Backdating IYO good/bad

[Reiver]

This ought to be contentious but I thought I'd ask anyway.

Is backdating a 2nd Gen 911, other than a visual style, really anything but a poser car?

I know anyone can do whatever they like with what they own...and, I've admired some great back dated builds.

I'm asking because I saw what I thought was a nice long hood and chatted with the owner and I said.."Nice longhood, looks in great shape"...and his response "Well, it's really an SC.......".

I suspect most owners of back dates must lead off a conversation in the same vein.

Honestly, as nice, great, and complete as some of the builds are when you change the physical appearance enough to resemble a different car are they posers?

[Noah930]

Not a poseur if they readily admit their car is backdated (and they drive it as the good Doctor intended). Not all of is can afford an original longhood. And the later cars have benefits in creature comforts and mechanicals over the earlier ones.

[APachon71RN]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think backdates look stunning and some of the builds in here are just amazing and the attention detail and thought out build is mind-bogling. It is not the direction I want to go with my 83 911sc but who I am to detract from the pleasure of the owner of said backdate. So long as they are happy with their car, good for them and I thank them for sharing their respective builds with us. I am no purist other than I like that we all share a congruous love for Porsches. I hate that some feel their is a set playbook to follow re: the design path for a given model or year. Eff that - build yours the way you want and I just ask you to share your dream and build with us.

I imagine this question as the same flame starter RWB Good or Bad ??? not that it has been posted but I can see equal ranting.

~Andy

[Eli W]

Everyone has an opinion on this.

My take, yes totally posers they are not the real thing. Great for personal enjoyment for those who want that look and that is fine for them.( agree as long as the owner does not try and pass it off as an early car)

I owned a 1969 911 E it was cool car, but it sure felt like 1969 E.

I have a mid year hot rod now, I thought about making it look like an early Carrera it already has the duck tail. Really all it needs is some flairs and side script and boom it would be a poser early Carrera.

I decided in the end, nuts to that, it is a mid year 77 hot rod S, and it is pretty damn awesome. It has the pop out rear windows and the early style seat supports of the earlier cars, but man it would blow the doors of my old E. I love driving the thing too, the E I had was getting to be way too much of a collector car for me. I don't worry about ringing my S out and pushing it as hard as she will go.

[RSBob]

In the scope of the history of the galaxy, the planet, your very limited life, and the knowledge that nothing will last forever (except Pelican) whether your car is a poser or not really has zero significance to anyone who has a much larger perspective of life and their place in it. Do what you want and skrew the rest.

[skinnerd]

I will always say to do what you want.

Pls do not base your actions on others.

That said, I've seen many killer back dates.
They look vintage but have many more comforts which to me would be nice.

[boss11]

to me my 911 is an interpretation of how I want my 911 to look, others are quick to make comments about what does or doesn't belong on it... If I realy wanted a long hood look, I wouldn't be too fussed if it was achieved through a backdate

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I think this only matters if you care what other people think of you and your car.

[Eli W]

We all should do what we want,

The only thing that gets me is when some one wants to take a very nice examples of a Carrera or SC and backdate it. But the more cars that get back dated the more the original examples will become rare.

My car is already a bastard, since it is a 77 S with a twin plug 3.2 big port SC engine.

[G450X]

I really don't get the "poser" moniker that some people throw around in a disparaging manner about 911's.

A 911 is a 911, and some years and models are more coveted for various reasons. One of the great things about the earlier models is their ability to easily "transform" into a visual (or mechanical) interpretation of another year.

I would like to have a nice lightweight '73 Carrera RS. I don't happen to have a spare million in disposable cash lying around to buy one.

If I take a real Porsche 911 and cosmetically modify it to look like a earlier example (a '73 Carrera RS for example), I don't see any issue.

I guess some uber rich guy (who possibly has some insecurity issues?) might feel like a modified 911 will somehow diminish some sort of value from his "real" '73 Carrera RS that he has stored in a warehouse and refuses to drive! Are you kidding me! That rich guy who refuses to drive, or even let anyone see, his precious collector vehicles and then has the audacity to berate another person's vehicle because it looks like his "real" one - but is being properly utilized? Could it be jealously?

Sorry to vent, but people who are "upset" over backdates need to get a life. I guess if I ever complete my backdate and someone asks me if it's a real '73 Carrera RS, I will tell them "no, I'm not stupid enough to drop over a million on a car, I could do so much good in my community with that much money, and besides my car would run rings around an original."

