Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

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210bhp
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Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by 210bhp »

Dear ddkers,

All things considered it's taken a while to pluck up the courage to start this resto thread. Resto threads are pretty well covered on Ddk and I thought the fashion was dropping away for yet another similar build to those which have gone before. I wasn't sure if there would be anything new to share. The attempt here is to rebuild a standard original early911 back to something like its factory spec. There are not going to be any trick parts, no fancy paint, no bhp upgrades and a great attention to originality. Could be quite boring and anal to many. I mean, just exactly what value is there in searching out the right carpet weave or correct bolt heads. It's been refreshing to read about other restos from other years but my heart has always been with the early cars, still is, but it's all been covered before.

However, I think the greatest value in documenting a resto is the record it provides for the cars history when finished, so here we go,

First up, I'm thinking this is going to be a long haul thread rather than a quick start to finish (no pun meant) thread, another reason why I hesitated to start.

I have trawled many an ad, both in the UK and abroad over many years, to find a nice early 911 to restore/drive on future long anticipated Contenantal trips when hopefully I will have a bit more spare time. Always things have come up short. The car hasn't turned out quite as nice as advertised or the owner hasn't been on my wavelength. Dealer speak or dodgy photos have put me off.

Some, when planning ahead, like to visit far flung places, others like to hit the high spots and many have a bucket list of things they have always wanted to do. I have always liked driving especially on those long European adventures quite often with DDKers for company. I'm not a great flyer so a plan fermented in my head on what to do, when the time came, with months of free time. Europe is a big place. I've been here and there but there is still loads to see. I have over the years collected information on 'whats on where and when' all over the Continent from ferias in Southern Spain, the port vineyards of rugged Portugal, city centre bareback horse racing in Italy etc etc.
You get the idea. A European itinerary of places and events to see.
Oh, and I love my early 911's.


I have driven the odd early 911 and over the years the plan was to bring all that experience together and find a perfect Contenental tourer. It had to be an early car. It had to be lhd. It had to be lwb. This all pointed towards an F series 2.4. I wasn't wanting an S that I might fret over in a crowded French supermarket car park. I was open to the idea of an E but, as we all know, there is nothing much between the visceral stimulation of all the early cars and performance level differences are not a great consideration when ambling through the Tuscan hills taking in the view. I began to realise it had to be a targa to appreciate the warm breeze in your hair when cruising the Amalfi coast or surviving the baking heat of the central Spanish plain. Sunroofs are ok but I loved the open top feel of my previous targa. Fortunately my better half loves this idea too. So, I was pretty certain that a 1973 lhd 2.4 targa would fit the bill quite nicely............

Regards
Mike
_____________________________
73 RS (Sold)
67 S
Mint T (Sold)
996 Turbo (Sold)
73 2.4E (home after 25 years) and Sold again :-(
73T targa (signal yellow project)
1953 Vauxhall Velox
914/6
1963 356B
https://www.mybespokeroom.com/
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inaglasshouse
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by inaglasshouse »

And we're off! Looking forward to this.
It's going to save me some bolt head research, if nothing else.
Goodwood
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by Goodwood »

My only classic Porsche (so far..) was signal yellow, it looks fantastic on early 911s, looking forward to the restoration, totally get the raison d'etre of lhd/targa
210bhp
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by 210bhp »

:thumbleft:

I have always been a bit smitten with the 'safety colours' of the period so any one of those would be bullseye for my perfect choice. I also like mfi. It would be fitting then to look carefully anywhere for an E or in American where the desired choice would have an mfi engine in a T rather than ROW carbs.

So now I had the exact models in my head, a 1973 2.4 (US) T, or E lhd targa in a safety colour. Anything very close to this spec would be considered.


Nothing came up which quite hit the spot despite a few enquiries. Unlike some of you I was never 100% confident I could take a punt, sight unseen, on a car in the in the USA anyway. I eventually felt it was now going to have to be a well respected known seller to make me comfortable to purchase from abroad which narrowed the choices again. Still, I have lots of patience. I could wait. There was no point, having defined the exact model, in buying something which wasn't very close to the target choice. A running car would be ok, a resto would be ok. A rust bucket was undesirable, but above all it had to be matching numbers and original. No colour changes (I've had a few of them). No hot rods, no updates, backdates, no changed interiors, no flares, no stripes, just a good honest original car

I nearly bought a French low mileage one owner 2.4 E in ivory (not light ivory) over brown but it was gone in the blink of an eye before I could arrange to see it. I wasn't too upset as the dust settled because I realised the safety colour was important (even though ivory over tan is a lovely combination and rare).

And then,
Some of you may remember the Ddk ad that popped up in January 2014.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=46892

Reading the ad was an originality mans dream. The only downside to the package was the missing recaro sport seats. Oh yeah, and the fact that it was in Finland. Oh yeah, and Mika was new to the forum and an unknown seller.

Regards
Mike
_____________________________
73 RS (Sold)
67 S
Mint T (Sold)
996 Turbo (Sold)
73 2.4E (home after 25 years) and Sold again :-(
73T targa (signal yellow project)
1953 Vauxhall Velox
914/6
1963 356B
https://www.mybespokeroom.com/
210bhp
Nurse, I think I need some assistance
Posts: 8047
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 12:28 am
Location: Scotland

Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by 210bhp »

Almost immediately I knew from the content of the emails that Mika was going to be different. I`ve replied to a few dead-end ads over the years but I have lots of patience. I could wait. I wasn't planning on using the car for a few years. I am still not quite ready to give up the day job I love so much but sometime I knew you have to bow to the inevitable and, anyway, we were so looking forward to lazy tours without having to rush back to work for a certain date to attend to Mrs so and so. The search had continued for a couple of years until I heard from Mika.

