my low budget dream car build

[LJ851]

I like that tach. Very nice !

[lateapex911]

Yes, cool tach.
I am tempted to have my clock turned into a 3 register chronograph with Huer branding

[Tom Elder]

Chris, just noticed your double stack, bench grinders, nice space saver idea ............ I need more space!

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by LJ851

I like that tach. Very nice !

Originally Posted by lateapex911

Yes, cool tach.
I am tempted to have my clock turned into a 3 register chronograph with Huer branding

Thanks, gents! I like it a lot.

Originally Posted by Tom Elder

Chris, just noticed your double stack, bench grinders, nice space saver idea ............ I need more space!

I find space is second only to time when you start counting what is truly precious in a work shop. The double grinder stand has been fantastic. The upper grinder is lighter and spins two wire wheels while the lower grinder is much heavier and spins stones. With this placement, the whole thing is still quite stable and does not jitterbug across the floor if I leave it running and walk away. (OSHA, if you're reading this, I'm speaking entirely in the hypothetical. Also, if OSHA is reading this, my shop is not for hire and subsequently does not fall under your jurisdiction. **Level 4 plates advised for all local, state, and federal inspections.)

[75 911s]

Tach is NIIIICE!

[chrisbalich]

Confession time.
I saw the email that Tom Elder had commented on my thread and I was so proud that he was reading this (never ending saga) that it motivated me to wander out to the garage yesterday. Here are the fruits born of that 'labor' and a wee tale to help warm your wintry Monday woes.

The garage at my house is under the master suite. It's quite literally inside my house. As such, it has two and a third exterior walls. Of those, only one is fully above grade. (split-level house problems?) The north and west facing walls (1 and 1/3 respectively) are half-below grade. The east facing wall has a large garage door and a man door. Those doors are both insulated. All the exterior walls are insulated. My house has heat.
Despite all these factors, it was balls cold in there on Sunday. I ran the space heater for 45 minutes, maybe 60 before it was comfortable and about 3 hours after I turned off the space heater, the interior temps had nosed over 'comfortable' and were rapidly approaching untenable...for the work I was doing.

What was this work, you ask? I'll get there, I promise. (Typing helps warms my fingers and they're cold right now.)

Two weeks ago, Kevin and I ventured through gale-force winds and single-digit temps to visit Henry Holsters for some more custom laser-cut panels. We had Andrew cut some panels for Kevin's 964/993 thing and I took some posterboard templates for the rear panels on the LBDC. Kevin's panels were short work. My new panels were a bit more.

Here are my sweet templates.


The pink/white one was my working template. The green was (is?) a little nicer version that would be easier to scan into a computer...if such a device was available. (it was not) Andrew steadfastly drew the panel in CAD and then cut it from cardboard. This took several iterations before the cardboard matched the template. During that iterative process, Andrew showed us a full sheet of Tegris that we may or may not have brought home for another project.


He also showed us his (somewhat) new Bambu X1 Carbon 3D printer. (the same that Julian has) Kevin was marveling at all the widgets all over the factory that had been 3D printed, so Andrew fired up the printer and made Kevin a scissor/shear holder...in <20 minutes total time. Like from warm-up to completion sub-20 minutes. Unbelievably fast compared to the printers I'd seen prior. Why it's pink is a question for Andrew that neither of us asked.


Once the new rear panels were done, our business concluded and we trekked back home to languish in wintry project doldrums. (I have badly suffered for a lack of motivation this winter.)

So time-warp back to this most recently passed weekend and the email notification from Pelican that motivated me to warm the garage and get to work.
I removed and dismantled the rear side interior panels and found the perfect winter task for the LBDC.


From there, I wrapped the lower section in leftover felt from the headliner project and then set to affixing the Tegris panel to the now felt-clad lower. Truth be told, I'd been pondering this for more than a week even if I'd done nothing to the car itself. I'd even ordered some supplies...which had been already delivered.
A little refresher on Tegris. It's entirely comprised of layers of woven nylon fibers. As such, cutting it leads to frays. So too does drilling. So once lasered, you're left with very tidy edges that essentially coterize during cutting. I do not have a laser at all and HH is 2 hours from home. Any modification that I may do will need to be executed carefully so's to not fray the edges and undo my panel.
Using a torch and a series of awls, I poked (precision) holes in the Tegris and OE panels. I then installed black snaps. If you've taken apart these panels, you know the factory fastened them with staples hidden under the upper upholstery. If you haven't, now you know. This system will not do for my particular use. Visible hardware was the only thing other than an adhesive that would hold upper to lower, so I opted for black snaps that should tie in to the black, exposed hardware on the door panels.

Here's how it came out. (Disregard the wrinkles in the back seat seatpans. I'll address it when I buy more Super 90.)








