East coast hot rod build - long hood 911?

[lee88]

I'm contemplating a hot rod / "R Gruppe" type build of a long hood 911. I own other air cooled 911s including restored/concours type cars, but would like to have a long hood styled 911 that's unique and that I can drive to my heart's content and not worry about mileage, unoriginality, etc. I'm not interested in building an RS/RSR clone... no offense to those that have them, but I want something uniquely wonderful rather than a less expensive facsimile of a wonderful car. I also want to build a street oriented car that still retains its interior, motor with useable powerband rather than a super peaky one, etc... not an all out track weapon. Kind of like a Singer... though I have a substantial budget, I don't really want to lay out $300K+ for a hot rod type car though they do build beautiful cars with unbelievable attention to detail.

For any folks on the east coast who've done similar projects, which shops did you work with? There's obviously a plethora of shops in California and Oregon who do well regarded builds and I wouldn't rule that out, but I live in New England. My preference is not only to work with a group closer to home, but also to patronize one of the good folks here on the east coast as we have plenty of great shops that sometimes don't get enough credit (Musante, Exotech, Speedsport, CPR East in MD, Lufteknic, etc).

I've worked with some shops in MA and RI for basic service and even a rebuild of the 2.7RS motor in my '74 MFI Carrera, but never a ground up build of a car. I may do some basic work like some of the stripping/prep of the donor car and perhaps a few final assembly or cosmetic items, but would prefer to work with a shop that has expertise in building full cars and has a majority of necessary capabilities in house (e.g. machine shop, fabrication / body / paint, dyno, etc).

If you've undertaken something like this and would share your shop recommendations (and any of your build story in thread or PM), I'd certainly appreciate it. I've done searches here, Early911S forum, and Rennlist so have read a few anecdotes but haven't found many threads with recommendations for this type of project (please feel free to point me in the direction if I missed obvious ones). Thanks.

[jjeffries]

Jim Newton at Auto Associates, Canton, Ct. Have seen their work and know some very satisfied customers. Best regards, John

[faverymi]

Damon Josz Series 900

If you want to make the drive to Sunapee NH.

[911SauCy]

Musante Motorsports in South Windsor CT.

They can do everything your looking for, the car won't be sitting outside during the process, and you can eat off the floor.

If you value organized, honest, performance minded professionals, they are the only place in CT for you.

Good Luck

[cuanlee]

Check out Kenny at Conway Autoworks in Hanover MA. Excellent workmanship!

[lateapex911]

Thats an interesting question. I'm from CT, but when I think of 'creative build/R gruppe kinda style' I don't think of Chris or Jim. I know Chris from his racing side and when I think of Jim, it's "restoration king". I'm sure both of those are too limiting, but my first thought was TRE in socal, and Zuffenhousen in North (?) Carolina.

So, I'll be interested in what comes up here.

(Both Chris and Jim are HIGHLY regarded, to be sure)

[lee88]

Originally Posted by lateapex911

Thats an interesting question. I'm from CT, but when I think of 'creative build/R gruppe kinda style' I don't think of Chris or Jim. I know Chris from his racing side and when I think of Jim, it's "restoration king". I'm sure both of those are too limiting, but my first thought was TRE in socal, and Zuffenhousen in North (?) Carolina.

So, I'll be interested in what comes up here.

(Both Chris and Jim are HIGHLY regarded, to be sure)

Yes exactly. There's excellent shops outside of Boston that do great race prep, engine building type work like EPE and Eurotech. But again not as many of these shops are known for creative / R Gruppe type builds like TRE, Rothsport in OR, et al. But I have to believe that at least some folks have undertaken projects like these with east coast shops. Zuffenhaus in NC is a new one to me so I'll check hem out.

Any other East coast Pelicans with recommendations to share here? I have to believe there's some. Thanks.

[catuck]

I'll second Kenny at Conway. Nice shop, and this is exactly the kind of work he does.

[dicklague]

LEE

I am a native RI guy, so it is nice to see you here. BUT I have been living in Los Angeles for 35 years. Good to see you have wonderful collection of 911s.

I am an old Rgruppe member and have a 1973 911 that has been and RS spec car for over 25 years. I actually bought the car from Dave at TRE 15 years ago.

Dave and his brother built it years ago and a friend of theirs bought it and improved it. TRE did lots more work, and finally he had Dave sell it for him. That is when I bought it.