Regards
Mike
_____________________________
73 RS (Sold)
67 S
Mint T (Sold)
996 Turbo (Sold)
73 2.4E (home after 25 years) and Sold again :-(
73T targa (signal yellow project)
1953 Vauxhall Velox
914/6
1963 356B
https://www.mybespokeroom.com/
Lightweight_911
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by Lightweight_911 »

Already a great start Mike - nothing you've written here before has ever been boring !

I'm looking forward to reading this on-going story which is sure to be full of amusing anecdotes & fanatical research ... 8)
Andy

“Adding power makes you faster on the straights;
- subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere”
210bhp
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by 210bhp »

A few emails popped back and forth and it soon became apparent that Mika was a top guy. A facial reconstructive surgeon with impeccable English having spent some of his training years in North Wales which he often revisited for holidays with his wife to meet up with old friends and colleagues. We got on well from the off.

Mika sent photos and lots of information on the targa including an inventory of a mass of parts he had collected from all over the world to complete the resto. He had bought the targa as a running car but wanted to make it perfect so he had hand stripped the car himself over many months back to a bare shell with a heat gun and scraper in his own garage. I imagine his surgical skills helped do this job very well. The car was permanently under cover and awaiting the next stage. Sadly he had decided to abandon the project as he was moving house soon and there wasn't room for the targa at the new place. This is one of the photos he sent,

Image

All the original parts were there in addition to all the parts he had collected.

The targa was pretty close to the ideal spec. No mfi in a European T but everything else was looking good. It's not often you come across a car in its bare bones with no hidden surprises (famous last words). Everything was there to see. It's almost the perfect starting point, no wondering if there are any nasty repairs or filler hiding under shiny paint. The stripping part has already been done so lots of time already saved. Everything off the car ready for inspection. All original parts saved and boxed and not discarded in favour of new. Lots of spares in case anything wasn't useable.

It was original, un-messed with and matching numbers too. It sounded ideal.

And it was signal yellow.....

Regards
Mike
_____________________________
73 RS (Sold)
67 S
Mint T (Sold)
996 Turbo (Sold)
73 2.4E (home after 25 years) and Sold again :-(
73T targa (signal yellow project)
1953 Vauxhall Velox
914/6
1963 356B
https://www.mybespokeroom.com/
jtparr
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Posts: 2230
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by jtparr »

Mike
You have a natural way with words...
Looking forward to this one
1974 2.7 Carrera
(full restoration. now as an RS Touring)
1963 3.8 E Type
( 11 years in the making…………………….)
1952. XK120…the next one ……….……..)
DEEMAN
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by DEEMAN »

Now we are talking... Really looking forward to following this Mike.
C'mon, you have only done three posts in the last 3 hours!!!

:wink:
Peter
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by Peter »

Great start...keep it coming
Peter
'72 911T
'52 80” Series 1
sladey
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by sladey »

Wot they said
The simple things you see are all complicated
I look pretty young but I'm just backdated yeah
210bhp
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by 210bhp »

:thumbleft:

Regards
Mike
_____________________________
73 RS (Sold)
67 S
Mint T (Sold)
996 Turbo (Sold)
73 2.4E (home after 25 years) and Sold again :-(
73T targa (signal yellow project)
1953 Vauxhall Velox
914/6
1963 356B
https://www.mybespokeroom.com/
Gary71
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by Gary71 »

Excellent!!! We all love a resto, even if we've seen them before.
210bhp
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Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by 210bhp »

The Finnish targa turned out to be an early MY73 example built in October 1972. Mika had the Finnish cardex which listed the matching numbers engine, gearbox and chassis. The targa was delivered new in Germany to dealership Raffay in Hamburg on 1/10/1972. It was optioned with sports seats (409) black leatherette/corduroy, plastic 85 litre fuel tank with space saver tyre (424), steel S type front spoiler (473), comfort equipment (470).

M 470 : Comfort group for T-model:
Velouren carpeting
Gold ”Porsche” nameplate and model number
Aluminium door sills
911S rubber mouldings on bumpers and below doors
Chrome rocker panels
911S instruments
Rubber bumperettes
Leather covered steering wheel

The chassis number is 9113510254

The emails bounced back and forth and it quickly became apparent that Mika was a top guy, the car was in good shape and it ticked nearly all of my boxes.
I emailed some photos of the shell to Barry for his opinion and from what he could see it seemed like a great starting point for a resto and everything looked unmolested. Things were beginning to get interesting.

Image

Image

Image


But it was in Finland...........

Regards
Mike
_____________________________
73 RS (Sold)
67 S
Mint T (Sold)
996 Turbo (Sold)
73 2.4E (home after 25 years) and Sold again :-(
73T targa (signal yellow project)
1953 Vauxhall Velox
914/6
1963 356B
https://www.mybespokeroom.com/
TimB
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Location: Cheshire

Re: Finnish Francesca, 1973 targa resto

Post by TimB »

Looking forward to this Mike, your attention to detail should make for a great story, provide some valuable lessons................. and result in a fantastic car at the end of it.
Tim
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