coldstorageunit Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Hi All, Just getting started on my first Porsche, a rebuild of a 1970 911E. The car has a fair amount of rust and I'm going to have to do redo the floor pans, rocker panels, gas tank and suspension mounts, and some other minor stuff. I understand that a lot of care is required in the welding process to not distort the geometry of the car. This has deterred me from trying to have a go at this myself. So, I'm looking for a good body shop in Calgary with plenty of experience on classic Porsche's. Any recommendations? The only shop I've been able to turn up through searching the forum here is Cosmos, which looks pretty great. Anywhere else I should check? Or any other options for old Porsche restoration buffs who do this kind of work on the side? Thanks! -Tim Quote Link to comment
mrdunlop944 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) As a WWR member that has just finished a project with Cosmos and Loc...I can say that my personal experience with Cosmos was very professional and high quality. Mind you my work wasn't even close to what you have described above but the work I did see while there was very overwhelming in regards of the scale of restoration that these cars were under... While at Cosmos I remember a 70's Targa that was completely stripped and under full restoration body work and all....there was also a 356 that had undergone some serious body work and was in primer state when I got to see it, it looked new again. I'll be back there in the spring to repair a rusty battery tray in my 85 944/1 Contact Loc and see what he can or can't do for you, but I would have him do the work as its all Porsche certified not to mention the relationship you will build with a great shop for other repairs or projects you may have. Hope this was helpful and good luck with your project, I tried another shop and Cosmos fixed mistakes and short cuts that the other shop created...I Should have worked with Loc in the first place but thought I was saving a buck with the other guys, this was not the case. Best, Mike Edited January 4, 2016 by mrdunlop944 Quote 84 944 SOLD 85 944/1 85.5 944 Parts car Sold 86 944 SOLD 86 944 Turbo SOLD 88 944S parts car sold 88 924S Sold 88 944 Turbo S SOLD 89 944 Turbo 90 944S2 coupe Sold 90 944S2 coupe Parts car Sold 90 944S2 Cabrio SOLD Link to comment
Keith Adams Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Tim, Give Ken King a call at Concept-1 (a fellow PCA'er). 403-287-8549 He has done many restorations personally and has done some restorations in his shop as well (he's not a body shop, but does mechanical work, but between VWs and Porsches, has installed lots of sheet metal). He may have some good advice too - he's had a lot of work done by Loc at Cosmos, so that speaks volumes to what they can do. However, I'm sure your restoration is not an open chequebook exercise, so a little advice goes a long way. I am interested to follow your story - my 69 912 will one day need some body work - I don't mean that in "all things corrode" eventuality, but that it's already got some problems, I just don't have the money to pay someone else to fix them, or the time to do it myself, so it will soldier on. Cheers, Keith Quote Link to comment
KMR 968 Turbo Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 For metal work Lyle at Rods and Restos does some really impressive work. Not cheap though. Talk to Ken McDonald as he has had a couple cars metal repaired by Lyle. With the value of these early cars I would recommend you talk to Lyle and Ken. You don't want to take short cuts on the metal fab Quote Link to comment
KMR 968 Turbo Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I should note that Loc at Cosmos has been great to deal with too. Recommending Lyle for metal fab is no way reflecting on the quality of work done by Cosmos. Quote Link to comment
coldstorageunit Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 Thanks for the feedback everyone! I talked to Cosmos and seems like the have a pretty full schedule for restoration work right now and wouldn't be able to get started on mine till December. That and I get the impression that the cost is going to be more than I can spare right now. The Restoration Design guys out in Guelph have a lot of instructional video content online that walks you through the whole panel replacement process. I do have a little welding experience. So I'm back to the idea of giving it a try myself, at least on some of the more minor pieces first to see how things turn out. Another question for the group. I have a 2.2L engine in pieces with the car. Some of the important bits are missing, like crank case and cylinder heads. Since this is going to be more of a hot rod build rather than a restoration I'd like to look at sourcing a later model air cooled engine to install in its place. I've been watching kijiji and some other places but am wondering if any one has any recommendations on good sources for air cooled Porsche engines; rebuilt or not... Thanks again! -Tim Quote Link to comment
