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More photos...
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Someone has been here before… Dealer AC disconnected, License plate lights, wiring, ground straps, rear deck lid latch and rubber adjustment stops missing, blue sealant on carbs, air cleaner snorkel on the wrong way, air hoses missing, pressure fed tensioners, amongst other things…
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And some underneath shots... Don't think that is factory!
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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:
It was evident that 9111121235 was going to have some surprises, but in general looked like a pretty solid chassis to start with… Even California cars will have some rust somewhere, unless they have really been well taken care of by all the owners… And, the plan called for a 3.0 liter engine, a 915 gearbox, RSR suspension, brakes, wheels, etc… so it was inconsequential whether originals were numbers matching or in good shape… SO, after negotiation of the price to 35,000 euros, 9111121235 was mine, and on its way to TwinSpark / Differs…
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Once back at TwinSpark / Differs…
The guys found a little notebook with maintenance and purchase records dating back to December 1987… What was a bit of a surprise, was the car had made its way to New Jersey at that time, where it had the brake system gone through and refreshed – master cylinder, hoses, front callipers, reground discs (haven’t heard of that in a long time) and new tires… Then a few months later, pressure fed tensioners, and a new clutch disc and throw out bearing… 1235 must have been sitting back in the 80s – I don’t know the history or previous owners, so no way of knowing… Having spent some of her life in New Jersey, also had me a bit more concerned about rust and what we would find… But we just wouldn’t know until we took her apart…
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NUMBERS MATCHING:
Looks like 1235 was numbers matching, and indeed was originally delivered in northern California…
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Amazing story - thanks very much !Comment
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UP ON THE LIFT:
Finding out 1235 had lived some of its life in a “snow state”, and after a more detailed inspection showed surface corrosion on the body, drivetrain, suspension and other components (including in the middle of the floor pan, which just seemed strange), we needed to make the decision to stick to the plan phased approach or “bite the bullet” and jump in and do the full restoration now to arrest any additional corrosion setting in... The question was, how bad was the corrosion going to be…
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A nice upside was there was a relatively newish set of SSI heat exchangers, muffler and starter… Someone had been trying to keep 1235 going…
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Rust is our worst enemy with our cars. One has to be on the lookout for it constantly because once it starts, it is an expensive proposition to eliminate. My 67 in Europe was eaten alive by 1970.Comment
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1235 was numbers matching with most of the original components, albeit having some problem(s) that had made it a non-runner, and in need of long overdue maintenance, and had a factory sunroof…
The questions were - was 1235 the right 911 for the planned RSR style build, or would it be more suited to a sympathetic restoration, or a restoration with a 2.5 twin-plug MFI engine, and uprated suspension and brakes?
The first thing was to strip it down and see what if any surprises were waiting… we still had time to think about what 9111121235 would be when she grew up…
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First the interior needed to be removed…
Especially the dealer added AC... The plan is to use 1235, so AC and heat are part of the planned build… Classic Retrofit’s electric AC might be an option… While electric may not be as efficient as piston compressors, it also doesn't mount on the engine, which IMHO detracts from the performance look of a high butterfly MFI engine…
It is hard to be so far away from TwinSpark / Differs… I can’t just drop by and see how it is going… and waiting to see how bad the rust was going to be, was definitely testing my ability to compartmentalize things…
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Amazing what a few hours can do…
Joost sent me the pictures below with the short text – Looking solid so far!
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Good news…
The original doors were still on 1235… And the shut lines / gaps were pretty good…
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