SWB 911R...the beginning

[speedo]

I know this is repetitious....I don't mind welding, but I do not like to grind/flapper wheel plug welds. I have been putting off cleaning the welds on the underside of the car...doing side jobs on the suspension. I am done. Front suspension pan was first. Welds were ground down, as were the edges/flanges of the support, and then treated with
"metal ready"

Now onto the major task...the floor. It took several hours and a lot of grinding discs. This is both the work bench and the completed floor
I need to complete all the welding on the underside before I continue...and thet includes the positioning and welding on the reinforced swaybar mounts.
First, I need to position the mounts and remove the 40 year old undercoating
prime with weld-through self etching primer
Clamp....
And weld....position looks perfect

[speedo]

My old Momo prototipo looks like crap. And after doing a search here and on the Early911S Registry...I decided as there are no known replacement covers...I would do my own. This thing looks like it came out the loser in a gang fight
So I documented the stitching...which incidently as a surprise to me....was surface or superficial...the leather was glued to the wheel which look looked as though it was stitched together. I sourced replacement leather and it will be in fact "stitched" together. The important areas appear to be the "tangs or spokes". The upholstery shop where I sourced the leather gave it to me gratus...he laughed and said that I would be back. I on the outside chance that I was being more naive than usual, called Ottos, and they quoted me a $375 repair job on a prototipo that sells for $199 new. Hmmmm....

[speedo]

The welds got treated and preped the floor which doubles as a work bench while upside down
And the recently added sway bar mounts get primed
While the tunnell was out I took the opportunity the replace some of the critical cables...throttle and clutch. I set up a triangled mechanism to hold everything coming out of the tunnel, so I could clean it up. Remember...this car came from Wyoming and must have been owned by someone working oon a highway crew as there is a ton of asphalt packed into the orifices of the chassis. I spent many hours removing the extra weight.

[speedo]

The upside-down pictures maybe difficult to understand as the car is upside-down. I needed to clean up the underside....get back to the undercoating and prep for paint.

Long time since it has been this clean

Time to POR15 the exposed areas....and get ready to paint/undercoat the balance...

Now the time comes to treat (POR15)the balance of the floor

[speedo]

I don't have the patience to post a before and after...but here is the after. All I have left to do is minimal undercoating

And the new floors




And completed except for thr undercoating in areas...


Suspension goes on next....few more pieces to rebuild.

I will be flipping this thing upright in the next couple weeks and it will come off the rotisserie. If someone in the Denver area wants to use the rotisserie, let me know. I will need the space and someone probably needs a rotisserie....welder not included. : )

Speedo

[911 tweaks]

Speedo... you need to write a book on any or better yet, ALL, of the resto's that you do.
Just brilliant and perfectly laid out approach with awesome documentation.
If that is not your cup of tea, how about an abreviated version on your work??
Fantastic thread!! Thanks for all of the time you have spent to post all of this as it will give many the motivation to attempt some of these tasks. (you got me pumped up for sure!!) :-)
Bob

[Duckworth]

..A quick word about your steering wheel. Getting a nice result can be awfully time consuming - but it's well worth it.

Fwiw, I spent some time to get a thicker leather. This can get hairy because if it's 'Harley Davidson' thick, it's too tough to work, 'mold' to the wheel. Deertan leather about 1/8" is a nice choice. Supple, non shiny type leather. Everyone is using 'protective' coating leather these days - which ruins the feel of it imo.

Generally, wheels receive thinner leathers - and they don't hold up well in terms of wear appearance.

You da man!
...

______________

'82 Targa
'80 928

[RWebb]

so.. where did you get that leather?

and how would one order it - i.e. what to ask for.

