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Thanks Flojo.
It has been a real struggle to keep going. The small glimpses I get, of what it will be, help me to keep going. More updates shortly. |
A few updates.
We've been in and out of various stages of Lockdown since March last year. While time to work on the car has been easier to find, the added difficulty of getting parts and work done has slowed progress. I have also entered a phase of the rebuild that requires real mechanical knowledge and experience, two things I lack. I have been very lucky to be able to lean on the expertise of some local experts. Here we go. Some pics of the car with unpainted steelies. Trying to decide between 5.5 15 Steelies and 5.5 15 Fuchs. The weight difference is significant. The steelies feel like they are more in keeping with the character of the car. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpghttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627296166.jpg |
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Missing the rather pretty little lips that are screwed into the rear edge of the door frame. Have been playing around with homemade alu versions. Not sure they are right. But they are brilliant at catching skin / clothing on the corners.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299090.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299090.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299090.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299090.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299090.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299090.jpg |
Wiring......
A great challenge to try and understand a wiring diagram - both the layout and the logic. Electrics have always been a mystery to me, so a very valuable learning curve. Trying to hack the emergency flasher circuit is still a bit hit and miss, but the rest is working okay. With the rear, I had to splice a 1970 MFI harness into the original SWB harness. The boxes in the back are rather expensive: speed relay, voltage reg, tach adapter, temp time switch, shut-off solenoid, cold-start solenoid etc. The vital circuits are surprisingly simple (starter, cdi, coil, fuel pump, cut-off). The lighting circuits - particularly to the instruments - seem endless. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299666.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299666.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299666.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299666.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299666.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299666.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299666.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299666.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299666.jpg |
Windscreens.
I have been putting this off on account of the rumours of how difficult it is. Thanks to Mike's Restorations on Youtube (here) and his very very detailed how to videos, I managed to wrap my brain around the mechanics of the seal. His approach of making sure the alu surround is correctly shaped and angled worked for me. I spent a few days perfecting the trim, to the point that I managed to fit both screens on my own with 5. minutes of help from a small person. They will need a bit of sealant under the lips and in the corners as per the factory manual. As per Mike's suggestion, I would recommend using Porsche OE seals. I bought URO front and rear seals from our host. The rear was perfect, the front was nowhere near right. The Porsche OE I bought as an alternative for the front fitted perfectly, first time. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299901.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299901.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299901.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299901.jpghttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299901.jpghttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627299901.jpg |
Some bits of detail.
The tank is a 100 litre made for the London to Sydney. It completed the race in a 911 in 1993/4 iirc. It belonged to one of our most experienced Air-cooled mechanics and rally chap: Frans Stangel. A perfect bit of homemade Porsche kit for the project. The welding is beautiful old-school gas and filler. My logic - aside from the story - is that I may need extra weight in the front on account of the whole front end being fibergalss, and the rear being filled with a 6 cylinder motor. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627300574.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627300574.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627300574.jpg Some Elephant bits. High clearance oil lines. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627300574.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627300574.jpg Home made engine panel cover - prototype 2. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627300574.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627300574.jpg These are beautifully made and great value imho. The main reason being the clearance between the eccentric bolts in the trailing arms and the inside wall of the tire. Not sure why as I am using standard SWB trailing arms. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627300574.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627300574.jpg |
I need a hand throttle. Thought this would be the right solve: throttle / mixture control from a Cessna / Piper. Beautifully made. The question is where to mount it. I played with making a ply panel to hold the fog/start/hooter/fuel pump switches. Didn't look right and was too complicated.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627301085.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627301085.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627301085.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627301085.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627301085.jpg |
Exhausts.
I bought a set of custom made RSR headers a few years back. They are lovely and nicely made. However, they were not designed to play nicely with my brand new and very expensive Elephant cross-over pipe. No fault of Elephant, their pipe fits perfectly. The issue is that I can't tighten the pipe fitting at the outlet when the headers are on first, and the headers won't clear the pipe fitting if the pipe is attached first. One of those very very frustrating situations where you only have yourself to blame. I managed to use a hoseclamp around the fitting and a drift to get it tight. But it'll have to be fixed properly at some point. The other issue with RSR headers is that one gather sits lower than the other. So making them mate to a sausage silencer is a bit tricky - or at least, a job for a professional. The other issue is that the flange on the gather is larger than 'normal'. I managed to fins a proper homemade silencer set-up with the correct flanges. So I cut them up and made my own MadMax versions, purely to avoid more complaints from the neighbours about the noise! Now that I have lived with them for a few weeks I think I might get the professionals to make me a set in the same vane, with a properly made-up support bar http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627301509.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627301509.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627301509.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627301509.jpg |
All of this activity was getting me closer to finally trying to start the lump.
