Build thread: Champagne...and Dirt!

[JKarow08]

Hola everybody,

I've been lingering here from the outside for about a decade since I bought my '73 911t. I'm finally going to go through with the build, and have been picking the brains of many of you for the last few months figuring out the final details. After much research and debate, I think I have the final build specs in place and figured I'd start a build thread to chronical the process.

As I mentioned, the car is a '73 911t that was a barn find (actually heated garage lol), went into the garage in '79 and never came back out until I found it. I originally thought it was light yellow, but after research I have determined it is actually a "paint to sample" car in champagne yellow, looks to be the only T in that color for '73.

I'm a rally guy at heart, and after much debate I have decided to take that focus on this build. I was surprised to learn how many rally oriented parts Porsche offered from the factory back then, and I think this build is a great opportunity to showcase them all. Don't expect some wild safari build, rather a subdued, classy rally theme using parts you could have ordered from the factory.

This build thread will be a little different than most as I'm planning on doing this build every day over the course of a couple of months instead of the long process most builds take. I plan on starting in late May, and the progress should be fast and furious after that.

So to kick it off, I thought I'd outline the full build as it is currently planned. Feel free to flame or fan the flame, love to hear opinions either way, especially before the ball starts rolling. Here's the plan...

Exterior:
-S appearance package, full deco (original factory option)
-Chrome/rubber bumper guards instead of full rubber
-Euro tail light lenses with chrome trim
-US signal lenses with chrome trim
-Chrome sugar scoops with h4 replacement lenses
-OE Porsche front bumper bar
-OE Amco rear bumper bar
-Leitz Roof Rack
-OE Mud flaps (reproduction)
-OE Skid plates, front and rear
-Hella 118 horn grill fogs (amber)
-Original 15" Fuchs refinished with a satin nickel lip/center cap and gloss black centers

Interior
-Cobra Classic RS seats (Black vinyl/corduroy)
-RS plush carpet kit (Black)
-3 layer sound deadening
-RS door cards
-Perlon headliner (charcoal grey)
-Rennline lower dash delete/backdate kit with bird's eye maple insert (radio delete)
-Recovered original dash with speaker grill delete (Porsche black vinyl)
-Momo Heritage Indy Black steering wheel
-TRE 917 shift knob (Poly/black)
-Carbone Frunk carpet kit (Black/Grey houndstooth)

Suspension/Brakes/Tires
-1000 Lakes spec Bilstein inserts/shocks
-All new "club sport" rubber bushings/mounts
-Adjustable spring plates
-Slight factory torsion bar twist/lift
-PMB rebuilt/refinished calipers
-New rotors and pads (haven't decided which yet)
-Stainless brake lines
-205/65r15 gravel tires

-Motor/Trans
-Matching #s case/crank/rods machined by Kelly Moss (align bore, case savers, oil bypass mod, etc)
-New AA 84mm Biral cylinders
-10:1 Wossner pistons
-Rebuilt S (307) heads (single plug)
-Dougherty DC30 MFI cams
-Rebuilt 930 tensioners/stops and Supertec upgraded idlers arms
-Supertec rocker arms
-Supertec head studs
-ARP rod bolts
-Carrera oil pump
-PMO 40mm carbs (2.0-2.4 street version)
-123tune distributor (IDI setup)
-123 epoxy coil 1.5ohm
-QSC 1.5" headers
-Dansk 70mm single out sport stainless muffler
-Matching #s 915 transmission Rebuilt by Eurosport Midwest

I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch and I'll update this as I remember and fine tune the last details. I'll keep you in the loop on my planning process and ETA on the build start, should be daily updates after that.

Thanks for tuning in and all of the support my Pelican brethren!

[Jonny042]

Wow that looks like a really solid starting point!!!!

Are you saying it's an original paint car?

EDIT - So - you're doing the build in a couple of months, but the engine and trans are done already, right?

[JKarow08]

Originally Posted by Jonny042

Wow that looks like a really solid starting point!!!!

Are you saying it's an original paint car?

EDIT - So - you're doing the build in a couple of months, but the engine and trans are done already, right?

Thanks! She is definitely a rare survivor...zero rust and only a few minor paint blemishes to repair. It is the original color but not the original paint. The story I was told was it went in to get a paint job in '79 and the painter "stole some of the trim" so it was parked in the garage. It sounds more likely to me that the full cost of the paint job wasn't paid for and the painter refused to return some of the parts until he was paid. The owner then lost interest in it for about a year, and when he finally tried to start it it wouldn't start. At that point he completely lost interest and it stayed in it's heated tomb until I found it about 10 years ago.

I don't have the engine of trans rebuilt yet but they have been removed and the motor has been disassembled down to case/crank/rods. I'm currently procuring the last of the rebuild parts, and I have arranged to have the machining done by Kelly Moss and the trans rebuilt by Eurosport Midwest. Both have quoted me about a two week turnaround time so getting those parts in their hands will definitely be my first step.

[JKarow08]

I almost forgot, this will be the final touch on the build...might buy me a get out of jail free card on the maiden test drive

[Kevin Stewart]

What a great car to build!

[Jonny042]

It's your car, do what you wish, but IMO it's a shame not to keep the MFI... unless it's a 73.5?

[JKarow08]

Originally Posted by Jonny042

It's your car, do what you wish, but IMO it's a shame not to keep the MFI... unless it's a 73.5?

It is a 73, was an mfi car and I do have the original setup. I am using MFI heads and cams in case the future owner is a purist and wants to revert back, but I definitely prefer the reliability, performance, and fuel economy of a modern ITB/COP/standalone setup. I just have a problem spending more money for worse performance, and the limited ability to tune an MFI setup really limits the options in the rest of the engine build. I have also considered going with carbs due to the ease and simplicity, but the reliability and performance keeps swaying me back to ITBs.

