It's aliiive !!!!

Not yet, but soon....
If you go back to post #4 you will find the beginnings of this project.

A 1974 Targa with a few ex-shops to its reputation, a couple of mystery engines that run up a tab at the towing company and some paint job that look more like bad cosmetic surgery than a show stopper.  But now it is here......and wait until they get a hold of me........

For 10 years I have been the operations manager her at Axiom Motorsports, and for 10 years I have seen this ex Targa come in and out just wishing. 

I am led to believe that some body rubbed that bottle the right way because for the last few months dreams are becoming a reality.   Picture this, you roll into the biggest parking lot anywhere and park.


You will never see another car like this in that lot or any other lot.

Sure, for the amount of money one can sink into a project like this, you can just go and buy a new car, then what?  when you go to a show there are 300 just like it,  maybe the color is different, oh! you might have a different exhaust.

But let's go back to the nitty gritty of the re invention of this 74 ex targa.

The body was treated to an 930 look along with some mods to provide air to the inter coolers hidden it the quarter panels, after that was done, we gave it a bath of triple black single stage paint, let that rest for about 6 weeks and then it was cut with 1000 grit sand paper to kill all imperfections and then another bath of polyurethane clear to bring the color to its highest resolution.

 
A 6 speed with steel synchros in first to fourth was adopted by the targa body that has been reinforced to the gills to cop with the 600 HP  ( that we are expecting) and torque.

Cosmetics like 993 gauges and interior are being accommodated for comfort and I have to admit,  some bling.

Go back to the first picture,  the headlights are custom made, the result of the 3 volunteers lamps and some bought on impulse made the angel eyes by xenon projection headlamps possible.   Later I will tell you about the evil eyes......

This 3.1 twin turbo will breath through KnN filters and 3' pipes, the wrapped custom headers will keep the charge at maximum velocity and will exit through the a high chamber custom muffler stuffed with 4 pounds of stainless steel wool that hug the exit perforated stainless steel pipe all the way to the carbon fiber muffler tips.

Coil on plug set up will have this beast's heart beating at a sequential level, making the pump gas or E85 burn rubber with a passion.

I 3 weeks time, it shall roar through the streets of L A and annoy his neighbors.........

It's a wrap !!!

There was a little debate about the pros and cons of wrapping headers.....

Of course, as with every gearhead discussion, things can quickly get out of order...........Last I heard was "I don't want to have a fire hazard in my engine bay"   Trust me, I put fire to this thing, it does not burn.   Any how, after talking to our experts and getting some info from the net,  this makes sense:

PERFORMANCE:  The goal of headers is to make it easier for the engine to push exhaust gases out of the cylinders.

TEMPERATURE:
The titanium wrap will keep the hot air inside the header, allowing for cooling air intake:  cooler intake produces more horsepower, as cooler air contains more oxygen, which aids the burning process in the cylinder.  Wrapped headers can reduce the under hood temperatures significantly.

VELOCITY:
In theory, wrapped headers help contain the heat, making the exhaust gases move more rapidly away from the engine and towards the exhaust pipe.  This increased exhaust velocity increases potential horsepower by evacuating the cylinder more quickly and allowing the piston to move upward with less resistance.

 SCAVENGING:

The gases velocity also helps with the scavenging, or the removal of combustion waste from the cylinder more efficiently.  This makes for a cleaner and faster burn of the mixture of fuel and air on the next piston stroke. 

all geared up....

Man !!  why is it taking so long.......

Well,  let me explain;  Some people call themselves gear heads, or weekend wrenchers,  they love that kind of stuff.....

I don't ,  we are just good at it, and on top of that, a really good deal came on this six speed transmission came along,  how can you say no,  limited slip, steel synchros on first, second, third and forth and geared to do 200 mph with no problems,  this thing was built for racing, and/or going on a trip to the Sin City.

Now, let's clean the air that is going to be forced into the turbos

Space is becoming very scarce once more elements go into this engine bay,  at this point we have to use flex 3 inch hose to be able to maneuver around  the other items that were invited to this party.  It won't be long.........

Wired

Hello...hello.....is this thing on ???

It looks like I blink once and three weeks go by.

While we were working on the air intake for our twin turbo cab, one of our team members said:  what is that electrical tape doing in that side of the loom.....??

We were so excited that all the pipes were coming together......but now we have to stop and check that electrical tape.

Oh boy, it seems like in its traveling through the various shops of the Sutherland, it encountered a crimping monster.........why am I not surprised ??

Rather than to find who to blame, let's take of the problem shall we........

Since we are replacing and adding some items that require disconnection every now and them. we will go with the ones that would do quality work, easy to use and nice looking too .

After removing the section of the harness that had been cut and crimp, we are left with a little shorter section.....not to worry, we will rerouted to make look good.

Deutsch connector are going to be our choice.

Angel eyes

Same cat with them evil eyes.

When your license plate reads REINVTD you'd better show some creativity.  If you look around, almost everybody has HID headlights, but they are just bright, not really something re invented.

The mission was to find Bi-Xenon projectors that would fit in the Porsche headlight bucket.  the first suggestion was to get a BMW light and see if it can be mounted,  my answer was simple, anything can be mounted, the problem:  BMW uses dual bulbs, just like a lot of the aftermarket products already available,  it has to be a hi/low bulb.

