Project Heavy Metal - an all steel classic, remastered

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by tea boy

What a great thread.
I've just spent several evenings going through it from start to finish.
I love the attention to detail.

I'm not sure if it is just a trick of the picture but your steering universal joints don't look to be perfectly aligned with each other, and I know you like perfect.
I'm sure that you are aware that universal joints don't turn at a constant velocity so you need the two to be aligned with each other so that they cancel out the speed difference.

The car looks fantastic, a real credit to you.

Thanks, tea boy! I appreciate the compliment.

I know what you are seeing, and indeed I think you are correct, but it's actually not possible to align the u-joints perfectly due to the varying angles of the shafts - the angle of the steering shaft (and the steering wheel) is actually closer to horizontal than the pinion shaft on the steering rack. This difference shows up in the connecting shaft as misalignment between the two u-joint ends, even when the other ends of the joints are in perfect alignment with the pins pointing straight up.

I had to stare at the piture for a while before I figured that out lol!!

[Jonny042]

Our local club had a social distanced awards ceremony on the weekend - the club combines autocrossing and ice racing so the awards are normally presented at a banquet in the spring.

So I got to go show off the car to my car buddies.... it was neat to see it out there with some other cars - I've spent so much time looking at it close up, I have never actually looked at it from any great distance.



People really like the car, but a few asked about the wheels..... I've been working on the fuchs:



The MFI tuning is going really well - bit by bit, click by click. If I didn't have the AFR gauge to tell me otherwise, I'd think it was running perfectly. It does have a slight lean spot at part throttle and 2500rpm but you can't feel or hear it and the AFR generally doesn't go above mid 14's.

The car runs and drives like a normal car, sits in traffic and at lights without stalling, stumbling, or loading up, and is generally a pleasure to drive. It's behavior at low speeds and in traffic is in contrast to what happens when the tach needle hits 4000rpm!!

[icarp]

Johnny , would you mind restating the cam shaft grind that you chose? and the red line you are using .
Thanks Ian

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by icarp

Johnny , would you mind restating the cam shaft grind that you chose? and the red line you are using .
Thanks Ian

The cams are DC43-102, initially I looked at a "Mod S" type cam but these are a bit bigger, and require heavier springs (I went with Aasco springs and titanium retainers).

I've got my hard rev limiter set at 7300 and the soft limit set to 7000 (for now). Plan is to set up the rev limit to match the tach (I have an 8000RPM tach face like a 73S/RS) which has the redline at 7200.

[icarp]

Thanks Jonny, I do appreciate your way of working, 1st class.
Ian

[Jonny042]

Been hacking away at the MFI tuning. It's actually turned out to be a lot more fun to tinker with the mechanical bits than staring at a laptop screen! Although it's a lot more time consuming.

I had it really close (and of course recorded the settings in case I get lost and need to return to a known good calibration) but still a bit of a lean spot. We took a little drive in the country on Father's day to visit the in-laws and show off the car - it ran and idled and drove and pulled like a freight train when called upon, and not a single pop, fart, sneeze or sniffle from the motor. If I didn't have the AFR gauge I would think it was perfect, but still...... a narrow band of AFR's in the high 14's/low 15's even though the rest of the range was pretty rich.

Since I was out of adjustment on the white (mid rpm) screws I decided to lean out the idle, black (low rpm) and main rack, still only a few adjustments into this experiment but it seems to be working. During one of my adjustments the little leaf spring on the end of the spring capsule worked it's way loose, so I had to yank the pump for the 3rd or 4th time. Here is an uncharacteristically clear view of the end of the spring capsule.



The result of all this fiddling:



I've also been working away at the fuchs - here are three of them bead blasted and nearly ready for ceramic clear:



And the 4th with the anodizing stripped and ready for bead blasting:



I will be Ceramic Coating the black accents on the wheels so need to mask (the paint pour method is a no-go with Ceramic) so I devised a method to mark the wheels so I can accuratley mask the outline to replicate the paint-pour contours of a factory fuchs. Here is my prototype:



The final version and some results in a few days.....

[wout]

That's a really cool and functional idea! What marker did you used?

