by John Glynn | Apr 12, 2016 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
My 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo restoration has made great progress since I reset my work schedule and committed to spending the weekends working on my own projects rather than sitting behind a laptop. My bank account is slightly less happy about the restoration, but payback will come in due course.
I’ve now clocked up a couple of hundred hours on this car, and poked around most of it. While there is unsurprising evidence of parking dents and other traumas from its former life in Italy, underneath all that it’s a really great example, especially now I have reconditioned most of the moving parts fixed to the bodywork. Dropping all the mechanicals to do a full restoration is very tempting, but I must resist.
Retaining Porsche Patina in Detailed Restoration
Perhaps the most engaging part of the rebuild after the 924 Turbo’s bodywork was so nicely stripped, prepared and repainted by my old friend Rob Campbell at Racing Restorations has been deciding what to keep and what to ditch, in hope of retaining some patina and original character to compliment the delightful new paint.
For example, none of the locks matched, so I junked all of them, pulled the smoothest ignition barrel out of my stash of 924 & 944 parts and then bought a full set of VW tumblers and rebuilt and rekeyed every lock on the car to match. This led to stripping the latch mechanisms and locks, new door seals, new hatch seals – you know how it goes.
The dash was a mass of old alarm wiring and leftover radio installations so all that got junked. The black speedo trim ring was rusty for whatever reason, so I tossed that and stripped another speedo to find one in better condition. That led to stripping all the clocks and cleaning the dials and glass faces so they all look great now.
Porsche 924 Turbo Strip & Rebuild
Everywhere I look on the 924 Turbo now, I see bit that have been stripped and rebuilt. I stripped the electric window regulators including the motors and sorted all those out, bench testing them before refitting to the car. I haven’t done anything about the wiper motors yet but I bet it happens. Having all of the trim out of the inside meant I could clean it up properly and Dynamat quite a bit, so the doors now shut with that satisfying clunk and none of the rattles that used to soundtrack entry and exit.
Having junked so much stuff, I also found a few bits I wanted to keep. The Italian plates are back on the car, just because I love them. I riveted the rear plate together, which is not strictly correct but it means bits of it can’t get stolen! I tossed the LED-infested centre console gauge surround and bought another mint one in black, but kept the slightly crappy cigarette lighter from my old one, as a well-used cigarette lighter in an 1980s Porsche is just so Italian, darling.
I fitted a replacement glass hatch with a good condition spoiler (the original was utterly ruined) and polished all the original glass, refitting it in a mix of new and good used seals. I liked the Italian anti-theft alarm window sticker so I kept that. Under the driver’s seat carpet, I found a 200 Lira coin from 1978, so that is now the keyring. I kept the original dog-leg gearlever but replaced the shift boot and sent the ratty steering wheel off to be restitched – I hope they can retain the original leather. I have a nice three-spoke for the car if not. I ordered a full gear linkage rebuild kit from AutoAtlanta in the US, but that has not yet arrived.
I fitted new rear speakers (long story) and decided not to cut the original front door panels to fit another pair of speakers – the rather spartan black vinyl has survived this long without cutting and deserves to be left alone. I stuck a centre speaker back in the dash to add some noise up front. I decided not to change the cracked dash: you can get new ones but 924 owners are generally well used to cracked dashboards. The original rear view mirror is a non-dipping version and I’m slightly on the fence about keeping or saving. I have a pair of dipping ones with the glass mounts in my stash so I may change that.
Original seat belts are in good condition so still in place: they were likely never used in Sardinia! The car is quite low mileage anyway, so they are fine. Refitted the original roof aerial as, while it is not the shiniest thing ever, it is perfect for the 924. I fitted a new rubber trim to the rear bumper (just squeezed into the Polo in the massive tube it ships in from Porsche) and new seals on the door mirror, door handles and boot lock.
I rebuilt the front bumper light clusters: you’d be surprised how long that took. One indicator reflector was completely rusted out so I stripped the reflector off another one and plastic welded it back together (the fun of playing with £5 parts). I cleaned and refitted the Italian side repeaters as, while they are not very attractive, they are original to the car. Stripped the window switches, sorted them out. All very satisfying. I have been keeping things as tidy as possible, but you’ll see from the photos that it needs a lot of cleaning when it is eventually back together: I am quite looking forward to that.
Classic Porsche Build Quality in spades
So many hours later, with many more left to invest, I continue to have great respect for classic Porsche build quality with the 924. The way it’s built is inspiring to work on when you’re not in a rush; so much intricate detail signposts the hours of highly skilled labour it must have taken to build each one. The assembly is very like my old E28 BMWs and Mk 2 Golf GTis: plated screws and high quality metal clips everywhere. It is time consuming to make things better – stripping the fusebox and wiring out to clean up the corroded earth points behind for example – but once done, you get the feeling it will last forever.
