RE: Retro 911 meets retro wannabe 991

[ChimpOnGas]

I'll be honest here, just as I have always been with with my good friend and fellow petrol head Alex Smart.

"I'm not really a rear engine Porsche guy"

But I freely admit I was sold from that day we went to collect Alex's masterpiece prior the grand Le Mans Classic shakedown. That 800 mile return trip pilgrimage to the mecca of motorsport wasn't without the need for a few tweaks along the way, but you expect that after such a comprehensive 5 year restoration, especially one that hides so many clever but respectful improvements & enhancements.

What that shakedown turned out to be was one of the best road trips of my life; good mates, great cars, and a spirit of comradery that was only enhanced by the little mechanical challenges we faced and overcame together. The car now fully snagged & fettled shines as a fitting tribute to Alex's insightful vision of everything a classic rear engined Porsche should be.

The real skill here was to build something that improved on the dynamics and usability of the original while retaining the charm, personality and charisma of a late 60's short wheelbase 911. That's a lot easier to say than do and its certainly a very fine tightrope to walk.

So many of these attempts to improve a classic end in nothing more than a mutant that's neither one thing or another, they often aren't very well planned and executed which quite simply ends in a result that completely misses the mark.

But not here

Having been around this car for a while now I can tell you Alex and the team at Fenn Lane Motorsport have achieved that Holy Grail any true diehard petrol heads seeks.....a classic with all it's charm left intact but one that that actually works in the modern world.

















Congratulations Alex, here's to our next epic road trip mate

[shoestring7]

Nice job, its always good to see a pre-74 hotrod that's not a badged up RS clone. I would take issue with:

Pistonheads bloke said:

Carrera 3s had a naturally-aspirated version of the 3.0-litre lump in aforementioned flame-throwing 930 Turbo, an engine itself a mild development of the legendary 2.7-litre motor that powers the '73 Carrera RS.

The 3.0 had different fuel injection, pistons, cams etc. and the gearbox and crankcase were made of aluminium, not magnesium like the 2.7s.

SS
P.S. Shameless plug for my own built-not-bought 911: http://thecarlistblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/911-p...

[mcelliott]

Absolutely gorgeous little 911, and the colour looks fantastic too. The older cars look so 'right', on the road, and a strong 915 gearbox is an absolute joy to use. That 991 is just plain ugly. Sorry, not for me.

[unpc]

If we ever need reminding what a bloated mess the 911 has become, this is it. There again, you could probably level that criticism as most modern cars.

[HYPESTHYPE]

Could somebody please explain why they went for solxes instead of webers in the end? Sorry if the question is dumb no big porscheguy...

Edited by HYPESTHYPE on Tuesday 25th November 17:24

[Macadoodle]

robemcdonald said:

Nice write up and lovely car. Somewhat diminished by the needless digs at singer.

Have to agree. If I had the money for a new 911 then I'd walk straight past the Porsche dealership and pay a visit to Paul Stephens at www.psautoart.com - best of both worlds. Don't know why some people find modifying 964s to look like earlier 911s so abhorrent. Your money, your car - do what the hell you like with it.

Always loved those little spotlights on early 911s too. I'd definitely be wanting them as well.

[Craikeybaby]

A couple of days before the Porsche PHSS I saw this car while I was walking home from work in Coventry, it looks stunning in the metal. It really cheered me up after a crappy day in the office.

[stuart-b]

405dogvan said:

I just looked at a picture and thought "what in the name of fk do I need 7 manual gears for?"

Seriously - isn't that just a pain-in-the-arse both in terms of finding a gear and never being in the right one - ever?

You probably wrote a bike when you were younger for years with 21 to 28 or more gears.

You'll probably manage OK

[vournikas]

That was a very good read; very much enjoyed it.

Without hesitation - given the choice - I'd have Alex's car every time over the 991. It's a lovely looking resto.

[medieval]

HYPESTHYPE said:

Could somebody please explain why they went for solxes instead of webers in the end? Sorry if the question is dumb no big porscheguy...

