1969 911E First Restoration

[beauster]

This will be my first restoration, I hope I haven't bitten of more than I can chew. This is a 1969 911e with MFI. The car has been sitting for many years.




When it was stored several years ago, the engine was running. But previous mechanic said that it was missing on one cylinder. My plan of action will be to try to get the engine at least running. I am going to buy two fresh new batteries, does anybody have any advice on what to check before trying to turn it over.

When I have the engine running I will probably go with battery and front suspension pan replacement (I found a good tutorial from this site). Then on to front half floor pan.



Hopefully by then I will be proficient enough with the mig welder to tackle the sheet metal work on body. I have a front bumper, so I wont have to repair that. But I think that hood may be tough, there is also a picture of the channel for the hood rubber. Has anyone had any experience with that?





I have done engine mechanics with the help of a manual before, anybody suggest any good ones? I did a little welding some years back and can usually do most things I put my mind to. I would however appreciate any advice that anyone can give and I will try to post some updates along the way.

[GaryR]

Good luck with it! Anything is fixable, just take it one small step at a time. It's not going to be cheap, that's for sure..

[Dan Morton]

wow, that is going to be quite a project but it's good to see someone bringing that car back to life. As for getting dual batteries I wouldn't waste money on that right now since it will be awhile until you will be using them again. I would just borrow a batter from another vehicle, no need to have dual since they were just for weight distribution. Just be sure to disconnect the other cables so they don't short out.

I'm not certain that trying to get the engine running will be worth the effort. If it sat so long you should tear it down completely for a total rebuild.

There is a lot of rust on that car. I'm sure you will be a welding expert by the time it's finished Good luck!

[jkh2cpu]

About starting your engine... Better clean the fuel tank and replace all of the rubber hoses associated with the fuel system, and change the fuel filter which is that big sliver canister on the left side of the engine compartment. Change the oil and oil filter and get new spark plugs. Check the static timing so that spark plug 1 will fire at 7 degrees BTDC. Check the distributor rotor with the grove on the distributor that you will see when you take the cap off. If you don't have a book, you can probably search for that here.

Prior to fire-up, disconnect the CD box, and switch the key to the start position, but do not crank it. You will hear (or better hear) the fuel pump pressurizing the system and the FI pump. 15 or 20 seconds should do the trick. After this, look and sniff around for gas leaks. Then with the fuel pump and CD box disconnected, crank until you get oil pressure. Reconnect the CD box and fuel pump. Starting the MFI is simple: pull the hand throttle all the way up and crank the engine for 10 or 15 seconds. If it starts, yippie, if it does not, try again a few times. If it does not start, do the simple things like check for spark and presence of gas. Start it out side with an extinguisher or two handy, and a hose that's turned on ready for action.

Good luck with this puppy. It will take a lot of work and persistence. Check in here to ask questions and update the board.

[mcaterino]

You've certainly got your work cut out for you! I'm about a year into a complete restoration of a 1970 targa, which is my first ever restoration. My rust issues weren't quite as serious as yours, but I've been doing a lot of panel cutting, replacing and welding. Welding's not such a difficult skill to pick up. I've become adequate, if not stellar pretty quickly. From that perspective I think my best advice would be to tear it down as completely and quickly as you can to survey the real damages. Don't sink much money into anything until you know what you have. The paint and undercoating are likely to be hiding all kinds of surprises.

Good luck!

Mike

[robmog]

before you try to start see if you can turn it over by hand with a large socket and breaker bar on the fan pully nut. make sure you remove the spark plugs first.
if frozen squirt some oil down into the cylinders.
if frozen you'll have to drop it.
my car had sat for 10 years, frozen solid, i'm now about $4000 in machine shop costs.
looks like you'll need a new front pan, trunk, floor pan,left fender, left door, front bumper and right rear bumper.
its fixable but you have years of work.
my car was in similar condition, i have been working on it for 2 years.
i figure another year at the minimum.
doing all the work myself i figure about $15000. not including my time.
if married expect some flack from the wife about your time!
i'm not trying to scare you off, this site IS a great resource.
and with time and money you can do it.
i

[Tom C.]

Your 69 MFI system has a cold start fuel primer that runs through the Air Cleaner Assembly. In the Air Cleaner Assembly there is a small metal tube that runs above the intake stacks and will squirt fuel. I'd remove the Air Cleaner and check it out just so you know if it's working properly or if it's clogged. And be sure you have a fire ext. handy while your trying to start it.

Best of luck with your project.

[boba]

Before you do anything make a list of all the parts you know you will need. Make a budget and do lots of research, know what you are getting into. This can be saved but it may take as much a $50k even if you do a lot of the work yourself. I would not even try to start it, just plan on a rebuild. You will not be able to drive it safely so why. Where are you located, you could get some from this forum to help out. We all love to see someone who wants to save one of these!

