1974 Carrera Coupe - RHD, UK car

[rynoshark]

Ouch...having gone through quite a bit of metal repair on my 76 Carrera I know how hard this is dinging the pocketbook. Compared to yours my chassis was in great shape. Kudos for carrying on and rescuing this rare RHD beast. I'm not sure I would have had the stomach. When I was in the UK visiting Guy he took me around and showed me another chassis (not Carrera) in similar shape. I was impressed with the lengths folks go through to restore the rusty bits in the UK. I don't think that would happen ever here in the states unless it was an exceptionally rare one-off car.

[murph2309]

Yowch Paul....that's a right basket case. Looking forward to seeing where this one goes....that's a pretty selfless challenge you've taken on there.

Good luck...

R

[Ferry Man]

Kudos for carrying on and rescuing this rare RHD beast.

Thanks Ryan.

[Ferry Man]

Yowch Paul....that's a right basket case. Looking forward to seeing where this one goes....

Off the rails?


Well the basket case body upset me so I set about something which seemed more manageable: rebuilding the engine.....

[Ferry Man]

I don't envy the journalists who write about the Porsche RS.
It's difficult to not use the word 'iconic'....

The heart of the '74 Carrera is obviously the iconic 2.7MFI engine.
The mechanical fuel injection on these engines is complex but – if set up correctly – makes remarkable power with superb throttle response.
The new 2.7 had more low-end grunt than the previous 2.4 (making the same torque at 2,500rpm that the 2.4 developed at 4,000 revs) and this helped make the RS engine become the benchmark for all subsequent Porsche motors.
This is the prime reason why the European spec 1974 Carrera is so highly regarded and a superbly rebuilt engine will be vital to ensure the car drives as good as its reputation.

[Ferry Man]

The decision to embark upon the restoration of this particular vehicle hinged upon the reality that the car would share the same power plant and the same driving dynamics as a ’73 RS.
Therefore I decided to do the job thoroughly and commission a well regarded specialist in the field.
Step forward Nick Fulljames of Redtek.
Now I know Nick well - he built my engine for my ST replica - and that engine has served me well over many road miles and many trackdays.
His work is acknowledged to be amongst the best.

[Ferry Man]

A few shots of the engine as found:

[Ferry Man]

[Ferry Man]

[Ferry Man]

I gathered up all the ancillaries and got ready to hand everything over to Nick (it will get confusing with the amount of Nick’s in this story).
It's amazing how much gear you can get in the back of a Jag.

[sladey]

Doesn't surprise me - I had a 3.2 engine in the back of a corsa hire car


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[Ferry Man]

My instructions to Redtek were simple. “Rebuild everything to the highest standard and give me back a brand new engine”.
And so that’s what Nick will do, it will be stripped to bare cases and put back together with all components new or reconditioned.

His words to me as the work commenced were “a good strong 2.7 unit never ceases to put a smile on anyone’s face”.

[Ferry Man]

The key to unlocking the full majesty of the 2.7 engine would be a thorough rebuild.

An engine is so much more than pistons & barrels.
40 years will take its toll, even if the car isn't run.
Seals rot, the fuel can gum things up, components seize and some parts simply decay.
To restore the power and delivery of the esteemed engine would need a careful rebuild of the major mechanical components, the induction, injection and ignition too.
It meant replacing deteriorated gaskets and seals, machining throttle bodies and refurbishing spindles and installing new linkages.
The distributor would require an overhaul and then new plug leads and so on, carefully making sure everything was good as new (or brand new) right through to the exhaust. Even the exhaust tip.

The engine looked good enough at first glance. And hopefully contained no nasty surprises this time...

[jtparr]

His words to me as the work commenced were “a good strong 2.7 unit never ceases to put a smile on anyone’s face”.

Having used mine for the 50 mile daily comute up and down the A3 today, I can only echo those sentiments... ....the throttle response is just sooo much fun....bit thirsty mind....

Look forward to more of this......

[Ferry Man]

I shrink-wrapped the engine and sent it off to Mr Fulljames for appraisal.
I was hoping it would be in good shape because I knew the engine had been rebuilt once before.