I figured it would be nice to have a “Project Journal.” Enjoy!

March 11, 2020 – I bought the car. We drove down and picked it up. The seller gave me ample time to inspect the car, but would not budge on the price. I ended up paying the full amount he was asking and put it on the trailer. Another adventure begins.

August 15th is my goal. What does that mean? I want to have the car one the road by that date. My friend, Kevin, says I can’t get it on the road, this year. He is probably right. But, then again, he doesn’t have a good track record betting against me. Besides, it will be one heck of an adventure finding out.

March 14, 2020 – We removed the front fenders, and began removing old paint and undercoating from fender wells, underbody, and interior. The more metal and rust we can expose ourselves, the less the shop has to do. This saves time that the car has to be at the shop, and also saves us from paying $100 per hour to have someone sand and grind on it.

March 18, 2020 – I took the car to the metal shop to have the rust repaired. It sounds like an easy enough task. But, in reality, it will be extensive work, and will cost more than I have invested in the car right now. It is a little scary. Ok, a lot scary.

The shop doing the metal work is owned by a friend of mine, Scott. He worked on two of my other cars in the past. It is imperative that welding be done on these old Porsches by someone that has a lot of experience welding this type of metal. Scott has that. In fact, on the east coast of the United States, there is nobody better. But, he is a small shop, and that means a very slow project. It is an exercise in patience for me, as I tend to attack projects in a way that does not leave much room for patience. Wish us luck.

March 19, 2020 – The shop removed the suspension, and put the car on the Celette bench. All of the mounting points lined up. So it is a straight chassis. That is great news. The front suspension is from a later car. Not a short-wheelbase car. That is interesting.

Now for the bad news? The rear frame areas under the torsion tube mounts need to be replaced. I already knew this from inspecting the car before I bought it. But, you never know how far the rust damage extends until you get into it. It looks like it isn’t too bad, but, still enough to be an extensive repair.

March 31, 2020 – I ordered the parts to fix the rear frame sections from Restoration Design ($1,368). Now I need to locate a rear shock tower cross member. The one in this car is bent from the bottom and also rusted. It needs to be replaced.

April 10, 2020 – The Restoration Design parts are officially “lost.” After a week of a ton of time on the phone with FedEx, Restoration Design shipped new parts on April 17, 2020.

April 20, 2020 – The second shipment of Restoration Design parts arrive to the shop. Restoration Design handled it excellently. As as the package was confirmed by FedEx as “lost” (How do you lose a box of that size?), Restoration Design immediately shipped out another package with the parts. We still lost about 10 days. But, it is what it is. November 1st is looking tough.

April 22, 2020 – The shop started cutting into the frame section of the car. This is the point in the project where the car becomes worth less than I paid for it. Nobody wants to buy someone else’s failed project. And, therefore, the value plummets as we cut into each piece. The car won’t see a value above what I paid for it until well into the reassembly stage. Close your eyes and cut, cut, cut. Fun, fun.

May 1, 2020 – Summer is fast-approaching, and the car isn’t here for me to work on. It looks like the metal work will be extensive, and it could be months before I get the car back. I have to figure out a way to move this project forward, without actually having the car to work on myself.

May 7, 2020 – I found an NOS driver’s side quarter panel, with the door lock post and rear tail light box included as a single factory piece ($1,600). It is expensive, but, I couldn’t resist. Let’s hope it makes it to me without damage during shipping. I bought an NOS hood last fall. And when it arrived it was bent. I am convinced that it was bent before the seller sent it. But, it was still a really bad experience.

May 13, 2020 – The NOS rear quarter panel arrived. Shipped very well. Very, very well. NOS parts are so cool. Thank you to the seller for building a wood box to ship it in.

May 15, 2020 – I located a rear shock tower cross member at Rick’s European Connection in Florida yesterday, and purchased it. Today, I located another cross member that is in better condition, and half the price. So I purchased it too. Better safe than sorry. Use the best parts you can afford at the time of the restoration.

Scott wants me to come look at some issues on the car. We talked it through with some pictures, but, I am concerned that the project is growing, and growing. November 1st is starting to feel like a far-fetched dream.

May 24, 2020 – A potential buyer for the ’65 912 came to look at it today. The car wasn’t really for sale, and a few weeks ago I seriously considered parting it out since it has a lot of parts on it that I need for the ’67. For example, it had a good shock tower cross member that I needed for the ’67. But, I couldn’t part it out.

A few days ago, I saw on a forum that someone relatively nearby was looking for a 912, and called him. We will see what he thinks. Update: He is going to buy the ’65. I am a little in shock. I hadn’t anticipated selling it. But, it gives me some much-needed funds to put the ’67 back on the road. So I am pleased. I will miss it though.

May 27, 2020 – Summer is here. Fall is coming too quickly. With the car still at the shop for the foreseeable month (maybe longer), I have little to work on. I am starting to pull the parts together to start building the engine.

Also, I decided this week to start to organize the wiring for the car. When I bought the ’67 912 one of the things that concerned me most was that the wiring harness (front to back) had been removed and was in a box. Wiring is not my thing. And 50-year-old ripped-out wiring is nobody’s thing. Since I have another month or so before I get the car back, maybe I can cut down on later work (and save time) by figuring this wiring out. We will see.