Edited by HYPESTHYPE on Tuesday 25th November 17:24

I think early 911s were fitted with silex carbs initially but often then replaced with webers for reliability so perhaps this was a nod to authenticity

[sixpistons]

405dogvan said:

I just looked at a picture and thought "what in the name of fk do I need 7 manual gears for?"

Seriously - isn't that just a pain-in-the-arse both in terms of finding a gear and never being in the right one - ever?

Massively tall cruising overdrive gear so you won't use it often, and I believe there's an inhibitor so that you can only select 7th if you are already in 5th or 6th. Otherwise -as you say - it would probably be rather easy to go 1-2-3-4-7 instead of 1-2-3-4-5

[canucklehead]

gorgeous. and i'm not talking about the 991.

[MC Bodge]

A Great old 911.

The new ones I see around here are looking quite bulbous, with almost comically fat rear wheel arches.

The Cayman and Boxster are a better size.

[ps01]

Lovely restoration. I remember having a good look at this at both the silverstone and brooklands SS's and Alex was happy to talk about it. Good to see the write up now as well.

[Mr Whippy]

robemcdonald said:

405dogvan said:

I just looked at a picture and thought "what in the name of fk do I need 7 manual gears for?"

Seriously - isn't that just a pain-in-the-arse both in terms of finding a gear and never being in the right one - ever?

I take it you have never seen "the fast and the furious"

Or any film that includes a motorbike. They're never doing anything but going up through lots and lots of gears

[strummerville]

Quote of the article for me, is: " Downshifting for an overtake it passed us just as two orange flames erupted from its twin exit pipe. My mum said 'We've gotta get one of those!'" Brilliant - cool Mum, or what?

[j90gta]

How many people would prefer the 991? As has been stated it's nice to see an old 911/912 that has not been tarted up as an RS clone. The lack of spoilers merely emphasises the purity of the original design, unlike the bloated lump it has evolved into. The Cayman is a truer reflection of the original 911 ethos.

[sisu]

medieval said:

HYPESTHYPE said:

Could somebody please explain why they went for solxes instead of webers in the end? Sorry if the question is dumb no big porscheguy...

Edited by HYPESTHYPE on Tuesday 25th November 17:24

I think early 911s were fitted with silex carbs initially but often then replaced with webers for reliability so perhaps this was a nod to authenticity

The Solex carbs issues back in the day
These included
-an incurable flat spot between 3000-4000 Rpm.
-The rocking of the engine effected the throttle shafts, the bushing wore out after around 4000 miles.
-The emulsion tubes were the wrong size.
-Fuel overheating in the overflow system.
-The fuel supply was to small in the joints between each solex carb meaning fuel starvation at full throttle.
-The diaphragm fuel pump at the time would wear compounding the problems listed above.

So they put Webers on the 911 as a dealer recall and they solved these problems.
The problems with the Webers they used were off a Lancia (I can't remember the model) and so the spacing isn't correct for a 911 compared to the Solex.
-The Webers don't have chokes
-Webers require religiously clean fuel to run properly
-The early ones would go dry under cornering or overfill the float bowls unless they were modified. The PMO Webers have upgrades and improvements over the Italian Webers.

So why would you choose Solex's over Webers?
The Solex 40pi have a better flow than the Webers as this is a direct route for the 911. The rebushing, o-ring and a myriad of other modifications people have solved over 50 years make the Solex carbs reliable and fuel pumps are now more consistent.

Just ignore modern fuel injection and the last 30 years and this is as good as it gets.

[BrewsterBear]

Stunning looking 911! And no, I don't mean the kettle.

Did you perchance buy that gearknob from me on DDK?...

[g7jhp]

Macadoodle said:

Have to agree. If I had the money for a new 911 then I'd walk straight past the Porsche dealership and pay a visit to Paul Stephens at www.psautoart.com - best of both worlds. Don't know why some people find modifying 964s to look like earlier 911s so abhorrent. Your money, your car - do what the hell you like with it.

Always loved those little spotlights on early 911s too. I'd definitely be wanting them as well.

PS cars are so over priced for what they offer.

For the money they cost you could have far more fun creating your own bespoke 911 as Alex has done.