Bought a 68...

[Dan@SharkWerks]

I bought a '68 912 last week...

Cliff notes: Original paint and presumably motor (but rebuilt), all interior and accessories intact. Aftermarket carbs and exhaust, rusty floorpans but not terrible, some rust on fenders but overall not in bad shape!

It wasn't running and the only other guy that looked at it chickened out at the sight of rust, but it apparently had only been leaking for a couple years (the current owner just didn't care and let the car sit outside in rain even though they knew it had bad seals). I had it started in about 20 minutes after bringing it back to the shop. It clearly needs a lot of work but I've got time and access to lots of Porsche parts and references...





I was reading the manual and thought this was pretty neat:

Judging by the car you have chosen,
you are a motorist of a special caste.
Although you probably are no freshman
when it comes to automobiles, we
have compiled much useful information
in the section entitled Operating
Instructions with which you should
become familiar before driving your
Porsche.
Additionally, the remainder of this
manual is equally important and we ask
of you to devote your attention to it
at your hour of leisure.
We wish you many miles of pleasure
and accomplishments in your Porsche

Dr.-Ing. h. c. F. Porsche KG
Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen
West Germany

The ad says "Doesn't run". Gee...










I removed every ounce of carpet, extra interior, and most of the insulation/sound deadener from the car already. It was all soaking wet from a recent rain. I'll be restoring an inch or two at a time at this rate but haven't decided on a game plan. For now I just want to drive it...



Hood was repainted at some point and looks really bad compared to the rest of the paint...






Ugliest part of the whole car:


Surgery begins...


First order... new brakes and caliper rebuild kits



Last weekend I tried to drive it, but noticed the gas pedal was sticking. I spent a few hours removing this monstrosity:


Throttle arm was completely stuck.


I had to drill a hole between the bushings and inject penetrating spray. Then torched it for a bit and eventually freed it up. The gas pedal flopped around though because it's just a big rubber pad on these cars that pushes a rod, so I had to replace it.



Fuel pump was acting up so I threw in an electric for now.



This oil line was also leaking:


So I removed the distributor and replaced it:



Oil leak was fixed, but I noticed it's leaking a bit of gas, too. I ordered the rebuild kits for the Weber Redline carbs today. I should have it tomorrow but probably can't get to it until Monday.

Current state is that it runs excellent and drives fine except the gas leak that scares me enough to let it stay parked until I fix it... The wet interior's out and it's all dry, so the car smells a lot nicer now. I don't have much into it yet and won't go crazy with 100% resto (out of my personal budget), but I thought it'd be a fun car to kick around as I learn a bit about a classic.

I've got my black plates ready for July..

[Keithr726]

Congrats on the new purchase! Look like a fun project.

[sharkster]

Good one Dan and he's just hung up on Spy Game!

[kcwsJim]

Congrats with the purchase! looks like a solid car to work with, enjoy

[Eric - Plug Guy]

Just don't let Alex near that thing.....he'll add teeth and a shark fin, then it's all over.

Nice sample, can't wait to see the finished product. GL with it.

[AOW162435]

Sweet! One day.....


Andreas

[ecostellodo]

the 912 guys at

http://www.912bbs.org/

might be interested in this as well. looks like a lot of fun.

eric

[Streetfighter]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for that? Looks like a lot of money and fun!

[Dan@SharkWerks]

Just got the carburetor rebuild kits to rejuvenate the leaking Webers:

Originally Posted by Keithr726

Congrats on the new purchase! Look like a fun project.

Thanks Keith, I've always wanted one of these and think I'll have fun restoring it.

Originally Posted by sharkster

Good one Dan and he's just hung up on Spy Game!

Every time I look at the car, the theme from Spy Game plays...

Originally Posted by kcwsJim

Congrats with the purchase! looks like a solid car to work with, enjoy

Thanks Jim! Yes it looks like a decent starter for the project. Could definitely be worse.

Originally Posted by Eric - Plug Guy

Just don't let Alex near that thing.....he'll add teeth and a shark fin, then it's all over.

Nice sample, can't wait to see the finished product. GL with it.

Thanks Eric, and you're right about keeping Alex away. Anything he touches comes back with 50% more horsepower but an empty gas tank.

Originally Posted by ecostellodo

the 912 guys at

http://www.912bbs.org/

might be interested in this as well. looks like a lot of fun.

eric

Hi Eric,
Thanks and I have seen that forum. I was meaning to post it up there as well, I guess with all the cross-posting I forgot about one of those most important forums.

Originally Posted by Streetfighter

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for that? Looks like a lot of money and fun!

Sure, check your PMs.

[philip912]

Welcome to the 912 world! Your pictures remind me of the 4 year restoration that I went through on my '68. I remember every mistake that I made but with the help and support of the 912 Registry and their BB it came out very nice. Ran it on the track last weekend at California Speedway. Don't be afraid to go to the BB at the 912.org for help. they are a great bunch of guys with a lot of experience.

[Dan@SharkWerks]

Hi Philip,
Your car is absolutely beautiful! Is that Ossi blue?

I noticed you're in Hemet, CA. That's where this car supposedly came from a few years back. Does it look familiar to you? I believe the previous owner's name was Carl...

[philip912]

The color is a paint made by Dupont "hot Hues". It is called "blue mood".

I don't recoginize your car. I have only seen one other 912 in Hemet a '68 Targa.

[butzip]

Dan,

Congratulations!! you look like you have your work cut out for you, but you are way ahead of most for a starting point! Here's my 67'. Lot's of tricks and details. My dad bought this car in 68' and I have been workin' it since I was 15 yrs old (1988). It was blown up and rotted to the ground when I got my hands on it and now it eats 911s at the track...... There is no substitue (for light weight and balance)

[sharkster]

we're behind ya' Dan... And here's James' (the other owner of SharkWerks) 912 before he sold it...

[Dan@SharkWerks]

Since I was sick for a few days I got behind, but today I had a few hours so I pulled both carburetors from the motor. Those inner nuts were kind of a bitch, mainly because one of the studs was way too long.

Overall though, easy-peasy and I had the carbs out in about a half hour.




I took apart just one today. Both are actually leaking in the same place (the accelerator pump diaphragm was ripped).

Here's my "Carburetor Rebuild Workshop" (sponsored by Brembo and HRE):


Taking it apart into layers, it was clear that it was really nasty inside anyway:


Here's what was causing the gas to leak into the engine bay:


I spent a couple hours with carburetor cleaner and Scotch-brite pads scrubbing and cleaning up the exterior of the main housing, then cleaned all the gasket surfaces, blew everything out, and replaced the float valve. Finally I replaced the torn diaphragm and reassembled everything with new gaskets:




The rebuild kit actually did not include the top gasket, so I will need to cut a couple myself. It just connects the carb to the air cleaner housing. I also did not spend a whole lot of time on the "Redline" air cleaner lid yet that's heavily corroded. I'll either sand it down and paint it, then sand off the stuff that sticks up (making the Redline logo etc. chrome and the rest black) or just polish the whole thing.