912/6 Project - here we go again!

[haasad]

Keith, pop in for tea on your way to or from Surrey you'll be very nearly passing my front I would think.... just off the A31 after Bere Regis.

Andy

[KS]

Hi Andy - thanks for the offer but I'll almost certainly be doing the A303/A30 route as usual... BUT you never know!

[DanG]

I had my documents emailed through today, customs cleared, so mine is ready for collection...

Any news on yours?

[KS]

Container being unloaded today...

[KS]

Well, after the wettest, windiest drive of my ife on Tuesday, I finally got to collect the 912 from Chatham. Unfortunately, it only cleared customs a couple of days before Christmas, so I had to be patient (hah!) until the New Year.

With the help of Delwyn Mallett, loaded the car up and towed it back to his, and then after an overnight stop, back to Cornwall via Roger Bray's for a cuppa and a chat. Roger declared it a 'good'un' so fingers crossed it will so prove...

Today I managed to strip out the interior and take a closer look all round and was generally very pleased to see what I saw. No rot at all in the rear parcel shelf, or the foot of the screen pillars. A little in one rear seat base and a little at the front of the passenger footwell. After a good poke round, it looks like none of it will require any major repair, just some skillfully executed local repairs by my mate Ben Lewis down here in Cornwall. I'll reserve final judgement on the sills until we've scurfed off the paint and seen what lies beneath, but first signs are all good.


The really good news is that the front SWB wings are perfect – Roger reckoned they were new and he may be right. There is not one spot of corrosion round the indicators and horn grilles. Similarly, at the back, the rear light housings are totally rot-free.


The 2.2E motor on carbs looks dusty – and it is – but it's as dry as a bone, with all its exhaust studs intact. Comes with an MSD ignition set-up and a pair of Webers which, again, show no signs of having been the usual leaky mess. I have the choice of a four-speed (as fitted) or a five-speed (the original) trans and the car has new CVs and axles.


There's also a full set of Bilstein sport-spec dampers, along with front and rear Weltmeister anti-roll bars, new brake calipers all round and a rather neat aluminium strut brace. All told, for the money, I'm happy.

Funnily enough, my main concern is the wiring – it's a bit of a rat's next! But I'll worry about that later. I was going to tear it right down and have it all blasted, but I've decided instead to forge on with necessary repairs, then install the engine and drive it this summer – Classic Le Mans is the goal. Next winter, if I feel so inclined, it will get the tear down and repaint. Maybe. I might just end up liking it the way it is!

[Lightweight_911]

Excellent result !

[Darren65]

Exciting times, would be great to get the car on the road that quick

Good luck,
Darren

[KS]

Cheers guys. I'm optimistic about the timescale as the car has already had all the brakes and suspension sorted – it was used for a short time on the drag strip up until about a year ago, and has sat unused since then, so all those bits and pieces (dampers, CVs, brakes etc) that can devour money and time have already been taken care of. I'll check them all over, of course, but even the steel brake pipes and flexies are new.

I'm not saying the car will be anything like finished (if it ever is...) but it should be usable, if a little loud and lacking in creature comforts.

Fingers firmly crossed!

[KS]

More good news today. Decided to remove the front wings to find out the worst – but ended up all smiles. Result!

Here are the inner wings/closing panels:



Scuttle – this is the bad one... I mean, there's some rust in the threads of the bolt holes...


The slam panel does have a little rust along the edge of the seal strip, but not enough to warrant anything major:


New old stock right-hand front wing still had factory primer in the hidden areas...


Anti-roll bar, new calipers and brake lines...


Next step is really to get it to Ben Lewis and go over it with a nail gun to remove loose sealer etc from underneath, prior to repairs and resealing.

I think I'll have a beer – the pub's are open and it is Friday lunchtime... Cheers everyone

[hot66]

not saying I was expecting the worst .... but that looks a really nice solid shell

CLM2012 .... we're expecting to see you there in it

[DanG]

I was in Chatham today, did you see the other black car there? Full of 912 parts and with a 6 cylinder engine with MFI sat next to it on a pallet? Guessing it's a 912 too.

Some interesting cars in that warehouse....

[KS]

Hahahaha! So much fo talking too soon! Just been having another poke around today and it seems the floor's been replaced in its entirety, installation by Stevie Wonder, with assistance from Ray Charles.

Where the edges didn't quite fit, they got hammered over and then covered in silicon – that helps make up for the lack of welds... The front floor section isn't actually welded to the rear section at all – just siliconed over. Amazing what you find when get a car back home!

Not too bothered about this as the work is so badly done that it should be a doddle to remove. Of more concern is the panel which lies between the front of the floorpan and the steering rack. That needs repair/replacement. But when it's all done, it will be nice and sound.

But the quickly detachable floor installation made my day! I'm still smiling over my pint of 'Spitfire' as I type this...

[911hillclimber]

But the other bits are looking good!
Had a look around the rear torsion bars yet??

[KS]

But the other bits are looking good!
Had a look around the rear torsion bars yet??

Yes - they're all fine, thank heavens! It's quite a typical SoCal car in many ways, in that the main rust is as a consequence of leaking window rubbers, rather than salt corrosion.

Famous last words...

[KS]

OK, some more updates.... CLM is out of the question so target is Classics at the Castle.

Rear seat pans rusty on RHS – LHS is solid enough.:


It's had new floors at some time and whoever fitted them decided that it wasn't worth trimming the edges to make them fit correctly.
Why do that when all you have to do is hammer the edges until they 'fit' and then use bathroom sealant over the gaps? The best (worst)
bit was finding the front and rear pan sections weren't welded together, just 'bonded' with – you guessed it – bathroom sealant!


Hopefully some new panels will arrive from Restoration Design in Canada to put things right...

Had an interesting chat with Simon Joyce of Jenvey at the Autosport International show last week, which may lead to El Chucho running
EFI in place of the Webers. I say 'may' as nothing decided yet.