So an acquaintance of mine lost interest in a project and I have pulled it out of the proverbial barn...

1967 Sunroof short wheel base. Runs with fuel sprayed down the carbs, but too many things disconnected to street drive it.

It came with years & years of brand new NOS parts in boxes. Plus a collection of used parts that were accumulated in hopes of using them as he reassembled.

I have known the car for 15 years? Knew of the original owner, and the second owner. An employee of mine even rebuilt the engine 14 years ago. Come to think of it I tinkered with the car myself 5 years ago. But my pal recently wanted to just focus on his BMW 2002 restoration so this SWB was slated to go.

Good: Recent replacement floors from Stoddard pro done. Recent interior re-skin pro done. Every conceivable seal, carpet piece, headliner, trim bit, nut & bolt etc. all new in boxes including a set of restored polished wheels. Replacement rust free fenders & doors included. All matching numbers. Original five speed car, fog light car, sunroof car, leather car, wood steering wheel car, Fuch wheels car. Great original color too.

Bad: When he reassembled the suspension (after restoring it to like new!) he did not adjust it to correct. A bunch of things are half assembled or half disassembled (brake lines, some electrical). Basically he just lost interest & made it so it would roll. But that's it. The rest looks good. Real good - & he kept everything in one place & cared for.

So I am going to resurrect it. I have watched these super fun handling cars go up & up resale wise so I will leave it pretty true to form. I thought about a cool hot rod 2.4 but...

I will keep this section in the loop.

Here are some photos to wet the appetite.

1. As found - 2. As inventoried - 3+. Setting the ride height today - 4. The expected completion image.

More to come.

 

Wow...if you can make it look like the last picture then it will be amazing!

Subscribed.

 

Oh, you can count on that. Probably be painted by mid-fall.

 

All the removable panels are sent to the media blaster...

Fenders, front bumper, doors, engine lid, boot lid, one rear bumper extension (the other will be replaced with a new NOS part, same goes for the license plate area metal piece).

Next I weld in a small spot on the rocker panel and prep the body for paint.

 

Got all the panels back from the media blaster today. Looks like I have some work ahead of me! You just never know whats going to be under all that paint...

Here are the panels primed after blasting.

 

A mate of mine here in Dubai has just done this same 912 color in a full restoration...

See pics here for some inspiration:

http://www.crankandpiston.com/lifest...-the-last-leg/

 

Oh! That is a great inspiration. Thank you for the link. Its appreciated.

 

No worries. If you look at the bottom of the Crank and Piston page you'll see the other links to part 1 through many of his total build.

Cam

 

Found a neat detail while I was removing the sunroof panel. Gotta keep that safe for reassembly.

 

Dismantling continues.

 

Nice original wood steering wheel....that will look great once your interior is done.

 

Yes thanks. The prev owner stopped in on me the other day to check my progress. He saw that wheel & said "I bet that wood wheel is worth about $400" then looked at me funny when I told him that it might be about $2000 restored or NOS... Crazy.

So I packed up all the interior today. Dash, door panels & tops, arm rests, rear shelf, wheel housings, jump seats. All are in good shape - but I am going full German leather.

And why not!?

 

Hey! Got my C.O.A. today. Check out that option list! That's a heavily optioned '12.

 

Very cool project, I really like orange on the SWB.

 

Me too. Thank you.

I played with it yesterday pulling off the LAST trim piece. Its totally striped and ready for the final body work. I checked all the gaps, they look good (only two places needing adjustment).

I am waiting for some stuff to come back to keep me motivated. I sent the steering wheel off to the restorer (Bruce Crawford - expert), and the gauges (North Hollywood - experts). All that should be returned soon perfect. And the interior leather work will be done around Thanksgiving too. Exciting.