MCY182L - 1973 Porsche 911 2.4E

[Darren65]

How many passes of top coat does that thickness represent?

Mike,

My car had 2 coats of epoxy, then filler work, another 2 coats of epoxy, 2 coats of high build primer and then 3 coats of solid colour.....about 9 coats of paint in total. For metallic the final top coat would be substituted with 4 coats of base colour and 2 coats of clear lacquer.

Many people will do filler work directly on bare metal so you wouldn't have the initial epoxy coats although we like the extra protection.

Remember there's a lot of rubbing back in between and much of this is taken off in the process although plenty of solid topcoat, or lacquer, for final colour sanding.

Modern manufacturing techniques now allow for the bare minimum of paint to be applied and must save the industry a fortune; not an issue protection wise with modern galvanising although I wouldn't want to be a detailer trying to take back the orange peel you see on many new cars!

[210bhp]

Thank you Darren for a very full explanation.


Regards
Mike

[jim_zzzz]

Is that a Battery indicator next to the ignition key?!

[Darren65]

Is that a Battery indicator next to the ignition key?!

No, it's an ambient temperature gauge

[jim_zzzz]

Is that a Battery indicator next to the ignition key?!

No, it's an ambient temperature gauge

I have just lost the last 1.5hrs absorbed in your original restoration thread! Amazing

[Darren65]

I have just lost the last 1.5hrs absorbed in your original restoration thread! Amazing

….amazed you kept awake!

Nice of you to say so Jim, thank you.

[Darren65]

On my travels I managed to find an original Motometer tyre pressure gauge......the new offering from Porsche Classic is a pretty good representation...



I've read these gauges were supplied with many early 911's including the 2.7RS, can anyone confirm that to be correct?

Over the years the plan will be to gradually replace a few items with genuine originals as and when.....



....but only when they're a bargain like the Motometer tyre gauge!

Cheers,

[Darren65]

The E has been away with Gary Cook at GDC Automotive for a few weeks for a thorough service, a little fettling and a few improvements....

.....whilst the car was off the road I took the opportunity to take my drivers seat to Garry Hall at Classic FX to see if he could sort my collapsed rear support....



.....stripping the seat revealed some original details that you won't often see ....



....Garry replaced my worn-out support straps and in no time at all had my drivers seat looking like new once again....



...and being so quick and efficient he kindly agreed to re-trim my recently found seat belt retractor covers that I'd brought along just in case he could help! .....



A big thank you to Garry for sorting everything for me on the day which was a great help; really impresssed with the set-up at Classic FX and quality of the work being carried out.....

......hopefully now I'll soon have my car back and can start to enjoy this wonderful Spring like weather.....missing my car terribly!

Cheers,

[Tp81]

Darren, the work at Classic FX looks very good. Another name added to my list of suppliers, I cant wait to see my car started that will allow me to get on with things like this.

[Bootsy]

Gary is producing some great work - a valuable asset to the Classic Porsche scene

[Darren65]

The E went to Gary Cook at GDC Automotive a few weeks back with a copy of my 'to do' list....

Body
Modify steering rack protective plate for 85 litre tank plus fit seal edge strips - photo of genuine plate attached, can you weld an additional plate to existing?
Refurb front indicator units - original untouched units, screw holes need re-tapping
Water leak from rear screen - lower left near wires for heated screen
Squeak from rear suspension area - whats the cause and solution?
Heated rear screen not worked - please advise on what’s needed?
Reatining clamp for fuel flap release cable incorrect – are you able source and fit, it’s the small screw clamp that’s attaches to end of the cable, please advise your thoughts

Under Hood
Fit drain pipe to fresh air intake housing
Locate fuel smell
Refurb ventilation unit
Attach fuse box cover correctly - silver protective cardboard surround, currently loose and not fitted
Correct green dot jack required - please let me know which is needed?

