68 Targa build - the good, the bad, & the ugly

[margabuck]

Everyone loves a good story, so let me give you mine. I'm the guy that bought this 2 years ago:

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/1110607-1968-porsche-targa-project-sale.html

At that time, I had sold a business and was looking for a “project.” My background is engineering and project management so putting a car together seemed like a decent challenge. I turned it into this:




I’m not really even a “car guy.” I know enough to fix things when they break. On classic cars, I had no experience outside of a 70 VW Bug that I have. I tore that apart and had it repainted while I redid the interior vinyl & exterior trim. Dropped the engine & had another guy refurb it. But that was 20 yrs ago. I had no Porsche experience and the flat 6 engine is way diff than the 40 hp VW. But I wanted to figure it out & enjoy doing most of the work myself.



For the 911, I didn’t do the body work...I had a local guy sand it, prime & paint, and cut & polish. I also didn’t do the engine work. When I purchased the car in Dallas, the shop owner knew a former Porsche mechanic in the local area. He took the engine and did a total refurb (piston/cylinder, tensioner & timing chains, bearings, transaxle refresh). The engine was already out of the car…he came by and got it and 6 mths later I drove over and picked it up.



Outside of paint and that interior engine work, I did everything else…well, 98% of the remaining work.

As you saw in the listing, the car was literally in parts. I had bins and bins of parts and most I had no idea what they were or where they went. It was a hard-window targa, but given that the rear glass had a little chip & I really wanted a convertible, I converted it to a SWT.



First thing I did when I got the car was installed the suspension and wheels. I needed it to roll so I could move it around. I got the PET drawings from the Auto Atlanta website and determined all of the parts I needed…and compared that to the parts I had. I used Mike’s Restoration videos on youtube as my install guide. He rebuilt a 67 911 coupe and most of the work was similar to my car.



The paint job took forever. First shop I trailered it to took 3 mths to even take it…then it sat at the shop for another 3 mths. I found another shop and eventually got it done. But the process ate up a good 9 mths of my project time just trying to get it painted.



Once it came back from paint, I just treated it like a project to manage. I put the car in my garage and worked on it a few hrs every day. I don’t have any major auto mechanic stuff like lifts or presses, just basic hand tools and a Dremel. (If I needed a press or a unique auto tool, I have a friend with a shop). I did the electrical first. I purchased a brand-new complete wiring harness from a guy in Germany and installed that.

[margabuck]

I created a big 3-ring binder of all the PET schematics. Then I’d just pick a subsystem to work on…like brakes or dash or tunnel or doors or rear window, use the PET to determine the parts needed for that system, match it against the parts I had, order missing parts, and watch a few videos on the particular task. I’d get all the parts together & do the work.

I’d do it wrong and take it apart and do it again. Then one more time because I forgot something or didn’t get it good enough or screwed something up again. I wasn’t looking for 100%...I was happy with an “A.” I wanted it to be 90% there.







I am more versed with the upholstery work since I had done a carpet job and recovered my VW seats. Mike’s Restoration had a lot of good videos that went over recovering the dash and laying the carpet. I just followed those. Some parts were too damaged and I had to make new from scratch. I bought german vinyl and got pretty good at covering parts in the warm sunshine. Seats and vinyl came from K&H Auto Upholstery in CA.






There were no videos on putting in the soft window. I purchased the hard parts from Yves Bouchard (who I found here on Pelican) and the window from Autos International. Yves had a rough install guide but I still felt like I was flying by-the-seat-of-my-pants. I also had to modify some parts to fit the SWT instead of the hard window. But it turned out ok…it’s not tight enough for me (that’s what she said).

[margabuck]

The absolute worst issue for me was the front windshield. I cracked the orig one putting it in. Bought another, but cracked it putting that one in. Come to find out, the replacement windshields are about 1/2” longer on both sides than the orig. I hired a mobile windshield company to come grind the ends down of the next replacement and help me put it in. Overall, it took me 6 weeks to get the windshield in! It wore on me and I took a break from the car during this time. I should have followed Mike’s Restoration video on this one…I didn’t and my chrome trim is not completely in the corners. But I’m not taking the windshield out & so far it hasn’t fallen out.



Eventually I got everything in and it was time to marry up the engine. My friend with the auto repair shop helped.



Second worst issue was getting it running correctly. Once I dropped in the engine and hooked everything up, it started! Great, but it didn’t run well enough to drive. It had the orig Zenith carbs that hadn’t been refurb’d. We (my shop friend, his mechs, and me all standing around this poor-running car) figured it was the carbs so I took them off, got a repair part kit, and did all the work. After re-installing them in the car, it still didn’t run correctly.



I messed around for a month trying to get it right…finally trailered the car over to a local guy who works on Porsches. First thing he said was, “get rid of the Zeniths and get some new Webers.” I was frustrated with the car by this point & I left it with him…he put new carbs on and also recommended a new distributor. After that, it ran great (although it needed a new fuel pump and I eventually replaced the alt).

Now your big question: how much time & money have you spent? I went over my budget. I “arbitrarily” (as my wife makes sure to point out) thought I could do the entire project for $50K, but it went more than that. That was for the car, all parts, and any services I paid someone else for. Timewise…I probably averaged 3-4 hrs a day for a year. Some days I would work for 8 hrs but other days I didn’t work at all. I would say I have 1,000+ hrs working on this project.

[margabuck]

THE GOOD
I touched every part on this car. It was either cleaned/reused or replaced. All new wiring, brake lines, fuel lines, air lines. New master cylinder, oil tank, and fuel tank. Anything vinyl or rubber was replaced (except vertical panels listed below!).

