Pastel Blue '70E - General Questions

[Trash Smasher]

Hi everyone. I've been lying low but reading the forum pretty frequently. I've realized this is THE place to come for questions concerning authenticity and history / applications of various Porsche parts. So here goes:

I just purchased a '70 911E about 2 weeks ago. This is my 3rd early 911. It has a 911/53 engine in it that has been built to 2.7S (maybe RS?) specs with MFI. The MFI pump tag has been re-stamped as a "19" when it was rebuilt. The car also has a Carrera front suspension w/ Boxster brembo brakes on the front. It has a 901 transmission but 2nd gear is out so I'll either rebuild it, or I sourced a 915 out of a '74 with mag case today so I may go that route.

My plans are to continue to modify the car a la R Gruppe. I really like Freeman Thomas' '69, so I might take the style into that general direction. I'm unsure of what parts I should hang onto and which ones I should replace, I know it's mainly based on my personal preference...

Here are my questions about parts / history / authenticity:

1) The car has a set of 6x15 Fuchs in good condition. They look good from 10ft or so. Probably original, not restored. The part number is 901.361.012.06. I read a previous thread here about these. They appear to have the "hearts" (If I'm looking at them correctly). Not sure what all of the hubbub is about these but apparently they're somewhat valuable. Should I sell them to purchase a set of 7x15's with the matte "R" finish, or have these refinished in matte? I don't want to hack a set of wheels that would be valuable to someone else to restore to original condition.

2) The original owner made a note in the back of the owner's manual that says:

23,906 (mileage) - brakes, clutch, engine, CD ignition.
Stoddard Engine
2.7 litre
10.2 : 1 CR
S cams
230-240 hp dyno tuned

I e-mailed Stoddard to see if they have any records of the VIN number, engine serial number, or the original owner (I provided his name to them). They haven't replied. Has anyone ever had success tracking the history of something like this? I'd like to know if this 911/53 was provided by Stoddard.

3) The car has a "Racemark" 3 spoke steering wheel, black leather in pretty good shape. I was surfing e-bay and saw a guy in Germany selling one for $300 Buy it Now. It was out of a '70 911 as well. Any significance of this part?

4) LAST ONE: This car was originally purchased from Triangle Porsche-Audi in Durham, North Carolina. I'm not sure about the history of this dealership but apparently they're no longer in business as Google didn't turn up anything. Has anyone ever seen a vintage Triangle licence plate frame or know where I can find one? That thread with all of the old frames is killer!

Thanks a million for any knowledge you can send my way!

Jason

[Trash Smasher]

These are from the seller, haven't taken any pics since I took ownership...

[Porsche Rescue]

The wheels are "deep" six Fuchs, correct for the car. They came only on '69, '70 and early '71's. Tires need to be mounted and dismounted from the back side. Easily sell for $300 each, sometimes more.

[Cornpanzer]

Wow, great car!
I would keep the wheels and have Harvey Weidman restore them for you. The stance is right on with that car....cool stuff!

Hope the engine turns out to be what the owners manual states. Gotta be fast!

The Racemark steering wheel was made by Raid and associated with Mark Donahue somehow. I think Mark owned the Racemark branding. Great wheel and very period correct.

[fryardds]

Congrats, that is a neat car. I agree with Dave, keep the deep sixes and have them refinished correctly. I would call Stoddard up and try to talk with the service manager. I bet an email won't get the job done. That would very cool if you document the rebuild from them. Since you have the 915 box and the 901 needs to rebuilt, I would go with the 915.

[ttweed]

Great looking car, Jason! All it needs is some sport seats.

If it does have the Stoddard 2.7 as specced, it would be a great driver, I'm sure. Unless you are determined to fit wider wheels and tires for performance reasons, I would stick with the 6" rims. You would need the 7R rims to be as "period correct", and they will cost you more $$$ than the sport seats!

TT

[Trash Smasher]

What about matte anodizing the deep 6's? Would this be period correct, did Porsche ever use these wheels in competition with the "R" finish? I priced the "R" finish 15x7's from Wheel Enhancement for $1900. I think I could have these refinished for around $250 each? I've got 205/55's on the car now and they would look better on a wider wheel, but they will need to be replaced soon so I might opt for a more narrow tire if I keep the 6's. These are wider at the tread and narrow into the bead. I'd like a more square look on the sidewall.

I really want some sport seats to! Not originals though, I'd like to put a set of the Nurburgring seats or possibly the Monte Carlo's from www.gts-classics.com in the car. I like the basketweave style. I'm also going to replace the wood dash with basketweave.

I'm also planning on deleting all of the exterior chrome trim on the bumpers and rocker panels when I have the car repainted.

But the tranny work comes first. I don't have the 915 yet, I just found one. $850 for it, so I'm trying to decide if I want to spend $3,000 on buying and rebuilding a 915 or only a couple of thousand on rebuilding the 901. I do like the dogleg shift pattern. It adds a sense of nostalgia to the car.

I'll give Stoddard until early next week and then call them. I even offered to pay for a records search, but they still haven't responded yet. They probably don't even have their records from the mid '70's anymore.

[ubiquity]

Congrats Jason. I posted some questions about that same car a month or 2 back, but ended up passing on the car for a few reasons.

Have you driven it yet? Sounds like a very fun car!

I would stay with a 901. There is also a long thread on Rennlist from a month ago on the car.

[Trash Smasher]

Yeah, I started that thread on Rennlist when I was first looking at it to find out about the mods that had been made to it. I've learned a lot about modifying early 911's since then, and as a result of that thread!

I figured my questions about these parts / originality would be answered better on this thread than Rennlist, although I know a lot of people read Renn, Early & PP.

It has some rust in the right front fender, so it needs to be replaced. The rest of the car appears to be rust free. I went to Kansas City, drove it, and bought it. I reeeeaaaallllyyy like the power that it has, that's what sold me. And the color looks much better in life than in the photos. It's much brighter, not as "baby blue".

[ubiquity]

I think there was another thread as well that was started by a guy who ended up buying a ‘72S instead, but I may be getting confused. There were a lot of suggestions about 915 vs. 901 & strengthening these transmissions for the hp.

If you can find some info on the engine from Stoddards that’s a big bonus. The current mechanic for the car knew nothing about the engine specs, just that it felt fast. The owner didn’t know too much.

The other possible rust question I raised in this thread: http://d240157.u39.zeonhost.com/foru...ead.php?t=4314