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Thread: This is how it starts...

  1. #1
    Senior Member 68911USA's Avatar
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    This is how it starts...

    Help me. Motivate me. My '68 project is beginning to languish. This was taken this morning. There is a half disassembled Go-Kart on top of and blocking the car. Tools piling up. Leaf blowers. I have removed the paint from the engine lid, most of the roof, and most of the drivers rear quarter. So far I have found a liberal coat of '80's bondo (and even some lead work), but no rust, which is a mystery. I am going to have the car professionally painted in it's original Polo Red, but I wanted to do most of the R&R so I could see what I was dealing with. Winter is coming, which doesn't make me want to spend a lot of time in my unheated, standard sized garage. I don't want to go into my garage next year and have to dig it out from under 16 cardboard boxes and a wooden canoe!

    Need strong motivating statements!

    Also, is it dangerous to find lead work and expose it to the air during a stripping process like this? I don't want to create a toxic hazard for my unsuspecting family.

    Thank you,

    Brad
    Attached Images Attached Images  
    1968 Porsche 911 #11830133 (2009- 2012)
    1968 Porsche 911T #11820522 (1997-2007)
    Registry Member #1536
    Hagerty Insurance Guy

    Missing my Porsche. Need to find another SWB project!

    Current cars:
    1918 Willys-Overland Model 90BT
    1966 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1a
    1977 Chevrolet Suburban C20 "Trailering Special"
    1983 Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole
    1992 RHD Toyota Century

  2. #2
    Senior Member John Z Goriup's Avatar
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    To be perfectly blunt, from reading your post and attempting to read between the lines and looking at your photo, I think your biggest problem appears to be the lack of a plan.

    First you must have an all-encompassing, crystal-clear plan of what you want to do with this car. In other words, what do you want to accomplish, what's the end-result you're aiming for, and most importantly.... how much financial resources are you able & willing to devote to it. It's also quite helpful for the retention of your mental health to have an approximate time-line in mind. So, as a first step, start networking, ask people you know & trust about the process, the feasibility & wisdom of doing what you would like to do, and learn all you can about what you are about to embark upon. If however, you find you are unable to motivate yourself to carry on with what you have already started, then looking for "strong motivational statements" on this forum is probably not a constructive approach, and highly unlikely to produce the results you are looking for. My initial reaction to your post was to just tell you to get off your backside, stop inventing reasons why not to finish what you have begun ( if you're concerned about stripper being toxic....don't use it, there are alternative methods ), clear the junk from the garage, and get on with it.

    Secondly, it appears you've started at the wrong end of the process. Before you start stripping paint, preparing for potential rust-repair, other bodywork and paint prep, you need to disassemble the car, inventory all the parts and introduce order and method in preparation for finishing and re-assembling your car. How will you find rust ( if there is any) in the most common locations at the low points of the front & rear windshield openings for instance, with the glass & rubber still in their respective openings. Prior to that perhaps you should have thought about preparing and insulating the garage for what is quite a major project that will span several seasons under the best of circumstances, ( after all, you know where you live and what the winters are like ), better lighting, re-arranging your stuff in the garage to allow you to go out and work on your project when time is available. It's not too late to contemplate the purchase of a few indispensable specialty tools to enable you to do more, and more effective work. As an example, Wurth makes one hell of a paint / bondo removal power-tool that you will save you tons of time, reduce the hassle with stripper chemicals, and do a much better job in difficult to access places. Re lead used in previous repairs, wear a respiator if there's a chance of small particles becoming airborne. There's a great deal of information you can only get by networking, asking a lot of questions and immersing yourself deeper into the early Porsche community. Another source are local R gruppe or ESReg members whose brains you could pick and perhaps even pursuade to assist hands-on.

    One of the most important lessons I learned in the Marine Corps was to apply the principle of the Six Ps prior to critical moments: Proper Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.

    If none of my cold-shower advice appeals to you, I apologize for my frankness and invite you to PM me with a price for you car. I'll be happy to discuss it. I've always wanted a SWB.

    The motivation you seek can only be found within you. I wish you the best of luck.

    JZG
    Before it became Ruprecht, my Porsche was a '70 911 T



    Paying member No. 895 since 2006


    " slavish adherence to originality wasn't for me, because the car wasn't as good as it could be."
    Rob Dickinson's response when asked what motivated him to build Singers

  3. #3

    re lead

    lead is safe as long as you don't power sand or grind it.
    it is normally found at the base of the lockpost at sill, at the rear lid latch crossmember/quarter joint and at the rear window/cross member/quarter.
    wash your hands after contact.
    bob moglia
    '72 E sunroof coupe

  4. #4
    My advice is this

    1. Do searches on Pelican and Early S and find stories and pictures of other people's '68's, that should motivate you
    2. Find old 911 videos on YouTube and watch those
    3. Break your project down into manageable "chunks". Meaning, disassembly, paint stripping, mechanicals removal, etc.
    4. Concentrate on one of these chunks and just make a point to work on it x number of days/hours per week
    5. Clear a space around the car so you can work anytime you feel like it. Get an electric space heater and some coveralls.

