I’ve been keeping tabs on a Porsche 911R hot rod build by Tim Walker out in North Carolina via email for the last few months. The project flightpath is pretty cool: having bought a 959 replica unseen and found it wanting throughout, a fortunate fender bender offered Tim the opportunity to put things right. Here’s his story:
“I bought the car in January 2016 on Auto Trader. Advertised in Idaho, the car was listed as as a 1984 Porsche 911 (959), but it turned out to be a 1971 911E. Auto Trader’s listing tool does not allow a year older than 1984, so that’s why the age was posted incorrectly. I swapped a few phone calls with the vendor and we agreed a deal. I then had the car shipped to my house in North Carolina.
“I drove the car for about two weeks after it arrived. It was horrible: the oversteer was the worst I have ever experienced. The 959 body kit was really heavy, especially in the rear. I wasn’t sure what to do about it. While considering my next step, a friend asked if I could take him and his young daughter to a father/daughter dance and give them a grand entrance. It sounded like a fun thing to do, so I had the car cleaned and filled it up with gas. On the way over to pick them up, I was cut off and hit a car that had turned in front of me. That was the end of the dance ride, the end of the 959 and the start of something else.
“The obvious decision was to bring the car back to its narrow body days, but little did I know what horrors lay beneath the 959 body kit. At some point the car had been slid into a pole, so the chassis was seriously bent. The torsion tube was cracked, the passengers inner rocker was way out of shape, floors were surprisingly rust free but they had suffered years of neglect. The whole front end of the car was so poorly repaired that I ended up replacing both inner front fenders.
“Taking the 959 stuff off and repairing the damage left us with a lot of panels to replace. The upside was we had a blank slate to work with. I liked the early look, so I decided to do a 911R recreation. That allowed me to use a 1972 oil tank in the quarter panel: we just had to cut the hole and extend the oil tank filler neck, modifying the passenger rear quarter panel to house the proper sheet metal to hold the oil console.
“All the undercoating was removed by hand with a wire brush, and the chassis was repaired on a jig to make sure it was straight. I’m happy that the car is 100% rust free. I put a lot of hours into the preparation, but I also have to send a big thanks to my friends at Carolina Coach Crafters in Mooresville, North Carolina for great work on the body.
“Another company I had read good things about was EB Motorsport in Barnsley, England. Their products are distributed by Rothsport Racing in the USA: another very respected shop. I chose to use EB’s Porsche 911R panels to give my R the authentic look. We used the bonnet, bumpers, front wings, doors and engine lid from their range.
“It took a while to decide on a colour. The original factory colour was Albert Blue, but I wasn’t sure that would be right for a 911R. Everyone paints them white, so I wanted something different. When a Porsche 356 came to the paintshop finished in an optional colour – Continental Orange – the decision was made. The body was painted and I think it looks great.
“The 911E came with its original transmission and a twin-plug 2.7-litre engine from a 1975 Carrera. Running on Weber carburettors, that was serviced and left alone, but we refurbished all the suspension, brakes, steering and so on. I was planning on refitting these parts myself, but the shop gave me a good price to get it back on its wheels, so I let them attend to that before it was trailered home.
“The finishing touches such as refitting the glass and doing the interior – including fitting some restored hardback Recaro sports seats I managed to find – is all being done at home. We’re more than 90% of the way there now so it is all nearly done. I just love how it looks and can’t wait to drive it!
Share your Porsche Project
Have you got a Porsche hot rod in build that would make a cool story? Send us some details and pics. Email mail@ferdinandmagazine.com 👍🏻
Porsche has just announced a multi-year deal with Puma to kit out its race teams and develop a range of motorsport merchandise. It has also shared the first photo of the 2019 Porsche Works Drivers.
In November 2018, Porsche announced an apparently similar multi-year deal with Hugo Boss. The Boss logo is clearly visible on the race suits and there are a lot of Porsche products on the Hugo Boss site, so one assumes that the two will co-exist as premium vs standard product tiers.
Puma will develop, sell and market a range of Porsche Motorsport replica and fan wear products including clothing, footwear, headwear, accessories and bags aimed at Porsche Motorsport fans and motorsport enthusiasts.
“Puma has a long and successful tradition in motorsport,” said Fritz Enzinger, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “The innovation and creativity of Puma, one of the world’s leading sports lifestyle companies, fits in with our team and our brand, so we are pleased to welcome Puma as a new partner of the Porsche Motorsport Teams.”
