2.4E From IKEA to Blut Orange

[MT]

Well with the Doctors car waiting for its new number plates to arrive - GWV 69D (see it does pay to be nice to the lovely girl in Brighton DVLA!) - and with the sun shining I thought there was no better time to make a start on my next project.

First a bit of background. I will be converting an ex-Bob Watson race car back to its original road going spec and colour (Tangerine or Blut Orange). It's the car that won the 1988 (and 89?) Pirelli Porsche Club GB Championship Class C (EDIT : Seems it didn't win the class, just did rather well in a few races. I got some old videos and have transfered to DVD's. Great to watch your car in the hands of a good driver) and I am reliably informed by Bob it still holds the lap record for its class at Zandvoort (because they changed the circuit!). It won a few times apparently...



In its racing trim it sported a ducktail as well - now gone



It still has a full roll cage and not much else as an interior - I have been picking up bits here and there - well DDK and e-bay actually



And a Fuel-Safe racing tank (if anyone wants this please make me an offer!)



You can probably gather why when it arrived over a year ago on the back on my trailer my dear wife christened it 'IKEA Car'.....

[MT]

So when the tacho on the Doctors car didn't work properly and Hartmut at North Hollywood said I'd have to return it for a warranty repair I decided it was effective to send the 2.4E gauges as well, so first job was to remove and get them in the post. Much simpler than the swb as they just pull out of the dash. Wiring is a bit more complex, firstly because as a racer the wiring has been extensively modified so I'll be looking for help on that front, but also because the paint job was less than concours quality, most of the wires behind the dash are yellow

Then out with the engine. I spotted the use of this motorcycle lift/jack on another DDK thread and have used it now on a number of engine in/outs for Garry, and it worked perfectly putting the engine into the Doctors car. I recommend it to anyone who wants the capability to remove or install Porsche engines smoothly and safely - about £75 on e-bay as I recall.



and into the workshop. Note the old Bob Watson Engineering sticker on the fan housing.



It was dyno'd just before I bought it by Bob Watson Eng, but they cannot locate the result, although I was told it was 165bhp (or design). I'm mulling over another trip to Mr. Bainbridge to give it a quick whizz to see if there are any obvious defects, and to give me a more accurate worklist. It would be a shame to strip it down only to find it's ok, and worse to fit it to the finished car only to find out it's u/s. It ran when I got it, and we drove it on and off the trailer, but it was too low to get down my drive and onto the lane to do any sort of test drive.

The 915 transmission looks recently overhauled judging by the new nuts/washers, and it seems to have a LSD fitted, as Bob recalled when we met. The clutch looks brand new, and the flywheel is balanced and lightened

.

The rear suspension came out today (it's much simpler the second time around, even with a few differences). I'm experiencing a new phenomenon here - parts that are clearly re-useable. The rear Bilsteins look relatively new, the brake shoes have hardly any wear, discs are vented and virtually new, nothing is seized up - excellent. Rear ARB fitted (but wasn't attached to the ball joints on the trailing arms for some reason )




Only problem is some messy repair to the RH trailing arm where the bottom shock joint is - very solidly done, but I'll be looking for a replacement arm I think. Were vented discs standard?



All good so far really.

[MT]

And so to the rear wheels, and a few questions for the experts.
I have some flat 6's to fit when the time comes so the existing wheels are for sale at some point. THey are clearly 7J x 15!



And were part no 911.361.020.41 (although one wheel has only 911.361.020.1 stamped in it)



and I assume one of these other two is the date code



but can anyone tell me which and how to decipher them. The other wheels has similar markings. Only downside is whoever fitted them then cut some of the wheel arch lip out to ensure clearance, so I will either have to repair the lip or fit new rear panels. I'll see what comes back from cleaning before making that decision.

Getting together a long list of things missing as I strip the car, and my thanks to Tim Barker for his patience and help to date in getting a few bits together.

[Lightweight_911]

Mick - '2084' is the date code on that wheel ... 20th week of 1984.

[Darren65]

Excellent news - I like your restoration threads

Looking forward to this

[MT]

Mick - '2084' is the date code on that wheel ... 20th week of 1984.

Thanks Andy,

So looking at the other wheel would you say this is 182 - week one of 1982



... and what do you make of the part number? Did Franz just have a senior moment and forget the '4'?

[MT]

Excellent news - I like your restoration threads

Looking forward to this

Thanks Darren, praise indeed!

