Okay, no more Vette jokes. I got my Carrera Glass tail...this will be fun

It's all gray and needs to be sanded obviously. Noting:
1) It's kinda heavy. I hope it doesn't bend my decklid.
2) It's Bigger than I thought it would be. Damnit, I hope I don't look like a spaceship when I put it on. Yes, it's the Carrera style.
3) I'm going to give this a sanding from 100 100 grit (or thereabouts) to 600 grit. Then primer it and resand. Assuming it's smooth...
My car color appears to be very, very close to some stuff I can get in a can. The grille will be black as well as the lip. Not A LOT of red on the tail when it's all said and done.
Do I need to have a shop paint it?
Anyone who's undertaken something like this let me know...all advice welcome. In any case, I'll be sanding and refining for the next several days.


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Kurt B
1984 911 Carrera Cabriolet
75 914 1.8

Kurt, red is almost impossible to color match and is the color that changes the most with oxidation. Have a shop paint it or it will look way ghetto.

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet

What is involved in to mount the tail? Does the deck lid need to have holes drilled in it to mount it, or does it use the existing grille holes? I am considering a wing for my new (to me anyway) 82 SC.

Thanks,

Tom

Hmmm...I think you may be right on this one. There is enough surface area required red that it will be a problem. Maybe I can shave off a few hundred bucks by doing all of the sanding and primering myself. We'll see! I certainly hope I don't get reamed by the body shop.
Thanks for the input Brainiac.

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Kurt B
1984 911 Carrera Cabriolet
75 914 1.8

Kurt, I'd highly recommend that you take your original decklid off and hang it in your study as art. Get another decklid to mount the new wing on. That way you can change your mind with a couple of bolts instead of another trip to the painter. Or if you go to sell it and the prospective buyer hates the wing. Used standard decklids are cheap enough and easy to find. Good luck!

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet

Well, I can claim no extensive time with body work, but this seems clear to me: Shooting it with paint is the absolute quickest and easiest (for someone with parctice) part of the job. Breathtaking invoices for body work reflect the PREP time. This you can do yourself, but there are a few tricks. Light coats of one color primer over a solid coat of another color, and using firm, flat sanding blocks can reveal high and low spots.

I like the two deck lid idea. and BEWARE of instability problems at high speeds until you get the matching front air dam!

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'83 SC

You guys are freaking me out here (which is exactly why I post! To prevent the making of major errors). I took the thing out to the car and I'm trying to figure out how it goes on...I take the old grill off and just bolt her on right?
If that isn't the case, I will definitely consider bailing out on this.
And I'll get the front spoiler too, but jesus which one am I supposed to get? There's a fricking bazillion of them.

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Kurt B
1984 911 Carrera Cabriolet
75 914 1.8

[This message has been edited by Kurt B (edited 01-03-2001).]

Kurt,
I put a 3.6 RS tail on my car.. It will definitely need to be sanded big time!! Unless you know what your doing take it to a shop.. I spent $250 to have it sanded, primed, painted and installed.. Well worth the $$ I think...
Pete
77'Carrera3.0

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www.geocities.com/pcafaro2000/carrera30.html

250 is something I'd pay. Out in CA, i know I'll get gouged for more...I'll investigate. Looking at the tail, yes, it needs desperately to be sanded and primers before I do anything else. I'll strongly evaluate my chances before slopping it on there!

Kurt:

That sounds like a job for Manuel at Manuel's Body Shop. Great color matching and the dealers love his flexible kinds of work. He'll accomodate your budget and do the work accordingly within reason. He was a great guy to work with, but I haven't been in the LA area for a while. He was on the North side of Venice Blvd. just a couple blocks east of Veteran Ave. Worst problem is the parking.

Kurt,
Sanding that puppy is a pain in the arse! But it saves you some $$ at the paint shop. I got mine painted, wet sanded, then polished for around $200 in Maryland. The tail was the first addition to my carrera. It just doesn't have that aggressive look without it IMHO. Try and find another deck lid as well. To mount the tail you have to remove the old grill, and drill (YIKES) mounting holes. Once on it looks great but the "pucker" factor when drilling is very high! :-)

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85 Carrera Targa

[This message has been edited by carrerajim (edited 01-04-2001).]