My search engine took me to a place in the east coast that is a distributor of the product I was looking for, the price was not bad so I order 3 kits, one to take apart and see how it works, and what needs to be done to it to make it work, the second one to install on the vehicle and the third one to sell and see if I can make my money back

The product's website says that they have a feature never seen in US roads before.............that is because it is freaking illegal, no red is to be in front of the car,  but it looks kind of cool, so we are going to wire it on separate switch and use just for show.

At the other end THE BOSS has been busy connecting all the dots from the air intake to the exhaust and soon we will have exit to the all the horses inside this twin turbo.

Coil on plugs will burn the E85 fuel that this puppy is going to drink, but that will be for another post

Hang them high..

Or they might hit the ground....

Well, we finally made some serious progress on the ex Targa,  it  has been a slow process due to the invention of certain things, many non stock items have been added to made this twin turbo a special one.

But first we gave it a new hat and a pair of shoes.
Finding a manual top now days seems a difficult task, in the end we have to modify an electric one and made  it work with the Targa locks.

Finding the right wheels is always a headache, wheels can make your car, or it can trash it,  lucky for the master of this beast, we had the opportunity of looking at different options thanks to a few of our customers that were nice enough to let us try their shoes on.

But the sweetest thing is that the turbos are being hung and that means,  we are past the Ecuador of this reinvention, we are on the other side of half.  When turbos are positioned it is easy to know when the rest of the piping will go.........Let's cut some tubes.....................

Rolling down the highway......

....not quite yet, but we are getting there.

After changing everything on this old body and giving it a new face lift, a tummy tuck and some botox, 

A new wardrobe has been added to this body in the shape of 993 interior, gauges and oil tank, a boxster roll bar that has been modified to fit this body

Now we need accessories.......
Sometimes I see my wife looking at a pair of earrings for the longest time, it makes me wonder what the heck I am doing at at the mall, not shopping.

But this is the way you buy rims, they can make your car or .....not

Another thing to consider is that size does matter, as well as offset,  what size wheel to get, and what size rubber........decisions, decisions , decisions,  can't use fuchs wheels, that would not go with our reinvented body

We used one of our  client's wheels to measure, and it was a good fit, but even though the ride is down in a non operating state, the set is not for sale.

We did found the name of the wheel, now the mission is, should you chose to accept it, to find out if it is still available.

Just venting.......

So that the intercoolers can get some air

They are going to be inside the quarter panels, though they are going to have cooling fans, we still need to create some flow.

I have seen other versions of vents and frankly, they look like holes to me.

 So we need to be creative, by opening the quarter panels that high allows the air to travel through the wheel well and reach the intercooler and at the same time it will give some to the brakes.

 Stainless still mesh was used to dress it up, because we still have to be stylish.

I was thinking of using the torsion bar opening to do a brake cooling thingy, but for now it's only a thought.

 Now we turn our attention to the other side, for this application we went with louvers just to give it a hot rod kind of look.  We had some pieces done and then we graph then to the quarter extensions.

With everything in place, now it's time to hang the intercoolers and air intake.

It won't be long before this big dog starting barking.....and who knows maybe a bite or two.

Hang around, it won't be long........

Under Construction

Since August of last year, this former 1974 Targa has been going through its re- invention, or at least that's how its owner sees it.  All the changes have been, at times, a challenge as well as an emotional journey.

Once the entire body was shot with several coats of a single stage triple black paint, we let it dry for a week or so, then  it was color sanded and re sprayed with  2:1 clear.

We assembled all the parts just to keep them together,  at the same time, we'll see if any of them is out of place, or if we need to redo any of them, they will polished individually and then with new trim, this Black Pearl will get its final assembly.

It's been months since a tow truck with a broken down black targa arrived, today only the  color remains the same, (kind of)  it looks happy being outside.

Porsche attitude, Hot Rod personality and a little bit of Road Warrior,........... we will soon hear its roar.

I will build the muffler myself................and we also will give our client a bit of a hard time about those fuzzy sheep skins......

Back in Black

But not by AC/DC,....I have to admit, my head banging and long hair days are pretty much over, but I still have to let loose from the noose.

  It's been months since we started this project, the idea was to upgrade it to a 3.2, and fix the cigarette lighter.......weeks later, we moved to: ...let's give it a little more pizazz !!  and a few weeks later, ...all hell broke loose....... In earlier posts, we shared that a 1974 former Targa was going to need rejuvenating in order to take in a 3.1 Turbo, at least we thought it was a good idea.

We have spent a few months cutting, welding, stitching and the occasional squirrel moment ( I like the movie UP )....... Yesterday we were on the final mission of getting the main body in good shape, on a Friday, when people just want to leave a little early, we were all guns blazing, .... In our sights, the body looked like we wanted it, every curved matched the other one, every square was square and every circle was round, and then I heard.........Shoot her......

That's what Gerardo said......and when he says that, paint has to be mixed, and something is going to get shot !!

So far it has been a fun project, we have been allowed to play with saws, cutters, torches, we even ran with scissors, all in good fun
In the next few weeks somebody's dream car will be starting to become a reality, and then, somebody will have this answer,
 YES, it is mine !!