[Mark Salvetti]

Looking forward to following this build.

Can you elaborate a little bit on the "1000 Lakes" Bilstein setup? I had not heard of that before, so I Googled and I see it is a setup related to the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland. Are they custom, or the inserts sold by FVD?

I'm not sure if you should be thinking about slightly bigger torsion bars too.

Thanks!

Mark

[JKarow08]

Originally Posted by Mark Salvetti

Looking forward to following this build.

Can you elaborate a little bit on the "1000 Lakes" Bilstein setup? I had not heard of that before, so I Googled and I see it is a setup related to the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland. Are they custom, or the inserts sold by FVD?

I'm not sure if you should be thinking about slightly bigger torsion bars too.

Thanks!

Mark

I actually spent yesterday afternoon on the phone with Pelican and Bilstein trying to sort this out, planning on calling FVD today. As you mentioned, they are supposed to be a special valving rate, the same as was used on these early cars in the 1000 Lakes rally in Finland. I've seen reference to them on a number of threads on the various forums, but FVD appears to be the only place you can buy the front inserts. Pelican sells an insert (along with some others) that they claim to be a rally valving rate, but after talking with Bilstein directly they informed me the insert offered by Pelican is actually their "club sport" valving, not rally. And to make it more confusing, Bilstein US said they don't offer any front inserts in a rally valving, only full shocks with spindles, and those shocks have slightly different rates than what is advertised on the 1000 lakes setup (very close though). I had Bilstein pull up the FVD page when I was on the phone with them and he was at a loss for what FVD was selling. He said they not only didn't have an insert that matched those valving rates, but the rally shock/spindle setup they sell is yellow not green. After some digging, I was able to confirm though that the "1000 Lakes" rear shock is indeed the same valving and part number that Bilstein told me was their rear rally shock. I think the discrepancy here is related to different offerings and names between Bilstein US and their Euro counterpart. I'm guessing they have more rally options on the other side of the pond where rally is more popular, and the special 1000 Lakes valving rate is something that hasn't made it into the US catalog due to lack of demand. I'm going to call FVD today to see if in can get a part number to close the loop on this though. Below are a couple of screen shots I took that outline the 1000 Lakes valving rates and one that shows the part number for the rear which is the same part number Bilstein US provided me as their rear rally shock so those are the same. I'll report back what I hear from FVD on the fronts and will try to confirm that part number with Bilstein to make sure FVD is indeed offering the 1000 Lakes version.

[JKarow08]

[JKarow08]

I just found that design 911 sells the rear and the front insert, but only for Bilstein housings.

https://www.design911.com/p/bilstein-sports-b6-front-shock-absorber-porsche-911-1972-89_2_2_2_2/

[JKarow08]

Auto Atlanta also sells the 1000 Lakes Boge insert, says it may need to be sourced from Germany so this must be a custom Euro spec, made to order presumably.

[Mark Salvetti]

Wow, thanks for all that detail. Since there seems to be some confusion on what is what, you probably should also talk to Chuck at Elephant Racing. He'll have recommendations for a rally setup, and they can custom valve Bilstein inserts any way you want. About doubles the cost though.

Mark

[JKarow08]

Originally Posted by Mark Salvetti

Wow, thanks for all that detail. Since there seems to be some confusion on what is what, you probably should also talk to Chuck at Elephant Racing. He'll have recommendations for a rally setup, and they can custom valve Bilstein inserts any way you want. About doubles the cost though.

Mark

No problem...I have a not-so-small case of motorsports OCD so when something like this piques my interest, I can't help but dig to the end of the rabbit hole

I talked to FVD today and was able to figure this all out. So the front "1000 Lakes Rally" inserts are indeed a custom valve rate available only through Bilstein in Germany. It sounds like it was a custom rate that was popular enough they added it to the catalog, and it may or may not be in stock in the warehouse but is always available by order in Germany. The rear is available in the US, as the US rally valve rate for the rear is the original 1000 Lakes rate, can actually buy them at Autozone lol. The front rally option available in the US, however, are a slightly different rate, and only available as a shock/spindle combo. Below are the part numbers and rates for everything in case anyone is trying to figure this out.

Front US Rally: (L) 35-003922(R= 003939) (280/113)
1000 Lakes Bilstein insert for Boge (from Germany): 34-001134+UMBAU270/110 (270/100)
Rear US Rally/1000 Lakes: 24-009737 (285/140)

So in summation, if you want the classic 1000 Lakes rally rate for an early 911, call FVD and have them order the fronts from Germany, and stop by Autozone for the rears.

[JKarow08]

I scored a cool, rare piece of Porsche history to go on the front of the car, a NOS OE Porsche bumper bar (not AMCO). Another interesting side note is it was purchased by the previous owner from the Vasek Polak estate shortly after his death...cool to have a piece owned by the OG of Porsche US.

[JKarow08]

And here's the "heart" of the build, a freshly rebuilt set of holy grail "307" 2.2/2.4s heads. Thanks RICK RAES for parting with these beauties!

[Racerbvd]

Following, sorry I wasn’t able to help you out with the heads

[JKarow08]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

Following, sorry I wasn’t able to help you out with the heads

I appreciate the effort though! After the months of searching I was only able two find two sets of actual 307 heads available stateside (one set of cores in the Netherlands) and Rick had them both, I bought the rebuilt set he had. I found a few sets that were modified to S specs, but in the end I thought Rick's were the best value overall. These are definitely not an easy part to find anymore!

[JKarow08]

Amco rear bumper bar on the way!

[JKarow08]

And I decided a champagne car should get a set of repro France-only Hella 118 TTG fogs lol...