My New (Old) Early 911!

[t6dpilot]

Hello again to all you nice Pelicans! After a long search and numerous missed cars (a day late and a dollar short), I have my new baby in my garage! She is a 1971 911 T Coupe that is all there and has not been bastardized - well except for installing speakers in the door pockets. Dammit! She has 179k on the clock with a rebuilt engine and has been garaged in CA and pretty well taken care of by all PO's. BTW, no rust on this car. I will post pics later.

I have a couple of questions for which I am seeking opinions:

1. The turn signal lever does not hold itself in the right turn mode. It works fine for left turns, but not right turns.

2. It also does not cancel after the turn is complete. Can you rebuild these to correct for this problem and is it something easy to remove?

3. Also, when you indicate a right turn, both flashers in back operate, not just the right one. It works fine in front and for left turns. Any ideas?

4. Anybody know the current bulb numbers for the replacement bulbs and can I get those at a normal auto parts store?

5. Has anyone recovered a factory steering wheel with leather? I would like to keep it with the car, but want to change the worn out leather.

She is a good, solid car with a strong running engine. The PPI revealed excellent compressions and it starts with very little smoke and idles smoothly. Sounds great! Interior is in very excellent, serviceable condition with only a few replacement needs. One repaint in original Light Ivory that is in very good condition. All the chrome is in excellent condition and most "stuff" works. She just needs TLC and to be cleaned in all the nooks and crannies.

Here are a couple of so-so pics to peruse. I will send more later...

[jkarolyi]

Looks sweet! Congrats on your find...persistence pays off again.

Sorry I can't help you with your questions though.

[mjshira]

contrats and welcome. you can find most of your needs by doing a search. not sure what is causing your rear turnsignal issue. I'd suggest cleaning the connections at the switch. blubs can be found here with our host.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Scott, Big congrats on finding what looks to be a VERY nice car. Since you're new here take some evenings to just poke around the search function. I did and it has helped me a lot. See the little icon that says "search" in the upper right area? For example, type in Steering Wheel AND Recover. You can select if you want thread with those words in them or just thread with those words in the title.

If you search for a thread I did a couple of months ago you'll see I re-stitched my later three spoke wheel. Pelican sells a leather recover kit for it (I didn't need it) and they may have one for your wheel..check it out. I used something called "artificial sinew" I bought here in SoCal at a large crafts type store called Michaels. Don't know if they exist where you are but something like them. Used two curved large leather needles and just followed the factory xxxx pattern. It came out very good. Let me know by PM if you don't find it and I will give you any additional details I can. Best, Dan

P.S. Do a search for a recover job that "BigChillCar" did too. Ryan is his name and his came out good also.

[randywebb]

bulbs are std. ones and can be found almost anywhere - might fix some blinking problems - check the manual for the correct #'s

grounds or tabs on the bulb sockets are most likely problems after that - search for fixes & how-to's

[fryardds]

Scott,

Welcome to world of Early 911 ownership.

I am anxious to check out your new 911. I had the same problem with the turn signal indicator on one of my cars. I my case the indicator was slightly loose so the cancel ring wouldn't trip the stalk to return to the center position after the turn. That may solve the other issue also. If the indicator itself is broken I may have one in my stash of parts that you can have. I'll look for it.

If you are really picky about the steering wheel looking factory original then no recovering job, however nice, will do. You will need to look for a nice condition original one on eBay or swap meet. The leather recovering kits all seem to have the wrong leather grain and it is really hard to get the seams done correctly, which is combination of a XXX and baseball stitch.

PS If you going to be around at the end of the month maybe you could fly me up to pick up the RS in WI (fuel on me of course).

[morganb]

For number 3 check your RH rear bulb is fully in in the holder.

[t6dpilot]

Dr. Fryar DDS, I am looking forward to showing you the car and getting your unbiased opinion. Maybe this weekend if you are around. I am also looking forward to ingratiating myself to your 911 group for fun with wheels.

And yes, I would be willing to fly you to get the RS in WI. Are you sure you want to do that at 35 GAL/HR? I was just thinking that if you are free some weekend, you could come out to the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet to check that out. They are having a Porsche open house on July 16, I believe. Might be a fun drive in the E...

[fryardds]

Originally posted by t6dpilot

And yes, I would be willing to fly you to get the RS in WI. Are you sure you want to do that at 35 GAL/HR?

Uhhhh on second thought..... Maybe I should work on another plan to get up there. One thing is for sure as long as you have an old warbird your ownership of an early 911 will always the least expensive hobby.

Yeah I will be around home all weekend if you want come over so I can check out your new ride. That sounds like a lot of fun to check out Autobahn CC. Our local PCA is having our annual track weekend there this year.