SWB 911R...the beginning

[speedo]

With the hole cut in the quarter panel...time to install the filler neck.During this process, I probably installed and then removed the oil tank 25 times...no kidding.Here is the new filler neck, and approximately where it gets mounted
I tried to "jig" my drill press to get the hole saw lined up correctly

More trouble than it was worth...all my fine tuning adjustments were repeatedly shaken loose by the hole saw binding on the forward edge of the 50 degree diagonal hole. I got the hole roughly dimensioned and finished it up with the dremel.
Cleaned up the hole and enlarged it a bit
test fitted the neck

still a little "long and was butting against the tube from the bottom of the tank that is from the front cooler...need to trim a bit in length
Looks ok...

[speedo]

Now it is time to position it finally and tack it
I used a wire wheel to remove the copper coating around the area of the weld.
Plan was to take it to a local shop to get it braised, but I decided that I didn't want it fully welded without checking the fitment another 15 times, so the decision was to mig it myself
Worked out fine...and I was able to re-use the oil level dipstick through the new wider and longer filler neck
And all the cutting and fitting paying off with a tight flush fit

[speedo]

Here is the centerfill gas cap I sourced, and the oil cap...same manufacturer, but different supplier. One of these things is not like the other
I took so long to find the filler neck, and then the cap and "tweak" the cap to match the filler neck, that I hadn't decided whether or not to "fin" the oil cap. I think there are now compatible sources for the neck and finned cap, but that is not what I had to work with. I sorted through my scrap steel and found the correct gauge of steel
I think this was an accessory holder or a 3.2 blower motor bracket ...small slice removed
trimmed
drilled
perfect


old to new comparison
I tried to lay down an ultra small bead with my mig to attach the fin to the cap, but decided that on this piece, a nice tiny tig would match the gas filler cap better. So this one I will have a buddy take care of. BTW...this retro fit of a 72 tank into the 1966 quarter panel is not something I want to do anytime in the near future. Worth the effort....hmmm. Jury is still out. I still have to mount the oil console on the inner/engine compartment wall when I run my oil lines.

[JayG]

This thread is awesome. What catches me off guard is your original post regarding the mileage. LOL would it matter for something like this? Even finding a car with 250k on it but didnt have rust would have been fine for what you are doing with it. When I think mileage it only matters for like survivor all original cars for those into that. For others (like me), if you start with something beat up and you make it to what you want it to be then any blank canvas will do.

Congrats on the progress and I cant wait for the future work.

Jay

[speedo]

My buddy tigged the fin on my oil cap for me as I didn't think I could match the fillet welds on the gas cap. I was also concerned about the orientation of the fin to the "horizontal" as all my measuring was during the installation of the tank and filler neck...here is the cap mounted



...without the rubber sealing gasket, it sits 3/16ths low...so it will come out of the fender a little bit. Did I mention I wasn't going to do another R oil tank conversion anytime soon...?

[speedo]

Fronts of the fenders were short and I needed to add material to fur them out to match the long hood. Area needing attention

12 layers of resin and fiberglass later...

How far had I come...trimmed up a bit

still more layers to go. I am guessing 8-10 more layers. the resin and glass is only 1/32 per layer and I can only add 3 layers at a time. This is how far out the added layers have come

getting there...
I now need to measure and run the oil lines back out of the trunk up to the oil console and cut the inner fender walls for the lines.

[Porsche_monkey]

Why fiberglass? You've done so much metalwork, I'm kind of suprised.

[RetroSC]

I'm pretty sure those are glass fenders.... so no metal is going there.

[Porsche_monkey]

I knew that. I wanted to see who was following the thread as closely as me.

[RetroSC]

Yes, all that metal work is very nice. Waaay above my standards and talent.

[speedo]

The steel fenders are heavy. And while I realize I need to move weight forward, I at least can move it low if necessary. I have a decent source (things usually fit right up...having to do this much prep work is not normal) for fiberglass....at good prices. I had the horn and turnsignals deleted per R spec. I realize there are R-ish fiberglass plugs for the turn signal housings...but personally I don't like the look as much as a smooth contour. My R front bumper is also glass and it will be easier to mount the fenders when trimmed and prepped correctly to the bumper. I will then line up the fog cutouts in the bumper to the holes I will recut directly above them in the fenders for the oil cooler. Oh yeah...fiberglass takes a really long time to rust

[speedo]

I applied three more layers of glass to the front fenders ...and while I was in the mood to breathe fiberglass and resin, I thought I could fit up the R lid and hinges
I positioned the hinges and mounted them to the body
temporary fit looks good. The lid is glass and I wanted to reinforce the underside where the hinge bolts come through
So I grabbed some 1/8th steel flat stock and roughed a backing plate
The two forward bolts (closest to the front edge of the lip pass through solid material, so I can use the bacing plate to spread the load and prevent the layers of glass from being crushed....so I will just used the lock nuts. The rear bolt hole is not solid and passes though a cavity.
I will drill and tap this one instead of using a nut. These needed to be bent to fit the contour of the glass under the lid. Here they are clead up and tapped
And mounted

