Yawn… Yet another 911R Clone build thread…

[R_Builder]

This project is currently "momentum challenged". Lots of other distractions as of late, but since most are Porsche related it's all good. Looking back in my notes and pictures there is more progress to report than I thought, so I will try to get caught up!

Fuel pump wiring. I had done a lot of temporary wiring hookups to get the motor running, one of which was the fuel pump/relay. I decided to clean that up first using some old A/C system harness items. Ran the wires up from the pump thru the smuggler's box and into the front trunk. Basically just like an SC's setup:





(Now I can carry a spare (modern) fuel pump relay around in my travel kit like the big boys! )



Looking thru these pictures now after some time has passed, I can see some go-backs. But I need to revisit the fuel lines due to some changes in the plan, but more on that later. Now that the early skid plate was installed, I can see that it will not provide the best protection for the fuel pump. I need to just get one from an SC...

[R_Builder]

It looks like at the beginning of this year I was inspired to tackle the rear grill. It was in decent shape but had the usual issues of broken studs, wavey bars, etc.:



Marked for disassembly (yes, I know the rails are stamped with numbers... just didn't see that at first):



LOTS of parts to keep track of, so be ready if you try this:



So, I needed a few new mounting studs AND I have a fiberglass decklid (thicker). That means some custom parts . Starting here:



we end up here:



So after new threaded rods and some hardware, it is ready to start going back together:



And the assembled grill:





Over to the decklid for a fit check with new mounting hardware (rubber washers, nylocks, etc.):



Slow going on aligning the grill and drilling the decklid (not a good place to mess up), but the results were good.

More to come...

[R_Builder]

Ooops...

[R_Builder]

While I had the decklid on the bench, I took the time to add the cutouts for the 69-73 style rear license plate lights. The fiberglass decklid had some faint markings as to where they should go, so that helped with the layout:



Some Dremel action later, we have holes:



The extra/non-uniform thickness of the fiberglass in the area will set the lights back a little bit more than stock in the decklid, but it should work out fine. Some new longer hardware will hold them in place and I will make up a simple harness to power them up when the time comes. The SWB harness has connectors for them on the LHS of the engine bay...

[R_Builder]

… and free up some garage space! Front fenders and bumper fit up was next on the list. Pictures can not really show how long this can take or all the little steps involved, but here they are on the car. Lots of off and on, back and forth to the bench, etc.:





Basic routine is to mount the doors and get them aligned correctly, and then use their forward edges, the cowl, and the front latch panel to position the fenders. Seems easy when you say it that way, but for those of you that have done this before with fiberglass parts (on a street car that you would like to have fairly decent gaps on), it takes time and patience. At this point I would like to think they are on for good, but you never know, so about a third of the bolts are holding them in place. I did use the Terostat stuff between the body and the fenders. It is sticky, but it will let them go if for some reason they need to come back off.

Front fenders on means the front bumper can be fit! This went a little quicker with another pair of hands to help out. I am pleased with the fit and reveal up front, as well as the alignment and the front wheel arches:







I used some segments of an old front bumper seal to get the spacing right. I have since installed a new complete seal as a fit-check with good results.

It was nice to have all the parts installed up front! That let me size up some front oil cooler mounting ideas on the RHS and determine how/where to install the horns. Looks like after a bit of rewiring on the harness, the best place for both of them will be tucked in on the LHS….



(OK, it looks like I pulled the bumper back off in there sometime for some reason. Must have been when I installed the complete seal.)

[R_Builder]

I couldn’t resist trying this out once the fenders and bumper were on. My plan is to run standard .41 7x15’s with 205/55’s on all 4 corners since 69-73 flares were added to the back and I am doing all this work to fit flared fiberglass fenders up front. I believe it will be a nice balanced and simple look. I just happened to have a 7x15 with the correct tire mounted to play with :









Man, those look good to me! A good morale booster at the time (after all that work on the fenders). The 205’s are a little close to the height adjusting locknut on the Elephant rear ASP’s, but there are some options for dealing with that if there are any issues...

[R_Builder]

Nominally, the height of the filler neck on the gas tank is 6 inches to the top of the cap. Since the top surface of the gas tank is slopped forward when installed, and the goal is to have the neck sticking straight up, the neck is installed tipped slightly towards the back of the car. Looking down at the top of the tank, the 9 and 3 o'clock positions measure about 5.5" above the top of the tank surface. The 6 o'clock position is about 5-15/16" and the 12 o'clock position is about 5".

Hope that is what you are after...

[volktek1]

what rear fender flares are you using

[R_Builder]

Originally Posted by volktek1

what rear fender flares are you using

The ones you see on the car in the pics are from a '71T, but any stock rear flare from a '69-'77 would look the same...

[R_Builder]

Now that the fenders were on, I decided to work on the front lights. The turn signal pockets are courtesy of TRE and have to be cut in. The orange lenses really provide the best template for this job and also help locate the whole assembly on the fender due to the curvatures in this area. After looking at lots of pictures and taking plenty of measurements, I went for it…

T/S assembly:



LHS marked:



Cut:



Pocket trimmed to size:



In place with epoxy (added some glass mat to the back side to make sure they stay put):



Also drilled the holes for the single bulb “parking light”:



Same routine for the RHS. Glad to have that done!