Speaking of tails, I am not sure if the one on my '83 SC is an original or a bolt on. Is there any way to tell? You can see pics under my name at http://www.cheaterswayside.com/911/

Thanks in advance....

Can't tell from the pic Magilla...it's different from mine, but I definetly like yours a helluva a lot better. It's sleeker, and smaller looking. To be honest, I've never seen what you have on there before...interesting. I'd like to know what it is!

Damnit if I have to drill holes in my decklid. This sucks IMHO. I hate doing things that make the trek back extremely difficult or impossible!


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Kurt B
1984 911 Carrera Cabriolet
75 914 1.8

Kurt,
I think the best front spoiler for your car would be the rubber "smile" that came from the factory. I installed a new one on my SC after replacing the front valance. Took about 1 ½ hours and only required the drilling of a few mounting holes. Just be sure to but a little touch up paint in the one the exposed metal after you drill the holes to prevent rusting. Cost, about $100.

As to the rear spoiler, I would mount the spoiler before I did any prep work so that when it is painted you know you will not have to mess with trying to fit it correctly. Also did you get the rubber, self-adhesive gasket that goes between the tail and the deck lid?

Remember, you can always get a new deck lid if you don't like the tail. You would have to have one painted if you got a new one to install the tail anyways.
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Paul
SC Targa

[This message has been edited by pbs911 (edited 01-04-2001).]

Get a spare decklid. They go for about fifty bucks, and you can get it painted at the same time as the tail, so you're not going to have to spend too much, and you never have to worry about being able to go back to stock.

For my car, I've had three painted. There's stock (in the unlikely event I decided to sell it, this one would go on), and then the ducktail, and now (currently being wired) the 964 with retractable tail.

First report on the 964 lid on the early 911 body? It really looks great. I know it will irritate the purists, but these cars wear the changes real well.

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Jack Olsen
1973 911 T (3.6) sunroof coupe

Jack,

Where can you get a rear decklid for $50. I've pulled my whale tail off, and I need a new one.

Unless you need the aerodynamics (I don't), I don't like the looks of any of the tails except the duck tail. But, that's just my opinion.

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Bill Krause
'79 911SC Euro

I've seen them go on eBay for that. Also check:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/Forum12/HTML/001289.html

Hi Kurt,
I just got my wing back from the paint shop last week and put it on my car. Here is what I learned from all of this.

I grossly under estimated the time it would take me to sand my wing ! My time is cheaper than bodyshop rates for that kind of stuff, but it was still tedious.

I spent a complete weekend doing it because you have to get all of the gelcoat roughed up (I used 600) and if you get any pinholes YOU MUST FILL THEM ! If you don't get them filled, you are wasting your time and money because when you get it painted the paint can't fill those holes.

Make sure you are using the same primer that you painter will use. If you use something that is not compatible they will have to sand it off (read $$$$).

I did all of the sanding, the paint shop shot the 2 part primer then they gave it back and said fill all of the little holes that the primer couldn't fill - and there were LOTS of them. I did that then they did the color coat.

I paid $300 for mine to be painted with me doing the prep. I got some estimates that were $500 to 800. My wing might be a lot bigger than your too, but a lot of them had a minimum.

In the end I think it was well worth it. Here are some pix of it.



Tom Sharpes
90 C2 Targa

Tom,
That's a sharp looking wing. Are those side openings functional?
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Paul
78SC Targa

Once again, I am astonished by the help around here. Indeed, I will take the time to sand it properly over the next couple of weeks. A bit a day, here and there, and I will ensure it's rough enough to take the paint.
Getting a spare rear decklid is the problem, I think. From the sound of it, I'll be painting them both!
5150's tail looks nice BTW, and 500-800 isn't too bad of a price, and about what I expected (rather than 250)
I'll let you know how it turns out. In any case, before I start I'm going to make sure I like the look of it. It still may be just too darn wide for a car without turbo flares, even though this style supposedly came with Carreras.
Does anyone know about these carrera tails?
If they came with non-turbo look carreras from factory, howcome I never see them?


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Kurt B
1984 911 Carrera Cabriolet
75 914 1.8

[This message has been edited by Kurt B (edited 01-04-2001).]