JPP

Finally ... the chassis and main panels are shot in color matt ... this was an exciting time because for me, it marked the point that the car was coming back together ... I hadn't realized until then how hard it had been watching a car that I really loved to begin with being torn asunder. But now, like a Phoenix, she was rising from the ashes better than ever.

JPP

Absolutely did that :-) ... The boys at FDM were pretty impressed with the fit/finish and especially the paint on SpeedArena ... they kept looking at her .. and then moving up close ... and looking again .. then backing up and looking again .. and when I pulled her outside .. it started all over again.

Oh... and Mark drove the car ... he REALLY likes the way she handles with the 9m stiffeners .. noticed an immediate difference the minute he took a corner. he said 'Wow, not like a 'normal' Cabriolet at all, this car is really planted ..'

MarkD

great recap JP

You guys do top notch work Colin. Really impressive stuff.
I've never driven a 993 cab that felt so sure footed.
The finish and depth of the color are amazing.
Love the interior fit and finish, the leather dash is superb

JP definitely made the right call in sending it over for the conversion
cheers!

NineMeister

Thanks for your comments Mark, I'll be sure to pass them on to our Marc & the rest of the team.

Glad that you appreciate the chassis work. Whilst one factor of the improvement can be attributed to the slight reduction in upper body weight, the increased stiffness definitely makes a difference so it's good to know that the update is immediately noticeable. Graham's is planted just the same so we must be doing something right?

JPP

... and the shiny stuff finally gets applied ...





... Marc closely inspects the finish ....



Lot's of color sanding ensues ...





.. and finally the clamshell actually looks like new again ..



In the meantime ... wheels are spruced up and Brake Calipers get brightened ..




.. and in typical 9m fashion .. right after the laquer is dry .. the chassis is wheeled out for final assembly to begin. Note: 3 months time since they began taking my car apart .....!!




..The chassis goes on the lift, and Robin gets right to work ...

MarkD

OK... a few pics from JP's visit to FDM yesterday.

These do not at all do the car justice!

I think my new favorite thinga are the door glass. They are works of art and priced accordingly, apparently

MarkD

a couple more...

NineMeister

Current UK list price around £460 each including tax (~$750), however they may no longer be your favourite part after you have worked for 2 days adjusting the screen, roof & windows to fit each other. No wonder Porsche made all the new owners sign a declaration that they would accept a leaking roof.

JPP

Wow. That's substantially lower than the price I was quoted in 2010 at $1850 a side ..!!

And all they had to do, is hire Marc as a consultant to come to Zueffenhausen and train all the workers on the Speedster assembly line!

So, after slogging across the Napa and Contra Costa valley's yesterday to see the boys at FDM, I had to do a little 'clean up' this morning .. Happy to report when I wash the car with the top up using a force spray nozzle .. I get NO leaking into the interior space On the other hand, my brand new '87 Cabriolet always had water streaking down the inside of the sideglass and droplets on the backs of the seats when I just used a low flow on a garden hose!! Must be doing something right? Well, I'm very pleased .... :-) especially considering the condition of the top when Marc started to put it all together ....

NineMeister

It's a disgrace JP.


That garage desperately needs drywall and floor paint!

JPP

Wow! What a GENEROUS offer, Colin ... when would you like to help me do that??

NineMeister

Go on then, since you asked me so nicely. Can't have SpeedArena spending its nights in such humble surroundings....

RP993

i would go to JP in my free time and help him to finish the garage (or my brigade) but my autumn is fully booked. Both of you know the reason

JPP

Actually, I just finished the new roof and insulation right before SpeedArena got home ... so this is a BIG improvement, you just need some perspective! I LOVE my 'grandpa' garage/workshop ... it's the "anti-thesis" to those fancy places you see in the magazines .. I have an incredible sound system hooked up in there with a 3'x3' subwoofer from my old Klipsch stereo system .. but I have to watch it because it starts vibrating all the spiders down ..


Hmmmm. I wonder what that could be ...
So, do you think you could come over and bring me a new heating and airconditioning system for this space ..?

JPP

... and the build continues unabated

There are a LOT of parts that need to be cleaned and sorted in the background at stripdown and then again at reassembly and these pictures only begin to reveal the enormity of the task that the folks at 9m seem to just take in stride on a job like this .. I can't stress enough the seamless teamwork that just 'happens' here and the impact that has on the finished product, and most of this work is done by memory. Can you imagine the damage, scratches, abrasions and resulting rework to the finished and painted shell if you were shuttling the chassis around to 3 or 4 different shops to get this finish assembly work done? I shudder to think of it ...

Wiring harnesses and other bits and bobs start getting re-threaded through the car ..





.. and then the brakes and suspension start getting re-installed.





Then, other larger assemblies get put in .. ahh, really starting to look like a real car now


In the meantime, Marc in the engine group finishes up my motor's re-assembly after the rebuild .. just like new with the clock turned back to zero :-) Should get a few happy years of use out of that ...



The finished engine is wheeled over to Robin and gets mated to my cleanly scrubbed transmission ..


and then onto the floor jack and into the pristine engine bay .. My favorite thing in these pictures is the brand new engine insulation pad .. I go out in the garage and poke at it all the time now ..




Then a few areas are sprayed Wurth black as they were in the factory .. my car came with it's inner door edges done this way .. some cars didn't. But, because mine came that way originally, I had 9m spray the new Speedster doors the same .. sorry no picture ..



And, that opens the door to the beginning of the interior reinstallation ..