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'70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: March 27th, 2017, 9:25 pm
by Simon
This is obviously not Fiat TC or engine building based, but I thought some member here might be interested in one of my other never ending projects.
Other than a 124 Spider, the other car that I had always dreamed of owning was a Porsche 911. In 1998 I finally fulfilled this dream by buying this US import '70 911T. This was the entry level 911 model of its time, with the E and S sitting above it, and was the first year of the longer wheelbase cars. So it has the 2.2 litre engine with twin triple carbs and 'softer' camshafts than the E and S, and lower spec. brakes and suspension setup.
It had one owner from new and came with an enormous paperwork file including the bill of sale, and mountains of receipts from Porsche and 911 'specialists'. The original owner spent an absolute fortune on it.
It served as my daily driver and track toy until around 2004 when I decided I really needed to take it off the road and sort the deteriorating body out before it got any worse - the British climate was making short work of what had been nicely preserved in the Californian sunshine for 28 years! It also leaked like a sieve whenever it rained.
Up until this point I had gradually updated and repaired it to keep it alive and useable, including a swap to European headlights, pressure fed chain tensioners, a proper suspension geometry set (midway between track and road spec.), Fuchs wheels, SSI headers/exhaust, Recaro seats and the usual service items.
- As bought in 1998 - from California to a UK winter!
- 911 1998 as bought 640x480.jpg (383.17 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- Negotiating the hairpin at Cadwell
- Cadwell Harpin.jpg (409.19 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- Isle of Mull, waiting for the ferry
- Waiting for the ferry.jpg (384.25 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
The aim now to get it back into a sound and nice usable and presentable condition with all the rot and paint attended too. I'm currently going down the 'junior' RS route as its the only financially viable way I can afford it. The car is currently in storage a few miles away but should be back in the garage by the summer for work to continue.
I've not really got time for full blow-by-blow build account of the rebuild, so I'll just post up some captioned pictures with the odd comment here and there. I'll start with some pics from the strip down back in '04
- I knew about the filler covering up this area when I bought the car.
- P1200001.jpg (361.25 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- This (as I suspected) is what lay on the other side - a known 911 rot spot.
- P2020017.jpg (479.58 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- Front wings off
- P1250004.jpg (398.44 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- Removing the wings revealed some rot..jpg (454.24 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- Nearside support was slightly worse..jpg (412.38 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
The cause of the windsceen leak
- O/S A pillar base
- P7190003.jpg (431.26 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- N/S A pillar base
- P7200006.jpg (441.75 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- P2020001.jpg (442.83 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- Luggage compartment
- P8050006.jpg (456.2 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- Fuel Tank out
- P8090012.jpg (457.17 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
I had sufficient doubt about what may lie beneath the rest of the body, that I decided to strip it back to bare metal.
- Stripping the paint thankfully didn't reveal too many horrors
- P8020027.jpg (442.95 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- Evidence of a prang
- P2230009.jpg (389.04 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
- A layer of filler from some minor accident damage.
- P8020031.jpg (430.19 KiB) Viewed 32555 times
I think that's enough of the strip down on the body. I will start posting up the progress on the remedial work next.
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: March 28th, 2017, 6:53 pm
by Guy Croft
MODEL POST!!
Full of interest and an interesting narrative and super photos! Well-done Simon and thanks very much for sharing this important post.
Insfofar as "this is obviously not Fiat TC or engine building based post..." I will simply say that this is the GCRE Race Engine Forum, not the GCRE Fiat Lancia Forum..
In my works at present I have units from Audi, VW, Aston-Martin, Fiat, Lancia, Alfa. And that's just March 2017.
Don't want to clutter Simon's thread so I will just say there is more at
https://www.facebook.com/GuyCroftRacing
I understand that lots of people don't like Facebook, but it does have an important role in connecting GCRE to the world beyond UK shores.
Very sincerely,
G
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: March 28th, 2017, 9:06 pm
by Simon
Thanks Guy, I tend to forget the diversity of machinery that passes through GCRE.
Here are some more pics, starting with the repair of the rotted out corners of the rear parcel shelf.
