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Thread: Five Eighty-Seven...

  1. #1
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    Five Eighty-Seven...

    I've been hanging 'round here a long time. Long time. Like, 10 years. That was, middle school; 7th grade. Yeah. I know.

    I don't remember not seeing Porsches. Used to ride a 1970 911T to pre-school. Remember that car. Some stripper model in white, with nothing on it. 4 speed. Steel wheels. Someone walked into the dealer and asked for the cheapest 1970 911 they had. And you know what? That thing was fun.

    One of those early morning rides to pre-school Dad and I were running late. I was being slow getting ready or something. Dad was pissed. Don't remember why, just remember the frown on his face.

    We got in the car. Ran some stop signs because we were in a hurry. You always stop at certain places on the way, you know, but that time we didn't. Then we hit this on-ramp. Picture #3.

    That changed everything.

    I remember feeling the back end come around a bit. I ended up in my Dad's lap. ...Now, when I could finally sit up again after we slingshot onto the freeway, I thought my Dad was going to cut my head off. But I looked at him and I just smiled, and he smiled back.

    That was it. Really, it's true, nothing else quite does it after that.

    Fast-forward through some years. The 911T was accompanied by a 356 Hardtop ('62S Black/Red), then an '82SC (White/Chocolate). Dad planned some kind of RS replica project for the 70 911T, but never did it and sold it to a friend of his. He had a heart attack at 48 and that was that.

    He told stories of a legendary 70 911 he built before I was born, stories of some type of old-school R Gruppe running across California. Packs of S's at 115mph. I found out later it was actually an Irish Green '70 911E, now in the hands of andrew15, 9110200350, that was fitted with a 2.5L built from a 2.2S (6301418). It was repainted in Gran Prix white with RS flares and a 72S spoiler. Picture #1 and #2, Irish Green 70E, and later, after my Dad's mods.

    Sold it to get my childhood home. Always wanted to get back to that car. . .that idea. . .somehow. It was IT. Certainly, now you'd all take the black trim and wheels off-in fact Andrew did-but that thing was cool. I loved the idea of a father-son project, goofing around with that white T that he had, turning it into some kinda something. But it wasn't to be. . .

    So, I set out to do the project anyway. I didn't have the car and I didn't know $hit, at 13, but I was going to figure it out.

    Did the normal thing. Went to school. Had friends. Played football. Ran track. Had a cute girly. Jammed out in a garage band on the weekends. . .

    But, when summer came, I think when I was 15, I decided I'd buy a cheap 69E motor that someone overrevved. Brilliant idea right? Spend all your savings on a blown 911 motor for a car you don't have.

    Turned out, it was full of S parts and got it back together with a new valve, a machinist nearby that hand cut a valve seat for me, and a new rocker arm. Sold it on and made out pretty well. Onto the next thing! At that point, my family all realized I was secretly insane.

    Now, move through a few more years of high school, dreaming and fiddling with 911 motors, doing humdrum work to get things back in shape and summer jobs. Saved every cent. Worked obsessively at times. Looked at classified ads.

    Went and saw a 69 Tangerine T for $8k. Owner seemed to be hiding something. Car was aligned terribly. No deal.

    Found a 'project' 70 T in Eagle Rock, in Albert Blue no less. But that was missing all kinds of things, least of all the motor. And one of the things I learned pretty early on was the 911 is really full of valuable pieces-alloy this and special that-and once you take the pieces off, and add rust, you have not very much left. So I walked on that one.

    Everything else, even then was out of my price range. And it seemed like if I bought a car that ran, I would pay a premium for it, and later I would be surprised by rust or accident damage, waiting for me like $5 bills in your jacket pocket, except. . . they would not be fun surprises.

    [ "It all started when I began looking around and just could not find my dream car. So I decided to build it myself. . .” - Ferry Porsche ]

    So I posted a thread on Pelican, what the hell, see what comes up. That was 6 years ago. But first I had to figure out what to ask for.

    I read Tobias Aichele's book, 'Porsche 911', backwards and forwards until I could tell you when they switched the carpet from velour to Haargarn (I've since forgotten). The later 911s seemed to have nothing but added weight and features I didn't care about, on top of a basic design that I liked. The early cars were what my Dad always wanted, too, so I started there.

    Once I learned all about them, the car that struck my fancy was of course a '73 RS. THE Porsche. An early car, yet, seemingly refined, with the 'better' gearbox, the magical 2.7 MFI engine, FLARES, more tire, spoilers so the car wouldn't get floaty in the back. Just a one little problem.

    They were $150,000. (In 2003.)

    So I lowered my sights to the classic, more elegant and less 'boy-racer' 2.4S, '72 would work, with the oil door and aluminum trim. Didn't see many of those. Lusted after Paul Donkin's car (he actually let me drive it when I was passing by his place in Oregon!) but of course, they're unobtainium, let alone achievable for a chicken scratch $10k.