Thanks!
Wout

[JackMan]

Wow. Just spent a few days catching up on this thread. Bravo! Your ingenuity is amazing. Your tenacity deserves accolades as well. Like an artist you have to decide when its done and put it in a frame. That's the hardest part for me, because is a back date or hot rod ever really done? I'm not bemoaning the process or the continual tinkering as a project nears its "framing" date. I just went through this process backdating a 1975 911 to a 1970 look but with 3.0/PMOs and other goodies.

I wrote checks to have this done and it took us a good 18 to 24 months to work out the gremlins after it was "finished'. I live in NE Ohio so the driving season is short.

FWIW, I wish I had removed the sunroof. It rattles, sometimes. Just slightly. Between me and my fleet of mechanics, lol, we have more than 40 hours in "quieting" the sunroof. To stop the rattle I open it about a 1/4 inch, just enough to let air in and then open the rear quarter windowes. Tada, lots of cool air and no sunroof rattle.

Congrats on all the hard work and for taking that swan dive into the MFI.

[1979-930]

I wish I could drool over this car in person. Most cars don’t look as good in pictures as they do in person.
This car looks amazing in pictures. In person it must look absolutely perfect.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jpnovak]

I tried the same trick with a sharpie but could not find one that would hit all the angles. i NEED more information on your choice of marker for this part. Does it also work on the outside perimeter of the rim?

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by jpnovak

I tried the same trick with a sharpie but could not find one that would hit all the angles. i NEED more information on your choice of marker for this part. Does it also work on the outside perimeter of the rim?

Hi Jamie, I hope this helps - I didn't end up using the sharpie, as it seemed like the felt tip was a bit "bendy". I was using an "ultra fine tip" sharpie, but was getting sort of inconsistent results, depending on the side of the pen that was doing the marking:



I also wasn't sure about cleaning up the mess from the pen afterwards. So my final version of the Fuchs Profilverfolgungswerkzeug (thanks google translate!) uses a carbide tipped scribe instead of the pen:





The Robertson head wood screw acts as a clamp, and I can change the depth to get the perfect profile, since I have 6"(spare tire), 7", and 8" wheels to do. After I took these pics using my test wheel I took the tool to the car shop and discovered I will have to drill a hole in the maple piece at a slightly greater angle in order to reach the entire profile I need to trace on the 8" rears.

I'm still trying to decide which Cerakote Products to use, and in which order, for the best results. I'm having to paint outside the lines a bit when it comes to their application guidelines, as the Black isn't necessarily supposed to be applied over the clear, but I think it's going to work best that way, and my test wheel looks pretty damn good and the black seems to stick pretty well.

The test results:



Hoping to have a set of RSR-ish finished wheels in a few more days!

[Uwon]

I just knew you were going to surprise us with the rims. Nice sharp cut lines particularly around the big end of the petals. Impressive Jon!
Cheers,
Johan

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by JackMan

Wow. Just spent a few days catching up on this thread. Bravo! Your ingenuity is amazing. Your tenacity deserves accolades as well. Like an artist you have to decide when its done and put it in a frame. That's the hardest part for me, because is a back date or hot rod ever really done? I'm not bemoaning the process or the continual tinkering as a project nears its "framing" date. I just went through this process backdating a 1975 911 to a 1970 look but with 3.0/PMOs and other goodies.

I wrote checks to have this done and it took us a good 18 to 24 months to work out the gremlins after it was "finished'. I live in NE Ohio so the driving season is short.

FWIW, I wish I had removed the sunroof. It rattles, sometimes. Just slightly. Between me and my fleet of mechanics, lol, we have more than 40 hours in "quieting" the sunroof. To stop the rattle I open it about a 1/4 inch, just enough to let air in and then open the rear quarter windowes. Tada, lots of cool air and no sunroof rattle.

Congrats on all the hard work and for taking that swan dive into the MFI.

Thanks for that!!

I really like the framing analogy.... it really does fit.

I was really fortunate to find a first year SC with bright trim, crank windows and no sunroof for this project - could not have been a better starting point really.

This is the first 911 I've driven with the opening 1/4 windows - they were a lot of work to fit (damn seals that kinda,sorta, but not really, fit) and I really don't miss having a sunroof.

I feel like I'm getting close with the MFI but need to stop spending all my time on that and get the car on the fuchs!

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by Uwon

I just knew you were going to surprise us with the rims. Nice sharp cut lines particularly around the big end of the petals. Impressive Jon!
Cheers,
Johan

Thanks, Johan!

