Hi Matt,

Nice work on the access hole. Using a mirror and flashlight I checked mine out through the fuel level sender hole and everything seemed ok so I left the inside alone. Read post 159 on this thread for my view on the concours police;) The reason you are confused:confused: is that some of the original black schutz on my tank was still good so I epoxy primered over that with gray DP 40 and then sprayed everything with the 3M

I agree completely, but it's fine to have concoursmobiles around - they are educational without having to travel to Germany and go thru the museum (I'm a biologist and feel the same way about museum collections in universities).

FL does have some interesting features re limestone - don't worry too much about the hydrology as the entire state will be submerged in a few centuries.

I look forward to seeing what you do with the motor. One friend turned his into a 2.5L

Jack Olson broke his car build saga up into various pieces(body, engine, suspension, etc.) - I'm doing the same and you might want to do that also.

FL does indeed have some very interesting groundwater conditions with the limestone and sinkhole formation. I have a feeling I will not be around when the state is under water;)

In terms of the motor I am planning on driving it the way it is for a good long time. It was running like a champ and if it ain't broke I don't see why I need to fix it. I might eventually get myself another motor to rebuild just for the fun of learning it. That way I can keep the car running during a rebuild. Having two motors is never a bad thing as I can always swap them out. Once I get to the engine build I think starting a new thread is a great idea!

Day 16: Prep for welding the battery box this weekend. Only had a few hours to work on the Rat today so I cut out all of the old ratty metal around the battery box and started shaping metal for welding. This is the first time I have done anything like this so I hope I am on the right track:confused: The section between the battery box and the bumper attachment was two sheets thick and I am planning on replicating that.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1330659436.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1330659457.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1330659480.jpg

Day 16: Green chile stew and Lemans with the Padawan learner:D He kept asking what a 917 was since he loves the poster on the garage wall from Monterey so I had to show him the movie. What a great way to finish an evening of cutting metal

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1330659668.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1330659690.jpg

What is your Ph.D. in?

Wow excellent story and build. Absolutely impressed. My dream has to always become a professor, I love teaching and always tutored young kids through high school and university. I have a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering, am halfway through a Masters of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering, and after will pursue my PhD in Mech Eng. I cannot wait to pursue this career. Currently I work at General Motors of Canada Limited at the Oshawa Car Assembly Plant and am pursuing my degrees part-time. Would love to live in Florida, I hate the winter weather sometimes!

Thanks! I am glad you are enjoying it. Teaching is the only way to go:) Working with young people and watching them grow is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Congrats on already having your bachelors and of course a P car! I personally think the BS was the hardest of my degrees to get. Once I was in grad school things actually got easier as there were not the weed out classes such as thermo, statics, dynamics, Calc 1, 2, 3, and Diff Eq. Best of luck on your studies and enjoy your cool job in the meantime. If you have any questions about your career path or being a professor shoot me a PM or find me on the FGCU website and give me a call. We might be getting mechanical engineering as a major here in about 5 or 6 years so check back about job openings.

Day 17/18: It is currently my spring break and I was able to get some serious work done on the Rat. It started on Sunday with Peter bringing over his welder. I had already prepped a bunch of pieces on Day 16 and cut out the cancerous metal and therefore we could get started right away. First off was welding some holes in the passenger wheel well shut. These were from where a previous owner had drilled drywall screws through the wheel well for the interior carpet:rolleyes::mad:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331038353.jpg

Peter immediatley started cleaning metal and checking the patch pieces I had made the day before

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331038410.jpg

Here are my first real welds on the car. I know they look terrible but based on the colors of the metal they are solid. Based on everyone's collective advice I started here for a reason as these welds will not be visible after assembly.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331038472.jpg

After grinding
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331038639.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331038680.jpg

Day 17/18 Cont:

Patch at bottom of battery box fitted
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331038781.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331038838.jpg

Hole in front pan filled
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331038882.jpg

