Eric,
It is not that the '88 repair was necessarily poorly done, it is when something is repaired, the car is usually never disassembled more than necessary.
That tends to limit the scope of the repair to ‘just what is obviously necessary’.
The larger issue in all this is preservation.
Our early 911s were starting to rust in the Factory before they were assembled.
They are still rusting in our heated, air conditioned and de-humidified garages.
This will continue until there is not a drivable (or repairable) 911 left.
The long-term solution is to rebuild the chassis, attempting to apply all that has been learned by Porsche (and others – mostly restorers) in the intervening 44 years.
It will still not be a ‘new’ 911 due to the limitations of design, materials (steel) and process (galvanizing).
However, it can be a 1967 911 that won’t continue to rust into oblivion during several more lifetimes of enjoyed use.
The two largest issues (and both curable) are none of the interior spaces were coated with any protection – not even paint.
The other is Porsche ‘sealed’ many internal areas (torsion bar tube to name one) with no ventilation.
These tend to collect moisture and consequently rust from the inside out.
The solutions are to apply coatings and make vent provisions.
In some sense, this is ‘re-engineering’ the chassis while maintaining its originality.
Another issue is the presence of many places for road dirt and water to accumulate.
The ones we all know about are the junction of a reinforcing ‘hat’ on the chassis, just aft of the door striker plate panel.
This ‘Vee’ collects wet road debris and rusts through the striker plate panel.
If this is maintained clean & dry, there is minimal damage.
There are many more.
These are maintenance issues.
We are fortunate that a 911 is relatively easy to disassemble and reassemble.
It is the sheetmetal chassis that needs our attention.
I see some
very important and fragile pieces that need protecting.
These are the original (apparently undamaged) foam tubes (green arrows) for hot air to the rear window and the engine ‘sound pad’ (yellow arrow).
These ‘soft parts’ are difficult to replace and again appear original.
The quandary is that you need to remove these (and many others) in order to get to repairing and preserving the chassis.
The solution is
great care.
This is NOT a ‘rip into it’ process.
Great patents and planning is necessary.
The $50K and above numbers come into play when you pay ‘experts’ to do work that you can do as a ‘hobby’.
As almost everyone agrees, these are not economically viable as a commercial process – they are part of the enjoyment of “Porsche”.
I disagree that having carefully spent $50K on a 911 like this, the result is a $15K 911.
While the
cost:
value increase ratio may not be 1:1, it probably is not 3+:1.
My short-term recommendation still stands:
“
IF the only serious damage and impediment to driving is the damaged rear torsion bar tube
(and other components damaged in the 180 spin and consequent to the tube failure),
then get it ‘fixed’ sufficient to drive the car.
This won’t be ‘earth shattering’ expense.
This won’t be correctly or completely ‘fixed’ either.
(The torsion bar tube rusted from inside due to condensation in the ‘sealed’ cavity.
You are seeing only the rust on the outside. It is probably more serious inside the double panels.)
The spin only stressed the [weakened] tube to failure.
You will need to spend some time (and money) getting everything else working and safe to drive.
Now you have (at least) a ‘running 911’.
Now assess what you want to do.”
I agree, an extensive ‘chassis rebuild’ is not for everyone (and certainly not for the impatient).
You have the unique situation having a 1-owner, Factory delivered, relatively undamaged and unmolested 1967 911.
If you simply ‘repair’ it and drive it, it will be fine for a bit but will certainly succumb to rust.
I suppose my recommendations are biased based on my 44-year observations as to ‘how fast’ a 1967 911 can go from ‘serviceable’ to ‘junk-yard crusher fodder’.
Under adverse conditions some didn’t survive two years from new (and they didn’t use mag chloride then).
You are the current caretaker of a very special car.
I would like to see it be enjoyed by your great-great-grandchildren and everyone in between.
In the end, it is your 911 and your decision.
Best,
Grady