My First Targa Build

[flyn-hawn]

I have not been on to do a build in awhile so here goes! This is a commission build and it will be a targa, I have not done one before, that being the first of many firsts on this car for me and I want to share the experience.

First thing was to find a good donor, we looked for a little bit tried a couple M491's but one was pure junk and $100k not off to a good start. So after not being able to source the 491 we switched gears and started looking for a carrera preferably a G50, but, prices were pretty high and we did not need a minty car to just tear it all down! We did want a good car with solid body, as little rust as possible and as original as we could find. after a few more days I started really beating the internet bushes and found an 86 Carrera in Miami advertised for $39,500, kinda inexpensive right? The car had been on the site for a minute so I reached out to the owner and we connected he was really good about face timing me and answering all the questions I had. I booked a flight and within 8 hours I was on an overnite flight to Miami. I arrived about 10am and got an Uber to the owners house, he met me there a couple minutes after I arrived. We talked and checked the car, I tried to look under it the best I could but without a lift not much I could do. It did look to have original paint except for the left front fender and door. The interior was intact and not to far from original, car started right up and after a minute while driving it warmed up and I was really surprised by how well it ran and drove.

Well after that a bit of negotiating and we had a deal, I contacted my client and waited for the wire to come in grabbed some killer food at a Cuban restaurant, (thanks Rick!) then a hotel at the Hilton a few blocks from where the car was and took a nap as I had been up for close to 24 hours at this time. I woke up at 9:30 the owner said he received the wire and if I wanted to come pick it up, sure was my answer. He came and collected me and I drove back to the hotel went back to sleep for a bit but ended up getting back up before midnight and hit the road. Yes I was driving this car that I had known for about 30 minutes from Miami to San Diego on 9/11/2023, btw 9/11 is my sons birthday. I drove thru the night finally stopping at 10am in Chipley Florida at a Quality Inn, so tired I could not go any further. Let me tell ya it is not that easy to sleep at 10am even though I was dead tired!

I ended up sleeping for a couple hours then back on the road. Turns out my sister was visiting my nephew and had an air bnb on Dauphin Island, Alabama so that was where I was headed. I got there around 5pm hung out had dinner and back on the road, next stop Lafayette Louisiana. Didn't plan to stop there but at 2:30 am spent again that's where I stopped. Woke up the next day and remembered I had a guy there that I had met a couple years ago. It turned out I sold his brother a truck on BaT a few years before I met him. Anyway I called and he said lets go have breakfast as he lives 10 minutes away we met at The Coffee Depot and had southern breakfast with grits and mini beignets, yum! After breakfast we went to a sho[p nearby that was building a car for him, he bought a Z1 BMW on bat and was transplanting the driveline from an E39 M5 into this little car, first class fab and install but it was not finished yet.

I'll tell you this little carrera ran so well I had been cruising at about 110 for a while, when I pulled over for fuel I thought I should check the tire pressures and dates. Well sure enough the tires were about 13 years old, yowza! No more 110 cruising, dialed it back to 85 after that, but that car drove for 4 days like that. I drove thru all the southern states temperature was never below 90 during the day and 106 was the hottest, the temp gauge never got above 9 o'clock, ever! and it did not miss a beat. Averaged about 26mpg on premium, NO AC, No Radio but I had my wireless speaker and blue tooth. It was a great adventure and would have been better if I had more time. But I wanted to get back home and start on the build!!!

This is going to be a really high end build, wide body 4.0L monster, I'll start adding more pictures of what we're doing stay tuned!

The first 4 pics ar at Ricks house and the Hilton Dadeland around the corner from him.
The next was on my way to Dauphin Island, Alabama and my nephew on the dock at the air bnb. The next picture is Sequin Texas just before I got to the hotel. The last one was somewhere in west Texas about 104 degrees I had to pull over and just kick it for a minute.

[nospiners]

Subscribed !

[fanaudical]

Sounds like fun! I've had my Targa for almost 15 years but have yet to take it on a major road trip. I need to do that...

Are you planning on stiffening the chassis at all for the 4.0L? If so, how?

[flyn-hawn]

* * * * * * I am putting this here because some people either do not read or do not understand what I've said the Mexico Blue car is NOT the targa! It is a friends car that is for sale soon * * * * * * * *




Well after a 4 day drive home I needed a little break. So right about the end of September I brought the car to my buddies shop Euro Sport here in San Diego. They do excellent work and have been around for many years, specializing in European cars from collision to full tilt Pebble Beach concours restorations. I had them do some work on my last Kingston Grey hot rod.

Anyway I think I mentioned earlier that this would be a seriously high spec build, full tilt wide body Singeresque ( is that a word) type car with no stone left unturned in attaining perfection. The end result will be stunning, working with my client has been a very real opportunity for me and being able to translate his desires for an incredible car and turn it into a reality is so satisfying. Watching the Little Panzer transform from a relatively pedestrian mode of transportation into a world class stunner is just a fascinating process, so lets get to it.

Started by just getting the car up in the air and have a good look around, lots of light and poking and prodding to assess what we have to start with. Here is where driving 2,500 miles across the country through different types of weather and roads is really paying dividends. I know what systems were working and how well they were working, just as importantly what needed to be addressed. As this car will eventually be stripped down to nothing and rebuilt using all new parts and of course refurbished factory parts as well it is more a peace of mind thing.

First off was removing the front and rear bumpers head lights and oiling system and mounting a borrowed set of Braid 15" wheels size 9 and 11" wide with Pirelli P7 Corsa tires so that we can start getting flare placement where we want them. Next was cutting the fenders away and tacking the flares on which eventually were completely butt welded and hammer, pick and dolly metal finished so as to use absolutely as little filler as possible. It is a time consuming process and noisy! We have ordered lots of parts and unfortunately some are having delays the front bumper as a glaring example. I decided to use a bumper that has a more "reimagined" look than my own as that is what we are going after in this build. We used Turbo flares, I really like them and prefer the profile as compared with the RSR style flare.

