DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Episode 1: In a galaxy far far away.....

It has taken me a while to decide to launch this restoration thread. There are so many other excellent threads that the level of intimidation has been high. However, a couple of DDK’ers I have ‘spoken’ with encouraged me to do this as it might add to the overall knowledge base for those restoring their own cars – although I find that hard to believe given the levels of knowledge amongst the members.

So here goes and thanks to those members that have already been of considerable assistance.

A little background first to help you contextualise the madness.

I have been keen on cars since the early years. Aged 16, first car was a 1942 Ford GPW (for the uninitiated, the Ford version of the Willys Jeep). Being from Liverpool, in addition to being either Liverpool or Everton, you were either a Ford or a Vauxhall family, we were from the Liverpool/Ford tribe. So it had to be the Ford version. Fast forward through the years via Ford (RS200 Mk11), TVR, (Vixen) Austin Healey (3000), Sunbeam (Tiger), Toyota (MR2 Mk2), Austin Healey (3000 again), Ford (GPW again) Ford (65 Mustang Fastback), VW (166), NSU (Sdkfz2), Audi, (A4) BMW (330) and that brings us up to date..

Have spent most of my adult life restoring something, usually from the ground up.

I had always been very derisory about Porsche. My wife has a Boxster and for me, it represented all that was bad about cars. Too perfect. Where was the fun? It is the only car that when I am a passenger in, it makes me feel nauseous although, (whisper it quietly), that could be her driving…...

But I hit the big 50 and suddenly, something about 911’s (and only long bonnet versions) started to niggle. A holiday to California 3 years ago involved me inserting a couple of visits to garages selling 911’s. Wife found out, all brownie points for organising the holiday immediately reversed. No visits to 911’s.

2 years ago, again to California and this time, we did pop into the ‘infamous’ Beverly Hills Car Club. Saw some wrecks, nothing of interest.

In the meantime, I was researching in earnest and the criteria for what I wanted was becoming clearer:
1. It had to be a 72 model. I like the uniqueness of the exterior oil filler and as an engineer, the futile effort to rebalance the weight of the car seemed like a good idea. Also, the last of the line usually incorporates most of the learned refinements (although I was briefly tempted by a 69 – a different story)
2. It had to be an S – I like performance
3. It had to be a lary 70’s colour. I especially like Tangerine/blood orange or Viper green
4. It had to be more or less complete but as I always intended to do a full rebuild, condition was not important

So I kept on looking…..and then at the end of 2015, a project appeared…….

Excellent. Another rebuild thread We genuinely do like them!

Excellent keep it coming and plenty of pics

Great Andrew - another restoration thread we can look forward to.
Make sure there are plenty of photos once you get going.

Does the Shrek name suggest it is going to be Viper Green then?!
Andrew

Episode 2: The art of the deal

So, a car advertised at the end of 2015….

Positives:
1972 model - check
S level – check
Lary colour (to answer Andrew S question, special order 224, Green metallic) – Check
Complete – check

Negatives:
It was in California and I am in Sussex - Sussex would have been a good thing, I was actually in China on a business trip
I am a Porsche newbie (at this point I had never even sat in a 911, well actually once, in the passenger seat of a stationary 964, Black/linen belonging to a friend of mine, about many years ago – K Reg whenever that was) and I don’t really know what I am doing

So, I engaged a vehicle inspector in California and spent a lot of time on the phone to
a) California where the car was
b) Manchester where my Bank is
c) Barry (you know who)
d) Garry (I think you can guess)
e) Had I known anyone called Harry, I would have called him just for the hell of it

To cut a long story very short, on 15th December, 2015, following a more or less positive inspection report which contained the immortal phrase ‘if you are a porsche mechanic and have the time, this could be a terrific long term weekend hobby’, I became the owner of …..



Recognise the backdrop and signature floor crack!

Currently white with black trim to give it the tasteful 80’s update



Complete with obligatory ill-fitting ducktail



Lovely ‘brown’ interior…..



After some post purchase research (NOTE: to others, try doing post-purchase research, pre-purchase. The internet is a wonderful thing, just type in the Chassis number and see what comes up….) , I discovered that Shrek (what else to call a green car) had been hanging around the automotive equivalent of internet dating sites for at least 5 years, unloved and uncared for. Passed from pillar to post. A pig with lipstick on but still a pig…..

But now he/she/it/ogre was mine.

And in Feb of this year, down to the docks for collection.



And some hours later, welcome to your new home for the foreseeable future……



And now we can start the inspection and strip down in order to see what I actually bought. Together with the wait for the CoA from Porsche.