[R_Builder]

Looks like this is when I came back and did the “final” fit up of the front bumper. Looks just about right. Tough to really size it all up with the contrasting colors. It seemed to be just a hair too wide, but I have it centered and the clearances to the body/latch panel are AOK (closer fit down there than I thought it would be). I am just “hanging” it from the lower flanges on the front fenders so that I can use the original bumper bracket interfaces to help me support the front oil cooler and the horns.





And outside for the first time in quite a while!



I think that gets things pretty well caught up. Truth be told, the power train has been removed since those last pictures were taken. I tell ya… the more time these things sit, the more time there is to change one’s mind! Since there is not enough to do on this project , I have decided to add a fresh motor build into the mix. Something to do while it gets painted !

Next on the big list is to fit the Euro H4’s up front and get them held in tight in the fiberglass buckets. Then I will move to the back and fit the rear bumper and decklid. Thanks for reading…

[R_Builder]

Time to fit the Euro H4s to the fiberglass fenders. There is not much of anything to start with and the flange provided is pretty good but really too thick to function like it would on a steel fender. A blank slate:



When in doubt, look for inspiration from the factory solution. On a steel fender, there is really just a lower tab to hold the screw for the sugar scoop (or light assembly in this case) and a protruding lip up top to catch the inside lip of the chrome ring. The perimeter seal fills in the gap and creates a bit of a preload. Seems better than trusting the fiberglass lip, so let’s go with that. Mocked-up upper and lower brackets:





I had to cut away some fiberglass for the upper bracket to fall in the correct location. I also made it taller than it needed to be to start with so I had something to work with during final fit up. After lots of trial fitting, taking the H4 assembly apart and putting it back together multiple times, and shaving the fiberglass, I used 1/8” aluminum rivets to pin the final brackets in place (used washers on the backside to help give the rivets a better bite):





Finally the RHS was ready to go. There will be some more minor work when it comes time to install them for good with a (custom) seal after paint, but this gets the big part done. RHS installed with the lower screw:



Pretty much the same routine for the LHS, but nothing is ever quite the same side-to-side when you are working with fiberglass parts. As with the RHS, I used just the H4’s chrome ring on initial fit up to see where fiberglass was in the way and to help me locate the bottom bracket for the holding screw. Doing it this way made it a lot easier to see what was going on. I had to provide clearance for the aiming screws in a couple places:





Next time I have some fiberglass work to do, I will probably glass mat over the four brackets just in case. Here is a shot of the LHS all set to go:



Now that will get your R juices flowing …

[scotiagreg]

Doug,

The project is looking pretty awesome. The 2.7 is going to make that thing a hairy ride. I hadn't checked in for a while and I'm glad you are posting again. I am at a similar stage in my project and it's good to see what you are up to. Thanks, Greg

[jorian]

Sub'd

[R_Builder]

Originally Posted by scotiagreg

Doug,

The project is looking pretty awesome. The 2.7 is going to make that thing a hairy ride. I hadn't checked in for a while and I'm glad you are posting again. I am at a similar stage in my project and it's good to see what you are up to. Thanks, Greg

Who said anything about a 2.7L???

[R_Builder]

Been getting a few things done as of late. Back at the beginning of the year, I got the final item off my welding to-do list... lap belt hard points. I chose to make my own:

Outers:


Inners (for in the tunnel):


And installed (after WAY too much time spent thinking about where to locate them fore/aft):


Nice to have that done...

Big change of plans came next. I hauled the car to someone else's place for final bodywork and paint! The car has been gone now for about 3 months and it will be soooo cool to get it back ready for final assembly. Plus, it gives me time to focus on "something else"...

[R_Builder]

Originally Posted by R_Builder

Who said anything about a 2.7L???

Looks like I started the build last November with the crank:



There are a few goodies hiding inside, but nothing too crazy:





Add to that a 4 rib oil pump, later sump screen, updated cam oil line restrictors, and fresh heads ported to 36mm I/35mm E, and here is where she sits today (with the SSIs on loose):







I guess I skipped a few steps there, but I figure most of you guys are getting tired of seeing all those pictures of motors coming together . Always a relief to seal up a long block. Next up is rough fitting all the engine sheet metal and exhaust before sending parts out for their final coatings. Also waiting for the shroud to arrive. There should be some work there, too.

[acapella8]

Inspiration to us all. (I read every line today...instead of working on my own 78SC fuel line issues....found 3-77 on both pressure and return... I guess 35 years is not too bad from that rubber right?)

Love your thread.

[RWebb]

you massage some Gibbs into the Mg parts before putting it all back together

[jm993rs]

I love this restoration !!!

on the time when I finish my 914 6 clone, I would make the same !!!!!!

more people think wide-bodys are the goods but I love the narrows !!!

good work !!!!!