I'm not in love with it, but it's not bad. The feedback I've gotten so far has been overwhelminly positive, but I feel like that artist who hates his own work. So maybe I'm just being too hard on myself.
I'm going to have to have new panels cut to address some design flaws that I managed to make despite making a paper template. The eagle-eyed among you will likely see one. If you see both, you'll realize all my fears about the tiny details that only I am supposed to be able to see. I'm also going to cut back from six snaps to four and see if I like that better.
Either way, what's done is done...for now.

I'm still not motivated.
And I still have not done Kelly's side.
The suspension pieces are still on the dining room table next to the hide.
The engine piece has made its way to the garage. But has yet to be unwrapped, much less installed.

I hate winter.

[Old H2S]

I like the 6 snaps, and it will hold better without buckling. You have lost your MOJO and so have I. Now I and building other peoples engines..

[Jjm4life]

Looks great. My rear quarters are done in the same fabric as my seat centers, dash, and door cards. Having that material in the back, like a nice rug, really ties the room together.

[LJ851]

Could you attach the panels with magnets glued to back?

I’m not crazy about snaps visual effect on the panels either.

Edit: The heavy duty Velcro that is the same on both sides (little mushroom shapes) could also do the job.


..

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by Old H2S

I like the 6 snaps, and it will hold better without buckling. You have lost your MOJO and so have I. Now I and building other peoples engines..

I agree about the holding fast and not buckling. That's how I ended up with six.
It's a dire struggle for me to even consider going out there. I keep telling myself the love with spark back up when I can go for a drive with the homies if I can just keep it together a while longer.

Originally Posted by Jjm4life

Looks great. My rear quarters are done in the same fabric as my seat centers, dash, and door cards. Having that material in the back, like a nice rug, really ties the room together.

Thank you. That's exactly what I was thinking when I first thought to add Tegris to the rear.

Originally Posted by LJ851

Could you attach the panels with magnets glued to back?

I’m not crazy about snaps visual effect on the panels either.

Edit: The heavy duty Velcro that is the same on both sides (little mushroom shapes) could also do the job.


..

The lower panel flushes right up to the body. So anything I choose to hold the two panels together must be flat on the back and very low profile in between the panels. The snaps fit those parameters, but I think they're a trifle too large.
I love magnets, but I don't think they're the solution this time.
Velcro is an inspired idea, but I worry about the thickness of the two layers of Velcro between the two panels.

I'm currently looking into solid (aircraft?) rivets. They'll maintain the exposed hardware theme I have going, downsize the visual hardware, and still hold the panels solidly. I recently bought a small arbor press. If I try rivets, I'll have to spin up some dies on the lathe..or maybe just one. I'm still learning how best to install rivets.




As an aside:
I got into cars equally because I just love cars and because it's always been a social thing for me. There has always been equal opportunity to do car things alone or with friends. I had a constant stream of people coming over to 'help' with whatever I was building or I'd be in someone else's garage 'helping' them. We'd get together weekly at worst. Here I am in my mid-40s and find that the social aspect is both further than ever before and somehow also more prevalent. I build and maintain the car largely alone. The forum, social media, and group chats keep friends close, but not really. I don't see my friends in-person much until there's an event. But at the events, I see many of my friends and for days instead of hours.
This shift is widely considered to be 'part of getting older'. The build-up to events feels like 15 years ago. The fervor and pull-out-the-stops approach to working on the car, followed by the actual event, feels like home. But the post-event hangover is stronger and longer-lasting than ever before. When I got home from RR7, I knew I didn't have any car stuff to do until April. That's half the year. While this affords ample time to work on the car, that surplus of time (and shortage of cash) saps motivation. There is no compulsion to work on the car when it's cold AF and I have months and months to do a few days' worth of work. The longer that the car and I languish, the less I even want to buy things for it, much less install them when/if the part(s) come in. I have some fantastic projects that I've been dying to do for years sitting on my dining room table collecting dust because I'd rather watch YouTube or play Super Mario Bros on NES. I know there's a tiny flame still flickering, but it's weak and running on the fumes of fun had in the past. I need to find a way to reignite the inferno of yore before I opt out completely.

[ItzaMe]

Wow - this build never disappoints!

I love the R&D and custom bits.

[Old H2S]

Same thing here.. I do not want to finish this car, then it is over, done, gone. I'm done with race cars, muscle cars, rarities. There are a few odd ball types that I'm following, but what then? I've been down sized and can have only one at a time now and after a 911??
I get about 10 years out of a build all together and the shine is gone and I sell them and in 5 years the wife says "you should have kept the.."