[Evans, Marv]

I whole heartedly agree with those who have said DON'T START the engine. That is probably one of the last things you need to pay attention to. You need to drop the engine & tranny & put them aside to get to all the other stuff.
You have A LOT OF RUST on that car - A LOT. I'd go with the advise to take it apart to take stock of the project. Start sourcing parts (like that hood - they can be had usually for pretty cheap) from everywhere and keep your eyes peeled constantly for them. Usually it's far more efficient to get good used or new parts than to fix the rust on them. Those you can't find, fix the rust.
I'm putting a larger engine & 915 trans in mine & have upgraded the suspension, brakes, & pretty much everything else. But I'm storing the original parts in case I sell it sometime and the buyer wants to restore it. I've also accumulated a lot of parts to rebuild the original engine.
I bought my car for $3k originally. It had almost no really major rust issues. I did replace the front pan and front fenders. They could have been repaired, but it was much cheaper and efficient to buy new (front pan) or used (front fenders). I gofered a lot of the parts & work. Right now I have about $20K in the car as far as parts & work are concerned. Of course this is over a long period of time acquiring parts and finding good deals on work. I think $50K is a high estimate to end up with a very good car - not a concours car. I would think you should seriously consider somewhere in the $30K to $40K range though.
Good luck & have fun.

[porschenut]

Wow. I'm no expert, but from all I've read and learned about restoring cars, the best candidates for restoration are cars that are already in good shape, not rust buckets like that one. My guess is that any professional restorer would take one look at it and say you've got to be kidding. If you've got the skills, the budget ($$$$$) and the time (3-5 years) to make this thing "as new" again, go for it.

Personally, I think you'd be far better off buying a decent car to begin with. In the long run I think you'd save money and an awful lot of headache.

But I've never done a full restoration so my opinion may not mean much.

I agree with the guys who say forget about starting that engine. It's clearly going to need a full rebuild so I would say that whether it runs or not right now is irrelevant.

You're not going to need a battery for another couple of years. Don't buy one until you need it.

[signature65]

Really dont try to start it......if it starts then you will want to take it for a spin and that car is nowhere near being road worthy.

[kidrock]

I'm with the majority on this one. You have a lot of work in front of you. Why not do the motor later, or send it out to an expert if you didn't plan on doing the rebuild yourself...meanwhile, you could be getting the pan, chassis, electrical and interior work done while someone is massaging your motor.

Good luck.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by porschenut

Personally, I think you'd be far better off buying a decent car to begin with. In the long run I think you'd save money and an awful lot of headache.

True. Hope you didn't spend to much on it. Personally I would scrap it, and sell the remaining stuff.... At the end you spend twice to the three times the money a decent car will cost, and start to enjoy it in x years...... Doesn't sound like a deal... 3 years ago I bought a Restoration abortion, 70 T Coupe, that was in way better shape. I dream of finishing the job, but than I decided that it's way smarter to sell it in pieces, which double my money, instead of having another $$$ grave....

However you decide, wish you all the luck down the way.

Dirk Harbott
________________________________________
'78 Semi-Carrera

[tb912]

Yea Brother! whatever you choose to do, GOOD LUCK!

If you're a DIY type of guy with time to commit, I vote go for it!

[hcariss]

Check out what Speedo did ... Amazing !
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=345183&highlight=lars
I think you have to just keep at it. It will be a really nice car when done. Good luck !

[RWebb]

any restoration is more than one can chew
- the nice thing about jaw muscles tho, is that over time they will respond to stress by adding muscle tissue...

good luck - an E is worth some money & will be worth more in the furure, so don't give up

and I agree re the motor - one thing at a time.

[Matt Monson]

Yep. You start eating an elephant with the first bite. However, that car is way further gone than Speedo's starting point. It's saveable, but I would try to find another chassis in reasonable shape. There's a lot of things about the rust on that car that can be significantly mitigated by having a spare parts car to pull things from.

[dmcummins]

Where are you located. I have some of the areas that you need.

[speedo]

I would personally assess the "needed" work by disassembling the shell completely to see first ...if it is worth restoring, and second within your means. Forget about trying to start the engine. If it actually did start...you don't want to drive the car out of the driveway. The time for that will come later. If when you get it completely disassembled...and determine the extent of the rust (there will always be 2-3 times the rust you see outside... inside the structure of the chassis) if the shell is in decent shape, then do it and learn as you go. If it is not worth the effort (more than replacement parts...fabrication is needed), then find another shell and sell off what you need to buy a replacement shell or roller. I don't suggest spending any $$ until you know for sure what you have...and you will only know that when it is disassembled. I have a 68 coupe that I am evaluating right now. I am not sure that it is worth sandblasting to find out how bad it actually is. Besides the disassembly is essentially a "rite of passage " with these old cars...you learn a lot about the marque, and beyond that a little bit about the previous owners from the schwagg that you find underneath everything. My 2 cents

[Monza_dh]

rebuild the engine, tranny and suspension, clean up the interior, buy a clean tub, combine the two, plus alot of new parts and you'll save time and $$