RTOY

Where was this done and how much did it cost?

Carrera51

Knowing kurt's skills on all matters car related, my guess is he did it himself.

Looks awesome! I can't wait to see what he builds out of it.

kurt M

Hey Mark, Long time no see. How's the family? I need to give you a call at work. I have a good sized shopping list as this one is mine this time....

No I did not strip it myself. The tub was good enough that I thought about just cleaning the paint and sealer as I went with wire wheels and heat guns. I wanted to seam weld this one and also did not want to crap up the Taj with 60 pounds of paint funk and seam seal kibble all over everything or **** off the locals with an angle grinder and wire wheel going for days so I had it done by Ready Strip in Allentown PA 610 437 7878. Not cheap and a long drive there and back but the tub came out as expected.

The tub was right around 575 pounds (IIRC, I have the real # at home) with the empty but ungutted doors bolted on. I will reweigh it this weekend before I flip it over for seam welding and see how well the fire diet works.

Question for the real track car builders here. My plan is to flip and seam weld. Flip back and lock down in a self built 6 point frame jig. Jig rear points will be the T tube 4 bolt area and the fronts will be the rack bolt points then one each side welded to seam at center of longs. Rack will be made from some 1 3/4 EW tubing I got free as part of a bulk purchase of tubing and will be very carefully leveled to the 6 points and triangulated to maintain square. Then I plan to cut out front fire wall, rear seat areas, sunroof crap, the old bumper reinforcement areas and anything else that even looks heavy or not needed. Install cage, susp point tubing and mountings for seats and fuel cell. (the tubing will get progressively smaller the further away from the drivers compartment I get for the most part. Install new fire walls front and rear replace with sheet metal the areas removed from the corners and fill the sun roof hole. Then start on the fab work for mounting all the stuff like tanks, seats, peddle cluster oil cooler, cooler and brake ducting and on.

What am I missing for this portion of the work?

BTW I am always looking for pix of nice cage and suspension reinforcement work. I have a basic plan for the tubing work but it has changed in big and little ways about 20 times already.

Geoffrey

You'll want to check with the race series rules as to the tubing requirements. Since your car will be under 2500lbs (I would hope), PCA requires 1.5x.095" mild steel or 1.375x.095" if using alloy steel. I'd recommend the former. Second, check the rules book about cutting the chassis apart. PCA for instance says that the front and rear firewalls need to be stock.

My 964 chassis with the cage, steel quarters, solid roof, and powdercoat weighed 571lbs. Your early chassis should weigh less. I also used Readi Strip of Allentown. That place is scary...but for the chemicals they are using it looks like a good place for them.

You may want to do a search on the 964 forum for "racecar project" which chronicles my car build. For the most part, I TIG welded my chassis, not MIG. Here is a picture of what I used when seam welding my chassis:

Larry Herman

Geoffrey, I still can't believe that you built that car in your garage. Amazing!

Readi Strip in Allentown, just a hop, skip & a jump for me!

kurt M

Thanks for the tips. I too will be Tig welding where it is best. I wil be using 1.50 X .095 for the cage and building to PCA GT rules at a min. I am checking with PCA as to the front fire wall. CR rules say that a rear fire wall has to exist but does not have it in the remains stock list. The front wall is a joke as it is more hole than metal. I don't want to sit and fill 50 frigging holes just to keep the contents of my fuel cell and oil tank from hosing me down in a front end hit. I would rather tube and then install better than stock protection by replacing clean metal in same locations as original but without all the holes. My pitch is it will be more safe than stock but not a race advantage.

The front shock towers are listed but I see aftermarket towers on cars. Are they legal in C.R. GT?

Geoffrey

"The front shock towers are listed but I see aftermarket towers on cars. Are they legal in C.R. GT?"

By the strictest interpretation of the rules, no. I think you are talking about the replacement weld-in strut towers that incorporate adjustment for camber.

"Geoffrey, I still can't believe that you built that car in your garage."

Neither can I. Wait until you see it in person...

Rob S

Kurt or Geoffrey,

As far as you know was the same stripping process used for both cars? Does that vendor have different options or is this how they do all of them?

And what does it cost, if I may ask?

I had a similar job done on an early 911 tub in 1996 near Los Angeles, but they used an alkaline solution, not an acid. I'm not sure how much heating was involved. At the time, it wasn't that expensive -- maybe $700, but I bet it costs more now, if it can even be done there anymore. Sure does a nice job, though. It totally cleans the slate. And two guys could lift the tub, with some effort!

Rob

kurt M

List price is $1200 for the tub. Not cheap but real cheap when the filth in the lungs # is factored in.

kurt M

Weighted the tub this weekend. The stripping dropped the weight of the tub and two doors from 569 to 502 pounds.

ed devinney

Under $20/pound!

Phokaioglaukos

Well, I saw (ogled) it in person, and got a ride around WGI in it. Photos just do NOT do it justice. It really changed my appreciation of 911s. Words fail me.

kurt M

Ha, Had not looked at it that way. When you look at it that way I bet $20 a pound is well less than some folks spend at times. I was looking at FG doors and passed after I balanced the weight savings over a gutted stock door. I am always looking for weight reduction in this one but was more inclined to get past the heating, digging, wirewheeling and the 50 little fires that get set when welding in a cage in an unstripped car. It comes off the car and goes everywhere else.

Geoffrey

Rob,

Since the same place was used, I believe the same process was used on both cars. About the only thing you could do differently would be to have the chassis baked only and then media blasted rather than dipped in the acid solution. That might be a better way. Your chassis had a black coating on it if I recall which would make it nice if it prevented rust. The downside is that you really need nice clean metal for seam welding, especially if you are using a TIG welder. Once the cage is installed, dipping it creates other problems like how to get the acid solution to drain out of the cage. I have not really found a good solution without being at Weissach where you could have a brand new tub.

Chris, it was my pleasure, I hope to see you again.

FixedWing

Doesn't the heat warp the sheetmetal panels slightly?

Stephen