My 1977 No Rules Project

[The Watson]

A brief intro and history. I have a 1974 Carrera Targa that depreciates if I do anything besides "stock". But there is so much innovation and clever customization that I am missing out on. So I started looking for a rough lower value 911 and after a couple of attempts landed this beauty


This was an Ebay find out of S. Cal. and I am in the other SC (South Carolina). After a pretty nice deal under $9k (the auction ended at 1am EDT - oops) and $1k of shipping it arrived today!

Interesting story - it was a two owner car. The long-term owner had it rebuilt then had a minor fender bender and sent it off to paint and body. He apparently got into a dispute with the painter and took the car back partially primed. There it sat in his garage for 28 years. There was technically a 3rd owner who had it for a couple of weeks - who I bought it from.

The Good:
Straight body
Supposedly rebuilt engine (we'll see)
Almost no rust
Very dirty but most parts included, original radio, tire compressor, etc

The Bad:
Small fender bender damage
The paint is a 2,000 footer
Plenty of mechanical unknowns

So the plan is now developing. Influences are Singer, R Gruppe, Magnus and lightweights. Oh, and very much so, this car:


Not trying to replicate anything. This is my car to have fun with, experiment and (god help me) try to break down and rebuild an engine with the help of Sir Wayne's fine publication.

I will eventually be parting out some items, but not sure about the complete list. I look forward to chatting with many of you through the process and learning from the group. A few pics as it came to me today - amazing how something so ugly can be so beautiful. I guess I know how mother hyenas feel now.

[tirwin]

Chuck,

Good luck and enjoy the journey! You're doing the next thing on my bucket list. What year is the new car?

Quick question: What is that dash bumper with the extra A/C vents and controls below the glove box. Never seen that before...

[The Watson]

Hey Tim -

It's a '77. I was a bit perplexed by the add-on A/c unit as well since the '77 has the dash vents. It is the same add-on unit that is on my Carrera - see pic. Maybe this car was without A/C originally and the dealer stuck this on when he added it.
It's coming off the car anyway and will be a good spare.

[Flojo]

as stated somewhere else already, this one is so much my most favorite "hot R"...!!



Maybe you try something similar in matte nato olive and orange side decal...?!

[fbarrett]

Great to have such a bank canvas! The matte blue car is great, but if you go that way, you have to make it into a longhood. Maybe think about a period ('74-76) RSR race look instead. Not with boxed rockers but with a decent front air-dam, duck tail, etc. Picking an unusual but not awful color is key, or you'll end up looking like tons of other repro-cars.

[The Watson]

Probably gonna go long hood on this one and keep the standard flares. Love that classic look (with a few evil tweaks). The mid-year RSRs are tempting though.

[James Brown]

type R projects are the best, i almost purchased that blue car! If it doesn't help go fast, turn, stop, get rid of it. long hood, lots of glass, keep it under 1800 lbs (lofty goal) and you will be happy, happy, happy!

[andoni510]

I almost bid on this car on Ebay and had been communicating with the seller to get more info on the car but the Sunroof was a deterrent as I really wanted a non sunroof car. Glad I held off as I finally found my perfect back date longhood hot rod project that I have always wanted. Just purchased it this weekend and will make arrangements to transport. It already has a desired 3.0 TheSamba.com :: VW Classifieds - 1977-S with 1979 SC powerplant

[The Watson]

Hey Andoni -

I'm glad you held off too. I got it for a song and it was better than I hoped for except the transport damage.

[ScottT80]

Chuck, looks like a fun project! Spartanburg here....

[The Watson]

Thanks Scott...what's in your garage?

[The Watson]

Here are a few updates.....engine removal and dis-assembly mainly.

[unclebilly]

Why are you disassembling the engine? Do you have a game plan for it yet? If not, STOP!

My suggestion would be to NOT split the case unless there is some underlying damage.

Get some 9.5:1 JE pistons, get your head rebuilt and upen the intake ports up to 36 mm (2.7rs). Run MOD 40 or similar cams (Dougherty has some more modern cams now). Backdate the exhaust and go to distributorless ignition (goingsuperfast) makes a crank trigger pulley and mount and the control box comes from Megajolt. Run either Zeniths or Webers with 34mm venturis. You will be pretty happy with this setup and it will cost under $5k if you are smart about things.

If you split the case, you better be ready to shell out more like $10k and at this point, you are better off going with a 3.2 or 3.6 and you have turned your 2.7 into a worthless pile of junk.

[The Watson]

The car (and engine) sat for 20-odd years, part of the time outside. Unknown condition although some corrosion visible in one intake. Everything is coming off apart and will make the case separation decision at gametime. What is so bad about splitting the 2.7 magnesium case other than having to resurface the mating surfaces and (the good opportunity) to install case-savers? Most folks who have done so seem to be glad they did - from my readings.

Not interested in a 3.2 or 3.6 but I would like to learn more about the cams you mention Billy. But I am keeping the CIS as of now and was leaning towards SC cam profile.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by fbarrett

Great to have such a bank canvas!

While I am almost sure you meant "blank", what you wrote is pretty accurate.

[The Watson]

A few updates to the project. Engine tear-down went smoothly other than a very hot garage. No broken studs. Only issue was one overtightened barrel nut that required me to cut the stud at the base. I determined that I had Mahle Alusil pistons and cylinders and so this has become an "opportunity" to upgrade. I purchased 92mm LN Engineering Nickies with 9.5 CR JE pistons. A chunk of change, but I'm glad about the decision. A little more compression on a little more displacement will hopefully have a nice effect on a lightened car.

Once the P&C's arrive everything will head off to Ollie's in AZ for the machining. They've been good over the phone and have tons of positive feedback from the Pelicanos. Here are few pics to complete the story.

CIS removed:




P&C's bagged and tagged:


Crank Yanker:


Lining up for Summer Vacation in Arizona:


I have posted various questions, problems, solutions on the engine rebuilding forum if anyone cares to see more. No miracles, just learning about this 2.7L.

Chuck

[jakz]

Subscribed!

[evan9eleven]

Originally Posted by The Watson

Here are a few updates.....engine removal and dis-assembly mainly.

Cool, you seem to have the rare roof-mounted trumpet horns option!

Seriously though, cool project and good luck!

[The Watson]

I want to alert friends and followers about Car Transport Express. They moved my car from California to South Carolina. These people are absolutely awful - possibly even crooks. They damaged my car by pulling out the front suspension due to poor loading and then asked for a substantial amount of estimates and information. I provided everything they asked for but cannot get a return call, email or anything from them. It has been almost 2 months with nothing in a reply. Their initial tone was as if I was trying to scam them. I'm their customer for god's sake! They also bill themselves as one truck door-to-door. Mine was transported with at least two, and then unloaded by a wrecker truck off the transporter! It's no wonder it was damaged. They also do business as Do It Auto Transport. Stay far away from these people, if something gets damaged they hide. I'm far from done with them yet, but want to help people know what these people do.

[The Watson]

I guess I'm a lot overdue in updating this thread. BTW, I never got a response from the companies that damaged my car during transport, but my insurance company (Hagerty) did step up.

Here are a few updates covering the last few months.

Nice new JE 9.5 CR pistons to go with LN cylinders - shiney!



Gearbox before cleaning


Gearbox after partial cleaning - pressure washing that is. Now on it's way to be inspected and resealed:


Reinforcements in case I ever want to go to coil-overs: