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by John Glynn | May 8, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
I spent the bank holiday weekend with Mark and James from EB Motorsport at the Donington Historic Festival. The boys were racing their 3-litre cars in FIA World Sportscar Masters, and also debuting the Tuthill-built 1965 2-litre Porsche 911, so plenty to see and do.
The first surprise of the weekend came on arrival at Donington Park racetrack. Paved circuit perimeter roads! Been a long time coming but this on its own should convince you that changes are afoot at Castle Donington. Walking in the paddock gate, the new building for Formula E – the FIA’s all-electric single seater championship – is coming together nicely.
Donington’s car park was buzzing and there was no shortage of spectators inside. Over 46,000 people attended on the Saturday and Sunday, which is a great testament to the power of Donington: still my favourite UK race circuit to drive. Arriving at lunchtime on Sunday, I settled in to the EB garage and caught up on some news before walking out on track with the camera.
First race of my visit was pre-war cars, fun to watch but as one driver put it on Donington FM, “half the battle is getting the old cars to the finish”. Some very fast machinery has attended, but a few needed time out in the pits half way through, before coming back out on track towards the end. Meanwhile, the lighter equipment kept doing the laps in perfect vintage “drift me” style.
After the pre-war cars came pre-’66 touring cars – saloons like the Lotus Cortina, BMW Tisa and a number of Alfa Romeos. Mini Coopers also race in touring cars and look great fun to drive. The leading Tisa seemed super fast compared to the Lotus Cortinas which dominated in period. Texting an historic preparation mate to enquire, he suggested slightly looser regulations might be favouring the BMW. Eventually, an Alfa made it to the front and some Lotus Cortinas also found their way forward. It was excellent racing to watch.
Maserati Trophy was next, which was a close scrap for the win between a Birdcage and something else. Not a huge Maserati fan so I relocated back to the Craner Curves and Old Hairpin for the FIA World Sportscar Masters.
At 5pm, the sportscar race started and the Lola T-70s were immediately flying. One slid off at the hairpin and backed into the gravel. The marshals pulled it out and got it back on track. In Pescarolo class, the Corvette was out in front, about a second faster than the yellow EB RSR. The Corvette owners reckon that is now producing 900 horsepower, but I’m not sure what the FIA papers status is. We’ll see what happens with it through the year.
As the race wore on, the Corvette hit problems, retiring after 30-odd laps. This brought EB’s RSR back into play. The mandatory pit stop was soon followed by a second one, as there was some concern on the EB pitwall that they might have missed the official pit window. Forty seconds or more was lost on that misunderstanding, but with the Corvette failing to hit the minimum number of laps required to classify, Mark squeaked ahead of his rivals and took maximum points from the race. We think he now leads the FIA Masters championship, but are waiting for official results to be posted.
James’ Red 1974 Porsche 911 3.0 RS came home behind the yellow car, but now starting his second season in the 911, James’ lap times were a good deal quicker than last year. This brought a few smiles, as James gave Mark quite a hard time when the previous champion emerged from the pits behind his brother and tried to get past. Looked great on the in-car video!
My next post will share the 2-litre Porsche breaking cover on Bank Holiday Monday, but was already a top weekend at the end of Sunday night. I headed for my hotel in Derby and had a few beers before hitting the sack. The faithful Cayenne was with me as always.
![Donington Historic Festival with EB Motorsport]()
by John Glynn | May 1, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Project Cars, Race and Rally
Our fourth post from EB Motorsport this week features these brand new Porsche 911R rear quarter panels, tooled up and ready for delivery from the Doncaster-based historic Porsche superstars.
A direct replacement for original steel panels, the lightweight rear wings bond to your steel shell. It goes without saying just how much weight these lighter composite panels save over solid sheet steel, plus of course you can save the steel rear quarters you take off and refit if the fancy takes you in the future.
Anyone fitting these panels will be aiming at an authentic recreation of the super-lightweight SWB Porsche 911R race car, and already have a full multi-point FIA or similar level roll cage fitted.
Full Range of Porsche 911R Conversion Parts
The 911R rear quarter panels are part of a complete range of 911 R replica conversion parts now offered by EB Motorsport: everything from lightweight Porsche 911R front wings with built-in sidelights and indicators, to deep 6 and 7R Fuchs wheels and all parts in between.
The boys have just taken delivery of another ’68 911 shell and are going for the ultimate lightweight 911R build. I am totally into this plan! Will share build pics along the way.
by John Glynn | Apr 30, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
The third post in our week of catching up with Yorkshire’s EB Motorsport shares news of these trick Almeras bumper and arch body kits for Porsche 911. Note this picture shows the kit without bumper accordions installed: they would be fitted afterwards.
