1969 Porsche 911 - Paintwerks, LLC.

This 1969 911 is my personal project. It started out as an idea when I was laid up for two weeks from some minor surgery. Two weeks of car magazines can really get you thinking. In fall I was encouraged to call on a car I saw for sale. My wife knew what would happen if I made one call. A few weeks later I found one worth buying. Talking with the owner and seeing it had thirty year old paint on it, I gambled that it would be a solid car. It had almost no visible rust. Ultimately, almost everything but the body, steering rack and wiring harness were replaced.

What follows is the REAL cost of healthcare. I’ve never felt better.

(Click on any image below to view larger size.)

: This is the first time I get to see the car in person.

: It runs. That’s a good start.

: It’s all there.

: This is the condition of the wheel wells.

: Very solid and rust free.

: Even the trunk looked great. No metal repairs needed.

: It’s beginning to look like the gamble paid off.

: Upon stripping the car, I was happy to see the seat bottoms and parcel shelf are intact.

: The factory lead at the jack point is one of the causes of rust there. Looks great and have been very usable.

: Again, no corrosion problems around the lead. The surface rust on the quarter was cleaned up very easily.

: Nice straight panels after media blasting.

: Minimal deviations to be smoothed out.

: The floor was prepped and coated with bed liner for a tough durable finish.

: Due to the shop being full with customer projects, this needed to be done at home. Duct tape had to suffice for mocking up until I could bring Cleco’s home.

: Steel flares for early cars were not available so some customizing was in order.

: It was easier to make it in two pieces so the fit would be right on.

: Once in place, the rest could be fabricated.

: Everything tacked in place.

: It is starting to look like something.

: More of the quarter gets cut away than you expect.

: It all looks good once it is in place.

: The flares really fit the body line quite well.

: Masked off for media blasting. The plastic media gets everywhere. Be sure to plug heater vents and any cavities that are exposed.

: After blasting there is no damage lurking underneath.

: This is the dash the way it was with the exception of the large red oil light.

: Ready for paint.

: This is my favorite part of the process.

: The entire body is color sanded and polished.

: Everything was undercoated as needed. Some was cosmetic to freshen it up.

: Polished and fenders on.

: Here a coating of chip protection is sprayed on.

: Back home and ready for assembly.

: The reflection is like a mirror.

: The steel trailing arms were replaced with later aluminum ones.

: The Koni’s that the car came with were used at first along with a Tarret adjustable sway bar and four piston calipers.

: The struts were switched to Bilsteins. The spindles were raised along with a proper bump steer setup.

: A Smart Racing dual master cylinder setup was fit along with a later style pedal cluster. It is tied into the strut bar for rigidity.

: Slow but sure. It took just over two years from the delivery date to its first official test drive.

: I opted for a 1988 3.2 liter motor and a 915 trans with a Quaife limited slip.

: With just a little clearance on the rear seat tunnel made for the transmission, it goes right in. It sure would have been nice to do this at the shop.