Saving another '73

[frankc]

Last weekend I removed the ventilation system and dash pad. Given that there was no windshield in the car, I was a bit nervous about what I would find under the dash pad. I have seen photos where the sheet metal under the pad is severely rusted from water getting trapped between the pad and metal. I was lucky in that the metal under the pad appears to be rust-free.

Here’s a photo of the area before I started:


This fan obviously hasn’t been run in a very long time.


With the ventilation control boxes out of the way, I was able to get a better view of the debris that accumulated in those areas. With all the extra plumbing and wiring harnesses on the left side of the trunk, a lot more debris built up on that side.

Right side:


Left side:


It amazing that the leaves managed to squeeze their way through the defrost vent and end up here:


I was very careful and managed to detach the dash pad without breaking or spinning any of the studs, or snapping any of the plastic clips. Notice the production number in grease pencil still visible.


After cleaning up the area under the dash pad (being careful not to wipe away the production number), I was very happy to not find any rust .


The dash pad may be useful as a core to be re-covered, but the metal at the ends may be too rusted.

[frankc]

(continuing from previous post as I hit my picture limit)

Here are some shots of the area with everything removed (except the wiper mechanism) and cleaned up. The right side appears to have only some slight surface rust. The left side, where most of the debris collected, has much more surface rust - hopefully media blasting will take care of this.


Right side:


Left Side:

[frankc]

This weekend I just cleaned up some areas of the car to help evaluate which panels need to be replaced completely vs. patched (plus, I was getting tired of the musty smell in my garage). I also removed the excess wiring from a radio installation and some sort of kill switch.

The bottom of the car and wheel wells had been sprayed with some undercoating that was flaking off, so I rolled the chassis out into the driveway for good power washing. Here is a before and after shot of the right inner fender.

Before:


After (with the car’s hidden custom green shining proudly):


Does anyone know what these little spikes are at each of the spot welds? My ’77 does not have them.


I missed this last week when I was cleaning the dash area. I’ve seen others post theirs – I believe it is a signature/mark by the painter. Is there a collection of these things?


I was doing some cleaning up in the cabin, and all these hack wires under the dash were bothering me – they had to go.


There were four wires spliced into the ignition switch harness (wonderful) - they went to an added relay in the trunk. I’ll need to repair one wire in the harness that was cut, the others were just vampire taps.


And then there is this secret switch behind the ash tray – I suppose it was used to trigger the trunk relay.


I removed the door panel to fix the window regulator, and found this gem inside the door .


Speaking of doors, I was planning on removing the right door (the left door was gone when I purchased it), but thought that perhaps it is better to leave the door on to make sure the gaps are right when fitting panels. What do others do? Or perhaps I should remove it for now (using the hinge pins), and then simply pop it back on when fitting the panels around the door?

I started gathering photos of the known rust areas - I say known because I know I will find plenty more when I start cutting and grinding. I plan to post these in my next post – perhaps I should name that post “the good, the bad and the ugly”.

[jpnovak]

Frank,

Yes, you can remove the doors by pulling the hinge pin. This does not disturb alignment. Leave them on if you are working on rockers or QPs. Use the factory door position for alignment.

Funny Minne had similar wiring under the dash.

Love that green. Had a friend that had a 76 Euro Carrera in a color that looked almost identical.

[wayner]

If you do have a need to remove the hinges from the doors/posts, a trick is to drill one or two small alignment holes that you can later insert a small punch or pin into while you reinstall the bolts.

[stewartjp]

Hey Mate,

Thanks for posting the story and all the pics, good on you for taking on the task. Sounds like it was a pretty sweet car when it was new!

If there is anything I can do to help out with your engine tracing given that I am in Australia let me know.

I am in the Porsche Club Victoria and would be happy to post an add in the newsletter etc. if you think it will do you any good.

Cheers

Stewart

[sugarwood]

That cassette was released in 1997. 18 years ago.

[frankc]

Originally Posted by stewartjp

If there is anything I can do to help out with your engine tracing given that I am in Australia let me know.

I am in the Porsche Club Victoria and would be happy to post an add in the newsletter etc. if you think it will do you any good.

Hi Stewart,
Great idea - thanks for offering. The engine was sold to someone in Melbourne, so at least you are in the right area. As you can see from the CoA, the engine number is 6530449, and should be a 2.4L 911T motor with Zenith carburetors (or it was at one time), and was sold around the 2007 time frame. Send me a PM if the newsletter editor would like me to contact him/her directly.

[frankc]

The lower door pin doesn't want to budge. I'll let it soak in Kroil for a few days to see if that helps.

I don't have the proper door pin tool, so I'm using the long punch method. Any other suggestions?

[j911brick]

Looking forward to seeing this come together.

[Reiver]

One of the reasons I'm on Pelican regularly....the great resto builds...looks to be a pretty solid start point too. Luck.

[tdskip]

Very cool, looking forward to seeing how this progresses.