Almeras Porsche 911 Bumpers: New Deeper Front Spoiler
Formed to fit impact-bumper 911s with standard front wings and SC rear arches, the boys have recently tooled up to manufacture slightly modified front arches and this this deep front spoiler version.
Seen here on the 1975 911S mule used by the manufacturing team to ensure a great fit, the additional depth is obvious. Period pictures from the late ’70s and early ’80s show exactly the same version on Almeras cars of the period.
I know the shallower version looks and works great on rally cars, but the deeper kit was run more in period, as the cars were mainly run on Tarmac events. “What’s the rationale behind producing this deeper version?” I asked Mark. “It looks awesome!” was the answer. Good answer.
Here’s a link to the full range of EB Motorsport Almeras Porsche and 911 SC RS parts.
About Almeras Porsche
Started in 1975 by brothers Jacques and Jean-Marie Almeras, the Almeras Frères soon made a name for themselves on the European rally scene. With two notable wins in wide-arched Porsche 911s on both the 1978 Monte Carlo and 1980 Tour de Corse rallies, the firm became synonymous with a bespoke style of lightweight bodywork, designed to cover wide cut-slick tyres on Tarmac rallies.
Other Almeras wins included the 1978 French and European Rally Championships with Michèle Mouton in a 911 Carrera RS, and the 1980 Spanish and European Rally Championships with Antonio Zanini. I’ve always loved the look of these bodykits and have quite a few Almeras models on the shelves in my office.
![Donington Historic Festival with EB Motorsport]()
by John Glynn | Apr 29, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Continuing our week of EB Motorsport news, I recently spoke to Neil who has used EB Motorsport Porsche panels to backdate his Porsche 911 SC.
What is Backdating?
Backdating is taking a later Porsche 911 and converting it to look like an earlier car. As the swooping roof line and much of the structural detail of the classic Porsche 911 body shell was unchanged for almost thirty years, it’s a popular way to get classic looks for a lower price.
Neil started with a 1982 Porsche 911 SC. The SC makes a good base for backdating for a number of reasons.
- The 911 SC shell was galvanised from new, so while there will be rust it is not always terminal
- Some of the rusty bits you change anyway through backdating
- The car is very simple and promotes DIY maintenance
- The 3.0 engine has excellent power and the chassis is ripe for lightening
- The 915 transmission, suspension and brakes are an improvement on an early car
- SCs are still cheaper than 3.2s (i.e. better 😀 )
EB Porsche panels include the ‘longhood’ early 911 bonnet, and early lighter bumpers front and rear. Neil also bought a lightweight roof panel, which he plans to use on the next build stage. “I fitted the panels and vinyl wrapped it in matt black to use the car and decide on the next changes. I also gold plated a few parts and installed a roll cage.
“The plan now is to change it a little, make it more Singer-inspired using EB Motorsport parts, including 911 ST front wings, 911 RSR rear arches and slightly different bumpers. I’ll fit the lightweight roof skin, probably install a centre-fill fuel tank and have it painted rather than wrapped.”
Ferdinand Magazine’s own backdate 911 project – based on the 1976 Porsche 912E shell I have stored in San Francisco – will kick off some time in the future. I will also use EB Motorsport parts, as the quality is so good. I’m looking forward to seeing what Neil does next on this very usable daily driver-style 911 SC base.
by John Glynn | Apr 28, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Had a good catch up with the EB Motorsport classic Porsche parts brothers over coffee in Banbury last week, before taking a ride in their newly-finished 1965 Porsche 911 at Tuthill Porsche. The car will debut at FIA Masters at Donington this weekend.
Driving the 1965 Porsche 911
What a car! All steel, it weighs 915 kilos without fuel and an estimated 180 bhp from the FIA-certified 2-litre motor. Light weight is great but it is likely to need ballast to comply with FIA papers. Geared to a top speed in the 120s, it’s running at 4k-ish at 70 mph, but put your foot down at 70 and the acceleration will surprise the cars around you on the motorway.
Nicely finished inside and out, the ’65 is painted in Jo Siffert/Andre Wicky ST tribute livery, and runs Tuthill Porsche’s bolt-in roll cage: something I really want to fit to one of my own projects. The ivory air box has divided opinion: good feedback on Facebook but others are not such big fans! I quite like it.
The car has just been granted entry to the 2014 Classic Spa 6 Hours. Mark ran Steve Winters’ (Jaz Porsche) 1965 car last year and managed 3:09 race laps in a car he’d only just sat in. Looks like the 2-litre 911 lap record at Spa could be up for grabs this year: will have to figure out what that is.
Enjoyed the chat with EB last week: got a week of EB updates coming on the Ferdinand Magazine blog through the end of April. Next one tomorrow!
