They all said don't buy an incomplete Porsche. Buy the best you can afford...
So I got this one
It's a 1974 911S. How did I do?
Well, since it's missing a part or two I opted for the hotrod look.
Pre-73 body mods in both front and rear to delete those accordion style impact bumpers.
Front end
Added rear flares, but not TURBO size.
Slowly, I'll keep posting to catch you up on the progress. Here's a sneak peek of its current state.
This week I just fixed a transaxle leak.
Cheers,
Tom
It does look a bit 73 rs with those flares.
Nice project i love those pre 74 look.
Should have bought one 10 year ago for 10k..
Well...
What is the engine?
They are RS flares! Good eye.
I got what you see in the first picture for $4k in 2018.
The current engine is temporary. A 912 engine to drive it while I search for and rebuild a 911 engine.
I've been saving my money, as the 911 engine won't be cheap.
That looks great!
Driving on a 912 engine is a terrific idea. I would have lost years looking at the engineless car and one-piece-at-a-time engine build and never thought of that. (I know this because I did it...)
Maybe don't commit to an engine choice until you drive it with a 4. I won't lie, I love my 993, but it could be that a good 4 is bunch of fun in a light early 911 versus the $ and weight of a 6. Too bad the Polo/Emory/Rothsport 4 is so pricey.
paddygarcia said:Driving on a 912 engine is a terrific idea. I would have lost years looking at the engineless car and one-piece-at-a-time engine build and never thought of that. (I know this because I did it...)
Maybe don't commit to an engine choice until you drive it with a 4. I won't lie, I love my 993, but it could be that a good 4 is bunch of fun in a light early 911 versus the $ and weight of a 6. Too bad the Polo/Emory/Rothsport 4 is so pricey.
It did take some fiddling around with custom motor mounts and a custom flywheel, but I'm really looking forward to driving it as a 912!
I'm familiar with Polo et al motors too and I love them, although pricey as you say.
I have a 356 too (also under restoration), but at least I've driven it a lot. It's an amazing car and all stock. Rather than try to get more power out of it I bought this 911 to be an outlaw. I enjoy tinkering and messing with custom stuff, so this is the car to do it on versus the 356.
Your advice is spot on though. This might be the best back to back 911/912 comparison ever.
912 on Friday to 911 on Monday with same tires, brakes, chassis etc, ha ha.
Your lucky to have a 993 (the best of the air-cooled)
ahhgaragetime said:The current engine is temporary. A 912 engine to drive it while I search for and rebuild a 911 engine.
I've been saving my money, as the 911 engine won't be cheap.
My dad has a 930 engine in the garage that he wants to put in a dune buggy. It's probably been sitting there for 20 years, I keep telling him he could make a good profit selling it.
My dad has a 930 engine in the garage that he wants to put in a dune buggy. It's probably been sitting there for 20 years, I keep telling him he could make a good profit selling it.
Yes, he should sell it to someone like me :) Put an LS engine that dune buggy instead, ha ha.
Some of the Porsche race cars seam / stitch welded the chassis to make them stronger.
Trunk area RAW welds
After Final Paint
The rear shock towers were seam welded (white arrow)
And they were reinforced with gussets with speed holes, plates front side (white arrow) and rear side (not shown).
I measured an 18% increase in torsional rigidity due to the front trunk area stitch welding alone. It was more than I thought it would be. Other bracing, half roll cage, and removeable door bars further increased the torsional rigidity!
More pics to come 
While the front trunk area was reinforced by seam welding the interior and rear of the car was reinforced with a roll cage and removeable door bars.
Here I am bending the 1.5" DOM Tubing
TIG Welded on a bench
Removeable door bars
The backstays attach to the rear coil over turrets
Main hoop is connected to the B Pillars for extra strength too.
While the cage is for safety, it also to improve the stiffness of the chassis. A win-win, well except for the additional weight.
Here's a summary video of the roll cage bits. This was my first time building a roll cage.
Many gas tank mods were made to keep up with the ethanol "enhanced" fuels in Ca.
The stock fuel pump was located in the back of the car near the engine, while the gas tank is located in the front of course.
I opted for an in-tank solution to minimize vapor lock on the suction line. So I cut open the tank to re-arrange the plumbing.
