My 'new longer-term project' ...

[911hillclimber]

Will Barry finish machine the rear uprights for the hub bearings? How much has the main tube distorted?
Uprights are murder and the 904 has some complex angles in them.

[Mike]

Well done Andy the fabrication work looks great! How will you finish the hub carriers and uprights, bare metal vapour blasted perhaps,
silver paint or powdercoat?

[Lightweight_911]

There is a differance in those mirrors, can you live with that, with your eye for detail??

I may not be able to live with the difference long-term ... but my story for now is that the driver's-side mirror was Factory-fitted whereas the one on the passenger's side was added some time later ...

Will Barry finish machine the rear uprights for the hub bearings? How much has the main tube distorted?
Uprights are murder and the 904 has some complex angles in them.

Graham - the bearing housing was machined fom solid billet & is ready to accept the bearings.

[Lightweight_911]

I know I already have a reputation for being 'obsessive' with regards to many aspects of this build but even I think this may be taking things a bit too far ...

Porsche used some white plastic machine screws to secure the perspex headlamp fairings & the fixed portion of the door sliding windows on the original 904's.

Identical fasteners are available new but I considered them a bit too 'white' - so, in keeping with the general theme of my car, I looked for ways to 'age' them a little ...

When exposed to UV light, white nylon will eventually start to lose its pure white colour & develop a yellowish tint, so I tried to think of a way to speed up this process.

I tried soaking one of the plastic screws in a dark brown spirit-based woodstain but there was no detectable change after 24 hours.

Several other attempts using a range of potential dyes - strong tea, coffee, tomato paste, etc but all had absolutely no effect.

Eventually I found something that did have an effect &, after 24 hours, this was the result :




However, this was now too yellow so I experimented with 'submersion times' - first for 1 hour:





- still a little bit too yellow (the middle one) so I reduced the time further to just 30 mins:





- exactly the effect I was looking for !


So - what did I eventually use to achieve this result ?

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Patak's Biryani curry paste !!!


Yes, after 1/2hr submersed in the curry paste the pure white machine screw has aged nicely :





- just have to do the other 37 now ...

[gridgway]

and a nice supper in prospect (making sure to remove all machine screws first)!

[Bootsy]

You and Mike need to get a room!

[gridgway]

I was also thinking that the screws should be screwed in and out a prescribed number of times to achieve the proper wear levels in the slots/heads.

Just the thing to aid digestion of supper..............

[sladey]

Fantastic - biryani - love it

[brembo]

I know I already have a reputation for being 'obsessive' with regards to many aspects of this build but even I think this may be taking things a bit too far ...

Porsche used some white plastic machine screws to secure the perspex headlamp fairings & the fixed portion of the door sliding windows on the original 904's.

Identical fasteners are available new but I considered them a bit too 'white' - so, in keeping with the general theme of my car, I looked for ways to 'age' them a little ...

When exposed to UV light, white nylon will eventually start to lose its pure white colour & develop a yellowish tint, so I tried to think of a way to speed up this process.

I tried soaking one of the plastic screws in a dark brown spirit-based woodstain but there was no detectable change after 24 hours.

Several other attempts using a range of potential dyes - strong tea, coffee, tomato paste, etc but all had absolutely no effect.

Eventually I found something that did have an effect &, after 24 hours, this was the result :




However, this was now too yellow so I experimented with 'submersion times' - first for 1 hour:





- still a little bit too yellow (the middle one) so I reduced the time further to just 30 mins:





- exactly the effect I was looking for !


So - what did I eventually use to achieve this result ?

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You had me a little worried for a minute Andy, when I got to this point, I thought it was going to be a yellowy body fluid
Regards,

[964RS]

I am constantly battling my conscious on who is beyond help the furthest, you or Mike?

It is like each post from you both goes one step further than the oppositions last.

I am resigned to the fact that you are both nuttier than a kellogs nut crunch bar submerged in a bag of dry roasted peanuts.

But I like nuts a lot

[911hillclimber]

You can imagine him (them?) at school with magic potions and a pile of conkers..
String or shoe laces though......

[haasad]

I've never met Mike so can't comment and Andy seems quite normal however ........the pair of them....bonkers....but how cool is that kind of bonkers

I would like a coffee table 904 build book and a Martini 911 one...then a........


andy


curry paste.....i just can't get over that

[23e Heure]

Well, that certainly gives us all another way of telling a genuine 904 from a carefully researched, built and patina-ed M&W 904 when it drives past...
By the smell of it!

Protection? Once home in the garage, instead of a car cover Andy, you could cover it with a giant chapati
Polishing? Throw away that chamois, and replace it with a naan
Gearbox? I hear ghee was what the racers from the Raj used in period - far more authentic than swepco
Afraid of ethanol rotting your fuel lines? Add one part mango lassi to 10 parts petrol
Rear reflectors? I'm surprised you spent all that time tracking down tractor reflectors, when you could have stuck on a couple of samosas soaked in pickle...

... Sorry, I'll get my coat

[Bootsy]

... Sorry, I'll get my coat

And I'll call you a taxi

[911hillclimber]

Great stuff, DDK at its best gents!