Carl - your wheel hubs came out great. Was this the same coating you used for the lower front control arms? Those (like every other aspect so far) are beautiful.

 

Thanks Chris,

The lower control arms came painted/coated from the rebuild process. Those are the 928 International rebuilt lower a-arms. I am not sure what they used. The wheel hubs I painted with VHT High Temperature Enamel, SP127 Universal Aluminum. The colors do match very closely, nearly identical actually. The VHT paint I purchased at AutoZone, they had a good selection of VHT paints.

Cheers!
Carl

 

Another small victory yesterday. Removed and replaced front wheel bearings and races, and replaced the old wheel studs. A couple of them looked a bit iffy, and I figured 25 year old bolts that have been repeatedly heated, cooled, heated.....should probably be replaced while I have the hub out.

I used Dwayne's excellent write-up on front wheel bearing replacement: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...re-w-pics.html

Cheers!
Carl

 

No major obvious progress, but I got really annoyed at all the dust on the car so while the weather cooperated, she got a wash and wax.

Cheers!
Carl

 

Time came to install the new GTS rear reflector, and just like many previous posts on this topic, mine is also excessively curved, even brand new from Porsche. First picture shows the test fit on the car and it does not follow the curve of the rear bumper cover. To think Porsche resorted to velcro to keep this piece attached on a $100K car is...well, sad. Problem is two-fold, the curvature of the reflector is excessive, and it also sits too far "in" in the recess at the outer edges, so I added two bumpers on each side to move the face out to remain flush with the bumper cover. It took a few tries with different sized bumpers (all from Home Depot), before I narrowed it down to the ones pictured. There also needs to be an alternate method of attaching, or pulling in the center part of the reflector (to decrease the curvature) instead of using velcro. I believe Roger was the first pioneer to use a toilet bolt, and so I purchased one and attached it, centered on the reflector. Since I am not using the stock rear hatch motor, this location will work, but for anyone with the stock hatch motor, you may have to mount two bolts either side of center on the reflector to clear that area.

Next step is to actually drill the bumper cover, and sadly, put the first non-factory hole in the body. While the glue was drying on the reflector, I finished up one of the rear hubs with a new bearing and fresh paint. I also installed the first part of the new parking brake cable that goes into the cabin. The rest will be installed once I get my modified rear cross member back. Then I can also install the rear suspension and let the car sit on it's own wheels for the first time in over 3 years....yay!

Cheers!
Carl

 

Carl great work. The car will be like no other 928.

Regarding the lens,

When i have had this type of problem I have set the plastic part up on a section of 2x and applied weights to hold it a bit beyond the way it should be shaped.

If during the warm months i'd find a warm place like up on the collar ties in the garage and just forget about it for a few weeks. You could experiment with the old one in an oven too. You've probably tried this.

When the weighted ends are removed the original memory sometimes is tweaked the way you want it.

BTW, now that everything has been painted a while have you noticed any small areas where body work or a blemish i noted? Just curious
as a painter and knowing how tough black is.

 

Hi Matt,

Thank you for sharing you expertise, I appreciate it. I searched through a half dozen write-ups on the GTS reflector topic, and it seems several people tried heating up the reflector, some for days in the sun, but it either returned to the original shape, or cracked. It also seems to get worse with age, and high temperatures. The only solution I found that worked well for several people was to add the bolt. So, while not the most desirable solution perhaps, it is hidden and should last the life of the reflector. The problem as I see it, is that the reflector is made up of two different plastics, the clear (red part) and the thicker and stiffer ABS backing. If it had been of the same material I think the heating and bending route would work.

As far as paint blemishes, I have found a couple. As you mentioned, the black makes it very hard to see areas that are naturally shaded, or hidden by curves or inside edges. Found one area on the rear bumper cover edges that are facing the wheel well where the paint needs touching up as it is too thin for my liking at the inner edge. I am thinking about some sort of coating, perhaps clear 3M film to protect the wheel well arches from chips and such, or maybe even an Elasti-dip coating on just the inner edges to protect them.

Another one can be seen on the bolt underneath the car where the original red shows through, although I will touch up that after I'm done working under the car. Otherwise I have only found an occasional small scratch here and there, which I'm sure I have caused, and that will buff out easily. Regarding body work blemishes, only one has appeared, and that is the filler used on the passenger side door lock delete, where it has shrunk slightly. It can't be seen on a picture but in the right light and angle the human eye can pick it up. The driver's side is still perfect. The car will go back to the paint shop once it is on it's wheels for touchup of those blemishes.

Cheers!
Carl

 

All I can say Is Beautiful. Just plain F'n Beautiful. You have far much more talent, patience (and money) to spend on this vehicle than I could and I admire you for it. It will be a piece of rolling art and you should be as proud of it as we are of your efforts.

 

Carl,

Sounds like it turned out well then.

Anything can be touched up, i was just curious and thanks for being honest.

Please have them buff it, things can go very wrong !

 

The only thing that really works on the GTS reflector is the toilet bolt fix from your local hardware store. Did mined in 2005 and it's still straight with no cracks.

 

Finished up the rear reflector install today. One hole drilled through the center of the bumper cover and through the body into the trunk area. Treated the fresh hole with some anti-corrosion paint to be sure. Initial install shows the rubber bumpers help a lot and not much force was needed on the reflector center bolt to pull it flush with the rear bumper cover. There is still some room for improvement as ideally the left and right edges of the reflector could be moved out 2-3mm more. Did a test install of one tail light to check alignment.

First picture shows the reflector prior to installing the rubber bumpers in the corners, and the second picture is with the bumpers installed. Third picture is the location of the reflector bolt in the trunk area.

Now, if that reflector had internal lighting...hmmm. Electroluminescent strip perhaps? Anyone done that?

Cheers!
Carl

 

Now all that's left to do is hack saw off the extra bolt length and install the decorative cover.
Nice save Carl

 

Yep, the devil's in the details.

 

I was trying to make a joke.

Back on,

I really like the GTS center reflector.

 

Cute

Do they come in grey?
Although I kind of like the bling factor the brass brings to the area.

And extra points for going to the bathroom and pulling one of the covers off just for me

Cheers!
Carl