The end of stage one draws nearer

With any luck I will bring the 79 5sp to Portland Friday we had a small set back today when the bolts holding the thermostat housing broke and needed to drilled out.
The warning system controller arrived and was installed all the dash warning lights now work and the fuel gauge is also working after having fuel in the tank for the first time in 9 years.
All that remains now is to finish the thermostat housing cleanup the spider and refit, install the remote locking system and the engine immobiliser to keep the insurance people happy.
And then it's the start of stage 2 restore the body work and repaint

We fire up the motor

Dispite a few wiring problems we fired up the motor today seems to run well and good oil pressure we have a water leak around the thermostat cover an O ring has dried out and cracked we will get a new O ring, gasket, and thermostat tomorrow and give it a road test.

Electrical problems

we have struck a real disaster the wiring has been vandalised and it looks like the dash has been attacked by a mad man with a pair of side cutters, all the instrument warning lights are not working or disconected the loom has been cut in places and there is heaps of non genuine wiring and relays that we have taken out.
We have started at the electrical relays under the passenger floor and we will trace out each circuit and with any luck we will be able to trace all the breaks in the loom.
Saddly this has put us back a few days and could be the costliest exercise so far time wise

Good news bad news

The missing parts continue to cause us delays but we have taken the radiator into Ballarat and had it pressure tested it passed the test with no leaks and has been painted and refitted the distributor and the plug leads and conectors tested perfect.
We half expected the clutch to be seized but it worked perfectly as soon as the fluid was added and bled we were also able to select all the gears, the new battery has been installed as has the new electric aerial.
The ignition switch that was on the front seat in bits has been put back together and is working well and the instrument pod has come back from the Dash Doctor and is like new.
The new rear wheels have had the tires fitted and the front wheels have been painted and their tires fitted, all have been balanced and are ready to fit. I have found a set of the special wheel centres with the brass coloured crest inlays thanks to the help of the Landshark list members and Alex at Porsche Centre Melbourne. Maybe we will get it fired up this week but regardless every day we move forward a little :)

assembly hassles

We have found a few problems putting everything back together there are lots of bits missing nuts, bolts, and the odd bracket or two. Don't you just hate trying to assemble something that has been pulled down by someone else and left standing for years so many small bit have got lost :(
We have ordered replacements and the supplier is sending them over night we are still hopeful of firing up the engine tomorrow.

A big step forward

My 79 5speed took a big step forward today the motor is back together the brakes and the clutch have been bled and we are now shopping for a keyless entry system an engine immobiliser an electric aerial and a new car battery all being well it should hit the road around Friday.

Progress on the engine

The motor has new seals in the front and a new water pump everything has been acid dipped and cleaned up we are being held up because we are waiting for a washer/spacer and then we can re assemble the rest of the engine.
The suspension is finished and the new wheel bearing carriers and the wheel bearings have been assembled

Slowly it's coming together

Another shipment of parts arrived from the USA today 2 fuel pumps, engine filters, spark plugs, 1" spacers for the rear wheels.
The clutch hose was custom made in Geelong and that has been fitted we can now bleed the brakes and the clutch.
The instrument pod has been removed and sent to the Dash Doctor to have the vinyl repaired also the internal rear vision mirror has been taken off the w/sceen to have a new mirror cut and fitted.
The new 16"x8" phone dials have arrived from Germany and I am painting the 16"x7" front wheels ready for some new tires that I took from the S4 when I went to 17" wheels ( cup 1s ).
The engine has been cleaned and reassembled with the new timing belt,water pump, and all the front seals were replaced while they were exposed, as soon as we have the electrics sorted out and the new fuel pumps fitted it will be time to fire it up the first time in 9 years should be interesting to say the least.
I have booked the car into my panel beaters for respraying in October