in about 20 mins. I also cut off the middle grille tabs and hammer and dollied them to match the surrounding lip. Much cleaner, methinks.


Measure once


Cut twice.


A little R style but not a full on throwback


The grille mounting holes in the decklid were welded closed and some studs welded to the back that will facilitate mounting of the brass mesh I’ll be using. A few strips of aluminum will sandwich the mesh to hold it in place along with the other studs. I think I’ll polish the aluminum to match the bright trim on the car. Remember, the brass will be patinated a bit to bring down the brightness of the gold.


Hidden mounting… until the lid is open.


Gonna have to make that aluminum shiny.


Not bad...

I also got the stereo situation squared away. If you remember from a few posts back I deleted the living hell out of my stereo in favor of a whole bunch of toggle switches but left the speakers. I picked up a small Bluetooth enabled marine amp and tucked it under the passenger seat. It’s a 4 channel with line in, out and a sub out, none of which I have use for in my car at the moment, but it does allow me to stream from my phone to the amp and listen to music without cluttering up the dash. Perfect.


What else can I hide under the passenger…

I’m still waiting on a part to finish up the dash so that’s kind of in a holding pattern for the moment. I hate waiting on stuff that should have arrived when it was supposed to.

I received some Y-harness seatbelts for the rear seats and got them almost installed; I got stumped on the mounting bolts for the lap belts; 7/16-20… I guess I’m going to Lowes. I have two kids (8 and 6) and they’re DIYING to ride in the car with me but Mom says not until they’re belted, bolted and fastened into place… not unreasonable.


That V1-R racing oil is precious cargo, don’t you know!

In addition, I made and installed another thing. I mentioned before that I’m digging the perforated black vinyl as an accent material; on the strut brace and shifter rod, and now on the sound insulation pad.


I guess I should have wiped it clean before the photo…?

Aside from that, I spent some time going around the car sanding down and filling in chips in preparation for preparing to think about getting ready to approach considering attempting to attack the idea of sometime working my way up to… painting this car.

I’ll probably paint the hood and decklid separately and first just because they’re smaller, maybe a better place to start and get my process and gun dialed in. Then I’ll have to decide whether I paint the whole car or section it off into panels, that’s a big decision… I think.

Lots of great feedback from others who have painted their cars is starting to make me feel a bit more confident. Besides… there’s always sanding…ha!

[chrisbalich]

Sounds like I need Jonny, Gabe, and Julian to swing by for a week and shoot my jalopy.

[Hulley]

Lookin good, love what you did to the deck lid.

[Showdown]

Day 26

One of the unfortunate things about having a family is that they want to spend time with you! This presents a conundrum when you want/need to spend time with your Porsche. Lately my allotted P-Car time is rapidly diminishing yet the work isn’t. This week I didn’t get my normal weekend time at the studio, rather I had to squeeze it in after work on Friday which is less than ideal as I’m kind of spent after working all day and it’s hard to muster the energy.

Stop whining, Julian and get to work!

A part that I was waiting on showed up!


Right out of the CNC it looked really good!


Nice shape, mimicking the original but a bit smaller


Looks even better shiny!


Looks ok, but I'm not totally sold.

Because I don’t yet have a lathe and Chris didn’t offer his up to me… I guess he is a little busy… I designed and had CNC milled a key bezel… in brass. It arrived with a machine finish which was actually really nice but I though it might look better polished. I tapped the hole and threaded it onto the ignition switch and… not bad, but not perfect- because the new dash sits more proud than the old dash the bezel can't go all the way down to sit flush against the key slot and that bothers me. So I think I'll make a version 2.

In preparation for painting this heap I took a lot of stuff out/off the car. I’ve had to remove a lot of stubborn bolts thus far but honestly, getting the window frame bolts out was without a doubt the most trying. It took 2 hours to get one frame out. All of the bolts were completely seized. Copious PB Blaster and heat barely had an effect. It was only through the grace of the gods that they came out. One needed to be cut out… that was an ordeal. Suffice it to say, I got them all out along with all the trim and weather seals, the quarter windows and their associated bits and some other stuff.


Taking stuff off is too easy... putting it back on...?

I’ve decided to leave the front and rear glass in. I know, controversial decision (or not, since honestly, who cares) but hear me out; I’m respraying the car white, it’s already white, the glass fits really well and is water tight, and given the nightmares I’ve read about getting the glass in and out…well, I’ll pass on that one for now. I may regret it later but that will be a problem for then.

After that, sanding. The whole car was sanded with 400. This was exhausting and really kind of fun. I was able to knock down all the orange peel and runs from the last paint job and the surface of the car is really smooth and even.

The hood and engine lid were removed and sanded as well. I thought about removing the doors but that proved to be a non-starter and I’m not buying a $400 hinge puller. The doors can stay put.


You can see the reflection of the overhead light go from shiny to matte

And after a bit of clean up I dropped the car off jack stands for the first time in 6 months. I forgot how small and short these cars after it being up 16” for so long!


Tiny little clown car

Oh, I also painted the bumpers.