Interior
Rectify dash rattle - possible removal with screen out, whatever’s needed, drives me nuts, let me know your thoughts?
Rectify handbrake on light
Refurb seat belt receivers - have ‘Press’ stickers
Adjust clutch, brake and throttle peddles - may require longer throttle rod to enable heel/toe
Repair, recover and fit seat belt retractor covers and support brackets
Indicator unit not fully operational/requires refurb - cancellation ring not working, items never refurbed, can they be referred/improved?
Fit new door seals
Re-fit door pockets
Refurb and fit correct rear view mirror - old mirror and fixing to be removed, have fixing and mirror for you
Bracket for ambient temp gauge - only one bracket fitted, I have the other
Stick rear seat bases - not glued back in since swapped with loan items
Headlight switch screw front trim on dash cracked - can you source replacement and fit?
One screw required for rear quarter releases - source and fit if you have one
Repair and re-fit old steering lock

Engine/Gearbox
Engine missing when cold – not sure if fuel or electrical, intermittent missing, drives fine when warm
Fuel cut off micro switch not operational and not connected - causing back fires when fitted?
Slight oil seapage from gearbox - please look and advise?
Refurb or replace drive shafts
Oil level gauge - goes crazy, you’ll see when you drive the car, sender/gauge/wiring fault?
Service and check, oil change for both engine and gearbox - I will supply oil and filters and spark plugs

....and without any fuss or drama all is now sorted

....protective plate was originally missing the front lip for the 85ltr plastic tank....



....it was often pointed out I had the 'wrong' rear view...no more....



...fixing the hand brake light came a little to late for some! ....



...loving the new red oil filters from Porsche...



....seat belt retractor covers now give the rear a 'finished' look....



....only time the car has let me down was when a worn pin inside the steering lock broke....Porsche supplied a new lock with correct original key within a day.....great service although this was a later item being black where you insert the key and never looked right....Gary came up with an ingenious fix and was able to refit the original lock ....



...along with my own list Gary went through the car making a few improvements including this mod to eliminate wind noise....



I can't believe how much I've missed the car. Went out for a drive as soon as I got back, again later that evening and a good run once more this morning for good measure. Bliss.

It'll be a tough choice which car to drive once the Mongrel is finished although I doubt this current love affair is ending anytime soon!.....



Cheers,

[hot66]

Car is looking good Darren

[sladey]

Hi Darren

Not sure if you got the answer in your snagging list to the issue of the oil level gauge going crazy when driving the car. In case you didn't this is perfectly normal - a consequence of being dry sumped - you can only read the gauge properly when the engine is up to temperature and has been ticking over for a minute or so

HTH

[Darren65]

Not sure if you got the answer in your snagging list to the issue of the oil level gauge going crazy when driving the car. In case you didn't this is perfectly normal.......

Thanks Mark, although with mine the wrong sender had been fitted to the car and it used to bounce up and down like a kangaroo on speed.....all now sorted

[Darren65]

Well, I think I'm now done....

...during the early days of my restoration I purchased an original bonnet badge.....



...nice enough badge with complete enamel however to me it looked like it had been cleaned to death, had lost any gold appearance and in my mind wasn't quite in keeping with a fresh restoration and a 'new' looking car. So instead I opted for one of the new Porsche orange bar badges.....genuine but not original.

The new badges are very good but I couldn't help thinking it was a little bling......so a few weeks back I purchased another original badge, the enamel was missing and black and orange stripes had been 'painted' on! However the gold plating looked good and the plan was to send it to Mike for one of his amazing badge restorations.....unfortunately the latest badge turned out to be the knarliest I'd ever seen and even the gold plating was paint!

I explained my situation to Mike and he suggested I might be surprised at well my old badge might 'clean' up and I should give it a go......thanks to Mike's advice it appears I had what I'd been looking for all along!

What I learnt is that there's no easy solution to cleaning 40+ year old grime and found the best way was WD40, a jewellers magnifying glass, dentist picks and more hours than I'd care to admit too.....



....a close-up look at the gold bars in between the enamel highlights how well these can clean up.....





....and the finished article.....



...mind you it still looks over 40 years old next to the new one.....



....and fitted on my now 'complete' 2.4E



Cheers,