bryankloos

Hi all,

Happy new year. I hope 2020 is off to a good start for everyone.

I'm hoping to get some advice on a widebody project that I've had on my mind. I really like the look of the 73RS type, ducktail, restomods, and of course the singer 964 projects.

I currently own a 83 ROW Cab, my first 911, which is entirely too original to wrench on with just 42K miles. While I love this car, and enjoy weekend drives on sunny days, I'm timid to beat on it and wouldn't think of wrenching on it...

I've been working on cars on and off as a DIY garage mechanic all my life and am familiar with mechanical work and maintenance. I can weld a bit, though my experience with body work is minimal though I"d like to learn more. I've rebuilt a few VW engines in my day, and have pulled the wifes Subaru engine a couple times. Im familiar with Ford V8s. I'm not afraid to learn and I enjoy the process of building, learning and acquiring skills and tools through projects.

My son was diagnosed with cancer last year, and the past 7 months have been entirely focused on helping him win his battle. He's doing well, though not out of the woods entirely, but well enough that the family is starting to look forward again and resume life.

I would like to start this project as a means to build a dream car, but to also include my son (and daughter if she likes) in the process and to teach them some of what I know, and to learn/experience new things together. It would be a long term project as we are in no rush as we want to enjoy life and start being a family again. I'm willing to outsource aspects that I"m not comfortable with.

I've been reading and researching and see people using MY 911s, SCs, and 964s as starting blocks for their projects.

Some questions:

1. What are the pros/cons of the above models as a start?

2. What would be a the "ideal" starter car (age, miles, engine etc) other than one with little rust and clean title?

3. Where is the best place to find a good starting car? Most of what I see online is either flipped or extremely rough. I'm assuming a well maintained but higher mileage donor is preferred.

4. What years have the best product support for widebody conversion?

5. What do I need to research and where would you point me?

I'm aware this project will not be cheap. I have a couple jobs and fortunately make a good wage. Given the timeframe, putting money in over several years, I'm semi-comfortable with potential costs. That said, I'm not looking to spend 100K...

All this said, what do you suggest? Am I crazy? Should I run the other direction or jump in?

Any and all help and guidance is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Bryan

pcarhiway

Good luck on your project. You could get in touch with http://johnjamesracing.com/, Call Us1.602.471.0305 -

talk to Jim Hendrix, between his website and asking him a few questions you will be able to get pretty much up to speed on how to get started.

Best of luck in your son's complete recovery!

wildcat077

If it were me , i would pick a G50 coupe as a candidate, you realize it's going to be a long and expensive project , especially if you outsource
the cutting and welding as well as the paint and prep work !

A lot of people have done it with great results , and i'm considering going that way with my 89 one day. My car already lost
it's original value since i swapped a 3.6 in it so the next step is a wide body look for me , but it's going to be all metal and done correctly.
Family is number one priority !

Enjoy your project !

Cheers
Phil

myflat6

Best of luck in your son's full recovery. I am currently doing a project myself, and part of the reason I am doing much of the work in my garage is because I wanted something to do with my son (and daughter as she is interested). I think it is great that you want to do something like this with your son - this seems to be a dying interest and activity. There is plenty of info out there, so keep on reading - but I will give a few basic items for consideration:

- Budget more than you think you will need. It just seems to end up this way, especially if you let OCD kick in as I have with my project. I am now doing a full restoration as I tore the car apart, I couldn't let anything go untouched.
- Plan ahead so that you know exactly what you want to do and how. This will help with the initial purchase and how you tackle the project. I purchased a complete, running car - but have completely torn it down and redoing almost everything. In hindsight, I could have purchased a different car as the base for my project. I also jumped into the project, starting the restoration/mods that I had to undo as the direction of my project changed and became clearer.
- Think about what type of work you can do and what will be outsourced. For example, I am doing almost all of the mechanical work on my car, but sent the chassis to a sheet metal guy to do all of the rust remediation/panel replacements. This will help you decide what type of car you purchase for the base of the project.
- Related to above, if rust/sheet metal/welding concerns you, then anything pre 911SC will most likely have more rust issues to deal with, as there was much less usage of galvanization.
- Middies used to be a great bargain for builds, but prices have gone up on them. Same is true for SC's - they seem to be hitting their stride now.
- It is almost impossible to find a non-sunroof coupe SC and forward. This may not be important to you, and you can always remove the sunroof. I like earlier coupes for this reason.
- Similar to above, there are a lot of things added to the later cars that add weight that you may want to get rid of.

Not sure how helpful this is in helping you chose the base for your project, but some things to think about.

Good luck and have fun!

emerge949

Wishing you guys the best with your son's recovery.

I recently purchased this 964 backdated to a '70 ST (911backdate.com). Car is dialed in and out, upgraded to a 3.8L, and widebody conversion. Fabie is builder, maybe contact him via his site.

st_can

Emerge949, your car is absolutely stunning. Can you let me know what size is your wheel and width?

emerge949

Thanks for the kind words. I'm running 225/45 17 up front, 255/40 17 in the back.