cosmos Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Hi KMR, Actually I am a lot happier if Lyle or Kelly Ulmer ( 403-815-4304) are doing the Body Work, I am doing my best to support club member but my regular work schedule is always full. I am happy to do the Painting as usual. If any one hiring Kelly Ulmer , call me first to get a primer on how to conduct business with Kelly . Quote 2018 991.2 GTS 2018 Cayenne 1989 Carrera 3.2 Link to comment
cosmos Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Hi Tim, we are booked solid for the whole year, but I can offer you some tech support if you choose to do most of the work yourself, Call me on my cell 403-803-0863. Loc Quote 2018 991.2 GTS 2018 Cayenne 1989 Carrera 3.2 Link to comment
coldstorageunit Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 Hi Everyone, I just wanted to follow up on this thread. I ended up paying a visit to Loc who gave me a tour of his shop which was very impressive. He also passed along some info on Kelly Ulmer who I was interested in using for doing the body work on my 911. I ended up getting in touch with Kelly and moving ahead with the project. Kelly lives south of town near High River and has a shop on his property. We've brought my car out there and he's going to be working on it in his spare time over the next several months to get it ship shape. I'll update this thread with more info as it comes available. I'm not sure if Kelly has had a chance to get started on mine yet as he was working on someone else's 1971 911 ahead of mine. Quote Link to comment
9Elfer Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Hi Tim, Thanks for the update, and please continue to keep us posted. Someday I hope to be in your shoes, but in the meantime I will continue to be a "restoration thread" junkie. Any pics of your car before sending it to Kelly? Any decisions on the engine? Cheers, Marc 88 Carrera 06 Boxster S Quote Link to comment
coldstorageunit Posted June 16, 2016 Author Share Posted June 16, 2016 Let's see if this works... This is the car as purchased. It had sat in a field untouched for the last 5 years. It's actually a 1970 911E but a couple owners previous had changed most of the panels to give it the short hood/impact bumper look of a '74 and beyond. I'll be taking it back to more of an original 1970 look, with the exception of wider rear quarters to give it that ST look. The engine was in pieces in the back seat so it's going to need some TLC. It's a 2.0L. The block was sitting in the back of a truck for several years exposed to the elements... Quote Link to comment
Perci Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 How's the project going? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Perci PCA DE Instructor 2014 Cayman S 2000 Boxster S 2000 Carrera 2010 Panamera 4S 1989 928GT Link to comment
coldstorageunit Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Pretty slow going right now. Should be approaching the end of the metal work and body phase of the build. I need to get out and see the car. The shop is down in Aldersyde, and with a couple little kids consuming much of time outside work I haven't been down to see if for several months. The body work is slow going as my guy is just working on it evenings and weekends as he has time. My main challenge right now is sorting out the engine. The car came with most of the pieces of a 2.2T engine sitting in the back seat. It has just about everything with it except the cylinder jugs and the cam housings. So I'm toying with either trying to source those parts and restore that engine, or look for something with a little more jam; like a 2.4 or 2.7 E or S motor. The 2.2T is pretty light on power so I'm not sure I'd be happy with that motor once it was rebuilt anyway. And of course, trying to do all this in the most cost-effective manner possible. Do any of the club members have any good tips or leads on the best places to look for engine parts or complete engines? I had a contact in Edmonton for a guy named Ben from Four Star Motors that used to have a bunch of porsche engine bits, but doesn't any longer. He suggested a guy in Calgary named John Cattle might be a good resource. Anybody know him? He also suggested Roland Riegel from Riegel tuning, but said he hasn't talked to him in 15 years or so and wasn't sure if he was still around. Anyway, the search continues... I do hope to have a drivable car by late summer though. Quote Link to comment
