by John Glynn | Oct 8, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
This freshly-built Porsche 911 RSR replica recently enjoyed its track day debut at Spa Francorchamps. Replica, homage, interpretation: call it what you will, it’s a widebody version of the classic 911, but still more compact than your average modern sports car. Owner Tony tells it like this:
After much consideration on what style of sports-purpose Porsche to build from my 1979 Porsche 911 SC, I opted for an early 911 that packed a punch and would one day enable us to possibly race at international events. I therefore choose the 1973 2.8 RSR as the ultimate aim for my project, with the end result hopefully of a car with FIA papers.
Whilst researching and preparing my budget, it became obvious that the cost of such a project was going to be considerable. We therefore decided to break the project into two phases.
Phase 1 would include chassis, suspension, brakes, bodywork and paint. I knew that, as an ex-Porsche Club GB championship car, the SC had a strong and willing power plant. Therefore, if I added rigidity, removed weight and upgraded the brakes and suspension, it would be an exciting drive. Phase 2 would be all about more power. Phase 1 thus became:
- Strengthened shell, built within the FIA rules, including revised rear crossmember
- Wide body with lightweight panels
- Coil-over suspension with Porsche RSR front Bilstein struts, Reiger dampers and monoball top mounts
- Early adjustable RSR anti-roll bars with RSR strut brace
- Brembo brakes (not FIA)
- Custom Cages T45 historic cage
- 8 x 15″ Fuchs front wheels and 9 x 15″ Group 4 rear wheels
- Michelin TB15 tyres: 215mm F/270mm R
- Front-mounted oil cooler
- Lightweight windows inc heated front screen
- Lightweight fuel tank (bag tank)
- Target weight sub-1000kg
The Porsche project 911 2.8 RSR replica commenced in March and was due for completion in time for a track day at Spa Francorchamps on July 14. I got to know some great people during the course of the project. A special thanks must go to all the guys at Track Torque Racing for building the car, as well as Dan Sutherland at Dansport and Mark Bates at EB Motorsport for Porsche parts, advice, support and expertise, without which the car would never have been completed.
Despite a few teething problems immediately prior to leaving for the Hull ferry, the trip was fantastic, with circa 1000 miles through Belgium and on track at Spa. The car was unbelievable. It delivered astounding performance in the wet conditions in the morning and was capable of running very quickly in the dry PM session, however it was clear the grip level would not last forever in the dry conditions and that Michelin TB5s would be more durable.
Regardless, I now have a car which always delivers a great big smile to my face, whether in the garage or when I’m behind the wheel. Ultimately the car is fast, light, agile and fun: exactly what a Porsche should be all about! The best thing of all is I still have Phase 2 to look forward to!
by John Glynn | Sep 24, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Essex legend and friend of Ferdinand, Dave Dennett, recently debuted his 935 K3 replica at the Porsche Club national event. The 935 was on track at Brands Hatch amongst a plethora of Porsche Rennsport machinery, where Gary Hand Motorsport Photography got some excellent photos.
The 935 came to Dave’s DSD Motorwerks a while back, in a part exchange deal against a 964 race car. Then painted black, the shell had started life as a left-hand drive 1986 3.2 Carrera with 45k miles on the clock, imported to the UK from Japan in 2011.
With a single turbo flat six making 650 bhp and a dog box G50 with 80% LSD, it’s an obviously complex machine. The body uses mostly DP Motorsport parts but, under that skin, the rust free shell has been comprehensively modified.
935 running gear needs a lot of space, so the rear panel was cut and replaced with an engine brace and rear frame, allowing room for the giant turbo. The front end lost all of its roadgoing parts, to be replaced by a single-piece 935 K3 clamshell. A custom rollcage makes it stiffer: much needed when you stick 650 horsepower through a production 911 bodyshell almost thirty years old.