[IanMcLeod]

One thing you tend to find with old race/track cars is that mechanically they tend to be in very good condition as that is where the money was spent. So don't be too surprised that yours seems to be like that. My old race/track 2.4E was exactly the same. Bodywork a complete shed of course LOL. BTW was also used in the Pirelli Championship but I have never researched the history. Still have the original bonnet with the Pirelli Championship sticker on it.

Ian.

[PSut]

Guys I'm trying to research the history of mine which was in the Pirelli championship:

http://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewto ... it=pirelli

[MT]

Time for an update. Between helping Garry get his 912 shell in order for the painter I have been stripping and preparing IKEA for blasting (or should I say 'media treatment'?) I know several DDK contributors have looked at or owned this car and are probably interested to know what they passed up/passed on to me, so to speak, so I'll show in a bit of detail what we have. As usual you cannot be REALLY sure until it gets cleaned.

Lots of evidence of its earlier colour (Tangerine/Blut orange 2323) under two different yellow topcoats.





Sunroof, and roof in general looks like it might be OK. There are two small blister areas on the rear edge, but looking inside the roof recess looks quite solid. There is again a small rusted area in one rear corner near where the cable rack runs, but the parcel shelf, and most of the seat pans look ok.

But first before much can start the car is fully stripped, loom out (from the front to the rear this time, the opposite of the swb) suspension off.
At some point someone thought it was a good idea to use Loctite or similar on the castle nuts on the ball joint at the base of the front struts. I purchased one of the Sealey ball joint sockets that someone else advised on here (Highfield?) and eventually got them off, but not before one of the retaining tabs on the A arm that is supposed to stop the ball joint turning sheared off (Yes they were on THAT tight! ) Must remember to weld on a replacement before coating the A arms.

Anyway after much further dismantling we have both front and rear in bits, and back from the blaster coated with a 'lovely' green etch primer (viper green, emerald green or just sh*tty green I ask myself).



As you know I prefer to coat these components with POR-15 Rust preventative paint, then two coats of their Chassis Black. The sooner the better I think.

The ARB's are 15mm front and 18mm rear.

Then a new front attachment has to be made for the spinner, fitted and the shell rotated for stripping all that lovely underseal.



An hour or two later with the propane torch and an array of scrapers.....





You will see a chunk of the rear floor was replaced with a 'non-OE' panel at some point! In fact quite a few holes appeared in the floor as the under-seal came off, and coupled with the 'modifications' crudely made for the roll cage mounts, I'm currently thinking at least a rear half floor pan, and possibly a full floor pan replacement.

Also the front tank support has been replaced, but has then seen some considerable 'jack attack', and a somewhat agricultural towing eye fitted. Bit of work to be done there as well.



As has both rear torsion bar areas.



Just goes to show what can happen if you keep jacking these cars up in the wrong places. Never seen one quite as bad, but I guess when racing this is not a principal concern! I think I'm right that unlike the swb the heater tube does not go through this area, so I plan to cut the deformed metal away and replace with the right shape - like I did on the swb.

Then off with the rear wings (I have Porsche new rear quarters for a 72 complete with oil flap that I bought when I got the car) as they have a number of repairs, and the outer sills (the inners look good), and I need access to the (non-existant) kidney bowls and jacking points. On the trailer and off to the blaster. I have decided to leave the roll cage in for now as it will keep the shell rigid while I reinstall the kidney bowls, jacking points, outer sills and probably the floor. I'd like to get it out in some sort of re-useable order if I can, but that's a lesser issue in the scheme of things.




Will report back when I see what comes back in a week or so.......

[MT]

Also to JWV529N, and any others with ex-racers of this vintage I have been sent by Bob some videos of some rounds of the Class A-D Porsche Pirelli Championship in 1987 and 1988 on the basis that I will transfer them to DVD (nearly done) and return them. My car features heavily as Bob was in contention quite a lot of the time, but so do many others. I have managed to get some good b&w stills of the car racing from Ted Walker (ferret fotographics) as well. I also got copies of the Autosport Official guides for those years of this championship and there's a picture of Bob in the car - with the same Dino steering wheel, trim and RS type wing mirror that are/were still on the car today.

So if anyone has a car they think raced in these races please pm me with your car reg no and I'll see if it features on any of the videos, and if you want a dvd I'll send one to you.

Mick

[squirdan]

good luck with this car, i will be following it closely, as you know I did nearly buy it myself...looks like you are off to a great start with the resto

dan

[MT]

The shell ended up at the blasters for the best part of a month. Since my £1400 bill at Cleaning Consultants last time I felt duty bound to my tight-fisted Northern roots to check alternatives before going down the same path.

