Aaah, the Mr Mosley school of punishment!
Apologies. Between work and trips to collect /swap parts I've been under the radar.
Here are some pics from today's labours:

Targa shell left for the vultures at a trucking yard.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1369769695.jpg

Ours went into a container. Rear parcel shelf is remarkably solid. A donor for the rotten one in the 912?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1369770148.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1369770165.jpg

Picked up the 'R' bits I'm swapping for original steel body panels and light housings.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1369769858.jpg

These look good but don't fit into the indicator housing! Looks like I'd have to cut away a section of the lip to get them in:confused: Will have to look at the 912 they came off of.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1369770208.jpg

Helper number 2. Has a taste for spanners. Puzzled the steering shaft yesterday.
White centre fill bonnet wouldn't fit in the back of the pick-up. Will replace yellow in situ.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1369770356.jpg

Colour scheme scheming
 

This happened by accident this evening.
Something rather nice in here.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1369770745.jpg

Have been thinking that if I have to redo the window frames and bright work, I may try something different to go with the off-white (new) paint:
Sort of yellow/gold cad plating colour?

Thoughts?

Project R update aka "The Lawn Ornament"
 

While the mechanical progress has been slower than anticipated, I have puzzled myself to distraction with options and variables and possibilities: colour combinations, narrow body vs Carrera flares etc etc...a natural reaction to the seemingly endless job of stripping the body by hand I suppose.

Wiring harness detached at both ends, but crucially still very much embedded in the spine of the car...the transmission tunnel is a puzzle. I'm thinking of leaving it in place. Electrics are beyond my abilities. Hopefully lots of labels and photos will help me bring it back to life in a year or two's time

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371492700.jpg

Some of the original switches are beautiful designs in their own right. The parts bin in 1967 was top drawer.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371492830.jpg

Interior is stripped of underseal....well mostly. Paint stripper and scrapers.
Will take it back to bare steel next weekend...once the ringing in my ears abates after spending a few hours in the front with a 3M wheel.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371492628.jpg

Floor is not that bad overall. It's the cavities that worry me....'sill' is a four letter word. The transmission tunnel has quite a bit of rust on the bottom. But how to get to it? Acid to kill the rust and fog it with rust preventer? Will have to do soem reading of previous threads.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371492922.jpg

Bags and labels to combat a memory with the consistency of emmentaler.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371493168.jpg

Started on the one door. Heavy duty stripper and scrapers (same ingredients as a good weekend in Vegas apparently). The inside will need a blaster me thinks.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371493246.jpg

3M wheel after two or three goes with said chemicals and scraping. Works a treat.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371493381.jpg

Decided to do a small test on the suspension pan. Remarkably good knick

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371493506.jpg

...a few hours later the test scope had ballooned.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371493561.jpg

Having no experience with metal, I was really amazed how stripping steel can be as rewarding as working with old neglected hardwood; how you strip away the layers to reveal fresh grain. Only pity steel doesn't have the scent.

Suspect the underside is in nasty shape. Inside the suspension support, under the fibreglassed battery tray (blame the 80s) it looks bad.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1371493746.jpg

So what's the feeling about sandblasting vs by hand?
To blast I'll have to build a hex jig, remove suspension, get the jigged car to a blaster with two bags of walnuts.

Alternative is to keep going by hand while I have the jig built, knowing that certain bits will need a sandblaster to get them clean:
- inside doors
- fender mounting panel / hinge post
- engine tray / suspension tube

The idea would be to spend some of the money saved by not sending it out to buy a pot blaster which will help do the above, and clean up suspension parts etc when the time comes.

Thoughts?

With regards the body, I'm in for the following from the Canadian Metal Fans:
- rear windscreen corners
- parcel shelf (if I don't canabalise from a G-series or fab)
- outer sills
- battery tray
- front right floor pan

I suspect I'll need inner sills, the suspension pan supports.

Big bill for me with the exchange rate at 10 to the dollar and silly shipping rates.
Have to find another metal man considering I'm in a fight with the panelbeater with the jigs that employs the best one I've come across...all on account of an SC that has taken 8 months to repair!

Cheers from chilly Joburg.

I have NEVER seen a smugglers box like that. Is it unique?

Smuggler's Box
 

Hi David,
Not sure. I've never seen one like that either.
Mine is rhd if that makes any difference.
Cheers,
Matthew

And it's a 912, not a 911!

That's a RHD smuggler's box.

andy

Thanks Andy,

...thus rhd countries are less partial to smuggling, or the value to size ratio in the 'civilised world' is far higher.

I guess RHD cars never got the Webasto option then. Interesting - it's bloody cold over there!

No blower to speak of.
I have a full SC heater set-up.
May rig something custom under the scuttle. Not for personal comfort, but more for vision in winter....next year's problem!

Progress...it's all relative
 

Evening.
A bit of progress.
Have stripped one door....apart from the interior...any suggestions of how to get to the seams and edges inside?
Interesting stamp:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372005834.jpg

More fibre glass...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372005872.jpg

A spray of WD40 (or other similar) works well to protect bare steel against flash rust. Spray and wipe with paper towel... necessary considering I'm doing all of this on my front lawn!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372005949.jpg

Door solid apart from badly butt-welded corner I'll have to redo.
Frost arrived, hence flash rust now an issue for anything exposed. Blue skies and frost...can't complain too much. Does mean the start time for any work is a bit later....reminds me of working in the shipyard in Holland, in winter...without flexible start time!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372006093.jpg

Break a seemingly insurmountable challenge into little pieces.....
I have a plan for the marine ply shaped floorboard (the only piece in the footwell that wasn't rotten!)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372006248.jpg