I feel sure I will buy another 924 to work on once this one is sold and I have cleared out a few more cars. The Signal Green 1977 924 we saw at Essen a few years ago is still very strong in my memory – that’s the sort of old-school 924 I would like to do some miles in if Turbo prices have soared out of reach. Small but modern 1.4 engine transplant, little Turbo, careful gearbox build, classic trim.
by John Glynn | Apr 3, 2016 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
The average week puts me in touch with a stack of people seeking 911 projects. “I want a cheap SC/3.2/964, let me know if you come across anything.” A quick email to enquire about their plans usually leaves me depressed, as the Porsche hot rod has mainstreamed to Magnus and Singer, with most other builders going back to factory spec. Singer is by far the biggest influence nowadays.
There is nothing wrong with factory spec if that’s your bag and you do it properly, cutting no corners: a crisp early 911 is a very beautiful machine. But the idea that owners of SCs and 3.2s (and 964s and 993s) have suddenly been appointed as rolling museum curators just because values have shot up continues to be a major pain in the arse for those of us who enjoy individuality expressed through classic Porsche. There are lots of these cars in the world and plenty of nice original examples. Bring something to the car which is all about you, other than your name on the annual service bills.
Of course there are some fine hot rods in build at Porsche specialists all around the world, but those builds could be said to be slightly diluted by the professional suggestions that inevitably infiltrate the process – specialists are not exempt from the idea of conservation and what is “period correct”. Pics received from Neil this week offered some light at the end of the tunnel: people are still building Porsche hot rods to express their vision of the essence of Porsche.
Neil’s car was built by Neil, in his garage and to his taste. You might do some things differently, but individual expression is the point. Based on a 911 SC, this 3-litre has the Jenvey throttle bodies we would all like to fit to junk the ageing K-Jet intake. Neil has added DTA engine management and a straight through exhaust (I presume this is headers) into a custom silencer. The car makes 236 bhp, so there is a good chunk of budget gone, but a lot of fun added and a big leap in throttle response and fuel economy.
With more power on tap, the obvious next step was to take weight off and Neil found the answer in the EB Motorsport catalogue. Lightweight front wings and bonnet, much lighter bumpers and the rear quarter panels and engine lid have taken at least 100 kilos off the car. The diet continued with polycarbonate windows and lightened doors. The engine was treated to GRP tinware on the lighter engine (losing that winding exhaust junks a lot of heavy scrap too).
Neil hasn’t told me what his car weighs, but given the parts used, I am confident it’s less than 1,000 kilos. I’m sure it makes a great noise and he has plenty of tyre options with those 17″ Fuchs-style wheels. Of course you would do it differently, but instead of telling us all how you would go if you were building a hot rod, send us the proof that you’ve done it. Curators don’t get a say in the hot rod world.
by John Glynn | Apr 3, 2016 | New Models, Classic Porsche Blog
The all new Porsche 911R is one to forget for most Porsche would-be buyers, as Stuttgart continues to apply a policy of limited production range-toppers, which instantly doubles prices once the cars are flipped on to the used market by speculator purchasers.
Marketed as ultimate driver’s cars, the irony is that the majority of the nine-hundred and ninety-one 911Rs to be built will not be driven by their first owners. Most will either be mothballed on delivery and stuck in pension-fund car collections or sent straight back to market at up to £200k more than the UK cost new of £136,901.
Porsche 911R Factory Options
Obviously that cost new does not include the options that most buyers who manage to secure a build slot will go for. Choice of seats is standard (although there is really only one choice), as are the mechanical LSD, six-speed gearbox and ceramic brakes. But a quick look at the car configurator shows the other boxes likely to be ticked, based on the most common GT3 RS options out there (i.e. what Porsche dealers will advise customers to add), including:
- Wheels in Satin Platinum: £400
- Extended Leather: £2000
- LED headlights in Black: £2100 (or cheaper Black Xenon for £800)
- Lightweight Battery: £1500
- Single Mass Flywheel: £2024
- Front Axle Lift: £2024
- Sport Chrono: £1525
- Climate Control: £0
I pick the green stripe no-cost option, as any good Irishman should. Adding heated seats for early-morning starts means I would have to give up the 918 seats, which I wouldn’t do. So no 911R for me. Adding the DAB Radio means also adding PCM Navigation (no cost) and Telephone Module, so a £500 increase. The system won’t let you unhook Porsche Vehicle Tracking system at £1100, so your invoice total is now £147,000.
Porsche 911R Used Prices
Send in your deposit and finance the rest: don’t worry about interest. Sign your finance agreement when the car arrives at the dealership. As soon as the car is delivered, stick it in the Sunday Times at £350,000, which is the price 991 GT3 RSs were changing hands for when the first ones hit the UK and what my dealer friends expect ‘black market’ flipped 911Rs to fetch in the first weeks after delivery. Pay off your finance and buy the best 997 Carrera GTS you can find, as that is super fun to drive. Enjoy your free 911 and all that money for nothing.