The engine spec is interesting. 930 crankcases were gas flowed and shuffle pinned. The 930 std/std crankshaft was fitted with Carrillo rods with 22mm little ends for Omega 935 CTR pistons. Capricorn barrels mate to 930 heads, ported and twin plugged. Schrick cams run Motorsport rockers, as Dave tells Jürgen Barth here:
The inlet is modified 3.2 Carrera with ‘big’ injectors. Turbo is a Garrett ball race GT45, with a Turbosmart wastegate and bespoke intercooler. An Omex 710 ECU controls the motor, which breathes out through a custom exhaust. “You can’t buy these pipes from Kwikfit, Derek,” says David.
Originally built by Ninemeister, the engine was subsequently rebuilt by CTR and tested at 600bhp on the Judd engine dyno. Dave has since made a few more modifications and the latest dyno run produced 650bhp. I’m hoping to attend some test sessions with the car in the near future: should be a lot of fun, as there is never a dull moment with Dave in the house!
by John Glynn | Sep 21, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
When the Porsche 911 SC Cabriolet was released to the public in 1982, it was an instant hit. The first fully convertible Porsche for 18 years since the 356 Roadster, build slots sold out and the cars changed hands for well above list price once in the open market.
Based on the 911 SC Targa, which had been the only open-top 911 for many years until the 911 Cabriolet model was developed, SC Cabriolet shells had few changes over the rigid-glass sibling. The main changes were reinforcements to the bottom of the b-posts and changes to the top of the latch panel where the Targa bar would normally sit, replaced by the Cabriolet roof mechanism. The small differences mean that Targa-to-Cabriolet conversions are quite straightforward, and not that rare.
Porsche friend David bought this Porsche 911 SC as a Cabriolet conversion from a 911 SC Targa. “I rescued it from a barn, where it had languished for fifteen years. It came with big bills for new brakes and lots of injection work to get it running but it had a broken headstud or two and some crappy paint.
“It was already non-original (colour, cab conversion, seats, etc) so it was a perfect subject for a bit of hot-rodding – weight loss and backdating being main aims to get a car that (to me) looked good, sounded great, handled well yet was still comfortable enough for a long day in the saddle.
“Having removed or swapped bumpers, front and rear lids, sill covers, stereo, heating, door cards, seats and more I dropped a total of 135kg (~300lbs). This affected the ride height, particularly on new Bilstein Club Sports all round. This had to be sorted, so I was ready for the next step – to re-bush with Polybushes, fit late 3.2 ARBs and sort the ride height and alignment.
“I limped around in it for a few months until biting the bullet for the inevitable engine rebuild. I took the opportunity to remove the heat and go with bare headers. John Holland at Unit 11 did the rebuild, and it works very well. Elsewhere the bodywork is tidy: a few minor issues to look at, but otherwise it’s a strong and solid classic 911.”
The Cabriolet conversion is less obvious than the other big change over standard: a backdate to early-style front end and bumpers from the solid aluminium impact bumpers. Advantages with the backdate conversion include the lower weight – David estimates he has dropped almost 150 kilograms or about 10% of the Targa’s original weight. It’s the equivalent of two people in the car so quite a lot to lose.
All of the parts to backdate came from our friends at EB Motorsport: bonnet, bumpers and the new wing infill lights, which fix straight to the impact bumper front wings and match to EB front bumpers. The normal fitment involves filling to match the wings but David is a dad on a budget, so has kept it good enough to use and enjoy. To me it is everything you want in a hot rod: 911s are all about driving and this aspect is top of David’s list.
Here’s some video of the car in action: sounds terrific.
by John Glynn | Sep 21, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog
Porsche has announced a concentrated programme of dealer recruitment for its Porsche Classic brand of parts and restoration services. The company plans to increase the current handful of Classic-approved service partners to a total of more than 100 over an unspecified period of time.
Joining current Porsche Classic franchisees in France, Germany and Thailand will be branches in Japan, USA, South Africa, Australia, Colombia, Great Britain Italy, the Netherlands and more. Customers can look forward to “the complete range of services of Porsche Classic” including access to over 52,000 original spare parts, servicing and repairs as well as complete and partial restorations.
