retrofit door pull to 73.5? (and intro)

[cak]

I was about to post yet another question (and will) when I realized that I haven't really introduced myself here. Some folks already have followed my alternator woes, but...

So ... hi! I'm Chris, I've just (December) bought a 73.5 911T targa. You can see photos the PO took at http://www.dimebank.com/images/73_911t/ ... it is a fairly complete, unmolested car, and I'm intending to keep it that way. The PO (a friend in Portland, OR) found it sitting and did a bunch of work to get it back to daily driver status, and then got distracted by a new son and found that it no longer fit into his car wardrobe.

It sat for about a year; I drove it home just before Christmas after some basic maintenance. I'm about shotgun the brakes, since several calipers are sticking and the pads are worn. Other than that, a few niggling electrical issues and some incipient rust typical for a car of this era, it seems to be in perfectly fine shape.

It's my first Porsche, after many many years of lust. My ownership history has tended to little British cars, and I have had a bad habit of buying them, starting a lot of projects to personalize/improve, and then accreting more vehicles ... with this car, I'm trying to adopt a catch-and-release attitude, intending to minimize changes and move it on in a couple of years. We'll see

Now, the question:

One of the things that bugs me is the lack of a door pull on the driver's door. Pulling on the door pocket doesn't seem right. I don't care to go to RS door panels, but I'm wondering if there's some clean way to install an RS pull, or something similar?

[coldstart]

Beautiful targa. If you figure out a solution let me know as I have the same problem. It is either pull on the door pocket or risk losing a finger pulling on the outside part of the door.

[cak]

Thanks, I like it! I know that some people have negative opinions about targas, but they seem like the ideal solution here in NorCal...

The other "common" solution seems to be to pull on the wing window latch ... which strikes me as just begging for trouble!

[Carrera Charlie]

Chris,

First off, congratulations! You have a very nice looking car! I applaud you for moving up to a Porsche - British sports cars are quirky, unique and sometimes demanding, so you are well prepared for owning an older Porsche.

Just a comment on "catch and release" - you may not find it that simple!! Older Porsches have a tendency to weave their way into your soul and marrow - you begin to identify yourself not just as an owner, but as a keeper of something pure and elemental that cannot be found in today's world ... you succumb to the zen of Porsche ownership.

Lastly, I had the same concern regarding closing my door using the door pocket until I saw in one of my Porsche manuals a reference to the door pocket as the "door closure strap" or some such similar reference. I cannot find the exact reference right now - I will post it once I can lay my hands on it. It's designed to be grabbed and yanked on - it is well reinforced and attached quite securely.

I'll keep looking for that reference and post it here once I find it.

Till then, enjoy that beautiful car!

Regards,

[cak]

I applaud you for moving up to a Porsche - British sports cars are quirky, unique and sometimes demanding, so you are well prepared for owning an older Porsche.

Well, there's also an older Ferrari in the mix right now ('66 330 GT), so... moving up? Maybe

I understand all too well the emotional bonding that can happen with a car. That's certainly true of my TR4A. But there are so many cars and so little time (not to mention garage space) that I really want to move through them a bit more quickly.

We'll see. It's an experiment.

Thanks for the info about the door pocket. It does seem quite sturdy...

(Waiting for the rain to stop long enough to measure the rotors and see if they need replacing...)

[DByers]

Chris, For years on my 71 targa I used the wind wing opener (?). Well its the thing that lock and unlocks the wind wing. My door pockets never were strong enough to handle the door closing. Now that I have RS panels with extra strong door pulls, not a problem. I have heard of some guys finding passenger side door panels from a right hand side drive and using that since it would give you a door pull like you have on your passenger side.
Just some thoughts.

Nice Targa by the way also!

[randywebb]

- get some flat nylon from a climbing store or flatten out some nylon tubing
- wrap it in leather or vinyl
- burn a hole of the bolts thru each end
- bolt it in

This will look & work like the strap that comes with the OFI LH door panel.