[frankc]

Between traveling and guests visiting, I haven’t had much time to work on the ’73 these past few weeks. I did manage to remove the sound deadening material from the floor pan to see if the pan is salvageable with a few patch repairs, or if I’m going to need to completely replace it.

I went around the car to take a closer look and photograph some of the known rust areas, and I have posted some of those photos below. Many areas of the car are in surprisingly good condition, but due to the way that the car was leaning when parked outside, there are some areas that are bad – pedal cluster area really bad – due to water pooling in those areas.

I have been spending a lot of time on Restoration Design’s website recently trying to determine which sheet metal pieces I can purchase, and which I will need to fabricate. I also need to take inventory of the parts that the PO sold with the car – he included some new and used sheet metal panels in a box of parts.

Note that I would like to get the front trunk area of the car repaired first since my original plan was to attach the chassis to the rotisserie at the bumper mounts. Another option would be to attach the rotisserie at the front sway bar mounts (a la Octisserie), but that would require long rotisserie arms. This is the first big decision I need to make on the direction I take on this project. If I attach the rotisserie at the front sway bar mounts, then I assume it would be possible to have the chassis on the rotisserie for the front suspension pan replacement (I would prefer not to weld while lying on my back)? And likewise, I assume that one cannot attach the rotisserie at the front bumper mounts with the suspension pan removed as there will be too little structural integrity in the nose at that point?

So without further ado, on to the rust…

For the first photo I thought I would go for the maximum shock and awe. Yes, this at one time was a pedal cluster, but now it looks like something retrieved from a centuries old shipwreck. The only thing supporting that whole chunk of iron oxide (other than force of habit) is a remaining sliver of metal at the rear, and the brake lines attached to the master cylinder at the front.


And here is the view of the pedal cluster area from the bottom. Needless to say I’ll be needing a front floor and at least a part of the “hump” section.


Outside front right corner – obviously patched once before. Fortunately RD sells a repair piece for this section.


Inside front right corner. This has me a bit concerned as part of the inner fender has rusted away (water trapped between inner fender and bumper bracket). I’ll probably have to fabricate this piece as RD only has a SWB repair panel for this section. On a positive note, the battery box is in good shape .


Outside front left corner – again, previously patched.


Inside front left corner. Not nearly as bad as the right, but will need a small patch at the bottom.


From the top, the suspension pan looks pretty good (and appears to be original).


But as you can see from the bottom, it will have to be replaced (as do most).


I’m stopping here for tonight and will post more photos tomorrow.

[tdskip]

I involuntarily shivered when I saw those. One bit at a time I suppose. Press on and keep us posted.

[matthewb0051]

You deserve a medal for rescuing this car. Seriously, it should be criminal for someone to place a car outside only to have it rot into the ground.

I was in Tennessee last week visiting family and a neighbor of my father has a Austin Healy Sprite under a tarp that is literally being absorbed by the soil. I asked another neighbor and he said that the father had died few years ago and the adult son (prob in in his 50's) was in an accident so he has left the car at the vacant family home.

Good luck with your build. Luckily San Antonio is fairly dry so your tin worm is not as bad as it could be...

[Paulporsche]

Great work so far!

Your photos really show how complex even an old car like a 73 is.

[frankc]

To be fair to the PO, I do not know the condition of the car before it was placed outside. By speaking to the previous PO (PPO), I do know that there was enough rust on the car at the time when he owned it for him to cut off the left rear quarter panel to begin a restoration, but then he stopped when he saw a hole near the tail light assembly - so the car was certainly not rust-free before being placed outside.

I'll post more pictures later, but being from Central Texas, some of the areas where I typically see rust appear to be in good condition on the car (I'll know more when start exposing metal). It appears that the areas that had no paint on them from the factory, or where puddles formed from rain, are the most affected. I am originally from NE Ohio (rust belt), and if these cars have ever been exposed to road salt, the salt creeps everywhere and the rust damage is much more pervasive and severe.

[tdskip]

The PO could've sent it off to be crushed, so maybe we should all just be happy that it has been put into good hands.

[jpnovak]

Keep going Frank.

btw, the upper corners of the inner fender well do not look patched to me. At least the DS doesn't based on the pictures. The final corner where the fender bolts on is a separate piece from the factory. Also the exterior has the thick doubled up section where the bumper mounts. It just looks really crusty.



Its always funny to me where and how these old cars rust. Sections you expect to be clean are rusty and sections you expect to be rusty are clean.

@tdskip. Yes. times have changed. I can admit to sending a few tubs to their grave in better condition than this. Just did not have the place to store them a decade ago when no one wanted them.

[frankc]

Originally Posted by jpnovak

Its always funny to me where and how these old cars rust. Sections you expect to be clean are rusty and sections you expect to be rusty are clean.

My thoughts exactly, Jamie. Case in point: I've seen many 911 projects where the gutter at the base of the cowl is rusted away, but on this car it is rust-free - perhaps all those layers of paint are not such a bad thing .


But then there is this rusted area at the top of the door hinge post - how does that happen? I wouldn't think that water would accumulate there. It’s even been patched once already.