Velvety smooth


Gray is the new black

Way back when I was young and naïve, I decided I was going to rattle can the bumpers just to see if I could. This is going to be a daily and I’m aiming to put all the miles on it so the bumpers are going to see hell. I prepped the glass, sanded them, primed them, sanded them, primed them, sanded them and then laid down 5 coats of rattle can grey. Then I wet sanded them, laid down 2 more coats of grey and wet sanded them again. Seems like a lot of work but it went really quick. Grease remover and tack cloth and they were glass smooth and damn near perfect. So, I threw on some clear 2K satin. They looked a bit glossy for a while but as the clear flashed off, the exact finish I was aiming for developed; a velvety, satin deep grey.

Next week we paint some car parts!

[1980 SC Targa]

Great work. Love your detailed updates.

A quick tip on rusted/frozen nuts and bolts. Forget the penetrating fluid. Go to the grocery store and get some Gulf Wax - the stuff they use for canning. Then take a torch or lighter and heat the offending nut/bolt up. Doesn't have to be red hot just enough to melt wax. Then press the wax block onto the nut/bolt. The heat will wick the melted wax down into the threads and in between the corrosion. The nut/bolt will then twist off very easily. Works like magic every time.

[chrisbalich]

Excellent work, Julian!

You're welcome to borrow my lathe any time you need. And aside from work, I'll not be far from home until the car runs.

[Showdown]

Originally Posted by 1980 SC Targa

Great work. Love your detailed updates.

A quick tip on rusted/frozen nuts and bolts. Forget the penetrating fluid. Go to the grocery store and get some Gulf Wax - the stuff they use for canning. Then take a torch or lighter and heat the offending nut/bolt up. Doesn't have to be red hot just enough to melt wax. Then press the wax block onto the nut/bolt. The heat will wick the melted wax down into the threads and in between the corrosion. The nut/bolt will then twist off very easily. Works like magic every time.

Brilliant and so totally obvious that I didn’t even think of it. Hopefully I won’t have to use this approach again… fingers crossed!!

[Showdown]

Day 27

Big congrats to Jonny for his contest win. I think it was always his to lose; that’s an all-time epic build and a rightful winner.

Avid followers of this thread, both of you, will remember that I am doing all this work at my studio which I built for fine art conservation; my day job. Turns out, it’s also pretty well suited to car work, particularly painting.

I have a ~150sf spray “room” with heavy vinyl curtains and an active exhaust that I use for spraying varnish on paintings. I can’t navigate the car into it but I can move panels there so I decided to give it a go on the hood and engine lid. It’s not ideal for auto paint and overspray, but it does work!


Full send

I couldn’t find a white that I loved so I made my own: 3-parts bright white, 1-part Wimbledon or Chiffon white (they’re almost identical.) It’s brighter and less yellow than Chiffon white but softer than pure bright white and less green than the white my car previously was.


The colors on the camera are much duller than in real life.

I was super anxious about this and did a few dry runs to get acquainted with the movements and timing. The funny thing is that I’ve probably sprayed a few hundred gallons of varnish over the past 2 decades and muscle memory took over. Yes, getting familiar with the difference between the paint and varnish took a minute but only just.

Tack coat first, let it flash. First wet coat, let it flash. Second wet coat, let it flash. Third wet coat, let it flash. Done. Since this white is going over another single stage white paint, I don’t feel the need to do 5-6 coats.


Painted parts!


The waviest of all the paint... even still, not that bad.


Getting better...


Better still...


Hey, now we're talking


Hot damn!


Small parts are nice and easy to paint.


Well, there had to be one oops. That'll sand and buff out... I hope!


The good
I did not royally screw this up! The paint flowed really well and laid out nice and smooth as the layers were built up and the solvent continued to evaporate. I was aiming for “acceptable” but I think I may have just eked into “good” territory. One key was using slow hardener. My studio is set at 70 degrees but I felt the extra time really helped allow the paint to level out.

The not so good
Some dust specs and a few spots of waviness. I managed to avoid orange peel but there are some areas that could be smoother. But that was all to be expected not having a pro setup and well, not being a pro!

The next steps
I’m pretty happy with how they look. I think a wet sand and buff will get rid of the little dust specs but I think it’s probably best to do it all at once, when the whole car is done. And I may just leave that for next winter as I’m itching to drive this thing!

Next week is car prep and the weekend after that is painting time!!

Hot damn, I think I can do this.
 

[chrisbalich]

You're absolutely crushing it, Julian!

Paint looks great!

[Hulley]

Dude, that looks amazing, always looking forward to your thread update!

[Jonny042]

NICE!!!!!! Looks great. Beyond great!!

GP White has a surprising amount of green in it when you look at the formula.

Those reflections of the fluorescent lights in the paint bring back great memories. And get my sanding muscles twitching. I very much doubt you need to go off the deep end like me. Your paint job will already be above average as sprayed!

You'll find shooting vertical panels and transitions a little tougher - take your time and wait for it to flow out rather than lay it heavier and risk runs.

Keep up the great work!!

Oh one hint - you were talking about leaving in the front and rear windows. It may be possible to tuck in the outer lip of the windscreen seal into the aperture - if your car is like 90% of them it's already doing this in the upper corners so you can do a great job with masking and removing the window will have zero benefit. Not sure if this will work for the rear but worth a try!

[Jonny042]

PS - your studio is awesome! Far bigger than I imagined. And the air handling looks to be about 1000 times better than mince. I have a soft spot for glass block, love it!!

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by Jonny042

...I have a soft spot for glass block, love it!!

Of all the big cities I've been to, none has more glass block than Chicago.
It's everywhere.