1973 911 E RHD - Gemini Blue

[210bhp]

Saw your car yesterday Tom. All looks to have been done nicely to a high standard so far. I was up discussing possible paint for my resto, just started!

Regards
Mike

[Tp81]

Mike,

Thanks.

If I had known you were stopping into see Colin I would have tried to catch you at the same time. Very much appreciate you having a look at the car while you were in. I am really pleased with the work to date. The next issue for me is the build and getting everything done to a really exacting standard, I hadn't intended to make this as good as it could be, but its developed into that and it would be wrong to stop now. My car has very little originality and I don't really want to try and recreate this, my preference is to make it perfect and then put my own patina on it.

[Tp81]

Stripped down all welded and ready for sealing and epoxy.

[Tp81]

Some updates sent through today.....dials are with Julian at Reap....engine and gearbox with MB. Nice to see it painted in epoxy.

[Barry]

Tom, you have mail ....

[Tp81]

Very little to update other than to say my car had ground to a halt. Its a difficult task keeping progress moving especially when it gets to the difficult stages. I have had some expert advice on how to progress and enthusiasm has lifted again so hopefully things should move forward. One of the biggest issues will be working with a pristine body and all the lovely spares and original internal parts I have in my garage will be looking a bit tatty in comparison.

Onwards, nothing else for it. Wish me luck.

[jtparr]

Looking forward to more Tom....take your time....restorations shouldn't have deadlines.....enjoy them.....

[210bhp]

Keep going Tom. It will be worth it.

Regards
Mike

[Dougieboy1]

I think deadlines are important otherwise these things drift. I have therefore set a deadline for my restoration.

To finish it before I am dead......

[Darren65]

Looking forward to more Tom....take your time....restorations shouldn't have deadlines.....enjoy them.....

I'm with Jonathan on this.......it's not like you don't have anything to drive!

Enjoy the process.....your end result is always spectacular.

Cheers,

[murph2309]

And don't worry too much about not having spangly new stuff to put on. I did a lot of cleaning and re-used loads of stuff on mine. The cleaning of stuff is cathartic too.

I had a massive downer in my project when the shell was done and was just totally overwhelmed by the big pile of bits and an empty shell (and an even emptier bank account). James told me to stop being such a girl and just throw the suspension on. It was good advice and one thing lead to another, then another and all of a sudden the car was taking shape again.

And it's winter and it's rubbish working in a cold dark garage at this time of year.....

[911hillclimber]

It is all a sort of Sine-Wave this game, ups and downs in a continuous way that eventually nearly smooth's out when done.
Fresh bare shell, what a great starting point. Cold winter garage working is all about the right clothing and a plan for each session and what you need to get done today and a few days or weeks ahead such as getting the parts, paints etc on the bench before you need them.
Great project!

[inaglasshouse]

Hi Tom,
Sure, I'll wish you luck. Not that you need it, as your previous builds show.
One thing about deadlines etc - I've spent a fair bit of time recently standing around in sheds (sometimes posh sheds) chatting with people who restore cars for a living.
A recurring conversation, among those who still also do it for fun, is this:
I say: "Should I do the re-assembly myself? Surely I'll just mess it up and spoil all your expert work?".
They say: "Definitely do it yourself. You know enough, you have a nice big garage, you will enjoy it, and most importantly you don't have a deadline or a customer to whom you have to justify why some things take a while. I envy you."
So yep, take your time, enjoy.
Cheers, Richard.

[Tp81]

http://www.early911sregistry.org/forums ... -USA-72T-E

Just posting this here to keep a record for future reference, thanks Darren.

[Tp81]

It has been a while since I have posted an update on my E, everything ground to a halt a few months back for a variety of reasons, the 930 being one and life/ work in general didn't really allow for much else. On account of posting pictures on DDK I have been fortunate to have had lots of excellent advice over the project, most of which has saved time and expense and ensured that the car is true to the original. I was therefore delighted to get a PM from none other than Barry. What followed was the exchange of several emails and in the end probably 100 or so images to allow Barry to look closer at many of the key areas of the car. My bodyshop are good and I have been pleased with the work to date (given the task they took on) but they don't have the experience or intimate knowledge of the 911 like Chestertons or Barry Carter. This offered me the opportunity to have many of the details checked and put right before committing the car to paint. In the end I received a exceptionally well documented collection of example images and reference pictures along with some finely sculpted metal work that is now being incorporated into my shell. Huge thanks to Barry for speaking up and offering his help. What a great community this is.

With renewed enthusiasm and a list of things to fix, things are on the move again. I also received an update from Mike B which is exceptionally welcome and hopefully it wont be too long until my engine and gearbox are travelling back to Scotland.