Back in beige

[MarkIII]

Hi Jamie

Great update as ever, I for one appreciate the effort and detail that you put into your resto updates, keep them coming. Only with I had the skills to attempt half of what you have done.

Cheers
Mark

[jamie]

Hi Mark. Not much skill involved on my part - welding, painting, and the engine rebuild (the difficult stuff) were done elsewhere. Putting the thing back together is a case of following parts diagrams or occasional trial-and-error. This isn't false modesty - most people could do what I've done. Some people can do much more - there are many examples of that here. However you approach it, it's an interesting way to learn about yourself.

One of the problems I'm having with this project is balancing it with work and everyday life. With the end in sight, I've been obsessing over it day and night, not getting enough sleep, spending too much time in the garage when I should have been doing other things. It's a very convenient method of procrastination. Getting hold of it now, but still not good.

[Darren65]

.......most people could do what I've done.......

I think you sell yourself short, I've seen what you've done first hand and think it's pretty amazing......some of us can't do bugger all!

.......I've been obsessing over it day and night, not getting enough sleep, spending too much time......

....now here I can totally relate, the guilt factor is huge when every other moment is spent obsessing about some small detail.......it's a drug, an illness, just like any other addiction!

[jonno1]

I will miss this thread when the car is done....its been very enjoyable sharing the highs and lows. I for one have been admiring your efforts, persistence, good humour and tell-it-as-it-is approach to it all. Anyone contemplating a restoration should read this.

[MT]

Anyone contemplating a restoration should read this.

I agree. With the benefit ( ) of hindsight and doing a few of these now, me and Mr. Hall often reflect over a coffee or a shandy on the mixture or optimism and inexperience that someone somewhere exhibits on some fora or other re the cost/time/(in)sanity dimensions of taking on one of these restorations.

Jamie, you are unusual (unique) in your ability to articulate the personal feelings and roller-coaster of experience that anyone doing this sort of thing will face. I have read your thread on more than one occasion with a rueful, reflective smile. I could list a few do's and don'ts to anyone thinking of doing a 911/912 resto, but up there in that list would be 'read this', and if you're still up for it, then carry on.

The feeling when you drive it to the MoT for the first time is good, driving it back is magic, but a lot (most?) Porsche restos never get that far I'd wager.
As Darren says don't underestimate how much you have done.

I'd venture you still have a few more ups and downs to come - the final build and 'commissioning' is the most stressful as I have often had to take a few steps back - brake fluid is a ba$tard, and petrol is a danger - but often you get leaks of both. Take care in this last phase, mate.

Best wishes

Mick

[sladey]

One of the problems I'm having with this project is balancing it with work and everyday life. With the end in sight, I've been obsessing over it day and night, not getting enough sleep, spending too much time in the garage when I should have been doing other things. It's a very convenient method of procrastination. Getting hold of it now, but still not good.

Once the trauma has died down I bet you'll miss this frantic stage - I know I did for quite a while. Whilst it causes problems elsewhere in your life it's exciting to have such an absolute purpose / challenge for a while - relish it while it lasts

[911hillclimber]

Of the few intense projects I've done over the years the finish is almost an anti-climax, a real dwell after the long-haul.

The benefits of having a sympathetic and knowledgeable following is in my opinion beyond value.

Nearly there I think.

[Robind]

One of the problems I'm having with this project is balancing it with work and everyday life. With the end in sight, I've been obsessing over it day and night, not getting enough sleep, spending too much time in the garage when I should have been doing other things. It's a very convenient method of procrastination. Getting hold of it now, but still not good.

Once the trauma has died down I bet you'll miss this frantic stage - I know I did for quite a while. Whilst it causes problems elsewhere in your life it's exciting to have such an absolute purpose / challenge for a while - relish it while it lasts

Agreed I think that's why we keeping doing them it's a strange kind of pleasure

[jamie]

Thanks for the kind comments guys. It's nice to be able to write up the process and share the project with everyone here. When things are good, it's definitely part of the fun. When they're not, it's good therapy.

