76 930 about to get paint -- what else should I do?
 

Folks,

My '76 tur-bot (930) has some nasty paint issues that are not repairable -- at least not without a repaint. Sigh. Some of it is mistakes on my part. Some is actually wierd enough to be not easily explained. (I'll shoot pics of anyone is interested) But in the end, I have "paint issues" and I'm now in the hunt for a repaint.

Other details -- it's silver and pretty much as shipped from the factory -- original wheels and all that stuff. <50K miles. Etc.

I have two main questions. The first one is easy. Tomorrow, I'm taking her into a paint shop (good recommendations/references/etc) for a discussion about what to do. I've not done this before, and it will be a fair amount of cash. So I want to make sure I ask the right questions about it. (pointers, urls, threads all welcomed!) For example, what brand of paint is the favored brand? (PPG? etc) I'm in CA. (I'm sure that makes a difference -- for pollution reasons, we probably only color objects with the dung of carpenter ants -- which ant breed shoots out silver? lol)

The second question is about the issue of style. My first plan is simply to recreate the original appearance. Original color, original valences, etc. Should I be considering appearance upgrades? (This is a new thought to me this evening so it's admittedly not well thought out or researched) But opinions welcomed. I've read a RUF thread this evening, for example. (what's not to like???!!)

I'm genuinely interested in hearing opinions/thoughts of what I should (or should not!) consider.

I'm happy to post pics of the car if it makes a difference to anyone. And I'll be shooting pics up the wazoo during the work, so hopefully that will be useful for someone else who embarks on this quest.

TIA,

kim.

you can go as far as your imagination/money will let you go, but, there are always doubts and questions...
If it was my car, I would make it look like this <br>
http://members.roadfly.com/b_i_g/yellow934.jpg <br>
(BTW anybody knows who makes this kit?) <br>
I think new bumpers (RUF or similar), new rims will drastically change the look of the monster without spoiling it too much...
My $0.02

I am going to go the RUF route myself, I really feel this adds alot to the 911, plus I feel it won't "hurt" the resale value either (if you'd even consider that route)...just my 2-cents

mike325ix: I've seen that car. Up close. (did the tranny class at BA's) It is that fine in person! It's apparently a bonna-fide 934. No info on kits tho.

Schuey: Resale has some contribution, but at this point, I'm into this car for more than it's book is gonna be anyway. So it's about looks now!

Thx for the comments.

kim.

Pics are always good anyway! This was shot by a friend at a local 914 gathering. This is what I'm working with.

kim.

Ok, more Q's. New Tail? (to be honest, I'm kinda partial to the original tail, but I do flip flop on the issue -- the tea trays do look good, and give room for an intercooler)

kim.

I do like your tail also but like you said it won't house an intercooler. I would use Glasurite or Sikins paint. Also Dupont Imron is good paint. I think you will find a bunch of seals that are worn out So you should replace those during reassembly. Silver looks good on a P-car.

I kinda like the German metalflake.. but the German clear sucks.. Imron clear on German metalflake is cool.. the DX-40 primer is a class act also.. I would tell them that you don't want any orange peel.. there are many silvers out there.. sometimes it's hard to tell the difference unless they are next to each other on a high sun afternoon, especially in the winter..
naturally the windows should come out. along with all lights, emblums, antenna, mirrors, etc... original door jams should be OK.. and look for rust under the doors and under sides of the body.. a good paint job is a lot of hours in doing the pre-prep work.. the engineand luggage compartment borders is often overlooked/you can get new stickers later.....

Blown: (I checked out your site -- very cool! Who did your intercooler?)

RoninLB: You bring up an exellent point. The car is currently in very nice shape. Most of its life in LA in a garage. I wasn't thinking about painting the engine bay or the front trunk. Am I being too optomistic in thinking things can be matched up? Or is it just easier to say "paint it all" (I wasn't planning an engine drop as part of this fun...)

kim.

I didn't mean the whole trunk or engine bay.. only the lip area around the underside of the lid edge.. the engine compartment lower area usually looks beat up.. like the engine area where the stickers are..

Blown: I just realized I didn't actually answer anything you mentioned -- blame it on too much eye candy at your site. :-) Definitely agree on the seal replacement front -- but I'll be asking questions on this line tomorrow at the shop.

