New to me P-Car “home”

[motortownmatt]

Good Evening Guys and Gals,

Yesterday, on the way back from "Thanksgiving", I transported my new purchase from my parent’s house in Danville, Virginia to my current domicile in Royal Oak, Michigan. I had purchased the car back in September however it’s been stored at my parents house until I had an opportunity to drive down and pick the car up. The total mileage of the trip was 662 miles. I managed to make the trip in about 11 hours and 45 minutes, only about 15 minutes off of my average time. As you can see from the attached pictures I used my 2000 GMC Sierra to tow a U-Haul rented “car hauler”. Warning selfish plug for GM trucks: I really couldn’t have made the trip in the comfort and in such good time without my 2000 GMC Sierra. The ride was very comfortable, I was easily able to maintain 55-60 MPH on the steepest grades ( I could have gone faster but didn’t want to push things too much), and was able to run with OD on the flats. Overall its fuel economy was decent considering the load (~14.2 MPG through VA, WVA, and lower OH). I typically get about 18-20 MPG on this same trip depending on the average speed. After the trip I felt I could have hauled this combination anywhere.

Today after unloading the car and returning the trailer to the local U-Haul dealer I started on what is going to be a somewhat long but enjoyable sympathetic restoration to a “nice street driver”.

First things on the restoration/service list are line items needed to get the car to a condition were I can safely and reliably drive the car are as follows:

1.Rebuild the rear brake calipers
2.Rebuild the controls for the transmission shift linkage; based on my previous posts you might recall that the shifting has a a lot to be desired as it currently stands. Both the hooks coupling near the transmission and the poly bushings and springs below the shifter need to be serviced. Good news! These items are comparatively cheep compared to new syncros.
3.Rebuild the pedal cluster – get rid of the current pedal/gate hinge.
4.Fix oil leaks from tank lines and cam cover gaskets.
5.Paint the new replacement license plate panel (along with the front and rear bumper concurrently)

Some things that I’m not sure how I am going to rectify are as follows. I’d appreciate any input that you might.

1.Door panels- yes it is a 68. As you can see in the pictures the door panels are in pretty rough condition. Even though the pockets are not currently on the panels, I do have them. I also have the arm rests, although I missing some of the linkage and buttons. I’m not sure that their worth salvaging. Does someone make a RS-style plan panel with the elephant skin vinyl? Can one purchase anything that resembles the elephant skin vinyl anywhere?

2.Radio section of the dash. Yes someone has cut the dash. I plan on putting a European mount CD player in the dash. I will fabricate a new radio mount, putting it in the dash, and recovering that session of the dash with elephant skin vinyl.

One good thing that you can see in the pics; at least the hood shocks work…

Enjoy the pics; I look forward to your comments.

Best Regards,
matt

[motortownmatt]

more pics attached...

[motortownmatt]

still more pics...

[Porsche]

Looks beautiful!

[Mr9146]

Matt,

Did you get my e-mail? The handles are in the mail. You should have them by Thursday.

Good luck with the restoration.

[Mr9146]

On another note, dump that awful short-shift kit. The factory one might be a little "loose", but good bushings and a longer (i.e. stock) handle really give you the correct feel. Hard to describe but very satisfying.

[motortownmatt]

Marco,

Yes I received the message re the handles! I’ll look for them in the mail this week. I apologize for not confirming via email; I had a pretty busy holiday working on the P-car and my 66 vette. I hope all is well with your ill family member.

Ya the short shifter has a lot to be desired; right now the car shifts very very poorly. Basically it is not drivable until I rebuild the hooks joints and replace the other bushings. After that is done I'll re-evaluate the replacing the short throw shifter. By any chance do you know where I can find a used but in decent condition "long throw" shifter?

Best Regards,
matt

[gruen911]

Hi Matt,
I am an ex-Michigander from Grosse Pointe. Congrat's on the new old 911.
Usually there are a few available on EBay. But I just looked for you, and nothing right now. Since the 901 5 speed gearbox shifter was the same for all 911/912's between 64-71, and also was the same as the one used for the 914, you should be able to find a decent one in the next few weeks.
One other option, if you have the extra money to spend would be to buy the Rennshift shifter which go for around $500. I have never used one, but I hear that it's hard to appreciate just how tight the early gearboxs were until you have mounted one of these. Good luck with the car.

[hdavis]

Matt, the door panels don't look too bad (unless the pictures aren't telling the true story), they only have the correct holes on them, and I think they're quite usable. The door pockets are somewhat easy to re-attach and the arm rests linkages and buttons come up on ebay often, or you could probably find them with one of the used parts dealers.
Also one sure sign of originality in a 68 are precisely the door panels (if you care for that).