Restoration of my 1971 911T Targa

[Neilnaz]

Some more photos:







Looking really good in epoxy now. The gaps are already looking great. The car will be on its suspension next week and the gearbox and engine will be temporarily installed for ballast to check the gaps so that everything can be tweaked and finalised. Engine and Gearbox will then come out so that they can be cleaned up and re-sealed. The engine ran really well but did leak some oil. Gearbox was in good order so I will be leaving well alone.

Unfortunately I will have to put a pause on progress once the gaps are sorted leaving the final paint for a month (probably no bad thing as the epoxy will settle) but once it is painted I will have to take a break and delay the reassembly for a few months. I suppose that will take me from the NZ Autumn, through Winter and probably mean that the car will be reassembled in readiness for Spring/Summer. The car will rest up in my garage awaiting its rebirth.

Cheers, Neil

[Neilnaz]

The epoxied bodywork is now going off to be put onto its wheels and have the engine and gearbox (temporarily) installed. The following photos were taken as the car was being loaded up to be delivered. Hopefully the return journey will be by the end of the week so that the gaps can be finalised and the car can be painted.









I am getting excited despite the fact that the car will be squirrelled away in my garage for a while until final assembly can happen. This is mostly so I can take a financial breather!

Cheers, Neil

[Gary71]

Looking great so far, hope it won’t move too far with the big lumps installed now you’ve got decent metalwork supporting everything.

[deano]

It looks fantastic.

I am really interested to hear how much if anything the weight of the engine in the back will change the gaps because we are contemplating fitting the engine before my new rear wings are welded into their final positions off the jig. We used the later L-shaped kidney panels to give extra stiffness, but don't know if or how much the door gaps could change.

Am I correct in thinking that the door gaps should open up rather than close with the wheels on and engine and box fitted?

[911hillclimber]

With a 73 coupe the car balance point is right on the rear bulkhead at the floor where all the pipes and tubes come from to engine bay.
A full fuel tank will also add a load.
Looks great and will be GREAT when painted!

[Neilnaz]

Thanks for the positive comments.

With regards the panel gaps I have been told that the door gaps could close up slightly as the weight of the engine/gearbox is added. Hopefully the extent of this is minimal as the bodyshell should be as good as new. However they do flex and you cannot avoid that completely. The later kidney bowls have been used to aid stiffness as most people would choose to. New sill inners, outer and new floor pan. Sadly there is very little original metal towards the bottom of the car. Good news and bad news I suppose...

I was talking to one of the mechanics the other day who was working on a 911 race car with some (minor) body damage. He told me that, despite the race car looking like an original coupe it was in fact a targa with a fibreglass roof section. The targa bodyshell is stronger than a deroofed coupe shell due to the additional bracing that is used. Then, with a fibreglass roof section added, you end up with a more rigid shell of similar weight to a coupe but the centre of gravity being slightly lower.

I will update this thread when I have an idea of whether the engine/gearbox installation and the car rolling on its wheels had any effect on the door gaps.

Cheers, Neil

[Neilnaz]

The suspension is being installed as we speak:









The engine and gearbox have been cleaned up and installed in order that the car can settle and the gaps finalised.



The car will be going into temporary storage for a few weeks and then gaps set and paint finished.

Cheers, Neil

[Neilnaz]

My car has been parked up for a few weeks in a storage facility close to the painters waiting in line for final gaps and paint.



It is really nice to be able to push the car around and make brum brum noises

I have most of the interior, door hardware and everything to be installed into the car. The pile of stuff is daunting and I am going to go through everything cleaning and labelling as I work through what I have and, more importantly, what I do not have. I have realised that it is going to be quite some time before my car is actually finished

Cheers, Neil

[hot66]

Out of interest, did you measure the gaps before and after ?

[Neilnaz]

Hi sorry, no I didn’t measure the door gaps before the engine and gearbox were reinstalled. The door gaps were looking very good prior but I did not have a measurement. Martin will probably be able to tell me how much they have changed as the doors have not yet been rehung.

Cheers, Neil

[RobFrost]

Unless you have a view from an actual 911 expert, I disagree the gaps will close up. Purely from a theoretical point of view, if you add mass outside of the wheelbase, gaps will open at the top and close at the bottom. On a Targa, since the mass of the engine is behind the axle, and the roof isn't braced, the effect will be to widen door gaps at the top. Perhaps the view you've been given is for a conventional vehicle where weight is added within the wheelbase.

Having said that, practice trumps theory.

[DustyM]

Generally the gap at the top of the door will open about half a millimetre on a structurally sound targa once engine and box go in and it’s on its wheels


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Neilnaz]

Hi, Rob and DustyM I wasn't told by anyone which way the gaps might change. However I had incorrectly assumed that, as over time they seem to sag, that the initial change might be that the gaps would tighten. However I understand what you have said. Hopefully the gaps will change very little so any adjustment will be absolutely minimal. Before the car started it's restoration journey the gaps were awful as the car had been poorly repaired and had a checkered history.

I had managed to improve the door fit after I purchased the car but the gaps were far from perfect. I am hopeful that the outcome of all this work will be a very tidy car with lovely gaps.



You can see from the photo above which was taken a while ago that the door fit was very good except for the top front curvy section where the door and front wing seem to have become fallen out of love with each other. This was the fit prior to adjustment of the door skin just after the wing was replaced. The white wing was a replacement panel - secondhand but never installed on a car apparently. The shape differed from the previous wing (which needed a fair amount of repair). The door fit was greatly improved following this photo being taken but final adjustment was only every going to be completed after the car was on its suspension with the engine and gearbox combo installed.

I will let you know how much the gaps change when the car goes back to Martin in 4-5 weeks time.

Cheers, Neil

[Neilnaz]

This week I have been mainly organising my garage shelving and the Porsche parts that eventually will find their way back in/on my car.

Most of these parts have been cleaned/painted/plated/titivated in some way so that I am happy that they are ready to go.


There are the bumper finishers that need re-finishing and new rubber strips inserting that I am currently working on.

This is the to do pile.


The bumpers have been replaced as one has been slightly modified to fit the previously slightly wonky rear end of my car.
The pedal cluster is needing a clean and was refurbished 7 years ago - mostly it is dusty but I will refurbish it none-the-less.
The door hardware will be cleaned up.
The seals will be replaced.

I should end up with everything on my shelving and a clean garage floor for the first time in a while. This will enable me to paint the garage floor while my Porsche is away awaiting it's final prep and paint.

Cheers, Neil

[Neilnaz]

I started cleaning up my window regulators and found what I now realise is quite a common issue with the window regulator pivot. One of mine is broken. I have established it is a 26mm version and there is a replacement part available. I think I will replace both for peace of mind. The regulators are in usable condition but do require a clean-up. There is some surface rust but they are cleaning up OK.

I also notice that there is an issue with the shaft where the window winder attaches. I am not sure this is a replaceable part but I might be able to fix it.


Here is a close-up of the broken pivot:


Hopefully I will complete this work shortly and be able to move on with the next of many parts needing a tickle-up

Cheers, Neil