New member and a '68 911T

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dan95x
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New member and a '68 911T

Post by dan95x »

Evening all,

I see this is the place for introductions!

I and my brother have recently inherited a '68 911T Sportmatic from our grandfather who unfortunately passed away from lung cancer back in April. He was an interesting character, who for a number of years, along with my Nan, owned a VW/Audi Dealership in Walsall in the West Midlands, called 'Jem of Walsall' (from early 60s through to the 80s). As with many VW fans, he had a soft spot for Porsches, especially 911s and had 3, this being his final one, and also the oldest one he owned.

There are a number of 'interesting' vehicles now for us to sort out, along with a yard, garage, shop and flat full of a life of 'tatting' with cars, buildings etc - To say there is a lot to wade through would be an understatement!

As far as the 911 goes, there is some good news:

- Its RHD and original UK supplied
- Its early, its original and its all matching numbers
- Its only done 46k miles

There is unfortunately also some very much not so good news - It has been sat on a drive for about 30 years, and is rather the worse for wear

I do have some pics, I just need to sort out somewhere for hosting - I haven't been overly busy on forums for a little while, and the couple I have been using you can upload direct, but as I have been trying to get round to even post about teh car for weeks and never getting there, I didn't want to put it off any longer!

Will be picking the collective forum brains on the best way forwards with it I think!
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hot66
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by hot66 »

Welcome to DDK. Sounds a fascinating car plus Love a car with a story behind it 8)

Look forward to seeing photos / more details. Plenty of help and advice on here
James

1973 911 2.4S
1993 964 C2
2010 987 Spyder
1973 MGB Roadster

Its not how fast you go, but how you go fast ;)
dan95x
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by dan95x »

Image
dan95x
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by dan95x »

Success with one at least! Even this pic is a fair few years back (at least 7 or 8 ) and it certainly isnt going to have gotten any better in the meantime! :(
dan95x
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by dan95x »

Image

Image

Image
dan95x
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by dan95x »

While it is clearly in appalling condition, my hope is that having not actually been driven since probably the late 80s, it may at least be not so bad in some of the parts that tend to suffer due to mud, salt etc accumulating. I bought a Mk1 Scirocco once like that, which hadnt been used for years - was rotten on top, sills etc, but actually, all the typical 'bad' bits on a mk1 rocco - inner flitches, up inside rear arches etc were all pretty good, as it just hadn't had the road use they normally get.

Equally I am totally aware I am probably massively deluding myself :lol:
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Jonny Hart
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by Jonny Hart »

Wow, amazing and welcome.

One thing puzzling me. The car looks in plain view of the pavement/road. Assuming this is your grandfather's drive, how many times a week did he have to answer the door to refuse an offer?
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yoda
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by yoda »

Welcome to DDK and nice history with the car. I wish you luck with the restoration.
The force is strong in this one ......
210bhp
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by 210bhp »

That’s a tough and expensive looking project. Good luck.

Bahama yellow and likely first supplied by Glen Henderson Porsche dealers in Ayr, Scotland.

Regards
Mike
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dan95x
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by dan95x »

Jonny Hart wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:50 pm Wow, amazing and welcome.

One thing puzzling me. The car looks in plain view of the pavement/road. Assuming this is your grandfather's drive, how many times a week did he have to answer the door to refuse an offer?
Its actually my Dad's drive (Granddad ran out of space at his with 9 other cars, 4 trailers and a boat to house- This is the level of stuff we need to sort through!) and the car is a bit more tucked away than it appears, plus is under a cover.

Have had a few people ask over the years, but Granddad was never interested in letting it (or anything else for that matter) go. Back when me and my brother lived at home, there were regularly cars coming and going, projects on the go etc, so I guess people just assumed we were low level scrap metal dealers and stopped asking :lol:

Its a double edged sword - I love early 911s, and to have been left one (even in this state) is an amazing thing, but we had been badgering him for years to either get rid of it, do something with it, or at the very least, get it into proper dry storage somewhere - Was his choice at the end of the day, its just a shame that his hoarding tendencies have meant this has fallen to pieces :cry:
dan95x
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by dan95x »

210bhp wrote: Fri Nov 11, 2022 8:31 am That’s a tough and expensive looking project. Good luck.

Bahama yellow and likely first supplied by Glen Henderson Porsche dealers in Ayr, Scotland.

Regards
Mike
I am 99% sure you are right on Glen Henderson - I need to have a proper look through the paperwork (as I say we are in the middle of sorting 84 years worth of 'stuff' so I have bits everywhere) but I feel like I have seen that name in the Porsche stuff.

He certainly wasn't the first owner (2nd I think off the top of my head) - I think he took it in Part ex for a new Bay Window camper, and decided to keep it. He didn't actually use it all that much - He had a 3.0 SC prior to this one, and I think he felt it wasn't as good, so my Dad used it more!