ErikA Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 There's a couple companies that advertise in Excellence/Panorama selling long blocks, complete engines, as well as rebuilding services. Having never dealt with any of them, nor having researched in depth, I can't say how reputable they are. The good thing about rebuilding the engine you have is the "Lego-like" nature of these engine allows you to rebuild a 2.2T motor to E/S spec with pistons and S cams and Webers, or drop in a 70.4 mm crank and bump the displacement to 2.4, as Porsche did. My car has the original 3.0 case and crank but displacing 3.2l through the use of 98 mm pistons/cylinders and the stock 70.4 mm stroke (versus the 84-89 Carrera's 95 mm bore and 74.4 mm stroke). That, a set of 964 cams, and tweaks to the CIS fuel injection make for subtanitally more power (~230 vs 180 hp stock) and an engine that loves to rev past 7000 rpm, versus the stock unit that was gasping for air at 6000. There are definitely lots of good performance options if you're willing to go down the rabbit hole of research! And here's a great Excellence article comparing 3 early cars with "short stroke" engine builds: http://www.excellence-mag.com/issues/177/articles/short-stroke-shootout?page=2#.WPorRtLytph Quote Erik 2001 911 Turbo X50 1980 911SC - Black, 3.2 litre short stroke SOLD! 2002 BMW M3 - Carbon Black over Cinnamon Link to comment
coldstorageunit Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Thanks Eric, great article too! I have been toying with just the 70.4mm crank swap. That would get me the counterweighted crank vs my non-CW one and would bump me up to 2.4L. I like what I've read about using the low end torque of the E-cams vs. a higher-strung S-cam engine as well. Either way, I've got to find some heads and cam housings, so I'll be continuing the search for those... Quote Link to comment
ErikA Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Sounds like a solid option for streetable power! Good luck on your search for heads - hopefully a decent set pops up on Pelican/Rennlist/etc. Quote Erik 2001 911 Turbo X50 1980 911SC - Black, 3.2 litre short stroke SOLD! 2002 BMW M3 - Carbon Black over Cinnamon Link to comment
9Elfer Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 You might try contacting Nineapart http://www.nineapart.com/ , they are located in southern Ontario. I cannot vouch for them, perhaps some of our members have dealt with them? Under the "Now Parting" tab on their website, I did not see any longhoods. Marc Quote Link to comment
ErikA Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 These guys also advertise in all the magazines, and they happen to have a later camshaft housing in stock: https://www.partsheaven.com/category_s/548.htm?searching=Y&sort=2&cat=548&show=10&page=1 Quote Erik 2001 911 Turbo X50 1980 911SC - Black, 3.2 litre short stroke SOLD! 2002 BMW M3 - Carbon Black over Cinnamon Link to comment
ErikA Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 . . . also the Hershey Porsche-Only Swap Meet is apparently tomorrow. Last minute flight to PA? Haha. Quote Erik 2001 911 Turbo X50 1980 911SC - Black, 3.2 litre short stroke SOLD! 2002 BMW M3 - Carbon Black over Cinnamon Link to comment
coldstorageunit Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 . . . also the Hershey Porsche-Only Swap Meet is apparently tomorrow. Last minute flight to PA? Haha. Lol, that might be a little tight... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment
ErikA Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Another option for you - there's a complete 2.2E motor for sale in Summerland BC. Would likely need a rebuild but a more complete starting point than what you have currently. I can vouch for Don being a solid guy, with a cool setup out in the Okanagan: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/canada/710799-parts-sale-22.html#post9573658 Quote Erik 2001 911 Turbo X50 1980 911SC - Black, 3.2 litre short stroke SOLD! 2002 BMW M3 - Carbon Black over Cinnamon Link to comment
coldstorageunit Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 Thanks Eric. Interesting looking engine. I was talking to a guy in Ontario with a 2.7 for sale as well at the same price. I was hoping to find something for cheaper but may just have to bite the bullet and go for it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment
Perci Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 The 2.2 might actually be the better deal, unless the 2.7 has the head studs replaced. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Perci PCA DE Instructor 2014 Cayman S 2000 Boxster S 2000 Carrera 2010 Panamera 4S 1989 928GT Link to comment
coldstorageunit Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 Right, fair point. I don't mind the idea of a rebuild though in the next few years. Sounds like a great winter project! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment
ErikA Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 I subscribe to that Pelican thread, so I received a notification over the weekend that Don dropped the price of that 2.2 to $7500 CAD, which might make it more appealing! Quote Erik 2001 911 Turbo X50 1980 911SC - Black, 3.2 litre short stroke SOLD! 2002 BMW M3 - Carbon Black over Cinnamon Link to comment
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