All rust removed. Body work included replacing a couple turn signal light housing, fixing some damaged in the interior, and replacing door skins.

Re-chromed all of the chrome parts using Dan’s Polishing in Adamsville, TN. I sent the parts out and they all came back looking brand new.



The calipers were rebuilt by PMB Performance in UT. I sent them out, they did the work, and returned them looking brand new. Then I installed them upside down which was pointed out by the Porsche guy who worked on my carbs.



New fuel pump, Weber carbs, and electronic distributor (from 123IginitionUSA).

It’s a European T model…so gauges are in German units. It was last driven in 1992…so it’s been several decades since it was on the road.

Everything works. Every light, gadget, gauge, and flap shines or moves like it is supposed to!

Besides sources I mentioned above, I also got parts from Pelican, Stoddard, Sierra Madre, Auto Atlanta, Auto****AZ, Rock Auto, Retro Automotive (in VT), and ebay.

[margabuck]

THE BAD
The engine is not original. Sometime during its early life, a ’72 2.4L engine was installed. That’s crap for my car’s “collector value” and also tough to deal with when looking at the PET/parts for 2 different model years.

The build date was in Mar so later in the 68 model year. It has a 69 front end. The passenger-side door is also the 69-design. Not a big deal when finished…but when you are getting parts together, you need to know that up front! Doesn’t help my car’s value knowing my 68 is not a “true” 68 but a factory hybrid.

The door panels are original but are missing the pockets underneath the armrest. They were torn off way before the car was last driven. The 68 had 1-off door panels…only installed in this model year and a replacement set was over $1K. I was already over-budget, so I cleaned what I had and re-installed panels w/o the pockets.



Side panels in the back are also original. Along with the rear seat top (not the bottoms…I recovered those) and the rear panel. I just found the vertical vinyl panels cleaned up nicely while anything with a horizontal surface had just collected too much dirt, grime, and crap to be reused.



The rear side panels also had a cutout for a speaker, which I kept and reused…further reducing the “collector” value of the car. (I also installed double speakers in the dash in lieu of the giant front speaker for stereo sound). Also, it’s not an original SWT, or fuel pump, or alternator. Lots of things I did to make it a “fun, reliable driver” took away from its “original” value.




Same with the radio…didn’t use the original & instead went with Retro Auto “European” version…it’s a Bluetooth, hands-free unit with USB input. It looks retro but operates like something you get in a late-model car. Again, whatever I could do to make driving it enjoyable.

[margabuck]

THE UGLY
My gaps suck. Some welding work had to be done inside the passenger compartment during body work. I really needed to have the car squared up and put in a jig to ensure it was straight…and make sure all of the doors & panels were installed to line up gaps. But I didn’t know and just had parts painted. Lesson learned.

My targa top isn’t the best. I didn’t spend $$$ having Targa Dan do it…I did it myself. It was a solid “B.” I’m happy with it b/c I did it…and it works. I am not planning on driving it in the rain anyway. My top and door seals aren’t really “rain” tight.

Because it has a 69 front end on a 68 chassis, I had to fabricate the tube that takes elec wiring from the body to the headlight bowl. I bent metal tubing and used shower curtain rod holders to attach it to the body. (I’m not a welder and my car was already painted by the point). That doesn’t sound great, but its all hidden and turned out well. (I give myself an “A” for overcoming and adapting!)




My carbs still aren’t dialed in. Also, I’ve had a tough time getting the alignment right. But I’m working on it.

[margabuck]

My goal was to build a car I could drive regularly, and I plan use it often. I’ve put 500 km on it in the first mth of it being done! This is not a collector car that will sit in my garage…it will be used (on sunny days, of course) and I needed it to be reliable. I sunk $ into it, but I know it won’t depreciate no matter how many miles it has. It’s like being able to enjoy your investment. I won’t ever sell…it’ll get passed on to my kids.

[WMichelsen]

That's quite the journey. Congrats on finishing a fun, good looking, driver! Enjoy it
Wayne

[rwest]

That’s beautiful, great job.

The best part is that you know every inch of the car so if anything needs attention, you’ll be quick to fix it.

[Mark Salvetti]

That looks incredible. Most of us would have taken a lot more years to go from the condition you bought it in to a beautiful running car. You should be really proud of what you've done (and without our help! ).

The gaps don't look that bad, I suspect it is something you notice but most people won't. And even though it's got the wrong engine and other non-original stuff, I think you would be way ahead if you were to eventually sell it. And if you do pass it on to your kids, it will mean so much to them that you built it yourself. My dad was a cabinet maker, and the furniture he left behind means everything to us.

I understand your reluctance to redo the windshield, but the new Uro seal is supposed to make windshield install much easier than the factory seal. There is a good thread about that here.

I will say that the wavy rear grill would drive me crazy. I would probably yield to a repro (and save the original).

Congratulations, what a great looking car.

Mark

[shadowjack1]

What a great looking car. Nice work all the way around. Thanks for sharing.

[REVerend]

Very nice work, going from parts seems like an a insane challenge for a first time project.

The perfect and correct cars are nice to see in a museum but it’s far more interesting to see a project like this that is out there on the road.

[jgurnari]

gorgeous.

[$yncro]

Wow! Amazing!

[PeteKz]

Hats off. Your frunk and rear deck gaps look good to me--better than mine.

[fanaudical]

Very nice - I love the color!

[Winter]

Originally Posted by REVerend

The perfect and correct cars are nice to see in a museum but it’s far more interesting to see a project like this that is out there on the road.

I agree with the honorable REVerend, and your car is a cool build with a lot of personality. Nice job, happy driving!