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by Old H2S

Same thing here.. I do not want to finish this car, then it is over, done, gone. I'm done with race cars, muscle cars, rarities. There are a few odd ball types that I'm following, but what then? I've been down sized and can have only one at a time now and after a 911??
I get about 10 years out of a build all together and the shine is gone and I sell them and in 5 years the wife says "you should have kept the.."

The longest I've had a car is 7 years. My VW R32. The LBDC just passed 6 last month. It's a strange thing as I've loved this car more than all of its predecessors, save the M3. They're pretty close in my eyes as far as cars I've enjoyed owning. I ruined the M3 with an LS engine and then sold it to fund the 911 purchase. The 911 has been far-and-away the most challenging car to build. A big part of my dissatisfaction is that it costs so much bloody money to make mistakes/missteps. Buy spring plate bushings you don't like? $500 gone...twice...or you're back to rubber that will sag in a year's time. Or you convert the rear to coilovers for $2k. Want a few electrical accessories for your car? $1000 alternator. No other way around it.
I love the friends I've made because of this car. But GD, you really gotta want it with these things if you're not ok with keeping them completely stock. The juice just isn't always worth the squeeze and that takes a lot of the fun out of it.

[PeteKz]

Hear, hear, brother. Not only does it consume cubic dollars, but it's also a huge time suck. It seems that most of the stuff I've done, I've had to do two or there times in different ways before I was satisfied. Several times over the past 30 years I've thought about selling mine as a project, but I started driving it again regularly about 3 years ago, and at this point, after all the time and money I've spent, I'll just keep it.

I recently was looking at distributor parts, and I noted that the simple plastic "dust cover" (noise suppressor) inside the CDI dizzys was almost $50! Just for a simple, no-moving-parts piece of plastic. Nuts...

[fanaudical]

I like what you did with the interior!

I will have had my 911 for 14 years this coming July. I've had a couple of other cars that I kept almost 20 years each. Those were just daily drivers with a little flair and OK to work on. The 911 has been my first "fun" car - and while it has consumed a bunch of $$$ and time, I find I still enjoy it. Nothing else quite like it...

[Old H2S]

My wife hated my Mk5 R32 I restored to stock, what a car. It still had an open recall from VW, the dealer was shocked at how good they used to be.

[lateapex911]

Well, Chris... motivation....here's how I solve it. Buy a POS crap house, and have it all planned in your head...garagemahal 1st!. Then start dating hot chick who needs help with her house/car etc. Perfect, now you're two stages removed from the 911.
Finally dump the selfish GF who just used you, and get going on your house. Think wistfully about doing "Fun stuff" on the 911 instead of moonlighting as an electrician/plumber/ cabinet maker every night getting your house FINALLy decent.
Dream of spring and having it actually move under it's own power.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

OK, maybe that plan willl mess up your cool marriage haha.

Resign yourself that you need to get srs bzns about making the shop be a place you want to be.
Spend the $ and install a real heater, and insulate and weather strip. Maybe a Modine Hot Dawg or such.
Like sports? Find a big panel tv, they're around cheap, and maybe a used AV receiver and now you can watch racing or sports AND get work done, in the warmth and comfort. 5.1 and racing will sound awesome LOL.

Just a couple ideas from a guy who HAS all that but can only wish he could use it....

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

Hear, hear, brother. Not only does it consume cubic dollars, but it's also a huge time suck. It seems that most of the stuff I've done, I've had to do two or there times in different ways before I was satisfied. Several times over the past 30 years I've thought about selling mine as a project, but I started driving it again regularly about 3 years ago, and at this point, after all the time and money I've spent, I'll just keep it.

I recently was looking at distributor parts, and I noted that the simple plastic "dust cover" (noise suppressor) inside the CDI dizzys was almost $50! Just for a simple, no-moving-parts piece of plastic. Nuts...

The beginning of posts like this help me keep the car when I'm stuck thinking about the latter part of posts like this.
$50 for a small plastic dizzy cover is madness and another example of people/businesses taking advantage of the assumed unending wealth of Porsche owners.

Originally Posted by fanaudical

I like what you did with the interior!

I will have had my 911 for 14 years this coming July. I've had a couple of other cars that I kept almost 20 years each. Those were just daily drivers with a little flair and OK to work on. The 911 has been my first "fun" car - and while it has consumed a bunch of $$$ and time, I find I still enjoy it. Nothing else quite like it...

Thank you. There should be another interior update Monday. I have parts coming in today to further refine the backseat side panels.

Originally Posted by Old H2S

My wife hated my Mk5 R32 I restored to stock, what a car. It still had an open recall from VW, the dealer was shocked at how good they used to be.

Historically, I'm a mkIV guy more so than a mkV guy. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit I've considered a mkV R more than a few times.

