NineMeister

Quarter panels come off to get at the kidney bowls, sills and inner sills.

NineMeister

Since the dreaded tin worm had been nibbling on the bottom of the door posts and inner wings we had no choice but to remove the rotten sections. We could have replaced the whole door post panel however the new panels are different pressings to the old and do not have the M8 stamping, so again we elected to replace just the lower sections.

NineMeister

Kidnew bowls in place, time for the back end. The rear crossmember had rot in the underside of the back section so also had to go....

... and whilst we were there, the rusty corner sections of the rear deck were replaced.

NineMeister

Quarter panels and sills next on the hit list so lots more to come.

Reiver

Nice work. Thanks for posting.
I believe the 'tin worm' was imported from England in early Triumphs and Austin Healy's....I could actually hear them munching when I shut down my '59 3000.

Amber Gramps

Very cool. You have no idea how badly I want to volunteer a couple months of labor to the cause. Colin, you rock.

danielmellen

...20m after I sat down at the laptop to do just 20m worth of work. A well justified diversion, but now back to the original 20m.

Sub'd

NineMeister

Again, as usual the quarter panels are being stiched in below the C-post which eliminates the need to unnecessarily disturb the gutter rail and window aperture. The process involves overlaying the new quarter onto the old, then cutting through both panels to leave a slight gap of around 1-2mm which will be filled with the weld. You have to use a cold welding technique, so whilst panel clamps hold the two sides in alignment Owen places small tack welds around 2" apart along the panel then leaves them to cool before doing more. Eventually the final tacks will fill in the gaps to complete the weld. The right hand panel is half way throught the process, the left hand panel is laid on ready to make the cut for the weld, using the engine lid to ensure the rear edge is correctly positioned down from the screen edge.

race911

Love that the value of the cars now warrant complete, proper restorations. How much of the repair would have been necessary (i.e. the corrosion), even if the car were never physically damaged?

Wachuko

Oh!!! Amazing work guys... First the RSR and now this?? Wow!! Subscribed of course!!

budge96

No brainer! Subscribed! Really glad my '72 RS clone is corrosion free! Whew..excellent work!

Black Sea RD

Fantastic work and really enjoy seeing the process. Being allowed to see all the work going into the restoration of this 911S makes one understand and appreciate how much work is involved to do it correctly.

Don't now if anyone offered their opinion about keeping it original or not, but I would opt for putting it back to how it was born from the factory. That it was used as a racer and enjoyed a colorful racing history adds to its mystique and history.

There are many 911s that have been modified for sporting purposes by individuals and the true worth of this 911 is that it was born as a (now) rare 911S from the factory.

Can't wait to see the final result and I too wish I could spend some time helping out with the restoration.

Cheers,

NineMeister

To be fair Ken, most of it! The roof inner structure around the scuttle area was rotten, the roof had repairs on it, the bottom of the A-posts, sills, inner sills and kidney bowls were shot, as was the front panel, tank support and battery tray. Rear deck was corroded, as was the parcel shelf. You may have been able to rescue one of the quarter panels, but it had been hacked around and had a 2.7 wheelarch welded on so it had to go. I think the only parts we may have been able to retain would have been the roof inner frame.

NineMeister

Funny you mention the return to factory standard, maybe this is where the opinion poll should be inserted? The car was originally Sepia Brown and had narrow wheelarches. The problem is that the owner does not like Sepia Brown and also has the hots for us to fit steel ST arches. He's in turmoil. Please help him out with your thoughts.

You won't have to wait long for the results, we have a bodyshell e-coating slot booked for 7th January, miss that and the next one is in June!

Black Sea RD

Hi Colin,

Here are my humble opinions:

1. Paint and interior color - These would be open to colors that were available in the year (or before) this 911S was born. Truthfully some colors were not the best chosen by Porsche or the first buyer if a special order was made for particular colors. We have all seen colors that elicited thoughts of "what were they thinking" after one is encountered. As long as the colors are from the same time period I believe it would be fine to choose colors that better fit the car and owner's tastes. If looking to sell shortly after the restoration, colors with a wide appeal or ones that are the iconic colors for the 911S would be the way to go.

Want to add that color changes are acceptable in classic collector car circles, to include classic Ferrari's, Mercedes and so on.

2. Body modifications - This would be a no go for me personally. This starts down the path of modifying the car and takes away from its originality and would be difficult to undo if a new owner wants an original 911S. That can be done on another early 911 with less significance if the owner needs an early 911 with ST flares. Since this is a true 911S, leave it like it came from the factory.

Please keep this thread up with pictures of the process, I'm sure it would be enjoyed by many on this forum.

Cheers,