Who's got the longest running project?
 

I'm sitting on 8 years since my car last ran reliably. Agonizing over whether or not to sell, not sell, rebuild, buy used engine, rebuild myself,...blah blah. Currently paying someone to rebuild now.

If the values of these cars had not tripled in the past several years I'd be kicking myself even harder for dumping what I have into this car!

I have owned the car for 23 years so that makes it even harder to sell due to emotional attachment.

I can relate. Probably 4 years for me.

Yikes. I thought going on 3 months at the paint shop was rough. Go get the car. Finish it and drive it. Or sell it and buy a finished car.

And by the way, my dad has been building a 32 3 window since we bought the body together at Pamona my sophomore year in high school. I'm now 42.

I was hired by my uncle years ago to clean out my grandfathers warehouse. He had like 20 cars in there and a million unfinished projects. He died of a stroke rather unexpectedly. It took me 3 weeks working 14 hour days to clean that shop out. Downsize and focus.

Are they EVER done??? I have no idea how to measure that.

I bought my car 7 years ago. There are things that I just fixed 2 weeks ago that weren't working when I bought it. (And they weren't working during the previous owner's 10 years of ownership either.)

14 years.p:(

I have had my 911 since 1995. I am always doing something. I have done all the major projects. I will be installing LED tail lights and a third brake light next weekend. It looked really nice when I bought it. Now all these years later it still looks great and only a real Porsche nerd could tell the difference at a quick glance. It has 90,000 miles I have put on it to bring it to 187,000 total.

I'd measure it as time between being able to drive it. Because I think you are right, they never get totally done.

Johan

Part of my issue was before I was married and had 3 kids I dumped whatever I wanted into the car and had all the time in the world. Now I have someone else to answer to financially and can barely get time out to the garage to take a peaceful no2.

I must confess I've had mine since 2002 & I haven't driven it as much as 1ft.
I have a load of excuses - some legitimate - some are most likely just flat-out lame in the eyes of others.
It is totally dismantled at this point. I am organizing to get some welding on a repro parcel shelf done very soon.
My goal is to get it ready for paint & to start putting it all back together this summer - hopefully.
Most other major components are cleaned, refurbished, bagged & tagged, ready for re-assembly.
Quite a few new parts; make that boxes of new parts, via Pelican are ready for installation

Wish me luck

Cheers
JB

Drive it, up on jack stands, modify it, change it again, rebuild engine, gear box, etc., etc. Since 1981. On going project for 37 years. I suspect this would hold true for many owners.

This is year 4 for mine and it has sat untouched for over a year. But next week I have decided to get back at it and hit it hard. I have been purchasing parts at least for it while it sat. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525202214.jpg

7 Years...... So busy racing and now have a newborn. Thought about selling it, then I get sad and want to finish it. Then wonder if I have time, then get sad again. lol

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/598319-my-new-1972-911-t-project-craigslist-special.html

Nearly 3 years for a straightforward engine rebuild...almost done though. Really. This time I mean it!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/893877-200k-mile-83-sc-engine-rebuild.html

Project car
 

I've been working on my SC for about 18 years! The last big projects were bare metal paint job in 2011 and an engine rebuild into a 3.3SS in 2013. Lots of little things since then! I've never owned another car this long!

Non Porsche project for me......My father started it and I inherited it, the 1930 Cadillac Sedan. Now beginning the 46th year!!!

Dad started it in 1972!

Still in pieces! Lots and lots of pieces

"Just need to get it painted and start putting all the new parts back on." - Once it has fresh paint I'm sure the motivation will be there. SmileWavy

At least you are lucky enough to have the blue ST to play with in the meantime.

Johan

13 years. bought my 930 in 2005 and now that the children have grown older there has been time for it and is currently in celette bench so maybe next year.

Sure can relate and the above posts are encouragement to get my ass in gear and get this project finished. Bought 73.5Targa in 2010 to keep me busy while the economy was working its way back. Finished the addition to house, then tuition bills; then a graduation, another daughters marriage; sold the house while the market was decent and downsized to another house project in 2016. Continued dismantling the car to it's birthday suit from 2012 to maybe 2014 while renovating the downsize house. Media blasted 2015 & body work repairing some rusted spots, painted & returned to the project house in may of 2016 (fyi: just 280 hours of body work & paint, but 25 years in time). Undercoated in a makeshift paint booth set up in the house front porch; VERY IMPORTANT-cleaned out the booth stuff and the car parts before Mrs. RA got home. 2017 cleaned up and re-plated about 75lbs of nuts, bolts and god knows what other stuff. Refinished the suspension parts and wheels; reinstalled suspension parts; greased up torque rods & installed new turbo tie rods and shocks. Getting the house CO now,
Been gradually working on other car related projects now that the warm weather seems to finally be here for a while.
Keep going fellow project owners, there is no expiration date!!!!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525212132.jpg

HaHa, you young guys crack me up (joke). Bought my '69 911S in '74, and after a minor bumper-bender, parked it in the garage. It's been there 44 years. 73K on the odometer. At least I just got the engine back from Aaron Burnham, who did a very nice job rebuilding it. Now a 2.2S, long story. Left front rotor in the background.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525213334.jpg

Does it count if I haven’t turned a wrench on it in ten years?

Looks like we need a Porsche Garage Squad!

Also makes me feel better, I’m on track for about a year to sell my old 77’ 911, find a new engine chassis and do a ground up rebuild...just finishing paint now, but still means I haven’t driven for nearly a year... (and that’s too long for me!)

I think I would be ok with a long term project if it’s was a second car....:)

Started as a 1978 930 rolling chassis with boxes of parts. No motor. and everything was supposed to be there. How many times have you guys heard that.

