Pelican Parts Forums - I finally own an early 911!My story,my build(?) and more(+some really cool 911 shots)

I own a Porsche 911.

http://i.imgur.com/2U1rTeF.jpg

I know that the above statement doesn't mean much here. A lot of people in this board owned/built multiple examples and some of them are true masterpieces(fuelling the daydreams of many others including me). But I'm pretty sure there are people like me that lurked for years, reading the cool build threads, researching and hoping one day they could actually do it. For these people, and anyone that might find it interesting, I'll try to elaborate.

I come from a completely different background. For me an auto mobile has to be cheap, reliable, fun on the track, bearable as a daily driver but more importantly has to be rewarding to drive. I found all of that on the shape of a Mazda Miata and through years and slow steady steps I ended with...MY miata:

http://i.imgur.com/c7tQRYV.jpg

My miata isn't actually unique(everything is bolt on/off the self) but at ~200hp/930-950 kg isn't slow either. It has worked for years as a reliable daily driver, travelled through half Europe, has a ton of track miles and most importantly through the vast after market options available for the sublime chassis evolved to be the car that tick all the boxes. All my boxes at least because for most people it looks like a...****box(and isn't exactly cheap either)!

http://i.imgur.com/V2jWzeW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XJdSmFP.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ugbQ30m.jpg

Problem was that in the last couple years I had the luck to work to a pretty nice place...the Nurburgring! A place that Porsche were always cool. Before RWB, before the hotrod R-Grouppe cars, before Chris Harris praising the brand, before Singer, before Magnus Walker. A place where 911 GT3s are more common than VW Golfs and apparently the place that a 911 is and will always be...relevant. That meant constant exposure to some of the finest examples of the 911 range. Everything from iconic old racecars, to perfect restorations, to amazing trackday cars, to some of the fastest racecars of today. Daily.

You can't complain about life at the 'Ring but it was probably the catalyst. What made me going from 'I want a 911' to 'I need a 911'. It was probably after my visit to the Porsche Museum at Stutgrat -a thing that EVERY Porsche fan should do- that I left knowing that in the immediate future I'd do something really stupid.

http://i.imgur.com/3pAKdy5.jpg

That thought proved to be prophetic. It took some time and more than one stupid thing(including a loan) but I had my 911 budget. With the money in hand being in...Germany I thought finding the 911 I so much wanted wouldn't be that difficult. Well I was in for quite a surprise. Apparently I wasn't the only one that wanted an early 911. Porsche's marketing machine for the 50 years of 911 plus all the internet exposure fuelled by customizers, collectors and builders meant that the cars were now also a collectable item. Early longhood cars super expensive, the 930 turbo that I loved as a kid super expensive even the less desirable cars were getting out of reach. That 10,000 or 15,000 Euro bargain 911 that used to exist was a thing of the past. Prices kept raising almost monthly and the possibility of finding the...'right' car was getting slimmer and slimmer.

And then the right car appeared. Without even knowing that I was actively looking for one, a good friend shared with me a sales ad from a greek website about a car that ticked most of my boxes. It wasn't 'correct' and it was in a rough shape but was a car that was raced locally and had already some of the 'go-fast' stuff that I wanted. Of course it was also a little bit out of my budget and the seller was...quite a character. After 2 or 3 months of negotiations we actually found some common ground. I wasn't sure if that was the worst or the best decision in my life but I now was the owner of an old 911!

http://i.imgur.com/du6Zq2j.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0OfNqIx.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gNZ3ra1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BeSuiOK.jpg

So what exactly did I get?

The car was originally 1971 2.4 911 coupe. Sometime in the '80-90s has undergone a full '78 SC conversion in Germany. Was imported in Greece sometime in the '00 and then was mildly prepped for racing. Mainly suspension and safety gear. Sometime in the recent years the 2.7 engine was replaced with a '81 3.0 SC engine and has gone through a couple gearboxes(currently spotting a relatively nice feeling 915). All the above leaves me uncertain of what I should call my 911...a '71? a '79 SC with a swap?

For all intent and purposes let's say the car is a '71 chassis with '81 3.0 SC engine/running gear. It has a stock engine(just headers and a Dansk exhaust) outputting ~200hp and it tips the scales at 1054 kg(F 404kg/ R 650kg). It has thicker torsion bars(24-30?), revalved Bilsteins, 15x8 and 15x9 Fuchs(replicas), Toyo R888 205/50 15F-235/50 15R, a rollcage and some Wevo parts.

It is awesome! It has theoretically a reliable engine that can go for miles, looks relatively cool and has a semi decent setup so it doesn't drive like a...40 years old 911!

Or it is a bastardized rusty piece of **** that doesn't even start for no apparent reason.

Both statements have a good amount of truth right now.
The next couple of months will tell...

I'll stop here the already quite long, and potentially boring, rumble and I will close with something more interesting. Some of my favourites from my 'special' 911...photo stash. Working as a photographer in cool places -I hope- translates to a cool selection of metal. Some of them are part of proper shoots others are just simple snapshots but all of them feature some cool 911 inside. Hope you enjoy!

*10 photos limit per post means a I'll have to split them