Think of stripping it back and treating it with a water-based sealer made by BONA. For anyone who works with wood, this stuff really is amazing: brings out the grain and natural colour and provides a very strong sealer at the same time. Pretty smart.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372006389.jpg

Will get a very smart furniture designer (and fellow Porsche incurable) to make me up one for the passenger side. Natural wood will go with matt black and goldish cad plate interior colour scheme.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372006606.jpg

Speaking of colour schemes, I pulled out a rattle can and did a analogue photoshop (shake, point, spray...)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372006672.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372006770.jpg

Liking the gold with anno outer wheel colour.
Thinking of paying homage to the original blue colour with stripes, or Carrera script line

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372006738.jpg

Cheers,
Matthew

R Flares
 

I have a mk 1 Golf (Rabbit in the US).
Still made here in SA until a year or two ago.
One of the 'flares' was cut out of the car when I bought it - in anticipation of the previous owner turning it into a lwb RS rep...another one!

Had a close look at the Golf and realised the flare was pretty similar (from my uneducated pov) to the general idea of an R flare.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372007040.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372007124.jpg

(The square edge and square fold-over will have to be amended....)

Then I took the 'flare' off my car and compared it to the Golf:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372007081.jpg

Radius is almost perfect match.

Spare metal of the squared edges will aid extension.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372007206.jpg

Original R flare measurement (7" but very different profile)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372007293.jpg

Buying two rear flares from scrap yard will cost me $50. So, all things being equal, a pretty cost effective way of giving the metal magician the right start.

So 70mm (not inches) vs. 50mm on the Golf flare.
The square edge of the Golf flare has a good 20 mm in it.

With the exchange rate, it's cheaper than buying through TRE...and if it all works I get steel instead of FBG.

Visiting mates who can see the light at the end of the tunnel is a good way to keep perspective when you're still in the dark of the tunnel!

Picked his brains about all sorts of details. He has invested a huge amount of time in finding and testing the right local suppliers, so his school fees are in fact priceless.

His E is in the home straight (apart from a botched touch-up on the rear 1/4 panel). If I was him I would have been in jail for GBH! Importantly, his daily driver is a RS2....so he has the t-shirt and the badge.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372008834.jpg

This is the best local equivalent for rust conversion

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372008881.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372008960.jpg

Which I'll need for my rusty bits (inside the doors).
Apply, dry, clean with thinners and prime.
Should work for the transmission tunnel.

So this is what I think the order of repair should be.
Some input please:

- build the hex jig
- Strip suspension
- send suspension parts off for cad plating / powder coating
- send shell to get blasted
- take shell straight to a Panelbeater to shoot epoxy sealer
- and cut / weld in new panels (restoration design or other)
- shoot primer (doors, lids etc as well)
- back home to reassemble
- will do stone chip underneath, engine bay, and satin black interior myself
- refurbed suspension back on
- motor and g-box in as is (may get g-box checked before..)
- send back to PB (now heavy) for panel gaps and final spray
- get engine going in car (hopefully...)
- interior installed (....circa early 2015!)

This is the plan until it changes.

Cheers,
Matthew

Decided to start on the other door and exterior today.
An hour in between meetings.

Compared to how long the previous stripping took me, this lot was a massive improvement.

- razor blade scraper
- heavy duty paint stripper left to sit for 30 minutes
- poly wheel to clean up residue

Helps to have two sections going at the same time: leave the stripper to sit while you work the other surface.

The door skin, the roof and the 1/4s took an hour to get back to bare steel (well almost)
Poly wheel really works quickly when you've broken through the paint with stripper.

Running the scraper blade at a 45 angle lifts the paint off in layers

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372091094.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372091137.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372091159.jpg

The lhd rear window sill is a bit of a mess. Bad repairs and lots of filler, but thankfully no FBG

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372091204.jpg

Top half of door lock panel is solid...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372091227.jpg

Bottom is another story...Crooked as an old lady's arthritic fingers.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372091278.jpg

Outer sill is definitely going to come off, as with the other side. Hope the inner sills are in better condition....not going to hold my breath.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372091577.jpg

Time's up. More tomorrow hopefully. A little bit every day.
Reckon I could have the exterior back to metal in a day...oh for a full day with no work interruptions.

If only the interior was as simple as the exterior. The residue from the bitumen stuff eats poly disks...the resonance of the disk on the panels means ear plugs are an absolute necessity.

Cheers,
Matthew

The three numbers on the door should be the same as the last three of your chassis number, and the same numbers should be stamped inside the headlight buckets and on the inner centre rib of the engine lid - that's if they're original to your car. Early swb's had all the panels matched before painting.

The loom comes out from the back of the centre tunnel to the front on swb's (opposite for later LWB cars)

I have just finished restoring a 66 swb in this UK thread - might be helpful in a few places as I also had to solve a few puzzles along the way! You need an hour or two to spare.

DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker • View topic - 66 LHD 'Doctors Car' restoration begins

I recommend the DDK website for early Porsche owners

Mick

Thanks Mick.

Just did a quick look at your thread: page one and page 14. Holy moly.
Amazing resuscitation there doctor.

Will certain spend more than a few hours going through it in detail.
My original panels were long gone. Replaced with fbg in a trade.
The door hinge has a 5 stamped on it.

Thinking maybe I can leave the loom in and work around it.
Having to put it back together is a monster in the cupboard for me.
Will have a closer look at your process.

Thanks again.
Matthew

Some progress on the stripping front.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372456292.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372456312.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372456332.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372456348.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372456377.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372456392.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372456444.jpg
Can't wait to get rid of the Burzel..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372456490.jpg
A few of these around. But a rare, 'no fibreglass' repair...must have been a shortage of hardener!