'76 Carrera MFI Restoration

[Dodge Man]

Congrats on a great find!! There was a Bitter Chocolate 76 MFI that went through a major SoCal resto shop in the OC a few months ago. It was on Ebay for six figures. Maybe a few leftover pieces for your project? Best of luck and I will be waiting for more posted updates.

[rsnodgrass]

When German Master Tech sent the complete set of Fuchs wheels down to Weidman's Wheels for refinishing they were extremely crufty and in desperate need of his magic. After a few months of waiting to get to the front of the queue we finally received a package from Harvey Weidman containing completely refinished 7" and 8" Fuchs in one of the correct original finishes used on the 1970s Carreras.



Replicating the correct finish on polished petals is non-trivial and requires clear anodizing over the rough inner lip and polished pedals and outer lip. The wheels are then masked and black industrial enamel paint is sprayed on prior to being baked.

If you need your Fuchs restored to as close to original as possible there are only a few folks to call, and many argue Harvey Weidman is at the top of that list. Weidman's Wheels has been repairing and refinishing Fuchs for nearly 3 decades, both for daily drivers as well as concours winning cars.

To compare the improvement this photo shows one of the nicer condition Fuchs wheels before being sent down to Weidman's Wheels.



This Fuchs wheel has the proper original finishes with both polished petals and outer lip along with a textured inner lip.



The center caps were also refinished by Wiedman's Wheels. Re-anodizing center caps isn't possible due to steel being already attached on the rear.



The 911.361.020.11 part number for the 7" front wheel indicates correct type Fuchs for the pre-1978 cars. These were slightly lighter than the later 911.361.020.41 7" Fuchs wheel which were thicker to deal with the heavier 911SC, 3.3 Turbo, and 3.2 Carrera.



We are eagerly awaiting the completion of the rest of the car so we can mount up these up.

From: Carrera MFI 2.7: Weidman's Wonderful Wheels

[sm70911]

RS
Fantastic save !
You are a fortunate man finding such a magnificent and rare car. Can you elaborate on where and how you found the car ?
Clearly you are doing it the justice it deserves, and I know it will have a significant value, but I am so much looking forward to see and hear it driven. As beautiful as it is I hope the car will not just be a garage queen.
Seats, Fuchs, Steering wheel ... all perfect, can't wait to see the motor.More updates soon please.

[rsnodgrass]

I found the Carrera the old fashioned way: following up on leads and tracking down the current owner. The body shop owner was a passionate Porsche enthusiast, but had the car for years and was so busy that he hadn't had the time to do the work himself. It took a year and a half of discussions to finally convince him to sell the car. I think he's happy it is in good hands and being restored properly.

[rsnodgrass]

(Reposted from Carrera MFI 2.7: Engine Teardown)

Each step of this engine rebuild will be exciting to watch as the final product will be the center piece to this entire restoration. Personally I can't wait to see the progress unfold.

The engine has been in the good hands of Jeff Gamroth of Rothsport Racing awaiting its turn in the line. Jeff has finished tearing down the 2.7 RS type engine in preparation for the rebuild. At this point the original 911/83 7R case and some other parts have been sent off to Ollie's Engineering for necessary machine work.

To kick off the rebuild Jeff had each of the aluminum cylinder heads soda blasted to clean them up. We are about to buy all the necessary parts to complete the engine back to the same spec that it left the factory.



The 911/83 engine has been town down and the 7R case is ready to be sent to Ollie's for machine work.



The original forged 90mm Mahle Nikasil coated cylinders (8.5:1 compression) and pistons have been removed from the case.



Cam towers have been removed and are ready for reconditioning.



The individual aluminum cylinder heads freshly removed from the engine awaiting reconditioning.



Each of the aluminum cylinder heads was carefully cleaned in the soda blaster.



The cylinder heads look almost brand new after being soda blasted.

[tomdeg]

Ryan,
This thread is great! MORE MORE MORE!!!!

[rsnodgrass]

What makes the early 911s, Carrera RS, and the 2.7-liter "euro" Carrera so interesting and thrilling to drive is the Bosch Mechanical Fuel Injection (MFI) setup. The glorious sound and instantaneous throttle response has a remarkable feel compared to the computerized injection systems of the 70s and 80s.

The 1976 Carrera MFI 2.7 was the last street car Porsche ever produced with mechanical fuel injection. In fact there were only three MFI based cars produced by Porsche after 1976, all race cars. First were the ten turbocharged Porsche 934 ½ built for Group 4 and the 1977 IMSA Championship, alongside the various incarnations of the turbocharged Porsche 935 built for Group 5 and, later, the twenty 3.0-liter 911 SC/RS (954) rally cars built in 1984 to compete in Group B.

The complete MFI setup includes 019 series MFI pump, 312 velocity stacks, throttle bodies, air box, plus associated linkage and plumbing.



The "019" series MFI fuel pump up close and personal.



See more details on the restoration of 1976 Carrera MFI 2.7 chassis #911 660 9050.

[rsnodgrass]

With the metal work completed in December the restoration of 1976 Carrera MFI 2.7 #9050 has entered a new phase. I've felt fortunate to be working with a really passionate and talented team that cares about the level of detail required to restore a car to how it left the factory and, wherever possible, taking steps to preserve what originality remains after decades of use. For those that haven't been following from the start the Carrera needed a complete repaint due to being covered in primer, other paint, and dust from sitting in body shops for over a decade.



The body and all panels have now been painted with the initial layer primer. Next all the body panels, lights, trim pieces, etc. will be fitted to the chassis. While Porsche never had perfect gaps, I'd like to have them be a bit closer to the uniform gaps that a factory craftsman would aspire to on their best day. With everything fitted everything can be adjusted to get the gaps as close as possible before filler is added to sand back down to get an even gap. Since changes to one gap impact the gaps on the other edges of the panel this requires an iterative process of adjustments until the gaps all are roughly equal. The final step is block sanding, a critical but very labor intensive step of ensuring a great finish.



