New Member RS Backdate Project

[63sven]

Hi everyone my name is Dave and I have had plenty (loads infact) of classic cars but never before bought a Porsche. Gradually a lot of my friends have gone off and bought one and finally one day a good friend of mine explained why he had now bought four and would never again buy anything else. OK, I thought, lets have a look and eventually I bought a 1974 2.7i 911 for what is possibly the cheapest price in the UK. Yes it is a wreck (currently) but at £12,000 it was cheap and I thought that probably with my friend's help I could rebuild it - as an RS replica. At the time of purchase I did not even know the price of parts or what would be involved but how difficult can it be?

Can anyone help with a fairly complete list of what is needed?

Alternatively does anyone have a name of a good quality repro RS parts manufacturer?

The car looks a dump because it is in primer and has been sitting for years in some old garage but a lot of that suits me because I am going to throw away the wings, bumpers, bonnet, boot etc.

A nice new paint job can really raise the look of the car anyway.

Here are a few questions that one of you will hopefully be able to answer:
1 Is it necessary to cut away the rear cross member to fit the backdated bumper?
2 Is it advisable to cut away the front cross member when fitting the long bonnet or is there a simpler way (that isn't a horrible bodge)?
3 Do I need rear wing arches to fit the 8" wheels and where do I get them from?

That's plenty from me for now but if anyone has any advice (or left over parts for sale) on an RS backdate project then it will be gratefully received.

Regards

David

[redrobin911]

There isn't really a list of what's needed as this depends what sort of a replica you intend to build. Just cosmetic or ? Firstly look at all the backdate threads on this forum as there is tons of useful info including answers to most if not all the questions you ask. I have a RSR backdate on this forum if you want to look.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=35828

Be warned that the market is flooded with RS and RSR backdates, some very poorly done and if you going to do one it needs to be done to a high standard - that means full restoration to start with (assuming its a wreck as you say) or you'll devalue your car. Possibly better to not do a backdate and just restore the car to original spec??

If you are set on building a backdate decide first of all what you want the finished car to be?? As mentioned - look at the backdate threads on this forum for inspiration. You also need to consider the cost as this could very easily run away with you - ask how I know......

Wish you well whatever you do.

[210bhp]

Welcome. What sounds cheap to begin with might rocket when you get stuck in.

Starters for ten,

A new pair of correct RS rear wings from Porsche will cost you £1500 each plus vat.
I hope you can weld and paint.

A new reproduction early dash top for an RS will be the guts of £1000

A set of 7 and 8 inch Fuchs wheels correct for an RS fully finished in the original spec will be £2000 min.


I could go on......

Unless you do it right your car will always be a bitsa RS rep backdate which there are plenty of on the market.

Think carefully before you begin. You might be better refreshing the car to standard spec, selling, and then look out for an RS rep already finished.

Just a thought.

Regards
Mike

[sladey]

You can have a look a mine viewtopic.php?f=28&t=6932

Mikes right in what he says about the correct wings etc, but there are many degrees of anorakiness about all this.

You can get something that looks really good without it having to use rare parts. Start looking at what others have done and decide what you thinks works - it's your car after all

[sladey]

Forgot to respond to your actual questions:-

Here are a few questions that one of you will hopefully be able to answer:
1 Is it necessary to cut away the rear cross member to fit the backdated bumper?

You'll need to cut a chunk of it away


2 Is it advisable to cut away the front cross member when fitting the long bonnet or is there a simpler way (that isn't a horrible bodge)?


The proper way of doing it is to unpick the slam panel and weld in an early slam panel. Alternatively you can buy a long bonnet that fits the later slam panel. I think Fenn lane motorsport sell them

3 Do I need rear wing arches to fit the 8" wheels and where do I get them from?

If yours is a 74 won't the rear arches cover them anyway? I think they will. The arch profile is slightly different to the correct RS arches but it's only on the lip and it will take an anorak to spot it

[DustyM]

If yours is a 74 won't the rear arches cover them anyway? I think they will. The arch profile is slightly different to the correct RS arches but it's only on the lip and it will take an anorak to spot it

Nope, a '74 2.7 911 or 911S has narrow rear arches, unless it's a 2.7 MFi Carrera in which case you stole it

I think you need to spend some time reading through threads on forums such as this and Pelican before you decide what route you take with the car. All the info is out there projects like these have been done many times before. As said above though if the car is fairly original and hasn't already been messed with then perhaps you should consider restoring it to original specs, early narrow arch impact bumper cars can look great. We did this one about 18 months ago.

http://www.classiccarreras.com/2.7S%20Repaint.html




Welcome to the forum BTW

Cheers
Jon

[Darren65]

Welcome to DDK David and the best of luck with your project, whichever way you go

The advice about spending time reading through the resto projects is the soundest advice you'll get......lots of different views on how to do things and each has their own merits. You can never learn too much.

Restorations can be a slippery slope so be careful but most of all have fun.

Best of luck.

[Bruce M]

Narrow Impact bumpers are worth preserving I think. However, you don't have to backdate to make a nice hotrod.....

[63sven]

Many thanks Guys for all your advice. I am particularly impressed by Bruce's idea for a hot rod without the full backdate process. That looks great to me.

However, I bought the car with the idea of backdating it. I also go classic rallying and the older cars fit right in (generally the cut-off year is more flexible than it used to be and you can enter in a car up to 1979). I am just back from the Monte Carlo Historique (33 911's this year) and the Classic Spring Roads in Belgium (at least a dozen 911) and I cannot keep up with them in my 1960s MGB. Even if I drive the arse off my MG it isn't possible to keep up with the Porsches when well driven on mountain roads.

However, I can't believe the prices that you guys pay for spares and parts. How can a set of repro wheels be worth £2000?

I can see that I still have a lot to learn before I dive into the work.

Many thanks

David

[63sven]

Many thanks to you all for your replies and input.
My RS backdate project has now gone live, WE HAVE STARTED THE PROJECT!!

It remains to be seen how long and just how expensive it will be to complete the car.

Normally the planning stage of a project is something that I enjoy but with the backdate project there is no list of parts needed to complete the project.
Instead I have thought things through as much as possible and then just started.
Hopefully you will all be able to help me if I get stuck along the way.

The first two parts of my video diary are now live on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5a0f4OdTR0

Alternatively you can search for: Porsche 911 RS Backdate Project

I will be posting other videos as we progress.

Please subscribe to my channel if you would like to be kept up to date.

Many thanks

63sven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5a0f4OdTR0