Not much going on with the car lately. I went off to the US for work for a week, which was a good compulsory time off from it. Whilst there, I got another drive in 356 that I mentioned at the beginning of this thread (three years and 66 pages back...). It belongs to my friend Hayden and he uses it as test-bed for his Wevo products. The car still has the full Ohlins damper setup from when I last had a go, but now features his own 5-speed box. It's quite a thing. Took it down the same road to Half Moon Bay, via La Honda. Goes great, looks great. That road - wow. Please excuse the phone photos...





After I had done the work I needed to do (SF to LA), I had to drive north to another thing in Reno. I have a friend who assists me when I need it, and he'd never seen Death Valley before, so we took a slight detour through there. This was my, fifth or sixth time. I think it just gets better and better.



Tried to dive into Yosemite on the same day, but the US is just too massive and we hit it in the dark. Stayed overnight in a hotel which looked like something from the Shining - genuinely scary place. The next day we carried on to Reno. Arriving a few hours early, after an IHOP breakfast, we were able to get a quick look around the National Automobile Museum. $10 each, well spent.



This is on the dream car list:



So is one of these, copper or not:







This isn't, but it's weird and I like it:



Ferrari engine:



After Reno, we drove down to the Bay Area and stayed a couple of days with Gray. Gray is the guy that stored my car in his garage after I bought it. A legend. He has owned his green 70T for 34 years:



He leant me this thing to get around in (the one on the right):



Then I came home, moved half an aeroplane into a friend's garage:





... bought a new bike:



... and made some brake lines:





... and dropped my phone flat onto the garage floor, cracking the screen and meaning that I couldn't take any more crap photos.

Not that any of this has much to do with the 912.

Anyway, for now I'll have to make do painting pictures with words...

The brake lines are in. They look very smart against the black powdercoat of the rear swingarms etc. I used Copper-Nickel (aka Cupro Nickel, aka Kunifer) pipe, as it is much more resistant to work-hardening that standard copper. Just a much nicer product. The same friend that was with me in the US leant me a posh lever-action Sykes-Pickavant flaring tool, which made the job 10x easier and quicker than using the crappy screw-down thing I had in my collection of shitty tools.

Meanwhile, the engine gets closer to going in. The gearbox is on, the mounts are attached. The last thing to do is the throttle linkage. Back when The Dude had the engine, he prepared a very nice dual pulley system for the throttle control. In short, two pulleys on the end of the carb spindles, with a bowden cable from each, leading to a 2-into-1 unit, then a single bowden cable to the throttle pedal. All made from scratch and pretty amazing.

It looked great, but on assembling and testing it I was having problems with the carbs not returning to the closed position. Just too much drag from all the cables, not enough spring, whatever. I tried oiling the cables, but it just didn't operate smoothly enough.

As much as I liked the system, it didn't feel right. It also worried me how long it would last, and if it failed in the field, if I could ever get home. The carbs need to work perfectly in unison otherwise the engine won't run. When one of those control cables breaks, you're screwed. No Mr-Bean-ing yourself home with a length of string.

The Dude is now out of the picture on this project - he lost interest after I had the tinware powdercoated, declaring the results poor. I think it looks OK, but the guy operates on another level that not many can reach. Me included. So I'm on my own from here.

Whilst in the US, I picked up a couple of pulleys from a Sync-Link kit. The Sync-Link is intended for use on a VW Type 1 engine, but the bits fit the Weber IDFs that are on my 912 motor.

Once home, I began experimenting with the pulleys. The Dude was all about a clean engine bay, and I'd like to maintain this ethos. The Sync-Link looks clean, but not clean enough - it needs to be clean, like 'non existent' clean. So I looked at putting the pulleys on the back of the carb spindles, out of sight. That worked, but would be a pain to adjust. So I pondered a million different configurations, all of which I can't really be arsed to try to recall here, and concluded that the best solution would be to put a single pulley on the rear, with a rose-jointed crossbar linking the two carbs either on the front (which still looks pretty clean) or on the back (non-existent).