.
- Trying to figure out what the shape the original panel was from the remove section. The separate bracket spot welded to the panel is the mount for the luggage strap.
- P2220001.jpg (393.98 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- Starting to form the shape of the original pressings as best I could. I removed the luggage strap bracket to replace on the new panel.
- P2220002.jpg (390.74 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- Shape nearly there
- P2220003.jpg (357.28 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- One of many trial fits, gradually pulling into shape and place with self-tappers
- P2220004.jpg (415.79 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- The rotted sections also have the engine lid hinges spot welded to them on the underside. So these had to come off too.
- P2220007.jpg (433.84 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- Finally welded in place and the luggage strap bracket reattached.
- P4040014.jpg (404.14 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- The other side needed similar attention, but with a smaller and thankfully simpler panel
- P7190002.jpg (418.94 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- The other side needed similar attention, but with a smaller and thankfully simpler panel
- P7190002.jpg (418.94 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- Poor picture, but this shows the engine lid hinge back in place
- P7190009.jpg (419.48 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- Repair welded in and cleaned up
- P7190012.jpg (421.59 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- With the shelf corner fixed, I could reconstruct the internal seam. Its quite a complex area where several panels (shelf, inner wing, rear wing and roof, sunroof drains) all meet. Its apparently a 'rear wing off' job in many cases.
- P2230010.jpg (412.62 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- Final repair section tacked in place
- P2230011 (1).jpg (394.34 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- Welded and cleaned up.
- P2230013.jpg (370.2 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- This is one of the areas that was lead loaded at the factory. So I decided to do the same. This is applying the tinning, the brown areas are the flux
- P4120011 (1).jpg (414.26 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- Smoothing off the lead (wooden spatular and tallow used)
- P4120015.jpg (297.48 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- Filing lead to the correct profile
- P4120016.jpg (332.3 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- A coat of smooth Hammerite (mixed red and yellow to get a reasonable match to the Signal Orange.) Its all hidden under the thick foam sound deadening anyway
- P4180087.jpg (405.87 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
- All solid and sound again.
- P4180100.jpg (388.78 KiB) Viewed 32531 times
Next up will be the repairs I did to the front wing supports.
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: March 29th, 2017, 11:55 am
by Will01
Fantastic. I love air cooled 911's. You have a very cool car there. (Really want a 993 2wd myself, but we will see!)
Nice work done so far and you will have me following with a great level of interest.
Don't worry about non Fiat/Lancia etc i have my own FORD resto on going on this forum.
We just like to see good work and engineering going on which you have certainly shown so far.
Keep up the good work and enjoy
Will
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: March 29th, 2017, 9:34 pm
by Simon
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: March 30th, 2017, 11:46 am
by Will01
Working quickly then haha.
Alot of good work there, it looks worse than my Capri did and that saying something haha.
Even more glad you saved it.
Yes unfortunately now i think there will never be a day a can afford an aircooled 911. I think the 993 is already out the window unless i can somehow get a sheel and build it over a few decades! haha.
The only way i am going to be able to afford one is to turn to the darkside and buy a 996 water cooled! But that isn't really the same.
Anyway greeat work as i said before, this will be great once done and you can be happy in the knowledge you didn't have to sell a few houses to buy one.
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: March 30th, 2017, 5:55 pm
by Guy Croft
and folk say Fiat and Lancia rusted away..! Like they were any different from any other car...
ALL cars rusted in those days.
What's made the big difference? Those days of chronic car-corrosion are pretty-well over.
Anyone know?
G
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: March 30th, 2017, 9:46 pm
by Simon
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: March 30th, 2017, 9:53 pm
by Simon
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: April 1st, 2017, 10:09 am
by Simon
Re: '70 911T - The long road to recovery
Posted: April 1st, 2017, 7:32 pm
by Spider 1969
Great project. Nice to see it's progress. Friend of mine owned a similar one with gas flowed heads and bigger inlet valves. Ran very smooth with great torque on the "T" cam shafts. Keep it up!
Regards,
Charles