Originally Posted by lateapex911

Well, Chris... motivation....here's how I solve it. Buy a POS crap house, and have it all planned in your head...garagemahal 1st!. Then start dating hot chick who needs help with her house/car etc. Perfect, now you're two stages removed from the 911.
Finally dump the selfish GF who just used you, and get going on your house. Think wistfully about doing "Fun stuff" on the 911 instead of moonlighting as an electrician/plumber/ cabinet maker every night getting your house FINALLy decent.
Dream of spring and having it actually move under it's own power.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

OK, maybe that plan willl mess up your cool marriage haha.

Resign yourself that you need to get srs bzns about making the shop be a place you want to be.
Spend the $ and install a real heater, and insulate and weather strip. Maybe a Modine Hot Dawg or such.
Like sports? Find a big panel tv, they're around cheap, and maybe a used AV receiver and now you can watch racing or sports AND get work done, in the warmth and comfort. 5.1 and racing will sound awesome LOL.

Just a couple ideas from a guy who HAS all that but can only wish he could use it....

Jake, my guy.
1. I'be been lobbying for a small house on a large chunk of terra firma since before we bought our current place. (large house on small land) As much as I'd love to do that, I need the market to unfork itself before I take out any more loans as we're not in a position to buy a property/homestead in cash.
2. Kelly doesn't use hard 'no's with me too often. I'm confident the idea of a GF (outside taking Kelly on dates) would get me stabbed in my sleep.
3. I have a Marantz receiver in the garage. It's on top the (formerly medical) cabinet to the right of my welding table. It's only hooked up to two channels, but can blast out the jams at a much greater level than required to drown out any noise shy of a hammer on an anvil.
4. A smart TV for the garage has been discussed, but I have not yet pulled the trigger. I want to continue to revise my garage setup and then add a TV and a desktop computer in the future....but only after I have redone the walls and have a proper space for such things.
5. The garage door needs new seals and I'm hoping that will help better retain heat. I'd like to replace the door entirely, but I'm yet undecided on what sort of lunatic door I'd like in its stead. (I'm currently hung up on a bi-fold door that hinges laterally across the middle and when opened, makes an awning outside the garage. This would nearly eliminate all the inside mech and open up what limited space I have.)
6. A proper heater is a good idea. I have to figure out if I'm prepared to permanently surrender floor/wall/shop space to install something, or if I'm ok with pulling out the forced air LP dude on an as-needed basis. I also need to consider how a permanent garage HVAC sytem would impact the building codes since the garage is inside my house. I know it would need to be totally independant with no mixing. But beyond that, I know very little. Also, I'd prefer to just move and build the aforementioned garagemahal. So that lingering thought makes me hesitant to knock down walls, raise ceilings, install tile, or install a new HVAC just for the garage. With a proper application of cubic dollars, I could convert the entire eastern end of my home into a two-story tall garage. But getting the boss, and the county, on board with such madness will require more vocabularic finesse than I think I possess. Word.

[lateapex911]

Well, I was just showing you that you could be in a position whee working on the car is a dream LOL. Not suggesting that a GF is the best move. (Unless Kelly were to bring that whole subject up, hahaha)
I really enjoy my time in my shop working on stuff with a Indycar or F1 race on. Granted my "Efficiency" rating drops because it's 1/3 watching 2/3 working (or some balance), but it's WAY better than me on the couch watching inside!

We both live in cold climates. Over 7 months are uncomfortable in the shop because it's cold. So the #1BEST thing I did was install a propane fueled Modine Hawt dog. (SMall ones are $500 -ish at the Home Centers or online). You need a proper regulator (Available at a company doing the gas equipment stuff), piping is super easy, black pipe with NPT fittings are hard to screw up, (appropriate gas rated yellow teflon tape or dope) and testing is a breeze with your in house compressed air, and either a Propane service or your own tank. (I got my own tank, the service was such a PITA and more $$, for not filling it when it needed it). My 65" x 15" (75lbs empty) tank needs filling every other week in the deep cold months like January when I'm using it, but my shop is 1917 and swiss cheese. (A $30 hand truck makes the tank loading into and out of the truck a breeze. (About 175lbs full.) But now I love being out there all toasy. And it was cheaper than moving to San Diego. (ALthough I'm still wanting that!)
Mini Fridge was a smart play. ANd an old computer with double monitors makes looking parts up soooo easy.

Love the MArantz. 70s vintage?

The bifold doors are cool, but you do lose opening height.

[Chaplin]

Winter seems to be the only time of the year when I can get any meaningful time in the garage to work on projects, as summer seems to be consumed by vacations and kids' sports. I am also in a cold climate and heat in the garage is essential. I put in a Rinnai direct vent wall heater, best thing I ever did...total game changer.