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Colin knew of a donor car that suited my purpose. It was a 1982 3.0SC and, most importantly, Colin could vouch for the fact that it had no nasty surprises lurking beneath its wings. It also appealed to me that the car had previously belonged to Colin, a bit of a 'face' in the 911 community. One drawback was that the car had a 915 gearbox and, having tried both, I had previously decided on a G50. Reading up on it though I saw that the 915's reputation for high wear was mostly due to sloppy clutch use, and many learned enthusiasts actually preferred them due the authentic feel. Not a biggy, this was a good, solid base car for my project. Sold.
I sent Colin lots of notes about the specification of the car along with photos of my greatest hits compilation of 911 bits. Picking up on my need for things to be done right, Colin opted to use genuine Porsche steel panels. Here are some of the details I specified…
- Engine: Rebuilt 993 3.6L with stage 1 Ninemeister tuning giving 325ish BHP
- Wheels: Lightweight Fuchs (or very high quality replicas)
- Seats: Genuine Recaro S seats re-trimmed (or very high quality replicas)
- Stereo: Porsche classic stereo (old looks but new tech including Bluetooth and SatNav)
- Steering wheel: Prototipo (of course!) with silver spokes and, importantly, with the silver/black monochrome crest
- Suspension: Colin suggested Bilstein. Ok with me!
- Brakes: Colin suggested new discs, Boxster calipers. Again, ok with me
Here are a few of the photos I sent of bits and bobs I had seen around and liked…
The process - 2
After considerable research, I ended up going with an Italian company called D'Eser for the seats (great product, customer service less great). For the lightweight forged alloy wheels we went with the Spanish company Braid (great product and company).
Starting in April, the project seemed to take an age to get anywhere. Before you spit out your coffee Colin, this was just my perception from the photos being supplied to me :-). In fact this fabrication stage involved an immense amount of work that was ultimately responsible for a 'better than factory' fit and finish. But anyway, there's only so many pictures of a bare chassis you can look at.
Finally in August the car was ready to be painted. Three primer coats, each followed by 'flatting' to get a perfect base finish. Once the primer had been applied, all panels were test fitted to ensure a perfect fit. The final colour, Dolomite grey was applied and this is where the photos started to get really interesting. I couldn't believe the quality of finish that had been achieved and I was extremely happy with my colour choice. So rich and it changes hue across the different orientation of the surfaces showing off the curves beautifully. Throughout the entire build I never saw the car in person once. I live 4 hours drive away from Ninemeister and so my only lifeline was photos. In the end this made the final collection even better.
The total painting process took over a month but the result was worth it. Once the final build started, it really felt like things were progressing quickly. All the components that had been purchased started to be assembled onto the car and it seemed like there was significant progress every day. All through September and October I was looking forward to the next set of photos. To see the separate components come together, and work as well as they had in my imagination was extremely rewarding.
By the time the car was complete and ready for collection my anticipation had reached fever-pitch. As you get older, it becomes more and more expensive to recreate that 'kid before Christmas' feeling. I had it spades last Sunday (30th Oct 16), as I was due to collect the next day…
Welcome to Rennlist. Looking forward to more pictures as you get adjusted to your "new" old 911.
Originally Posted by Adam Stroud
I loved the idea of a classic 911. Yes, like many people I've probably been influenced by the hype surrounding Singer, but my 911 enthusiasm has been lifelong, not just a recent thing.
...Also, I wanted my car so I could enjoy the driving experience, not be a cherished investment.
...A customised, relatively recent 911 with practicality, reliability and more power, but the looks of a classic.
For a while I wrestled with the idea of creating a 'fraud' of a car, and I am now aware that many purists have an unfavourable view of backdates. In the end though I thought sod them, I'm going to do what I bloody well like and build the car that fits my requirements perfectly.
Bada$$ guys... Colin thanks for documenting the build process. I just stumbled on this post today and read thru it all. Posts like this is why we enthusiasts keep coming back for more and more. Rennlist always delivers.... Terrific work and attention to detail. Adam nice of you to join the thread and introduce yourself. What a nice toy you have there amigo. The dolomite body color matched with oxblood interior is striking. Then of course the engine sounds like she'll be perfect match for some country roads, great output. Enjoy it!
The day of collection had eventually come round and I was extremely excited. Phone calls between NineMeister and I had become a daily occurrence over recent weeks as we honed in on the final details of the build. Everything was coming together perfectly but, being several hundred miles away, I had yet to see the car in the flesh.
The train ride to Warrington was very smooth and, unlike Jeremy Corbyn, I didn’t have to sit on the floor! I amused myself by downloading the manual to the Porsche Classic radio that I had asked to be installed. I read it cover to cover. Hands free phone calls, iPod integration and sat nav in a classically styled casing. I arrived at NineMeister at about 10am and stood for a few minutes outside, just savouring the anticipation. As I said in an earlier post, as I get older it's becoming more expensive to get that 'kid before Christmas' feeling.
On entering, I met with Andy and he took me to my car. It was up on the ramp when I arrived so my first view of it was it’s underside. And what a nice bottom it had! Everything was totally immaculate. I would have been happy to eat my dinner off the car's underside, in fact, I'd be happy to have a surgical procedure on it! As the car was lowered I was able to see in person the car I had been thinking about for 6 months. It was even better than I had dared imagine.
For my job, I get involved in lots of decisions regarding product design, software design, websites, marketing campaigns etc. I am a very fussy person and if I don’t think the details are right, I can’t stop focussing on it. Well, I am pleased to say that this car had a definite 'rightness' to it. The stance, the wheel sizes, the way they filled the arches, the exhausts, the colours, the panel gaps, the trim choices…everything. I must admit, standing in front of the car, I was slightly overwhelmed and I had a moment of clarity. Just how fortunate I am to be able to have been able to commission this project and build my dream car.
Both inside and out I was, and am, very pleased with the result. It was a great relief that this completely custom car worked as a whole. Having bought new, factory cars before, it wasn't something I've ever had to worry about previously. But with the risk of failure came a satisfaction of having something that doesn't exist anywhere else.
Next up, my experience of driving and owning the car…
11-02-2016, 07:17 PM
