1972 911 Coupe - Barn Find Restoration Project!

[jwernquist]

Well guys I am back actively in the Long Hood Arena again. This time with my new to me 72 911T non-sunroof coupe.

The Story : In 1985 the owner purchased the car in Tennessee while in the military and drove it to Racine wisconsin. Restored it from 85 to 1990. Drove it for a year and was active in the PCA in the midwest. He was one of the first US casualties in the first gulf war.

His father kept the car once his son had died, and the car fell into neglect, however he did not want to sell it. In 2006 he turned 88 and he gave the car to his wifes brother in law who was much younger. I purchased the car from Bob.

Since 2006 Bob rebuilt the motor and the carbs having been a mechanic all his life he knew his way around cars just not a porsche guy. He started rust repair on the fenders and said stopped and thought he would just purchase some new ones UNTIL he learned how much they were. He collected all the necessary Body panels from multiple sources however never finished. He got a hold of me thursday and offered me the car.

At first I was not very happy with it when I saw it yesterday however after a night of thinking about it he called me this morning with an offer I couldn't refuse since he really wanted me to have the car.

After a 7 hour journey to pick up the trailer at Uhaul to bringing the car back home I have finally begun to access the car and all of the parts along with it.

Structurally this car is very very sound, unusually no rust in the front gas tank , suspension pan. Solid as can be. No rust in the torsion bar areas , no rust in the floors etc.

Rust is limited to the outer drivers rocker and the outer passenger side rocker, I have both replacement parts, the front fenders are both in poor shape. The drivers side inner wheel well has some through holes however very fixable. Other than that the car is wonderfully solid usable jack mounts and all.

After digging through the boxes I found, original fog lamps original Becker radio (Very Cool) original and 100% complete toolkit and jack. All of the fuse panel covers and the relay panel cover in the engine compartment with the factory slotted screws. I have absolutely everything to finish this car.

Original paint code is 936 9-3
6Jx15 Fuchs
Front and Rear Sway bars
S Guages
Leather and cordory seats (very cool firm and original)
Perfect headliner and Visors

Motor 2.4 , Weber Carbs , KN Cleaners and Covers.
Mechanical Tensioners and Non-Turbo Valve covers - They Don't Leak
Oil tank is right where it should be for 72 all the lines and tank are leak free.
The motor needs a valve adjustment however runs beautifully until the CDI decided to fail . Anyone have a spare?

I plan on restoring the car over the next 3-4 months to have it ready for the Lake Geneva Rally in September!

I will post my progress and pictures here from time to time. I will need some tips to repair the rust since it has been at least 10 years since i've used a welder.

Enjoy the pics this one is going to be saved dammit! And it's a 72 too and it even has those damn cool bumper bars!

JW

[snbush67]

Congratulations......reminds me of that country song......

Reminds me of something else as well....I have a 63 Impala parked in my dads, its been there since 87.

[dtw]

I also have a '72 T NS Coupe, #936-9-3. I'm on the tail-end of a 6+ year restoration - mine started out near the brink of death, not nearly as nice as yours. Much more rust. I bet I can convince you to go back to #936 - gimme 5 mins to upload a pic....

[BRPORSCHE]

Thank you for saving one more!

[Racerbvd]

Sweet!!! You going stock or RS??

[jwernquist]

Im going very stock as stock as can be. !!

Please send me a picture I am having a hard time figuring out which silver it is since Porsche made 2 silvers that year one was really light and the other is slightly darker.

Thanks
JW

[dtw]

OK, here you go:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/290852-while-youre-there-gone-horribly-wrong-bushing-replacement-post3896390.html?posted=1#post3896390

I believe 936 (VW Metallic Silver) is the darker of the two - the other code being #925. Darker is not quite the right word - it is just a bit more complex and a bit grainier, so sometimes it catches the light a lot differently than a 'normal' silver. It is by far one of my favorite silvers.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions - I know a '72T NS coupe inside out at this point. Are you going to put MFI back on it or was this an ROW car?

BTW if it is an ROW '72T I've got a NOS driver's manual for you somewhere.

[jwernquist]

Ahh man that color is freaking great! The motor runs rather perfect outside the CDI right now, I had a complete 2.4t mfi setup too sadly I sold it last year. Unless it lands at my doorstep I am going to keep the webers. MFI would be fantastic at this point however the webers will do. Although I probably would trade the Webers for a complete working MFI!

Right now priority is getting 2 good fenders, the drivers side is really not salvageable at this point, and the passenger side fender might have been cut to high near the door for the replacement part.

Needs Asap :
CDI and Coil
Drivers side fender
Passenger side fender
Passenger side outer rocker

And thats it!

Jon W.

[jwernquist]

After a bit more cleaning tonight and a bit of rust search - I have confirmed
Floors Perfect - although a slight dent due to a misplaced jack
Torsion Tubes inner rocker (inside) perfect
Rear Parcel Shelf and rear seat area solid and rust free (insert thankful sigh here)
Oil Tank fill door and passenger side strike plate area rust free.
Front suspension mounts and battery boxes are very very solid. However I did find a soft spot near the side of the gas tank, not too bad however It will need some investigation.
I have found every tool from the toolkit know and the factory jack was hidden in the standard location. Straps still holding it in place. The front truck is rather tidy, those fuse panel covers are really neat.

Also learned the car had factory air not after-market and all the plumbing is there however it has standard dash knee pads which through me off, no ac vents.

The rest of the rust is surface and cosmetic.
I am nervous about the bottom of the windshield however I will find out soon enough.

I think my wife is tired of all the car talk, will resume in the AM. Thanks for all the good words guys. Stripping will resume tomorrow and body paint etc will start this week! I figure I will be able to put in 3-4 hours every night from 8pm-12am right when the kid goes asleep and when the wife comes home. Should be back on the road hopefully in July.

[SCWDP911]

Dang, nice find Jon. SO many barns in Tennessee, so little time...

[mb911]

man 2 cars in what 2 weeks. 3 p- cars in total. you are now a collector

[robmog]

the factory jack was hidden in the standard location. Straps still holding it in place

.


great car, good luck.
you seem to know the 72 well re those special "hidden " rust areas.
the jack comment is interesting.
could you post a picture of the straps and positioning?

[Joeaksa]

Glad to see another "4 door" being saved! Keep us up on the progress!

[jwernquist]

Some more pictures...

[jwernquist]

[jwernquist]

[davis911s]

I like the story behind the car even more than the car itself. And it is a beautiful car.

Sad in one way, but nice to know that a "hero's" car will live on.

[Jack Olsen]

Great car and a great story.

That's a later model's badge on the hood. I'd suggest replacing it with a repro of the rust-red colored badge, since the originals are hard to come by.

A '72 owner's tip: always use one hand to cushion the oil flap door when you release it - in other words, don't let it snap open and just stop itself. The pot metal hinge is both weak and (you guessed it) hard to come by.

[jwernquist]

Jack thanks for the tip, I was wondering about the hood badge. It seemed strange, and kinda thick. Yeah the door snaps really quick I've been catching it and also pushing the button to close it. Removed the Oil tank today cleaned and inspected the lines, all looks good!

JW

[jwernquist]

Well it turns out we found some of the mfi bits. The other owner called me today with another box to come and pickup. We meet and sure enough the final missing pieces, outer lower rocker trim, and some MFI stacks, pump and throttle bodies. Sadly the Stacks are destroyed, both of them are crushed beyond repair. The pump was wet as in no oil just water. Throttle bodies are ok 1 is free moving the other is fairly stiff. I am kinda bummed however T stacks are easy to find. However I will keep the MFI and rebuild it much down the road.