PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 3.0 RESTORATION
Mads van Appeldoorn
March 5, 2020
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Another little restoration project that I’ve finished in early 2019. Decided to sell it afterwards in order to further downsize my car collection, I’ve just had way too many cars at that time so this one needed to go. If you have questions or looking for advice, just contact me.
1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.o
The car started life as a Porsche 911 Carrera 3.o in 11/75. For those of you that are not familiar with the Carrera 3.o, it’s a rather rare one, Porsche built 606 LHD Coupés that model year. First delivered but never registered to Germany, exported to Japan where it was registered for the first time in 1982. The owner, a friend of the family offered the car to me in 2015 and I bought it on the spot.
It was a nice driving car, just a bit neglected over the years. A little faded paint, the seats and door cards had some quirks, the carpet set had some traces of bubble gum and other sticky stuff. All I wanted to do was to bring it back to it’s former glory, new paint, new interior and technically up to date. Disassembly was done in 2 days, I’ve gained some experience over the years with that, engine was out in 45min. The car went straight to the paint shop where they fixed a few little dents on the body and the car got a new paint job.
ASSEMBLY
That was not the first car that I’ve put back together. So just like I did with my 911 Backdate Project, putting the engine and the trans back in was the first step. Attached all the (new) oil lines and filled new Swepco Engine Oil in. Makes sense to fill in transmission oil before you put the gearbox back in the car. I use Swepco 201.
The trans got a complete rebuilt, I just do that once the engine & trans are out of the car. Also changed all the bushings in the shifting mechanism. Had the engine checked and adjusted, new hoses, injectors, that was is. New air filter of course. When I had the car back in my garage, I started with the back of the car. Decklid, taillights, bumper and the rear valance. Replaced the rubber seals all around. And I only used the original ones from Porsche. Tried aftermarket parts but ended up buying the original Porsche parts. Then I assembled the front, headlights, bumper and valance. The car had fog-lights when first delivered but I didn’t like the looks so I didn’t put them back on.
HEADLINER & INTERIOR
Headliner. Honestly, even if I did that already with my 911 Backdate Project, I didn’t want to do it again. It’s just a very time-consuming job and I am not the most patient guy in the world. (Note: and I did it one more time with my other Carrera 3.o a year later). So there I was again, stretching, repositioning and pulling and glueing the thing in place again. Just like with my 911 Backdate Project, I used binder clips and Elmers Cement Glue. Perfect result, again.
All the old insulation was still in perfect shape so I reused all of the stuff that I’ve had previously removed. Bought a new carpet set which I glued into place with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive. Again, perfect result. Whenever I need spray adhesive, I use 3M Super 77. Bought the carpet in Germany from Lakewell.
The seats were in ok shape however, I had them reupholstered from a shop in Berlin, Germany. If you are in Europe, I can recommend them. Get in touch to get contact details. They also did the door cards, rear quarters and the parcel shelf. Very happy with the results, would definitely use their service again. Oh they also did the original Porsche steering wheel.
WINDOWS, BRAKES, BATTERY & TIRES
Again, the tiny little things take quite some time. But I used the time when the car was at the paint shop and polished all the window frames. Had very good results before with 3M Aluminium Polisher so I used that again. Of course I used new seals here als well. Love this shiny look, a lot of cars in those years had black frames.
Friends helped me to install the front and rear window. Again, please use the original rubber seals from Porsche, the aftermarket stuff is no worth the money. Also bought a new Optima battery, the old one was worn out. After quite some time on the road, I’ve also changed the dampers, Bilstein inserts for the front and dampers for the back. Before I’ve put on new tires, I’ve replaced brake discs and pads. Restored the Fuchs wheels myself. They were in excellent condition so I removed the paint and had them re-anodized and painted the center in black. Put new Toyo RR tires on ’em which I love. 205/50/15 in front on 7″ Fuchs and 225/50/15 in the back on 8″ Fuchs wheels.
