March 29, 2015 - Whats been going on?

Well, its been awhile since we updated the blog with 87823 adventures. After a month down south (wandering in the desert and playing shit golf) and the world's supply of gardening back here in God's Own Country (2 lawns, many very big rock removals and the shifting of much dirt), we moved on with the front end dramas and we are now into the engine removal phase.

Overall we also have a target for teardown of the full chassis! The aim is for completion by end of May as the metal work and major surgery is now scheduled over the summer.

First though the front end:

Surprisingly, most of the removal, lights, grills, badging and, to my horror, the front deco strips actually came apart reasonably well. A fair amount of heat (propane) and fairly large amounts of the magic penetration fluid (acetone and ATF mixed 50/50) eased up most of the bolts, most of which hadn't moved in 60 odd years.

The RF came apart the easiest and only one or two bolts committed suicide in the removal process.

The front bumper captive bolts did just that, remained captive, so the bumper will need to be addressed during the metal work portion of the project. And, wonder of wonders, some bright spark in the distant past brazed the bumper mounts to the chassis instead of using the high bumper mount supports and captive nuts for alignment. Another joy to deal with.

The front end wiring loom presented a few challenges. The RF loom is routed through the RF fender support bracket. This connects up into the tube to the headlight bucket. After 60 years, the bracket tube was filled with crud and decision time was either the bracket or the loom. Things didn't work out well for the bracket (which was on the replacement list anyway) and Mr. Dremel was pressed into action. With the tube eviscerated, removal of the headlamp wiring was that much easier.


Above is a pic of the bracket before the Dremel meeting. The tube for the headlamp wiring is the one which bends upwards in the middle. Much of the 60 year old dirt was in the elbow.

The LF tube / fender bracket had a similar issue but with half a can of WD40 down the tube, the loom emerged unscathed. Minor cut on the right side horn ground wire will need to be replaced but overall a good result. All wiring was documented and conforms to the factory wiring diagrams.

Below are the items removed just from the front end. Ziploc bags with corresponding notes and bin locations are highly recommended. You will go crazy if parts control is not on your project list. The corresponding parts replacement list lives in a spreadsheet with Porsche part numbers against each part. This will make life much easier when the time comes for ordering.

Finally,  a pic of the RF and LF looms ready to be pulled back under the dash. Those with sharp eyesite will notice the product of the new heat gun which has done a superb job of melting the undercoat. There be virgin metal there!

Next week: remove the engine (should be interesting), followup with Porsche for the COA (8 weeks ordered!),, full report then.

 My desk, yesterday: