Last drive in 65 for a while

[marinmcgreevy]

On Friday I took one last trip around the neighborhood in 301803 before I removed the front bumper and front suspension mounting points to see how bad is the rust in the front pan. I should not have been driving the car as the drivers side mounting point was completely separated front the chassis monocoque. See the photos. Note that the reinforcement was a fine piece of work. I spoke the the former (from 1967) owner and he had that work done in the early 80s. Shows what battery acid and leaving a car outside, even in California can do. The rust is very localized and the rest of the sheetmetal in the trunk is excellent. I will be replacing the front pan and the gas tank support. I was a little taken aback by the weight of the front bumper but then I noticed the two lead weights mounted behind the L shape bumper bracket. The must weight 20 pounds apeice.

A couple of questions:

1. Best source of sheetmetal? Restoration Design or Stoddards?

2. What is the best way to replicate the black finish in the trunk? I looks a little like the current Wurth spray undercoating but is very brittle. It almost looks like a wrinkle finish paint that was put on too thick. I want to blend this into the existing finish as much of it is still in very good shape and I am trying to maintain originality.

3. When did Porsche start using lead weights in the bumper? The bumper looks original as it is dolphin gray underneath. I do not think someone would add the weights later. The previous owner did not remember.

Thanks.

[rodrv6]

Believe it or not, the weights in the bumper are original parts from the factory! (They aren't lead, just pig iron) Porsche put them there to try and improve the weight distribution, although the parts book calls them "reinforcements". Not the worlds most elegant engineering solution.......
I think they used them until the long wheelbase models came out, but I'm not totally sure. My 66, #302981, has them.

[John Fusco]

I believe the factory came up with that "solution" after production had started and some of the earlier cars had them put on later ( a Porsche recall ! )
I still have mine (I think the actual weight is close to 25lbs each)

John

[Sacto S]

I was under the impression that they were only added to the early "S" cars (67-68) because the front end of these cars tended to get a bit loose at speeds over 100mph. Not sure if the 65-66 models had them from the factory or if they were added.

I think they are an interesting piece of the Porsche development history. Not every solution was high tech.

[sithot]

They are in the bumper of my car and are original. It is not an "S".

Tom

[kenikh]

These were added to improve stability; the factory thought the issue was initially due to weight distribution problems. It wasn't. It had to do with some poorly designed geometry in the front end of early cars. It was fixed later and early cars are easily retrofitted.

[John Fusco]

They are in the bumper of my car and are original. It is not an "S".

Tom

My car is #305701 and has them (orig)

They remind me of that style of dress in the early, mid-80's - the shoulder pad jackets.

John

[sithot]

These were added to improve stability; the factory thought the issue was initially due to weight distribution problems. It wasn't. It had to do with some poorly designed geometry in the front end of early cars. It was fixed later and early cars are easily retrofitted.

So, give it up!

Tom

[execmalibu]

From What I Remember That Was Why They Started To Use Dual Batteries In 1969-1973..

To Add Weight The Front Of The Car Evenly..then Because Of The Added Cost Porsche Gave Up The Idea In 1974..

As I Recall They Were Only Standard On The 67-68 " 911 S" Cars..

[304065]

Uhh, my '66 Normal has them.

They increase the car's polar moment of inertia to make it harder to get rotation started. Once you get it started though, it's harder to get it stopped. Kinda like a 944!

Kenik, I would be interested to know your attribution for the "fix."