May 29, 2020 – We visited Charlie at the shop today for the first time since dropping him off in March. See photo below. Two months and 10 days since the suspension came off, and we are still moving further away from getting him back on the road. But, at least we are moving. August 15th might be a bit of an aggressive goal to have the car on the road. But, we will see.

Much of the replacement metal for the rear frame areas are cut and fitted. Scott is getting close to being ready to weld them in. We agreed to go ahead and replace the inner and outer rockers, while we are there, before we put the new quarter panels back on. I will need to order rocker kits from Restoration Design. We also decided that I would come back next Friday to bring the new shock tower cross member, and see the progress. I reminded Scott that I needed to get the car back from him, done with his work, by July 1st. We will see. Maybe I should revise my goal to November 1st.

Note to self: The interior, particularly the dash area, are going to be a massive project within the larger endeavor.

May 30, 2020 – The buyer of the ’65 picked up the car today. I now have cash in my pocket to invest in the ’67, plus room in the garage to work. It is a win-win. This week will be a part-buying week.

June 1, 2020 – I ordered rocker kits (inner and outer rockers), as well as seat belt bolt pockets, from Restoration Design ($734). I also took my cylinder heads to Hoffman Automotive Machine to be rebuilt. I could have shipped them. But, it was only a 2 1/2 hour drive, and Julie wanted me out of the house for the day. Hoffman was only doing door-drop-off, so I didn’t get to see their shop. But, they have an excellent reputation.

June 2, 2020 – How is the wiring coming? 50-year-old wiring is not good. It is brittle, cut, bent, gooey, etc. I think I will find new wiring. I ordered a new ignition switch ($59.98) & fusebox ($48.84), both from PartsKlassik. The ignition switch is the screw-in type connectors, whereas the original was bullet connectors. But, the original Porsche part is NLA. I also ordered an ignition switch wiring harness from Kroon Wire Harnesses ($139 Euros). They are expensive, especially with shipping from the Netherlands. But, they are the best.

Scott messaged me last night to tell me that he found some interior parts (dash, etc.) in his shed that I can look at Friday. That, along with a few pictures he sent me this week, are excellent news. That means that he is making good progress on the car and still wants me to come take a look at it this Friday.

June 3, 2020 – I ordered connecting rods for the engine. The ones that came with the engine I bought are not matching brands (Porsche used a number of different brand rods over the years), and further they have oiling holes in different locations (4 rods; 3 different oiling hole locations). Finally, they are not close enough in weight (less than 6 grams from lightest to heaviest is the appropriate tolerance). Clearly, they are not a matched set. So I found a set on eBay ($250). They look like they are an excellent matching set. We will see.

June 4, 2020 – 150 days to Luftgekuhlt. Nothing more needs to said, except, am I the only person crazy enough to track this?

June 5, 2020 – We went up to Scott’s to see Charlie and deliver the new shock tower crossmember. The car is coming along nicely. The rear metal work is being fitted and getting close to ready for welding. We also determined that we need a couple more replacement metal pieces from Restoration design. Scott said that he should be ready for the new quarter panels in about two weeks. I paid Scott $1,500 cash.

After leaving Scott’s, we drove up to northern Virginia, and dropped my crank and engine case off at Tim’s. He is going to check them out and prepared them for assembly.

Here area. couple pictures of the car in its current condition.

June 6, 2020 – I am starting to consider color options. Here are the standard colors that were available for the car, from the factory, in 1967. I have a color in mind, but, it isn’t on this chart. I don’t have the original engine for the car, so I am feeling a little leeway in terms of being able to paint it a color other than its original color.

June 6, 2020 – Tim called. It is not good news. The crank is not usable. Making matters worse, it is so worn that even turning it will not fix it. But, that isn’t all. The case isn’t useable either. Back to the drawing board. Three steps forward, one step back.

This is a major setback for my goal of November 1st. In addition to now not having an engine case or crank to use, I am out the money I spent buying these. That stings. It is days like this that make me wonder why I am not just enjoying my 914. Why embark on this journey? Then I remind myself. It is the journey that matters.

June 7, 2020 – I woke up to amazing news. Yesterday, after learning that neither my engine case, nor crank, are usable, I posted that I am looking for new ones on a 912 forum online. A member of the forum emailed me this morning that he has a usable crank, and I am welcome to it. Free of charge. The people in the Porsche community continue to amaze me.

June 8, 2020 – I ordered the parts that Scott needs for the front area where the inner rockers mount, from Restoration Design ($575). I also made arrangements to pick up the donated crank on Wednesday. The gentleman that is giving it to me lives about 2 1/2 hours away. Finally, I have located a possible engine case candidate. I am waiting to get more information about it.

June 10, 2020 – We drove up to Asheville and met with Peter Graham. What a great guy. He donated a crank to my cause, as well as gave me a rear window for the car, and sold me some seats, cheap. Very cheap. Thank you Peter. I really appreciate it.

Here is Peter’s 912, under restoration.

