Back from the dead - '75 911S

[gyrotuner]

A little while ago I bought my first 911- a '75 911s- and tucked it away until i had time/money to actually start on it. Kind of a dream to get it, although it certainly needs some love as it's been sitting for most of my life.

Im going to try to keep a build thread going in here of progress as i chip away at it, its probably the biggest build i've done to date on a car, at least all at once.

The only photo i have of it on hand of when i got it, kind of crusty.



So i starting bring the paint back to see if there is any life left and it's decent. Moved it to the new place:



Success!



Starting the dissasembly. First order of business, dropping the front suspension and replacing the front pan:



Paint is coming back nicely, but on hold till more gets done on the car. Dont want to be working around perfect paint.

More teardown:




And the battery tray & front pancancer:


New sheetmetal from Restoration Designs is on it's way, and will be the first big step for this car.

Front suspension assembly out:



Getting the hang of cutting spot welds and removing panels:



And for those interested, its stable mate in the garage:

[allaircooled]

Very nice, looking forward to seeing some updates.

[T77911S]

nice 325. i have an 88 325is. not nearly as nice as yours.. i love that little car. fun to drive.

[Jack Stands]

As '75 was the last year before Porsche started doing galvanizing throughout, check carefully for rust around the rear torsion bars as well. My old '75 was eventually dead due to rust in that area that wasn't't worth fixing back in the day.

[gyrotuner]

Originally Posted by T77911S

nice 325. i have an 88 325is. not nearly as nice as yours.. i love that little car. fun to drive.

Thanks! It was my first car so it's been a long time in the works. I do love me an e30, still one of my favorite cars to date.

Originally Posted by Jack Stands

As '75 was the last year before Porsche started doing galvanizing throughout, check carefully for rust around the rear torsion bars as well. My old '75 was eventually dead due to rust in that area that wasn't't worth fixing back in the day.

Good to know, with a quick glance the car seems to be mostly rust free save for the front pan, but I will poke around a bit closer in that area.

[porschetub]

Car appears to have been well stored judging by the paintwork,mind you being black its most likely had a repaint??.
Have you found the reason why it was stored so long?.
Looks like there is potential for a great car here.
Always nice to see a car ''being bought back'',good luck.

[gyrotuner]

Originally Posted by porschetub

Car appears to have been well stored judging by the paintwork,mind you being black its most likely had a repaint??.
Have you found the reason why it was stored so long?.
Looks like there is potential for a great car here.
Always nice to see a car ''being bought back'',good luck.

I don't 100% know the story, but from what I do know the car was stored inside by the most recent owner for about 2 years, and wasn't touched. Before that, it was owned by the owner of a body shop, who did the paint and then presumably let it sit for years, I also believe to be inside. Part of why the paint is coming back so easily is its just surface oxiadation, with a thick layer of more recent paint underneath to cut and buff. The most recent tabs are from '99 The 2.7 has been removed, and presumably the project lost its wind with rebuild costs or something. Ive since sourced another 2.7 I'm excited for, but i bought the car sans engine or transmission.

[Bleedsblue]

Nice! Old Bimmers and Porsches make good combos, as long as you can wrench or are filthy rich (I'm the former)

If only I could impart the S38's character into my 3.2 flat six...

[gyrotuner]

Nice! Old Bimmers and Porsches make good combos, as long as you can wrench or are filthy rich (I'm the former)



If only I could impart the S38's character into my 3.2 flat six...

I'm part of that camp too, lol

[gyrotuner]

Not a major update unfortunately, but making some progress. Unfortunately ive been distracted with my garage hours getting the wilwood manual brake conversion buttoned up on the e30. But its about done, so back to the 911.



Gathering Suspension components:



Still chipping away at the front pan, thats my biggest hurdle currently.

[T77911S]

i have to do some work on my 325.
i think my center bearing or the guibo is bad, i have a really bad vibration when accelerating.
also need to do something about wheels and front end. wheels are all bent and needs an alignment bad.
there is an M62 motor downt he road i was trying to get. been thinking about a V8 or something else for it. if i am going to do an engine swap i want to make it worth my while.

[Jcslocum]

Keep up the work and leave that BMW alone!! Get the front pan done, and then it's all downhill from there.

[LJ851]

Get that front pan in !

[catuck]

Nice to see another '75 coming back to life! I started the slippery slope about a year and a half ago. Mine is in reassembly stage in my garage, just can't find the time.

Can't wait to see yours done!

[gyrotuner]

Originally Posted by T77911S

i have to do some work on my 325.
i think my center bearing or the guibo is bad, i have a really bad vibration when accelerating.
also need to do something about wheels and front end. wheels are all bent and needs an alignment bad.
there is an M62 motor downt he road i was trying to get. been thinking about a V8 or something else for it. if i am going to do an engine swap i want to make it worth my while.

Sounds like a bad driveshaft. Usually if the guibo is going, the u-joints arent far behind. Im actually planning on doing an m62 swap (hence the manual brakes) on the e30 once the 911 is buttoned up.

Originally Posted by Jcslocum

Keep up the work and leave that BMW alone!! Get the front pan done, and then it's all downhill from there.

Originally Posted by LJ851

Get that front pan in !

The chunks are getting bigger, its almost out! The biggest issue is the part of the pan nearest the front A-arm pickups. Hard to get a straight shot to drill them out.

Originally Posted by catuck

Nice to see another '75 coming back to life! I started the slippery slope about a year and a half ago. Mine is in reassembly stage in my garage, just can't find the time.

Can't wait to see yours done!

I wish i had a bit more time to chip away at it, but im making progress bit by bit.

[Dpmulvan]

Good job you'll get there

[gyrotuner]

Finally, the pan is out. Got to clean up and prep the area before the new pan goes in. Also pulled the rocker panels, and to my relief doesn't appear to be much rust.





The new restoration design panels:

[Junkbone]

Very cool!! I'm in the same boat but had a bit of a head start being a bit newer model. Nice looking car and props for jumping right in there. You'll be turning heads before you know it.

[gyrotuner]

No major updates, just disassembling and slowly prepping the front pan for a solid fit.



Close.




Front struts/hubs/brakes dissasembled and ready for new components

[Lapkritis]

Slow n steady gets it done. My '74 will need similar work eventually.