I bought the engine with the car 8 years ago. It was complete - with few signs of having been messed with - but had been sitting on the floor in someone garage for years. And as my old Porsche mechanic mate says: 'An engine usually comes out of a car for a reason!" I have been turning it by hand for the last 8 years, making sure it has some oil in the barrels etc. Critically, I keep the pump filled with oil. I had no idea if either were in working order, or if they would work together. With CMA in hand I went through the pump and checked what I could check, without opening anything. Did the same with the motor, turning by hand and having a look at the pistons / barrel sides, valves with a boroscope attached to a cellphone (what a useful piece of kit). Aside from a heart-stopper where it looks like on of the pistons was cracked - everything looked okay. Rigged a compression / leak down test and tested the compression on all pots. More oil. More turning on the starter with an oil feed system confirmed the oil pump was working and there was nothing catastrophic lurking inside. The day arrived. Headers, with no exhausts. The neighbours were very happy with me. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627302619.jpg Here is the first start video: First Start And another: Running (rough) And another (now you get an idea of how charmed the neighbours were) Idling way to high, but sounded glorious! The addition of a silencer Wiring in the rather clever little box called a TachAdapt (available from our host) sorted out the 912 to 911 tacho issue. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1627303349.jpg TachAdapt Video After returning to CMA and applying the magic 114mm number to all linkages, and the addition of said MadMax exhaust, things settled down a bit. I'll save you the boredom of 3 weeks' worth of trying to solve my starter motor / alternator / distributor / clutch issue. After 8 years (almost to the day) I took my navigator for a spin around the suburb. Aside from the sand blasting, everything was done by me (hence the 8 years). Very surreal. reverse is where 1st should be, my DIY pedal box needs a (4th) rebuild, the brakes are absent and the engine is lumpy and not tuned etc etc etc. But, nothing major fell off / broke / destroyed itself, so a success all round. First drive 1: First drive 2: Whooohoooo. |
It's a great feeling when it moves under its own power for the first time.
Congrats. |
I hate this thread...
Just kidding. It's just when I see the skills you have and use, wow, just blows me away. |
:)
Thank you! I wish I could do this for a living. Maybe one day when I'm big. |
So many cool ideas on this thread
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Almost 2 years since I last updated this thread.
Would love to say the time has flown by but it hasn't! They say that life is what happens when you're making other plans. Been a tough few years but I'm still here and so is the Lawn Ornament. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1728400359.jpg While I was navigating life, I sent the car off to a local Porsche Specialist. He was briefed to do three jobs: 1. Tune the MFI 2. Replace factory spec studs with longer ones 3. Corner weights and balancing The results were largely disappointing to be honest, but hey, that's life sometimes. On the positive side I now have: - an alternator that charges - a cold start solenoid that actually helps start the car - a motor that I know is not going to tear itself apart. After driving the car around the hood a few times I was reminded of how much work there still is to be done to sort that last 10%. 1. Electrics (I did these myself and they are a mess) 2. Suspension and alignment 3. Oil leaks from various spots. 4. Exhaust gaskets (it sounds like an old marine diesel at idol!) 5. Oil lines 6. Pedal assembly The motor is now tuned (sort of) - still rough from start on account of not being tuned properly at low revs. I have RSR headers so no feed to the thermo in the pump. The good news is that once warm it pulls nicely from 4000rpm. The suspension is, frankly, terrible. Or was. I have Bilstein sports front and back - the fronts are an old pair of hydrostatic housings with the innards replaced with Bil inserts and the rear brand new. But when I got it back the rear suspension was bottoming out. Not sure if the rear shocks are too stiff for the now heavily lightened body or the spec of the shocks are not giving the torsion bars enough room to travel. I checked the rear TBs to make sure they were 23mm 69+ spec and installed the right way. They were. I can't afford to replace or revalve the rear shocks right now so I put in a pair of SC 26mm TBs. There is now rear suspension! No more crashing. So that is fix for now until I can do the corner weights and balancing and alignment myself with some old school string theory and scales. I'll get a Grey Beard to come and go through the electrics. I went to a lot of lengths to not butcher the mostly original harness in the car, but some of the circuitry is beyond me. I need to sort out the oil temp, figure out an electric oil pressure gauge, sort out the indicators (witchcraft I tell you) and a few other bits. I installed a 3.2 oil line set-up to a front cooler. This seems to be working, but I had to Frankenstein a main feed line from the tank to the intake and it fills me with dread ever time I get the oil hot and drive it. I'll get a custom line made. I've still got to put one of the lovely Elephant oil lines into the car - they have SWB oe spec fittings and my being 3.2 means getting an adaptor made or changing the fitting. Fixing the home made exhaust pieces from the RSR headers to the OE sausage exhaust should be pretty easy. Being RHD, finding a used RHD pedal assembly is unbelievably difficult. I'm still looking for one to replace the Frankenstein I made using a combo of a rotten RHD housing, some ratchet extensions cut down and a home made bracket. It works, but like the oil feed line, fills my dreams with terror. Lots of things to tinker with and tweak but it's alive and it runs. A friend once said to me that most people grossly overestimate what they can do in 1 year and vastly underestimate what they can do in 10. I started this project about 10 years ago knowing almost nothing about welding, Porsche mechanicals, electrics, paint, internal stitches and the shadowy world of vintage Porsche parts trading. Can't believe its been 10 years but I have learned to do all these things (some not very well) and have a SWB 912/6 that is all mine. Not a bad result for a semi-adult human being. |
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