Confessions of a Speedsterholic ...
08-08-2011, 12:33 PM
#196
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
JP, as you gave had sent tidbits of info earlier this year, I thouhgt I "knew" the work that was done... but the more you share, the more I realize the depth of the project. I mean, I saw the shots of the shell and thought, wow, ground up project. But the devil is in the dtails, for sure.
As you noted, the speed that the project was done was very impressive. Over here, that sort of speed equates to cut corners. Clearly not the case at 9M.
Fantastic work!
I REALLY cannot wait to see it in person
As you noted, the speed that the project was done was very impressive. Over here, that sort of speed equates to cut corners. Clearly not the case at 9M.
Fantastic work!
I REALLY cannot wait to see it in person
Anyway, SpeedArena and I will be seeing you and Darin Thursday morning. I'm looking forward to the drive over ..
08-09-2011, 11:36 AM
#197
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Now that the chassis is in black (actually very dark grey) primer, the boys do a finer level of block sanding to get every panel perfect ... then the car is put back into the booth and the final prime coat is applied ..
I know most shops, at this point would call it 'done' and start shooting color ... actually, most shops would have skipped the black prime coat step entirely but believe it or not, Marc isn't done yet ..
This final coat is now given an extremely fine block sanding .. almost like a 'color sanding' that produces a painting surface that is as close to flawless as they can get .. you can see the black prime undercoat starting to peak through as the final coat is sanded to a very thin layer ... Note: Not exactly ... see Colin's correction in post #200 .. ;-)
... and the final step before color is applied .. Factory Stone Chipping! Sprays on green, dries grey ..
Marc takes a long brush and pushes the protective coating down into all the cracks and crevises by hand ... it's tedious work but she will be as bullet-proof as she is beautiful when he's finished ..
He looks happy, doesn't he?
I know most shops, at this point would call it 'done' and start shooting color ... actually, most shops would have skipped the black prime coat step entirely but believe it or not, Marc isn't done yet ..
This final coat is now given an extremely fine block sanding .. almost like a 'color sanding' that produces a painting surface that is as close to flawless as they can get .. you can see the black prime undercoat starting to peak through as the final coat is sanded to a very thin layer ... Note: Not exactly ... see Colin's correction in post #200 .. ;-)... and the final step before color is applied .. Factory Stone Chipping! Sprays on green, dries grey ..
Marc takes a long brush and pushes the protective coating down into all the cracks and crevises by hand ... it's tedious work but she will be as bullet-proof as she is beautiful when he's finished ..
He looks happy, doesn't he?
Last edited by JPP; 08-09-2011 at 03:06 PM.
08-09-2011, 12:22 PM
#199
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08-09-2011, 12:49 PM
#200
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I know most shops, at this point would call it 'done' and start shooting color ... actually, most shops would have skipped the black prime coat step entirely but believe it or not, Marc isn't done yet .. This final coat is now given an extremely fine block sanding .. almost like a 'color sanding' that produces a painting surface that is as close to flawless as they can get .. you can see the black prime undercoat starting to peak through as the final coat is sanded to a very thin layer ...
[img]
This final coat is now given an extremely fine block sanding .. almost like a 'color sanding' that produces a painting surface that is as close to flawless as they can get .. you can see the black prime undercoat starting to peak through as the final coat is sanded to a very thin layer ... [img]
Sorry to have to pull you up in full swing JP, but that's not quite correct.
The green/blue primer is obviously mixed to the exact color of the original Porsche primer used on the car to give a seamless blend between the old and the new paint. Once this primer is dry we do indeed block sand it, but the black that you see "peeking through" is not the sub-layers of paint, it is a fine dusting of satin black rattlecan which we use as a guide coat to see the fine undulations in the surface when sanding. Get it perfect & the panel is an even color of primer, whereas any low spots will be left lightly blacked; you basically keep going with the block sanding until the black is no more.
08-09-2011, 01:22 PM
#201
08-09-2011, 02:59 PM
#202
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
08-10-2011, 12:20 PM
#203
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
At this point, the chassis is put back in the booth and masked off for the first color to be applied in the engine bay and undercarriage ...
..once that is dry, they re-mask and apply color to the interior, dash and front and rear bulkheads ...
At this point ... Marc is seriously looking like he needs a vacation ..
In the mean time ... other bits are being painted .. ...
..or prepped for painting ...
..once that is dry, they re-mask and apply color to the interior, dash and front and rear bulkheads ...
At this point ... Marc is seriously looking like he needs a vacation ..
In the mean time ... other bits are being painted ..
.....or prepped for painting ...
08-10-2011, 12:29 PM
#204
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Outstanding work. It is wonderful that is is so well documented also. You should have a pretty large portfoilio to go with the car now. Very Nice.
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.....oh yeah, and it will be nice to see JP too!
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.....oh yeah, and it will be nice to see JP too!
08-10-2011, 01:07 PM
#206
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
.. which brings me to the clamshell. Ahh, the clamshell, the clamshell, the clamshell ... my nemises. 