Tough and expensive is pretty spot on I would say. This is part of my problem, I dont know if I can do it justice - I have restored many a car, and I would like to say I am pretty good, by 'normal' standards, but then Mk1 Sciroccos, Golfs, Beetles, T2s, T25s etc are not quite in the same league in terms of it mattering how 'right' a given repair panel etc is. I can get it back on the road, I can get it through any MOT, I can have it running and looking presentable etc, but I am not a classic car restorer. If it was already a 'bitsa' or had been round the clock a thousand times, or was a later model that had been messed around with etc I would dive straight in, but I dont know if I am 'wasting' an original, early car if I cant do it to a high standard?

I could (borderline) afford to do it if I do the work myself, but I cant afford to pass it off to a specialist/restorer to do, so I am kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place at the minute with it (not to mention we have all the rest of his stuff to get sorted, I am halfway through a house extension, currently have no garage or workshop and have a 2 and 4 year old to deal with too!). In my head, me and my brother (and Grandad, even if I knew he would never actually get round to it) were going to put it back on teh road, but faced with the stark reality of it being my responsibility, , I am wavering :?

Its a big part of why I have joined up - Am working my way through some peoples resto threads to start to get an idea - As I say, I 'know what I am doing' with stuff at the other end of the VAG/Porsche family tree, but as much as I love Porsches and always have, actually working on one (in terms of bodywork - I'm not worried about mechanical stuff) and one where getting it right really matters, is new ground for me!
210bhp
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by 210bhp »

You make some very good points and I think your thought process about this car is spot on. To restore or pass on to someone else?

It’s a rare car. It not the most desireable model (but it’s going to cost much the same to restore as an E or an S model), it’s not a rare colour but it’s a great colour, it’s virtually one family owned, it’s a sporto not manual, it looks complete if rusted. There are pluses and minuses all round but it would be nice to save it.

There is a third way to consider,

Move the car undercover, slowly gather body parts over the next few years (new or s/h) and tackle the job down the line when other life issues settle down. You may even find in ten years that your kids are keen to get involved. Meantime you can read about early 911’s and do the restoration of the car car justice and learn along the way. Originality is still good to aim for (imho) but in ten years or more down the line there will be fewer and fewer people with the knowledge to critique your work.

At this point in the cars history and condition I don’t think (having inherited it) you have anything to lose by storing and keeping it before deciding what to do.

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/
Nine One One
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by Nine One One »

That is an excellent bit of advice, and if you keep it and do it up slowly, you will always have something to remember your grandfather by, and then pass it on to your children?
Gary71
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by Gary71 »

Welcome to DDK!

Don’t be afraid of the restoration, ultimately they are all ‘just’ metal irrelevant if it 911 shaped or T25 shaped.

Clearly no rush to dive in, other than get it dry stored before another winter has it’s time on the body again.
dan95x
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Re: New member and a '68 911T

Post by dan95x »

210bhp wrote: Fri Nov 11, 2022 10:44 am You make some very good points and I think your thought process about this car is spot on. To restore or pass on to someone else?

It’s a rare car. It not the most desireable model (but it’s going to cost much the same to restore as an E or an S model), it’s not a rare colour but it’s a great colour, it’s virtually one family owned, it’s a sporto not manual, it looks complete if rusted. There are pluses and minuses all round but it would be nice to save it.

There is a third way to consider,

Move the car undercover, slowly gather body parts over the next few years (new or s/h) and tackle the job down the line when other life issues settle down. You may even find in ten years that your kids are keen to get involved. Meantime you can read about early 911’s and do the restoration of the car car justice and learn along the way. Originality is still good to aim for (imho) but in ten years or more down the line there will be fewer and fewer people with the knowledge to critique your work.

At this point in the cars history and condition I don’t think (having inherited it) you have anything to lose by storing and keeping it before deciding what to do.

Regards
Mike
Nine One One wrote: Fri Nov 11, 2022 10:56 am That is an excellent bit of advice, and if you keep it and do it up slowly, you will always have something to remember your grandfather by, and then pass it on to your children?
I am 100% with all of this Mike, and your post too Nine One one - The points about the car itself are spot on, and exactly how I feel about it. Bizzarely, I am less bothered about it as something to remind me of Granddad - he never drove it other than a couple of times in my living memory, so his Bay Window Pickup or VW 412 that he used daily have more of a 'heart-string-pull' for me to restore (although clearly ignoring the granddad link, I would rather have an early 911 than either of those on their own merit!

The 'third way' to be fair is effectively the only way we can keep it - I probably wasn't clear about that earlier. If its staying, it wont be getting done until my house extension is finished, and then I have built a workshop, which in reality means it wont be getting touched for 5 years - Dry storage in the meantime is a must, and is another factor in the decision, although that's certainly no stopper for anything, it could definitely be arranged.

Your last point is both true, but also the one that is causing me some of the dilemma. You are 100% right, however, I have a Mk1 Scirocco I have owned for the best part of 20 years that has sat for the last 7 years not moving, and we have, as I say, 9 cars of Granddads to sort through. I am finding myself round at his yard, looking at it all, thinking actually, if I am not careful, my own kids/Grandkids are going to end up in the same situation as I am now - Looking round at all the stuff wondering how he ever thought he was ever going to get all of it done. He was only 10 years older than me now when the Porsche got parked up, and he never got round to it, and as much as I loved him, I certainly dont want to emulate that part of how he did things!
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