Puma will equip all twenty-four Porsche Works Drivers, Juniors and Young Professionals as well as all pit crews of the Porsche factory teams with the latest fireproof motorsport clothing. In addition to equipping the Porsche Formula E and factory GT racing teams, Puma will supply shoes and travel luggage for the whole Porsche Motorsport division.
News of the Puma deal is accompanied by a group shot of the 2019 Porsche Works Drivers. This first mention of the forthcoming Porsche motorsport season is always a good start to the year. Here’s a list of the drivers that will compete for Weissach this year.
Porsche Works Drivers 2019 (including Juniors and Young Professionals)
Back Row L-R: Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet, Mathieu Jaminet, Laurens Vanthoor, Earl Bamber, Kévin Estre, Michael Christensen, Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz, Frédéric Makowiecki
Middle Row L-R: Andre Lotterer, Neel Jani, Patrick Long, Jörg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhardt, Brendon Hartley, Romain Dumas, Sven Müller, Dirk Werner
Front Row L-R: Matt Campbell, Matteo Cairoli, Dennis Olsen, Jaxon Evans, Julian Andlauer
I supplied an agreed insurance valuation for a nice 1982 Porsche 911 SC yesterday. It was a bittersweet moment for the owner: the valuation was for more than he was thinking, but our valuation discussion was a precursor to the impending sale of the car later this year.
The owner had spent a small fortune on the car in the last two years, including £8k with Historika on replacing the suspension and brakes, plating and powder coating the parts that would be re-used and fitting a lot of new parts. He spent over £2k plus materials on the usual rust repairs and then another £2k with Autofarm on a service plus underbody steam clean and waxoyl rust inhibitor treatment.
Add another £2200 on a gearbox rebuild, a bit more on SSIs and you’re getting up for £15k spent on the SC in recent years, so the car is now just about done and in better condition than the average SC of a similar age. Having done all that work, why sell now?
“Since I got it I’ve poured money into it, just short of full restoration, but I’m a new dad with another on the way and thought I could be one of the young IB crowd that could keep the car through kids. Turns out it’s harder than I thought.
“Recent new car seat rules are the killer: Rear facing to 15 months and then some sort of booster until they are quite old. I’m heading towards two kids under two: the SC is a third car and the Mrs wants something she can enjoy also.”
Kids and old Porsches go together like cheeseburgers
Having been through this whole thing when my kids were little, I did the same thing any 911 guy would do and told him to keep the SC and get a Polo or something to run the kids around in. I kept my 911s right through having little kids and wouldn’t dream of selling an air-cooled car just because kids came along, albeit I would be lying if I said it was always easy.
I’ve done the daily school run for at least one child over the last eighteen years and the 911 was always a popular choice when my kids were small. Many nursery pickups were done in the SC despite the mums’ cautioning that “the Porsche will have to go now you have three.” Err, no. I just bought a 5-door Polo and ran that when I didn’t want feet scratching the SC’s leather seatbacks. ‘Shoes off in dad’s car’ was the order of the day.
Child seats in the 20th Century
When I was a kid in the 1970s, there were six children in my family (Irish) and my aunt lived nearby, with three kids and no car. We had a Peugeot 504 Family estate: three rows of seats and not a belt to be seen. All thirteen of us would regularly pile into the Peugeot to head off to my grandmother’s.
Years later, I had my own kids and the child seat laws were a little more rigorous. I did my best to fit proper Porsche seats into the 911 SC Cabriolet I had at the time and the best option was the Porsche Prince seat: a drop-in insert that fitted coupe rear seat wells but struggled with the Cabriolet’s more upright seat backs. Eventually, I either took just one in the front in the Prince or on a Porsche booster, two in the back using the normal lap belts, three using a combination of both or they all stayed at home. My wife has never been one for old Porsches, so no need to take her along…
EU/UK Child Seat Laws 2019
Don’t take the following as full legal advice, as I am not an expert and I accept no liability for you not doing your own research! However, according to a quick look at RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) and the RAC, the current child seat laws seem to break down like this:
Children must use a rear-facing seat until they’re 15 months old. Rear facing seats must not be used in front if there is an active airbag on the passenger side of the car.
Once your child gets to 15 months old, their neck is deemed strong enough to go in a front facing seat, which must be mounted using ISOFIX mounts or a diagonal seat belt. Kids aged 12 or older or those who are taller than 135cm do not need to use a child seat. Children under 12 years old or shorter than 135cm must use a child seat.
