Full RS Backdate Step-by-Step Thread

[JeremyD]

Porsche 911 RS RSR St | eBay

[SpyderMike]

AdamKaz,

As one who is starting a similar project on my 1985, I look forward to following your progress. I, for one, am not making decisions based on ROI. I am really enjoying the creative decision making process. Have fun!

Mike

[CCM911]

COme on Jeremy, apples to oranges, LOL.

"Hand Hammered Flares"??? Will ten thousand get you this?:

John Esposito stripped the car down to the bare metal and did all the body fabrication and paintwork. John is considered by many as the best Porsche metal guy on the West Coast. His fender work is absolutely stunning and they all match perfectly. The Slate Grey paint is spot on.



Allan Faragallah with Aase Motors did the full engine build. Allan is truly the maestro when it comes to building some of the strongest, fastest, and most reliable 911 engines. His craftsmanship and quality is in a league of its own.



George Baloian with Levon Auto Upholstery did a full custom leather interior. George has created some of the best interiors not only for some of the most discerning collectors but also shop owner’s personal cars. The level of detail is superb.



TLG Auto did most of the reassembly. They have been building cool R Gruppe style Porsche 911s longer than anyone else. They know how these cars should be put together and how they should run.

[Jesse16]

You can start a war talking paint jobs. I'll be posting my results in a few weeks hopefully.

[CCM911]

Poor Jesse. You did take some flack on your color change, LOL.

[stuarts]

Originally Posted by Josh D

Backdate it to a '74 Carrera. A lot cheaper and easier. Just as good looking as well IMHO.

That's exactly what I've done. Part of the rational being that, having kept all the original parts, it can be returned to 'stock' quite easily.

[jittsl]

As someone who has a small business that produces backdates I am very familiar with what they cost to build properly. We do the body work in house and it still costs more than half of your budget on paint alone. Hell, on my own current project I spent half your budget on the fuel tank!

Not saying it can't be done but if it can I'm going to change the business model. Looking forward to your updates.

[douglas bray]

Keep up the good work. .....and just laugh in the faces of the guys that cry about going over budget. With the right connections all things are possible.

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by AdamKaz

Hello fellow Pelicanites! I've lurked here for years as I saved up the funds and courage to buy my dream Porsche - a 3.2 Carrera Coupe - and backdate it to a Grand Prix White/Mexico Blue RS 2.7 (hardly original, I know, but the heart wants what it wants). Well I bought a heap of a car from Florida the other month and am starting my restoration and backdate!



During this process, I have to provide monthly updates to FactoryTwoFour along with some funny storytelling. My thought is, as long as I'm going to be recording every step anyway I might as well post weekly updates/questions/inappropriate language here as well so I have a master record of the build I can (hopefully) look back fondly on. My Pelican posts will be much more detailed and technical, while the F24 posts will be more of the general story of the rebuild.

I bought the car in October, didn't receive it until November, and finally got it registered and legal here in Los Angeles in Dec. Now the fun begins. I've spent a lot of time determining the overarching build order and this is what I've come up with:

Rebuild/Upgrade the suspension
Rebuild/Upgrade the brakes
Rebuild/Upgrade the drivetrain
Disassemble the car and remove engine
Send empty shell for bodywork (small amount of rust, a floor pan repair)
Refresh the engine with new gaskets/hoses and a new exhaust system
Paint the shell
Replace engine/components in newly painted shell
Install a completely new interior
Final assembly and fitment of trim/lights/etc.

Any thoughts here? Anything here that is just plain dumb?

You can read some background and about how I bought the car here on the first F24 post here: We bought a Porsche to rebuild! - FactoryTwoFour
and I'll be sharing all my wheel/suspension choices here later this week!

Happy to answer any questions or receive any insults.

Cheers!

I'm also in LA and happy to share tips. I did a red 85 (partial) backdate 4 years ago and it was documented in the "Carrera Backdate" thread. Net cost was under $4K, but did not include a color change. I also left the nasty big mirrors and black trim, as that would have bumped my spend another $3K or so. I did not backdate the interior, but there are a couple ways to go there... ping me if you want to discuss.

[AdamKaz]

Thanks everyone. Too many posts to reply to, but if your question is truly burning PM me and I'll hit you back.

Here's the latest FactoryTwoFour post on this build:

Porsche Backdate Pt 2: The Sadness - FactoryTwoFour

Nothing technical, just background as I try to catch my writing up to where I'm actually at - suspension work (almost done!). I need to crank out another post there then I'll be all caught up both here and there, then regular updates on the build.

I've been asked why I'm doing suspension/brake work before I do the longhood conversion. This confuses me (thus I am likely ignorant of something) as what would the underbody have to do with cutting the front support to fit the backdated bumper - which is the process I've read. I haven't seen anything about having to relocate, disassemble the suspension...

[AdamKaz]

ALRIGHT, all the suspension and brake upgrades are done.

As always, some background and the full story of the build can be found on my website here:
Porsche Backdate Pt 3: The Emissions Battle - FactoryTwoFour

But the specifics of the build will live here on Pelican.

