RSR project

I have a 71T all striped out and ready to make into a race car. I am not sure exactly where I will be racing it but figured I would build it to SCCA GT2 specs and PCA GT specs. SCCA has 8 or so races a year in my area and PCA only one.

I have a 2.7 RS spec engine with webers which I realize won't be too competitive in these basicly unlimited classes but neither will my driving. Unfortunately its hard to get wheel to wheel seat time till you build a car.

I'm on a shoesting budget here but already have Turbo trailing arms, 930 brakes, billstein struts, 22 & 28 mm torsion bars and aftermarket sway bars. So I really only need some body work and the safety stuff to go out and play.

Anyway SCCA allows 10" wheels maximum front and rear. I was figuring since I am stripping the car down and repainting it anyway I might as well go to RSR flares now even though I may not be able to afford 9" & 10" wheels this year. This will also have to have an original 930 spoiler per SCCA regs (or non at all).

Any thoughts on this project? What about fiberglass fenders versus steel flares? 1/4 panels? Is there really much difference between RSR flares and Turbo flares? How about between early and late turbo 1/4s? I don't think I can get real RSR flares "on a shoestring budget". A 74 IROC type spoiler on a 73 RSR or stick with the 73 style? Those brake ducts look like a nice functional feature and the spoiler looks like it would reduce lift more. I am mostly a form follows function kind of guy but you don't want to look like a dork either.

Your project looks exciting and I think most people here dream of doing the same. The only item that concerns me is that you are trying to do this on a tight budget. These project race cars can eat into you wallet big time. With each race, you will be tinkering here and there, trying to improve your car. Did you ever look in Panorama at all the abandoned "project" cars that are for sale for one reason or another? There isn't alot of alternatives to buying race proven hardware that is not expensive. So what is my point? I don't know...Jealousy? Seriously, the racing bug has an expensive bite. Maybe it was the words race car and budget that brought a reaction. Let me know how things go and good luck.

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8 9 9 1 1, The last of the line.

Study what Porsche did in those racing years and stick to a plan that's similar. Keep in mind when you're all done you are going to have a racecar which is 25 year old technology. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Oh boy I could go on for hours here...
Alright well since you've got the turbo trailing arms it makes sense to go ahead and flare the car out to RSR width. Note that you are going to have to modify the rear trailing arm pickup points on the torsion bar tube to keep the geometry right. See the photo's in Bruce's book for an idea of this...and if you don't have that book yet logoff right now and go get it.

That brings us to the flares. I agree that going to the wide body now is wise. I'm taking the same approach with my own (very similar) project. I'll "overbuild" the body and chassis with a fairly low-power motor now, and develop my driving skills before building some 300hp monster. Sounds like a dedicated race car so fiberglass is the way to go for weight reasons. check http://www.gt-racing.com for a really great full-quarter rear solution. Not cheap though.

-Late vs. early turbo flares- the later style are for the 87-89 cars with the G50 trans and modified torsion bar cutouts. See http://www.restoration-design.com for some pics of the differences.

-RSR vs. Turbo flares- dimensionally just about the same. The RSR flares were a little more "square" in the fender cutout than the turbo flares.

-Front end- If you're keeping the early front fenders, you'll need to use the '73 style spoiler. It has an oil cooler cutout. I've got a set of the AJ-USA brake ducts. They have neat scoops that drop below the valence. Solves the '73 vs. '74 problem.

Your budget concerns me, too. When I started my project, I made an exhaustive list of parts, farmed-out work, tools, consumables, everything I thought I might need. Checked it twice. I thought I was the man. Currently my costs are running around double what I so carefully planned. Be careful! Check my site to see what you may find when you strip your body down. Depends on the shape of your car, but the metalwork section of my site gives a good idea of what could possibly be in store.

Good luck! and keep us updated!

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Dave
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http://members.nbci.com/dtwinters/garage/

Some places sell a 74 style front bumper for the 73. I realize that this was never actually produced on a real car but they just seem a little more functional.

That's a 930 whale tail needed for SCCA, not spoiler.

I have seen the pickup point revision picture. The text under the turbo arm on the opposite page indicates that the point is moved away from the center, rearward and up. I assume away from the center .87-.98 inches means towards the sides of the car. the RSR is supposed to be moved away from the center the same amount. It just doesn't look like that is moved away from the center, unless that whole original bracket was ground off and rewelded further out. I was also thinking about grinding the bracket off the turbo look and welding it on the 71'.

I just had a comment on the fiberglass vs steel for the flares. I worked in the composite shop of a large commercial airline and have some experience with fiberglass. I know from experience that when you bond fiberglass to steel, the joint will eventually crack due to vibration, moisture etc. Also I have seen several cars with fiberglass fenders that have "stars" in the 'glass from the tire thowing a rock.

If you are building a street car that is occasionally used at the track I would recommend the durability of steel over the weight savings of 'glass.

You can protect your 'glass body parts by using a high quality undercoating such as Body Shoot.

I welded the steel turbo flares on to the back of my '72 and purchased fiberglass fenders from GT Racing.

I too was leaning towards steel in the back and glass in the front. I have met Hank from GT at our local drivers ed events. I could go down and get them too save on shipping too. Did you undercoat your fenders? Does it add a lot of weight?

I base this reply on nearly 20 years of SCCA racing experience: READ THE GCR AND GT CATEGORY RULE BOOKS CAREFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have zero experience with PCA racing; however, if you attempt to build a GT2 911 for SCCA Club racing, develop your plan based on thorough understanding of the rules. GT rules allow tube frames, A-arm suspensions, aftermarket brakes,etc.--all very expensive. If you don't build a car that takes advantage of the rules, you will not run at the front. Unless you are a better than average driver, you may not even see the front. Ever think about a Production car? Go to a few SCCA races and spend all of your time in the paddock. Talk to the racers. It's a great sport and I wish you success!

Thanks for the input about SCCA. I know this car won't be competitive on the national level without tons of money. I just want to get a feel for this racing thing though and really like 911s and unfortunatley they only run in GT. Locally there is not a whole lot of competition in the GT class and the times I see posted seem obtanable based on my performance in my slightly modifed Targa.