Kids over 12 years old or more than 135cm tall must wear a seat belt. Those weighing more than 22kg and taller than 125cm can use a backless booster seat. For smaller children, a high-backed booster seat (like the Porsche ‘Plus’ below) is recommended, as a booster cushion alone will not protect them in a side impact. A child aged three or older may use an adult seat belt if making an ‘unexpected but necessary journey’ over a short distance.
Child Seats versus older Porsches
There are EU requirements laws relating to seat approval which apply to seats made after March 1, 2017 and you should read up on these. Seats manufactured before this date can still be used based on the previous legislation, so let’s assume that your actual seat ticks all the legal boxes.
The only option if your child is fifteen months or younger is a rear facing seat. My experience says that there is no hope of safely fitting one of these into the back of a Ferry-era Porsche, therefore it has to go in the front and the car has to be fitted with no active airbag.
If you have an air-cooled 911 (964 or 993) with a non-switchable airbag, then you need to take the bag out (good luck with that) or you are using another car. Anyone in pre-airbag models is sitting pretty: none of my three Porsches have airbags. 996 and later 911s have a bit more space to play with so most solutions should be OK in there, but you may still struggle with rear legroom/footroom.
Over fifteen months, you can get them in forward facing seats. If you have an older 911 coupe, then there are a few options for forward-facing seats in the back. The Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP has worked well for some and the Porsche Prince is one I recommend. The Prince was made by Britax Römer for Porsche (I had both Römer- and Porsche-badged examples) and works with a seat back and detachable “table”, pressed into the seat back using the seat belt.
Now for a cautionary note. You will love the Prince as it opens up a whole world of car fun with the kids and seems to look cool in situ: it has a very Porsche-like appearance. The table top is also a great place for their head to lie on when they want to have a sleep. However, I had two kids in Prince seats and I can’t say either of them were overly enamoured with them.
Orla G in a Porsche Prince child seat (911 SC Cabriolet)
The Porsche Prince seat is a bit claustrophobic – especially in the back of a Cabriolet – and a right faff to fit with anything other than diagonal inertia-reel seat belts, which my Cab did not have. Be prepared for your kids to hate these seats and keep your cool if that is the case. You don’t have to sit in them and mum’s/dad’s “other car” is quieter with better seats and probably decent air con too. Don’t expect miracles straight away.
A tired Ciara G about to have a snooze in the SC at the Stamford Hall VW Show
I occasionally used these seats without the table when my kids were bigger and they were happier like this but, while the Prince variants worked quite well, they were not perfect. A hardback Audi front-facing seat (pic above) that also had a lap table, which I used in the front of the SC, had height-adjustable clips on either side of the backrest to take the shoulder belt at a nice angle and all three daughters were happiest in this. I was perhaps happier with the risks of using a less than optimal seat than you might be – I never went flat out anywhere with the kids in the car – but it will be up to you to decide whether it fits your comfort zone.
Child Seat Summary
The upshot is that, if you only have one child to move, then anything is possible and it should not be too much of a problem. If you have two to move, then it gets interesting: especially if the Mrs wants to come too. That said, if your old Porsche is a third car and either of the other two work for moving kids, then I don’t see why the Porsche has to go. Kids don’t stay kids forever. Note also that whatever cash you get for your Porsche car will disappear in a heartbeat and getting back into one will be a lot more expensive down the road. “Don’t sell your dream,” as my friend Leonard very wisely told me.
I understand why the SC owner is putting his car up for sale, but I still think it’s a mistake to sell due to kids. Macan and Cayenne took off because they are great for moving kids if you simply must have a Porsche badge, but they are no substitute for the old ones. I did 50k miles including countless school runs in my Cayenne S. I eventually sold it, but still have the classics.
What about you: how are you moving your brood? Let me know in the comments – happy to add any appropriate pics to the piece.
Featured photo courtesy of Greig M – many thanks!
Ferdinand blogs my freelance adventure with Porsche at the centre. To support the blog or engage with me in other ways, you can:
The February 2019 issue of 911 and Porsche World magazine has just arrived, with a front page featuring a muted mention of the brand new Porsche 992. This seems in tune with a rather reserved reception to date for the latest 911.
