'65

[210bhp]

Home I went from a very pleasant trip, with a few parts in the suitcase, giving the '65 car no more thought.

A great hanging line Richard to leave us all eager for more………..

Regards
Mike

[KS]

Popcorn and cold beer to hand, in readiness for the next instalment...

[inaglasshouse]

Once safely back home, and with the orange car nearing completion (planting in my mind the idea that I would soon be terribly bored without a project) I noticed the ad on the early S forum. And the associated banter thread, during which the price dropped from extremely ambitious to slightly less bonkers. Depending on how you do the special "what's it worth when it's finished?" maths.

[inaglasshouse]

Not quite sure why I found it interesting, other than the general principle that old 911s are interesting and I had never had a SWB car.

Much later a wise man said to me that, if there is a sweet spot in all this, it's probably the SWB 911. Time will tell whether that's true for me. I guess at the moment, still ignorant having still never owned a SWB car that works properly, I can see the appeal of something that's a bit more vintage than an early '70s car, and a bit more feisty than a 356.

Back pre-COVID discussion with the vendor yielded a ton of photos, including a decent parts stash. We have the promised refurbed set of original wheels, but also a set of Solexes and their airbox, a Pierburg mechanical fuel pump, various engine bits to allow fitment of said pump (and potentially the centre-oil camshafts, although I think those were changed because the revised system worked rather better so more research required).
Some proper '65 seats and other interior bits, deck lid (more on that later). Etc etc etc:

[inaglasshouse]

Discussions and photos also allowed some kind of assessment of the state of the shell, beyond what I had already seen a few weeks earlier.

At this point, from afar, it did look pretty original in the metalwork department. Not much rust. I was assured no festival of bondo, according to paint depth gauge, but that would need checking of course. Especially given the cheapo paint job and the fact that it had resided in the US all its life.

Less encouragingly it was clear that it had suffered some kind of impact from the rear. The rear slam panel was the later type, and the decklid was not correct (still SWB, but a slightly later one), hence inclusion of a correct one that the vendor had tracked down:





Matching numbers of engine and gearbox were confirmed. Matching numbers of exterior panels not - still only the LH door was definitely the unmolested original.

It also turned out that it was available to drive. That's a novelty for a resto project, for me.
I didn't realise at the time, but have since come to appreciate: "runs and drives" is a significant plus (even if the intention is nut-and-bolt resto). It may drive like the baggiest, nastiest car you've ever sat in, but the very act of moving under its own steam (and changing gears and stopping, plus operating all the electrics etc) does prove that not too many essential bits are missing. It's the missing bits that insidiously inflate the cost and slow down the project, I previously found, especially if you are searching for original not repro parts.

[misteralz]

Ace thread, looking forward to seeing how it progresses.

As for runs and drives? Yep. I sold my 914, painfully close to it being in a running and driving state, and felt not a shred of regret. If I'd've been able to drive it all those years ago I would probably have finished it, and much sooner...

[inaglasshouse]

Ace thread, looking forward to seeing how it progresses.

As for runs and drives? Yep. I sold my 914, painfully close to it being in a running and driving state, and felt not a shred of regret. If I'd've been able to drive it all those years ago I would probably have finished it, and much sooner...

Thanks. It's a good point re motivation...

[inaglasshouse]

I briefly pondered buying sight unseen as with the last one (which came from Australian eBay, but in far worse condition for far less money).
Or getting it inspected locally.

But decided that the only sensible(!) option was to take a look in person. To ease the pain of that arduous endeavour I also booked a bit of time recovering by a pool with palm trees etc. This hobby is gruelling, can't be too careful.

[IanM]

Frank Beck?

[DustyM]

Enjoying this. Next instalment please


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[inaglasshouse]

Frank Beck?

I see what you mean, that is his kind of style. But not Frank.

[inaglasshouse]

Enjoying this. Next instalment please


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Thanks! Mainly therapy for me, but good to know someone else is reading.
More to follow.

[Bootsy]

Great story so far and looking forward to more

[inaglasshouse]

A provisional deal was agreed, and a non-trivial holding deposit paid. Refundable if, for any reason, I was not happy having inspected in person.

We rejoin the odyssey one morning in early May, on an industrial estate in a not-super-swanky part of the Los Angeles conurbation.



The black C-class is my rental car.
I am clearly the only person here.
At this point, arguably rather late in proceedings, it did cross my mind that the non-trivial holding deposit would not be coming back to me if this was all a scam...

[Nine One One]

Can you do a Netflix version and we can then all binge view it all at once - we need more updates - drip feeding is driving me mad