I'm so pissed at myself right now. I scratched the paint down to the metal.

[UrQuattro]

I have an 81 targa and overall it is in pretty decent shape. Of course it leaks during the rain and I just found out that we are going to get a bunch of rain overnight. I have some weatherstripping that I got from a local general auto parts store. Just generic stuff, but at least it should help a little.

Well I was putting some on the door seals whe I put my c-cell maglite on the roof and walked away to grab my cutter knife.

Next thing I hear is a rolling sound, a metallic thunk and then the flashlight hitting the ground. There is a 1" gouge in the paint down to the metal in the middle. I'm just so pissed off at myself right now.

I inherited the car from my father in 05 and was finally able to get the car back on the road this past July due to a protracted probate on the estate. My dad let the car go before he died. It got flooded so many times from parking it on the hill in front of the house by pointing it downhill after I kept telling him to point it uphill or he'd ruin the car.

He ruined the drivers side floor carpeting, broke the drivers door pocket off of the door after the mechanic told him to be careful with it since it was already weakened. And then he threw it away, so now the option of getting a replacement pocket backing and the putting the existing carpeting is gone.

Also at the end, it got flooded and left alone for about two weeks which caused the dash and everything else in the car to be covered in mold.

I got the mold cleaned off, found a cheap set of pockets and carpeting in cork instead of the blonde/champagne it should be. It looks OK but kinda paint by numbers. I replaced the destroyed drivers seat with a beautiful sparco milano alcantara beige sport seat and have done what I can to get it running well. I just feel like I can't help but screw it up like I did tonight. I can't afford all of the targa. Seals that are needed, so I'm using kragen parts.

Plus there is someone across the street with a beautiful black 964 coupe w/ teacup tail on it. Mine is an 81 gold targa. I dunno. I just feel like I'm not doing things the right way.

Argh.

Michael

[RoninLB]

make the car look pretty, especially paint/tires/wheels/interior, and then sell it so you can buy a coupe

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by RoninLB

make the car look pretty, especially paint/tires/wheels/interior, and then sell it so you can buy a coupe

He inherited the car from his farther so selling it is probably not an option.

[David_B]

We all do stupid things from time to time. I remember the first vehicle I was proud to own, I was going to put my new plates on the truck with my screw driver in hand as I turned the key to open the door (You know back before FOBs ) putting a nice half moon scratch in my paint. Accidents happen I can't protect my car from the world/me and enjoy driving it. I need new seals on my Cabriolet to stop wind noise but I can't be bothered it doesn't affect how it runs. So until I have extra money I just live with the noise and enjoy driving the car.

[christojen]

I understand your pain (having done the same - i touched against my push bike and it fell and scratched three places)

I know it is a long shot, but at least get a paint chip guy to have a look, they can do good work.

Alternatively use it as an opportunity to learn to spray paint. It is not hard, i have done a whole car in a dirt floor garage and it looked pretty good.

Hope this helps.

Chris

[sc_rufctr]

Michael

Just take a minute and relax. Sit down... Take a few deep breaths and take the time to think.

I believe nothing happens by accident and you are meant to own your fathers car.
Stop trying so hard. Take some time to get to know the car. A good thing to do right now is clean and service everything that needs it.
This is cheap to do and will keep you busy for a while.
Don't stress over the stuff you don't know. Just focus on what you can do right now.
In time you'll develop a better understanding of the car and you're skills will improve.
There's nothing wrong with doing things economically.
Also... There's nothing wrong with running with no door pockets.
After all it's your car now and your dad would want you to enjoy it not have it add stress to your life.

Fix the paint. Pay someone to do that if you have to and then forget the flash light accident.
You're allowed about 4 mistakes a month so don't be afraid to use them ;-)

I'm guessing you have a family so try to keep a good balance in your life.

[beepbeep]

At least you did it yourself. Some young punk keyed my Audi S4 from the hood to the trunk. Yupp, over the doors as well Only remedy is repaint.

[Garp]

The very last thing i did on my car, after a complete re-spray which took 9 months, was putting on new wiper arms. Thel arge bolt slipped from my fingers and dropped onto the top part of the door. Down to bare metal too. It sucks but you get over it after two months.

[austin552]

I couldn't get a wiper arm off so I used a hammer. Forgot to add a support under the hammer and put a nice dent in the car.

[GothingNC]

Ouch.

A decent paint shop should be able to fix it without a full respray.

