Ten Fifty-nine

[70SATMan]

side by side: this repro has some kind of re-enforcement spot-welded in, looks like around where a license plate would be attached

Original panel has re-enforcement

I've seen other original panels that do have the reinforcement plates. Looking at the pictures I see a hint of edges under all the grime/possible undercoating. I think you'll find them after stripping the panel down.

Super shots of all the differences, exactly what I've noticed and this will be a super reference for others down this path.

[LongRanger]

. . . I've seen other original panels that do have the reinforcement plates. Looking at the pictures I see a hint of edges under all the grime/possible undercoating. I think you'll find them after stripping the panel down . . .

Well, something was there, at one point --- not welded. Glued maybe? All that's left is this residue.

What do the steel panels have here?

[70SATMan]

Well, something was there, at one point --- not welded. Glued maybe? All that's left is this residue.

What do the steel panels have here?

Stiffening plates similar to what the repo aluminum panel has. I haven't stripped my original steel unit to see if they're spot welded or not.

[LongRanger]

With the mechanical stuff under control, a fresh set of tires, a Worthy Test Driver dutifully piling up the miles . . . and me 2500 miles away ----- I started thinking about what I wanted to tackle next.

From the PPI, and from me crawling around it, 1059 was a decent enough car, from the outside. The rockers had been fixed, maybe not as well as I’d hoped, but the rot was gone and the car looked presentable.

But there were some other issues. The driver’s door didn’t fit well, sat proud a few mms, even before the rocker repairs. Neither of the rear pop-outs closed properly ---- not a good thing, especially given the 60 inches of rain that fall in Charlotte annually. 1059 had the later-style steel ‘S’ front bumper, but I wanted that corrected. I also wanted to fit an alloy engine lid, as well as repair the alloy rear license panel. And the rocker deco that came with the car needed to be re-fit.

So . . . started looking for a Body Guy.

I’ve had car projects before, even a Porsche (my old Roadster) but nothing with 911s, and, after my rocker experience, I was set on finding a 911 Guy. At first, I was OK with the whole idea of shipping the car off somewhere, even out-of-state, to get the work done. But, after a while, I thought that, with as many Porsches as live here in Southern California, I should be able to find someone to do the work here, especially for the ‘little job’ that I wanted.

Nothing crazy. No show-cars or upgrading. Just wanted to get the outside cleaned-up --- a decent re-spray --- fixing any funky metalwork, re-setting the gaps while we’re in there. Since 1059 was basically sound (intact, un-crashed, not rusty), my goals were straight-forward:
1) straighten-out and repair the existing bodywork to acceptable stock condition with three specific exceptions:
a) fit an original aluminum engine lid
b) repair the aluminum valence that came with the car
c) fit a correct original front bumper
2) re-fit all the panels and re-set all the gaps to their original stock settings
3) re-finish the car in its original color, to a ‘stock’ standard
The idea was to turn back the clock to 1970, and get 1059 properly put back together, clean, and functional.

I’d considered stripping the under-coat off, but it’s original --- and still intact, doing its job --- so I decided to leave that alone. Suspension? Good enough for now. Replacing the exhaust, refinishing the wheels, getting proper speed-rated tires . . . all could wait.

I just wanted a clean stock car. Not very sexy.

Anyway, I’d started contacting places, back when the crusty rockers first showed-up during the PPI, but these were shops I’d only heard or read about. I prefer referrals from people I know when it comes to doing work. I didn’t really know many people so I just started quietly asking around.

One name the came up a lot was Tony Gerace. Seems like every MFI Owner I asked mentioned Tony by name, said he was The MFI Guy. So I chatted Tony up a couple of times, got his card, went to his ‘site, poked around, then, one day, called him, outta the blue.

‘I gotta car that I want to get some bodywork done to . . . .’

‘I’ve got someone. He’ll take care of you.’

And that’s how I first found out about John Esposito.

I drove up to John’s shop, out in North Hollywood, on a week-end, back in October ’09. John was still getting settled in the shop space, a couple of doors down from TLG. Pretty empty, then. Tony had his car there, John had his 356 there, then there was an RS, and maybe two or three others, customer’s cars, inside and out. He and I talked a bit.

I explained what I had, asked what he thought about the job I was describing, talked about his schedule, asked him what he thought. I was hoping to have the car out here by the end of the year, but that didn’t happen. (1059 wouldn’t get out here, to California, ‘till Jun!) I did send John some PPI pictures, but I knew he would have to see the car to really give any opinion. Any way, John was easy-going, low-key, friendly . . . and put up with me. We talked about his projects and, even then, John liked to show his work and explain what he was doing. And did I mention that he’s been working on 911s since 1972?

Anyway, when the car finally got here, I went to John . . .

This is the evening I dropped the car off . . . after me spending 2-plus hours, traveling maybe 60 miles, in stop-and-go traffic out on the 405 . . . working that nasty 'bag-of-antlers' 901 for all its worth! Now THAT's entertainment! Who needs a radio?

[YTNUKLR]

Great thread, Rick!

But how do you decide which words you italicize and write in blue? And how do avoid flying off the slippery slope of restoration perfection?? I guess you have some steel cajones to say, "the dash crack stays!" but it's ok to paint/fix certain things... how did you decide which stays "as used" and which gets fixed up?

[YTNUKLR]

Great thread, Rick!

