Last winter's "Summer" project

[ChickenRat]

Bought this last winter for $16K, less than $20K as it sits. Not a huge cash outlay but a ton of elbow grease. Guy had most of the parts needed to complete it but lost interest. It's a keeper!

Robb

[ChickenRat]

Finished product.

[427cobra]

Looks clean! What all did you have to do with it?

[WinnipegStPaul9]

Oh Robb, that is beautiful!!!! As we spoke about in another thread you can't usually recoup your labor and if that bothers one, then they shouldn't be doing this or sleds. It should be a labor of love!! Great job my friend, any chance of a "test ride" with you?

DA

[JDT]

Is that a turbo 911?

[TASKY]

Why no picture of the side that had the dent?

[ChickenRat]

It's a base Cayman. It only has 23K miles on it, lot's of life left. I used as many salvage parts as possible and used the Porsche forums to pick up a nice set of gently used tires/rims. Called the twin cities Porsche dealer to see who they used for body work so I could get a good paint match on the touch-ups. Then I added a few upgrades here & there since I didn't have a ton of cash into it to keep the project at a reasonable price. Bottom line is it looks much more expensive than what I have into it. There was a lot of little stuff that needed to be tended to. Mainly all under the front bumper skin on the drivers side as there is a radiator behind the openings on each side of the front bumper. Nothing hard, just a lot of little putzy stuff and a lot of detailing and a lot of figuring out.

Last thing I have to do to it this summer is replace the dash & airbag as those were deployed in the hit. Picked up an OEM airbag online for 1/3 of the cost the dealer wanted and found a used dash in a salvage yard this winter. Should take me a couple days to swap those out then bring to the dealer for a reflash of the electronics to reactivate the airbag.

I can truly say that driving the car is a blast and you can tell it wants to run. Being mid-engined, it handles/turns great. One thing I have learned though is I don't like the stares and attitudes of some people at the gas stations when filling. So I have been going to the gas station at either before 6am or after 11pm to avoid the attitude I have been getting at the pumps. I mainly have been enjoying the backroads with the car and then it goes right back in the garage. Funny thing is that some of the people who were giving me the evil eye & smirks were driving new Camry's/F-150's/Suburban's/etc, etc and I know they paid significantly more than I have into this thing. So, I guess I love the car but not the "Porsche" attitude that goes along with it.

A couple more pics added for TASKY

[ChickenRat]

[69camaro]

Looks great Robb. No attitude from me. That's one beautiful car. Maybe someday I'll bring the 69 SS Camaro up and we'll go for a spin. That's if we ever get summer.

[johnnycyclone]

Beautiful car Robb. It's the attention to details that make any project turn out great, like replacing the rusted lug nuts. Great job!

Terre

[TASKY]

I never meant for my comments to come across as attitude. I just wanted to see where the dent was. The paint seems to have blended perfectly. As with anything you have done with your projects, It is Exceptional. Thanks for the pictures.

[ChickenRat]

TASKY,

Nobody says you were giving attitude, just what I have experienced personally. Funny thing is that I'm actually a cheapskate. I like nice stuff but don't want to pay for it.

If you look at the pics, I have a minor adjustment to make to the front bumper. In the front where the hood meets the front bumper, the gap is a little larger than between the hood and fenders. I have to loosen the bumper skin up a bit and push it back & tighten to narrow up the gap a bit. It's not super noticeable but it does bother me so I just need to break down and do it. Problem is it will take me half a day to do it.

Robb

[AirborneX4Special]

I would guess the attitude you see at the gas pump is mostly ignorance and / or jealousy. Most people make assumptions about others based on appearances, so they assume you're a snob because of that car when in fact you got a fixer upper cheap because you appreciate the experience of driving a Porsche. Count me in the jealous column!

[80spitfire]

Beautiful car Robb! It's fun to see another Porsche guy on here. I have a 1975 914 and my dad has a handful of other ones that he's working on restoring right now. He's waist deep in a 74 911 Targa right now. Now that's getting to be a much deeper resto than intended!

-Brian

[ChickenRat]

I like looking for good deals with potential. I love turning wrenches like all of us do on this site. I also enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that I made it what it is for a reasonable cost.

I am currently finishing up a 1991 Acura NSX with only 24,000 miles. Bought that car 4 years ago and have been slowly plucking away at it. Very similar deal. Low purchase price with alot of my own blood & sweat into the project. I will post pics once I get some more recent pics.

Now I am looking for a 1967 1968 or 1969 Honda S800 convertible to restore. Very rare car but really a neat vehicle. Neat thing is that the engine had a 9,000 rpm already back in the late 60's!!!! Now that is cool in my book.