Turning restorations

[vacca rabite]

I make small runs of 917 style shifter knobs for old Porsches. I restore cars for fun, and will make a run when I need to raise cash. I am getting ready to turn another 10 of them for sale at Hershey Porsche Swap Meet in April. This was the prototype knob that I use in my car. They were improved in later turnings.

Same knob as the above one before I finished it. It got several coats of boiled linseed oil. I don't like hard finishes, and like wood to feel like wood and not plastic when its done.

I did not have a lathe at the time, so I turned it on a drill press using auto body "cheese grater" files and sand paper. Use what you have....

The car I built to go around the knob.

I took the car to bare metal and fixed all the rust and re-painted. I built the rotesserie too. Made life much easier working on the bottom of the car!

I'll turn a new knob for my truck too, but its all torn down right now and tucked into the garage. I promised I would not do a full restoration on it. There has been scope creep.

Zach

 

[The Penguin]

never was a fan of the 914...but the truck is really...what is it?

 

[vacca rabite]

My 914 is a heck of a fun car, and can out turn nearly any other sports car from it era. Sadly, I can't leave well enough alone and keep tearing it apart when I want to learn how to do something else. Right now I am using it to teach myself how to make a modern electronic fuel injection system using Megasquirt IIv3. A whole new world, but the new ethanol fuels DO NOT like European carbs.

The truck is a 1968 Jeep-Kaiser M715 1.25ton army truck. Precursor to the CUCV. It was the first truck where the Army ordered beefed up civilian vehicles instead of building specific military vehicles. Mine went to the PA Forestry Service after the Army was done with it, and I bought it in 2008.

I am building an RV cammed fuel injected 350 small block for it. Swapping the stock 5.88 gears for 4.56 gears - otherwise speed is pretty much capped at 50mph. Also getting modern power brakes. It will look stock on the outside, but it needs to be able to be safe on modern roads with modern drivers.

Zach

 

[corian king]

Super nice! Both the car and truck. I also like the knob!
Great work!

 

[JRay8]

Seems like alot of work for a place to store your wood knob!