'71E Targa project has begun

[BK911]

After a loooong search, I finally found my dream car; A 1971 911E Targa in light yellow. I am pretty excited about this car and actually stopped the restoration efforts on another project to begin this one.



I am going to strip her down to see exactly what I have, but she definitely has a LOT of rust. The front pan is no big deal, but the rockers scare me. Both sides look pretty bad.



Wish me luck!!

[whiteSC59]

email sent on sheet metal if youre looking. nice car, big project, kewl find. did you get a deal? good luck on her...

[KNS]

You've got a lot of work ahead of you! Thank you for saving another one and not letting it get parted out.

[Rick B]

Good Luck! I am in the middle of a 1970 911E coupe project.

[BK911]

No, I did not get a good deal. I paid a couple of grand more than what I should have. But it is the car I wanted so I was willing to pay a premium. Time will tell if I made a mistake.

Floor pans are gone too!



So I definitely need to replace:
Floor pans
inner / outer rockers both sides
Front pan

Which should I do first? Rockers or floor pans?

Should I invest in a rotisserie?

The doors line up ok in the back but not at the front fenders. I want to weld in some bracing to do the rockers, but not sure how to make sure the alignment is correct. Any ideas?

Thanks!
BK

[mcaterino]

BK,

It appears you know what you've gotten yourself into. Can't put a price on getting what you want. Go forth and enjoy!

I am rather an amateur at this myself, but I have just gone through a floor pan and (passenger side only) rocker replacement myself. I left the rockers intact and did the floor first, and I think I would probably do it that way again. It was nice having those original side lines in place when aligning the pan. Now, if you end up having to work your way up replacing any of the inner longitudinal, then it might make more sense to do that first, because then you'd lose those fixed tie-in points for the floor. I can see a little rust under the seat rails. Probably want to figure out the extent of that before making any decisions.

A rotisserie might be nice, but I have my car up on a rolling stand that just gives some clearance underneath, mounted at the two front cross member points and under the torsion tube in the rear. And that's been fine. If you started twisting the car that gives a whole new dimension to things that can get misaligned. Given the extent of the damage, and the fact that it's a targa, some bracing will be essential. I welded a bar across from the targa bar to the windshield frame that was probably the bare minimum one should do. If you feel like there's already been some flex, resulting in your wide door gaps, I'm not sure how you'd deal with that. It'd be interesting to hear others' recommendations there. Filling the gaps by fender alignment or adding metal to the edges would be easy enough, but it's hard to say how far off it might really be. I've never seen measurements that would let you check for 'targa spread', but would be interested to check that myself.

Pictures of a lot of this stuff on my blog (link in my signature) and in my restoration thread ( Restoring a 1970 911T ).

Good luck & keep the pictures coming,
Mike

[BK911]

WOW!! I just looked at the thread and your blog. WOW!! You have come a long way. Very nice work and an inspiration. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Mine doesnt look so bad afterall.

[BK911]

Ok, I tore into her a little bit more. I am starting to think she isnt worth restoring, or at least I may not be the one capable of doing it. I put some pictures in the paint and body work forum.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/paint-bodywork-discussion-forum/530621-71e-targa-worth-restoring.html

What do you think? Worth restoring? Part her out? I wont make my money back, but may recoup some.

[Pascal]

BK
Love the color, I would be over my head in a project like that, mine has no rust but has a T eng. and needs an interior so I have plenty to do myself. Good Luck I hope it goes as easy as poss.
Pascal

[BK911]

Thanks Pascal.

I think I am over my head too. Coming soon to a classifieds near you.

[tangerine911S]

What makes it your dream car? Color? I'm sure you could find a nicer one just like it but it is sad that this one may never live again.

[BK911]

I prefer early cars over later cars.
I prefer the body and interior trim of the 2.2s over the 2.4s.
I prefer a targa over a coupe.
I prefer the E over the T and S.
I prefer the jelly bean colors.

So this car was all of the above; my dream car.
But unfortunately too far gone for me.
She is listed in the classifieds.

[dmcummins]

You could always buy my 71t. Its rusty also, but not near as bad as yours. I want a few parts off of her. But I don't need the tub.

[dmcummins]

[DEAN911]

Just a little something to help keep you motivated.

About 3 years in the making and now pure enjoyment. Yes I got a little carried away and modernized it a bit but out of necessity. Stored over the winter but driven almost everyday otherwise. 80 miles rondtrip makes going to work fun. Lucky for me it is a ride through the country.

Good luck!

[Pascal]

Dean that's just the sort of end result I am hoping for. Beautiful !!! Love the color,original ? Please post more pics,before and after, specs on wheels, flares, eng., etc. Thanks
Pascal

[DEAN911]

Installing the steel RS flares


Part way there.

Properly painted doors. I have seen a number of paint jobs that show the body color from inside the car. This is the way the factory did it.

Ready to come home about 4 months after they picked it up.

Out for a Sunday ride.

All steel, RS flares and rear bumpers, steel front S bumper and factory RS trim. 16 inch 7 and 8 inch polished fuchs refinished, Required the fenders to be rolled but it all fits nicely. Rechromed, new rubber, all suspension, fuel tank was redone along with all of the lines, hydraulics and wiring. 2.7 RS spec motor puts 201.3hp to the wheels. Go to Autobahn Extremist and open the Pictures and Dyno Runs. Open the videos and I am the first one.

Jeff Stalker at ********s in Willoughby did the paint and Chris Moore from Autobahn Extremist did the motor and trans. Yours truly did all the rest of the body assembly, mechanicals and interior.

That is the original color. It is Albert blue. You can see from the flare install photo. I put the duck tail on it and liked it so the flares came next and the whole thing just got out of control. I also had the factory engine cover painted so when I get tired of the duck tail I can swap it out.

So now it is a brand new 1973 911. I took 2nd place in concours in 2008 the year I finished it so then I had a clear bra installed and now I drive it about 6000 miles a summer. We get snow and salt for about 5 months a year here in Ohio or I would douple that.

All said and done it was about a 3 year project beginning with finding the OEM parts to driving it to the show. The costs were absoluty rediculous but it was a labor of love.