    But I read more. And more. And the more I read the more I wanted an earlier, LESS refined car. A '67 S? Of course, but the skinny wheels and quirky proportions, touchy handling? That's what all the lore said, anyway. Maybe a '69, I thought. Got a lot of improvements but the engine was still that short-stroke, high-compression unit, and the transmission was still the 901 'dogleg'. Then I remembered my Dad's favorite. '70. '71 just as good but '70.

    The perfect proportions of a LWB. Mechanical Fuel Injection. Short Stroke. High compression. CDI Ignition. Wiring harness and clutch got better from '69 to '70. Still had deep six Fuchs in '70. Basketweave interior. Alloy lid and rear panel (for S), alloy brakes, magnesium transmission and engine. Nothing in 'em. 1000kg out-the-door. Now we're talking.

    I looked and looked for a project 'S' for $10k. Of course, now you're thinking, 'yeah right', but at the time it could have been done. Except unless your old lady neighbor was cleaning out hubby's barn you were going to end up with a rusty pile of $hit that you just spent $10k on.

    So, I looked for an E. It looked like I could get a car that was almost as rare, almost as fast and almost the same, under-the-radar. And get a car that wasn't turned into fine red-brown dust. . .

    Picture #1 ) 9110200350. Dad's hot rod project. Turnout on La Tuna Canyon Road. Deep Sixes, Irish Green '70 911E.

    Picture #2 ) The original 'YTNUKLR'. RS flares, S spoiler, 2.5 S motor, black out trim, Gran Prix white.

    Picture #3 ) The on-ramp near my house that did me in. It's a perfect slingshot into a downhill race course. Can't count the number of times I slid through this thing on my way to high school . . .
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    Last edited by YTNUKLR; 04-14-2011 at 11:15 PM.
    scott kinder
    kindersport@gmail.com

    Registry #614

    9110220587 - 1973 RSR revival in progress
    My Car Thread: "Five-Eighty-Seven..."
    的f it isn't there, it didn't cost anything, it doesn't weigh anything and can't break." - From the philosophy of Grady Clay

  2. #2
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    So, where was I in the search. . .

    Looking for a '70. Had to be a coupe. No sunroof. A nice color. An E, if I could. A nice body for a project over a mechanically sound car with rust. With original engine and trans.

    Guy left me a note within 2 hours of my post, after looking at how many piles of crap 911s? Called him the next day.

    Said, took it apart due to some mechanical stuff, but the body's pretty much perfect. Albert Blue on Tan. A 911E. With alloy brakes and license panel. 5-Speed. Matching numbers engine & transmission included. Never so much as dented, let alone rusted or crashed. Lived in the desert 30-odd years. $9,xxx. That was May 2005, weekend of my 18th Birthday. Which brings me to something kind of weird.

    I was born in May, '87. That was exactly the number of this car. zero five eight seven. (70E Karmann). The odds of that happening are extremely low. I don't believe in ghosts too much, but that was the cherry on top.

    I thought I was a hero. Gone and bought this car, what a nice present!

    Only later I realized my dream was not quite fulfilled. I still had to rebuild the entire car.

    Brakes, stuck. All the rubber throughout was hard as rock. Painted 7 times, various shades of blue, Bahama yellow, and others (no idea why so much paint). Engine was out and had shavings in it. MFI was already completely rebuilt and brand new in a box from Eurometrix. Actually, pretty much everything was in a box.

    So, at that point I had gotten into college but had car parts spread from Flagstaff, AZ to Los Angeles. What a time to go to school! I just wanted to put this old car back together. But, you know what's more important in the scheme of things, so over the summer I took care of what I could, and left the car back in Arizona, where it was stored until the next time I could drag it home.

    Then it came home to L.A. had to find a place to put it to do the work, right? I had read all about TRE on Pelican, perhaps they could get me started with the project. So, I payed a discount car mover place $240, made sure my insurance covered the move, crossed my fingers and they dragged the car 1000 miles home. Then. . .

    school set in. No time for a job. Tons of hard work to do. No time for Porsche.

    Not much money, couldn't get started on the car. I was in Berkeley then, car 400 miles away. Not much time.

    Well, Dave at TRE called in the summer after my freshman year and asked if I wanted a job working on Porsches. Sounded perfect! Had a new hotty girlfriend and was going to get my Porsche running by the summer! Boy was I so immature . . .

    Didn't make any progress with it.

    Car sat.

    Sat.

    Sat some more. . .

    Came close to selling it. At least I'd get what I had in it. Maybe do something more. . .practical. Normal. Smart.

    Couldn't let it go.

