Latest on the 73 VGE

larry47us · 03-25-2004, 07:08 PM

Not really a lot that is exciting and new today, except that it shows the extent to which Mike is working through the details on the car. He found rust along the mating surfaces for the front fenders and the chassis - along the hood, and next to the door.

Cut the rusty off, and welded on new.

Then he is finishing off cleaning out the trunk before the repaint. Pulled out all of the wiring and "stuff" at the front of the trunk area. This is more than I had expected, but he is really going at it.

Stripped all of the paint off of the front latch panel on the trunk. Clean and ready to go.

Here's a picture of the right front area of the car before he puts the fender on. You can see the clean mating surfaces for the fender attachment. He's going to the same detail on the driver's side.

He said that he is priming the fenders, the engine lid and trunk lid off the car (as I had expected), but he asked if I wanted a picture of the car assembled totally primed before he started to bring the color up.

If it wasn't too much trouble, I said, Sure. So that may be the next set of pix. A couple of other details:

1. Decided after much discussion and reading of threads and looking at the pocketbook to buy the carpeting from Original Fit Interiors. Buying the German Velour, and it is a bunch cheaper than Autos, so the pocketbook held sway. Mike has used them before, and said that he has never been disappointed.

2. The seats are being done by Autos. Tony stripped the seats down to the frame, and they needed about $200 worth of rewelding and repair. I guess to be expected from a pair of 30 year old seats. I am having them done in Black German Vinyl with the houndstooth inserts. Tony and Eric Linden recommended that I get the headrest posts nickelplated along with the seat sliders. Mike is shipping them off to California today.

3. The fabric is a bit behind schedule (already). My mill said that they didn't get the sample done yet. He should be sending it off to me next Tuesday. I am really excited to see how well it matches the original. Then, its pricing and delivery. If it takes too long, I may just take delivery of my car earlier with surrogate seats, and install the sport seats later.

Sorry to gab so much. Can you tell I'm excited???

larry

bigchillcar · bigchillcar's Garage

larry,
very cool stuff...can understand the excitement! seats are my next major project...my '74 has the tan seats, so i can't order from pelican. i requested an information packet late last year from world upholstery...looks like i'll be going with them as soon as the next big chunk of cash flows into my bank account...

ryan

cegerer · cegerer's Garage

Larry, that is going to be one beautiful machine when finished! I think it is also a good example for those looking at any 911 that might have "a little rust" that needs to be repaired. As I recall, your car had very little "visible" rust?? Probably proves the rule-of-thumb: Total Rust = Visible Rust x 3.

Are your seats Sport or Standard? -- Curt

sundaypunch · 03-26-2004, 04:11 AM

Jeez, you are going to be afraid to drive that thing when it's done

Looks like he is doing a great job.

donk · 03-26-2004, 06:43 AM

Looking good Larry. I sure have enjoyed following this topic. Are you still expecting the car to be finished on time? No matter what, it will be worth the wait.

larry47us · 03-26-2004, 09:03 AM

Thanks for your comments. I always like looking at the progress of other's cars. I've been hoping that others have enjoyed sharing the progress on mine.

The seats I am getting done are sport seats. I am getting houndstooth inserts put in. The original cloth was a wool fabric. I have a mill that is trying to replicate it for me.

Right now, it looks like Mike will be done sometime end of April, early May. Pretty close to our original timeframe. My problem is the seats. We will probably be waiting for the fabric, and then for the seats to be done. Unfortunately, I didn't find the mill till just a month ago. If I had found them in November of last year . . . . .

Yes, I expect I will be a bit paranoid about the car. I am thinking about magnetic vinyl to put on the sides of it when I park it. Obviously I will become a hiker from the far ends of parking lots. No valet will park this honey. I am sure it will wear off, but not for a few years. I expect to put 5,000 miles on it annually. We'll see how pristine it stays. I bought it to have fun in it, not to park it!!!

larry