How many classic Porsche owners will switch to Classic-badged dealers to have their old Porsches attended to? Your guess is as good as mine. Adding one hundred old Porsche specialists to an already well-stocked specialist landscape will certainly cause some excitement.
I can’t imagine that many grass roots guys will be tempted away from their current providers, with the best established doing a consistently excellent job of keeping old Porsches together. What little I heard about the recent programme of dealer restorations for the 911’s 50th anniversary won’t have too many UK restoration specialists worried about the future.
The 356 Roadster and Porsche 912 Coupe seen here are both currently undergoing full restoration at Tuthill Porsche by a team of guys who share hundreds of years of restoration experience between them. That sort of experience takes more than a few training courses to pick up, so the planned expansion of Porsche Classic past one hundred specialist partners, all producing work of a consistently high standard, and at a price to compete with the established specialist network should be interesting to follow.
That is not to say that Porsche Classic in Stuttgart does not have a team of highly committed craftspeople working on site. I have seen some of their work and it is fully up to scratch. But, as many of my restoration friends know only too well, the highest quality does not easily scale. Hence five-year waiting lists for the best restorers.
by John Glynn | Sep 19, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog
On the day where we learn that a Scottish majority has rejected independence from England, we remember the birthday of Ferry Porsche: inspirational founder of the independent Porsche company and great champion of creative freedom.
“Committees are timid,” said Ferry. “Based on the premise of safety in numbers, they tend to survive rather than take risks, and move independently ahead.
“Independence has always been the attitude at Porsche. To do not what is expected, but what feels right. In the beginning, I looked around and could not find quite the car I dreamed of: the small, lightweight sports car which used power efficiently. So I decided to build it myself.
“So many creations today are just like all the rest. This is why Porsche must remain small and independent. Without independence – without the freedom to try new ideas – the world will not move ahead, but live in fear of its own potential.
“Committees lead to creations that have no soul, no clear identity. This is why no Porsche will ever be created by a committee, but by a handful of people inside these walls who know what a Porsche is.”
RIP, Ferry. Your ideals of independence live on within some of us.
by John Glynn | Sep 10, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
So my 912E has finally arrived in the UK. Bought unseen from San Francisco Craigslist, the car was also advertised on Pelican and a few other places frequented by Porsche fans, but no one wanted it. I did a good deal with Bob the seller and had it trailered away by a good friend out there.
It lived with some friends in SF for almost a year, before it was trucked down to Long Beach to sail with a Tuthill 356 and a collector friend’s 911s. The container cleared customs on Monday, got trucked up to the West Mids and was unpacked on Tuesday morning. I had notice of the unboxing at 9am. By 10am, I’d arranged a car transporter on Shiply to same-day trailer it to my classic Porsche home-from-home: Rob Campbell’s Racing Restorations in Pershore near Worcester. It arrived there later that afternoon.
I am tied up on other stuff all this week, so I won’t get to see it until the weekend, but Robert’s had a good look this morning and says the shell looks pretty solid. It’s had a really rough paint job in the past, but that will blast off easily enough and reveal the original Arrow Blue.
1976 Porsche 912E Project
I purposely bought a 911/912 with no sunroof, as roof panels on pre-galv cars can go nasty, not to mention floors soaked by leaking roof seals. Seems the floors are solid so that is good. Little bit of rust in the front and rear window apertures, spot of surface rust under the parcel shelf. The kidney bowls look OK, but the latch panels are messy. The front wings are rough, but there’s a pair of good ones in the car – not that I am using either. The rest looks reasonable apart from a holed front pan, but that would be coming out anyway as they love to rust: an easy repair job for Mr. Rob Campbell.
What is the plan? Currently aiming to backdate it, keep it simple maybe run it kinda ratty for a while. Not easy to run something with no engine in it, so I plan to fit the classic Subaru Turbo transplant with a flipped R&P and the WRX 5-speed. Still flat four and I’m a Subaru guy. I’ve got a set of Subaru workshop manuals, am not into Beetles and who can be doing with the price of flat sixes these days! 😉