When I bought my parts, there were numerous photo's in the ad showing the clamshell in perfect condition ... so much so, it appeared new:
But, when the parts were 'delivered' to me by DATS trucking .. the huge 18 wheeler couldn't get into my road so the driver simply blocked the main arterial and put his emergency flashers on and called me to come get my parts .. over a mile from my house! Luckily, my neighbor had a van I could use, so I dropped everything and hi-tailed it to the truck where over 10 cars were now piled up trying to get around it and on their way. Needless to say, it was a real cluster f**k ..
The driver started unloading and it all looked ok, but then he points out one box and says it looks 'pretty beat up' .. and so, I opened it. It was the clamshell and I checked it out as best I could on the side of the road .. and it seemed allright, so I continued to pack the van and signed off on the shipment. Big mistake. When I got it unpacked back in my garage ... it was damaged big time. Someone had dropped the box hard ... and of course, my damage claim was denied .. I had signed off on the shipment .. AND then DATS told me that even if I had reported the damage at the truck, the insurance that was put on the shipment would only pay $3 a pound for damage ..!!! Clamshell weight: 50lbs .. total damage payout $150!! That wouldn't even have covered the materials ..
I guess I could have pursued it in court, but here's a lesson learned from 58 years on this spinning pile of dirt... Pick your battles carefully.
Anyway .... once the boys at 9m got into it, more previous accident damage was uncovered as well .. so there you go.
So Lee worked on it ...
...and worked on it ...
until the original Maritime Blue paint color from the factory was revealed :-). But .. it turns out that that color was actually re-sprayed for a black car at the factory ... don't know why ... change of plans in mid-production?? It's a mystery .....
..and it was about that time that I got an email from 9m asking me to call them ... seems Marc, 9m's engine builder, had discovered a few problems during my engine tear down ..
Seems one of the previous owners had "missed a shift" ... and then repaired the engine in what appeared to be "Dr. Jeckel's house of terror" and then sealed it all up with Silicone!! So ... in addition to 3 new pistons, a cam shaft and assorted valves and lifters being needed .. the case had to be split and everything checked for contamination damage .. I don't usually get depressed ... but that day was an exception. Thankfully, Colin stepped up and dug into his stash of low mileage 993 engine parts and found what we needed for a VERY reasonable sum ... seems there's a few boxes of 'spares' in the attic at 9m due to ... for some reason .. customers wanting 9m manufactured top end bits and bobs that produce 400 horsepower in these little 3.6's ... personally, I don't understand it ..
and at the end of the tear down .. the bottom end was in perfect condition so all was not lost.
When I bought my parts, there were numerous photo's in the ad showing the clamshell in perfect condition ... so much so, it appeared new:
But, when the parts were 'delivered' to me by DATS trucking .. the huge 18 wheeler couldn't get into my road so the driver simply blocked the main arterial and put his emergency flashers on and called me to come get my parts .. over a mile from my house! Luckily, my neighbor had a van I could use, so I dropped everything and hi-tailed it to the truck where over 10 cars were now piled up trying to get around it and on their way. Needless to say, it was a real cluster f**k ..
The driver started unloading and it all looked ok, but then he points out one box and says it looks 'pretty beat up' .. and so, I opened it. It was the clamshell and I checked it out as best I could on the side of the road .. and it seemed allright, so I continued to pack the van and signed off on the shipment. Big mistake. When I got it unpacked back in my garage ... it was damaged big time. Someone had dropped the box hard ... and of course, my damage claim was denied .. I had signed off on the shipment .. AND then DATS told me that even if I had reported the damage at the truck, the insurance that was put on the shipment would only pay $3 a pound for damage ..!!! Clamshell weight: 50lbs .. total damage payout $150!! That wouldn't even have covered the materials .. I guess I could have pursued it in court, but here's a lesson learned from 58 years on this spinning pile of dirt... Pick your battles carefully.Anyway .... once the boys at 9m got into it, more previous accident damage was uncovered as well .. so there you go.
So Lee worked on it ...
...and worked on it ...
until the original Maritime Blue paint color from the factory was revealed :-). But .. it turns out that that color was actually re-sprayed for a black car at the factory ... don't know why ... change of plans in mid-production?? It's a mystery .....
..and it was about that time that I got an email from 9m asking me to call them ... seems Marc, 9m's engine builder, had discovered a few problems during my engine tear down ..
Seems one of the previous owners had "missed a shift" ... and then repaired the engine in what appeared to be "Dr. Jeckel's house of terror" and then sealed it all up with Silicone!! So ... in addition to 3 new pistons, a cam shaft and assorted valves and lifters being needed .. the case had to be split and everything checked for contamination damage ..
I don't usually get depressed ... but that day was an exception. Thankfully, Colin stepped up and dug into his stash of low mileage 993 engine parts and found what we needed for a VERY reasonable sum ... seems there's a few boxes of 'spares' in the attic at 9m due to ... for some reason .. customers wanting 9m manufactured top end bits and bobs that produce 400 horsepower in these little 3.6's ... personally, I don't understand it .. and at the end of the tear down .. the bottom end was in perfect condition so all was not lost.
08-10-2011, 01:15 PM
#207
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08-11-2011, 04:59 AM
#208
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Note to self:
In future log unexpected repairs under a separate job number so you can charge for the extra work ...
08-11-2011, 10:12 AM
#209
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08-11-2011, 10:51 AM
#210
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