Long time ago I smacked a gas station safety barrier a few hours after picking my VW Bug from the paint shop. Had to have the rear fender replaced

[speeder]

Most of us who have made a bone-headed boo-boo at some point, (or several), while working on our vehicles. When I look back at most of mine, they were the result of impatience and/or frustration, ie. rushing and not paying attention. Working with one's hands should ideally be like a meditation, blocking-out distractions and staying in the present moment to the extent that you go neither too fast or slow and give total attention to the task at hand. Doing it otherwise can be extremely dangerous whether the situation is power tools or floor jacks.

What does this have to do with the flashlight accident? I've done stuff like that countless times, not really thinking about where I set something down, etc. Good pro mechanics in shops have a whole protocol involving protecting the car from damage while working on it, from fender covers and plastic bags over the seats to carts to set tools on instead of on the vehicle, etc. When you damage your own car it sucks, when you damage someone else's it's a whole 'nother ballgame of suck.

Slow down, get advice if needed, make it an enjoyable experience w/o strict time tables on yourself. You probably do something completely different for a vocation that you are good at so don't be too self-critical about your car-wrenching skills or experience.

[Paulporsche]

I didn't see if you said where the paint gouge is located, but you may be able to repair it yourself for now and move on. Search Paintscratch and other color matching systems guys have used here ( Dr Color?). Sounds like the car needs quite a bit of TLC. This is all part of the experience. You are bound to have a few "one step forward; 2 steps back" moments along the way. This happens in life, including cars. Keep the memory of your father alive.

[mike monde]

Reinstalling H-4's after a respray (which can be a PIA)and the screw driver "slipped" as I was screwing down the bolt......scratched down to the metal. OUCH!! Had to sit down, compose myself and relax then had a cold one. told myself "Sh%T happens so just move on, you still have a 911. Fixed it about 3 months later.
Worse when it happens to a perfect paint....paint with imperfections?, I wouldn't sweat it. Enjoy getting the car drivable and then make your father proud!

[Winter]

These cars were meant to be driven. Things will happen. Relax, enjoy the car and remember that no one died. It will be ok. You'll fix it eventually.

---

Tom '75 targa

[mean_in_green]

Last weekend some low life keyed all the cars in our street in one go. Along with everyone else I'm totally incensed. You just have to try to find a way to deal with it and move on, otherwise it ends up consuming you.

[jeromyrwks]

Hey Michael,

At least the car is driving right now, and you've been able to romp the back roads.
(There's a new traffic light in around a blind corner, so heads up if your heading out to San Gregario.)

I'm still waiting on the ability to acquire the parts needed to rebuild my engine after an oil squirter dis-lodged itself and the subsequent broken head stud.

You should see the rear quarter paint burns from my tires after romping up the hill with my brother in law in the passenger seat, prior to the stiffer torsion bar install. (stupid)

Any way, we all do stupid $# ! T. Relax, it's still just a (only the best) car. Give me a call at some point so we can get together on some of the other stuff. I haven't been into my e-mail in so long. You have the phone number to my shop.

Remember, these things are an evolution of personality, and above all, HAVE FUN!

Jeromy

[ths911]

We all do stupid stuff. My latest is a broken left leg from being too aggressive in a meaningless softball game. Crutches for 6 weeks and no clutch pressure. I'd trade a sledge hammer to my hood over this.

Remember my stupidity next time, smile and enjoy your drive.

[HarryD]

Buddy, as they said above, don;t worry. Fixing the paint is no big deal and now you have a story to tell.

Now, where are your car pictures? We always like pictures.

About your Targa Top. I strongly reccommend that you DO NOT add weather stripping. The PO of my car did and while I never had a water leak, the darn thing whistled at speed. I removed the extra weather stripping and adjusted the top (it has about a bazillion adjustments) and the noise was 98% stopped. Dan Petchel at Cars Inc (Vintage Porsche Parts and Targa Tops for Porsche) gave me a lot of help to get it right. You most liklely will need to adjust the clips and window heights.

[FLYONWALL9]

Like the rest of the guys said. It seems like a big deal now but
you will find that it is very easy to fix the paint. Once your ready
to take on the task shoot me a PM and I will walk you through the
very easy job. As long as you have a good paint supply shop in
your area that can match your paint you will come out fine in the
end!

Its not hard and can be done at a very reasonable price with
great results. Like another member said, take the time to work
on small jobs and get to know your new car. Your Dad wanted
you to have it and enjoy it. Don't stress over the small things!

[500_19B]

If there were razor blades handy in my garage, I would have offed myself years ago!

Too often I have felt the suicidal urge after yet another bone-headed move. However, it always seems to work out as an opportunity to learn something new (i.e. fixing it).

Walk away for a bit, perspective will return and then come back at it when you are motivated to do a good job.

Always research and ponder the optimum repair approach though.