The tale of 2 911-Ts

[JSDSKI]

This is WAY better than tv.

[jkap]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

I actually took my car out a little today. It is not totally done, of course, but I could not resist! It is my birthday after all....

Tomorrow is the 5 year anniversary of the car hitting the road with me for the first time..... I'll have to do something special......

[quaz]

Hey my car made it's maiden voyage today! It fired up on first try and ran like champ. Couple of bugs to work out on it. Happy Birthday Jay!

Thanks for the props guys. This story is pretty far from over at this point. There is another year to cover yet!

[jkap]

Originally posted by quaz
Hey my car made it's maiden voyage today! It fired up on first try and ran like champ. Couple of bugs to work out on it. Happy Birthday Jay!

Thanks for the props guys. This story is pretty far from over at this point. There is another year to cover yet!

Hey! we gonna get to gether and have a polish party this weekend or what?!?

[jkap]

Originally posted by JSDSKI
This is WAY better than tv.

What we need is a reality TV program on restoring an old 911

Seriously guys, thanks for all the support.....more to come soon....

[quaz]

OK I just thought of one more thing here before I move on with Jay's car. The helper I chose for the first paint job is really good with an airbrush. He can paint a scull, flame, or anything else perfectly. I have seen the cars he has "painted" and they all looked decent. Well, he didn't really paint those..........he had someone else do the painting and he just helped a bit. If you want something flamed he is your man. If you want a straight door look elsewhere. Remember that pic of my hood back a few posts.

This one:



Yeah well when you strip a body panel it is kinda good to make note of where mud comes out. Those are the spots you have to work and probably put some mud back in. Well I didn't strip the hood and to make a long story short it did not come out straight. Just remember that for later.

[quaz]

OK so Jays car goes to Ben's for fender fitting and rockers. I don't have much to say about this since I wasn't involved too much, but I do have pics from the day Ben dropped the car off. It was nice to see all the rust gone and the flares on.........however there was a little problem. See if you can find it.


.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
OK if you didn't find it I will help you out. The passenger side flare was in about 1.5 inches too far. Something was not right. Ben had issues fitting it and had to section in a piece..... Hmmm, what can you do? I guess it just had to be fixed. Just remember the first time is practice right?

[jkap]

I tell you, sometimes Kevin just gets a little impatient, his story hits a lull, and he has to immediately start to steal mine!..... Look here, Buck-O, I tell this part of the story, you make off color comments....got that???

Anyway, happy 5-year anniversary to the maiden voyage of my car, the "Orange One"

That's right, five years ago today, September 2, 2001, I finally got done buffing it, installing the new rear torsion bars, rebuilding the carbs, tuning it up, aligning it, fixing the shift linkage and installing a steering wheel used in a car..........instead of a yacht....

Here was the initial finished product. Note the 6x16 Fuchs on the rears.... I tried to mount up the 7s right away, but I needed to roll the fenders to get them in properly. I only had 2 good tires on the 5, 14 inch wheels that came with the car, so this was the initial solution.








Now, those with keen eyes may have noticed a girl in the passenger seat of one of the photos who looks like she is having a seizure, or just sat on a squirrel, or was told her cat died, or that her husband just bought another Porsche.....see her now?? She does not normally look that way.......

Usually, she looks like this

[jkap]

And, for the anniversary special, here is how the Orange One looks today, September 2, 2006, on its five year anniversary...





WHAT??, you didn't think I was going to show you the whole car did you?!? You have to wait, like everyone else.....

Now, if Kevin will get his lazy ass out here to buff his car out with me, today can truly be the 5 year anniversary of the maiden voyage...................

[jkap]

So, I had my car out officially today, still need to wet sand and buff a few panels, but it is close enough to take to dinner......only took 5 years

Anyway, where were we......ah yes.......a crap fender.....

So, here is the car on November 18, 2005 waiting for Ben to come and pick it up....



And here is Kevin a mere 4 months later cutting one of the newly welded fenders off!!



Actually, he was making a cut so we could try to repair it by pulling it out and adding in more metal.......yes, were still dillusional at that point. It took us another hour or so of pounding before we gave up and decided to get another fender.

Here is a picture of the problem area.



Easy right? Cut this fender off and weld another one on.....Great!.......now find another one.........

[quaz]

Man that day was fun. The look on Jay's face the first time he saw sparks flying on his car was priceless. When the car arrived back at the barn it had paint and fenders on it. So I don't think the shock from being cut up hit him yet. We measured this fender and it didn't line up for sure; we stripped off the paint and tried to pull it out. I swear when I suggested cutting it back apart I thoughy Jay was going to faint! That was great. Nothing gave me more satisfaction than grabbing my grinder and cutting up my best friends car with it. How many times in your life do you get that opportunity?

[mb911]

it should be noted that a fellow pelican had sold me those flares with the thought they were near perfect. oh well worth doing twice right

[quaz]

What fun would have it been if it was right the first time?

[jkap]

Oh well, what can you do??

Now the hassle began.....we need another right side fender. At his point I was sick of cut-offs. Kevin got a "good" set last year, that turned out to be junk when they arrived, and now we were cutting one off my car because it too was junk! So I went to get a new one....easy right? WRONG!

I started with....of course....Pelican. They were out, and had no idea when they would receive more...this was not a good omen....

Next stop.....Bill at Restoration Design. Same problem But, he offers to order a factory one for me. He calls Porsche and they say there are 3 in Atlanta. Now, being an Industrial Engineer, I understand that this means......."We have lost a few fenders in the warehouse over the years, and that is why the computer shows stock. We're telling you we will 'look' for one but, in truth, we have no idea where to even start." I have zero hope they will locate one. However, not to worry, 'cause if they do not find one in a day or two, Bill says he will emergency order one from Germany for me. Their warehouse shows more than 30

So, a couple days later the order to Germany goes out, and a few days after that Bill calls.....uh oh.....turns out Germany will not be sending me a fender after all....Porsche is RECALLING THEM!!. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm glad they did not send me yet another junk fender, but seriously, are there none of these silly things anywhere in the world???

