1968 911L Restoration

[the.grayhound]

Starting this thread to document my restoration of my barn find '68 911L. My thought is that I can post some thoughts about the upcoming steps I'll be taking and get some feedback from folks in regards to whether I'm about to make a tragic mistake, in hopes of preventing as many as possible.

I've got the Porsche passion, but not a lot of experience in the restoration realm. The goal is to learn along the way, pick up some great skills, and develop a stronger connection with the car.

The overall theme will be to restore to original 'driver' quality (not show quality), with some upgrades to suspension, brakes, etc. in order to have a great driving car that I can track run from time to time.

Here goes.

[pors1968]

nice wheels and look pretty nice find.

[the.grayhound]

Some background on the car:

It is a Euro Spec 911L, purchased in France, based on the original sales receipt. From what I've read, there were only 449 examples of the 'L' ever made, which made this a pretty special find. Coming across this great SWB has been a treat, however, there is a lot of work that will need to be done, more on that to come.

It looks to have a rally package from the factory, based on the interesting brackets built into the front grilles. I've been told that these are fairly rare. Also, the engine and chassis numbers match the values on the original sales receipt. From what I can tell, that's the best way to determine that this is a 'matching numbers' car.

I noticed that someone had sprayed over the original pastellblau (Pastel Blue) color with a mediocre grey, which is a total travesty. I'd like to go back to the original color, potentially with some red/orange on the front and rear fenders as an homage to the Gulf livery. The paint code stated "5012-L" which based on the reference information in the '912 Registry' (link: 912 Registry :: Factory Paint Code Table), corresponds to Pastel Blue from the Lesonal ("L") paint company. I reached out to Lesonal and they noted that the original Pastel Blue corresponds to the following original and updated paint codes:
6826 - this is the original color code for Lesonal
472B4 - this is the updated color code for Lesonal

If you're looking for this color, you'll need the updated color code (472B4). I had them send out a color sample, which was free and a great way to see the paint on metal. I specifically requested the high gloss. Photos to follow shortly.

R5012 (6826) Pastel Blue, pastellblau

[djpateman]

5012-L is Pastel blue by Lesonal, a rather rare color; You should consider restoring in that color.
The VIN is for a 911L but ROW spec, so not a USA car originally. What are the engine and trans #'s, I can guess if they are likely to be original to the car; that would add some value. Looks like a very nice project.

[weseeeee]

Great looking project. Keep the photos coming!

[the.grayhound]

Thanks djpateman, I'll post the engine numbers shortly.

[the.grayhound]

Latest update has the 911L up on risers with the engine dissected and spread out around the shop like a science project.

[the.grayhound]

Overall, the engine is in need of a lot of cleaning and re-finishing.

[Rich Lambert]

Nice find.

[Flojo]

subd' - nice find!
and the engine-drop-and-split start gives a good hope for way more of a nice resto.

keep it up!

edit: get some nice deep6 fuchs for that lovely body, it'll be charming as hell!

[the.grayhound]

Found our first area in need of mechanical replacement when looking into the cylinders and checking the pistons:






Rather than simply replacing the pistons, we opted to bore out the engine to 2.2 litres.

[reachme]

fun project
any pictures of how it originally looked, or can you post the color you got so we can picture what it looks like?

thanks!

[gsjohnson]

I'd pull the glass and all the trim and have the car refinished in its original color while you're dealing with the motor.

[daepp]

Can you post photos of what it is that makes it a rally car?

Great project BTW!

[the.grayhound]

Thanks gsjohnson,

That's what I'm currently kicking around, working with some body work specialists, and getting some quotes. It sounds like it would be more efficient to handle this while the engine and transmission is out. I'm having a couple recommended 911 body specialists coming to look at it next week to see what their thoughts are.

[the.grayhound]

Hi daepp,

"Rally car" may be a bit of a misnomer, however, I've been told that based on the front grilles having brackets for rally headlamps, the original headlamps that came with the car, notes on the bill of sale from Porsche and a few other tweaks I'm under the impression that the car was fitted with a rally package when originally purchased.

I'm having a really hard time finding any solid info on this however, so if you or anyone else on this message board has some references or documentation, I'd love to dive into it.

[gsjohnson]

Porsche 911L 1968 901/30 Racing-Rally

[daepp]

I have no info to offer just trying to learn. But I think you're starting an awesome build!

[the.grayhound]

gsjohnson, I greatly appreciate that link. I'll check on the engine number and see if it matches what the thread is stating.

[the.grayhound]

Fun to reminisce on what started it all.

An off-hand text from a buddy that was meant to be a joke. The coincidence of it was that I had been seriously looking for an early 911 for the previous 8 months, having finally set on the fact that I was going to settle for nothing other the car that I had been swooning over since a child, my dream car.