Final Chapter of The 71E resto.

[jpnovak]

It occurred to me that I had not yet written the final chapter in the saga of the 71E I bought a while ago for my Dad. I wanted to close the book on this fun project. I am pretty pleased with the final outcome.

The story starts with the finding of an early 71 coupe. My dad had said to keep my eyes out that he was interested in a car. When I found one, it needed work and I decided this was the time to finally give back to my Dad for everything he had done for me growing up. I must say, it is never too late to say "Thank You."

Let's picture some wavey lines as we step back in time to approximately 15 months ago. The project starts with the finding and obtaining of a 1971 911E. I found this car in my neighborhood sitting neglected on the street. It needed someone (like me) to have pity on it and help nurse it back to the full Glory of its previous life. The sport seats, SC brakes and 2.7RSMFI motor were enough to seal the deal. The rust in the rockers was severe. The only thing holding the front and back of the outer rocker panel was the S trim. Ouch! No worries I have a welder and I am not afraid to use it.

here is the starting point.


The only thing holding the front and back of the outer rocker panel was the S trim. Ouch! No worries I have a welder and I am not afraid to use it.
Complete rocker replacement

After the repairs it was time to strip the car of its paint. My Dad came down for the weekend to put in some long hours and hard work. We went from bad paint to bare metal and into primer in three days. Not too bad for two people.
Bare... Shiney.... Metal....

Next it was time to block the car until it was as straight as possible and continue to complete a few more details to keep the car on the road for the next few decades.
The 71E is almost ready for paint.

AFter the repairs and finish sanding it was time to put some color on the car. thankfully, my Good friends garage has a good ventilation system. Your finest garage paint-job completed.
MMM Fresh paint - color applied to my 71E

I was not satisfied with the years of heavy handed-ness on the original hood. A little weight reduction was in order to fix this problem.
My weekend of fun... Taking about 40 pounds from the front

Finally, the car the left the driveway for its first test drive in over a year. I was trying to meet a deadline of April 21. The day my Dad arrived to pick up the car.
It's alive!!! - the 71E project moves on its own.

Here is where the final chapter begins.

The first few months of 2008 were filled with too many activities. The car related ones revolved around finalizing the build of Dad's new car. We finally settled on stock suspension torsion bars for a touring feel to the ride. The car was delivered with front and rear 15mm sway bars. new bushings were installed on every suspension component. The car is sitting on 4 16x7s in RSR finish mounted with 205-50-16 AVS ES100s. This was to provide enough rubber for the very fun motor and have plenty of wet traction for some rides exploring the Western roads of Arkansas. The stock sport seats were refinished to their stock basketweave centers and perforated bolsters. They came out spectacular. Besides the usual tune-up.

My Dad flew into town for the EarlyS/RGruppe TX Hill Country Rally. The plan was to get him comfortable on the road with the new car and then drive it home to OK where it will reside. the weekend was great. He decided not to drive the car on the rally since he was not familiar with it and I had not much time to fully sort the car prior to the trips. This was probably a good decision as views like this were rushing by at near ludicrous speed.



Following a great afternoon of driving my targa Sunday had arrived. Right after lunch we finalized a few details on the car. Next, Dad cleaned the windows, said goodbye and I handed him the keys. The car then drove off headed North on I35 to OK. The car did great with the only problem being a mis-adjusted headlight when the night came. Here is the final scene as we close this chapter.

Cleaning the windows


Interior packed and ready for the trip


Transfer of the keys


Backing out of the driveway one last time.


Making the turn for home.


I will miss that car but know it is going to a new home. And so I have had time to now work on my own projects, a little behind but that's OK with me.

[K. Roman]

Did you have to to give him the sport seats? J/K That is a wonderful story. I'm sure your family is mighty proud of you.

I bought my dad an iPod.

[pitargue]

Nice! What brand of bumpers are you running?

[Evans, Marv]

What a great gift for your dad. I'm sure he's proud as can be and will be telling everybody he meets about how his son resurected the car as a present for him. Congrats. You should have felt especially good giving him the keys.

[RWebb]

"sport seats, SC brakes and 2.7RSMFI motor"

URK!!

Want me to adopt you?

[MOMO3.2]

Jamie:
Your's is one of the great stories told here on Pelican. It sounds like you and your father have a great relationship. And, you are one talented young man!

Thank you for sharing.

Mike

[SP2]

Great story. I read the whole thing. I love that last photo. The line of that 1971 car are so clean. Hard to believe the car is that old. It was ahead of its time.

(BTW the link to the "heavy handedness on the hood...wt reduction" was the wrong link I think. It was a repeat.) Thanks for putting the whole final chapter together for us!

[berettafan]

As a father w/ 4yrs on the job to date i can imagine the pride your dad must be feeling.

That you took the time to do this labor of love is just touching.

[boba]

Great story Jamie.

The car looked much better in person than it does in the photos and it looks good in the photos.

That was one proud DAD I was talking with Sat evening.

Congratulations.

[jpnovak]

Thanks for the compliments. The overall goal of the car was a clean, simple look that was comfortable for long trips and yet had enough "under the skin" to back up any questions about performance. Trim deletion, color, wheel choice, suspension setup and interior trim were all considerations of achieving the end goal. I was pleased with the result. I only wish I was able to flog it on the track prior to its leaving.

The front bumper came with the car. It is from an unknown manufacturer. The rear bumper is the narrow body RS style from Rennspeed. For a fiberglass piece it was easy to install.

Randy, We can talk about adoption. I am ready to leave the TX heat. The only thing that happens fast in the summer here is paint dries and water evaporates.

Thanks Bob. How is your project coming along? The motor in the ST comes out this week for a top-end while the body is getting paint. I finished prepping the body on Sunday.

James, Thanks for the heads up. I fixed the link.

[dtw]

Looks fantastic! That car doesn't look too much different from that black '72T in Cary, that we looked at for him years ago.

[Jim Richards]

What a great ending to that story, Jamie! Your dad sure is a lucky guy. Hmmm, I wonder if my son might want to get me a GT3RSR. I'm a great dad after all.

[jpnovak]

Dave, Bring back some old memories... Too bad that guy never actually wanted to sell it. It is similar. I think this one might be closer to that car in TN that we road-tripped for in Margie's Dad's suburban. Good times. I need to find a way to move back East.

The difference is that this one had way more rust repair but a healthy, HMM make that extremely healthy motor. The sport seats and some other bits were nice to find as well.

Jim, I would trade your son for mine if he get's you a GT3RS. Mine's only 2.5YO so you have all the fun of child rearing years to go through again...

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by jpnovak

Mine's only 2.5YO so you have all the fun of child rearing years to go through again...

Oh joy.

[Zeke]

Super story. Hey, send him some wheel centers. That car is so smooth and cool that it doesn't need the rally look of vacant centers. Just a hint of color with painted centers would complete a perfect package. IMHO, of course!

[mjshira]

very cool!!!!

[DW SD]

awesome story! congrats to you and your Dad!!
beautiful car.

Doug

[trader220]

Way to go, thats awesome. I am knee deep in an 86 MB 560 SL which was my dad's and will be again when I am done! You're an inspiration!