The case I found Monday looks like a good one. It was line-bored by Competition Engineering in California. Since they keep such good records, I was able to call Walt there, and he gave me some information on the case. It looks good. So, I sent a check to Gene for the case.

We also drove over to Black Forest Racing and saw John. He and I didn’t discuss the bad case and crank, since it is still in Virginia. I picked up the rocker assemblies, rocker stands, and case bolts.

June 12, 2020 – The check I sent, via overnight delivery, for the case, didn’t make it there overnight. Now Gene has left for vacation, and he won’t be able to ship it until he gets back in a week or so.

June 13, 2020 – The ignition switch I ordered from PartsKlassic, as well as the new ignition switch wiring harness I ordered from Kroon, both arrived.

June 17, 2020 – I have an NOS driver’s side quarter panel for the car. But, I don’t have a passenger side panel. The issue is the quarter panel lip openings. I want the one I buy for the passenger side to match the one I already have, and I also want them to be correct for the year. I was under the impression that they differed from year-to-year, with 1965 and 1966 having hardly any lip at app. My car is a 1967, which I believe was built in November 1966. Porsche was not very consistent in those days.

I posted on 912bbs and the experts there have indicated that all of the lips were the same from 1965 – 1968, on the rear quarter panels. So I am looking for a quarter panel. I can buy one from Porsche for $1,860. That is a good price. They were willing to match a price I saw online, and not charge me shipping since it would be sent directly to my local Porsche dealer. I, however, am still not 100% sure it will have lips that match the driver’s panel I already have. And the local dealer has indicated that it is a special order item that can not be returned if it is not correct for my use. I may be able to drive to Atlanta to see the panel before I buy it.

June 18, 2020 – Someone from the 912bbs messaged me that there is an NOS quarter panel for the passenger side on eBay. I checked, and it matches the driver’s side panel I already have.

I spoke to Scott today about progress on the car. He has been tied up the past two weeks on other projects. So basically, he hasn’t made any progress since I saw the car on June 5th. That is ok. I have been bogged down finding a new crank, case, and passenger side quarter panel for the car. He said he will be back on my car next Monday at the latest.

June 19, 2020 – I never heard back from the eBay seller about shipping, etc. of the passenger side quarter panel. So I made him an offer for $1,000, which is $200 less than his asking price. He accepted the offer. So now I just need to work out shipping. But, it looks like we have both quarter panels now. And both are genuine NOS parts.

June 23, 2020 – The guy I bought the case from got back from vacation, got the check, and dropped the case off at UPS to be shipped. It should arrive soon.

June 30, 2020 – The new engine case arrived. Now I have to get it, along with the crank, and rods, up to Tim to be gone through.

July 1, 2020 – Scott has had some other work that he needed to get out the door. So Charlie has been on the back burner at his shop. Hopefully, he can get back to it soon. It gives me a chance to focus on some other projects.

Clearly, I am not going to make my initial goal of having the car on the road August 15th. Ok, I am also not going to make my revised goal of November 1st. Now my goal is the 24 Hours of Daytona race next January. Which I will miss as well. I know that. But, by setting goals, I keep the project moving along. More recently, I have come to appreciate that the journey is half the fun on this car. I am planning to keep it forever, and it will need continuous work to keep it on the road. So what’s the rush? I am enjoying the restoration process.

Here is where we are at right now. A long way to go!

July 14, 2020 – I am happy to report that Scott is back working on the car again. he is making good progress fitting the new metal. New inner rockers look really good.

July 16, 2020 – The 4th connecting rod arrived. Now I think I might have a set of rods that are close enough in weight to be balanced. The starting point for balancing 356/912 rods is no more than 6 grams of different between the lightest rod and the heaviest rod. I have 9 grams. But, it is the closest I can get, and have all four rods match.

By “matching” rods, what I am referring to is the brand and the location of the oiling holes. In the 1960s Porsche used three different companies to make connecting rods. I want all four rods to have come from the same company. You can tell by finding the brand mark on the rod (see circled brand mark in picture below). With respect to the location of oiling holes there are many variations. But, again, I want all four rods to have oiling holes in the same location (see picture below). In addition, I want to avoid any rods that have the oiling holes down in the shaft of the rod. They tend to be weaker rods and don’t hold up well.

Tim has provided a wealth of knowledge, and I appreciate all of his advice on my journey.

July 17, 2020 – I picked up the NOS passenger quarter panel from UPS Freight. The seller packed it in a wood box he made. The box did its job. The panel is in great shape. No dents at all. I paid $1,000, plus $200 in shipping, for the passenger quarter panel, which is a really low price. I paid $1600, including shipping for the driver’s side NOS panel. NOS parts are getting very hard to find. It was a blessing to be able to find them both. And the lips match. Early 911/912s came with a couple different combinations of wheel opening lips. It is important to make sure the match on both sides of the car. These do.

The quarter panel includes the tai light box, which I really need also. It does not include the lock post, as the driver’s side panel did. But, Scott says he has a lock post from a donor car. Now I just need get the two quarter panels up to Scott, and order him a couple more parts Then he will have everything to finish. I spoke with Scott today. He says the car should be done in a month.