I want my car to be naked

[944Spec_bound]

I love my car, but not in that way...
I'm thinking about stripping the paint to the metal, buffing it, clear coating it and going old school racing style of exposed metal.
Anyone ever seen a 944 in the raw like that?

[Aslet]

You have lots of free time, dont you... I think it would look awesome, but what a pain!

[Dave L]

you need to stop watching "back to the future" so much

[Aslet]

But the uranium makes the car so much faster, and deadlier! Weeee

[Schumi]

have you seen the guy on rennlist who took a sawzall to a 944 and cut it down to just the bare platform required to drive, no roof, doors, B or C pillars, quarterpanels, etc. Just a motor, some of the chassis, and 4 tires. Then welded in a stressed cage. Weighs about 2000 pounds. Probably a bit flexy in the corners.

Now THAT is naked...


Seriously, in lieu of stripping it and clear coating, try going for a historic paint job or replica job of some sort. Here are some images for inspiration:

Pink Pig?


908 Targo Florio (I like the single arrow version the best


Flying Lizard replica?

[Sterling Doc]

Much harder to fix, and race cars live a hard life...

[Schumi]

I'm a big fan of vinyl graphics instead of fancy paintjobs. You can get two or three sets printed and if you get touched up on track, throw a replacement fender of the same color on and re-apply a new set of graphics to just that part. They don't fade, and look great. We use them on our Formula cars. The amount of color really makes the car stand out on track, and the ability to do fades/gradient stuff is unique..

Might be a little outa price range for spec racing...

[944Spec_bound]

I'm thinking more of a hybrid of these looks:

vintage racing look like this



use Red & Black highlights on the non-metallic areas like front valance



of course, not as polished as these aluminum cars, but going for a more industrial look. I'm even thinking about addding some rivets, vintage warplane style

this is the only pic I could find to kind of get the image in my head

[mistertate]

All the pics you posted are of ALUMINUM cars. As someone who has grinded into a lot of 944 to weld in rollcages I have my doubts. The galvanizing has a gray appearance and is sort of a pain in the ass to sand through. I'm talking about just 6" x 6" squares, not a whole car. I think the galvanizing is a major contributor to the success of the 944. They're slow and old but because of the galvanizing they just don't make it to the junkyard at the same rate as say an RX7 or MR2
Try it on a practice panel first.

PS Schumi's right, vinyl is the way to go for a race car

[krystar]

i say it's damn sexy....that is..if yer body has perfect skin,

[Schumi]

Ditto, you may start sanding her down and find patches 'o bondo!

[phoenix_iii]

And every ding/dent has to be metal worked, not filled, welded, or anything...

[Catamax944]

Of course it's not easy guys but i think it would look great and with the 944's galvanized body it shouldn't have any rust problems either.I think sandblasting it would ensure a better quality finish.

[porsche4life]

Any blasting or anything will undo the galvanize. If you do it be prepared to strip it down to bare metal and then polish it up and clear coat.

[SolReaver]

That is a "unique" idea......

I went out to my car and tried to picture it in my mind...remembering how much fun it is to blast galvanization and work with metal finshes...wow.

The first thought to pop into my tiny little mind was "what about the bumpers and the side mirrors?" they are not metal and would stick out like liltle sore thumbs.

Also, you would have to get ALL of the paint, which would invove removing trim, seals, and more stuff than I can think of. Further, sand blasting creates surface irregularities that have to be sanded back to smooth, all while protecting the metal from surface rust that ruthlessly attacks without warning or provocation.

Those bare metal cars represent an incredible amount of skill and labor that is just beyond the capability of most and usually involves total restoration.

It COULD be done... But, in the spirit of restoration and preservation of these vanishing semi-classic cars, I would reccomend that you spend the time and effort into adopting and rehabilitating a down on it's luck barn find.

How about a nice mettalic silver paint? I am sure there is something out there that with a nice clear coat and some fancy decals will fit the bill.

Finally, If I were on the same road as you on a sunny day, the reflection off of your car might prove to be a road hazard. And BOY does a mirror finish get dirty quick! You would spend wayyy too much time keeping her shiny. It would turn into a curiosity, a diaper car, a garage queen, and my sincere belief is that cars are for driving. (call me old fashioned that way.)

Mistertate: Whaddya mean "Slow and Old?", They may be old, but not slow by any means. Properly maintained they can (and I do) go toe to toe with the best of em.

[flash968]

yes - please remember that galvanizing is a surface treatment and can be removed if you aren't careful - it's not like stainless - you can easily burn through it and end up with rust - the clear coat idea is a good one, but somewhat defeats the purpose of why most people strip the car (weight)

[porsche4life]

The bumpers and mirrors are aluminum. the lower valence is all that is plastic.

[944Spec_bound]

Thanks for the input.
I only posted the polished aluminum pics for overall image I would be going for. My skill level could never make it a show car. This car is being prepped for track use and I want it to look like a no frills, stripped down track car that stands out in it's simplicity. More of the industrial, utilitarian look. foe example, I have a small 3" diameter dent behind the rear wheel that I wouldn't work out, I'd just rivet or weld a piece of sheet over it, warplane style.

I was just planning to use clear coat protectant. I've done this on an old Mustang fender just for kicks before primering it, and everyone said I should do the whole car that way. I didn't know the 944 was galvanized, I'll have to see how much of a pain it is to make it look right.

I've seen silver paint with black streaked through that looks just like bare metal, but that's not something I could do myself.

[PXJ800]

That would probably look pretty badass especially if you weather it a bit. Staining it a bit rougher/darker around the seams would make it look like a gritty track beast or some kind of Mad Max 944.

[944Spec_bound]

well, as tempted as I was to do this during the winter, I decided against it.

I went around my car with a small magnet, I found bondo in a few places.
Plus, my car is stripped of interior, so I'd have to do the inside too or it would look wierd.

Maybe I'll revisit the idea someday after I find a cheap 944 with a straight body and a blown motor and put an LS1 in it

Thanks for the input anyway.