[speedo]

My 72 oil tank came with the stock oil console. I milled out the hole and installed a thermostat (ala S with the up front oil cooler). I now have the oil tank installed and need to mount the oil console. I need some help "triangulating" the position of the console on my virgin inner rear fender wall. There is no obvious indent or recess where the console logically want to anchor itself. I have some pics from a friends 72..but the angle of the photo makes it difficult to see where this should go

Here is the wheel side of the inner fender
Anybody have a 72 nearby...or better yet, an R to measure and help me position this console. Once I get it positioned, I can mount it and start to measure for all the oil lines. Somebody photoworkshop this for me...Grady...you listening?

[rvanderpyl]

You know I have a complete 72 oil tank setup as well that I was going to use, but after seeing all the work you are going thru, I think I'll install a front mount tank and be done with it

Nice job (as usual)

[speedo]

Bigger problem arises...I have a 15x7 with a 205 60 mounted, and I temporarily bolted it up to check fit with oil tank. The tank is fine, but there is hardly 3/4" between the outer longitudinal and the forward inner edge of the tire.
The return line from the oil tank (in front of the right rear tire) need pass horizontally back to the suction inlet at the engine mounted oil cooler. I can't go up and over with the line, but this could potentially allow an air pocket in the oil line. I can't go underneath the sway bars as the line would then need to come back up...another air bubble potential. I was initially going to cut a "channel" in the longitudinal, and slice a 2" pipe in half, and weld in a "gutter" for the line to lay in horizontally to pass by the longitudinal...right here (looking up at the problem area)
Here is the tight gap from behind
I did a search on Early S registry and got a reply with a picture of the original R longitudinal. Very clear what I had to do....the R had the return line (steel) buried in the longitudinal immediately aft of the oil tank and it exited past the wheel on the underside of the longitudinal, just in front of the rear fender support. This sounds like a job for someone else. Had I known that I was going to face this problem I would have not gone to the 72 oil tank behind the passenger door lockpost. The other R clones that are made using a LWB 72 chassis don't have the same problem as their longitudinal is different....allowing more space for the oil line. Another good reason to go with a 72 as the "platform". I gave this a great deal of thought and tried to consider any and all options....other than going back to stock 4.5x15s, there is no way out.

[speedo]

I won't bore you with the research and "Grady discussions", but ultimately I chose 1" steel pipe as it most closely replicated the lower return fitting on the oil tank, and was larger than the ID of the fitting on the cooler going back into the engine. I measured where the line would go and ignorantly hoped/presumed that if the bends were gentle that I could snake the bent line through the longitudinal and only open the longitudinal at the entry and exit holes. Yeah right
Here is basically what I started with
The front and rear dimensions of the wheel
And the fitting that will need to be connected to my 1" line
which poses another problem. Someone had braised an AN16 fitting, and this would need to be removed as I will be very close to the 1" line where it enters the longitudinal and won't be able to use pressure fittings. The line is suction anyways and rubber line with clamps will suffice. This is roughly the direction of the line
Oil tank with fitting removed...not as easy as you might think
And preliminary orientation of the tank and where the line needs to enter the longitudinal
I am a long ways away from this being done....I can still quit...wait, no I can't , the oil tank is already mounted in front of the wheel and the quarter panel has been cut for the oil cap.

[EarlyPorsche]

It all looks great. I may have said this like 4 times on this thread but I really want to hire you to do some metal work! There I said it a fifth time!

[speedo]

If you don't like to watch surgeries...this would be a good place to stop as it gets much worse before it gets better. I started to form the 1" line and get my "bearings" on the approximate place it will enter and exit the longitudinal


First hole saw cut for the entry
And second for the exit
I tried to "flange " the hole to enlarge it so I would have a lip to close against the pipe
Gets ugly here...first cut is the deepest


More slices and it opens up

Everything looks good, just lite surface oxcidation after 42 years
There is no way I am going to be able to fish this pipe through

[speedo]

This took a long time
Pipe was cut too short...my mistake...gotta add an inch
Finally finds the rear exit
And the entry up front
To get the pipe to lay down, I had to metal work the heater duct inward to get the room. It will still be operational...it is quite large to start with

With the pipe bent to shape, I welded a bead around both ends and machined a barb for the hose and clamp
Final form

[speedo]

When I drilled my forward hole, I punctured the heater tube, so before things get closed up, I sealed it
Primed and final fit
Time to sew up the patient



Nice fit
Clean it up
Undercoat and done


Worked out great...would I do it again? Not in the near future...any time soon. Ok, I am on to the oil console.