pcar928fan

Today the sunroof got leveled (there were actually MISSING screws!!!) and the L-O-U-D exhaust got installed, but it is not ready yet because they need a stock exhaust hanger to get it up out of the way! I didn't take any pics because it was not hanging right yet. Suspect the parts will be in on Wednesday and they will probably get it right up on the lift and finish it up. If the weather is not TO TERRIBLE (and it is supposed to be) I'll take the S4 in for its new Trans and Constantine Super Clamp and then I will have a whole stable of VERY HAPPY 928's!

This pics is how it looked when I dropped it off today. I took the nice wheels back off the car for fear that they might get scratched or dinged while at the shop...

pcar928fan

SO I am with Rob (or was it Dr. Bob) when he said he hated lifts because there is SO MUCH more to clean! I had the chance to get under EURO85 today... YUCK! The "Y" pipe looks good though...and the exhaust. Not happy about all the oil and yuck I found though!

pcar928fan

So, other than a few interior bits, I have to say this save is very nearly complete (sure new paint on the front bumper cover and hood at a minimum would be nice, but I can wait on that)! I think it has come out SUPER NICE TOO! But that is just me...

Jadz928

The transformation is amazing! Well done, James!!
How long has it been since this saga began?

pcar928fan

Jim we started looking at the car a bit over a year ago... Then I think we made the deal the end of Feb or first bit of March (probably find the exact date in the first few pages of this thread). Dr. Bob worked on the car and pretty much stored it for me for the better part of 4 or 5 months I guess. I provided him with about $750 in parts to get him going and he supplied a zillion dollars worth of labor and experience that he didn't charge me a DIME for...not to mention the marital strife he endured on my behalf storing the car while he took his time doing the work. I am ETERNALLY grateful to Bob for ALL of his hard work with this project! Without him it never would have even happened and it has been a great source of joy for me!

We shipped the car here and I drove it a bit, washed it, fixed a couple of little things and started buying a few trim parts that it needed. Then I put it away in a friends garage for a month or two or three. Then got it out and had my PDR guy fix a few dents and the ColorGlo guy fix the two rips in the drivers seat bolster.

Then I put it away again for a month or so... This time when I got it out we did a full interior detail, cleaned the wheel wells as best we could and then I brought in my Detail guy to do the paint (oh and somewhere in there I took it to the shop I use to do some of the trim and service stuff that I couldn't reach as well as the exhaust). Then I added the wheels and that brings us to this very day!

Waiting on a Can-Can Red floor mat (4) set and to put the red door inserts from the '84 in to this car!

Sure it could use a paint job all the way around because of some stupid little accidents and poor paint work by others along the way, but really it looks SO nice now (even at 5') that I think it would mostly be a waste of money!

So, that was a long answer to your question Jim, but say 12 months to get from ZERO (and a pretty sad and tired example of a EURO85) to 8 or 8.5 overall and near 10 on the interior (I'd give the paint a 7.5)! Not bad and it really has been SO MUCH FUN! Now it is time to enjoy and in time add some more RED bits from Paul Champagne as funds allow!

Jadz928

Cool! Thanks for the recap

I know someone who may have a set of red can-can 6-way seats FS...

pcar928fan

This is an '85 so it has the newer style 8 way seats...and I think I'll just keep them in black for the time being, they are in pretty good condition!

Jadz928

Oops, I meant 8-way. They're out of an S4...

dr bob

I didn't say I hated lifts, but there is a lot of dirt that's harder to ignore when it's all right up at eye level. It's easier to clean on the lift, but there's a lot more to clean when it's on the lift. I had some front suspension bits loose for inspection yesterday, and it was just too easy to quadruple the normal work time just because a few things were still sealed in cosmoline. I did learn though that the fastest way to get most of that stuff off is with a paint scraper, before you hit it with any chems at all. Then a wipe with paint thinner gets the last bits and the remaining wax film off.

----

The engine bay cleaning that Euro85 got here was initially targeted at the top and front of the motor so I could work on it. It was a mess to start with, thanks more to extended life without care than anything else in particular. Except...

The oil tube attachment to the oil sump was missing the gasket and loose, plus the little connecting hose section was swolen and splt, so a whole lot of oil was distributed on the bottom of the car whenever it was driven. One would think that the driver might have noticed the smoke and the fragrance of burned oil. But Nooooo! So the whole bottom was sprayed with orange cleaner and left to soak for an hour. Then high-pressure (but not pressure-washer) hose sprayed to get the biggest part of the slime loose from the bottom of the car. You can see from the pics of the gearbox that, well, you can now see the gearbox.

For those playing along at home, the cams were mistimed by a bit when we got the car. So it got a new belt (no history in hand) and a Porkensioner as part of the effort to get it running smooth again. That drove the need to get the top and front to at least a condition worthy of being worked on with clean tools and hands.

It's come a long long way since it left here. The cosmetic part is very impressive!

pcar928fan

I have taken the Can-Can red door inserts out of the '84 and moved them to EURO85...I think they look GREAT!!! I was hoping to have an update with pics of the Can-Can floor mats (front AND rear) but they have not arrived yet. I ordered them from 928 Specialists a month ago, so I hope they are getting REALLY CLOSE BY NOW... couldn't leave a voice message to ask (the mail box was full) and have not heard back from a couple of emails, but I am hoping to have them soon. I have a photo shoot with this car on Thursday with a new model, so my fingers are crossed that the mats will be here by then!

I have also ordered some of the last few parts I will need from Mark Benton (The Nine Source) so I will have an unbroken tail light lens, unbroken drivers door sill, and two new fender liners for the car probably by the end of the week or first of next week!

Hoping to get the illuminated door sill kit from Paul VERY SOON to go with all these last few bits...of course I'll do the sill with RED lighting! NICE!!!

This project sure has been fun!!!

Shark_Week

James
this is the first time i visited this thread probably since it started, all i can say is wholly crap! that is a nice looking Porsche. congrats

77tony

I never have been a big fan of red, but that does look great James. T

pcar928fan

Thanks Martin!

This has really been a fun ride and the last few items that I really need are on their way from Mark (The Nine Source) and will be installed post haste. Just saw Monday that a paint/body shop has opened right across the parking lot from the shop that works on my cars so it might be THE PLACE to have paint my hood and front bumper cover! The shop can remove both (correctly and w/o damaging stuff) and then the paint shop can shoot them and the work shop can reinstall them CORRECTLY! It will all come down to price and I might swing by there next week to see what they say. Worth asking anyway! The hood has a big gouge in it (the dent has been fixed by my PDR guy but the scratch will require actual painting) and the bumper cover has many places missing its paint too, so with those two repainted the car will be about 96% in my book anyway!

T, thanks mucho! I can't wait so see your project complete! It makes mine look like small potato's for sure!!!

pcar928fan

Chuck,

This message is for you...we were chatting about that damn broken rear qtr marker on EURO85 and you said it looked like a marker from a pop up camper...so I went to my local R/V place and showed it to them and they pointed to the lens and said, "not here..." It has a "TOYOTA" part number and script on it of all things!

Turned out to be the rear markers on a Land Cruiser from the mid '80's! Go figure! Just came in today and was in place on the car in less than 5 min! YEA!!! Thanks for encouraging me to get out and find a replacement my friend!

Hey, with all the press Charlie Sheen is getting these days, your GTS must have doubled in value by now!

karl ruiter

Hey James...about time to update the pic in your signature, I should think. I will look nice with a splash or red in it.