Repaint, 2nd time round, 73T

[Gary71]

Looks good Graham, I’m also having a 2 day break and then back on it!

[PeterK]

Enjoying your updates as I’m stuck watching paint dry (the garage floor)

[911hillclimber]

Ha!
Gave up on that game 3 years ago, plastic tiles for me...
Your thread is great, love all the diy approach, from my own heart and why Gary's thread is ace too.

Doing this work on the cars is why I took early retirement!
Easy when you have bags of time.

Hope the car will be done in the next 4 weeks, Boxster tasks after then prepping the race car for 2019.

Good to be busy!

[911hillclimber]

Now my knee is a bit better got a mate round to fit the doors and the rear engine lid.

I spent a fair bit of time (hours and hours) prepping each door, blacking the inner panel edge and both inside returns where the glass comes through. Previously I had poorly finished yellow paint showing and it looked bad, so satin black everywhere.

Cleaned the locks and the window regulator and fitted the locks, handles and wing mirrors on the trestles rather than on the car, soooo much easier, nice fresh high tensile bolts and stainless washers, shims for the lower hinge and then the moments of truth as Jim and I guided the fresh painted edges close together....
Jim is a very trusted car nut and has restored lots of classics inc Roles and Bugatti.

The driver's door dropped in place a treat. The passenger's gave a bit of a fight but we got there chip-free.
Put the strikers on and nipped them up.. and the position was perfect on both sides!

The rear lid was all prepped with the lettering etc and popped on perfectly first time, maybe fits better than when I put it on in 1989.

Put the glass and hardware/frame into the driver's side this afternoon taking lots of time. The frame has new guide seals now and the glass glides up and down a real treat, the frame is kissing the door seal and all is right with the world.

Passenger side tomorrow. So much on this car on the near side is difficult in comparison to the OS for some reason, maybe it's because I'm left handed?

The Glass Man is coming on Monday morning next week so that will be a mile stone and all the interior can go in, about an hours work or so.

My plan is to be finished by the end of Jan with the car up and running, and this looks on unless the knee objects.

Toying with the idea of refurbishing my 7" Cookies which might resolve the wheel wobble at 70 mph.

2 in / 3 out race silencer back on, one step back to my boy racer days when the car was a hill climber.

[911hillclimber]

Been in the garage for 5 hours today, everything has taken ages, got awkward or just fought back, but I won in the end.
Plan was to finish the rear deck lid off and add the rear panel and bumper over-riders and have a clear up of the tip of a garage. Easy...

First was to re-fit the new rear lid gas strut, easy?
Sure, until it's effect is felt on the alignment of the rear engine cover which was great before fitting it. Why this strut has to be so bloody strong I'll never know.
Confident I had it right I fitted the rear release sprung plunger. I had fun with this 28 years ago and remembered it well, so taking extra car aligned it all by eye as best I could.
Closed the lid to find the lid had thrust over to the right 3mm so the gaps were close to touching one side and Cheddar Gorge the other.

Of course, the release would not release, the lid was latched down. Fortunately, with the rear panel off you can reach the 2 x M6 clamp bolts of the latch and this allowed the lid to click open with the release handle pulled out and locked with mole grips.
1/2 hour later the gaps were even (ish) and the latch clicks nicely and the rubber buffer are just in compression, job done, but took 2 hours!

Heard a click also in my right knee, so that issue has returned....

The rear panel was a fight too.
I had 2 x new over-riders from Design911 / Retro Line as my originals were past it cosmetically.
After a lot of frank discussion with the repro over-riders, stock rear 1/4 bumpers and the Dansk rear panel manages to get all the M6 fasteners in and tight.
I find it satisfying when you fit the covering grommets into the screw access holes, = Job Done.

Also thought of a way to manage to wind the windows down with the doors shut as the roll cage is right in the way, for 28 years I've had to open the door to change the glass position.

A wanted advert is up to find 2 handles I can modify.

Day off tomorrow, off to Bicester Scramble in the Boxster, then Monday is Glass Day. Really looking forward to that as the interior can go in.

The end of this mini adventure is coming to a close, looks like end of Jan is going to happen!

[Lightweight_911]

.
Making good progress.

As an aside, have you got some sort of filter fitted to the lens of your camera ?

Your car looks almost white in your recent photos ...

.

[911hillclimber]

Not at all Andy, the camera in good light is fantastic ( Panasonic LC1), but garage shots are all over the place (no flash) but I have 3 strip lights that are OLD and maybe that turns the car from something like Light Ivory to Primrose Yellow. Seems to be so particularly in this dull winter light.

The car's colour is very bold out in the direct sun. The colour is in fact a standard RAL number and not Champagne Yellow at all.

Have to say, how anyone re-fits these cars as a living is a very patient saint...give me my Lola any day to work on.

[chud]

You're going to hit your target easily by looks of it - looking good. How did you get your door glass in on the regulator without having 5 joints in your fingers? I just don't have the patience to build a car like this so hats off, hence when Bens 356 comes back from paint I won't be stepping within 100 feet of it.

[911hillclimber]

Window glass fittingis easy.
Install the winding mechanism with no grease on the bottom slot fulcrums into the door. Handling is much less frustrating if there is no cruddy grease everywhere. Add grease when done.

The holes in the glass bottom frame are not the same distance apart as the mechanism fulcrums, thus you engage one first and quickly followed by the one at the lock end of the mechanism.
If you wind the mechanism to the correct height the large access holes in the inner door skin give you the sight and the access to engage the fulcrums. Once the fulcrums are in the slots slide the glass along 20mm or so.
It is much easier if someone else is holding the glass as it is very heavy over time!

This I do without the aluminium glass frame in place. The frame glides down over the glass and seats right down once past the lock itself.
Engage ALL lock connectionrods first and ensure everything lock wise works including locking through the key before placing the glass in the door!

Back in the late '80s I was a design/project engineer for all types of car body hardware, I used to do this stuff as a job mainly in the States with the Big Three in Detroit.

Drove me made then too.....

[jjeffries]

I'd love to read your career memoirs, if you choose to write them. My Dad had a fascinating career but never wrote about it. Takes time and effort, I realize.
Your car is coming together beautifully. I think the LHD > RHD conversion (which I realize you did some years ago) is most impressive. The Webasto-style roof is a unique touch, too. Best, John

[911hillclimber]

Hello John, thank you for the kind words, I think you may be the only DDK' bar one I know who is 'ok' with the car's features!
But, it's my car so will do as I want with it.

I've been lucky enough to have been to a good school, no university but a brilliant 5 year indentured apprenticeship guided by some great engineers and not a computer in sight, just hands on and drawing boards and working with all manner of people face to face.
Work has been very varied, but always new product design, I've never had a dull moment.

The USA work was very intense, but Chrysler were a delight to work with, Ford exactly the opposite.
I travelled to the USA once every 2 weeks for 2 years, sometimes for 24 hours, sometimes for 2 weeks.
Being a big supplier of body hardware meant the answer is Yes, now, what was the question?

My doctor told me to change my job after 5 years of Automotive which I did, much to my benefit.
Graham.

[aston]

Well done Graham... great progress..

[Gary71]

So close!

Just in time for the snow!

[911hillclimber]

About right Gary!
Aston, thought you had emigrated!

[yoda]

Looks good in white!!