[javadog]

Originally Posted by G450X

I'm not stupid enough to drop over a million on a car, I could do so much good in my community with that much money, and besides my car would run rings around an original."

You think so? You might be surprised at what it takes to make an SC faster than a real RS. It can be done but it takes a little work.

In the old days, everybody wanted to turn their clapped-out 911T into a turbo. Few of them got much past the wider fenders, so the cars ended up slower than they were originally. Those that had the turbo badge on the back, without a turbo engine installed to back it up, earned a well-deserved bad reputation.

Now, everybody wants to go the other direction. It's almost funny...

JR

[McLaren-TAG]

It's all good, nice to have a car that you can on a whim and a for a few bucks, face lift it from the 70s to the 80s to the 90s and back again.

[Eli W]

Java it is funny.

The same thing is becoming true about the Carreras and SC's used to be SC's were second class citizens in the 911 world, not any more same for the mid years like mine.

A poser is only true if someone is trying to pass their car off as an original and not owning the fact that there car is a backdate.

[LUFTKUL]

Early years are getting too expensive to comfortably enjoy for most of us. Backdates are great. Mid-years are perfect for narrow body clone and SC/Carreras have a ton of work already done with flares and bigger engine if that's the look/performance you want.

Now, do 73< look better in general than <74+? Most people would say yes, but I also love the bellows and there is no shame in keeping later cars stock. A beauty all their own, but the general public will gravitate toward early car lines and bumpers.

[lsf911]

I agree with Javadog and Eli W, it is funny.

What makes it so funny is an "updated" car takes a hit in value unlike a "backdated" car these days. If someone has an "updated" car, it's called a "Frankenstein" on this forum. If someone "backdates" a car, it's a masterpiece. It appears to be trend dependent.

Having said that, I happen to like the backdated cars for all the reasons mentioned above. More modern with the long hood good looks. I have considered backdating my SC but keep holding off. Would it be a poser if I did? I guess it would be but who cares.

[DaveE]

I've considered backdating my SC in the past but it's a VERY early SC, was originally owned by the factory for a few years, so I'm leaving it as is. If I had a different SC I might very well backdate it to longhood, early bumpers with a duck (maybe), but I wouldn't go so far as to put the Carrera stuff on the sides.

[Sway Bar]

It's all in eye of the beholder and I think current back dates or custom tribute cars look great and can give a lot of personal satisfaction.

Funny thing is go back 25-30 years and it was the other way around; "Posers" would take their early 911T add flairs, whale tails, wide tires and big speakers, to update their look and still have their 2.0L, or worse it was a 912

How many of us have/are now removing that look on their early car...trends and fads are a funny thing but I think for most of us no matter what we do it's the personal satisfaction one gets.

[SD Swede]

As a current, and proud, owner of a poser I'm perfectly comfortable with coming out of the closet and admitting that I would rather possess a pre-'74 911. But, I also have no problem admitting that I'm conflicted about why? For me, as I'd imagine for others, it was completely a matter of being 5 years late to game and my lack of funds. My car is my very first 911 and was built with what I would consider a middle class, family to support, working man's budget cap. My feedback has varied. Primarily, it has been extremely complimentary no doubt. The interesting part is this...there is a common thread possessed by those whom have graciously offered the "other" type of feedback. In fact, so common that I'll stick my neck out to say that 100% of non-complimentary comments (being nice here) have come only from current owners of, usually of several at once, early cars that are completely stock and have a significantly larger bank account than myself. Don't know why this is....actually, I think I do.
Maybe this is partly why, when the day comes, you can count on that I will hot-rod the crap out of my early car too. Another thing you can count on is that I will never offer anything but positive comments about a fellow Porsche owner's pride and joy!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

What if you have a poser car that was made by Porsche? M491s are miles away from real Turbos in terms of raw acceleration, have only a poky 3.2 to push more weight around than a standard Carrera, but look the business.

[javadog]

I don't think the factory ever put a turbo badge on a M491 Carrera 3.2...

The point of the package wasn't "turbo look", regardless of what the world now thinks. It was more 'performance body and chassis", which indicated that they perceived it as having better braking and handling than the normal Carrera.

The fact that the average Joe perceives it as a turbo without the turbo engine is missing their point.

So, not the same...

JR