Penske 73 RSR by Sam Gassel

[letsrollbabe]

By now some of you have seen the new May Excellence with the article by Randy Wells showing Sam Gassel's recreation of the Penske 73 RSR factory prototype that ran in the 73 Daytona 24. Sam has created one of the most authentic recreations ever done on a car that despite a brief racing career is well known among early Porsche 911 racing enthusiasts. Randy does a great job explaining the history of the original car and then how Sam used his own skills to build a car that in so many ways duplicates the special features from the factory and Penske technicians.

My hat is off for both Sam's achievement and Randy's presentation of that effort. Although he is not well known on this Board, Sam deserves recognition for his unbridled enthusiasm for long hood cars. And Randy Wells' knowledge of the history of the early 70s RS/RSR 911s, and his own very successful experience of racing his own long hoods serve him well in describing the significance of the many details that Sam built into this car.

It is this type of article that keeps Excellence the premier magazine for early 911 enthusiasts and a must read for all of us who love these special period 911s.

[Bobby Smith]

I've known Sam for many years. His work is top notch and this car is his best work to date.

[fryardds]

Agreed Gib. The shot of the engine compartment of Sam's car is absolutely fantastic. I had no idea he went to this level with this car.

Oh btw that was nice of you sell him chassis #"911 360 8132". Was this some kind of left over '73 Carrera chassis?

[targa74]

A Special Thanks to Gib for all the inspiration and help along the way. He's known all the trials and tribulations of this build and was voice of reason when I screwed something up and had to start over.

Brian, the VIN number in the article is simply a Typo. I've been travelling exhaustively for work between Europe and China the last couple of months, and Randy was counting on me to check some of the small details. I must have missed it - probably due to jet lag or my stomach's inability to adapt to the food in China :-) Tub it was built up from, is a straight up '73T - VIN #911 310 2327.

[a911s]

Thanks, Gib, Sam and all.

Sometimes, an error will inadvertently slip into an article of mine. In this instance, Sam's 911T serial number was not included in my final submission but one showed up in the edit, and we did not catch it. Everyone does their very best to prevent them, but in this imperfect world mistakes still happen on occasion.

Regardless, Sam is one of those guys who makes my job a dream. He is deserving of every accolade for a job well done. I wish everyone could see this car in the flesh. It is mind-boggling good.

Here are some out-takes from the shoot. Congrats, Sam, I really enjoyed working with you!

[Macroni]

Stunning..............

[Mike_Moore]

great pictures of a great car!

[Cornpanzer]

Nice shots Randy. I love that first out-take (the driving shot) What was your focal length on that one.

[tfmcmahon]

Thanks Randy. Tom

[CurtEgerer]

Nice shots Randy. I love that first out-take (the driving shot).

I just set that as my new desktop wallpaper! I read Randy's write-up (well done!) last night. Congrats Sam on a stunning build. -- Curt