I guess I'm really "just" a 912 guy...

Matt Monson · 09-14-2012, 08:14 AM

I've got a '67 912 in transit to me as I type this. Being that it is my 4th 912 variant and I've only owned three 911s, this puts me one up in the 912 column. I'm declaring myself a 912er. Pictures to follow this afternoon.

monovich · monovich's Garage

Pics or it didn't happen!

Matt Monson · 09-14-2012, 01:08 PM

It happened:

More to follow once I get to work on it. It's a solid driver that just had some repairs done by Dave at Apex. I'm planning to rip out the stock interior that is half removed and go "Sport Purposes" with it...

cmpski · cmpski's Garage

That Awesome!
You aren't JUST a 912 guy. As far as I'm concerened 912's are at the stop of the heep. You ARE a 912 owner. The Cream of the vintage Porsche world, PERIOD. Better balance and HUGE upside potential. Check out issue 205 of Excellence Magazine and you'll see what I mean. 912's are THE ride.
Chris Pomares

http://www.excellence-mag.com/issues/205/articles/less-is-more?page=1

http://www.pompolodesign.com/

Matt Monson · 09-14-2012, 01:50 PM

Yeah, it was kind of tongue in cheek because of all the 911 snobs out there. I've always been a low powered, keep it light, and carry your speed kind of guy. Even my BRZ falls in that category. Right now I couldn't be happier to be in a 4 cylinder SWB car...

JerryL · 09-16-2012, 08:23 AM

+1, congratulations the early 912 is so nimble and enjoys all the mods the 911 does on the suspension side to improve the handling.
I have a 66 912 with 19F 16R sway bars, Koni's on 6 x 16's along with numerous other up grades. it out handles my 71 911 (although I have a major suspension upgrade in line for it) on the tight twisty roads here, but there is nothing like the sound power and sound of the 6 with webers and M&K.

I assume you visit the 912 board 912 BBS

Keep us posted

Regards

monovich · monovich's Garage

When I took my E to Dave at Apex he said "you should just drop a 6 cyl into this and turn it into a 911". That said, he did sell me a complete E motor for a good price, so he isn't a total villian.

Matt Monson · 09-17-2012, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monovich

Pics or it didn't happen!

Took a few days, but here she is. A pretty solid starting point for some care and loving...

It's a repaint, a pretty nice one. Original colour is Polo Red, which I will return it to some day. But there's other more pressing details. Like the insides...

And just because, a couple shots with its brother from another mother...

Headlights will be installed shortly, and those Italian flag mirrors will be replaced with a single driver's side Durant. Still on the fence about wheels. I have a few sets that would be "right".

fbarrett · fbarrett's Garage

Matt:

Congrats on coming over to the dark side. We should get together so you can drive my lightweight '66 912 (1720cc, 22 & 27mm torsion bars, 7" alloys, etc., etc.). I'm in Boulder these days.

Frank
303/237-0911 (0912 was taken)

Matt Monson · 09-18-2012, 07:45 PM

Frank,
I would love to check out your car and talk shop. I've already jumped in with both feet and bought some new gauges and am going to see Steve L. on Saturday about some 912E tin because I am seriously considering a type IV conversion on the car. I've got a nice little engine out of my '73 2.0 914 with not many miles on it since it was built. I also spent the better part of the evening running gearcharts for a 5spd conversion, since the engine is likely going to be out anyway. So much for starting with the cosmetics.

monovich · monovich's Garage

Very nice. Looooooove the longhoods. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

I've got a 2nd complete "E" engine /w tins if you decide to go that route and need a source. I'm here in Denver.

Matt Monson · 09-21-2012, 09:48 AM

Just ordered a harness bar and lightweight perlon carpets from TRE. And so it begins...

Monovich, PM sent.

manbridge 74 · 09-27-2012, 03:29 PM

Nice find.

I have been bit by the light car bug as well. Will be following your thread with interest.