Well I am little disappointed now as I tried loading pictures of the car up in the air on the lift before we started but I have been using my real camera and the images are to large and I don't know how to resize them. So I am having to skip to what I have on my iPhone with the flares already welded in place

By the way the wheels and tires are from my old car that I sold to a friend, he has done a full backdate rotisserie restoration on a 1975 non sunroof coupe with 3.8 EFI engine and G50 transmission in Mexico Blue. That car will be available for sale when it is finished in a couple months, just in case anyone is looking for a new toy. I consulted with him the whole way along and have helped with getting it to this point and will continue helping him and will be offering it for sale. Contact me if you have interest in it!

[flyn-hawn]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

Sounds like fun! I've had my Targa for almost 15 years but have yet to take it on a major road trip. I need to do that...

Are you planning on stiffening the chassis at all for the 4.0L? If so, how?

We are doing some gusseting around rear shock turrets as we will be running coil overs and an active suspension. Gusset around spring plate mount/torsion tube and front sway bar area for a thru body bar, a bit of stitch welding on the seams. It is not going to be a track car but it should be fully capable in that enviornment

[Sij299]

Amazing !!! Nice build

[fanaudical]

Originally Posted by flyn-hawn

We are doing some gusseting around rear shock turrets as we will be running coil overs and an active suspension. Gusset around spring plate mount/torsion tube and front sway bar area for a thru body bar, a bit of stitch welding on the seams. It is not going to be a track car but it should be fully capable in that enviornment

That sounds all great for stiffening the front and rear - but what about the middle? Are you stiffening the side rails at all to increase torsional rigidity of the car? That lack of connecting roof skin isn't helping...

And maybe I'm overthinking this. I know there is debate about whether or not the Targa is less rigid than the coupe. My impression (after driving mine a bunch) is that it is. I feel like I can get a bit of undesirable flex in my car (and that's with a 2.7...).

[flyn-hawn]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

That sounds all great for stiffening the front and rear - but what about the middle? Are you stiffening the side rails at all to increase torsional rigidity of the car? That lack of connecting roof skin isn't helping...

And maybe I'm overthinking this. I know there is debate about whether or not the Targa is less rigid than the coupe. My impression (after driving mine a bunch) is that it is. I feel like I can get a bit of undesirable flex in my car (and that's with a 2.7...).

Yes the targa is a flex flyer with no where near the rigidity of the coupe, but it was not meant to, it is what it is. Short of fabricating and welding something into the car that would intrude on the available space we have, ie the back seat area, I don't think there is anything we are willing to give up to achieve that.

[fanaudical]

Got it - thanks. I see lots of coupe mods for more power, not so much for the Targa and was just wondering how you were going to approach this. Looking forward to seeing the results!

[rokemester]

Ah this is more a Targa to Coupe conversion! Wow! Some mad skills to add a solid roof and in the proper profile!

[fanaudical]

I think the photos of the Mexico Blue car are not the same as the black Targa. I think the OP included those photos to show the build quality he's working to achieve.

[RSTarga]

These later Targas had more reinforcement than earlier cars.

[flyn-hawn]

Dropped driveline and suspension, put the car on the Cellette bench to check for straightness in the chassis. Found a little rust on both sides near the jack points where the lead joints are and will be cutting that out and replacing the areas with trimmed restoration design pieces. Having to rework the G-body to 964 decklid billet hinges and fitting the singer style spoiler with working mechanism.

[almostordinary]

amazing work!!

I saw the wide body and started drooling.... I'd love, in a couple years... to build another gbody ground up, thinking a turbo targa... but see you put the roof back on... killer work!

[flyn-hawn]

Originally Posted by almostordinary

amazing work!!

I saw the wide body and started drooling.... I'd love, in a couple years... to build another gbody ground up, thinking a turbo targa... but see you put the roof back on... killer work!

You are the second person that thinks I have made the targa a coupe, I did not. The blue coupe is my friends car that will be for sale soon. The targa is the targa, still. We have not yet finished the metal work on this car let alone paint, it is still a work in progress

[nospiners]

I love those engine lid hinges and the duct tail !!

[almostordinary]

Originally Posted by flyn-hawn

You are the second person that thinks I have made the targa a coupe, I did not. The blue coupe is my friends car that will be for sale soon. The targa is the targa, still. We have not yet finished the metal work on this car let alone paint, it is still a work in progress

Thanks for clarifying! Super excited to see the final product. Love the look of wide body targas they're too few and far between.

[flyn-hawn]

Well it's almost Christmas and here is an update. When I last left off we had found some rust in the rockers where the lead joint is. turns out there was a bit inside the rocker as well as the outside so it was cut open and addressed and then we used parts of a patch panel to repair the outside. We will be using an active suspension from Tractive Suspension with coil overs on the rear and torsion bars up front. Most people are not running a rear sway bar but are using a small front bar. So in preparation for this we welded in gussets from elephant racing around the rear torsion tube area where the spring plate mounts, the turrets where the upper shock mounts and reinforcement for a thru body sway bar and in this case it will be Tarett's rsr adjustable 19mm front sway bar. I'm also using a 964 decklid with a singer style active duck tail? The car has been completely stripped now and most of the metal work is complete, the car is off the dolly and setting on jack stands being readied for the rotisserie.

[flyn-hawn]

[kevinbodman930]

Dave, all of your builds are special, and this one won't be any different.

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