What Porsche to buy if you can’t buy a 911R
Porsche must be happy for buyers to flip for profits: just look at the prices one-owner 911 GT3 RS models are selling for under the radar through its own dealer network. If Stuttgart was serious about building driver’s cars accessible to everyone, it would only make one less 911R than the market called for, and then we could all look forward to the day they depreciate to 997 Carrera GTS levels, which in my opinion currently offers the best mix of affordability, excitement and driveability in the 911 line up. I’ll have mine in white with green R stripes.
I would love to try a 911R with this six-speed transmission: no doubt the six-speed manual gearbox is huge fun in a 997 Carrera GTS and the seven-speeder is not great in a 991. By ignoring 991s and looking at Gen II 997 Carrera GTS instead, you really do not have to spend a fortune to buy the most enjoyable and guilt-free driver’s 911 of the VW-Porsche era.
by John Glynn | Apr 2, 2016 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
The 2016 World Endurance Championship has officially kicked off with the recent two-day ‘Prologue’ warm-up event at Paul Ricard. Porsche brought both 2016 919 LMP1 Hybrids to the circuit, covering a total of 2,197 kilometres.
Drivers Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, Marc Lieb ran their car on day one, with reigning World Champions, Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber taking their turn on day two. Each session finished with a Porsche 919 Hybrid leading the time sheets. The overall fastest lap was set by Brendon Hartley.
“It was trouble-free running for both our new cars,” said Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1, “and we have received positive feedback from our drivers. Therefore we are confident for the opening round at Silverstone on April 17. Only there it will be possible to judge the overall competition.”
“Running two cars was a good dress rehearsal for the team before the first race,” said Team Principal, Andreas Seidl (above). “The drivers have done a lot of testing during recent weeks but at the Prologue they were facing on-track traffic for the first time since last year’s finale. By the end of the two days, we had achieved the targets we had set ourselves in terms of season preparation.”
2016 FIA WEC Calendar
The 2016 WEC season starts at Silverstone later this month, kicking off nine races in total: Le Mans at 24 hours and eight more six-hour events. Mexico is a new race for 2016, with the rest of the calendar mirroring last year. “We are proud to have maintained the level of stability in the four years of the WEC,” said Pierre Fillon, President of ACO. “The time is right to expand the WEC, and the nine-race calendar allows us to continue to build the tradition of six-hour events. Of course, the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans is the race that everyone knows about and wants to compete in, but the legend is now being extended to the six-hour races as well and moving into countries with strong historic links to endurance, such as Mexico City.”
The 2016 FIA WEC calendar is as follows:
- 17 April: 6 Hours of Silverstone, UK
- 07 May: WEC 6 Hours of Spa, Belgium
- 18/19 June: 24 Hours of Le Mans, France
- 24 July: 6 Hours of Nürburgring, Germany
- 04 September: 6 Hours of Mexico City, Mexico
- 17 September: 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, USA
- 16 October: 6 Hours of Fuji, Japan
- 06 November: 6 Hours of Shanghai, China
- 19 November: 6 Hours of Bahrain
by John Glynn | Mar 31, 2016 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Watched a cool project in progress at Tuthill Porsche this morning, with my ex-BTCC tech mate Chris Defriez fitting EXE-TC dampers to a Porsche 964 RS track day machine.
EXE-TC suspension is a high-end option for Porsche 911s that has been used to great effect on many Tuthill rally cars over the years, but decent suspension is just as important on road and race cars. EXE-TC kit is now available for most 911s from 1965 onwards. These remote reservoir 964 dampers are beautifully manufactured, featuring mega adjustable billet top mounts, which gave a wide range camber and castor adjustment at the top and bottom of the suspension leg on this particular 964 RS.
The kit being fitted to all four corners of this RS created an interesting challenge for Chris, as he worked out where to site the remote reservoirs. Front is not too bad, as there is a handy strut brace sitting there ready to mount damper reservoirs, but the engine compartment on a 964RS is pretty packed, so not many options in the back. I’ll head back over in a few days to see what he decided.
964RS is still the one for me – they are absolutely fantastic cars. I am another one of those who almost bought a 964RS many years ago when they were circa £30k, but decided against it. I can live with the decision but, every so often, it does niggle me that I will never actually own one of my own. Prices will never return to that sort of level.
Prices for proper Porsche 964 RS models now start circa £120k and rise to much bigger numbers for original, low mileage RHD examples, so this well used LHD track car is still worth serious money by normal standards. There are a few 964 RS models up for sale at the minute, including a 964 Cup Car for sale at just under £200k. I’m not about to remortgage my house for a 964 Cup Car, but how cool to have bought one when they could barely be given away.