Points to everyone who can spot some of the more obvious issues with the car……

Excellent. We like a bit of green metallic. Looking forward to this one.

R

Episode 3 - The Homecoming

Shrek safely installed in his new home



and the Porsche birth certificate has arrived.

Time to find out what we actually have.

According to the CoA, 911S Coupe built Nov 1971. Original colour, special order Metallic Green code 224 although according to an original ‘Sonderfarben 1972’ catalogue that I have, for the coupe the code was 8383. However, the kunstharzlack plate on the door jamb is clearly 224.

Delivered new to Porsche Cars America.

Optional equipment
Blaupunkt Frankfurt
Konis (thought they were standard?)
White fog lights
Coloured windows
Rear impact protection
Power windows
Brown leather

What does it still have that it should have?:
Konis date correct
Steering date correct
Coloured windows – green and matching codes all round
Power windows
S spec Behr oil radiator
The rear bumper horns have the 3/4 rubber to accommodate the rear impact bar which is missing

5 speed 915
Brown vinyl dash, rear parcel, door cards, rear ¾ panels, rear seats – according to Garry, an unusual colour ‘1 in 500 were fitted with that’)
A toolkit!!

So what’s been changed?
Was green, then yellow, now white
Engine – according to the serial, it has a 2.4 sporto engine fitted but with Carbs



All MFI missing as well as the fuel tank, pump, filter although all the pipes are still there.

All chrome/anodized finishes have been 1980’fied to black powder coat plus, as mentioned earlier, the ubiquitous duck tail
Trailing arms converted to aluminium.



1972 specific banjo horns replaced by ‘horrid snail bosch’



Wheels are flat 6 but later versions to go with the whole 1980’fication

So the strip down starts, Feb 2016. I can already see that there is rust in the passenger side c pillar



This external hole has caused rot around the rear window catch.



Pleasingly, lots of green metallic showing through everywhere.

Following Chinese based negotiations with Barry, the car is booked in for January 2017 for what will undoubtedly be some radical surgery……Next time, Barry visits and explains a few things and i trace [some of] the history of the car, from the stack of paperwork it came with............

Excellent stuff...looking forward to lots more...you're in the best hands with Mr Carter.....

Dougieboy1 wrote:......Original colour, special order Metallic Green code 224 although according to an original ‘Sonderfarben 1972’ catalogue that I have, for the coupe the code was 8383......

The Porsche colour number and actual 'paint' code did differ and both numbers relate to the same colour. At one point these numbers switched on the paint tag although can't rember when that was.

You can see the actual colour on Richard's lovely 2.2S Targa..... viewtopic.php?f=28&t=37364&start=210

one day, in a galaxy far far away, mine will look as nice! instead of its current 'bag o'nails' status....

Target completion is the end of 2017.

You did well to get it in with Barry with only a 12 month wait.

Dougieboy1 wrote:Target completion is the end of 2017.

I'm glad you still have a sense of humour (remember everything takes four times longer than you first thought - and costs four times the price ).

Keep the updates coming - looks an interesting car in an interesting colour combination.
All the best - Andrew.

Episode 4 - A doctor calls

So, Barry came to visit and we have determined that:

1. I will need a new louvered section in the front RH inner wing and he had just thrown away the exact bit on a scrap inner wing – timing is everything.



2. A curiously perfect bulge in the rear inner wing near the oil filter was not a ‘factory mod’ but the result of a firm contact (crash) on the rear corner



3. The front left hand inner wing was also damaged – possibly both of these resulting from a traditional tail first exit from a bend followed by some random spinning?



4. All of the above accounts for the wobble when sitting on the axle stands, i.e. the chassis is bent

5. Classy repairs to the rear seat pan




6. Usual edge floor holes but overall, not too bad



7. A list of required repair panels as long as the proverbial


And based on the file of bills it came with, I have established that Shrek was:
1. Produced in Nov 1971 in Stuttgart!
2. By 1988, was in California, near Los Angeles
3. By 1995 was living in LA
4. In 1997, was sold for $2,000 and moved to South Carolina
5. In 2002, moved to North Carolina
6. In 2011, was advertised for sale in North Carolina without an engine
7. By 2015 was back in Los Angeles now with an engine
8. In 2016, it moved to its current home in UK

Although Metallic Green 2.4 S at birth, by October 2002 it was running Solex carbs , was reported as ‘white’ and ‘had been sitting for 3 years’. Here you can see the yellow that was under the white, under which is the green



The front end bodywork (new wing and bonnet) was attended to in the second half of 2004

So my best guess is Shrek was sold in California new, crashed in LA (I am thinking driven by a scantily clad famous actress, spinning on Mulholland drive after leaving a sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll fuelled Hollywood party but maybe I read too many Michael Connolly novels), sold to Southern Carolina guy who stored it as a future project, sold to North Carolina guy who recommissioned and repaired the car. Then sometime between 2007 and 2011, the car was taken off the road as it was basically falling apart. From 2011-2015, Shrek kicked around as a ‘project’…..

