Hi John,
That img nicely sums up why I've finally got the car I've promised myself for so long. I found your IB site about the time you were buying the Orange, and that's the car which inspired me. I also saw a photo of Franck's early on and loved that blue. Luckily I spotted the ad for mine before the photos were uploaded and got in before anyone else could see it
Al

Your car looks great! I have always been a fan of Mexico Blue but now I think I like Arrow Blue even more. Just a hint more depth to the colour. Is that a turbo front spoiler on your car? The black spoiler comes all the way up to meet the bumper bellows like the SCRS.

I agree about Arrow over Mexico, as I prefer the richer colour too, and well spotted on the spoiler. Unfortunately it's got a 930 whale tail too, but not for long. (Although I need to decide between flat, duck or C3 tail?). Your SCRS comment is interesting, as that is one is one of the inspirations I'm considering as I'm not a huge fan of the narrow 3.0RS look at the front, as the oil cooler box seems to project too far without the wide arches to back it up.
I've got a sneaking suspicion that your car is going to end up VERY close to where I hope to be, although my budget dictates a more leisurely development. I await your finished car with avid interest...

Kikwi...great project...could you please share more on your collapsed bumper mod? TIA

Essentially the impact bumper design allows for the bumpers to retreat back towards the body under sufficient impact. All I have done (probably not the first time this has been done) is to releave the pressure inside the bumper shocks so the bumper can be pushed back into the body. This is the easiest part. Simply remove each shock, place it in a bench vice and drill a hole through the shock casing near the end with the threaded stud. The shock is pressurized with a nasty sticky, smelly fluid like a heavyweight WD40 that will come squirting out so have something ready to catch it in and some rags to mop up what you miss. This will spray and then ooze out for some minutes. The shock can then be reinstalled re-attached to the bumper and the bumper will now compress back into the body. That is the easy part. The tricky part is making sure the bumper will now still blend into the surrounding body work (bellows, bumper extensions and lower valances). If you are keeping the belows the studs on the back will no longer match to the holes in the bumper blade. I am using fiberglass bumpers that look just like the stock aluminum bumper blade. This made it easy to drill new holes for the bellows to attach. On the front bumper, the bellows will now cover part of the orange side marker lense. I am using the rubber insert from the Euro bumpers which makes this less noticeable but will require slight trimming of the bellows to make a good fit. New bellows are a big advantage here as they are more flexible than ones that have been on the car 20 odd years. Both bumper blades may need some slight trimming to get the bellows to fit all snuggly. I have a two in two out sport muffler on my car which might give more room for the rear bumper to move back than the regular one in style muffler. I will post more pictures as mine get assembled.

great thread, subscribed!

Thanks for your response, Kiwi...Ireally am curious about the profile. I, too, feel them impact bumpers portrude too much. I assume you will have to spot weld the shocks so the bumper will not move. When collapsing them, do they bottom out to allow the bumper to move as far as you want it?

I believe the shocks have bottomed out. Once the bumpers are fitted the holes will be closed off with a sheet metal screw and the shocks tack welded to stop them moving. Even with the pressure released the shocks still have a reasonable amount of resistance to move the bumper in and out so you could leave them as is but this may change over time.

Headliner is in. Dash is at the upholsterer and the rest of the interior pieces will go on Monday. Color sanding has started.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257081875.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257081902.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257081933.jpg

Quick photo of a door jam.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257082062.jpg

Gratuitous engine shot as I can't get enough of that sport muffler.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257082163.jpg

I always a enjoy a visit to Huber's just to see what interesting cars will be there....

An original Speedster receiving a new hood after undergoing a full restoration.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257082285.jpg

Jeff's very orginal 911T and a Carrera GT
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257082414.jpg

Race car build with some original RSR bits....
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257082488.jpg

Very nice color! I really like the job you are doing on your car!

The white headliner also looks terrific. I replaced my headliner earlier this year. It was originally white (but was now quite stained looking). I opted for black, for the additional “safety” (i.e. would not show up stains). However, it really changed the look of the interior to a surprising degree. Made it darker and smaller… Although I am reasonably happy with the black, I do feel the white was better look (my interior is cork BTW). My car is a sunroof car though… which may increase the chance of the white headliner picking up dirt/grease etc.

The reassembly process now has some momentum. From these shots you can better see the results of moving the bumpers back. Interestingly now the bumpers are closer to the edge of the lower valance it really shows up the gap between the two. I might try and find some rubber trim to bridge the gap.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259373665.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259373716.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259373739.jpg

The ducktail took quite a bit of shaping to fit but the effort seems to have been worthwhile.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259373860.jpg

Rear bumper has been moved in also.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259373893.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259373914.jpg

The rear license plate lights posed a problem. I ended up going with a set of Hella lights for the BMW 2002 that I found new on eBay. Since the rear bumper has been shortened on each side the rubber trim strip that meets the bellows now extended further along the bumper. This allowed the trim to go all the way to the license plate light on each side. We are still debating how to close the gap between the two but it is not horrible so we may just leave it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259374154.jpg

Here is the big picture from the back end.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259374234.jpg

and the front end.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259374277.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259374298.jpg

The dashboard has been recovered in OEM type black vinyl. The steering wheel is a Prototipo replica with white stitching (not yet installed) so I had a French seam done around the instrument binacle in the white also.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259374471.jpg

Spacers have been added to the doors to fit 6.5inch components thanks to the template posted in another thread. This forum is a such a cool place to research ideas.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1259374495.jpg

In case I missed it, what ducktail mfr. did you go with?

It is a Getty Design ducktail. Jeff Huber thought it was a good reproduction but it still needed some shaping to fit right.

Is the replacemment panel for the rear reflector from Getty as well, or did you paint the reflector.
I LOVE that look!! I'm not a big fan of the PORSCHE across the back of my car and I'm looking for a replacement. I'm really tempted to paint my reflector because I'm weary of a properly fitting replacement.