Restoration Porn: Completion of '72 Coupe

dtw · 11:43 AM

After nearly 7 years, the car is done! A few details to address here and there, but the car is back on the road and being enjoyed.

dtw · 10-05-2009, 11:42 AM

JeremyD · JeremyD's Garage

Looks great Dave! Excellent work

78-911SC · 10-05-2009, 11:56 AM

Dave outstanding!!!! Any more pics? Maybe some of the interior and trunk area.

jhelgesen · 10-05-2009, 11:59 AM

Work of art dude!!!!

Tyson Schmidt · 10-05-2009, 12:10 PM

Beautiful!!!

Now remember to carry a spare coil with you, since you are running the silver coil of death.

Looking_for_911 · 10-05-2009, 12:11 PM

Very nice!
You should be proud!

Halm · 10-05-2009, 12:35 PM

Congratulations Dave. Outstanding job. I really look forward to seeing it.

CBRacerX · CBRacerX's Garage

Lovely!

JerryL · 10-05-2009, 12:55 PM

SWEET!!!!
Great job and some nice pics, ride height looks great in that shot from the rear!!

Regards

bluesky · 10-05-2009, 01:04 PM

Dave, your car is a complete work of art!

It's got to be a rewarding experience to be driving it!

Great job!

wm711 · 10-05-2009, 02:12 PM

I sold this car to Dave a long, long time ago. Congratulation on your sticking to your dream. I can only imagine how much you have learned in the process. Well done.

Bill Woods

Macroni · Macroni's Garage

Give us a before......... because the after looks amazing!

kidrock · 10-05-2009, 02:25 PM

top notch...top marks. Excellent.

geoz · 10-05-2009, 02:51 PM

looks great, congratulations.

Carrerax · 10-05-2009, 02:54 PM

Looks awesome! Nice job!

ALXinNZ · ALXinNZ's Garage

Very Nice!! Well done!

kilodawg · kilodawg's Garage

Truly inspirational. You have my deepest respect and admiration....Now don't get it dirty

healeykit · healeykit's Garage

Awesome - that car looks stunning

dtw · 06:00 PM

Thanks a ton, guys. The comments mean a lot to me - I'm not usually much of an attention whore, but after the all the work we've put in on this hulk, getting kudos from some like-minded enthusiasts is more gratifying than I ever expected.

I say "we", because while I shouldered the brunt of the work on this car, it was a team effort over the years. My heartfelt appreciation to the following:

82 SC: He doesn't come here much anymore, but he turned me on to the eBay listing for this car

wm711/Bill Woods (damnit Bill, I didn't know you were lurking. I was planning on sending you a special message & pics): Bill sold me the car as he mentioned. His generosity should really be noted - when I arrived in Illinois to pick up the car, he piled the trailer up with tons more parts than were offered in the listing, free of charge. He also sent out parts belonging to the car that could not be located at the time, when he finally discovered them.

Tim Walsh/Tim Walsh (and his brother Jamie): I first met Tim on the very first day I started work on this car, in March of 2003. We've been the best of friends ever since. He's been there every step of the way helping out with this car, from grinding off undercoating to soldering up wiring. Next to me and my paint guy, he's got the most time in this car of anyone since Dieter tightened up the lug nuts in 1971 back in Stuttgart.

jpnovak/Jamie Novak: My oldest friend from Pelican - in fact I think our friendship pre-dates it. He found my restoration chronicle on the web around 1999, and recognized the park behind one of my photos. As it turns out, he lived a few tenths of a mile up the street from me and was getting ready to buy his first 911. He helped put in the front suspension pan on this car, and loaned me the use of his welder and plasma torch. That allowed me to complete all the structural metalwork that this car needed - and there was a ton of it needed.

brittbolen/Britt Bolen: Another good friend that I "met" on Pelican. For the last three years, he and his white '70E coupe (that can be seen above in all her glory) have provided encouragement and inspiration.

jhelgesen/John Helgesen: My friends have really creative screen names, don't they? Yet another friend met through Pelican, he's another guy who's seen this project from the start. He's supplied a lot of sheetmetal now living on my car! He also did a lot of the rough bodywork & paint that helped transform this from a rusted out hulk/parts car into a "real car".

dweymer/Don Weymer: You guessed it, another Pelican friend with a creative moniker. Though I tend to piss all over his picnic whenever we meet up at the racetrack, he continues to put up with me. He's been encouraging me through the last few years of this project. He also contributed his time & Ford Powerstroke to pick up the '72 from the paint shop. You haven't lived until you've done 80mph in a lifted Excursion, in the rain, on the Interstate, in rush hour, with your baby riding in the trailer.

zuffenhausen/Dustin Boyette (and his dad Ken): Rode out with me on the marathon trip to pick up the car. We started the long leg of the trip in a blizzard high in the Appalachian mountains, but the trip went off without a hitch. He's provided insight, moral support, and the odd tool along the way. He moved to Seattle days before this car hit primetime - so I owe him a ride until he gets back to visit.

Shaun 84 Targa/Shaun Budka: He's provided enthusiastic moral support and many an arcane part over the years. If there was a part needed during the assembly process, and I could not find it on my shelves but absolutely KNEW I had it, I'd buy another one from Shaun. This ensured that I would find the original part a few days after his shipment arrived.

Tyson Schmidt for helping me with the engine specifications. This was back in the days of Scruffy - he really helped me plan out the engine build. It has been a brilliant powerplant so far.

Sooooo many other to list, and I know I'm going to forget someone. All the vendors & shops I have worked with have been super - here are the big ones:

European Performance of Raleigh: Jimmy & Tolga have provided endless amounts of patience & willingness to fix my mistakes & oversights.

Pelican Parts: Convenient ordering at 3am, and this board.

That other Porsche parts house in Willoughby, Ohio, whose name I shall not mention here

. They have the most amazing staff to patiently look up parts, check availability, offer alternative parts, & trace thru supercessions. I have a pretty large stack of their goldenrod-colored invoices.

Supertec Performance: Despite his curmudgeon act here on the board, Henry Schmidt is one of the warmest and most generous guys in the community. He did the injection & ignition on my engine. Even though I'm one of his smallest customers, he treats me like #1 every time I call.

Autobahn Interiors: Tony Garcia's work is amazing. He is a really patient and methodical guy - all the trim work he did for me fit my car like a glove.

Weidman's Wheels: Harvey Weidman, another top-shelf act. Beautiful work on Fuchs wheels!

Gibson's Autoworks: Nobody here will know this shop I bet, but Frank Gibson is responsible for the glowing paint on this car. He's a classic Mustang concours guy by trade, but he knows his way around a 911, too.

I could go on all day. AnoBrite/King of Trim, PEParts, dC Auto, EASY, Speedwerks, EBS Racing, Elephant Racing, on and on. I hear that Academy Award "move along" music playing, so I'm going to close this post up and go hunt for some good "before" pics. Thanks again to everyone.