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Old 06-01-2009, 06:39 PM
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ddubois
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Default My garage find

After a year of looking for the right 1971 911T project car, Steve Watson at carplanet.com in CA found my car. It's a 100% original, 1-owner, non-sunroof, non A/C, 5 sp, S trim, CA car that has spent the last 20 years in a garage. The owner kept a stack of service records dating back to the 600 mile service and literally has not driven the car since 1988. It now has 157k documented miles. The only rust is some minor surface stuff, otherwise the car is incredibly solid. The interior is excellent and really only needs new carpeting around the door sills to make it a great driver. The only crack in the dash is one between the speaker and windshield.
I received the car 10 days ago and should be ready to start it this week. In that time I have:

- Installed new batteries, cleaned the fuses, checked for any shorts (none), and applied power and everything worked, including the clock and the original AM/FM Blaupunkt! I only had to replace a couple bulbs, no wiring issues.
-Completely overhauled the brake system. It appears to have received new pads and rotors about 100 miles before storing it for 20 years. Everything was brand new and all I needed to do was sand the rotors/pads, exercise the calipers, coax the MC to push some fluid, then flush the entire system with new ATE blue. The rubber brake lines looked good so I'll leave them for now. The brakes are ready to go.
-The electric fuel pump was seized, but a little carburetor cleaner broke it loose and it now runs fine. Flushed the gas tank and all I have left to do is replace all the rubber fuel lines (which snapped like pretzels), then do one last flush from tank to engine.
-I finished rebuilding the Zeniths over the weekend.
-Powerwashed everything twice.
-Flushed the old oil and replaced with Castrol 20W-50
-Replaced all filters
-Stripped the interior down for cleaning and waiting for parts to rebuild the pedal assembly. Replaced all bushings in the throttle and shifter linkages, they were shot. The seats are in incredible condition. The rear door pockets were warped but some water/heat brought them back into shape. One was missing the top chrome trim, but Pep Boys has a plastic chrome door trim for $6 that is a perfect match.

Before I start it I'm going to check the mechanical tensioners. I did notice from the service history they had been replaced a few times and the protective stops were installed, but just to be sure. Oil tensioners will be installed in the near future. I'm thinking of replacing the trans fluid with some Mobil1 that I ran in my 964 for only a couple hundred miles before changing to Delvac, any thoughts?

Other projects for the future are:
- New carpet kit
- Glass out repaint. The original color is silver 8080 and it did have a so-so repaint (silver) at one time, but it's faded and scuffed pretty good now. There are no dents or body damage. I'm thinking of letting my son loose with a power polisher to bring back some shine in return for letting him drive it.
- Find a solution to replace the Marelli. If anybody has a good Bosch distributor they want to sell please drop me an email.

I'll post some more pictures as I get it back together, but here is how it arrived (that's the owners garage, not mine!)...




Last edited by ddubois; 06-07-2009 at 06:09 PM. Reason: Added Steve Watson
Old 06-01-2009, 06:51 PM
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whalebird
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wow. Looks very presentable in the pictures. It sound like you have done a lot of work in the past week. I am so glad to see these cars finding good homes. Keep us posted. I can't wait to see what happens when you turn the key.
Good luck.
Old 06-01-2009, 06:53 PM
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dfinnegan
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Wow! Nice find. Congrats.
Old 06-01-2009, 06:57 PM
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ddubois
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Originally Posted by whalebird
I am so glad to see these cars finding good homes.
Yeah, this car was 'that close' to going to a buyer in Europe. I was glad to keep it here.
Old 06-01-2009, 08:22 PM
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rusnak
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Wow, just wow. Nice find! I have a 1970 914-6 with a Bosch distributor in place of the Marelli. My mechanic friend installed it for me. I feel that it is better than the Marelli because it allows for timing advance. I feel that the Marelli distributor is for concours cars, especially since they are expensive and hard to find.

Let me know if I can look up any numbers for you.
Old 06-01-2009, 10:37 PM
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justinsrx7
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Awesome find. I can wait to see pics of the completed car. It certainly does not look like a car that has been sitting for 20 years.
Old 06-02-2009, 03:15 AM
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TT Oversteer
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What a shame to let that car sit and deteriorate for 20 years. What a great find! Have you considered using Brad Penn or Swepco oil in the engine and Swepco 201 in the trans? I would change the rubber brake lines too. Mine looked ok on the outside but had swollen internally. When I replaced them the braking improvement was noticable. Congrats and enjoy that beautiful car!
Old 06-02-2009, 11:58 AM
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MSHii
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Beautiful find! I can't wait to see it when you finish.
Old 06-02-2009, 12:38 PM
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1stgear
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Very cool story and find. Can't wait for updates!
Old 06-02-2009, 12:38 PM
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MUSSBERGER
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Score. Very nice
Old 06-02-2009, 01:19 PM
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Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems
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Nice car,....

My only advice at this point would be to forego using Castrol in the engine and a synthetic gear oil in that 901.

A FAR better choice would be Brad-Penn 20w-50 racing in the engine & Swepco 201 in the transmission.
Old 06-03-2009, 02:58 AM
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1303RS
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Very nice find. I know of a silver 73 Targa S that has been in storage for ever and a half. The owner wont do anything with it and he wont get rid of it yet. Every couple of months I bring it up in conversation to see if he will let it go to a better home, like mine. Have to wait and see. Are you going to keep it or fix it up and sell it?
Old 06-03-2009, 09:20 AM
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ddubois
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Originally Posted by 1303RS
Are you going to keep it or fix it up and sell it?
Fix it up and keep it. I could definitely make money on this car, but it's just too good of an example to let go considering the 1-owner, well documented, well maintained history and the overall solid condition of the car. Once I get the paint/carpet done and replace the heat exchangers that are currently doing a great job of heating the outside world, the car will be a 100% complete and original driver. I'm not going for concourse, just a reliable and good looking car to drive in the summer.
Old 06-03-2009, 10:51 AM
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andrew911
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Nice find- awesome! I agree with earlier comment- I would change all brake lines/components. When I bought my beetle that's one of the first things I did- car was sitting for a while.

What a great car/project you have!
Old 06-03-2009, 11:15 AM
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Originally Posted by TT Oversteer
I would change the rubber brake lines too. Mine looked ok on the outside but had swollen internally.
What ???? you have a TARDIS ?

okay lests see who can figure out THAT reference !


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