Barn Find 75 Backdate to Long-Hood Hot Rod?

[Craig T]

My friend Mike Hammond referred me to this site. This is my first time posting. Until now, my only Porsche experience has been POC Cup racing and my late model Porsche daily drivers. I have always LOVED the look of the early 911's, but know myself well enough to know that if I bought an all original early 911 collector car I would just trash it driving the Santa Monica Mtn roads or going to time trial events. So here's my question:

I came across, very inexpensively, a 75 911S sitting in a storage barn in Anza, CA for over a decade (very dry high desert). The car has almost no rust and came with a 78 3.0 and early 80's 915 that were acquired in the late 90's, but never installed. Do you guys think its a worthwhile project to have Dave at TRE backdate this tub and build a 911R inspired hot rod? Are the backdated hot rods accepted in the Early 911 community? Is it just a huge waste of $40,000?

Thanks for the opinions!

Craig T
Chairman, Performance Driving Series
Porsche Owner's Club

[Macroni]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...t-replica.html


Here save yourself a ton of money.......

[davewadd]

or don't backdate it all, and have fun....AND save a ton of money. This is my '75 911S, with a 3.2

[Mr9146]

Backdating a '75 is a waste of a '75.

If you want to backdate a car I suggest you find a clapped-out SC or Carrera and leave the '75 alone. That '75 would be much better suited for a build as a '76 Carrera 3.0L clone ... or even as a '75 Carrera clone with a mildly-breathed-on 2.7L CIS motor.

If you want to spend $40K for an early 911 then I'm sure you'll find plenty of REAL early cars to choose from.

[Dave Pugh]

+1 Macroni!

[advtracing]

Backdating a '75 is a waste of a '75.

If you want to backdate a car I suggest you find a clapped-out SC or Carrera and leave the '75 alone. That '75 would be much better suited for a build as a '76 Carrera 3.0L clone ... or even as a '75 Carrera clone with a mildly-breathed-on 2.7L CIS motor.

If you want to spend $40K for an early 911 then I'm sure you'll find plenty of REAL early cars to choose from.

+1 for that , i have a 76s and it was a wast of time going all the way back to a pre 73 , so have done a 74 rs instead

[Craig T]

Backdating a '75 is a waste of a '75.

If you want to backdate a car I suggest you find a clapped-out SC or Carrera and leave the '75 alone. That '75 would be much better suited for a build as a '76 Carrera 3.0L clone ... or even as a '75 Carrera clone with a mildly-breathed-on 2.7L CIS motor.

If you want to spend $40K for an early 911 then I'm sure you'll find plenty of REAL early cars to choose from.

You obviously don't live in Calif. Owning a street legal SC or Carrera (post 75) with any significant increase in engine performance or exhaust is basically impossible without violating smog rules. I want a light weight 250-275 hp rev'r for weekend canyon drives and to piss-off the concourse participants when they can't hear Vivaldi's Four Seasons over my exhaust. I have no interest in "cloning" anything, least of all an impact bumper car. I'm also not interested in a car that sits in the garage hoping to appreciate or at least not lose money. I did that with a rare 67 Corvette big block roadster and was bored to tears with people checking my serial numbers to see if it was original and matching.

This car is in rough shape, as would be expected sitting in a barn for over a decade. To make it reasonably presentable, even in it's original form, would still be over $20K (Body work, paint, engine and tranny refresh, interior, wheel polish, tires, etc). Essentially, I saved it from the crusher for $5K. I guess the question I had was, if you're willing to put $25K into a car that will never be worth more than $20K, wouldn't it be fun to put $40K into something that would never be worth more the $30K, but would look VERY cool and be extremely light on her feet and fun to drive.

[Fishcop]

Craig

I'll go slightly against the grain and say go for it! If you're not interested in anything but building a bespoke canyon racer for yourself - then nothing you do is "wrong". There's plenty of us with hotrods built for pleasure and to taste, and with more $$ invested in them than is probably right Have a look at Rob Dickinson's "Singer" 911s The guys are suggesting that if you're looking to maintain a specific value relevant to the build date and specs, then backdating has pitfalls.

[Mr9146]

You obviously don't live in Calif. Owning a street legal SC or Carrera (post 75) with any significant increase in engine performance or exhaust is basically impossible without violating smog rules. I want a light weight 250-275 hp rev'r for weekend canyon drives and to piss-off the concourse participants when they can't hear Vivaldi's Four Seasons over my exhaust. I have no interest in "cloning" anything, least of all an impact bumper car. I'm also not interested in a car that sits in the garage hoping to appreciate or at least not lose money. I did that with a rare 67 Corvette big block roadster and was bored to tears with people checking my serial numbers to see if it was original and matching.

This car is in rough shape, as would be expected sitting in a barn for over a decade. To make it reasonably presentable, even in it's original form, would still be over $20K (Body work, paint, engine and tranny refresh, interior, wheel polish, tires, etc). Essentially, I saved it from the crusher for $5K. I guess the question I had was, if you're willing to put $25K into a car that will never be worth more than $20K, wouldn't it be fun to put $40K into something that would never be worth more the $30K, but would look VERY cool and be extremely light on her feet and fun to drive.

You're right, Craig. I obviously don't live in California. www.tlgauto.com

FWIW, my advice still stands. A '75 is best left a '75 ... ESPECIALLY in California.

[Flieger]

Do it Craig!