Project: Converting a Kiwi Racecar

[daltvater]

Greetings, I’ve been away from Pelican and pcars for the last few years as I’ve found myself wrapped up in life, work, more work and an international relocation to Auckland, New Zealand of all places. With nothing to do on weekends I’ve been hunting for a Porsche to get my hands on. P-cars down here are not easy to come by…after clicking “refresh” incesantly on the local equivalent of Craigslist for months, the 1979 SC below popped up. I called, drove out to the country and bought it on the spot. No clue if I paid the appropriate amount but I’m back in the club. Kiwi’s are famous for their kindness, the previous owner was no exception to this true stereotype. Poor guy teared up as he drove way, but has first right of refusal to hit the track with me and he has weekend borrowing privileges when the car is complete Post purchase inspection didn’t turn up one thing to do or fix. The shop said the car is setup and ready to go.

My vision is to turn this into a weekend track car (that I can drive to the track) My Pcar experience is limited to converting a stock 87 and 95 to wannabe race-cars. (mild track-day cars) This is my first time buying a full blown race car with the intent to take it back to street….I’m questioning what I’ve bought and what I should do with it, keeping in mind I know my limitataions as a mechanical moron!!!

From what I can tell is on the car....

Fiske 3-Piece Wheels
935 Suspension, looks to be ERP??
JRZ Coil-overs
3.6L Engine, rebuilt 1k miles ago, 1% leak-down on all 6 cylinders, 57k miles on engine.
50MM PMO’s
RS Cams
Full Cage
Fresh 915 with Close Ratio Gears, Race Syncros
Racing Clutch
New Porsche LSD
RSR Exhaust
Big Reds
Adjustable Sways
Atom ECU
Facet Fuel Pump
Center Mount Front Oil Cooler


I’m thinking I want to backdate it to a 911R and reasoning with myself that I might as well backdate it now? To get it street legal I need to reinstall the wiring for the headlights, turn-signals, install a horn, washer fluid tank etc. Since I need to put all this stuff back which is a project in of itself, I might as well get the backdating out of the way and do it now. Does that logic make sense from a cost standpoint?

After reading countless backdating threads I’m more lost than when I started. Can someone suggest the most cost effective approach to backdating this thing? Shipping parts over here is insanely expensive and body shop labor seems reasonable. I’ll do the interior myself as the car does not need to be anywhere near concourse. I’ve always wanted a 3.6l rat rod of sorts. Thinking metal extensions on the existing front fenders, graft in some metal turn signal frames, go with a fibreglass R type bumper (with drilled vent holes for the front oil cooler) Fiberglass 4-pin long-hood since the plates are already installed.

With a little luck I’ll embark down the road of backdating assuming I can do it for under $7 or $8k anything more than that and it will be a stretch.

Anyway looking for advice, thoughts, warnings etc. I’ll keep you all updated on my progress with with this! Thanks, Dan





Big Reds,


JRZ


ERP Part?


935 ERP?


Spring Plate...ERP?

[daltvater]

[rywats]

It looks awesome as is. Don't backdate..

[Tom '74 911]

Looks like a great car with a lot of VERY nice bolt-on go-fast parts.

If you decide to backdate it, there is a fiberglass long hood that you can use that will work with the front latch panel on your car. Using it would allow you to get the long hood look using bolt-on parts (thus easily reversible).

Try TRE Motorsports in Southern California. They most likely could put together a parts package for you & ship it in one box...

[jbell959]

Originally Posted by Tom '74 911

Try TRE Motorsports in Southern California. They most likely could put together a parts package for you & ship it in one box...

+1 .... Give Dave at TRE a call and he can set you up with everything you need to backdate it if that is the route you decide to take. However it looks great as it sits. Congratulations!!

[Mister e]

+ 2 Don't back date it. It looks fantastic the way it is!
For street you'll likely need to spend money on suspension and sound mitigation. Or better yet do nothing and give her a go on the track.

[daltvater]

Thanks for the help, I was thinking TRE was the way to go from what I could gather. 2 votes to keep as is, I'm so easily swayed maybe I'll leave it be and drive it for a year before backdating. I'm itching to get this thing out on the road.

Originally Posted by Mister e

+ 2 Don't back date it. It looks fantastic the way it is!
For street you'll likely want to need to spend money on suspension and sound mitigation. Or better yet do nothing and get her a go on the track.

You nailed these two items. The exhaust isn't insane but the flywheel and engine noise is nuts in the cabin. Hoping a sound pad in the engine and in the interior should help. I've read that the JRX's will work great on street but I need to install some softer springs. Figure I'll chip my teeth for a month and see what a proper racer is like like to drive and then soften it up if I can't take it.

[daltvater]

Taking advantage of some of your knowledge as I've been out of the game for so long. Curious what you guys think of $44k us for this car? After pricing out the list of parts it seems like a decent price for a straight fresh engined car. No doubt you pay a premium over here but $44k seems good, not great? Trying to sleep better at night and knowing I paid too much or too little will help so long as I know.

[Joe Bob]

Originally Posted by rywats

It looks awesome as is. Don't backdate..

yepp^^^^ this...

[daltvater]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

yepp^^^^ this...

Dammit, I'm so easily swayed. Alright now about I keep it as is for a few years and then backdate if I ever how to figure out how to weld.

I am dumping the giant the wing however. Love the line of the flat decklid.

[Joe Bob]

Dumping the wing might upset the aerodynamics with that front end treatment.....just sayin'. Test it speed to see if it gets squirrely....

[daltvater]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

Dumping the wing might upset the aerodynamics with that front end treatment.....just sayin'. Test it speed to see if it gets squirrely....

I forgot about that bit. I remember that was a hot topic years ago, front aero with no rear is an issue. I wonder at what speed does that rear wing start making a difference. 100mph+ in the corners?

**** its good to be talking about this stuff again.

[Joe Bob]

I'm sure you will find out when you take the wing off. So, don't sell it (borrow a stock lid) until you test it.

BTW, I used TRE glass backdate stuff. If you can get a deal on shipping, he's the guy.

[JoshCole1122]

Awesome. Keep as is and drive the crap out of it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cory M]

the 935 suspension bits look like they are from The Racers Group, basically a copy of ERP

phase 9 mufflers

lots of nice parts on that car

[daltvater]

Originally Posted by Cory M

the 935 suspension bits look like they are from The Racers Group, basically a copy of ERP

phase 9 mufflers

lots of nice parts on that car

Thanks for the info on the parts, very helpful. To get the car street legal I have to provide a list of who manufactured the aftermarket parts. If I don't they may have to come off to be X-ray'd. Thanks Cory.

Dan

[daltvater]

She is officially back to her preferred place on all 4's.

Lights installed, seats in. Next stop is suspension shop to insert new Rebel Racing bit and pieces.

[Flojo]

oh, wow, missed that!
looks like a really nice outlaw now!

maybe you might mitigate that front bumper to a less agressive style to harmonize it with the rear to finish the look?

[daltvater]

Originally Posted by Flojo

oh, wow, missed that!
looks like a really nice outlaw now!

maybe you might mitigate that front bumper to a less agressive style to harmonize it with the rear to finish the look?

Agree with you, the front bumper isn't right. I have a front mount oil cooler so I need to find something to work around that. Ideally someday I will backdate it and copy the Singer style cut out they use. Beyond that I don't see many other options other than a Blackbird which I'm not a huge fan of.