But unfortunately, no history from 1971-1988.

So that’s all I know about the car. 2016 is the start of rebirth.

It is now fully stripped to a bare shell. And I am working on the sub-assembly restoration.

Interesting things (at least to me) unearthed during the strip down.

The original wax crayon marking under the dash


A previous owner liked pistachio nuts based on the shells found under the seat. He obviously wore sunglasses whilst chowing down on nuts as I found the arm off a pair of Rayban Wayfarers under the carpets, together with a business card.

Air con had been fitted at some point based on the large holes chopped in the bulkhead/inner wing



The front air dam/spoiler is made of fibreglass. I was pretty disappointed with this - Page B 1 of the manual – ‘The body is all-steel construction’

Then I discover on page 1.1, page 1/1 section 8 of the 1972 manual supplement:
‘Beginning with 1972 models, the type 911S vehicles are furnished with a spoiler type bumper…blah blah.

INITIALLY MADE OF FIBREGLASS….. bumpers are made of steel sheetmetal from 911 230 0385. Shrek is chassis number earlier than that….so exactly right. I have an original spec front bumper.!! Result.

So I cancel the search for a steel replacement and instead send it to a nice man in Eastbourne who repairs the glass fibre on fishing boats and the pedal boats used on the local boating lake. He does a great job of fixing the cracks, replacing some missing chunks and building it up where it had worn thin. It’s now like new, first bit of bodywork done! And I suspect the cheapest!

Finally, a bit of Porsche Porn to end the weekend. I have already been farming out parts for refurb. Yesterday, I collected my wheels from Mr Moss. I think they look pretty good! Not strictly speaking correct for the car, I have a pair of 1970 7Rs for the rear and a pair of 68 deep 6 for the front. All 4 with hearts…. I prefer the deep look to the flat 6 wheels….



Next time, a review of some of the progress that has been made…..and I will endeavour to take higher quality photos. I have been using a camera designed to be used underwater. Based on the quality, they forgot to mention ‘don’t use it out of water’….

Dougieboy1 wrote:
The front air dam/spoiler is made of fibreglass. I was pretty disappointed with this - Page B 1 of the manual – ‘The body is all-steel construction’

One other item on a 72 that is not steel is the oil filler flap which is aluminium. Not quite sure why they choose to make it aluminium when the similarly sized fuel flap is steel.


Anyway, great progress and a good read.

Regards
Graeme

In my notes on the car, while it was in NC it was noted to have the aluminium engine lid.
So what does the CoA state for engine & transmission #'s? Perhaps those can be found.

Episode 5 - Lies, damn lies and statistics

hi dave,

it should be noted that the adverts placed back in the day were not always the most accurate pieces of literature ever penned. For example, 3 basic errors in the advert to which you refer which included photos, are
1. 'Has the original S steel front spoiler in good condition' - this is clearly not the case as from the photos, I can clearly see it is the same spoiler that was on the car when i bought it and it is fibreglass, not metal.
2. 'Both front fenders have been replaced' - again untrue, the passenger side front is the original factory fender right down to the matching metallic green paint on the inside which is only visible when you remove the wing.
3. Original alloy engine lid - again, the photo clearly shows that it was fitted with the ducktail still fitted when i got it and the nearest that ever got to being alloy was when it was delivered in a truck that might have had some alloy in it - there was certainly none in the ducktail.

i would point out that it has an alloy lid now as i have bought one for it, standard sort of engine lid, no ducktail. I understand this is correct for early S spec although this might have been stopped by 1972MY.

As regards the engine and gearbox, the engine is clearly long gone - i did try to find it but the closest i came was an engine a few hundred units off the original engine number. so i gave up and went down a different route which will i will discuss in another instalment!

As regards the gearbox, who knows if the gearbox in it was original or not as so many things seem to have happened to this car and the adverts have not always been accurate. The box in the car now is certainly correct for this type of car, but the case number is missing as i believe is common for this type of box where the number is on the lowest point of the case ideal for for contact with the road and kerbs. So i have no idea if this is the original but i have had it rebuilt to as new condition by a specialist. it is waiting to be fitted via a lightweight clutch, to the new engine which is also complete and ready to go.

I am travelling at present so dont have access to the engine number right now and so will do that later and if anyone knows of its whereabouts, happy to reunite them....

Regards