    Rome was not built in a day. The main thing in my mind is to be consistent in working on it, before you know it, an hour here, a few hours there, and one day you'll stand back and be amazed at the progress you've made.

  5. #5
    Senior Member 68911USA's Avatar
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    Thanks, guys! With two small kids, work, and other normal distractions, I am admittedly having more of a focus problem than ever before. All good advice noted above. I will certainly disassemble the car completely before paint, my stripping project is more of an exploratory mission for now, in areas that I can get to with the glass in, etc. My priority (thanks, John- I do need a cohesive plan!) is to make sure the body is sound, mount the new front fenders, and paint the car. This will give me a fun car to continue to drive around while I tackle other smaller projects over time. The Go-Kart will be reassembled (waiting on brake parts) this weekend and out of the way, which will free up lots more space for me to move things around. And the kids bikes go somewhere else!
    1968 Porsche 911 #11830133 (2009- 2012)
    1968 Porsche 911T #11820522 (1997-2007)
    Registry Member #1536
    Hagerty Insurance Guy

    Missing my Porsche. Need to find another SWB project!

    Current cars:
    1918 Willys-Overland Model 90BT
    1966 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1a
    1977 Chevrolet Suburban C20 "Trailering Special"
    1983 Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole
    1992 RHD Toyota Century

  6. #6
    #2264 classic's Avatar
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    The way i approached mine, and i'm into the 3 year and nearly ready for paint is if you don't want to send it off to a media blaster, but do it more yourself, as previously stated start with a plan.

    Buy some shelves, boxes (i like the plastic ones with a snap on lid), a ton of plastic bags (zip lock) of various sizes, a dedicated parts/diagram book, and a dedicated camera.

    Take a photo of the panel before you get started disassemble any ancillaries that are attached to that panel ie. rear bumper. Photo graph the disassembly process making note of any parts that need replacing in you book labeled for that panel.

    Strip, fix and paint that panel with epoxy, or even rattle can primer if you are going to have the car blasted before painting.

    Most importantly save you photos onto two different sources (Hard drive and a disk religiously) These things can take time, and there's nothing worse then loosing your reference material to a computer crash.

    To keep my self motivated, as there are some days i just can't face the welder, or removing paint. I just go to one of my boxes say pedal cluster and i'll restore that for the day. When it's finished it goes inside into a dedicated box in a dedicated cupboard.

    Gives me some motivation, in that i've accomplished some thing.

    My car is slated to be painted in the first quarter of next year, and 80% of my ancillaries are complete, and ready to be bolted on.

    I order parts in batches as it's sometimes hard to find parts here in Australia and will buy within my budget for the month various parts, from my book, when they arrive i put a plain label on them (not just the part number) and put them in there specific box. When i've got all the parts etc. i put a big tick on the box so i know which assemblies are ready for me to refresh.

    Yeah i'm a airline captain by trade, so it pays for me to be very organized, verging on O.C.D.

    It's working for me, and when i start to reassemble i can just grab my box labeled pedal cluster for example and refer to my photos and notes and bolt it up.

    Tony

  7. #7
    Lighting Specialist jaudette3's Avatar
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    You've gotten some great advice! Once you develop a plan, get things organized, and create a comfortable workspace, the important thing is to enjoy the process, not to obsess about the end result. Just "dabble" a little everyday, just enough so that you look forward to the next day. Keep it as a hobby - don't turn it into a job. If you look forward to your next session then your pace is about right.

    Take your time and really *learn* about each step. Discuss it here and in other forums. Treat it like a great meal. The goal with eating a great meal is not to finish, but to fully appreciate the experience - savor every bite.

    I don't know what your occupation is, but a fringe benefit of doing your project this way is that you will become a craftsman, a worthy achievement in its own right in a culture where craftsmen have become an endangered species.

    Cheers,
    JohnA
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  8. #8
    Senior Member 911scfanatic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jaudette3 View Post
    You've gotten some great advice! Once you develop a plan, get things organized, and create a comfortable workspace, the important thing is to enjoy the process, not to obsess about the end result. Just "dabble" a little everyday, just enough so that you look forward to the next day. Keep it as a hobby - don't turn it into a job. If you look forward to your next session then your pace is about right.

    Take your time and really *learn* about each step. Discuss it here and in other forums. Treat it like a great meal. The goal with eating a great meal is not to finish, but to fully appreciate the experience - savor every bite.

    I don't know what your occupation is, but a fringe benefit of doing your project this way is that you will become a craftsman, a worthy achievement in its own right in a culture where craftsmen have become an endangered species.

    Cheers,
    JohnA
    Wise words, John.
    Bill G.

    1968 911 Ossi Blue coupe...full restoration in process
    Done: Engine; transmission; suspension; gauges; wheels; rust repair & primer; brakes; paint
    In progress: electrical; the tedious, endless, horrible fastener sorting/plating
    EarlyS #718 | RGruppe #437

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