Then I made a surge tank with check valve that surround the in-tank fuel pump
Here's what the fuel pump hangar looks like. Its a Walbro GSS EFI pump
Tank now welded back together. Be very careful when cutting or welding on fuel tanks!
Here's the filler neck that also supports the fuel pump.
This is probably the most modified 911 fuel tank that I'm aware of. Not stock, but I think it's better than Porsche's solution in 1974 that is prone to vapor lock.
This weeks video was about cleaning more engine related parts with my new Ultrasonic cleaner!
What part of the world are you in ...SoCal?....is this to be a dedicated canyon carver.....HPDE....or just a general nuisance to those that can't drive in every day traffic giving you the you're #1 salute....wink? Like to see these here being presented to the PEEPS.....following along for sure
In reply to 759NRNG (Forum Partidario) :
I'm in Huntington Beach, This car will be an autocrosser and DE events. Of course canyons too:)
Traffic here sucks!
physician said:It does look a bit 73 rs with those flares.
Nice project i love those pre 74 look.
Should have bought one 10 year ago for 10k..
Well...
What is the engine?
Well.. dreaming about a 73rs clone and a 916 make them easy to spot. You do great works here!
Since this car will see some autocross, canyons, and crazy abuse I fortified the sway bar mounts both front and rear.
Both mounts are notorious for tearing when higher anti-roll bar rates are used.
Rear:
Boxed in:
Front first plate:
Front fully welded:
Aligned with a broom handle pretty much:
Nut Plate on the back side:
This weeks video, I fabricated a piece of engine cooling tin. Air-cooled engines have lots of little pieces like this:
Video Link here:
The way this is going you are going to have a very Rad 911 when you are done. Great work so far.
Yowza! Do carry on.
Impressive build. Will be following along.
Very cool build thread!
A lot of us can't afford that much of a Porsche! lol Keep on working, you are doing GREAT!
paddygarcia said:Driving on a 912 engine is a terrific idea.
Seconded.
Despite my burning hatred for 4 cylinder engines (outside of motorcycles).
This is a really cool project and it looks like you're doing amazing work. Keep it up!
Cool project! When you bought the shell, did it have paperwork, Title? I know of a 911sc that hasn't been run in about 10 years, been through probate etc. with no resolution. Wonderful donor for a shell with paper!
Dan
914Driver said:Cool project! When you bought the shell, did it have paperwork, Title? I know of a 911sc that hasn't been run in about 10 years, been through probate etc. with no resolution. Wonderful donor for a shell with paper!
Dan
It didn't have a title or a bill of sale. I was able to make some phone calls to verify that it wasn't stolen and that it wasn't a salvaged title. From there I was able to get it registered, although I was nervous standing in line at the DMV
Here's an update on the front suspension bushings.
The stock bushings are rubber which is designed to shear instead of rotate. This is good for less maintainence, quiet ride, and no rattles.
If you want to reduce friction and actually hold the suspension in its target alignment, then you need something different.
I chose the rebel bushings which are CNC aluminum with teflon impregnated polymer sleeves.
\
Mounted to suspension arm:
Mounted to car:
When these hard bushings are installed correctly the suspension arm falls down under its own weight. The ultimate free moving suspension.
I actually measured the effect of the old worn out rubber busings on the spring rate and I got 30lbs/in. This is considerable given that the actual torsion bar rates on the front of a 911 is only about 150lbs/in if I remember right.
When the rubber gets old it does begin to slip which makes corner balancing the car extremely difficult or short lived.
I can't wait to drive this car. Should be very soon.
Here's the video if you care to see more of the testing that I did on spring rates.
Cheers,
Tom
Here is a customized brake pedal assembly.
The goal here is to fit two master cylinders with a balance bar between them. This allows true brake bias adjustment even while driving. (I haven't installed the adjustment knob yet.)
While not totally necessary, I even analyzed the new homemade brake pedal assembly. I ended up adding gussets to make it as stiff as possible.
And here are the mods made to the stock bracket. I basically built up from the painted black part.
If you want to see some inspiring Porsche 911 restomods here's a review of some of my favorite for sale in 2020.
Even though the prices are shockingly high, I'm not spending anywhere near this on my project. However, I'm investing plenty of my time doing it.
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