NineMeister

Here are a few more photos of the seam sealing as promised. As you can gather from the shots, seam sealing is a pretty labour intensive job because the only way to do it properly is to apply the sealant into the joint with a fine nozzle on the sealant gun, rub it into the joint with your finger, wipe away the excess with a cloth and then clean off the residue with a rag soaked in panel wipe.

I have also shown a close-up of the correct speedster rear bulkhead panel in place on the shell, the additional cutout for hood clearance can be seen across the centre of the new panel.

NineMeister

Since a few people have asked about seeing what else goes on in the shop, here's a few more photos of the major projects currently underway in 9m Panelcraft.

Nestling in the corner is a freshly painted white 1979 930 Martini Turbo which is having a 100% restoration before being shipped to the Middle East. Loom is in & centre tunnel tubes are fitted, next step is the pedal box.

The yellow 996GT3 is having a new door & quarter fitted following a slight "off" at a trackday last year, note that the quarter has been painted in the bodyshell primer colour inside & out before it is fitted so that anyone inspecting car after the repair is finished will see the correct colour inside the cavity and assume that the car is undamaged.

Final shot is of a 911SC which is having a full front end refurbishment, now just waiting on the wings being fitted before paint.

JPP

Hi Colin, great photos and detail as usual. In the bulkhead photo, is the upper panel with the studs protruding upward from the flat footings Speedster unique as well, or is that the stock Cab panel with a doubler bracket and studs drilled through from underneath? Are these studs there to mount the base brackets for the articulating clamshell hinge? Thanks, JP

NineMeister

This upper panel is supplied as part of the complete Speedster rear bulkhead assembly which is the only way that you can buy the piece from Porsche, however the section you mention is identical to the convertible in every way aside from the length of the protruding screws. Marc reviewed this part of the assembly when he fitted the piece and decided that it was better to keep the convertible top deck and reprofile it to match the Speedster cutaway section, hence maintaining factory integrity of the main bulkhead section. The screws do have to be extended in order to have sufficient length to fit enough shims under the clamshell and hood frame for correct alignment.

JPP

Thanks, from looking at the PET, it is a bit of a mystery. Do the bolts come through from underneath or are they a welded in flange bolt?

NineMeister

The studs are round headed & welded into the engine lid hinge bracket which is then spot welded into the rear bulkhead. You can see the heads of the two studs quite clearly in this picture of the left hand bracket.

NineMeister

Back to the plot:

Here are a few more shots of the complete bodyshell in its first coat of primer.

Yesterday saw a lot of activity around the car as the team dry-flatted the entire car in preparation for its second coat of primer which will be shot onto the car today. Following this the upper build frame will be refitted and the shell loaded onto the spit so that we can underseal and paint the underneath. More pictures of this to follow, obviously.

JPP

Thanks for the photo and detail of this, Colin. I saw the Speedster unique underbracket on the PET and wondered why they replaced the engine lid bracket. This clears it up nicely. Can't wait to see the next stages!

NineMeister

Almost. As discussed the bracket in the photo is only unique to the Speedster due to its longer mounting studs.

However, in addition to this bracket change, the engine lid gas strut mounting also differs because it cannot be mounted in the standard position due to the revision to fit the hood clearance panel in the rear bulkhead (as shown in interior photo). The knock on effect of the relocated gas strut anchorage is reduced travel of the engine lid & hence the finished angle of the lid when fully open.

NineMeister

So, with detail (finger) seam sealing of the upper sections complete, the next stage is to apply the water based spray sealer over all the exposed joints and seams just like the factory finish. Marc did this yesterday and it has been air drying overnight in the booth, so it is now ready for its next stage. As mentioned previously , we're doing all the upperbody work first (bonnet/dash/interior/engine bay) and will then load the shell back onto the spit, mask out the upper sections and then repeat the process with the floor and chassis areas.

Here are the photos of the car in the booth with the spray sealer dry, outer panels have been dry flatted and stoppered as required to prepare it for a second coat of primer.

tjangi

WOW, when the project is done, this car will be newer than new???

NineMeister

Well, yes, that is the general idea.

JPP

Ah, got it, you simply unweld the studs and replace them with longer ones, not change out the entire bracket. I looked at the bracket (no.2) in the PET and thought they ment the lid bracket, but now reading the description "pneumatic spring mount" it all makes sense:



Thanks again, Colin, your processes are exemplary. Textbook step-by-step reverse engineering with a look to improving the original product's integrity.

ginch

Beautiful work!!!! My god I cannot fathom the cost of a project like this!!! Someone must have some pretty deep pockets. Can't wait to see more!!

NineMeister

Now that the shell has been dipped, the whole job is looking likely to take pretty much the same time as a 9m64RS to build, i.e. approximately 500 hours.

Add in the cost of paint & materials (usually 15% of the labour cost), the cost of the new and used Speedster parts for the conversion, re-trim, KW suspension kit, new seals, brackets, clips; oh, and don't forget to include the turbo rear quarters, sills, kidney bowls & front bumper for the widebody....

The bottom line is that you only build a car like this when you [i]really]/i] want one.

Thanks for the thumbs up, there will be more photos of the progress by the end of the week, but my guess is that you will have to wait until next week to see some colour on the shell.