Well Garry wanted a 912 shell blasted as well and he had found an outfit in Chertsey who claimed to use a fine, less aggressive media similar to CC to clean items (they do a lot of work for nearby Shepperton Studios to distress/age wood etc for film/tv sets). We both went and had a chat and decided to give it a go, first with his 912 shell . Well they did a fine job, with no hint of rippled panels - comparable (identical?) to CC and at a much lower cost, so I went the same route, with the same result. Very pleased. If you are considering a shell or panels give Barry at DE Corrosion Services a call on 07774 494804. No affiliation just a happy customer.

Anyway it took a month because his experienced blaster was off sick for a couple of weeks, and I was happy to wait for him to recover as a good job was more important than a quick t/a for me.

While it was away I took the opportunity to coat all the suspension




Refurbish the Bilstein front struts



and persuade Garry to refurbish my pedal box in exchange for some metalwork on his 912 shell. He really likes doing pedal boxes (and is good at it as you can see) so if you want one done get in touch - his prices are very reasonable!



Anyway collected the shell this morning. 'IKEA' is gone forever, meantime it's 'Back to Black'
(I know the trailer is also in need of a full restoration and bare metal respray, but it works and round our way it does not pay to have shiny Brian James trailers ... they have a tendency to go off on trips without permission)



All home in one piece, although with a bit of muddy wheel spray in places coming along the lane as you can see in some of the photos.
So what came home?? Well the same as the Doctors car, really - as much as I expected but not as much as I'd hoped. I suspect it is ever thus with cars of this type and vintage.

Major repairs required - although "It's a game of two halves, Brian" where one side is bad but the same place on the other is fine.

Front RH screen base - other side fine



RH A post base much worse than I expected, and will require either a new pillar bottom, or lots of metalwork. The panel underneath is gone as well as the bottom of the inner wing. The LH A post is fine



LH B post is rotten all the way down and the base/jacking point/KB is bad ..... the the RH side is much better, with only the jacking point in need of minor work



Major agricultural repair/removal of the RH battery box (I suspect it had a trip into the barriers on that corner as that would explain the new tank support/susp pan/slam panel, and all that mangled metal just as the inner wing wheelarch begins)



Floor holed over a lot of the area, but reasonable around the pedal box (thankfully)



Roof has two small holed areas, but given the sunroof is not that bad and should be reasonably easy to repair. I haven't a photo but inside the void that the roof retracts into is sound, with again only a small hole near the RH cable mechanism outlet. It looks like the two holed sections are not indications of more corrosion on the underside from what I can see.




And oddly there was corrosion around the oil thermostat/filter mounting in the RH rear inner wing.



The rest of the shell looks good (!) especially the roll cage
There was some good news - the inner sills are in good shape, the heater tubes likewise. The under-bonnet is excellent and it has had a new tank support/front suspension pan, and possibly a front slam panel as it looks excellent. The rear slam, front and rear inner wings are in general sound except where I've shown above. One of the front wings is v. good, and the bonnet is recoverable
Overall I'd say those of you (Dan/Hamish) who passed on this one can probably feel vindicated in your decisions. In my opinion this car needs imminently to receive what it is getting/about to get - namely a full strip and repair. Although none of the damage is fundamentally structural, it does all add to a weakened shell, and there is corrosion around the roll cage mounts that I haven't shown (let me know if you'd like to see it).

Not going to be a quick fix, but I already have new bonnet/doors/f&r wings that I got from Alan D when I got the car.

Metal Mickey starts off again tomorrow....

[Highfield]

Fascinating thread and will follow with interest. Amazing what you find when you media blast, although it is I guess the best way to start a full restoration. Did you POR15 over the etch primer with a brush, and then brush on POR Chassis Black as it has a great finish there - doing the same on my Alfa Sprint GT suspension. And yes it was me that suggested the Sealey Socket Good luck.

Ian

[MT]

Yes Ian - assume you refer to the suspension/steering components - POR15 directly over the etch primer, then two coats of POR Chassis Black. Gives a finish very similar to powder coating, but is between gloss and satin powder coat, and in my opinion closer to the original finish..... but that's not my principal reason for using it. I just like doing it myself to my timetable and standard, and I don't have to keep going back to the powder coater to get him to do the bits I forgot last visit!

And thanks for the sealey socket tip. Ideally it needs a sleeve round the outside to stop the teeth slipping out of the notches, so a little 'home improvement' has taken place!

Mick