Restoring an 86 Cabriolet

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Given the bubble, friends of mine have asked me to find them cars either as the car they have always wanted and were afraid they were getting priced out of the market or as an investment they could drive and have some fun with. Finding a ratty 86 Cabriolet at a great price, one friend said to buy it on the spot after I texted him pics. He would drive it and do some light restoration with his son. Sadly, three days later, his CFO said no way and I needed to sell it for them.

Another friend heard about the car and wanted it as a present for his wife, she has always loved 911s. I sent pics and explained the car was below "driver" condition, not really suitable for them. He said not a problem, how much to restore it. We arrived at a base figure to make the car "as new" without going crazy. Here is the car's story, I hope to get it finished by the end of August and trailer it out to MN to them.

Here is the car on purchase. It had been keyed, a few small dents, interior was in very bad shape, driver front torsion bar was snapped, owner said he had trouble shifting it. Said it had never been driven in the winter. The pictures here make the car look A LOT better than it actually is.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

First order of business was to get the suspension off the car. 30 years old and 124K miles, it was in rough shape.

Car had actually sat for 4 years. Lot of rust on the suspension. I was thinking here, it was driven in the winter. Who drives an 86 Cab in the winter?




Front trunk was in sad shape.




Factory tar undisturbed.




A few trigger pulls on the gun and the front suspension is free.

[cabmandone]

That car looks beautiful compared to what my 85 started out as. Good luck with the resto. Hopefully they didn't chew up the Fuchs prepping for polishing. If they didn't you've got the hard work done on 3/4 wheels.

[Jcslocum]

Doesn't look too bad for it's age. I did this with an '89 Targa that had been sitting for a few years after the engine oil cooler was holed by mice, yes mice. These cars do clean up well.

That top has an odd seam behind sloping down like that. That can't be factory top? I don't like the way that looks....

Just my .002!!

[david482]

I think the top is the newer 993 single piece top that is made for the 87-89, I have been looking for a new top and it seems that there are 2 options.

https://www.cabrioworld.com/secure/detail.asp?pID=110&modelID=390

[BE911SC]

Nothing like an early morning or early evening/after dinner blast in a 911 Cab with the top down. You won't be sorry.

My .02: Leave it as close to stock as possible, only mods that make it run and drive better. No chin spoiler unless you get the matching rear tail. Leave the scoops on it.

[rothaus]

This reminds me on my 87, saved last year.

Saving a 87 Carrera Cabrio

This is how I found it.



I like the 993 top on that car.

Cheers
Engelbert

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Jcslocum

Doesn't look too bad for it's age. I did this with an '89 Targa that had been sitting for a few years after the engine oil cooler was holed by mice, yes mice. These cars do clean up well.

That top has an odd seam behind sloping down like that. That can't be factory top? I don't like the way that looks....

Just my .002!!

Jon, the top is made by GAHH. The blue fabric is in excellent shape when cleaned up but the window has yellowed so I'm putting a Haartz on it. Probably the very last step.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by cabmando

That car looks beautiful compared to what my 85 started out as. Good luck with the resto. Hopefully they didn't chew up the Fuchs prepping for polishing. If they didn't you've got the hard work done on 3/4 wheels.

Thanks Nick! Fuchs are already gone, my client will be putting 17s on it. I'll lower to euro spec so it crouches over the tires.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Got the front bumper and rear suspension off. This car has either spent it's life on the shore or seen a lot of winters. Lot of surface rust underneath in the back.

[Nachtfalter]

Originally Posted by BE911SC

Nothing like an early morning or early evening/after dinner blast in a 911 Cab with the top down. You won't be sorry.

It is really one of the best driving experiences to be had for sure.


Love the color, the roof is distracting and the rust is unfortunate. Good luck with the project.

[Hugh R]

My hat is off to you. I don't have that much energy.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Thanks Nick! Fuchs are already gone, my client will be putting 17s on it. I'll lower to euro spec so it crouches over the tires.

Let me know what process you use to roll the fenders. I'm thinking of 9 & 7 x 17's for my car. I think if you go Euro with 9's on the rear It will rub during moderate cornering.

[Jcslocum]

I still don't like that top, but as long as the owner does, that's all that matters :-)

The rear window can be buffed with regular car body compounds to be returned to near new. Just tape up the cloth carefully and polish the yellow stuff out by hand. Make sure to do inside and outside. this is a regular maintenance item that folks forget. The window also needs to be waxed to keep it in excellent shape. I used Zymol (the original stuff) on mine.

[Nachtfalter]

Originally Posted by cabmando

Let me know what process you use to roll the fenders. I'm thinking of 9 & 7 x 17's for my car. I think if you go Euro with 9's on the rear It will rub during moderate cornering.

The fronts scrape a bit on low driveways, I rolled mine with a long ratchet extension leaned against the front tire..... really didn't take much effort. The rears do not rub at all. 17x7/17x9 euromeisters.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Got to work on the trailing arms. Parking brake backing plates were fused on, had to cut them off even after using the oxy-mapp. Feel really good about the little progress I've made.

1 1/4 socket was perfect for knocking out the hub








Cutting a relief in the race and heating it up worked wonders for getting the bearing to jump a few mm after being struck. More than enough to get the puller on there.




Used a stub axle against the puller

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Here's a pic of the original parking brake backing plate. Looks like a California car, certainly never driven in the winter.




Had to make precision cuts with my grinder. No amount of heat was getting them off. Even after the cuts and bending of metal, they were extremely resistant to change.





Quick scrub in the parts cleaner. Dirtiest trailing arms I've ever seen.




Then into the washout booth. Getting there.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I could have either gone to Home Depot and built a puller to get the bearing races out, or have some fun with the MIG. I laid a hot bead around the outer portion of the race and 2 steps on the inside.

Let them cool and shrink and they popped out easily with a few taps on the steps. Fast and easy, and since they were smaller, probable better for the control arm.








I'll have to burn these out this weekend.

[Smoove1010]

I'll have to burn these out this weekend.

[/QUOTE]

I got mine out by putting the banana-arm in a soft-jawed vice and twisting on the inner metal bushing with big pair of channel-locks until it came out, which didn't take long. The rubber portion popped out easily. I hack-sawed a slot into the outer bushing just deep enough so that it didn't mar the machined surface of the arm, and those outer bushings came out easily with a little tapping and prying. I'll be curious to see how you fare using heat to do this.

I'm really digging this project - wish I had the time and energy to take something like this on. Good luck!
GK

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Thanks GK, I'll try with fire and if that doesn't work, try your way.

It's definitely a fun project so far.