The car belongs to Michael Russell, a close friend of Pelican Parts.  It is a 1973 1/2 911T with a CIS 2.4 motor.  The chassis is one of the best, if not the best example of a rust-free Californian car that we have ever seen.  So, it is with much pleasure that we have begun a complete ground-up restoration on this car.  Michael purchased the chassis from someone who had started the ground up restoration, and had removed just about everything that you could possibly remove off the car, and still have it roll.  The car was then stripped to the bare metal, and painted the original color, silver, with original German Glasurit paint.

     Michael has decided that he will not restore the car completely to stock condition, but instead, upgrade it with many of the options that were available on the later cars, while maintaining the stock early 911 look.  Some of the planned upgrades are:

• 3.0L or 3.2 Six Cylinder Motor
• Sport Seats
• Carrera or SC Brakes
• Later model suspension
• Carburetors or other engine modifications

     In essence, we don't want to do anything to the car that will require cutting metal on the chassis.  To do so to such a pristine example would almost be blasphemy.  Since the car is a 1973 chassis, it is exempt from all smog testing and compliance here in Southern California.  In recent years, the 1973 and earlier cars have increased significantly in value as people have been looking specifically for cars that don't have to meet the newer and tougher smog requirements.  Most 1974 owners feel slighted, (myself included) since the major smog law changes didn't occur until 1975, and the 1974 smog laws are nearly identical to the earlier 1973 ones.  Since this car is exempt, the options for engine enhancement will be limited only by the availability of funds.  We must be careful in choosing a powerplant, as the early Targas are lighter, and not as stiff as the coupes, and could suffer from torsional problems if the engine is too strong for the car.  It is for this reason that the factory never mass-produced any 911 Turbo Cabriolets or 911 Turbo Targas (there were actually two Targas made for factory workers).  The chassis just isn't stiff enough when you remove the roof pillars.

     If you take a close look at the photos accompanying this series, you will find that there isn't a spec of rust on this car.  Now, there might be some rust coloration on the panels due to surface rust, but the core metal is as sound as it was leaving the factory.

     When looking for a project to start on, the most important element is to get yourself a rust-free chassis.  The most costly, difficult, and annoying (well at least to me) part of a restoration is chassis and body repair.  It's messy, time-consuming, and you will never have as good of a car when you are finished, as a good rust-free example.  I can't stress this enough:  a good rust-free chassis is worth the extra money you will pay for the car.  It is also important to know that all the chassis up to the late seventies were not coated with any rust-prevention materials or coatings (I believe Porsche started this in 1978).

     Well, the first stage of the restoration was to find a good candidate, and we don't think that we could have done any better here.  Our next step is to secure a powerplant.  In the next chapter, we will describe what we chose, why we chose it, and how much it cost and will cost us to bring it up to par.

     In the meantime, I have about 50 pictures of our new acquisition here, complete with descriptions of what to look for when securing yourself a restoration project.  [Posted Sept '99]