[SCWDP911]

Lars,

I have used several old aluminum signs in the (Got a great deal on a bunch one time that were printed incorrectly)... I found the easiest way to get that coating off was running small propane or butane torch over it. It just peels/shrinks/melts away, at least mine did. Just don;t put too much heat to it, but mine did not require a lot of heat time at all. (mine were like the vinyl graphic wrap type material for vans etc... - may not have been exactly, but it was similar)

[SCWDP911]

Lars,

I have used several old aluminum signs in the past (Got a great deal on a bunch one time that were printed incorrectly)... I found the easiest way to get that coating off was running small propane or butane torch over it. It just peels/shrinks/melts away, at least mine did. Just don;t put too much heat to it, but mine did not require a lot of heat time at all. (mine were like the vinyl graphic wrap type material for vans etc... - may not have been exactly, but it was similar)

[Duckworth]

so.. where did you get that leather? ...RWebb

Purchased at a flea market.. The guy was in the motorcycle-wear trade and happened to have smaller amounts.

eBay is an option - but gambling on Large amounts - of something you don't get to see first hand is a big waste of time.

Also, check out area upholstery shops and see if they'll sell to you.


___________________

[Porsche_monkey]

Originally Posted by RWebb

so.. where did you get that leather?

and how would one order it - i.e. what to ask for.

I was afraid he was going to say 'women's boots'.

[speedo]

I am almost done with the rotissierie. If you live in Colorado (close to Denver): , and could use this...please pm me . If someone is serious about using this, I can show you them how to operate this thing with my car still connected to it....before I flip it and drop it onto it's suspension. The attachments are designed for a LWB car. If you have a later car, they will need to be modified. Now is the time....no takers and it will get buried until the next project. Let me know.

[RWebb]

What would I look for in a type of leather? We are an artsy craftsy town & have a couple of leather stores.

What thickness?
Tanning process?
Anything else?

[speedo]

I went to a local old-school auto upholstery guy. He had a 2+2 XKE and an early landcruiser he was working on. We got to talking about my current project and after chatting for 45 minutes about the long list of Porsches he had done... he sent me home with enough leather to do three steering wheels and wouldn't let me pay for it. I dropped a five spot on his desk for beer. The leather is really nice on both sides, the smooth grained front side, and the suede back side. I'm tempted to use the suede side

[speedo]

I had my concerns about redo-ing the cover on the Momo. So, it sat in the corner till I got my guts up. This afternoon, I got bold...how hard can it be...just like welding , right?

Here is a reminder of what I was starting with
the nasty slices in the leather

worn and old
with some yellow overspray from using it to get the racecar to the paint booth

[speedo]

Easier than it sounds....not as difficult as removing the OEM rubber from spring plates...but not like peeling a banana
I decided against using the suede side of the leather...opting for the smooth black side. I measured the old cover which was not too resilient any more. I then laid out the new leather and made some measurements
I wanted to include some extra material to "run up the spokes"...and cut the primary shape. BTW, leather is easier to cut to fit than 18 gauge steel.
I then pulled out the sophisticated leather tools I had acquired for perforating the edges for the thread holes
And with the piercing complete

[speedo]

I think Barge's contact cement is the best product out there. Don't they also make root beer? I use this stuff all the time during interior assembly...headliner, dash, carpet and whatever.
To hold the leather in place during the sewing, I laid a one inch path of cement on the outside of the wheel and inside of the leather. I will assemble the two and the start the stiching
Trim the overlap
Looks ok so far...
I had several problems sewing this thing....although I measured the width correctly, I still needed to tension the leather while getting the sides to pull together. The "special thick thread" would sometimes break, or I didn't add enough to the needle and ended up short...and it is impossible to splice. Very tedious work. Seamstresses deserve their $50/hour.

[speedo]

One quarter of the way done
Halfway...
And all the way around
Now to cut and fit the trim pieces for the spokes
More Barge's and glue them up. Completed wheel...4 hours work


I'm pleased...no $$ for the leather, a couple bucks for the thread, and pennies for the cement....plus four hours time. Probably not concour...but It'll be perfect for the SWB R clone.

Meanwhile, I am tiying up the suspension...powder-coating, painting and wire brushing.Wurth screwed up the undercoating order and I need to finish the last details on sealing the bottom of the car before assembling the suspension and mounting.....and flipping the car.

No rotissirie takers?....once I store this thing, it won't be accessible for a while...don't be shy. If you are considering using it, and are worried about being able to "work " the thing, come visit while it is "in action"...piece of cake.

Speedo

[SCWDP911]

Whoa, having tried to do this before from scratch (the wheel) I give you major kudos. Looks great! Next time though, you really should try the women's leather boots... you know, for more of a challenge! ;-)