Bought a motor from Henry from Class Motors, now Supertec. Paid some one to get the motor in a at least get it started. Wiring was a mess. So, had to stop because we were remodeling our house. Moved it in storage at my facility. Then sold the house and started on another house - this time we basically demo'd the entire house and re-designed it. During that time we purchased a building to move our manufacturing company into. Of course that needed to be re-done. Finished the business property then moved back onto the house. Finished the house - then moved the car to the new house where I had a 4-car garage with lifts, heat, hot and cold water, floor drains, etc. Started working on the car. Then sold the house to someone that just stop by and offered us a stupid amount of money - so we sold it to him. Moved into a temp house while I design and currently building a modernist home. So the car is at my facility that I walled off 5000 sf for my car projects. Now about 2-3 months from finish. This is after I spent 18 months re-building a 1967 911S outlaw.

This started 19 years ago - I guess life got a bit busy

Engine out for the past 16 months. Pushing to have finished by end of the month. It's been too GDLong !

Last track event 2010 and the car has been nothing but a shell since. Family took priority since then. But I just finished the 930 body work and new cage. Engine on the engine stand with the goal of being done this month. Then reassemble the car for a July race. My great wife gave me the full 2 bays of the garage for several months with her new Audi sitting outside in the snow, and has helped me quite a few times working on the car and engine.

Wow, some great stories here. I bought my '71 911 in 1978. I think I am finally done, now that I have a fresh 3,0 in there.

Lots and lots of projects and upgrades through the years to get my car where I had always dreamed it should be.

The longest without driving was from '81 to '86 when I did the rust repair and paint and first engine re-build.

30 years.

I am embarrased to say I've owned my '66 912 since 1988, and drove it exactly one time - home from the place I bought it. Then I removed the VW engine to work on it and ended up tearing the entire car apart, down to the bare shell.

I've worked on it in spurts over the 30 years in between, fixed the rust in the floorpans, rebuilt the suspension, accumulated some parts here and there.

It's still a shell, but at least the suspenion is back on, and back working on an engine swap and Boxster calipers and vented rotors upgrade, but yeah, it's taking a while.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525233856.jpg
Six years working on it.
Painted already.

… towed mine home and into the garage after the starter went out which btw was just incidentally the same day after many months of tweaking, it had ran the best it ever had …. so that was mid november 2002, then decided while I was in there to drop the engine and fix some leaks and install rsr rocker shaft seals etc … then decided might as well paint the car … so the disassembly began … the body was sanded down, primed and blocked out … then decided might as well rebuild the complete front end and brakes since just a year before that I basically had rebuilt and detailed everything from the transmission back … then stopped in 2004 and due to commitments pushed the car into the back of my shop and covered it up …. Last spring 2017 I dusted it off and put it up on my lift and started with evaluating a misfire and fuel issue and removed and cleaned the intake manifolds and injectors then had to stop again in mid summer … so it has sat on my lift since then ….. yeah if it is not one thing it is another that comes and bites you in the …. or some time life sucking arts n crafts project of immediate attention suddenly appears and as they always seem to arrive groups of three or four … drags one away from your previous pursuit ... So do I light a fire and commit to a dead heading completion date on a set time-line … ? No, but I will pledge to keep plugging away on it between other time sucking projects and we'll see what I can get done this year … At least now I have it where I can work on it …. uncle dave

Mine goes, goes well.

But it needs a huge amount of little things fixed like window winders, door locks, a bit of rust :eek: here and there.

Friends, even strangers, tell me off for not making it beautiful again.

I have enjoyed working on my car over my years of ownership. There is something satisfying about making things work like they were supposed to, improving other things and adding your own personal style.

But there are days where I am envious of my friends with newer 911s that just get in, turn the key and enjoy the car.

Like the other day when I had the car up on the lift to fix an oil leak. All I wanted to do was crank the car and run it for a few minutes to verify I fixed the leak. Car cranked but wouldn’t run. That turned into days of troubleshooting until we found a mystery ground on the FP circuit that wasn’t there with the ignition off. I still have no idea where this problem came from out of the blue but those kinds of things just make you want to pull your hair out. About 3 weeks ago I was wrenching on the car on a Saturday. A guy walked up and was trying to feel out if I would sell the car. If that guy had showed up last Saturday when we were trying to find the mystery ground, that guy would have a 911 today.

My wife says she will never let me sell this car. I’m glad I have a voice of reason in my corner. I have to remind myself that the biggest difference between my 911 and a new one is that mine is APPRECIATING in value.

It is easy to get frustrated with problems and lack of progress. Keep the faith and wrench on!

…. gee not to bad anyone but honestly I don't know anyone that even owns a newer porsche … or heck even just a new car for that matter … guess I'm just not part of the It or In Crowd … so what's new … - uncle dave

WOW... now I don't feel so bad.

think I am on year 4, maybe 5. would need to check title for when I bought it.

but turning the corner, about to mount the stripped tub on a rotisserie. been getting parts.

and started rebuilding some of the suspension parts.

got the engine torn down to the case, about to ship the case to Steve Weiner to rebuild the bottom end. I'll do the rest.

if I am lucky maybe on the road some time next year... maybe.

but with 4 other running cars to keep on the road and my 951 ready for next track event the 930 just has to take last place for my time.

I'm never home so I only get to work on it a couple days out of the year. I haven't registered it in 8 years. I am taking some time off next week and plan on getting into the garage where its at and getting it ready for its first real road trip in a long time.

I found this 1968 Porsche 911L in a barn in Connecticut in 1979.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525719081.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525719081.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525719081.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525719234.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525719234.jpg

Just a roller,I had a 1970 911T engine that I put in after I painted it.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1525719460.jpg

I guess I got it on the road in the year 1999. Haven't driven it since 2008.