Early 911 - what to look out for?

[morris944s2john]

I think we are talking the same langauge too[]. Like you my background is in restoring British classic cars. I also have an interest in Porsches, having owned one for the last 10 years. I'd love to own an early 911, but could never realistically afford a restored example, and would struggle to meet the costs many professional resorers charge, and would be left with the nagging feeling that certain jobs were not done as well as I'd have liked.

The obvious route to me is to buy a project early 911 and restore it myself. Full photographic resto, with the story posted on the web. I'll do the paint work and mechanicals myself in addition to restoring the body.

Yes, I have no doubt that some hopeful home restorers have made a hash of an early 911 by being too keen with the grinder and not using the grey matter, but that doesn't mean I will.

Don;t worry, I'm not about to imminently jump into anything, I'm carefully honing my skills on easier projects. This could be years away.

The thing that gripes me is when someone says "you can't do that, you must get a professional" , which I don't believe. That immediately makes me want to do it to prove them wrong! Nothing personal its a general thing.

What should be a plus point in my favour is that I'm on a restoration college course which has a jig and all the necessary equipment for restoring cars, and the tutor in the evening is a professional who restores Aston Martins, Maserati's and sometimes Porsches for a living. The head of the course is a Porsche fan, so I'll need some time to persuade these guys that I'm a regular there and that my future project is worth some time on the jig and space in the college workshop.

I'd partucilarly like a 1972 2.4E targa in yellow or orange![] So please don;t try and put me off, it won't work! [] However, some specific helpul information would be useful.

Sincere and Humble apologies to the thread starter for the hijack!

 

[jamescharnley]

there are quite a few members on the DDK who have restored some pretty bad basket cases . Pop along to www.ddk-online.co.uk & they'll be able to help out with any questions you might have []

I know Philip appreciates that there is a huge skill base out there lurking behind garage doors fettling away at cars []

 

[morris944s2john]

Thanks James, there is a chap on the college course who is restoring a 356, making a lot of the panels himself. (I had to keep waiting for the bugger to finish on the English wheel![]) He mentioned a forum thats full of Porsche restorers, I'll take a look, sounds good.[]

 

[pmjt]

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john
Yes, I have no doubt that some hopeful home restorers have made a hash of an early 911 by being too keen with the grinder and not using the grey matter, but that doesn't mean I will.

Yup - I understand this - a DDK'er 'Barry' did one of the most incredible restorations at home - and he's a landscape gardner! He's the most talented restorer I've ever seen (his Triumph TR4 resto from a box of bits is a thing of great beauty).

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john
Don;t worry, I'm not about to imminently jump into anything, I'm carefully honing my skills on easier projects. This could be years away.

Cool - 911's are generally pretty easy to work on - all I was trying to convey is that *some* of the areas shown on Nick's webpage are really hard for even the pro's to get right. And they're not obvious on a car when you inspect it prior to buying....

I have a 356 Carrera 4 Cam coupe I'm working on - it was rolled with a half cage in about forty years ago - in those days it was patched up for racing again the next week - even 'experts' didn't spot the repair for thirty years - NOW coming to the shell, the alignment is completely wrong - it jigged fine but door and shut panel fit will never be right as it is - removing the A pillars means where do you start from? I've left the tricky bits to someone I trust as if the alignment's out at the front, the floors / sills will never sit right no matter what you try and do.

The big problem with restoration of an early 911 is trying to correct the errors made in previous repairs - when either the technology or inclination (as at that time, values were low) meant things weren't done properly.

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john
The thing that gripes me is when someone says "you can't do that, you must get a professional" , which I don't believe. That immediately makes me want to do it to prove them wrong! Nothing personal its a general thing.

I wholeheartedly salute anyone who wants to jump in - I've only just got back into working on my cars again - partly because I have more time - and partly because a mate helped me regain my confidence.

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john
I'd partucilarly like a 1972 2.4E targa in yellow or orange![] So please don;t try and put me off, it won't work! [] However, some specific helpul information would be useful.

Never meant to put anyone off - just go in with your eyes open and you'll be fine.

The OTHER thing to bear in mind when approaching the more difficult bits is that the future value of these beasts is only going one way and so a home restorer, COULD be doing something that slashes the future value.

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john
Sincere and Humble apologies to the thread starter for the hijack!

I think this whole discussion has brought out two key points - a) early 911's are great but avoid like the plague anything that's been butchered / poorly repaired as you can budget twice what you bought it for to correct the problems and b) there are some jobs that need to be done with great skill and care - and specialist equipment - but that doesn't mean a home restorer can't do them - they just require detailed knowledge and planning.

Go get your Targa and drive it like you stole it []

P