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I was going to go for the full glass-out respray but the difficulty in removing everything and then having to purchase all new rubber killed that idea. Plus, I just did a $13k full mechanical restoration on every part of the car so the paint was a little over-budget at this time. Instead, I went for a satin wrap of the hood, roof and rear spoiler. I took off the hatch trim (3 pieces), the roof drip rails, and the rocker panels and painted all of these parts to get a nice new finish on them. I also put new rubber seals/gaskets on these parts and also put new rubber on the door handles and mirrors. This was a labor of love and took a long time due to time issues but I think it came out great. Of course it rained on my way home before I took the pictures so if the car is a little dusty it's just because I live in Florida.
In all honesty this car was really neglected. I thought long and hard about whether to just dump it or restore it. I will never get the money back that I invested but it's a fun car now and it gets tons of compliments. It is really enjoyable to own now and I feel pretty connected to it after taking it apart and putting it back together.
In all honesty this car was really neglected. I thought long and hard about whether to just dump it or restore it. I will never get the money back that I invested but it's a fun car now and it gets tons of compliments. It is really enjoyable to own now and I feel pretty connected to it after taking it apart and putting it back together.
Would you mind briefly recapping all the work that you did to get back on the road?
What was done!!! It's easier to say what WASN"T done!! Here is a summary.
I had the engine thoroughly gone through with a full top end rebuild and most of the ancillary parts replaced or cleaned with all new seals, gaskets, O rings, etc. throughout. Included taking out camshafts and replacing the adjusters, vanos inspection, auxiliary oil cooler, etc. Front end of motor disassembled and rebuilt. Oil pan gasket. It was then repainted and parts re-yellowed to be factory correct. All new belts Installed. Cooling system inspected and some parts replaced. Installed a new suspension with new motor mounts; new steering rack; control arm bushings, new clutch, flywheel, and all ancillary parts; Brakes fully rebuilt and repainted with new stainless hoses. Oh and of course bleed the brakes, oil/filter change, transmission oil change, LSD service, coolant flush, plugs, filters, etc. I did about 30% of the work and it still cost me around $15k for this.
I then took off all of the body parts on the hatch, the roof drip rails, and rocker panels and painted all of those parts except the rear spoiler. I wrapped the hood, roof and rear spoiler satin black. Installed all new rubber gaskets on all of those parts and also on the door handles and mirrors. New hood emblem. New window regulator was needed for drivers side window. I rebuilt the sunroof system with new gears and had to troubleshoot it a few times to get that working. I am sure I am forgetting a bunch. Took me around 5 months to do all of this with the time I have.
Basically, the car mechanically is like new and drives like a completely different car from when I got it. I would rate the paint as a 7 out of 10 due to the previous owner buffing too deep in a couple of spots on the drivers side but overall you only notice 1 spot unless I pointed out the others. Otherwise the paint looks great. I am a crazy perfectionist so everything I say is very critical. I nearly sold the car a while ago but the guy flaked out. He did have me bring it to a Rennlister nearby to have him look it over and he thought the car looked straight off the showroom and that was before I wrapped it. He thought I was absolutely crazy in how critical I was.
Anyway, I am going to put a new stereo in next. I wish I could get more power out of it but that isn't easy to do. So for now I am just driving it around like it was intended.
I will be 100% honest in this answer. Most roads down here are smooth but there are few choppy areas and one is the main road leading up to my house. For me, it's a bit too firm when it's choppy but it is really on 1 road so I can live with it. The Koni's are adjustable so you can dial them soft but the Bilsteins are not. On the highway or smooth roads the car is fine but if you are on poor roads even 40% of the time I would go either Koni's all around or the stock shocks which I believe are a the softest of all.
10-04-2018, 04:32 PM
Finished the 968
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