My Turn To Backdate...1974 911

[FHernand]

Several months ago I received an email from Peter inquiring about backdating his already stunning looking 1974 911 RSR. From the pictures he sent of the car, I could see that this was a very special Porsche. I took a trip south to Santa Cruz and met Peter and saw the car in person…I was amazed! Not only was the car well built, but more importantly, Peter’s enthusiasm for seeing the backdate project through was infectious. That’s all I needed to shake his hand and proceed with the project. The project scope consists of installing a long-hood, front and rear fiberglass bumpers, steel framed ducktail, fender extensions, rear 911 R tail lights. You can imagine that these projects are not a walk-in-the-park if you want a perfectly clean look. The fact that this car is a pristine street racing car will challenge me to make all these panels fit perfectly with a few custom fabrications.

A few facts about this beast of car. The car is powered by a 1996 993 big valve w- 1995 DME injection, hyd. valves, early stainless headers, 993 R-134 A/C compressor, 1986 915 transaxle with L.S.D. that pushes the 3.6L power through late Carrera axles. The car is set up with full 935 type front suspension, RSR 935 coil over strut dual spring & rear inverted RSR 934 coil over shock with dual spring set up. RS type door panels, rear cage, RECARO SPG XL seats, 1989 late dash for great large center A/C vents, 1989 A/C controls, brakes are from a 1886 930 Turbo. Wheels are 17x8 and 17x10 3 piece from Lindsey with Fuchs centers and BBS rims. The car was very well built by Patrick Motorsports. Very light and mucho fast!

[AirKuhl]

Oh man Freddie, you really did start a thread, now you're committed to seeing this through.

After owning several different era 911's ending with a 997S, I guess like many of us here I was longing for the feel of an early 911 again. As I like to drive and aren't really ready to curate a significant car, I wanted to find a long hood hot rod.

This car fell into my lap and was so well sorted and fun to drive that I couldn't resist, knowing I could backdate eventually.

One of my favorite albums, Electric Ladyland, has a song called Voodoo Child and another called Voodoo Child (Slight Return). While Hendrix was recording Voodoo Child, somewhere in there while jamming, a new song just kind of emerged and took a life of it's own.

My wife likes to name my cars. Voodoo Child started off pretty basic, just a 12 bar blues, if you will:



But some work a few years ago turned it into something pretty special:





A nice car to be sure, see it's feature in the November 2006 Excellence if you want more details. But some projects are never done and that craving for a long hood never went away. I've spent the past year slowly fiddling with the car, adding and changing small details, basically jamming. Once I got past my abilities, I turned her over to the only guy I know that I would trust with this car, Freddie.

Here's a few teaser shots. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) has begun.




Aside from the obvious backdate we're still not 100% sure where this hot rod will end up. I have some ideas but I'm open to suggestions and ideas. The idea here is to be clean and precise. Metal hood and fenders, retain the latches, and so on.

If there is one thing we quickly learned, NOTHING just fits or bolts on. The welding, fiberglass work and modifications Freddie has done to get gaps and edges perfectly lined up is already incredible. It'll be interesting to see where this ends up.

[FHernand]

Peter, thanks for trusting in my skills. I feel honered to be part of the project. My first task was taking the decklid grille off the old and modifying it to fit the new ducktail. It took some cutting and grinding away the sides and bottom until that grille simply fell in smoothly. Because these decklids are not molded just perfectly, it also took some grinding out some the fiberglass. All worth every effort to custom fit the grille. The custom made 3.6 badge was designed and fabricated by Peter's friend. This car is full of unique details that I will post a long the way. I realize I was not wearing my goggles while grinding so, don't any of you go calling OSHA on me..

[FHernand]

The front bumper air vent opening will also get a black grille that will need some cutting and fitting. Adding the black grille will give the front bumper a nice finished touch and still allow air to hit the front cooler.

[Bill Simmeth]

Looks like a great project. Jam on dudes!

[70tangerine]

great thread/cool history........I will follow it step by step....

[FHernand]

Fiberglass bumpers…what can I say that has not already been said. Well, they are never a simple bolt on application. From a glance at this bumper I quickly noticed I was going to be short on both sides. After a quick comparisons to the old bumper, my suspension was correct, I was short 1½ inch on both sides. My first goal was to eliminate any obstruction that would allow for the new bumper to slip between the two quarters and up against the engine bay rear panel without leaving large holes or gaps. I started by cutting away the PORSCHE reflector metal backing. I recommend leaving the channeling that allow for the rear seal installation. When one opens the ducktail, I like to see a nice tight fitting rear bumper with the original rear engine bay seal. It will take some metal fabrication on the sides of the walls that were cut off to achieve a tight fit. Removing/cutting some of the bumpers top edge at the same radius as the PORSCHE reflector metal backing so don’t toss it for you will need it if you wish to get the correct radius. It’s important to have your ducktail already fitted so when you fit the rear bumper, you can set the gaps between the bumper guards and the ducktail. I like to set this gap at 5mm. I also check how far the bumper guards will stick out from the lower ducktail edge. I like for the guards to protrude about 1 ½.

[Macroni]

I remember reading about this car in excellence..... Surgery on an icon..... Good luck!

[FHernand]

Rear metal work now complete. The two bolt holes on either side of the fabricated metal are what will keep the fiberglass bumper secured tightly. I have added holes on the bumper it self. A seal between the bumperette and fabricated side walls will reduce any rattle or chip the Glasurit paint. As you can see we are short inches on either side of the bumper. This will mean having to do surgery on the bumper and add length. Stay tuned...

[FHernand]

In order to make this rear bumper fit, I had to cut 1" on either side of the bumper. By fitting and securing the sides first, you are able to attach the remaining center piece of the bumper and then brace to the sides securely. This will give you the exact fit. Once fitting and secure, I was able to pull the bumper off and fiberglass away.