It has 230,000 miles on it. It is powered with a great 2.7 built by Mark Kenninger at Black Forest in San Diego. I spent lots of time getting the MFI to work really well with the help of an AFR intrument.

A few years ago we did a complete restoration of the body and replaced the interiors. I don't consider it a show car but a driver. I have put over 100K on it.

Some parts are real RS like the rear deck lid.

My whole point here is that TRE has been a great source for me. I have bought lots of RS parts from Dave, and he has been a great source of work, information and pieces.

Dave is a great guy who is and encyclopedia of knowledge on the long hood 911s. Over the years we have become good friends and I have seen lots of his work.

I wold recommend at least calling him. Or if you have reason to be in LA, meet with him, and see his operation. Or take one of your cars out here and run it in his Targa California run in April.

I have attached a photo of my car on the right, and Bruce Myer's RS with the right serial numbers on the left at a recent show.

Good luck...... sounds like a great project. I would be happy to help you with my 15 years of experience in owning and working on an RS clone that I consider to be a terrific car. PM me if you like.

[lateapex911]

Originally Posted by lee88

Yes exactly. There's excellent shops outside of Boston that do great race prep, engine building type work like EPE and Eurotech. But again not as many of these shops are known for creative / R Gruppe type builds like TRE, Rothsport in OR, et al. But I have to believe that at least some folks have undertaken projects like these with east coast shops. Zuffenhaus in NC is a new one to me so I'll check hem out.

Any other East coast Pelicans with recommendations to share here? I have to believe there's some. Thanks.

Zuffenhaus is a home run on the 'creative build'. They make the wheels for Singer, for example. They know their Porsche history. They are certainly capable.

They post here. Check out the thread where they replicated the wild Mary Stuart 911 rear flares.


Here we go again! Zuffenhaus MS RSR project...
It's good reading, even if they are too distant.

If it were me, I'd have TRE do it, just so I'd have an excuse to visit California regularly, and my 'test drives' would consist of the Angeles Crest highway and other canyon roads....

[911SauCy]

Originally Posted by lee88

But again not as many of these shops are known for creative / R Gruppe type builds like TRE, Rothsport in OR, et al. But I have to believe that at least some folks have undertaken projects like these with east coast shops.

As the owner, aren't you the creator?

Sounds to me like you're looking to stroke a check and have someone show you a rendering incorporating all the "cool stuff"...then build it.

Shouldn't your car be the culmination of your vision, of what you've always envisioned your "hot-rod" to be?

I have awesome ideas, my limiting factor being a thin checkbook. I'd be more than happy to put ideas to paper for you.

[Dan J]

Must be a virus going around, I've just begun a similar build
This is my starting point 79 SC non sunroof body:
I've got some pretty good ideas of where I'm going and what I really want
A very driveable modern long hood with custom work that separates it from other similar cars. I expect a build time of at least a 1.5 years.
I have the advantage of being able to do it myself and I have a shop

A lot of great shop's have been mentioned but IMHO with your location there is only one choice. Jim Newton at Auto Associates of Canton Ct.
Jim's product is second to none in the country. He and his partners Scott and Ken
are true Porsche artist's

There's much to be said for using a local shop. Long distance just leads to frustration again IMHO

[Dan J]

This is a lengthy read but a pretty nice project by Jim and co.
Another hot rod

[lateapex911]

There's a guy in CT, that's got a good reputation, named Dan Jacobs. Might want to give him a ring and see if he's interested.
(I meant to mention him earlier. He's got a big following among track guys)

[lateapex911]

Originally Posted by 911SauCy

As the owner, aren't you the creator?

Sounds to me like you're looking to stroke a check and have someone show you a rendering incorporating all the "cool stuff"...then build it.

Shouldn't your car be the culmination of your vision, of what you've always envisioned your "hot-rod" to be?

I have awesome ideas, my limiting factor being a thin checkbook. I'd be more than happy to put ideas to paper for you.

I'm like you...I HAVE to use myself, because I'm not a check stroker. Some of the guys who are smarter than I spend their time putting $ into the account, want it done this decade, and done right, and want a 'strong contributor with talent and good ideas" to help form the project.

I see those projects as more of a collaborative effort.

[lee88]

Originally Posted by dicklague

I am a native RI guy, so it is nice to see you here. BUT I have been living in Los Angeles for 35 years. Good to see you have wonderful collection of 911s.

