Wot, not another '79 Targa resto thread
Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 8:53 pm
I’ve promised so many times now that I really had to get my finger out and start a thread on the restoration of my ’79 Targa.
As a bit of background, I recently completed the nut and bolt rebuild, sunroof delete, EFI with ITBs, etc - but of a Lotus Elan Plus 2. I had a very narrow garage, that was filled with motorbike and stuff, so couldn’t tackle anything that might need body metalwork. I bought a bare shell & 5 boxes of bits, and needed a fair bit of eBay and specialist shopping. I took the car back to gelcoat on the drive, filled the sunroof hole, fixed up a couple of stress cracks and borrowed a carport to paint it in. Unfortunately the compressor was not up to the task, and despite trying to paint around the poor atomisation by laying it on thicker, the finish looked poor and somewhat crazed after 6 months. Back to gelcoat again, and respray 2 was done in a tent in my front yard. It was lovely and warm, but clearly the air must have been too humid, as the top horizontal surfaces all suffered with micro-blisters within 6 months. Luckily we moved and at last I had a garage big enough to get a car into. Back to gelcoat for the top half and respray 3 finally nailed it. God I’m sick of rubbing down fibreglass bodies !
My boxes of bits excluded an engine, so a 2 litre silver-top Zetec engine, so an Emerald ECU and Jenvey TBs soon sorted that. I built a full custom wiring loom from scratch (went from 4 to 46 fuses and from 1 to 16 relays ). Fully adjustable suspension including rose jointed front wishbones, kept it on the road. I was told the gearbox was OK, but it felt notchy. When I opened the case I found a plastic bag containing some, but not all, of the needle roller bearings, so clearly someone had started but bailed previously.
Anyway, always wanted a 911, preferably a late model IB, ideally a G50, 88/89 3.2. As a ‘youf’, turbos were always too far out of reach of my pocket money, so the 3.2 wide-body was the dream car, and strangely it still is.
I’d owned a 944 before moving to OZ and breeding, but never been in a 911. As prices got increasingly silly I had all but given up on my dream resto, so SWMBO bought me a Dream Ride charity ride at CarFest last year. Chatting to the driver, he had a project too many, and it accidentally ended up in my garage. I paid too much considering what he had paid just 6 weeks previously, but it was very cheap compared to anything else around. On close inspection it seems basically sound, although it needed kidney bowls, patching of the sills and just behind the battery box. Door gaps were appalling, most seals on the Targa and doors needed replacing, the exhaust was blowing, the engine had a slight mis-fire under load, it leaked like the Torrey Canyon, the tyres were shot and 5th gear couldn’t be found. But it was a 911, it wasn’t silly money and it was going to be mine. I love a challenge
So starting from this
As a bit of background, I recently completed the nut and bolt rebuild, sunroof delete, EFI with ITBs, etc - but of a Lotus Elan Plus 2. I had a very narrow garage, that was filled with motorbike and stuff, so couldn’t tackle anything that might need body metalwork. I bought a bare shell & 5 boxes of bits, and needed a fair bit of eBay and specialist shopping. I took the car back to gelcoat on the drive, filled the sunroof hole, fixed up a couple of stress cracks and borrowed a carport to paint it in. Unfortunately the compressor was not up to the task, and despite trying to paint around the poor atomisation by laying it on thicker, the finish looked poor and somewhat crazed after 6 months. Back to gelcoat again, and respray 2 was done in a tent in my front yard. It was lovely and warm, but clearly the air must have been too humid, as the top horizontal surfaces all suffered with micro-blisters within 6 months. Luckily we moved and at last I had a garage big enough to get a car into. Back to gelcoat for the top half and respray 3 finally nailed it. God I’m sick of rubbing down fibreglass bodies !
My boxes of bits excluded an engine, so a 2 litre silver-top Zetec engine, so an Emerald ECU and Jenvey TBs soon sorted that. I built a full custom wiring loom from scratch (went from 4 to 46 fuses and from 1 to 16 relays ). Fully adjustable suspension including rose jointed front wishbones, kept it on the road. I was told the gearbox was OK, but it felt notchy. When I opened the case I found a plastic bag containing some, but not all, of the needle roller bearings, so clearly someone had started but bailed previously.
Anyway, always wanted a 911, preferably a late model IB, ideally a G50, 88/89 3.2. As a ‘youf’, turbos were always too far out of reach of my pocket money, so the 3.2 wide-body was the dream car, and strangely it still is.
I’d owned a 944 before moving to OZ and breeding, but never been in a 911. As prices got increasingly silly I had all but given up on my dream resto, so SWMBO bought me a Dream Ride charity ride at CarFest last year. Chatting to the driver, he had a project too many, and it accidentally ended up in my garage. I paid too much considering what he had paid just 6 weeks previously, but it was very cheap compared to anything else around. On close inspection it seems basically sound, although it needed kidney bowls, patching of the sills and just behind the battery box. Door gaps were appalling, most seals on the Targa and doors needed replacing, the exhaust was blowing, the engine had a slight mis-fire under load, it leaked like the Torrey Canyon, the tyres were shot and 5th gear couldn’t be found. But it was a 911, it wasn’t silly money and it was going to be mine. I love a challenge
So starting from this