needspeed

Reading all the custom builds of 911s got me thinking about building a practical lightweight 911 with 911R characteristics. The only problem is I'm not at all mechanical. Given this minor skill set mismatch, I'm not quite sure where to start. I imagine I should look for a custom builder, but there maybe other alternatives. If you've started a project recently, please share any tips you may have for a neophyte.

race911

The whole concept has been corrupted at this point, what with all the insta-experts in the past few years popping up on the scene.

First I'll ask how much time you have behind the wheel of the various generations of 911s. Then you just pick a budget.

As has always been in the 35+ years I've been screwing around with these things, most of the cars are less than the sum of their parts. No matter how much has been spent.

pcarhiway

A build is a tremendous amount of work and takes a lot out of you and your bank account along the way, buy something like this and enjoy the miles rather than paying bills and chasing parts for several years. This option may look expensive but believe me it is the easiest, the quickest, the least amount of headaches and the most cost effective way to get into an early 911 hot rod.

"The second mouse gets the cheese".

http://autokennel.com/AutoKennel/Ent...storation.html

http://autokennel.com/AutoKennel/Ent...-miles%29.html

73911

The first thing you need to do is sit down with your family. Explain to the children that they will not be getting any new clothes this year. Also, summer camp has been cancelled because you can no longer afford it.

Then tell your wife that you probably won't be going out to dinner for the next couple of years. And, that trip to Paris. That's no going to happen either.

In return for all their sacrifices every family member will be allowed to ride with you as you attend Porsche events.



Let us know how this works out for you.

Richard Newton
Car Tech Stuff

altneunelfer

I agree with the advice offered so far. You should carefully consider whether you want a car, a project, or both. In order to have doing a build be anything other than a bad idea you really need to want both. Plan on spending a long time finding a car (it took me 2 years to find the 73 E I am doing and I saw a lot of junk before I found the right car), another 2 years overseeing the project, and spending in the $100-200k range by the time you are done. I think the comment about it being very difficult to actually improve a 911 is spot on unless you know these cars dynamically very well. I am staying quite close to stock with only a few liberties that will make it more drivable, not less. It is important to get rides in a car similar to the one you want and make sure you like it. You used the words practical and 911R in the same sentence. Get a ride in a car with the sound deadening removed before you build one. Is is deafening, and not in a good way to my ears, anyway. Good luck with the journey and keep in touch. The Porsche 911 community has many knowledgeable and helpful people and you are wise to reach out to them before beginning.

Mark

Speedster911

make sure you put a budget together to plan your build. Once you have it in writing, multiply the time by 2 and $$ by a minimum of 2.5 to be in the ballpark.

As others have suggested, buy an existing car that is close to what you want. Hotrod builds are fun but it is a full time job even if you have someone else do the majority of the work. Spend some seat time in a car to truly figure out what you want / don't want.
Exhaust / headers - W or WO heat
What size motor and how radical a build
Carbs or FI
Stock body or Flares and RSR bumpers
Tire size
paint, how much rust will you discover when you strip it
How chopped up is the wiring harness from PO's add-ons
Suspension upgrades
Rubber seal replacements
Trans gearing
Interior
The nickel and dime stuff that never stops when you are in the middle of a project if you are doing it right. Good luck in your search- they are fun cars to have.

Bleek

Take the sage advice already given and run for the hills. You'll have much more fun buying a car, any car, and driving it than living in purgatory for 2 years.

My dream hotrod has so far consumed all my play money, a minty 70k mile 87 911 coupe, and a super nice 71 Mercedes 280 3.5 SE Coupe. Like some terrifying Porsche black hole, it is looking to consume additional cars.....cause you know, you don't get off light with a kick to the *****, which is exactly what it is.

This is what a slippery slope looks like:

needspeed

Thanks for all the great advice. I've been thinking more about all this. My current thinking is to start with a well maintained '86-'89 Carrera Coupe and drive it for a while then decide what to do with it. I'm currently driving a 991 TTS and am not sure if I can actually give up some amenities like AC or radio.

Spyerx

To do it right take your 50k Carrera, add at least 100k to it, and 2 years. And it'll be worth maybe 75 when done.

Go look at my 964 build. I'm not done yet. And I didn't paint it, build the motor, or do trans work other than lwfw. I've done everything else.

Basically, visualize what you want,meet budget, expect to double it. I knew what I was getting into so I'm only 10% over where I thought I'd be. But haven't build the motor yet. That will hurt.

Mondrian

I lost $500 on your white 77 at Autokennel pcarhiway as PPI showed 35% leak, why would a factory crate engine with less than 30k miles have 35% leak? No idea about rest of car as I didn't go through with a full PPI. Also the frunk lid is a short hood that has been extended by welding/bonding metal sheet to it. It might also need a fresh lick of paint as it seems the car did not have a proper full respray after the backdating.

OP - I have been looking for a good backdate for a while and problem is more often than not either the PO skimmed in certain areas or there is a story or car is not done according to your taste so you end up with a compromise & might have to spend a whole heap more to make it right for you.

Look at it this way, if you spent 2 years and $150k of your hard earned cash to build your dream car you'd probably want to keep it for a good number of years and not likely to part with it after a few months for a $50k hit.

Speedster911

Agree on your statement about selling a few months after completion -Why? Those of us who have taken the plunge to build a car we want, wouldn't sell them - not for a long time. I hope my grandkids want my cars but all my cars are " dead man cars"

It took me close to two years to find a solid car I felt worthy of my build and it still had issues. There is a lot of junk out there and even builds that folks have spent a lot of money on may not be done right. I think part of the reason for that is $$$ , people get tired of writing checks and corners start to get cut towards the finishing stages. I once bought a home with solid interior doors for every room, $400 each - door handles were $7 each from HD. Light fixtures were $20 each but all walls/ ceilings were labor intensive custom plaster. Guy ran out of money as he was finishing the build.

To those that are currently working on a build- wishing you success and hope you truly enjoy your special car when completed. I am on the beginning stages of what I hope is a two year build.

rstarga

Sounds like an excellent plan. You might decide to do nothing to it. If you want to get deeper, remember the phrase above, "the second mouse gets the cheese"
Whatever you want, someone else has probably built something very close.

Bleek

Well, sounds like you got other cars to keep you happy while building, and, if undaunted by the costs and scary stories, then it may be just what you need. If nothing else, it will be a heck of a learning experience and a one of a kind car built to taste, and that's pretty damn rewarding.

As far as building as you go, good idea if you're a constant tinkerer. I wanted mine to be done all at once for this build, and that might be a consideration if you got another toy already. Feels like you get to reveal it to yourself like a self made Overhaulin Episode.

mooty

efficient way to a hot rod?
I wasn't born yesterday
I have yet to see one less than $300,000 that I would ride in let alone own
not cheap way to it. I looked for 3 years

race911

Really now. The '73 faux RS I'll have about $45K in, but yes legacy cost on the shell. If I bother to paint it, add going rate for whatever guy I can scrounge up to do it on the relative cheap. Similar that I've had in the past, what I'll call mid pack Spec 911. So, ~2:05 Thunderhill. (Similar car as it was in black, circa 1992, prior to me, then Erik messing around with it: https://rennlist.com/forums/911-forum/899358-74-911-of-9-lives.html)

I challenge you to come up to my cousin's and find a flaw with the '69E he's doing. But, you know, he's only finishing this one in front of it. Give him $300K, and he'll probably even take a leave of absence from his Apple consulting gig.