At the same time we are spraying out a few final test samples of the silver metallic paint (936 / Z2). Properly duplicating Porsche's period flake is always a challenge given how fine the original metallic flake was. Leading up to this point we've studied and photographed several original Carreras to determine how they were originally painted, where there was over spray, where primer showed through, how thick the paint is, and the exact textures to reproduce where we couldn't save the original texture. It is easy to over restore a car and paint it perfectly, or at least better than how it left the factory. However it is much harder to get the details to more closely match how a 911 left the Porsche factory given how poorly they painted many parts of their cars in the 1970s.

In addition to all the original body panels we are also painting a few spare body parts including an extra driver's side mirror, a plain engine lid, and a duck tail. While not original to the car, the extra engine lid and ducktail allow swapping out the whaletail in the future as the mood strikes. Each was carefully fitted to the body before hand and adjusted to get even gaps. Since silver is a very hard color to match later we wanted to do this when the rest of the Carrera was being painted.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the Carrera finally painted and the body panels reassembled on the car. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as the overall restoration picks up pace.

[wasserkuhl]

Great Stuff. Well Worth doing this to.

I am watching this until the end!

[hwgunner]

Subscribed!

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by rsnodgrass

The four 15" Fuchs have been sent to Harvey Weidman at Weidman's Wheels for a desperately needed complete refinishing. The classic anodized finish on the petals really complements the chrome trim option originally ordered on 911 660 9050.

We've yet to determine what type of correct profile tires to install on the 7 and 8 15" wheels. The original sizes were 185/70 VR 15 fronts with 215/60 VR 15 rears. I'd like a set of new rubber along with some period original tires for concours. If anyone knows a source an original set of Dunlop Super Sport Formula 60, Dunlop SP57, or Pirelli CN36 please contact me.



The 7" and 8" Fuchs on the car had seen better days and are desperately in need of Weidman's Wheels for refinishing.



Significant cruft had built up on these wheels from prior use before sitting in a body shop for over a decade.

See more details on the restoration of 1976 Carrera MFI 2.7 #9116609050.

Stock '76 Carrera wheel set was 6 & 7 x15 Cookie cutters w/ 185/70 & 215/60 tires

there were 3 optional setups
1) 6 & 7 x15 Fuchs w/ 185/70 & 215/60 tires
2) 7 & 8 x15 Fuchs w/ 185/70 & 215/60 tires
3) 7 & 8 x15 Fuchs w/ 205/50 & 225/50 tires(mine came oe w/ P7), this setup also came w/ a 180mph speedometer calibrated for the low profile tires

[dicklague]

==I thought that was a software term. You know Cruft is jargon for software or hardware that is of poor quality. The term originates from source code that is rewritten leaving irrelevant or unwanted data within the code.

Is that we call crud on wheels?

[rsnodgrass]

For 1976 Carrera 2.7 MFI #9050 it has been a long road since we started this restoration. From completing the metalwork and rust repairs, primer and prep work, adjusting gaps, test fitting all body panels and trim before painting, to multiple spray out attempts before we got just the right period Porsche silver flake. A significant amount of effort has been necessary to get all the details right, and it has been a great experience as everyone involved banded together to achieve the goals.

Finally the day has arrived where everything is ready for paint. All the removable body panels have been taken off and are masked to paint the inside first. Similarly the chassis the exterior body has been masked off so the underneath and engine compartment can be sprayed. The chassis is on the rotisserie just waiting for the paint booth to free up. Once the first coat of Glasurit 55 is laid down the restoration project will be on a trajectory towards completion. Exciting times!








http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fT7LUtV_Cog/UTVp6kN_uzI/AAAAAAAAGM0/_sKLWBlrqVo/s1600/Carrera-001.jpg

[RatBox]

rsnodgrass ,


"requires clear anodizing over the rough inner lip" .

1976MY M493 wheel option (7 & 8 x 15 platin-dunkel vorne .......anodized petals) did not have inner lips rough anodized like 75MY & earlier M493 wheel option did.

The inner lips were the same matching finish as outer lips & pedals in 1976MY. Same with 1976MY 6 & 7 x 15 platin-dunkel vorne fuchs. Also same with 1976MY black center 7 & 8 fuchs (M401).......inner lip anodizing matchs outer lip.


The 75 & earlier style inner lip anodizing does look better to me however.

[jaudette3]

Originally Posted by dicklague

==I thought that was a software term. You know Cruft is jargon for software or hardware that is of poor quality. The term originates from source code that is rewritten leaving irrelevant or unwanted data within the code.

Is that we call crud on wheels?

Given his background, Ryan knows a little about software.

Great thread Ryan. Looking forward to a ride when this is done. Euro Carreras are one of my all time favorite Porsches and this one will be one of the worlds best.

John

[daepp]

Did the 76 share the same HP specs as the 73 RS?

[jaudette3]

Originally Posted by daepp

Did the 76 share the same HP specs as the 73 RS?

I believe it was the same build. I know that my '74 Euro Carrera had the same engine as the '73 RS. Ryan?

John

[Josh D]

Originally Posted by daepp

Did the 76 share the same HP specs as the 73 RS?

The RoW '76 Carrera used the 911/83 2.7, so yes.

[rsnodgrass]

Yes, same engine (911/83) and gearing. Only 113 made, all sold through German dealers only.

[GeorgeK]

Originally Posted by rsnodgrass

Yes, same engine (911/83) and gearing. Only 113 made, all sold through German dealers only.

Quite a few were sold new in Switzerland as well. I know of one very original about 6 miles from my place.