The Porsche Interior Strip Diet
 

Hello Everyone!

I have a 1977 911 that's been roughed up but is a great little runner that I'd like to get even more track ready than it already is. I am interested in stripping the interior of anything non-essential; saving my ears &keeping any sound-proofing materials isn't important. I think I'll keep the dash as is so it can at least look civilized.
I've signed up for many events this summer during which I'd like to drive without a problem, and I'll have to work part time so I have realized that it would be prudent to have a plan before stripping anything...
I'm realizing more and more how time-consuming playing with cars is :|

911 was bought with a roll bar and bulky race seats that I'll have to take out to get to all the carpeting...

Can anyone recommend on any of the following:
1. How long does it generally take to get to completion? Days/weeks?
2. If you have stripped your interior, what did you remove?
3. What chemicals did you use to remove the glue holding the carpet down?
4. Any helpful additions?

Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks

Pics! cmon.. we always like pics!

Lots of folks out here have done what you propose.. some to full "race prep remove it all " level and others to a nice "clubsport / "R" " feel interior. Most end up bitching and complaining at the amount of effort to remove the factory coatings.. heat/cool/chemicals/sweat/headaches etc all come into play at some time or another.

I stripped all of the soundproofing from my car except the tar stuff on the floor. Taking stuff out is the quick part, it can be done in a weekend. Making the result look halfway decent is a little trickier. I recommend getting a RS carpet kit from AppBiz. Strip out the soundproofing, get the major glue residue off (I used acetone and good off in a very well ventilated garage w/ a respirator) and put the RS carpet down over the rest. The carpet weighs almost nothing and makes the interior nice and clean looking.

The engine sound pad is a little tricky, but can be done. It's usually crumbing and nasty anyways, so pull it.

When you're done, the car will be lighter, faster, louder and hotter. My car ended up at 2550 lb w/ 3/4 tank of gas and a 3.6l engine. That was with the sunroof, power windows and no fiberglass except a ducktail.

3M makes a good adhesive remover (3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner 08984) - but you have to definitely
use it in a well ventilated area AND wear a respirator mask to keep from going loopy. I got in trouble with my wife
when I tried to use it in my garage....even with the door open, the fumes got into the house. ugh.

But it works great.....

In the race car I removed everything and a lot of the wiring and the radio, etc. Used 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover (second that good ventilation - I used a good ventilator, a fan, and did it outside--be careful to not go down too far, but it works well to leave a rag wet with the stuff on the worst parts for 3-5 minutes, then wipe off). I left on the hard 2mm thick stuff on the floor, as I got down to sub-2400 lbs dry and have to use lots of ballast anyway to make racing weight - I believe that stuff also damps vibration a bit, but if you're going for lightest, then remove it. I would recommend against the 3M stuff for a street/DE car and follow Jazz's advice on the RS Carpet. Believe me, it is worth $250 to avoid stripping off all that glue and then painting, and the carpet will look better and not be a significant weight difference.

The real weight savings are the rear seats and the soundproofing pad on the rear shelf and upper rear seats. The front seats are even more, but sounds like yours are already gone. Do you still have your A/C stuff? Unless it works (in a '77 that's unlikely), ditch it (>70 lbs).

If you're going to go with the RS carpet, you can do everything including installing the carpet in 1 weekend, and even less if you buy a couple of pizzas and a case of beer...(it helps to live close to so many other Dorkis).

I did like JAzz except I also removed this stuff. Easily done with ballpeen hamer and chisel. Once you you get a corner off just hit it lightly with the hammer and it chips right off. A little chissel work on the stuborn bits. ~15 pounds all told. Biggest single peice is the rubber sound pad on the back package tray! Try and get if off in one peice as is NLA and worth $$ to some.

I stripped out the interior, went down to the metal, and did a POR-15 treatment on my car. Lots of work, but the result is good. Without the carpet set, the interior looks pretty raw. You may save yourself some prep steps and time to just cover with the RS carpet set. Depends on what look you are going for. Here are a few threads on what I did.

http://dorkiphus.net/porsche/showthread.php?t=19018

http://dorkiphus.net/porsche/showthread.php?t=20653

Some links were moved, so here are the updated ones..
http://www.intra-dimension.com/porsche/1970T/
http://www.intra-dimension.com/porsche/1970T/cage/
http://www.intra-dimension.com/porsche/1970T/interior/

http://www.intra-dimension.com/porsc.../11-final3.JPG

He was asking if this could be done in a weekend, Fritz. Perhaps you should mention how much time it took you (although it is gorgeous!).

I don't wanna think about the number of hours. :D

• Getting the interior out including sound proofing is about a day.
• Getting that damned tar under layment took another day or so.
• Then the metal rotary brush and cleaning up the bad spots.
• Metal prep, degreasing, and painting took another day.
• Then you have to put all your sh!t3 back in which takes longer then taking it out.

I did all the work with a full cage installed which definitely added to the complexity and time. And please listen to what everyone says about using the respirator and lots of ventilation and try not to do this work in the middle of the August as you need to do this outside with all the chemicals involved.