Fab64

Hi all,

I am looking at a car that I'm interested in purchasing (on consignment at a boutique dealer). Most of the car seems to be in remarkable condition, hardly any rust anyplace, even underneath, the odometer shows 50k miles, and it feels, looks and drives like a new car. I've looked underneath, and I cannot see any kind of evidence of damage or accidents. Neither does the CARFAX mention any accidents (which I realize is not always accurate). The current owner has only had it 3 years, so he doesn't know anything. I have taken paint meter readings, and the numbers are all over the place (unfortunately, I didn't write them down) - indicating that many panels on the car have been re-painted. All of the gaps on the car look good. But both doors have some fitment issues that I can't explain. The front of both doors are even with the front fenders, but the rear edge of both doors extends out maybe 1/8" to 3/16". It almost looks like the doors are not quite closed, yet they are, tightly. I first thought that the striker plates needed to be moved in on both sides (why would that be?), but the tops (window frames) of each door appear to be tight against the body. It's almost like each door is tweaked, so only the lower door itself is sticking out. I've heard these cars were basically built by hand back then, and there is no adjustment possible - except for using a block of wood near the hinge area, and bending the whole door (I would never try that myself). What do you think is going on here? Surely this can't be the way it came from the factory? I previously owned a 1972 911T many years ago, and I don't remember this kind of ill fitment. How could both doors be wrecked and replaced without any other evidence of damage showing? Is there any adjustment possible in the window frame relative to the door itself? Perhaps they were removed for painting and weren't re-mounted correctly? The rest of the car is so nice that I hate to write it off because of this. I'm going to try to get a professional body man in there to look. In the meantime, anybody have any ideas?

See pics below - I used a piece of wood as a straightedge, to illustrate how much each door is sticking out from the rear quarter panel.

Fab64

My apologies, I should know by now to google these problems before posting them to the forum. I'm now thinking that perhaps the doors were removed for re-painting, and not re-installed correctly. I didn't realize this was common practice during a re-paint. There appear to be lots of articles and some videos of the process. Hopefully, I can verify with a body pro if this is the case.

500

Almost for sure this is a latch adjustment. The "catch" on the door needs to hold the latch (in the door) a bit closer and tighter against the door seal. The catch is adjustable, it is not hard, but the catch bolts are usually set very tight, so excellent quality tools that fit the catch screw head perfectly are important. Also, resist the temptation to use an impact on those screws... can lead to a very bad day!

redridge

+1 on the catch by the sill side... lots of adjustability there to pull in the doors.

Fab64

Thanks for the responses, guys. Part of my freak-out was likely due to getting only 3.5 hours of sleep the night before. I've done a little more research, and I think the paint may be original after all. I've read that factory paint readings of 4 to 7 mil are normal. There are a few deviations from that, but the rest are actually not that far off. The only visual indication of any re-spray I could find is some over-spray on the rubber baffle at left side of front bumper (and the readings for front bumper reflect that). Here are more comprehensive readings I took the next day:



After checking everything else out, I went ahead with the purchase. When the car gets here, I'll try adjusting the doors and see what happens.

Thanks again,

Roger

Mark Salvetti

Congratulations Roger! Is this your first 911? Looking forward to seeing more photos when you get a chance. We can also provide some help on all the ownership quirks that come along with these cars.

Mark

Fab64

Hi Mark,

Thanks! No, not my first; I owned a 1972 911T from 1978 to 1994. I ill-advisedly sold it (more like gave it away!) to pay bills after my divorce. I wasn't sure I would ever get another, but recently decided I had to act before they became un-affordable. And, yes, I plan to take full advantage of the expertise here and on Pelican - something that wasn't available to me my first time around! It's a beautiful car, only 50,546 miles, unmolested except for addition of Whale Tail, spent 25 years of its life in NY but you would never know it by looking, guards red with black leather interior, Sports Seats, limited slip diff., PCCM radio, 16" Fuchs wheels, etc. Here are some pics:

My first (and only, other) one, around 1980.












This is the most amazing part - I think it has always been garaged in Winter:

redridge

congrats on the purchase... looks like a great find!

500

Looks very clean. Congratulations!!