Matt Monson · 11-05-2012, 12:35 PM

Pop quiz. What's wrong with this picture?

11-06-2012, 12:22 PM

Hi Matt,

Is it the red wire which doesn't belong there or an incorrect gas pedal lever?

BTW Nice project. Was the originally paint polo red? Spend some time to attack the rust now you have the carpets removed. If the car did not run for a longer period clean and coat the tank.

Otto

Matt Monson · 11-06-2012, 03:14 PM

If you look closely you can see that the bolts that hold the pedal tray have actually been welded to the bulkhead.

The disappointing thing is that when they replaced the pan, they just worked around the pedal box instead of fixing that too while everything was apart. That's why only half the pedal set shows signs of being media blasted. They cut the pan out from under them and just left them there while they did the work. That little pile of rusty looking stuff you see under the brake pedal is a mix of blast media and removed surface rust/paint. It's all over the place. I'm doing a lot of vacuuming as I remove the sound proofing to put in the lightweight RS carpets I acquired.

It had a freshly flushed tank and fresh Webers, along with electric fuel pump installed shortly before my purchase. A local mechanic is a couple of decades experience got the engine all tuned up and in good running order. I've just got to replace all the pedal bushings and adjust the clutch pedal to get things driveable.

The car was originally Polo red. Someday I will return it to that color, but for now the paint is good and I have other things higher up on the punchcard.

Regards,

Matt

11-07-2012, 11:59 AM

Hi Matt,

The two visible rusted bolds are welded to the pedal tray and the corresponding nuts are on the opposite side of the bulk head. So basically there is no problem removing the pedal cluster. You only have to jack the car, remove the steering and master brake cilinder protecting plate to reach the nuts. These nuts also hold the mbc. I guess the PO didn''t know that and worked around the place. So don't cut the bolds!

The pic below shows the steering rack and the mbc after removing the protection plate. Remove the nuts from the mbc and the pedal cluster can be taken out. Quiz: Why would the factory have welded the bolds in the pedal cluster? Correct, no mechanic has aems long enough to hold the bold inside the car and turn the nut under the car...

Rebuilding the pedal cluster is a quite easy job and brings a lot of comfort for the investment. As with all the other jobs on the car, do it once and do it well!

I'm worling on my '65/'66 polo red, which was in a very poor condition as you can imagine from the pic above.

Otto

Matt Monson · 11-07-2012, 02:52 PM

Looks like I got fooled by Porsche's own skematic:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/parts/pedals/pedal_assy_big.JPG

Of all the cars I've owned ( a few 914s, a few 911s and a couple of 912s) I've never needed to rebuild the pedals, but these really need it. Based on the above skematic and the picture in Wayne's book I just assumed that originally the bulkhead was threaded and a pair of bolts just went into a couple of permanently mounted nuts like so many other things mount to the chassis. It appears that they did it the other way around.

I have been into the area under the cover plate on other cars, both to change out the steering rack and work on the fuel pump. I was hoping that if I went under there I would find a couple of nuts and that the welded bolts were a solution someone used when the chassis rusted and stripped out. Not the first time the Germans have tricked me by doing something differently than what I consider the logical solution...

Matt Monson · 11-07-2012, 03:14 PM

Oh, and thank you. While I would have figured it out when I got the cover plate off, it is nice to get guidance from the community. I may be a tranny guru, but I still have a lot to learn about these cars, especially the old ones.

01:55 PM

Hi Matt.

You're welcome. Perhaps it's because I live in the Netherlands - just 5 miles from the German border - I understand the specific German "trickery"a bit better. Next question ...

Have you thought of upgrading the braking system to a dual circuit? Apart from a better more sensitive braking system it's also much safer. If you decide to convert to the dual system, apart from the dual mbc and dual brak fluid reservoir, you basically will need the corresponding type pedal assy. Just let me know if you need more info on this subject.

Otto