1973 2.4E Restoration

[Darren65]

Mike,

Thank you for your comment and really do appreciate the offer.

I think we need pretty much the complete coupe rear quarters for both sides and hoping to get new panels however you've seen what Barry can do with some sheet metal so will mention it to him and get back you if we get stuck.

All the best,
Darren

[visualfx]

Hi Darren,

I had exactly the same problem with OPC supply on some of my panels. Rear inner wing was the main problem, still NLA to this day (Jan order) so ended up using a Targa inner with modifications. The same goes for the front and one rear bumper, ended up repairing the best used ones I could find.

One place Chesterton were impressed with where http://www.restoration-design.com/Merch ... creen=SFNT , the pressing for my rear parcel shelf and rear seat pan assembly came from these guys. Shipping wasn’t a problem and I know Barry has posted something on them before.

Maybe worth a look as a standby.

[Darren65]

Thanks Garry,

Definitely worth considering, at some point we'll have to look at all possible options.

BTW - love the WUF810 website, very cool

Cheers,
Darren

[Darren65]

Paid a visit to Canford Classics today. Less than a month ago I took along this little pile.....



Which has come back looking like this....





Everyone at work thought I'd purchased all brand new parts! - the finish really is superb

Alan also had my gauges refurbished for me....



All looking rather cool I think

[Darren65]

Went to visit Nick Fulljames on Wednesday to see the final dismantling of my engine.

Nick's nicely settled in now and the new Redtek premises are looking great with a few interesting projects around:



The engine rebuild area is superb:



Nick had already stripped the top half of the engine and reported no nasty surprises:



Injection pump is being sent to Fred at Tower Bridge Diesels for a rebuild:



I was able to witness the crank case being opened up:....



....and again everything looked healthy inside (so I was told):



After stripping out the internals a few measurements were taken:....



....and all indicates that we're in for a nice straightforward engine rebuild.

I have documentary evidence to suggest that the engine was worked on in the early 80's and this stacked up when stripping the engine.

There's remarkably very little wear inside the engine - the speedo reads just over 68,000 Klms and Nick suggests that the internals indicate that this could well be correct.

You can still see part numbers that haven't worn away (I couldn't trace this part number on PET though, any ideas?):



All in all looking good - as mentioned before the engine will be fairly stock 2.4E although the compression will be raised along with a few other modifications. I'll list all the parts that are being replaced and the final build specification once Nick has sent this through to me.

In the meantime thanks for looking.

Darren

[Lightweight_911]

You can still see part numbers that haven't worn away (I couldn't trace this part number on PET though, any ideas?):

Darren

Darren - there are 3 digits missing - i think it should be:

901.101.138.03

Its the no 8 (crank nose) bearing


Good news on the engine's internal condition !

[Darren65]

Thanks Andy - That's what I suspected (it is that part) although not sure why the 101 was missing from the middle? and wasn't sure if a few numbers had rubbed off at the end.

Cheers,
Darren

[Darren65]

Christmas has come early......................

Having tried everywhere and everything I could to obtain rear quarters without success I was faced with the prospect of having to collect my shell from Barry's workshop unfinished and then store it in bare metal for who knows how long! Pretty desperate times.

Barry had also made a few enquiries and forwarded an email from a contact who suggested a German specialist - a positive phone call, a transfer of Euros (many!) and a few days later this arrived...........



In all my life I've never been so happy to pay DOUBLE list price for something!!!!

Along with a good used rear bumper corner and a new bonnet I now have everything that's needed for Barry to finish my shell - in paint for Christmas!

BTW - A big thank you to Alan Drayson at Canford Classics. He knew as well as anyone the current issue with Porsche panels and how long it may be before they become readily available. Knowing I needed a bonnet and that I was unlikely to find one anywhere, he sold me the one he had in stock without adding a premium and aware that he's unlikely to be able to replace it for his own needs anytime soon. Very sporting - Top Man

Darren

[IanMcLeod]

...In all my life I've never been so happy to pay DOUBLE list price for something!!!!

They are not cheap at list price!!

[JPH]

Pleased to see that lead paid off Darren, but the phrase 'stand and deliver' springs to mind

[Darren65]

They are not cheap at list price!!

Too true - no issue with the supplier though, at least they stocked what I needed which is more than can be said of Porsche.

In hindsight I would have liked to have been a little more prepared before starting the body work - learning curves are always costly!

Lesson: Study DDK and learn from the path others have trodden!

[911hillclimber]

Back in 1989 I paid £500 the pair of Porsche rear wings, and £100 for a Dansk front wing.
Dansk door skins were £50 each. (1973 T)
All were readily available.
The Porsche rears were a PERFECT fit, the Dansk parts were not..

iirc the Porsche fronts were not available at that time.

A few years and popularity changes a few things.

[Darren65]

I hope mine are a perfect fit although I'm sure they will be once Barry has worked his magic on them

It'll be interesting to see if Barry goes right up to the gutter line or stitches them in somewhere below?

Darren

[Darren65]

It's been a steady couple of weeks;

Last week Mike advised that he had finished my gearbox and was dropping this with a fellow DDK'er whilst down south:

Not only has the gearbox been fully rebuilt, Mike also replaced the badly deteriorated casing and managed to find me a ZF differential, cheers Mike - I'll post details of the rebuild when Mike
has his broadband back up and running and sends me through a few photos:



It was good to meet Chris and Nick who kindly stored the box until I collected, many thanks guys - hopefully I'll get to see Nick's 2.7RS when I'm next in the area

Fortunately the guys are very close to Redtek so I was able to drop the box directly to them and get an update on my engine rebuild, more of that later.....

The week previously I went to visit Barry and drop of my rear wings - I was a little concerned about the rear panels as they looked different from those I'd seen previously, in bare metal without the black or green finish, and still had Porsche parts stickers on the font B-post and rear light sections which looked like they'd been added to the main panel at a later date. The panels were supplied by Freisinger who assured me they are genuine Porsche although I think they may have left the production line somewhat early! Definitely a story there, any ideas?

Even so Barry confirmed they looked fine and just holding one up to shell was a real buzz:



Today got even better when Barry sent through his latest update - progress is moving on a pace, the previously nasty NSR wing now looks like this:



and the car has even had a first trial panel fit:







It's great to see the shell looking like a 911 again and excited about seeing how things progress over the next few weeks.

As good as the car looks in the photos seeing the progress in the flesh really is something else - others have been accused of gushing over Barry's work in the past and it's very hard not to.

I'm sure my cheesy grin keeps getting wider every time I receive an update - many thanks Barry

Darren

[Darren65]

I managed to buy a pair of NOS early A-Bars from Germany - as you can see mine were looking a little tired.

If anyone is interested the chap selling them still has a few pairs available - a bargain at 120€ each. PM me if you would like details.



Darren