Here's what I did, and in what order. All parts are from Pelican if not otherwise specified. Make sure to work on ONE wheel at a time, so you have others for reference when you get lost or forget a step. This list is for the front axle, as the rears are much similar but follow generally the same order.
Before:

• Remove the front and rear wheels
• Remove, clean, and paint the brake caliper
• Remove and discard the rubber brake line. Retain the hard lines if possible
• Remove and discard the brake disk
• Remove, clean, and paint the brake disc shield
• Remove the tie rod end
• Remove and discard the suspension ball joint
• Remove the shock absorber
• Remove, clean, and paint the front sway bar

You should wind up with a nice, open area to work in that looks like this:


Next I took a wire brush to the control arm and anything else that was crusty. After spot priming and painting any trouble areas, everything should now be ready for reassembly.

• Install bump steer kit
• Install a new suspension ball joint
• Install braided steel brake line
• Install Turbo tie rod kit
• Install new bilstein shocks (HD up front, Sport out back)
• Install the new tie rod end from the turbo kit into the arm off the shock housing
• Install the brake disc shield
• Install a new brake disk
• Rebuild brake calipers, touch up the paint, and install
• Install the sway bar
• Install the front and rear wheels

After all that work, you get to bask in new pretty parts:


On the rear, I also replaced both my axles. The boots were either torn, or held on by zip ties thanks to some *******:


So the process there is disassemble the wheel area, then replace the rear axles, and then back on with all the new goodies.

Lastly, while it was off the road anyway, I installed a JWest G50 kit which includes a short shift kit and a new coupler. I also installed the rubber o-ring suggested in this Porsche tech bulletin for possible shift rod rattling. I don't notice much rattle, but it was a couple bucks and I'm in there anyway, so why not?

And that's the majority of my underbody work for this backdate. My engine is solid so that will receive a nice clean and refresh, but nothing major beyond some gaskets and hoses. The only other thing I've tackled is ripping out the AC system because some backyard mechanic (probably the same human who zip-tied my axle boot on) covered my condenser piping with some kind of industrial Play Doe to stop some leak.


It was horrific. So it's gone now and I'm not going to worry about it. Next up, body work!

[Tremelune]

I've found 800-width pictures to be about the sweet spot. 1000 will fit horizontally on most monitors, but vertical scrolling starts to detract at that point.

[AdamKaz]

Done! Thanks Tremelune, that size was perfect.

[doublebuffle]

Originally Posted by AdamKaz

On the rear, I also replaced both my axles. The boots were either torn, or held on by zip ties thanks to some *******:



The only other thing I've tackled is ripping out the AC system because some backyard mechanic (probably the same human who zip-tied my axle boot on) covered my condenser piping with some kind of industrial Play Doe to stop some leak.


It was horrific. So it's gone now and I'm not going to worry about it. Next up, body work!

My AC had the same thing.

Did the packing escape from your CVs???

[safe]

I never even had a zip tie on my boots. The grease stays in there anyway, I believe some ventilation is good. The grease don't fling out anyway.

[SpyderMike]

That industrial play doe is stock I believe.

[Maxhouse97]

Sorry to hear about the shop you used in Miami ... plenty of negative press on them here already.

[nameisbauer]

I've done this twice. 81SC to IROC inspired, 82SC to R/RS inspired. I say inspired because neither is trying to be something it is not, and neither are done to any level that would try to be a show car, or something the purists would like. But both get me psyched to look at and drive. I would do it again in a second, but learned so much between the first one and the second. Have fun. There are many ways to do it on a budget. I am not a rich man, nor master mechanic and I made it work.

HAVE FUN!

[Deschodt]

Interesting.... There's *a lot* of room between a "2.7 clone" and a "perfect 2.7 RS recreation".
I did a backdate once for $5000. Old fender extensions welded to the SC fenders (instead of whole new ones), special fiberglass long hood that retains the short hood closing panel, plug the side deco holes, put a duck tail on it, F/R Fiberglass bumper and keep the original color ? Totally doable for $5K. because I did it (well, not the ducktail, but close)

Correct fender flares, sunroof delete, chromed (not black) window surrounds all over, correct metal long hood w/ relocated closing panel, real RS rear bumpers, early dash top and instruments, seats, door panels, injection type of the motor etc... Totally not doable for that amount ;-)

It's just a simple matter of scope, we're just not sure what yours is, so I'm not about to comment on the budget in detail... But the rust/engine rebuild/paint is what's gonna blow your budget regardless though ! And just be aware that the final product may be lighter than stock, but it won't feel like a longhood. It'll feel like a Carrera. That was the biggest dissapointment on my end, having sampled both - the weight loss is not sufficient to replicate the feel of the original cars...

[CBRacerX]

Enjoy and have fun. I was where you are a few weeks ago (backdate or not) on an '80 SC and for now I'm doing mostly stock with a 80/90's Driver's ed suspension (torsion bars/welmeisters) and engine (stock rebuild with Webers/SSI/Crankfire).