My '72 911 S/T project…

[robblr]

I found this car over on the bird this summer, at a time when I probably shouldn't have been looking. At the time, I was 50% of the way through a twin-plug, hi comp 3.4L hot rod engine build which was destined for my '77 911S Coupe. I'd planned to do the whole backdate, S/T flare thing. It's an original, numbers-matching 2.7L california car and after building up a sporty suspension and enjoying the hell out of it, I decided it was too precious to cut up. So late one night, I'm browsing Pelican and I see a new FS post for a '72 widebody project' and light bulbs started going off immediately. This car was rough, non-original, layer upon layer of paint and who-knows-what hiding underneath. The original 2.4 (minus induction and MFI) and 915 were included but the seller had no idea the last time it'd ran.

I was sold.

It's a 1972 911T which was the unfortunate victim of the 1980's forward-date widebody craze. Fiberglass flares, crappy paint, fair amount of rust in the usual spots, no induction, and appeared to be last registered in 2005. The oddball seller had fallen on some hard financial times, needed cash fast, and let it go for considerably less than he or anyone else was asking for a comparable project car. I won't go into detail here, but the transaction was sub-optimal. I was pleasantly surprised when the delivery driver showed up a few weeks later with a car on the bed. And it's here that I'll begin the story.

[Longballa]

Welcome robblr! Looks like you have some good parts on there to help fund the project. 3.4L twin plug will do the trick. Lot's of information here on the 72ST. Look forward to the progress.

[budge96]

Wow I was expecting to see a huge hunk of junk as I scrolled down ! That looks like a half way decent attempt at a turbo look coupe haha
If that’s what you think well beaten and put away wet looks like …your way ahead of the game .Sure web shots are usually hiding the most horrific of condition woes but hey your talking about taking this way back to its roots good luck with your project much better idea than cutting a solid original chassis , Bert

[patrick911]

Nice one Robblr!
Looking forward to see and read about the journey.
Welcome to the slippery slope

[robblr]

Welcome robblr! Looks like you have some good parts on there to help fund the project. 3.4L twin plug will do the trick. Lot's of information here on the 72ST. Look forward to the progress.

Thanks, Scott. I've probably read your ST build thread (And the Ultimate ST Thread...and especially Another Hot Rod, and countless others..) a dozen times or more. I'd never consider a project of this magnitude had it not been for dudes like you who've already been there and documented it. I hope this thread contributes in some small, meaningful way.

Wow I was expecting to see a huge hunk of junk as I scrolled down ! That looks like a half way decent attempt at a turbo look coupe haha
If that’s what you think well beaten and put away wet looks like …your way ahead of the game .Sure web shots are usually hiding the most horrific of condition woes but hey your talking about taking this way back to its roots good luck with your project much better idea than cutting a solid original chassis , Bert

ohhh, buckle up. I have a very storied history of over-romanticizing life through photographs. I'll do my best to capture the bad as well as the good here.

Nice one Robblr!
Looking forward to see and read about the journey.
Welcome to the slippery slope

Just happy to be here, sir.

[robblr]

Let's take a look at what we got, as well as what we don't got..

The Things I Know So Far

• It's a 1972 Porsche 911
• Forward-dated with impact bumpers. Rear is fiberglass, front is maybe factory steel.
• OEM turbo front spoiler
• cheap fiberglass aftermarket turbo whale tail
• Widebody flares: Fibreglass in the rear, steel up front (I think)
• Bad sunroof delete. It appears to be all bondo. It's very cracked.
• Broken passenger side window, main and vent
• 37 miles of lamp cord throughout, presumably stereo conduit prior to window being smashed out
• Interior is mostly original. No seats. Door cards are off a later G-body car, but dash and gauges are surprisingly original and intact.
• Engine serial is 612****, 911/61 which according to my research it's a 2.4L MFI motor from a '72 911T Sportmatic.
• 915 serial is 733****, so out of a '73. Makes sense if the was originally Sporto and converted.
• The engine is missing the MFI and induction, though there were a crusty set of Weber IDA3Cs in a beer box on the floor when the car was delivered
• The paint code plate was painted over. I took a dremel with a sanding pad to it yesterday and unearthed some truth - 415-9-2: Sepia Brown. Well I've already got a brown 911. And a brown BMW R100/7. The bros on the group chat are calling me Skid Mark.
• floor plans look pretty good. will know more once they're stripped.
  
  
  • Sub-List for Known Rust
  • lower door skins
  • bubbling on lower windshield corners
  • front wings (but they're going in the trash)
  • front of frunk (trash or for sale)
  • after I got the rear wheels off, I was able to put my finger through the rear seat pan

The Things I Don't Know...yet

• Original VIN. I wrote to Porsche for birth certificate, and they wrote back saying they never built a car with this VIN. Cool. The DMV in the three states I know it was registered in all say the VIN is good. I hold the title free n clear, it's registered with plates and insured. The DMVs said the VIN change likely pre-dates computers and I shouldn't worry. Well I worry anyway.
• Because I don't know the original VIN, I can't say for certain which trim it was delivered in, with what motor or transmission, nor the original color. More on this later.
• All of the forward-date stuff is attached to the car with rusted self-tapping sheet metal screws and various other Home Depot hardware. This makes the breakdown pretty easy, to be honest.
• I've made very minimal progress on the disassembly. I fear the rust I can't yet see.

[myflat6]

looking forward to this!! not sure if we are allowed to post threads from other forums, but i have a build thread for my '72 here https://rennlist.com/forums/911-foru...rod-build.html in case this is helpful. i was a true novice, so my experience and information will not compare to experts like Scott and others in this community, but might be helpful to others in a similar starting spot. i have the same user on Rennlist if you need to look me up.

[Bill Simmeth]

Hey there and welcome from Delaplane! Looks like a great starting point -- look forward to watching your progress. Longballa is The Man when it comes to 72 ST builds; pick his brains as much as he'll let you.

[robblr]

Hey there and welcome from Delaplane! Looks like a great starting point -- look forward to watching your progress. Longballa is The Man when it comes to 72 ST builds; pick his brains as much as he'll let you.

Howdy, Neighbor! We take the long way through Delaplane to Milwood in my 77 just about every weekend!

[KennethClay]

Will look forward to following your progress! I've got a long-simmering 1971 ST/Hotrod project going. It was also a "forward date", with a Miami Vice overtone. How it started (apologies for the sideways picture):

How it's going:



Good luck with the build--and please post lots of progress pictures!