Now I am bummed. The car project has stalled badly.... About a week later, I get a call from Bill again. He says he has found me a fender at a place called My Porsche in Seaside, CA and gives me their number. I call out there and, sure enough, they have the fenders in stock! So, I ordered it up and had it shipped out. Get it out to Kevin's and Ben welded her on. Great, we are back on track, and its the end of May!! We are only a month and half behind, and haven't really started yet ................

[quaz]

Back up a second........

Picture an early June morning. Foggy, cool and very humid. Getting warmer as the sun starts to burn off the clouds. I am in my barn working on my workshop and organizing. Up pulls a black 911 which just sounds wicked! Out jumps Ben and asks if I am ready to weld on a fender. So I pull out the new factory flare and we put it on the body. We take measurements and line it up. However, Ben is hesitant to scribe a line. He is nervous we won't get it right.

Now I can see Ben being a little nervous. He is already had some trouble with the first flare and doesn't want to mess this one up. He knows Jay is going to be critical of it so he is just a little gunshy. In steps Kevin........what is the worst that can happen? We have to do it a third time right? I get the fender where I am happy with it and finally get Ben to scribe the line. Now we have to cut it. Man I am getting to enjoy this part too much. Again Ben is hesitant, but I reassure him I will take the blame if it goes badly. FInally the sparks start to fly and it gets cut off. Nothing looks more pathetic than a 911 with no rear fenders.

So Ben and I get it lined up and he tacks it into place. He carefully spend the next 2 hours finishing off the welds and it turns out great. Although for a master welder you would think saftey would be a concern. The entire time Ben is welding I keep hearing him complain about getting burned from sparks. Well he was wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts. I though the first thing you learn is always wear long sleeves and pants for welding? At least he had a sheild. Overall I got a good lesson out of watching a master at work. Thanks Ben.

Jay shows up later in the morning and Ben is finishing up. He misses the drama yet again........Then the black car is off in a rush to beat the rain. Back to work.

[EarlyPorsche]

Storys are over?

[quaz]

No it is just the weekend, so the going is slow.

[jkap]

Wow! fell to the forth page.....are we getting dull or is it just the weekend?

Anyway, sorry for the slow postings, this weekend is the combo: my birthday, labor day, wedding anniversary all in a couple days, so time is tight.

Well, back to the action. It is not quite early June and I have 2 fenders that I can work with So, I set a bold plan.....The second week in July, I had to fly to Maastricht, Netherlands for a conference. My plan? Simple, have the car in paint by then. The obstacle....time. Exacerbating the time problem....the one hour drive to Kevin's whether I go from my office or my home

OK, we are off.......

5/31/2006


As you can see, Kevin and I wasted no time pulling the bumpers and front fenders and throwing on some mud in the obvious places....the fenders and a stuborn dent in the passenger door that was difficult to fix....

The best part, the Fenders are perfect, and require no body work, same with the drivers door. The engine cover, not the same story. Keen observers of a previous photo will notice that, in addition to the transparent paint, the engine cover had a nasty dent right on the bend by the grill. Not an easy fix. No problem, Kevin put a duck on his, I'll just steal his, it looks decent.

One problem, Kevin's lid has some rust, and its in an inaccessible area....the lid will need to be stripped Once that is done, how do we get paint in that same inaccessible area?? No problem, I have a friend who can e-cote it for me! Yes, things are going well.....early July? no problem!!

5/31/2006


Kevin was kind enough to finish the rocker repair while I worked on the rear fenders...

6/1/2006


Now that I have my trusty companion to help me...nothing can stop me now....nothing!!

Oh, and don't mind Kevin's car in the background, it is not in danger of going anywhere..... Why is that engine lid open anyway ??????

6/1/2006


And here we have one of Ben's beautiful welds....

[jkap]

6/3/2006


Man, we are on a role! the rear of the car has the body work basically done, the rockers are almost there. All we have to do is shoot some of this Dupont Uro primer Ben turned us on to, and we are nearly there! We will have no trouble making the July mark! This is going easy! Way easier than Kevin's car...I mean...my car is strait! Kevin's? .... not so much!

In fact, I think I can afford a weekend off to go away with my wife!

7/2/2006


Wait!, July 2, 2006??? The car must be nearly done...what is going on here?!?!? And what's going on with Kevin's.....I mean, It has been a month after all!!

[quaz]

Hmmm, I remeber that picture with the hood up on my car. That is the day I took it for a ride........then I lost the clutch. Well the cable fell out of adjustment. Something I still have to get tot he bottom of, but I suspect my pedal box needs to be rebuilt. Anyway, I pulled the engine and tranny again to check everything out However when I had the car out in the sunlight it looked horrible. I was just not happy with the finish on it. With all the work we were doing to Jay's car what the heck was the difference?

So I put the engine and tranny back in, but didn't connect anything. I then proceded to block out the doors. The doors and hood looked the worst and I had just enough paint left over to do them. Do I do the front fenders then? Do I do the flares again? Do I just reshoot the whole car? I guess it doesn't matter the doors needed to be fixed the worst, so I started there.

At the same time Ben introduced us to this magic from DuPont......their 2K primer. Great stuff, you can lay it down thick and then block it back out. We did that to Jays rear fenders and my doors.

Unfortunately, Jay has all the pictures of the progess so I will relay on him for updates.