Back in beige

[neilbardsley]

I wonder they you didn't use normal linkage for your engine but now I've seen this thread on BBS admitting that normal linkage is even across the range!

http://www.912bbs.org/vb/showthread.php?t=51258

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[jamie]

Ughhhhh... it's late. How to write this up diplomatically?

I finished adding to this build thread last summer - the car was on the road, running well. I was piling the miles on and having a wonderful time. But keen readers will recall the problems I had with the headlamps not fitting - in short, the two beautiful new wings that I bought direct from The Mothership (at £800 each) turned-out to have headlight bowls that were installed wonky, with the top edge a few millimetres too deep in the wings. This meant the headlamp bezel would not locate correctly. Because of the wings' provenance (excellence was expected, accept no substitute, etc), I never imagined they would be anything other than perfect and I only discovered this issue once the F****** CAR HAD BEEN PAINTED.

And so I made a mantra:

Test fit your sh-t
Befo' you paint yo' whip
Muthafucka.

But it was too late. In order to get the headlamps to fit, I had to carefully chip-away the brand new paint at the edge of the headlamp bowl. It looked like crap, but the area was hidden once the headlamp was installed. I painted the exposed metal lip with black epoxy primer and re-shaped the top securing lip. It -sort of- held. Sort of. Ugh. I had to use very thin VW Beetle gaskets to get the thing to locate properly. One had to be shaved-down further. The car was gorgeous, and the headlamps were a bodge. It made me itch.

I talked to Barry about it at the time. He hadn't noticed it when the car was with him and, well, why would you? Two new wings with the Stuttgart seal of approval and an enormous invoice to match. He has since found other wings with the same defect. Absolute hand shandys.

Barry came up with a plan to put the headlamp bowls right, and today I drove down to Carter HQ and we (he) got stuck in. Six hours corrective surgery, in the freezing cold. At the end he declared it a warranty repair. I'd say whichever feckless twunt welded those headlight bowls in the first place owes him a hot chocolate or two.

Here's the process:

Paint off...



Welds carefully drilled...





Next, shitloads of bashing from inside the wheelarch (no photos here because I was the assistant for this stage). Barry used a big block of wood and sledgehammer to move the bowls out. Brutal and delicate at the same time. The wood was shaped on a bandsaw to fit the curve of the back of the bowl so there was no damage to the form of the bowl.

Re-weld the spot welds in their new position...



Got to make those welds invisible...









Headlamps installed with the correct seals, fitting beautifully and solidly, and not a mark on the rest of the wing...



For the sake of disclosure I will hereby declare that I am a paid-up member of the Barry Carter Fan Club. I have the Barry Carter limited-edition pyjamas, dressing gown and collectable soft toy. I love this guy's work and I am overjoyed with the result from today. In my eyes, the car is now done (save for a bit of re-sealing of the wing behind the spot welds).

We finished the day with the famous miserable maestro shot. Another beautiful work of art to add to his long and growing list

Barry Carter - Bodywork Restoration Specialist - 07741 273865

[210bhp]

Craftsmanship, patience and friendship of the highest order.......

We are so lucky to have Barry in our little world.

Enjoy your car to the full Jamie. It looks gorgeous.

Regards
Mike

[964RS]

Top geezer that Barry fella


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[johnM]

Great story from a great bloke.

Car looks just fantastic in its sand beige, you must be very pleased.

[sladey]

Great work - don't know how he got managed to re-plug weld without the heat getting through to the paint on the wings - great work

[jamie]

Great work - don't know how he got managed to re-plug weld without the heat getting through to the paint on the wings - great work

I was under the wing with the air line, blowing air onto the back of the weld after each hit. Buzz bzz, tshchhh, bzz bzz, tshchhh, bzz bzz, tsssssschhhhh. Etc. Worked well. Neat welds helped!

[inaglasshouse]

Jamie,
That's a great story. I love that you and Mr C had carefully pondered a way to get this sorted, and that it worked so well. Excellent stuff.

For the sake of disclosure I will hereby declare that I am a paid-up member of the Barry Carter Fan Club. I have the Barry Carter limited-edition pyjamas, dressing gown and collectable soft toy.

Very nice:


Car looks great, well played.
Cheers, Richard.

[Jonny Hart]

I suffered the same and had two headlamps leave the car as well. Mine was on the cusp so was salvageable with thinning the primer on the lip. I still have that horrible feeling when I refit the headlamps that they might fall off.

A lot of thought that has gone in to this repair. There isn't a bodyshop on the planet who would have devised this, let alone taken the risk to do it. It has to fall into the 'total nightmare' category for a guy who works mostly in the metal.

All credit to Mr Carter.

[Lightweight_911]

Great result Jamie !



Barry, I think this /\ /\ /\ could be the answer to your request for an updated image for letter heading/website/business cards, etc ...

[hot66]

wow .. great work from Barry and what a wonderful loookng car jamie too

anyone raised the issue with Porsche ?

[jamie]

wow .. great work from Barry and what a wonderful loookng car jamie too

anyone raised the issue with Porsche ?

Barry told me what was involved. Basically, you raise the issue with the OPC, who then raise the issue with someone else, and eventually the info lands in Stuttgart - I imagine somewhat diluted along the way.

They want photographs and a write-up, but this takes up time. Easier just to put the bad work right and be aware of it on future cars.

I'm pretty certain these panels aren't made in-house, but I also feel that selling them under the brand name, for the price they charge, they should be as correct as everything else they sell. It's really out of order.

Rant over. It's fixed now and Barry is a legend.

[Nige]

Well done chaps.

Hope the Dansk items I bought last week are not afflicted in the same way. I'll certainly be test fitting the lamps before paint!

[jamie]

Test fit your sh-t
Befo' you paint yo' whip

[Goodwood]

Have not posted for a while, but feel compelled to say that the car looks fabulous. Simple, uncluttered, great period colour. And I enjoy seeing all Barry's work on the DDK site.

Gavin