But how do you decide which words you italicize and write in blue? And how do avoid flying off the slippery slope of restoration perfection?? I guess you have some steel cajones to say, "the dash crack stays!" but it's ok to paint/fix certain things... how did you decide which stays "as used" and which gets fixed up?

[LongRanger]

Hey, Scott . . .

. . . But how do you decide which words you italicize and write in blue? . . .

Hmm --- no real hard fast rule, there. I scan stuff when I read, picking up on key words. So when I write, the words or phrases that charge the passage might get blued --- for emphasis. If all you read are the parts around the blue words, you can pretty much skip the rest . . . then look at the pictures.

. . . And how do avoid flying off the slippery slope of restoration perfection? . . . how did you decide which stays "as used" and which gets fixed up? . . .

Most wear-and-tear-type stuff just doesn't bother me. Scratched paint, scuffed-up upholstery and trim, a few drops of oil --- that's just how most cars are. It's how 1059 is. And being a little 'beat' means I'm not gonna sweat any long trips, dirt roads, or concours judging. I bought this car for me, to drive, so, as long as it drives, that's enough for me.

The bodywork stuff I'll talk about below was a hard choice. At first I was kinda hoping that I just could patch the rockers, fix a fender, touch-up some paint and leave it at that. But that didn't work out. Then I thought I'd patch all those patches, primer and re-touch-up and just go commando --- sorta 'rat-rod' for a while, like Rolly Resos. But the car still wasn't 'put-together' right (more like FUBAR), so . . . I asked John if he could fix it. (And as you'll see . . . he is just relentless.)

My basic approach is, as long as something's functioning . . . I can put up with how it looks. But if it's not, then I'm doing a forty-year fix, finances allowing.

None of my stuff is perfect --- its all used. That's why I get stuff --- to use it. And I love using my stuff --- tools, guns, watches, and especially cars --- it's just fun. Like that Cobra, 30-years ago; think of all fun people must've had, blasting the paint off that car.

'Cause that's what I'm gonna do with 1059. I've already told John. And Tony. Next Summer? . . .

Alaska

[YTNUKLR]

Well, I totally dig that philosophy! Can't wait to meet up with my '70 non-sunroof 911E brought to a similar (read: not as nice) standard. Loved reading how you chose the car; followed by reasoning pretty much exactly: as big an engine as you could get while still getting high compression and the early short-stroke crank, the aluminum license panel (and for some lucky cars, lids), still use the 901, MFI, the '69-71 good looks (the best IMHO, with all the trim in anodized bright aluminum and chrome, and the great proportions) and some nice little updates over the '69 (ie., the wiring harness was changed to basically the '70-89 type IIRC). And '70 still had all the optioned cars wearing deep sixes.

About the only thing I am going to change is the one downside (again, IMHO) on the '70: the tall highway gearing. I am going to use '65-68 A-F-M-S-X gearing for a few more canyon-carving revs. Might have a spare "long" gearbox that I will swap in for Alaska trips, and the like.

Rock on!

[LongRanger]

After I brought the car back to California, I called John, filled him in on the work had been done on the car, what my concerns were, and what kind of work I was looking to get done. I brought the car to his shop a few days later, walked and talked some more, then left the car, so John could look everything over at his own pace, pull a few pieces off, get a feel for what was going on with the car, come up with some numbers . . . and make sure that 1059 was something he wanted to do.

After a few days, we talked again. John had a better idea of what was needed, could do the work, and liked the car, so I was relieved. We started with an estimate of $13.6k, discussed payment terms, then . . . I wrote a check and we shook hands.

John didn’t waste any time. 1059 came apart pretty quickly ---- and right away, stuff started turning up. Lots of funky fastener stuff --- like, sheet metal screws where there should be machine screws (ouch!), not all the fasteners were there (like on the front bumper) . . . . and some were missing entirely (like on one of the tail light housings). Rockers had been improperly installed --- seems some tabs had been cut-off; one was still attached to the original rocker that I'd saved. Wiring harness had been cut --- only inches away from where it could have been easily dis-connected.

But a lot of the car was solid and original and John seemed pleased with it. Front and rear bumpers were perfect, never hit, no rust in the doors (although the glass and motor in the pass side had been replaced), and no other surprises. I still expected some other issues to turn up as the car came apart, but its still a relief to hear the Body Guy sound positive.

First up was the right front fender, the one with the metal-finished rust repair. That fender wasn’t fitting. Turns out that the replacement metal piece had been lap-welded in. Not good. Especially on an exterior body panel. Lap-welding leaves a small space between the pieces for moisture to get in, which leads to corrosion that will eventually fail the joint and the panel. John repaired the panel by removing the previous repair, then butt-welding in a replacement section. Once that was done . . . John said the panel went right on, fit perfectly.

1) and 2) Right front quarter with Repair One; notice corrosion starting already, in the lower corner

3) and 4) Repair One exposed; notice the irregular edge at the joint, and the small amount of what looks like filler --- that’s a lap-weld --- and that little bit of extra material is why the fender didn’t fit

5) Filler removed from Repair One

[LongRanger]

Here's John's basic approach to fixing something.

1) and 2) If it's effed-up --- its GONE!

3) New replacement metal . . .

4) . . . butted-in . . .

5) . . . and primered

The small section of missing vertical support was taken from another piece, then spliced in