I think we have determined the reason for the salvage title. There must have been a small (gas?) fire in the front trunk area, that scorched the hood and fenders. the PO did a nice rattle can job, but it clearly wasn't going to last.
So, the front fenders were stripped and painted to prevent further rust. At the same time I had some extra cross bar re-enforcement welded into the frame to support the batteries in the trunk (more to come in a future post). After almost a year of little progress I have gotten fed up and I took the unfinished body tub back from the mechanic whom I couldn't get to complete the job and had it painted. Unfortunately the color match was not as good as I would like. Next time the whole car will see paint.
Atleast now I can start the fun part, working on the electrical and getting the car roadworthy. The most gratifying experience of the whole project so far was driving the car onto the trailer under its own power. One 12V deep cycle battery produced enough torque to drive the car onto the trailer (albeit very slowly and in first gear).
After some much needed paint on the front fenders. its time to start re-installing everything that was stripped. First on the agenda was the headlights. The headlights are one of the most iconic features of the 911 (whale tail aside), and the reason I love the styling of this vehicle.
I didn't like the yellowed look of the old lights, so I opted for a new set of Hella H4 Vision Plus lenses. The added bonus of upgrading the Lenses is that I can choose any color bulbs in the future.
This finished product looks much better!
Next up on the agenda is getting power to the lights. The wiring harness was a mess.
