Conversion to LWB

[Ian Donkin]

I viewed a RHD SWB '68 car last week that a colleague is looking at buying. It has had genuine Porsche Carrera rear arches grafted on to move the rear wheel apertures further back in the body. The whole body is in bare metal so it was easy to inspect the quality of the work and the job looks to have been completed very skillfully indeed. The rest of the car also appears to have very little tin worm in evidence.

Assuming the body conversion has been done correctly (I believe the torsion bar end holes were used as the reference point for the bodywork graft), is it just a matter of fitting the longer trailing arms / spring plates & associated running gear to make this a successful LWB conversion?

Additionally, would the fact that it was originally a sportomatic equipped car make any significant difference (pedal box etc. aside)? A LWB donor car is already available to transfer all the bits from.

On the face of it, it appears that my colleague could find himself with a hybrid RHD early 911 for not so much money - is there anything he is overlooking?

[Lightweight_911]

In my opinion, the prices for swb models are set to rise significantly in the not too distant future & RHD examples (especially if in reasonable condition bodywise) are fairly scarce...

On the other hand a swb car modified to lwb spec - no matter how well executed - will have a very limited market for resale...

[bjmullan]

I'm with Andy on this one. The car will be worth a lot more in SWB format. Would it be easy to get it back to it's orginal spec?

[Ian Donkin]

Guys

Fully appreciate the advice on returning it to SWB spec, but if my colleague wants to follow through the work that has already been done (the guy that currently owns it has been 'on with' the project for 20 years ), regardless of potential value, is the conversion as straightforward as he is led to believe?

[Luke]

In theory it should be reasonably simple as I believe the trailing arm fittings are in the same position on the SWB cars, as such you should be able to bolt in LWB arms, although I have NOT done this myself so can't say for sure. I suppose the questions to ask are:

Are the drive shafts long enough to bolt up to LWB arms?
Are the SWB spring plates OK to use? (almost certainly not)
Will you need LWB shock (possibly they have a longer throw? (not sure if LWB shocks are in reality any different to SWB)

As for sportmatic I shouldn't think that would affect the rear suspension set up at all.

btw if he needs some Steel LWB trailing arms I've got a pair in the garage.

L

[Alan @ CanfordClassics]

If you go down that route and need any parts then let me know as I have all the bits you will need. They will be taken of my 71 T soon, and includes all the arms, spring plates, brakes, hubs, torsion bars the lot.

Thanks

Alan.UK

[Nick Moss]

If the only conversion work done is the arches I would return it back to SWB. It will be cheaper, assuming the original suspension parts are still available, more fun to drive and worth much more at the end. SWB RHD 911s are very rare.

[ChrisF]

I have been thinking about buying a RHD Long Wheelbase car to convert to SWB as a good way of having a spare shell for my Historic Rally Car as this would almost certainly be cheaper/easier than converting a LHD car to RHD.

The SWB cars are becoming very scarce as are 2 litre engines and I would certainly agree that the best way to maximise the value and interest in the car is put it back to SWB.

[Ian Donkin]

Thanks all - I hear you loud and clear!

The car is still on it's original suspension (it looks kind of odd with the wheels pushed to the front of the arches) and many original parts are present and correct, so undoing the arch conversion may not be beyond the bounds of possibility.

If my colleague doesn't buy it (only working space is holding him back), I'll let you all know of its whereabouts.