ST replica - IT looks like a 911 again

[jpnovak]

After sorting out some manufacturing issues with my replacement fenders, I fit them to the car yesterday. The car finally looks like a 911 again. It has been 1.5 years since there were any body panels on the car. The hood gaps look large since the fenders are not bolted tight and the hood is just set in place (its not attached to the hinges)





The passenger side is starting to show the signs of an earlier accident. It looks like the fender flange has been moved about a 1/4" I took the torch, heated the metal and "placed" it back to the correct dimension. I am sure the neighbors loved the sound of that.

It took about 2 hours to fit each one. Most of this time was spent bolting/unbolting the fender to remove material and drill holes. I did rough shaping with the angle grinder and a 60 grit wheel. fine tuning was done by hand with 60 grit sheets and final with 150. As you can see the gap by the cowl fits quite tight and there is an even door gap. There is still some final tuning to get it right.




I made 1 x 2" paltes from 1/8" Al stock as fender washers. This was done to distribute the load of the mounting hardware. It won't be long before I can really prep for painting.

enjoy

Jamie

[Jim Richards]

Looks great, Jamie. You'll be driving the ST replica on the next NoVA fun run, right?

[jpnovak]

HMM, I might make that - without paint or glass. Where's my goggles?

I wish I was finished. I will make a fun run when its finished.

[jluetjen]

The progress looks great! I think that the trick is to just keep setting small goals and achieving them, The journey is the objective. I have to keep telling myself that since I haven't even got my core motor taken apart yet, let alone the body like you have!

Keep up the statuses, it's good to see another ST taking shape.

[dtw]

Nice work man. What are the next few steps in the process? Looking great so far! Are you decided on color?

[Chuck Moreland]

I can smell the fiberglass dust from here.

I love the ST fenders.

[cstreit]

Chuck, shouldn't you be out painting too?

[dd74]

Me too. The ST is one sweet machine!

[Targa Dude]

The ST is with out a doubt my favorite conversion..unless your rich enough to own an original.. Looks good cant wait to see it all painted up and purdy..
what color are you painting it? Silver on ST's look great!!
Jorge (Targa Dude)

[jpnovak]

Chris is right, Chuck - you should be painting. time is wasting.

HMMMAARRRGGHGLLAHH - fiberglass dust. thankfully, the dust mask works very well. My forearms are still a bit itchy. Taking cold showers helps but that dust gets everywhere.

Next steps in the project are:

-rehang pass. door.
-fit hood and bolt in place.
-make front bumper mounts
-fit front bumper
-fit rear bumper
-finish making 911R style hinges (only need a pivot pin)
-fit rear decklid

Then it all comes back off for final sanding and paint. The final color will be silver. It should blend nicely with teh silver POR15 fenderwells, engine bay and interior.

Yes, the 911ST is my favorite 911. that's why I am building one. They have the symmetrical lines and long hood of the early cars. They just look like they have been working out a bit. What a great visual impact.

[dtw]

Please register one vote for #936, VW Silver Metallic. Thank you!

[jpnovak]

Dave, that wouldn't be so I can practice shooting silver paint would it?

[dtw]

Nah, it was actually b/c I am that color's biggest fan and think it'd be pretty cool to show off our cars side by side in the same color. Are you still thinking about shooting your own paint? That'd be pretty cool.

[Tim Walsh]

I'll second the silver vote and put in another one for fishcop blue.

Lookin' good Jamie, you're really rolling along.

[redducati750]

Looks great! Are you gonna do the paint work also. I know a guy with a paint booth and might be able to get u in there

Good job Jamie. She's gonna be a labor of love.
Mark

[steveW]

Cool, but what did you use for the front flares? As far as I can gather, the fronts were almost the same as rear '73 2.7 RS versions.

There was never a production run of 'St' s, they were all built by hand and probably by different people and some cars had the 'S' type front spoiler (bumper) and others didn't.

How many 'ST' cars were really built? 'The Porsche Book' by Lothar Boschen and Jurgen Barth has a detailed history of the works 'ST', but surely more must have been built?

[jpnovak]

Geoff- I have not made a final decision about painting the car. My neighbor is willing to let me use his detached garage if I paint it myself.

Steve let me try and answer your qestions. The ST's were not that common. I think that about 22 were built by the factory. There may be others that were built in the 1970-1972 time frame. Class racing rules were changed allowing 2" additional flares for wider tires. I am sure there were many cars that were changed to fit the new rules. The cars that you see with an S style front bumper may be late 71's and 72's. at this point they were the basis for the early RSR debut in 73. The flares also look a bit different.

I have looked at many pictures (as many as I can find) of the ST. I have not seen two that look exactly alike. I guess this gets back to the privateer modifying his car. I remeber a post from John Walker long ago that mentioned using the fenders from a VW bug, shaved to fit and therefore flare the 911.

The front flares I used are acutally 73 RSR front fenders from GT-Racing. The rears are cut off of an 85 Carrera. They will not look authentic until I round over the lips with the hammer/dolly.

I hope to have the front bumper in by the weekend. I have to make some new mounts for it. I have the S style bumper that matches the flares.

[steveW]

Thanks, Now I know a bit more than I did yesterday. I've got a 71 T with a 'S' type spoiler and my ambition is to have a well tweaked 'ST' replica, but without the flares.

Superb project and very ambitious, but what motor are you planning?

[jpnovak]

The motor will be a carbed and SSI'd 3.0 from a 78SC. the larger ports will allow me to cam and high comp piston next year after the car is sorted.

Here is last nights progress. I trial fit the bumper to make the custom mounts.





The lights are just sitting on the hood high enough that they don't slide off. that would be an expensive mistake.

Jamie