The new model still has some sports cred on paper. The improved 3-litre turbocharged engine will shove the 1.5-ton Carrera 2 Coupe with Panamera 8-speed PDK to 191 mph where allowed, reaching 60 mph from a standstill in just under four seconds. The car is bristling with technology, including an all new ‘Wet Mode’ and a carbon footprint tracker.
“With the new 992 generation, the 911 has surely completed its journey from compact sports car to capacious grand tourer,” says 911&PW. “The new interior doesn’t exactly communicate unadorned functionality, either. And consider all the newly added technology that has nothing to do with what Porsche refers to as a ‘puristic’ driving experience.”
The magazine goes on to recommend celebrating the 992 as “still incredibly faithful to the original 911’s ethos given the limitations of modern motoring.” This is similar to how Autocar’s James Attwood viewed the new car following a passenger ride around Hockenheim.
“That impression is of a car that is at once a step forward, while also remaining reassuringly familiar,” notes James in an Autocar piece describing the car as “a welcome evolution”. “There’s an added sheen of comfort with the development of the touchscreens and displays in the interior, and with the addition of new driver assistance systems. Yet those systems appear to have been developed to give those who want to exploit its considerable performance the freedom to do so.”
Chassis control systems and freedom do not always make the best bedfellows, so it will be interesting to note how road testers describe the dynamics when they eventually get to try it in person. With a wider track, longer wheelbase and 55 more kilos under its belt, it’s probably reasonable to expect further endorsement of this perceived shift from sports car to grand tourer ahead of the first production hybrid 911 in a few years.
In usual reflective mood during the seasonal downtime, I’ve been looking back over some of my GT Porsche magazine columns from the last twelve months and checking where my head was at through the year. My first magazine column for GT considered the launch of the 911 Carrera T and what effect it might have on the Porsche populus.
2018 Porsche 911 Carrera T spec
370bhp/330lb ft turbcharged 3.0-litre engine as in base Carrera
Sports Exhaust and PASM as standard
7-speed manual has Limited Slip Diff and shorter final drive
PDK has no LSD
Reduced sound deadening
Thin windows and pull straps in doors
Rear seat and PCM delete (No Cost Option to put back)
Weight in standard form circa 1425kg
Many of the old guard treat new 911 models with a degree of suspicion, as it often feels like models are being released just to give magazines something to write about. This is most especially true when Porsche disinters old model designations. The 911 T was a good example.
Just 20 kilos lighter than a standard Carrera with similar equipment, the T didn’t seem to bring much to the party, but it was still likely to get a few writers excited. Most old hands were reserved in their reviews of this subtle run-out upgrade to the standard Carrera.
“Unfortunately, Porsche has somewhat mis-sold the T as a sort of hardcore, purists’ missile rather than embracing its true purpose as a cracking all-rounder in the best tradition of low-level 911s,” said Richard Porter in The Sunday Times. “It gives you a few extra tasty treats such as the trick suspension and diff that make it nicer to drive, without any trinkets you don’t need. It’s not sparse, but there’s a pleasing simplicity to it, right down to the seats that are wrapped not with leather but in cloth, striped like a 1980s banker’s suit. It’s all you need, and nothing you don’t.”
“If you were hoping the Carrera T would be a mini-me GT3, look away now,” wrote Andrew Frankel in Autocar. “But that’s not to say there’s nothing interesting going on. Before Porsche’s T-squad laid a finger on its flanks, the 911 was by some distance already the most desirable and effective performer in its category. The T is a car with just a little more edge.”
Porsche 911 Carrera T investment prospects
The 911 Carrera T rang a bell with buyers: latest UK registration data suggests that 219 Carrera T models were put on the road in 2018, with a 2-to-1 bias towards the manual.
The seven-speed gearbox in the 991 was widely viewed as inferior to the sweet six-speed fitted to Caymans, but as early reviews suggested the car was a 991 GT3 for £30k less and given the spec difference from manual to PDK, most Carrera T buyers/investors were obviously going to pick the manual. The residual premium could take a decade to materialise a la 997 Carrera GTS, but it was the one to have.
Residual values for the 911T (which sold with a cost new some ten percent higher than a standard Carrera) have yet to find their groove, but 219 RHD cars registered year-to-date does not make them super-rare amongst the 2018 911 cohort. That said, in a year-to-date figure of over 11,000 registrations up to the end of November and against a whole-life registration total for RHD 991s, 200 is a fairly small number and should help this model car to build a bit of a following.
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