Fishcop's 911t Restoration 2010

[Fishcop]

I thought I'd start a new and easily searchable thread on here to document OLE911's restoration. I'm giving myself this year to complete it, but won't punish myself if it takes a little longer...

In the interest of completeness, a little on the history of this 911t as I'm aware. It is an August 1969 build and it was delivered to Hamiltons as an Aussie RHD delivery. It was delivered in Ossie Blue, equipped with a sportomatic and no sunroof. It was purchased in early 1970 and went to a doctor in Canberra. Some time later it ended up in Melbourne and appears to have had around 5 owners before I got it in Brisbane circa 2000. It apparently had rust removed (sills and pans) and painted in Melbourne circa 1996.

When I bought it I was actively looking for an early 911, despite the advice I was given to buy the latest I could afford with a galvanised body, I had a feeling it would be a better long term decision to choose a narrow bumpered long nose toy. The current Arrow Blue colour grabbed me immediately - it is very vivid in the flesh and cameras/computer monitors often don't do it justice.

The car was missing so much of the original interior that it looked nothing like a 911 inside. Someone had also deleted all the anodised bright work in favour of the later 'blacked out' look. But it had also had SC flares added along with a set of 7&8x15 Fuchs and quite a nice stance.

In 2001 I was posted to Townsville where I spent a lot of time on the water working. In the brief breaks I had, I set about returning the bright work, getting rid of the chrome from the fuchs (yes they were chromed), and restoring the interior to a basic black. A lot of the brightwork had been sanded to key the black paint so the anodise was rooted. I removed what was left and set about polishing all the alloy to a fine finish (thank you Mothers). I did notice some "minor" rust in the floor which I resolved to get around to...

The car has been all around Queensland and had various iterations from the strange car it was when I got it, to an RS replica, track whore, and now to a sort of period "sports purpose" road car. There's not much I haven't cleaned up or replaced at some time or another. I've also built the RS spec engine in the car and replaced the sporto with a 915 I also rebuilt (the original stuff is still with me for the matching number anoraks).

Anyway, today began the full front to back body and paint restoration. The car will be repainted in the original Ossi Blue (I will definitely miss the Arrow Blue) but it will keep the flares and wider wheels, and will still be a hotrod in preference to a nut and bolt concours resto. The following photos cover about 5 hours in the garage today.

The last photos are of the support/flipping dollies I'm considering. The Octagon idea is one I've pinched from various sources (mainly Wevo and Gary Emory in the States). They are easy to use and don't take up as much room as a rotisserie. The final photo is of a an early car in Ossi Blue...

[Chris912]

John - looks like a great project. Don't worry, ossi blue is also a great colour...

Chris

[jock69t]

John - Thanks for taking the time to post the record of your restoration. I, for one, will be looking forward to updates. In relation to the restoration of the brightwork that you have done previously, what did you use to remove the paint and the remaining anodising? I have tried a paint remover but it seems to have some caustic soda like content that attacks the aluminium as well as the paint and anodising. Did you clear coat the aluminium after polishing? Do you have any tips and traps advice for polishing the aluminium?

Hope you don't mind answering what are probably very basic questions.

[griffiths_r]

Originally Posted by Fishcop

It is an August 1969 build and it was delivered to Hamiltons as an Aussie RHD delivery. It was delivered in Ossie Blue, equipped with a sportomatic and no sunroof.

sounds very similar to my car (except irish green)!!

[Fishcop]

Hi Jock, I don't mind answering at all.

I used Easy Off oven cleaner - the one which contains lye. It seems to be enough to remove the anodise. I then used stainless steel wool to remove the remains. I followed that up by sanding with 2000 wet and dry paper (with water and some liquid soap). From then on it was Mothers Metal polish until I was happy.

I've found I only need to re-polish 1-2 times a year.

This restoration will hopefully include having all the bright work re-anodised, though I have seen a car with all the brightwork powdercoated in a "chrome" finish which was really quite nice and MUCH cheaper than anodising.

I'll also be removing the aerial hole and I'm thinking of removing the filler door and refuelling with the bonnet up... but that may be a bit cumbersome. I don't think I want to go to the trouble of a 'centre fill' arrangement.

