Very well-sorted, non-original early 911 built on a ’73.5 coupe with a clean ’87 3.2L engine. Plenty of power and reliability, all on pump gas. Looks terrific and built to be capable on the track but comfortable on the road. I have owned and loved this car for more than a decade. I originally bought it because the body is an accident-free, unmolested, not-rusty, non-sunroof coupe that has been repainted once in the original, single stage “light yellow” Glasurit paint. All of the body work then was done with lead—there is no bondo on the car. I wanted a nice foundation to build a hot rod that would be reliable, easy to maintain, and fun to drive.
The end result of my project is everything I had hoped it would be, and more. This is not a restoration or a tribute to any particular early car. Instead, I built it with the parts I wanted to have on a modern car with an R-Gruppe aesthetic that I could drive to work or take to the track for DE days and be 100% comfortable with, wherever I was driving it. All of the components were carefully selected with the primary objective of building a car I would love to drive, rather than cutting corners to save costs or maintaining originality on a car that was already not original. I am very, very happy with the build, but I don’t drive it enough anymore because I don’t have a garage at work and won’t park it outside.
The power train is a slightly modified, dyno-tuned 3.2L ’87 engine believed to have around 65K miles on it and a fresh (3K) rebuilt 915 with a GT limited slip differential. The engine runs great and pulls strong. The car handles super well. Pictures available here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x828yiaxm...4vNpJS5ba?dl=0
Some of the details of the car and its component parts are included below. There are many other new parts installed on the car. I have a lot of the receipts, but not all of them.
Don’t hesitate to ask me for additional detail or, for serious buyers, to arrange for a PPI. I want the next owner of the car to be as happy with it as I am. I do not have the original engine or transmission.
If you think I’m asking too much for a non-original car, feel free to tell me, but know that I don’t need to sell it and don’t plan to do so unless I get the right price for it. If I don’t sell it now I will just keep it and enjoy it. Here are the details:
Drivetrain
’87 3.2 911 motor. Represented by prior owner to be a 60K engine from Parts Haven. Runs very well. Back dated heat (new exhaust studs and gaskets), no O2 sensor, custom Steve Wong chip. Pulls strong, starts ever time, no unusual smoke, etc. Intake and exhaust stripped down, cleaned, and resealed within the last three years. Rebuilt distributor. New fuel lines (on engine, plus custom lines from pump to hard lines and hard lines to engine), rebuilt injectors, many new sensors, etc. Fan refinished in ceramic and re-zinced. Powder coated engine tin (correct color and finish). No leaks to speak of. Looks very clean. Tasteful wiring harness splice for computer control box (mounted under driver’s seat).
Gordon Leadbetter-rebuilt, ‘76 915 transmission (mag case, 8:31 ring and pinion). GT limited slip differential. New Sachs Power clutch kit. Partially installed WEVO shifter kit with stock looking shifter and new knob (very precise shifting for a 915, with a reverse block out gate).
Back-dated heat with ’73 SSI headers, polished stainless dual outlet Dansk muffler. Stainless, custom cap for one outlet to control noise level. Deep, pleasant, sporty sound.
Front-mounted oil cooler in RSR bumper. NOS Porsche oil hard lines, Elephant Racing soft lines to cooler, new in-line thermostat. Very efficient engine cooling system. No heating problems.
Exterior
’73.5 911T non-sunroof body. Unmolested, no accidents car with very little rust. Over all very nice condition paint with some rock chips and a few other cosmetic issues (see below). Currently the weakest part of the car but very good condition for a driver. Looks excellent until someone points out the flaws, but they are there.
Rolled but not cut fenders. One respray several years ago in appropriate Glasurit paint, original color. RS fiberglass bumpers, front and rear. R taillights and decklid hinges, with letter holes filled on decklid. Period correct Talbot mirrors, both sides (passenger’s side is cosmetic only—it is covering up holes from a prior owner’s bad choice). Re-enameled original orange bar hood ornament. Newer H-4s with 80/100w bulbs and a high-power relay. New Bosch front signal lenses. Newer trunk felt and engine pad and mostly new window seals all the way around.
PAINT/BODY issues: (1) although the paint looks really good, the last paint job wasn’t perfect. There are a few drips, some barely noticeable scratches (that could probably be resolved with color sanding); (2) there is a tire burn mark on the passenger side rear because the car was lowered 1/4” too low on that corner; and (3) there are some small rust bubbles on the passenger’s side rocker panel. I have tried to capture 2 and 3 in the attached pictures. I considered fixing all of these issues before selling, but want to make sure the buyer is aware of them, so have left them and priced the car accordingly.
Interior
GTS Classic Nurburgring seats—full leather, perforated inserts. Leather RS door panels, with leather upper arm rests. Front panel face, rear parcel shelf and side panels all covered in matching leather. Perfect original dash. Momo prototipo steering wheel and hub. Original rear seats, with lap belts. Coco mats in front. Prior carpet replacement, no front floor pieces. Rebuilt pedal cluster. Newer fresh air blower. Dead pedal.
LED instrument panel lighting. Speedo fully serviced by North Hollywood instruments and odometer reset when engine installed three years ago. Lightweight, non-CD Kenwood stereo and speakers mounted in door panel only. Odyssey PC680MJ lightweight battery with custom mount in original battery box. Hi-torque starter.
Suspension
RSR custom valved Bilsteins, front and rear. Sanders stainless torsion bars, 21mm front and 26mm rear. Elephant Racing Products bushings, front and rear. Factory aluminum cross member, late-style front A-arms, aluminum rear trailing arms. Late Carrera front and rear sway bars with newer bushings. ERP bump steer kit, Lemforder turbo tie rods, new ball joints and wheel bearings, ERP weather sealed rear monoballs. Porsche adjustable spring plates. ERP strut brace.
Older (but still excellent) Wheel Enhancement refinish on 6x15 Fuchs (later style), with rear wheels stretched to 7x15 on the inside (R offset) and 1 ¼” rear and ¼” front wheel spacers. Rebuilt (Stromski stainless pistons) front “S” calipers and rear Carrera calipers and rotors.
Email me with interest: jay [.] zollinger [@] gmail