Easier to explain with photos, if I hadn't dropped my phone.

[jamie]

When I had my 72T, I found the standard seats very uncomfortable - the bases being too long for my legs, and the bead around the edge would press into a vein on back of my knee, causing left foot to go numb. Weird.

A few years back I was browsing eBay and found a pair of Cobra RS bucket seats at a good price.

I originally planned to simply fit two aluminium slats widthways across the original seat attach points, and bolt the Cobras to them.

Then I realised that I wanted them to move for access to the rear. Tilt brackets were available, but I found a pair of sliders on eBay again for about £20. I bought them on the off-chance that they would be OK and they are - seem decent quality with double locking mechanism etc. I think they were just a lucky find.

With the runners mounted on the slats, I also found the seats too high and upright, with not enough lower thigh support - I like to sit low in a car, with the seat base tilted up at the front. I want to feel like I'm sitting in a car, not on it.

So I thought about seat bases for a long time. You can buy a product off the shelf, but then I noticed that the sill seat attach points and the tunnel seat attach points aren't at the same level - if you simply bolt across between the two, the seat will be tilted over on the wonk. Not a great deal, but once you notice it, it's difficult to ignore.

To cut a very long and boring story short, I ended-up making these:



All trial-and-error based engineering (bodging). I bought a 2m length of 2024 aluminium angle (off eBay, from Germany), cut it to the correct lengths, attached one side with two L-sections bolted to hinge like a scissor, levelled the car with a jack, then guessed a good angle for the seat, propping the front of the assembly with some wood.

Then I assembled the other side of the bracket, using a spirit level to get the right offset to compensate for the aforementioned difference in height between the sill attach points and the centre tunnel.

After that, I bolted the crossmembers in (for these I used a pair of thick aluminium Weltmeister seat adapter brackets that came with the car) and tried the seat. After a couple of attempts I found an angle that I liked, so I drilled the L-section scissors on both sides and bolted them together.



The slider mechanism gives just enough room to climb into the back. Not that anyone is ever going to need to do that.

The passenger seat is central on its bracket, but I offset the driver one towards the centre so that the driver now sits in-line with the steering wheel and tacho. I pretty sure they're at the perfect angle - once they were complete, I got in the driver seat and fell asleep for 20 mins. Was lovely.

I'll get these powdercoated so they look nicer.

[Bootsy]

Pure entertainment - you have a way with words Jamie

[sladey]

Nice stuff - just come out of seat bracket land meself

[jury]

FYI: I will be shamelessly nicking that seat bracket design

Nice work Jaime, keep it up.

[neilbardsley]

"Once home, I began experimenting with the pulleys. The Dude was all about a clean engine bay, and I'd like to maintain this ethos. The Sync-Link looks clean, but not clean enough - it needs to be clean, like 'non existent' clean. So I looked at putting the pulleys on the back of the carb spindles, out of sight. That worked, but would be a pain to adjust. So I pondered a million different configurations, all of which I can't really be arsed to try to recall here, and concluded that the best solution would be to put a single pulley on the rear, with a rose-jointed crossbar linking the two carbs either on the front (which still looks pretty clean) or on the back (non-existent)."

Why not use the standard linkage? Most of the bits are behind the fan? Perhaps I'm being silly and your VW fan and oil cooler means that you can't?

[jamie]

The new, fatter fan shroud doesn't have the mountings for the linkage. Also, the bar across the top doesn't conform to the Dude's Clean Engine Bay Code of Conduct.

In retrospect, I should have just moved the mountings across and had the thing re-powdercoated. But I didn't. Anyway, the solution I've landed on is quite nice - am just waiting on a few bits to arrive in the post and I'll throw it together.

In the meantime, I just picked up the seat brackets from the powdercoater. Amazing how a bit of paint can clean things up





Shame about the holes, but they'll be under the seats anyway. Obviously, if I did it again, I would only need to drill the ones that I used. But I can't be arsed.

I wonder if I these would sell if I made some more...