If anyone wants specific photos of things otherwise hard to see/photograph, just let me know.

[Cameron Arnott]

Looking good John, I admire your skill set (and garage space!)

Wouldn't a rotisserie be the most space effective though?

[Fishcop]

Cheers Cam

I had the luxury of entertaining Hayden Burvill from Wevo all last weekend (catching up with family here in Oz) and in between the beers, we discussed all things Porsche restoration and hotrods

Hayden doesn't like rotisseries for unibody cars where key metal is being replaced. In my case, I suspect I'll be replacing a whole floor pan and don't want it coming out of square. Although targas are notorious for 'turning taco' on rotisseries when someone fails to reinforce them, coupe's can twist on rotisseries also if strategic reinforcement isn't welded in. Also the attachment points people use on the 911 tend to be at the very ends which creates un-natural loads on the seams I might be needing to work on. Hayden put me on to Gary Emory's website which shows "The Rack" they use for restos, and Wevo use the same principles http://www.emorymotorsports.com/the-rack . Essentially two octagons which tie into the suspension pick ups which sit on moveable wheels to dolly the car around in any orientation.

So long as the car is drive train and suspension free, the shell is quite light and can be tipped about with no probs.

The "Octotisserie" actually maximises my space as a rotisserie chews up a fair bit of space front and rear of the car, and it has the advantage of literally "racking" the car for easy on/off trailer transportation to blasters/painters (where it can be tipped around).

Also, this is something I'm comfortable making, whereas the home made rotisseries from engine stands just scare me...

Once it's finished the Octotisserie stores flat/vertical against the garage wall and can be lent to others (the configuration means it doesn't matter if it's an early or later 911). To build this in new 30x30 box I'll be up for $300, but depending on how much scrap I can find I'll defray the costs there.

[Classic]

I agree with your decision with regard to the rotisserie John, I did a lot of research before starting my restoration and decided that i didn't won't any possibility of flex, and i was only working on the rockers.

I ended up making a dolly that sits under the floor pan, with the drive train removed, all the measurement that i made confirm that i had no flex.

It has meant the work that I've done on the underneath has been on a creeper, but hey it's good for your soul.

Tony

[Fishcop]

Hi Tony, I was prepared to get under there on a creeper also, but would much prefer the ability to choose the angle of attack!

I got a couple of hours in the garage today and finished removing all hinged items, pop out windows, and front/rear screens, and most of the interior trim including headliner. I'll try for the dash and gauges this week and looms. I'm keeping the ability to put the wheels on for the time being until a dolly or octotisserie is finished.

Unfortunately the sill repairs from 14 years ago are failing and I will be cutting them free to re-do the inner panels again. The outers seem fine, so I should be able to re-use them with a patch or two.

Tony, what products/process are you using for bare metal prep?

[Classic]

John,

I took the paint off with an orbital and 80 grit. It leaves nice fine scratches for filler work. Seeing that our 69ers don't have any galvanised panels, you won't affect the finish.

I don't like paint removal chemicals, and was concerned about warping with blasting seeing that my car had three layers of paint on it.

Did some research on Soda and was steered away by a couple of pro painters, who mentioned they have had adhesion problems.

I spot media blasted anywhere that I’ve found an area that needed work, so as to make sure i had clean metal for welding.

I've butt welded everything that didn't get plug welded on, so as to maintain the original appearance of the panel, and ensure that there are less places for rust to form under seams.

I've treated any bare metal with Picklex before and after welding, did some testing and found that I could leave a panel unpainted for about 3 months, which I thought was pretty good considering that I live 300 meters from the beach.

I've followed a technique that Daryl of 912 restoration fame has done previously, and have given my welds a smear with JB weld to ensure that I don't have any pin holes, as you can't get a shop light at the back of a lot of the panels.

I really like Evercote products and use "All Metal" over my welds after Epoxy priming, then "Rage Extreme".

Can you tell I’m paranoid about rust coming back?

I hope you've got AC in your garage? It's been far too hot for me here, and with this mozzie plague i'd get carried away at night.

Hope that helps

Tony