jerhofer

It was afternoon before I made it to the garage. I worked on adjusting the clutch and believe I have it close. When my son arrives tomorrow, I can check to make sure I have the proper throw amount. We will also bleed the brakes.

Next up was installing the center valance on the rear. I decided to hold off on installing the bumper seals until it is time to do paint work. That would be the best time to replace them. I had the bumper guards chromed and bought new rubber inserts. After installing them, I bolted everything together to finish off the rear end of the car. If all goes well tomorrow, it should be on the road at last.

jerhofer

It's running. My son was running late yesterday so my wife was honored to be able to help bleed the brakes?? Brought back memories of when we used to do track events. She and I bled the brakes before every event so she knew how to do this. By the time my son arrived, we had the brakes bled. After adjusting the clutch, we began the process of firing it up. It took some cranking but eventually all the air was purged out of the fuel lines and she fired. The idle is a bit lower than it was prior to disassembling everything which may be related to the AC pulley and to the fact that there is no longer an O2 sensor in place. Since there is no computer I am not sure of the sensor's function on this '83 SC motor.

Once we had it running I backed it out of the driveway for a short test drive in the subdivision. I soon discovered I had no first or second gear. When I disconnected the shift coupler, instead of just removing the hex head pin, I had unbolted the coupler itself. It was obviously out of alignment. The only other issue was that the front end was too low. On the plus side, no fuel or oil leaks. At that point we parked it as the main reason for Matt coming over was to celebrate his birthday. We took him and his family out to eat.

This morning I adjusted the shifter using some instructions I found on the web. As for the ride height, I had to pull the torsion bar adjuster off on the right side and re-index it as I did not have enough adjustment. Got that done and I now had the ride height correct and shifting working. Now I need to take it somewhere to have the front end aligned and the AC charged.

jerhofer

After getting everything back together with the engine and suspension looking so nice, the marginal paint is now bothering me. It was last painted about 20 years ago and is cracked in some areas and showing sand marks in others. I also am thinking of installing a "S" front valance. Not sure on a ducktail with the narrow body but now would be the time if I decide to paint it.

The other issue is what color to paint it. Since it was originally a Polo Red car, it is tempting to repaint it in its original color. This is only the second white car I have had in my lifetime with the other white car having be my last 911 track car. I would be interested in forum members opinions on the color.

Wachuko

Let' see... it is a 912 with a 911 engine transplant... originality should be of no concern. And I say that with the upmost respect.

After all the work you have done, I would just drive it and enjoy it as is... last thing you want to do is to be without it from another year while the paint job is done... and of course, you will have to remove everything from the car to avoid overspray messing up all the work you have done so far!

As to the color... yes, we are all suckers for the original color to be back on the shell. I have been going back and forth on mine and always come back to going with the original color....but some days I just want to paint it something different...

I would just leave it as is and enjoy it for awhile before doing anything else to it...

jerhofer

The car and I are still alive and well!!

As I explained in my last post, the paint was looking a little shabby so I took the car to a bodyshop to have it painted. The bodyshop cut me a good deal with the understanding that they would work the car in between other jobs and I needed to be patient. The guy working on the car showed me photos of a 356 he did thirty years ago so he does have lots of experience with these cars. He and I were discussing the paint on the car and, without me prompting him, said it was about twenty years old. He was right on the money as it had been painted in 1994. He said he could tell by the paint and materials that had been used.

I am taking it back to its original polo red color. So when I walked into their lobby today and saw the poster below, I knew they were motivated!! And he had an extra poster which will be going up in my garage.



They have only recently had some time to spend on it. All the glass has been removed save the door glass. The area around all of the windows is rust free. The only rust they have found so far has been a very small amount at the bottom of the passenger door. The mirrors had been relocated to a different position. I am having them fill those holes and relocate them to their original locations. There was some cracking in the paint at different places that they are tending to. All new rubber seals and deco will be installed as well. I am looking forward to the finished product this spring.

Wachuko

I need to get a copy of that poster.

Polo Red... yes!!

Thank you for the recent update!! This is a thread that I keep coming back to look at.

jerhofer

Last week the bodyshop painted the jambs and remounted the doors. And now it is red!!! Still have to paint the hood, deck lid and sunroof and then re-assemble it. The replica Fuchs wheels will not be used as I will mount the steelies when I have it here at the house.



Below are some pics of some of the other cars that are in progress or that he has recently worked on. The guy shown in the Ferrari 308 photo is the guy who did the work on my car.

Wachuko

That looks amazing!!!

oscar94

very nice!!! can you share the name of the shop?

jerhofer

Import Auto Body in Charlotte. Loren Koski is the owner.

oscar94

Thanks!!

jerhofer

It has taken much longer than I anticipated but the car is back in the garage, resplendent in its new Polo Red livery. I have some detailing to do but, overall, it looks great.

As you can see in the photos, it has a different garage mate. I recently sold the Ferrari 348 and purchased this 2007 997. Sure is big compared to the 912!!





I was very busy during the time the car was gone as I purchased a small motorhome last fall. We also traded my wife's Mini Cooper for a Fiat Abarth to pull behind the motorhome. Besides some trips in the motorhome, I also spent a lot of time doing mods to it. It is an Airstream Interstate and we really enjoy it. We have a month long trip planned for this fall that will find us in California. Should be fun.

jerhofer

I was away over the holiday weekend but am back at cleaning up the car after 10 months at the body shop. I haven't taken any interior photos yet but I did snap some engine pics today. It is getting there.

jerhofer

While I had the car on the lift I cleaned the bottom to get rid of much body shop dust.





I spent the rest of the day washing the car and then polishing and waxing it. All of the rubber seals are new as well as the deco strips. After a close up look at the paint, I am very pleased with the results.











I had cleaned up the interior earlier. Here are some shots.

jerhofer

Still detailing!! There were turn signal, brake light and running light issues that I spent the past couple days working on. I found a reasonably priced set of SC engine bay stickers on eBay. I also finished cleaning up the trunk. A couple more items to do tomorrow and I will be ready to go for a drive.