Fixing hole in suspension pan near battery box. Notice the area where I had already cut away the rotten metal. The area is one strange looking trapezoid. Before:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331038952.jpg

After welding and grinding:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331039062.jpg

With primer:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331039216.jpg

Great thread....I just moved back to Florida from Albuquerque...I never see any old Porsches here in boca! My son's 1980 SC and my 1987 Carrera are prob the oldest cars in boca raton! Mike

Day 17/18 Cont:

Fixing a patch from a previous owner above the passenger side front A Arm mount. I cut the entire patch out, cleaned out as much rust as possible underneath, treated with Ospho overnight until all (:confused:) the rust was neutralized, epoxy primered, and then welded a patch over the hole. I don't know the full condition of my front pan (everywhere I can see is good) but I have a feeling I will need to replace it in 15 to 20 years depending on how it holds up. I can't justify replacing it as this point because it is still solid. If I do need to replace it later on I can do so without having to take the car to paint as I can just remove the fenders and do something similar to what I am doing now. Hopefully by then I will have some kids to help me (for great kid and P car restoration pictures see Von Whitleys thread http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/614782-siren-song-68-homerian-epic-love-rust.html ) His cars are in NM!! I am sure my welding skills will also be much improved by the time I need a new front pan.

Dealing with the rust under the previous patch:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331039942.jpg

Patch welded into place:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331039980.jpg

After grinding:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331040015.jpg

Day 17/18 cont:

I was also able to clean up the steering rack during these two days. Since it is aluminum I am not planning on repainting and it will go back in the car as it is, clean and shiny. In the picture the left side has been blasted with the right side still needing some love and attention;)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331040299.jpg

I was also able to pull apart the A Arms and remove the bushings with the torch method found right here on the Bird

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331040421.jpg

Geometry picture for later
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331040463.jpg

Clean shiny metal!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331040522.jpg

Day 18 evening: By the end of the day (5:00pm) I had primered everywhere on the front pan. Right before heading in for the evening (8:00pm) I taped and sprayed 3M undercoating over everything. What a great moment as this means that I can move on to the area under the battery box. Here are a bunch of pictures from the new and improved front end of ze Rat

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331040897.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331040919.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331040955.jpg
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331041028.jpg

Glad you are enjoying it! I am certainly having a fun time doing the work and posting the progress here. The encouragement from everyone has been wonderful:) I think the reason you don't see any old cars in Florida is a) they rust too much to ever get old or b) they are not glitzy enough and people replace their new Panameras with new Panameras after 6 months ( I see far to many of those on the road!!)

Greetings from the Land of Enchantment! I've been following this thread and it's great. My three undergrad degrees were in English, History, and Medieval Studies. I guess I get it.

You're a bit ahead of me; I've got a '71 which is a bit needier than your car, but I should be starting on it in 2 months (pending retirement).

I'm enjoying the thread and the documentation. Car looks great, and I'm glad you fell down this "rat" hole!

Alex

Great thread .... outstanding results!

Yea, nice thread. Love the car and cant wait to see the finished product.

How do you plan on finishing the suspension bits?
A-arms, cross member, rear bananas, spring plates, etc?

I used POR-15 and am VERY happy with the results for a driver. This stuff is durable! I may use a flatter color next time, but hopefully it will get dirty soon.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331054900.jpg

Hi Alex,

Thanks for the kind words and the encouragement. Falling down the "Rat hole", as you so aptly put it, has been a thrill. I am sure you will have a great time on your 71 and good luck on the retirement. What did you do as a career (past tense for hopeful retirement;)) with all of your degrees? If you ever need any help or have any questions feel free to shoot me a PM and I will be glad to assist if I can.

Cheers from not enchanted but still enchanting Bonita Springs FL
Kristoph

Thanks Macaroni! I appreciate the encouragement as some days it feels like this will drag on forever and cost me the proverbial arm and a leg:(. I feel like I got a bit better with the welder today and hope to show some better welds in the coming weeks:D