1973 2.4E Restoration

[Barry]

Yes indeed: Darren's got a very impressive set-up with some great guys there, and they very much have things in hand.

Can't wait to see the shell after blasting .

Oh yes, the hound is Isla, who did nearly 300 miles in the car yesterday: she was very good, especially given she's not quite four months old.

[911hillclimber]

Thought it looked an easy one!
So nice to see such a good old shell, very unusual.

More pics please as you progress.

[Darren65]

Just a few pictures of the final strip down, this was harder and took longer than expected (as I'm sure you all know!)



The car had to be stripped this week so it was all hands to the pump:



As hoped the underside is pretty solid:



We found that heating the floor from the opposite side meant the inner floor sound proofing could be peeled away fairly easily:







Everywhere we found lots of lovely solid metal - can't believe my luck:



What looks like another pile of junk - honestly what you see is the ultimate driving machine!



Finally stripped and on the trailer ready for delivery to Cleaning Consultants in the morning:



One day you will look like this and vice versa!

Darren

[DustyM]

Looks like you have a lovely solid un-messed with shell. I have a bit more bodgery to contend with on mine, the joys of years of "MOT" welding

[Mitch]

Darren, you may remember that we met briefly at Lovett's a while ago?

Good to see you've thrown yourself into the resto and posting here

But at this pace it looks like it'll all be over and done with pretty quickly!

Good luck with it all.

[Darren65]

Thanks for the replies -

Jon - it looks like you have more than enough talent to cope with a little bit of 'bodgery' - love the picture of the green 2002, wonderful cars.

Mitch - I'm not sure about it being over and done quickly, I think the money will run out long before then!
As long as the end result is a car as pretty as yours I'll be more than happy no matter how long it takes.

Cheers,
Darren

[Darren65]

Another milestone for my restoration today as I delivered the engine for its rebuild.

Choosing who to ask to undertake this work was a tough decision - like most I read as much as I could, sought advice, asked many opinions and finally talked to those on my shortlist...

In the end I really couldn't decide between Mike Bainbridge at MB Porsche Engineering and Nick Fulljames at RedTEK - both have great reputations, were very easy to talk to and are clearly very passionate about what they do. Ideally I wanted to work with both guys so...

I've asked Nick to rebuild the engine and Mike to rebuild the gearbox.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick is literally in the middle of moving into new larger premises...



I arrived to find Porsches, engines and some serious engineering machinery dotted around the building - much work has already been carried out, the facilities are spacious and look ideal. Nick took the time to explain how everything will be laid out from the dyno room to the engine rebuild benches, judging by his enthusiasm and attention to detail this place will look like a state of the art F1 facility in no time at all...



My engine currently looks a little sad and tired however...



Nick explained the process it will go through to bring it back to life...can't wait.



I took the old Anser exhaust away with me - apparently these sound great although I'll be reverting back to a standard type..



I also took away the heat exchangers - one looks like its been recently replaced and will clean up like new, the other needs repair though and will be replaced - Not sure if these can be purchased individually, if not it will be a new pair and the old ones will be up for sale.

A great day - amazing how just dropping off an engine can be so exciting



As the new premises was previously the home of 'UK Choppers' I asked Nick if he would be sporting a bushy handlebar moustache, growing his hair and constantly be wearing shades? - He claims not (although it looks like he's been at the gym a lot lately) - Will keep you posted........



I can build Porsche engines...

[Darren65]

One of the things I intended to include in my last post was the following link to Peter Morgans video of his finished Nick Fulljames engine rebuild.

Nick's enthusiasm and attention to detail is impressive and this is matched by the quality of his work on the rebuild itself - my engine will be stock 2.4E with maybe a few tweaks, I'll discuss this with Nick once the engine is stripped and condition is known - any input and suggestions are most welcome.

I'm sure the vast majority of people here have already seen this but for those who haven't it's well worth a look - tis' a thing of beauty.....

http://www.youtube.com/user/petermorgan ... 4LEzyYniUE

Enjoy,
Darren

[DustyM]

- my engine will be stock 2.4E with maybe a few tweaks,

Darren

I'll be interested to know what tweaks he recommends as I'll be going down this route at some stage.

[Darren65]

I'll certainly detail all work done here Jon.

A big benefit with asking Nick to handle the rebuild is that he's situated quite close to me and I plan to visit often during the build process. I'll post plenty of pictures and technical details.

Cheers,
Darren

[Darren65]

Collected the car today from Cleaning Consultants - arrived early to find the shell just finished with the zinc phosphate treatment being dried in their booth:



Great to see the car back to metal:






Overall the car looks pretty solid although a bit thin and scary in places:



As with the shell previous repairs on the other panels were exposed, all fairly good - the bonnet is toast though!



Lucked out with the weather - the blue stuff (not the car) is actual sky!




The shell looked great out in the sunshine:





Gutter seams, floor and roof all look superb:



Still plenty to keep Barry busy though:



Dilemma was do I cover it up properly or, with such nice weather, throw a cover over it and chance it? - if I had rain would have been a certainty!



Nothing wrong with copying a great idea - cheers John - Cling film came from Cotswold Packaging in Swindon, 400mm x 300m 5.50 a roll:



Finally loaded and straight on to Barry:



Safely delivered to the Magicians Den without a drop of rain - chucked it down on the way home though!

A real fun day, it was great to see Barry and Isla again and I'm really looking forward to seeing Barry's work first hand.

Now let the magic begin......

Cheers,
Darren

[Darren65]

He doesn't hang around.......



First report and pictures from Barry - car is straight and just a fraction down at the rear, easily sorted.

Darren

[911hillclimber]

Near-side rear wing repairs are an odd spot? Lots of patches.

Rest certainly looks good from the pics, an easy one for the Barry for a change!
Look forward to the reports.

[visualfx]

Hi Darren,

Did Nick at Redtek give you an idea of build time? Are they carring out the whole build or just the machine work ?

Shells in good hands at Barry's

[johnM]

Hi Darren

Great work, car looks very good, certainly better than the last one on Barrys jig.

Cling film works well. It kept mine completely dry on my 350 mile journey back home. Keep the updates coming.
Kind regards