RockSounds

Looking for advice and input from the forum.

I’m planning on starting my first 911 project and looking at a early 80s 911SC (pref Targa, but coupe is option too) as I’ve read that’s a good first air-cooled model.

I’m located in SoCal so I’m sure there are a few good shops around to consult as well (recommendations welcome). I’m thinking I want something running/driving vs a roller or salvage so I have a bit better starting point but I for sure don’t want a fully restored car.

im wanting to do sort of a resto-mod with modern suspension, brakes and a updated/rebuilt drivetrain so I can take it on rallies and occasional auto-cross. Looking for a fun “toy” /weekend project not really an investment or flip.

also I appreciate any threads on here that would be good to check out.

I appreciate any/all assistance as I’m just getting started down this path.

theiceman

well sounds what you want to do is take a classic 911 and bastardize it. if you are going to do that i would think there are better / less expensive candidates to do that with. What makes this classic a classic is the torsion bar suspension and also keeps the car mass low to the ground. This type of modernization is of course doable but not simplistic and i personally feel massively devalue the car. i am not sure what an updated drivetrain means but from your brief description i would think you are buying the wrong car for the wrong reasons.

just my honest 2c.

Mlrjr

I struggled with leaving mine stock or putting a more modern spin (aka SInger) on it! I have changed my exhaust so far.......no cats.SSI heat exchangers, headers and Dansk sport muffler. I updated the gauge bezels to billet this past weekend and change steering wheel to a Heritage Momo Prototipo and i love it. Added Coco mats and a new shift **** from Built By Basil. New gold Group 4 Campy wheels and new rubber is coming in this week.I have redone all the suspension with new struts and bushings but left it all to stock specs. It handles great so i dont think i would mess with that too much. I will probably lower to euro height at some point. I have updated my bushings in the shift linkage and it shifts great. There is a short shift available

for the early 80's cars with the 915 trans. Mine is a 1989 so it is the newer G50. Tasteful mods and upgrades will not de-value the car as long as it is not a concours type car. Make it yours...do it!

theiceman

those are classy mods which retain the heritage of the car . I have similar mods

Mark Salvetti

Hey, welcome to Rennlist. You just need to be sure you know what you are walking into moneywise, and what you want to really accomplish. Do you want to build a track/autocross monster, or just have fun with upgrades?

You wanting a Targa as a first choice isn't really consistent with a major suspension upgrade. When people talk upgrades it usually means stiffer and more adjustable, but with the Targa flex you won't get the full benefit. But you could go with slightly bigger torsion bars than stock and digressively valved shocks for a sportier ride, and larger roll bars. This would give you much better handling, no need to modernize. If you wanted to completely eliminate the torsion bars then you'll need to weld in chassis reinforcements.

Brakes are fine stock, but you could upgrade to Turbo or Boxster brakes and master cylinder. You don't need to unless you add a lot of HP, but you can.

Not sure what you mean by updated drivetrain. You won't get a huge amount of extra HP out of a 3.0L unless you increase displacement, but the easiest thing to do would be transplant a larger engine. You could go up to 3.6L if you have the money.

There aren't that many build threads here on Rennlist, but there are many over on Pelican.

Just some things to think about.

Mark

Mlrjr

I agreed with Mark. I road raced an old Austin Healey in my younger days and was a solo1 & 2 instructor for many years with the SCCA. People always used to ask me "How do i make my car faster for the least amount of money?"
My answer: "Sticky tires and a driving school!!" & "Always look at the car classifications in the rule book before you mod for solo events.....you don't wont to get bumped into the bottom of the next class up!!"

Bill Verburg

before spending on modifications be sure that what you have is safe and reliable

then unless money is no object do one system at a time

I'd start w/ wheels and tires as that is the primary connection between you and the world
best absolute all around performance w/ a stockish 3.0 or 3.2 drivetrain is 15s 7ET23.3 and 8ET10.6 205/50 and 225/45 tires

bigger can be fitted but at a performance cost, max for street use if you go w/ a 993 engine or similar is 8ET27 & 9.5ET19 225/45 255/40 x17
16s are a wasteland tire wise, but 17s 7-8 & 8 to 9.5 w/ up to 215/40 & 245/40 are a great compromise w/ the available 16s and still give good all round performance

an advantage of 17s is the availability of great wheels w/ desirable custom o/s at a semi reasonable price, 15s while better performers are very difficult to get w/ the custom widths and ETs you will want

after wheels go to bugger t-bars and custom Bilsteins, no bigger than 20/26 or 20/27, stock sways are fine w/ these, Elephant Racing is a great resource here

the bigger the motor the more satisfying the result, up to a 993 4.0 vram can be used but I've found that 3.6 nvr w/RS cams +SW chip is a very nice street motor that doesn't overly stress the trans, if stinking w/ a 3.0 there' not a lot to be had w/o spending a ton more than a 3.6 conversion, The 3.0 can be lot of fun w/ 15s

only trans mod necessary is a 40% ZF LSD

• brakes are going to be fine stock, but if you must Elephant Racing has a really nice bolt on 930 set, don't let anyone try to tell you that Boxster brakes are an up grade, they are not

RockSounds

I appreciate your 2c. maybe I'm overthinking things. I am assuming that 40 years of technology has found some areas to incorporate some modern technology w/o destroying what made it great to begin with.

RockSounds

that's great input, thank you!

Mark Salvetti

No, you're right. There are definitely improvements to be made. Some are simple, like fusing circuits that Porsche (for some reason) didn't fuse (instrument lights, ventilation fans). Lighting is dim, but there are LED kits to improve that. The AC is primitive (but can be significantly upgraded). You can replace the early fuel injection with a fairly modern electronic fuel injection (https://www.bitzracing.com/products/Partial_EFI_KIT/). As Bill noted, tires have seen huge improvements, and you can make suspension adjustments to take advantage.

Engines are much harder to improve without spending big bucks. Keep in mind that in 1979 (the year of my car), the Pontiac Trans Am had a 6.6L engine rated for 220HP. That's not much more than what Porsche was getting out of a 3.0L.

Torsion bar suspension is fine, they are really just springs. But if you want to change out of those, that's a fundamental chassis redesign because of the way the car is built. As Bill pointed out, you can change torsion bar sizes from stock and get better shocks. Not huge money, but an improvement.

Mark

theiceman

i guess a lot of it comes from your scope..you can upgrade suspension with shocks different bars etc. but to " modernize it" with coil overs etc is a completely different ball game..

Bill Verburg

functionally t-bars and coil overs are the same

the advantage of coil overs is in adjustability and higher spring rates, for a street car neither is at all necessary
the disadvantage is cost and additional labor to at least reinforce the critical chassis areas never designed to be stressed

the advantage of t-bars is lower CoM and less stiction and no chassis redesign or reinforcement is necessary

for street use stock w/ t-bars, but do go a little stiffer, How stiff depends on the drivers wants and the local road conditions, for glass smooth roads 22/30 or 23/31 can be used but for typical poorly surfaced rods ~20/26 is as far as I like to go

a digressive revalve of Bilstein HDs takes a little more of the sting out of poor roads

As Mark mentions the electrics are where these cars fall on their faces, headlight relays are a must if good lights are swapped in

RockSounds

I really appreciate all the input in the thread. It's all great info!