phead82
Well-Known Member
Hi,
I've been on this forum for a couple of months now, but so far haven't really taken the chance to properly introduce myself - apologies for that.
My name is Patrick, I'm originally Austrian, and I moved from Germany to the States - Santa Monica - a little more than 2 years ago. I have always been an enthusiast for everything that moves people - be it with 2, 4 or multiple wheels - which is also reflected in my profession: originally a motorcycle designer, I came to California to work as an interior designer in the local automotive industry.
Always an avid admirer of the e9 and its classic and timeless beauty I eventually in July this year pulled the trigger and fulfilled a dream of mine: I bought a '74 CS.
I found it on Craigslist, not too far away from where I live, in the "Valley"
The car unfortunately doesn't carry its original paint anymore since the PO had it repainted from Chamonix to black back in 2007. At the same time, he also had the whole interior redone: seats reupholstered, panels recovered, new headliner... everything but the dash and wood (dash has one minor crack just behind the instrument cluster).
It ran OK (just), so I decided to rebuild the carbs (Zenith; I noticed the accelerator pump being stuck which is probably also playing a part in its initial hesitation at acceleration) and in order not to have any downtime I picked up a nice set of Zeniths from HB Chris in September - thanks again!
I thought I'd drive it just as is, but I started to slowly pull the car apart to get to know it and to know WHAT I have there... I didn't feel comfortable simply driving it, knowing that there are probably some rust issues somewhere hidden in there.
And there where.
When finally pulling the rocker covers - and I was probably the first person to do this in 40 years... heck, they didn't even remove the covers when repainting the car since there was still the original Chamonix underneath them!! - I found small rust spots in the for and aft areas of the rockers. Which eventually turned into bigger rust holes when sanding them
Bummer.
Long story short, I am having the car at friends place now (really skilled sheet metal guy) and we are taking care of those areas and fix other areas like driver side floor pan and possibly the area around the wind screen (small rust bubbles in one spot) as we go.
While at it, we are also eliminating the side markers and hopefully have the bumpers converted to the smaller euro bumpers. He will eventually close up any remaining holes in the process.
Like said, while at it...
So many things to do, so many things to learn and discover still!
But I am extremely grateful of this absolutely wonderful forum, which is a vast source of inspiration, knowledge and help! It is great to know that there is a community which is based on trust (e.g. Pamp send me his bumper conversion brackets and had me pay for parts and shipping AFTER he shipped them, just to speed up the process and get the parts to me quickly!!!) and a has a common goal: to keep the car we love on the road.
I appreciate being part of this and am extremely glad I found this place - you guys are awesome!
So finally a big HI to everyone!
Cheers,
Patrick
I've been on this forum for a couple of months now, but so far haven't really taken the chance to properly introduce myself - apologies for that.
My name is Patrick, I'm originally Austrian, and I moved from Germany to the States - Santa Monica - a little more than 2 years ago. I have always been an enthusiast for everything that moves people - be it with 2, 4 or multiple wheels - which is also reflected in my profession: originally a motorcycle designer, I came to California to work as an interior designer in the local automotive industry.
Always an avid admirer of the e9 and its classic and timeless beauty I eventually in July this year pulled the trigger and fulfilled a dream of mine: I bought a '74 CS.
I found it on Craigslist, not too far away from where I live, in the "Valley"
The car unfortunately doesn't carry its original paint anymore since the PO had it repainted from Chamonix to black back in 2007. At the same time, he also had the whole interior redone: seats reupholstered, panels recovered, new headliner... everything but the dash and wood (dash has one minor crack just behind the instrument cluster).
It ran OK (just), so I decided to rebuild the carbs (Zenith; I noticed the accelerator pump being stuck which is probably also playing a part in its initial hesitation at acceleration) and in order not to have any downtime I picked up a nice set of Zeniths from HB Chris in September - thanks again!
I thought I'd drive it just as is, but I started to slowly pull the car apart to get to know it and to know WHAT I have there... I didn't feel comfortable simply driving it, knowing that there are probably some rust issues somewhere hidden in there.
And there where.
When finally pulling the rocker covers - and I was probably the first person to do this in 40 years... heck, they didn't even remove the covers when repainting the car since there was still the original Chamonix underneath them!! - I found small rust spots in the for and aft areas of the rockers. Which eventually turned into bigger rust holes when sanding them
Bummer.
Long story short, I am having the car at friends place now (really skilled sheet metal guy) and we are taking care of those areas and fix other areas like driver side floor pan and possibly the area around the wind screen (small rust bubbles in one spot) as we go.
While at it, we are also eliminating the side markers and hopefully have the bumpers converted to the smaller euro bumpers. He will eventually close up any remaining holes in the process.
Like said, while at it...
So many things to do, so many things to learn and discover still!
But I am extremely grateful of this absolutely wonderful forum, which is a vast source of inspiration, knowledge and help! It is great to know that there is a community which is based on trust (e.g. Pamp send me his bumper conversion brackets and had me pay for parts and shipping AFTER he shipped them, just to speed up the process and get the parts to me quickly!!!) and a has a common goal: to keep the car we love on the road.
I appreciate being part of this and am extremely glad I found this place - you guys are awesome!
So finally a big HI to everyone!
Cheers,
Patrick
