USA 1970 911T - the Tangerine Dream

[RobFrost]

This is my 1970T which has come to me from the desert state of New Mexico in USA. My short-term objective will be to get it roadworthy and serviceable. In the longer-term I may well restore it. Any permanent work I will be doing to a high standard - invisibly seam-welding any repairs etc., new window rubbers, but I plan to make a few shorter-term repairs to get it up and running in the mean time, such as e.g. seatbelts and silicone sealer to stop water coming in around the windscreen:



It's grey atm but the paperwork says it's signal orange so I'm calling it the tangerine dream for now... a long story but we had an orange footy kit at college. Signal orange and Speed / Bahama yellow and black are my favourite colours so I'll be returning it to its original colour, which is visible here:



Although I'm not the importer, I have first registered it. I wanted to register it orange rather than silver/grey, so in order to lawfully do so, I'm taking to it with a spray can over the coming weeks - just spraying right over the rust and everything. You might have thought it would look pretty terrible - you'd be right.

[Nige]

Orange emulsion might be cheaper!

[markm]

Nice looking project, not sure of the whale tale mind, you keeping that?

[RobFrost]

Nice looking project, not sure of the whale tale mind, you keeping that?

I'm going to keep it for the time being. Struggling to find an engine lid for a reasonable price so maybe if I'm patient one will come up. I don't trust myself to drill the holes straight for the Porsche lettering, so I want the right year one pre-drilled. Also, I imagine it was forward-dated when it was only a few years old so I think of the whale tail as almost an original feature.

[RobFrost]

Orange emulsion might be cheaper!

My friends and I have history there. Amazing what you can accomplish with a few cans of gloss and some paintbrushes.

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[RobFrost]

Currently has an aftermarket bonnet stay

[RobFrost]

Will soon hit the car with a whole load of orange. Signal orange is the original colour, so I've registered it orange in the UK. For that to be lawful it has to actually be orange. This won't be its final paint but I will be driving it for a little while like this.

The USA lights need changing for UK ones - now's a better time than most as it will make the sanding and painting easier around the lights. Also, yes it is parked in a bush.

[RobFrost]

I got him a stable mate recently because they get lonely you know.



That's a Paul Stephens car restored around 8 years ago. Paintwork is immaculate and it draws attention wherever it goes. But I'll be driving the tangerine dream first. The black one came in from Jersey and it'll be 8 weeks before DVLA have registered it. I'm aiming to get it on its original UK plates as I have a magazine article in my possession from Porsche and 911 world describing the car from when it was done.

[RobFrost]

Seatbelts were mounted into insufficiently strong holes in the floor so I've welded 7/16 UNF captive nuts on 3mm plate into the inner sills and added intertia reels into the pre-existing mount pounts.



These are to get the car safely driveable. Longer term I may put in some period-correct belts.

[RobFrost]

The car had been forward-dated to a post 1974 rear bumper at some point in the seventies:



So that's now off and awaiting the correct rear panel. I bought the slightly more expensive aluminium panel for the (minimal) rear weight reduction and rear overriders are already here. I'm fitting chrome with black rubber because it's what the car would have had in the UK and I like how black contrasts with signal orange. Now you can see the crossover exhaust. I've brushed the exhaust with ~10% phosphoric acid to turn the surface rust to phosphate which should increase longevity slightly.

[RobFrost]

A big moment - no more banged heads as new bonnet stays go in and I can finally do away with the bamboo:

[RobFrost]

The petrol tank sender is a bit of a mess - just the pins left and no connector. A new one is about £60 off porsche, thankfully somebody 3d-prints them for around £10:

[911hillclimber]

Interesting thread this as you tweek things to get it useable.
I'd be tempted to hand paint that shell with coach paint or roller.

How solid is it underneath at the critical points?

[RobFrost]

Interesting thread this as you tweek things to get it useable.
I'd be tempted to hand paint that shell with coach paint or roller.

How solid is it underneath at the critical points?

Absolutely rock solid. It's from New Mexico. I didn't get a proper chance to inspect it before purchase but I seem to have struck gold. The windscreen seal has failed and water collected in the floor, particularly on the right hand side, which has a poor repair that needs to be reversed. There is a little around the right battery box but I can't even justify buying a panel there. I've bought a new floor but I can't justify putting it in - I think I'm going to butt weld in the corroded parts. I've bought a left sill but again, all there is, is a bit of rust around the screw holes for the trim and a hole at the base of the b-post, which is two inches across after I've hacked away all thin metal. I need some advice whether butt welding in a couple of sill sections is strong enough, or whether it's better just to cut out the whole thing. I don't like removing the original material when it's in good condition, and I don't fancy lap welding down there because of the propensity to trap mpisture. Both kidney bowls are intact. I've bought a left b-post / slam panel but will only use the bottom 6-8 inches of it. There's a poor repair to the right quarter panel which will need repairing but I'm leaving for now, and it looks like there's a touch at the rear of the petrol tank. That might get done now, as the tank itself is corroded and leaking so needs to come out in the near future.

[RobFrost]

As I mentioned, the fuel sender has seen better days. Might need a new gasket or something (extensive welding) in there.



I'm putting in cotton reinforced nitrile rubber fuel pipes. Nobody really knows how they will hold up to 25 years of the new E10 fuel but I understand they're approved for use in the USA and it's only a day's job to change them all in 10 years time if needs be.

Genuine Jubilee clips because the quality shines through - They're more expensive but I'll be glad I did when it comes to removing them later. Will have to rework the budget to accommodate that extra 59p.