Marine Blue

So as some of you know, I've recently acquired a 1969 911E and it had its first visit to the mechanics today. I thought some of this information would be useful for anyone new to this like I am.

I'll start by saying that the homework and assessment I made on the car before purchasing turned out to be pretty close to what I expected.

Here's a list of what needs replacing immediately:
- Rear shocks - completely shot
- Fuel pump - leaking badly
- oil drain plug - completely stripped
- oil change
- brake fluid flush

The mechanic performing the work checked all other typical wear items including wheel bearings, front shocks, brake calipers/system, fuel lines, brake lines, tie rods, cv joints and other suspension bits. They also put a scope into the gas tank to check for corrosion and send it was perfect. Overall the car checked out better than expected with most of these items in very good condition and likely recently changed.

A Few Surprises
- Passenger side heat exchanger has a small hole and will need replacement eventually
- rear muffler will need to be replaced eventually
- one rust hole on chassis near front suspension point. The chassis was tapped in all areas and everything else was solid. Not sure if it makes sense to replace the entire front pan or just weld a new piece into the area that is rust.
- engine is leaking but it didn't look bad to me so it will stay as is

The body looks good overall and they were all impressed with its unrestored condition and lack of rust.

So I have to admit the SSI pricing was a shocker but I guess it shouldn't be considering it is S/S and similar in price to any aftermarket exhaust I have researched for the Spyder. I think it was an unexpected item which I completely overlooked when inspecting the car.

Would be curious to get others impressions of where I'm at and what you all have experienced.

A few more shots of the car from today...

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Normal stuff for a 45 year old car.

My only advice would be not to postpone the heat exchanger replacement. OEM ones are all mild steel and can/will leak CO into the car which is VERY dangerous. SSI's will last a lifetime.

Marine Blue

Steve thanks for the tip. I was wondering if holes in the heat exchanger could put exhaust into the HVAC which would then blow into the cabin. Is this a possibility? The hole is in one spot in the exterior but it's obvious the entire thing needs to be replaced.

redridge

I would degrease the oil leak area and try to see where the oil is leaking from... It maybe a simple fix.
Def, fix the rust in the pan... any pics?
Suspension? has the rubbers been replaced? This is something I would def look into doing...
Overall it looks good... just need a lot of cleaning and refreshning.... or just drive as is.

Marine Blue

I called the mechanic about an hour ago and was asking him about undercarriage cleaning options. He said he would wipe down the undercarriage with solvent and get everything cleaned up so we can pinpoint the leaks and also get a fresh start. I think it's seeping and not really leaking but it looks like its from at least two or three locations.

The suspension rubbers were good except for the rear shock which was nearly disintegrated. New Bilsteins are going in back.

I didn't get any shots of the rust unfortunately, I was so busy looking at everything I forgot to get pics. The hole is maybe 1/8" in size and in the front corner of the front most suspension mount.

MUSSBERGER

If you have one small spot of rust a good shop can patch it and you would never know it was there.

Neat car.

Best of luck

rusnak

Wow, what a beauty....uh, I mean...that heat exchanger leak is such a pain to fix you should sell me the car.

Amber Gramps

Oh, WOW!!!! Love it. That is a great looking car. You really need to sell it to Russ.

pcarhiway

Marine Blue,

Is the Sportomatic transmission still in the car?

If the Sporto is still in the car and you want to change it out to a five speed I know a buyer for your sporto.

PM on RL or send an email to bdladd@gmail.com

Very nice car, you will enjoy it --- and definitely spend the bucks on the SSIs, you do not want to get a CO headache from rusty heat exchangers, had that problem in my 70E, besides the SSIs are a beautiful piece of work,

Bruce Ladd

Marine Blue

Bruce thanks for the advice on the SSI's, I'm pretty certain that is what I will wind up doing although I'll probably take care of it later this year when the valves need adjusting and before the cooler weather comes back.

The Sporto is definitely still in the car and was overhauled back in 2011. It's somewhat funny actually when you look at the undercarriage shot it's the only really shiny and new item under there! I have decided to keep the car entirely original as much as possible (except the SSI's) as I think it will maintain it's value and uniqueness. Can't wait to drive it next weekend.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

The holes in the shroud do not worry me, those simply leak hot air. Its the tiny rust holes in the exhaust tubing that will kill you and unless you have a CO detector in the car, you may not realize it until its too late.

I've seen it happen.

redridge

+1... that heat exchanger pipes directly into the front cabin... I would make that a priority.

Marine Blue

I just received a call from the mechanic and she is up and running! I guess he ran through the Sporto and said it works great, no issues with shifting through any of the gears and once the car is warmed up the engine runs nicely. He mentioned something about MFI's running a little rich at startup and smoothing out once a minute or two has passed. I pick her up this weekend for the drive to her new home....CAN'T WAIT!

Clean up is next on the list.

Reiver

Great, some good luck there mechanically speaking....keep the windows down til you address those heat exchangers/headers.

Marine Blue

Will do for sure. The mechanic did go ahead and disconnect the heater hose from the exhaust, I'm going to bring it in over the summer to have a new heat exchanger installed. I just need to decide which one I want.