I'm really happy with the result (on the test wheel at least) the black Cerakote is super thin, it only takes .0005" thickness for complete coverage, and you can barely feel the masked edge with your fingernail. If I put it on top of the clear it retains its satin sheen which looks great - I am going to do the aluminum lug nuts to match.

I got a different clear from Cerakote, to try, but i think I'm going to stick with the aluminum clear that I originally planned, as it is much thinner and looks less like the wheel has been dipped in plastic. I used this clear for the fan and housing and various other bits like the rear trailing arms and front crossmember and valve covers and am pleased with the result, as it looks like they haven't been coated with anything, but they seem to repel dirt and moisture really well.

More later!

[RDM]

Jonny,

All my black exterior trim was purple or speckled when I refinished, so when I chose paint I went with the air-dry Cerakote because it rated higher for UV resistance. Targa bar and engine grille were done in matte black, and the Targa script, SC script, and window trims got a matte clear on top of the matte black. It's enough difference to make it pop. If I were doing wheels, I'd do the same.

Here's Cerakote's advice:

Hello Dru,

Cerakote does not offer a mid-gloss black in C-Series. What you could end
up doing is using Armor Black C-192 and Matte Ceramic Clear MC-157 and
apply a wet on wet coat, hopefully that will fit your needs.
Apply the Armor black wet/then apply MC-157 wet on wet/ then let cure for
5 days full cure


Thank you for choosing Cerakote.

Name omitted | CERAKOTE Tech Advisor

See results here (starting with picture 3): http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/988973-sc-windshield-targa-window-seal-replacement-trim-refinishing-2.html#post10106876

[Jonny042]

Dru that's very, very, helpful. I'm at the shop at this very moment scratching my head about what to do and you have given me something to think about. I did a little torture testing of the H series Cerakote applied to the MC-160 clear and it's obviously not going to be a good solution.

[RDM]

Great to hear from the secret testing lab, er, batcave, I mean shop. I'm honored to be able to contribute something to the most thorough build ever.

It looks like they have more C-series blacks than they used to. The Glacier Black might be worth looking at. Alternately, you might be able to fine-tune your gloss level using the clear.

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by RDM

Great to hear from the secret testing lab, er, batcave, I mean shop. I'm honored to be able to contribute something to the most thorough build ever.

It looks like they have more C-series blacks than they used to. The Glacier Black might be worth looking at. Alternately, you might be able to fine-tune your gloss level using the clear.

Haha! I don't often "check in" from my phone at the shop (no internet, no email.....it's amazing what you can get done!) but sometimes when I need an encouraging word....

So yes, a big thank-you for the recommendation about the C series applied wet on wet. As big a fan as I am of Cerakote, their documentation isn't the greatest. No mention of multi-coat application in the technical docs for C series. H series allows a partial cure and application of a masked, second, colour (just check out the number of camo paint jobs on weaponry in the gallery!!!!)

My next move is to try H series black on the wheel first then the MC-160 clear over the whole thing. MC-160 is supposed to be ok on paint, pvd, plastics, etc. but no mention of compatibility with the H series.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Jon, for the black, you may want to try H series 50/50 Graphite and Gloss Black with 18:1 catalyst. I use it for all of my satin black. If you want to gloss it up a bit, go 40 Gr/60 Gloss and 12-14 catalyst like the Targa emblem on the 50/50 rollbar cover below.

[Jonny042]

Beautiful!!!

Thanks for sharing that recipe, I've been altering sheen of gloss black by changing the catalyst ratio but it might be a bit more controllable mixing in the graphite. If nothing else I can use up the graphite black which I haven't found a use for!!!

I am a little bit stumped as to what to do with my bead blasted (ie not exactly to cerakote prep spec) wheels with polished lips. Tomorrow I am going to try heat cured h series black for the details, and the entire wheel, black details and bead blasted petals, and poished lip, covered with MC series air cured clear.

Like I said it's not 100% correct as per Cerakote application guidelines but I don't see how else to get the look I want without having to mask twice (which would be a huge pain, once is bad enough!!)

Between figuring out how to refinish these wheels the best way, and figuring out what/where to buy tires that will actually fit/work/look good, I'm driving myself crazy!!!!