After what seemed like forever, I've finally finished my Porsche build. It has been a long and fun journey. The car ended up being far more than I initially imagined but Paul at AutoKennel really pushed me to create a "sleeper" RS-style long hood 911. I've now turned it over to Paul to help me find a new owner. He has all the details on his website at www.AutoKennel.com.
1973 Porsche 911 RS Touring/M472 Tribute
VIN#: 129023101
Less than 1,000 miles on restoration
Less than 7,000 miles on engine
Tangerine (2323 or 018) on Black Leatherette
5-speed Manual (915 Gearbox)
3.6 Custom Built Twin Plug Engine
Clean and Clear California title
Straight and Rust Free
Offered at $109,990
There was no expense spared in building this car. To duplicate this car today would easily cost in excess of $150,000! This car was the dream project for a race engine mechanic I’ve known for over 15-years. It all started when he saw Paul's ’73 RS clone about 12-years ago. He had to have one. But, he didn’t want just “anyone’s” clone; he wanted to build a special car of his own. Fortunately, he was very patient and methodical about the process and certainly didn’t rush anything. He started off by hunting for the right chassis. He was very specific. He wanted a straight and rust free 1969 912 chassis. This was the lightest chassis ever built by Porsche and considered the “holy-grail” when building an RS project. These days, it’s almost sacrilegious to cut up a “last-year” 912 for a project. With my help, we found the perfect car here in Southern California. The next step was to strip the car completely to a bare shell and start sourcing parts.
The car was completely prepped for paint and was put on a rotisserie. The car was dipped to ensure no hidden rust and then painted including the floors and bottom. For most people, this is certainly going over the top. Once the car was done with paint, my mechanic friend began putting the car back together. Unfortunately, life got in the way and the car seemed to sit in a “half-finished” state for another few years. He called me and asked me if I wanted to finish the project and I jumped at the chance. I had been driving and tinkering with a 1969 912 for a while and I thought this would be a fun project.
So, I quickly jumped at the chance and took over the build. Using Paul's help, we found all the right bits and pieces to finish the car. The goal was to not build another fancy hot-rod that screamed, “look how fast I am.” Instead, we wanted to do something that not many people had done before. We wanted to build a true RS “sleeper.” While everyone is building RSR, ST, RS Lightweight, and R clones, we wanted to emulate something that would make people scratch their head and ask, “Is it a real one?!” We decided to build a M472 RS Touring sleeper.
The body has custom-built steel rear bumpers (by John Esposito) and the correct aluminum deco trim. Freshly restored factory 15x7 and 15x8 Fuchs were also installed. All the correct bits and pieces were used as you would find on a true RS Touring. The interior is equally nice with an M472 style interior by Juan Ortiz (one of the top local upholstery shops in the area). The door panels are original as well as a correct 380mm RS steering wheel. The reproduction houndstooth sport seats set the right tone for this M472. A very rare early Becker Europa cassette radio was installed. It works great and is wired to play an iPod or MP3 player.
The mechanical bits are what really separate this RS from other clones on the road. There is well over $40,000 invested in the drivetrain alone. Tom Woodford prepared the engine. He used a 3.6 Engine from a 1995 993 with only 5,000 miles on it. Estimated horsepower is over 300. This engine was featured in Excellence magazine a few years ago. To harness this power, Woodford custom built a 915 gearbox from a 1986 Carrera. He added a Quaife limited slip differential and a few gear ratio changes. Finally, Tony and Marco of TLG installed the motor and got it all running just right.
Some highlight mechanical features on this car include:
Twin Plug “RSR-style” distributor
Twin CDI ignition boxes
PMO carbs (46s)
Custom headers with a 2 in and 2 out muffler
Bilstein shocks
Aluminum trailing arms
Rare and original Charlie bar sway bars (front only)
Porsche Boxster brakes.
This RS Touring drives fantastic. It is very mild-mannered when cruising on the open highway. However, when you squeeze the throttle, it truly has a whole other personality. It can climb from 60mph to 100mph at an alarming rate. And, it will embarrass most late model Porsches at the light. We took the car out to R Gruppe at Solvang in May 2013 and did a 1,000 mile shake-down. The car performed fantastic.
BTW, the dash has a small crack on it, but Juan will be doing his expert repair to make it look like new before delivering to new owner.
For more details, please contact Paul directly at 714-335-4911 or paul@autokennel.com
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