RoninLB: Got it. Sounds like what I'm looking for. I just want it to blend in well with the original.

Thx guys!

kim.

lovely car. got any interior pics?

if the cars already very original i would keep it that way.;)

Keep it original.

If you want a project start off with a project, please don't mess up a lovely original

After you find out what a good, quality paint job is going to cost, you may not have enough cash left to fill the tank with gas!!!!

An all original 3.0 930 should be kept as is. Do a repaint, and then enjoy it as is. The car is part of P's history as the first Turbo road car, with its awesome qualities and frightening shortcomings. I'd love to have one.
We own a totally original '83 930, and it is about the only one in the area that has not been modified. It would also be the easiest to sell (not that we'd ever do that).
GeorgeK

Dudes, thx for the comments. Some random answers -- she'd dead stock right now. The interior is in pretty good condition. (the original radio even has the attached microphone located in the shifter console - I laughed out loud when I figured out what it was!) The original coco mats are curling pretty badly. There's some fading of the black on the drivers seat in the side bolster area. The carpet areas are not jet black any more -- sort of a blue-ish hue to them -- I assume it's from fading. Got some small maintenance things to get to, but generally it's in pretty good shape. Small pic attached.

nick-moss: I wasn't really looking to make it into a project -- well, certainly not a big one!

Huey581: Oh yea. They start at 5K and go as high as you like. lol.

GeorgeK: I'm basically in agreement. I got the car because it was the first year for the turbo here in NA and I just love the lines.

Thx again!

kim.

Sheesh. I can't even post a correct pic this morning. I'll try again.

Kim,
I built the intercooler. I bought a core and welded up the tanks and fitted it. I dissagree with people about keeping your car stock. I see no problem in modifying a P-car if that is what you want to do. No sense in keeping for the next guy.
Have you decided on what kind of paint you are going to use? Are you going to keep it silver? Sometimes it depends on what the shop is used too.

Good luck

Take your car to a reputable paint shop and ask them their opinion how your problem should be solved. If they are a reputable paint shop, they will use a reputable product that THEY are familiar with albeit PPG, DuPont, Glasurit, Sikkens, Spies, HOK and the list goes on. As long as they use the high-end lines of any of the various mainstream manufacturers, you will receive a quality paint job. Telling a DuPont bodyshop to use PPG (if they would even consider doing such a thing) probably voids the warranty they provide. Getting into the argument that DuPont is better than PPG is like comparing a camaro to a firebird, for lack of a better example.

Good Luck,
Dante

Dean,

My opening gambit is to keep the original factory color. It's a nice silver, and it looks cool, particularly in low light conditions. I also won't have to mess with color change issues (trunk/engine compartment/etc)

For paint brand, I'm undecided. Some advice I've received essentially suggested that if a shop specializes in a particular brand, go with it. (assuming it's a decent brand of course) The theory was painters adapt their style to the way the paint works -- so play to their strong suit. (sounds similar to your comment) It was also suggested to use a complete "system" (primer/color/clear), as now a days, most paint systems are engineered to work together. (The shop I talked to today uses PPG, for example)

I will probably talk to another shop, just to get a different point of view tho.

kim.

Kim;
I did basically the same project on my '76 three years ago. The factory didn't start using etching primer until the late '70's and the paint on mine just turned loose everywhere it was galvanized. What this meant for me was I had to get every last spec of paint off before refinishing. I went with a media blaster in Florida, worked great, and did not remove the galvanization. I'm pretty sure there's a number of these in Ca. I'm with the purist crowd on an original '76. I'd leave it stock, or if you're going to modify it use period components (I love the look of my 9x15 fuchs). Went with the Dupont Chroma Premier system, starting with their etching primer etc. Still looks great three years later.

Troy,

Thx for the post! Your comments are similar to the shop's comments today -- strip down to the base and build a new surface for painting. It hadn't occured to me to ask about the interaction between the stripping choice (blasting or chem) and the galvanization! (I'll be asking about that now of course!)

btw, your car looks great. I do like the wheel choice -- it fills the wells up nicely. You have 9's on the back. Are they 7's on the front?

Thx again for the post.

kim.