I am an old Rgruppe member and have a 1973 911 that has been and RS spec car for over 25 years. I actually bought the car from Dave at TRE 15 years ago.

....

Good luck...... sounds like a great project. I would be happy to help you with my 15 years of experience in owning and working on an RS clone that I consider to be a terrific car. PM me if you like.

Thanks much. We actually used to live in northern CA but have family ties in the northeast so decided to make our home in RI despite the fact neither my wife nor I grew up here. Glad to hear you've really been driving your car for a couple decades and many miles and good to hear your experience collaborating w/ TRE.

Originally Posted by lateapex911

Zuffenhaus is a home run on the 'creative build'. They make the wheels for Singer, for example. They know their Porsche history. They are certainly capable.

They post here. Check out the thread where they replicated the wild Mary Stuart 911 rear flares.

Here we go again! Zuffenhaus MS RSR project...
It's good reading, even if they are too distant.

If it were me, I'd have TRE do it, just so I'd have an excuse to visit California regularly, and my 'test drives' would consist of the Angeles Crest highway and other canyon roads....

Thanks, I plan to touch base w/ Zuffenhaus at some point. Road Scholars is in NC too, though they obviously focus on high end concours type work. But definitely a cluster there in NC of well regarded P-car specialists.

Originally Posted by lateapex911

I'm like you...I HAVE to use myself, because I'm not a check stroker. Some of the guys who are smarter than I spend their time putting $ into the account, want it done this decade, and done right, and want a 'strong contributor with talent and good ideas" to help form the project.

I see those projects as more of a collaborative effort.

I hear you both, and to each his own. I actually have a reasonably clear sense of what I'm trying to accomplish here both aesthetically and mechanically. But I'm pretty sure that a great shop that's executed countless builds will be able to offer some creative ideas that I haven't thought of and certainly has more experience to help me weigh various trade offs and decisions (optimal suspension setup assuming I stick w/ torsion bars, 3.0 vs 3.2 motor, etc).

Also if I had the skill and time to execute this mostly on my own I'd give it a shot, and perhaps at some point in life I'll take on a full build myself. I plan to do as much of the initial strip/disassembly/prep work as feasible and at least some of the final assembly. But I don't have a lift in my garage or countless other tools beyond my shade tree mechanic setup, much less the experience to tackle an entire build (I'm a brake job, oil change skill level). I'd love to use a project like this to continue growing my wrenching abilities, but the reality of a day job and a new baby on the way means that if I did try to do this all on my own it would remain a "project" in the garage for the next 5-10 years. So for me at least, collaborating with a shop on this build is the right thing.

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by lateapex911

There's a guy in CT, that's got a good reputation, named Dan Jacobs. Might want to give him a ring and see if he's interested.
(I meant to mention him earlier. He's got a big following among track guys)

Lee - I was going to respond earlier but got distracted. I was speaking with Dan on Friday and noticed an SC (galvanized) roller in his shop. Asked him "Race car build?", he responded "no, not sure exactly, think Singer". I would say he is the guy to talk to, it sounds to me like perfect timing! It's a clean slate, he is one of the top guys in the northeast (IMO THE top guy), and your car is sitting in his shop ready to get designed!

And yes, he built my race car and has serviced all my P Cars for the past 8 years.. so i'm a disciple.

[tpweiss9953]

I am having an 88 coupe backdated to a 73 styled ST street car. Working with a guy out of Delaware. Can provide more details if you would like. Street hotrod touring car. Lots of nice details. PM me your phone number and I will give you a ring.

[tijnes]

Or if you want to speed up the process and you're into brown you can buy my project. There's just enough little things left to do to make it your own. Zero miles.

Three year old twins and three cars that need driving is just too much.

[Chilling in VT]

Another vote for either Dan J or Auto Associates. Both are top notch shops. What you really need to do is go and visit both, talk to Scott, Kenny or Jim at Auto Associates and to Dan Jacobs and see whom you are more comfortable with. You will be spending a lot of time with them and you need to feel that they will be able to understand you and be able to take your thoughts and ideas and put them into action. Nothing against the West Coast shops but I know I would want to be a part of the build and would rather put the expense of the dozen's of trips to the West Coast that I would want to make, into the build. FWIW, Dan built my current car but I have also been an Auto Associates customer for years. Good luck.
Joe