    After all sorts of life adventures, age 18-23, I got a job and settled down in a normal kind of house and have been getting busy. . .
    Last edited by YTNUKLR; 04-14-2011 at 11:45 PM.
    scott kinder
    kindersport@gmail.com

    Registry #614

    9110220587 - 1973 RSR revival in progress
    My Car Thread: "Five-Eighty-Seven..."
    的f it isn't there, it didn't cost anything, it doesn't weigh anything and can't break." - From the philosophy of Grady Clay

  3. #3
    Defender of the Normal John Fusco's Avatar
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    Great read over my morning coffee on my way to my "sinecure" job ( as Steven Harris aptly pointed out to me...)
    Thanks, I look forward to the next chapter.
    That's sweet Paul let you drive that car he had.
    He gets a bad rap but he's ok in my book.

    Savor it all bud.

    Du must schwein haben

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    Early911SReg #606

  4. #4
    My game..saving Porsches FHernand's Avatar
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    Good reading over my morning cereal...enjoy my friend.
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  5. #5
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    So we begin...

    Over Christmas, I got some time to come back to L.A. and see the car and move it where I could start work.

    After reading LongRanger's thread 'Ten Fifty-Nine' and talking to the guy on the phone, not to mention seeing other works of art cross the site such as Marco's & Tony's red S-T and Macaroni's white 69S. . . I knew where the car had to go.

    John Esposito.

    Pictures #1-5 ) As Delivered to John, not much more than a rolling shell

    but, this car is STRAIGHT
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    Last edited by YTNUKLR; 04-15-2011 at 02:14 PM.
    scott kinder
    kindersport@gmail.com

    Registry #614

    9110220587 - 1973 RSR revival in progress
    My Car Thread: "Five-Eighty-Seven..."
    的f it isn't there, it didn't cost anything, it doesn't weigh anything and can't break." - From the philosophy of Grady Clay

  6. #6
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    There were a few repairs to be made ...

    Left Fender bottom, flange, right fender bottom, and hood.
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    scott kinder
    kindersport@gmail.com

    Registry #614

    9110220587 - 1973 RSR revival in progress
    My Car Thread: "Five-Eighty-Seven..."
    的f it isn't there, it didn't cost anything, it doesn't weigh anything and can't break." - From the philosophy of Grady Clay

  7. #7
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    Inner flange:

    Pic #1) Cutting out
    Pic #2) Cut piece
    Pic #3) Fabbed replacement
    Pic #4) All done!
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    scott kinder
    kindersport@gmail.com

    Registry #614

    9110220587 - 1973 RSR revival in progress
    My Car Thread: "Five-Eighty-Seven..."
    的f it isn't there, it didn't cost anything, it doesn't weigh anything and can't break." - From the philosophy of Grady Clay

  8. #8
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    The hood...

    John had this to say about the hoods for early 911s..."The hood is a little suspect, however I think they all are."

    Apparently there is some kind of factory 'foam' or some type of crap in the nose of the hood that can soak water from the atmosphere and rot the hood, inside out...

    We've addressed it as well as possible, should be O.K. for a very long time...
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    scott kinder
    kindersport@gmail.com

    Registry #614

    9110220587 - 1973 RSR revival in progress
    My Car Thread: "Five-Eighty-Seven..."
    的f it isn't there, it didn't cost anything, it doesn't weigh anything and can't break." - From the philosophy of Grady Clay

  9. #9
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    As of a couple days ago...

    John works fast.

    This was just two days ago. He told me the doors are back on and we're almost ready to discuss paint!

    Pic #1) Front quarter, car stripped, primed, missing left front fender and doors
    Pic #2) Interior
    Pic #3) LR quarter
    Pic #4) Passenger Jamb
    Pic #5) RF

    Starting to get very exciting...! Very pleased with the progress thus far...

    Also, John said that after he stripped off all that paint, there was just nothing underneath it. Pretty much not even dented, let alone rusted out and wrecked. 100% original paint. Of course now we are going to bare metal and a 'full meal deal' in Glasurit. Nothing less will suffice for me and this car! If I have to save a bit longer, that's OK, been 6 years already.
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    Last edited by YTNUKLR; 04-15-2011 at 03:13 PM.
    scott kinder
    kindersport@gmail.com

    Registry #614

    9110220587 - 1973 RSR revival in progress
    My Car Thread: "Five-Eighty-Seven..."
    的f it isn't there, it didn't cost anything, it doesn't weigh anything and can't break." - From the philosophy of Grady Clay

  10. #10
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    I'm inclined to hope this car may be better than factory, because John does thing's like this:

    [taken from Rick Kreiskott's thread, "Ten Fifty-Nine". Hopefully OK to repost ]
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    scott kinder
    kindersport@gmail.com

    Registry #614

    9110220587 - 1973 RSR revival in progress
    My Car Thread: "Five-Eighty-Seven..."
    的f it isn't there, it didn't cost anything, it doesn't weigh anything and can't break." - From the philosophy of Grady Clay

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