Kim, I'm having my 76 930 repainted as soon as there is room at the
body shop. You are asking the right questions and you can never ask
too many! If I were doing it, and I am, I would leave it stock, except for the tail. I bought an intercooler and then the late style tail to house it in.
I wish I had kept the original tail!!!! I've heard different stories from different people on stripping. some say media some say chemical but either way, all the paint has to come off. I agree with some earlier comment, if you wan a project, start with a project. I hope your repaint
turns out nice. It's also nice to hear of other 76 930 owners.

lews930@aol.com

Lews930.

a) You are right -- it is absolutely great to hear from other early turbo owners.
b) It is also good to hear the experiences as we go down the various trials of owning these puppies.
c) I hear ya' on the tail thing. I have flipped on the issue several times, all driven by the desire for an intercooler option, and the appreciation for the style of the early tail. For now, it's fast enough. The early tail will stay.
d) I hope your repaint turns out awesome. What color?
e) I believe the media I discussed this morning at the shop was a copper based media (as opposed to walnuts or plastic). Never heard of it before.

Interesting times, eh? :-)

kim.

Kim,
I put the original 8's off the rear on the front, and the rears are actually the 9" fronts off of an RSR. I'm totally with you on the tail! I too would love to have an intercooler, but will not part with the original look. Great to hear from you '76 guys -- underdash A/C and pop-out rear quarter windows rule!!!

Troy,

What spacers did you need on the front? (there must be some kind of curse, where all 911 threads end up talking about wheels...) Did you have to do anything w/suspension/alignment/etc? What about brakes?

I ask 'cause my mechanic pointed out that while I've managed to increase the umph, the braking and tire systems on the early birds were considered weak. So I have it in the back of my mind to keep an eye out for improvements on that front.

And the pop out windows *are* cool :-)

kim.

Hey Kim

I forgot to thank you for the complements on my car:)
Did you know that the motor that I put in my car is a 75 ROW 930. It is the 183rd 930 motor that Porsche made. Cool huh.

I highly recommend an intercooler and brake update.

Have fun with your car

You might also think about stoneguard additive to the paint on the valance and rockers. I don't believe that the original 70s or even early 80 models had this paint protection from the factory although, someone correct me here, I believe that later models automatically included it until they began using the plastic polypropylene bumper caps. Looks very nice already. Tom

Dean: No worries -- I figured you knew your car looked great before I mentioned it :-) Where did you come up with your case? I'm assuming the tranny serial number gives up this kind of info, yes?

On the brake front, I was thinking moving up one generation -- the 917 brake? -- whatever I pick, I'm not sure I want to be forced to lose the 15" rims. I'll admit to not having done much investigation work yet tho.

Tom: I agree on the valences. Now, they did come with a sort of pebbled look from the factory. I assumed it was sort of a 3M rockguard type scheme. (actually, it's one of the places where the paint is coming off my car, so I can see several of the layers -- I can post pics if there's interest)

kim.

934 kit
 

Peter at Rennspeed has the 934 parts. They are not listed on his website, but he has them if you ask. I love that look, but I also love stock early 930.

Kim,
I got the motor from a guy who was thinking about putting a V8 in his 930. The last three serial #'s are 183 on the motor. I feel honored owning a little 930 history.
The best brake upgrade you can do for your car is a 78-79 930 setup. With those brakes you can keep the 15's if you want. I did that upgrade on my car, but I am running 16's

Dean: s/tranny/engine/ -- dunno where my brain was. Been reading tranny stuff lately, so it's prolly stuck in my brain somewhere. So the guy was putting a v8 in an early 930.... hmmm... Ouch. But good for you! You are right -- it *is* pretty cool. It is a piece of history and ... it's fast! :-)

Oh, it was time to attach some candy.

Kim,
I'm running the stock front 930 spacers on the rear and none on the front. I have 1/2" spacers for the front which really fill out the fenders, but I get so much garbage hitting my rear flares from my front tires that I moved them back in a bit. The best thing I ever did for the performance of the car was to put a set of high C/F (coeficient of friction) carbon/kevlar pads on all four corners. AMAZING difference in braking performance!!! I had rebuilt my calipers with stainless pistons (stock "S" alloys) and wanted to maximize my little brakes. I was truly shocked what a set of sticky pads could do. I don't have the race track fade resistance of the big 917 brakes, but on the street they work wonderfully. The only draw back though is they are very noisy/squeaky under light braking.