Which Porsche would you modify/hot rod and why?

Which Porsche would you modify/hot rod and why?

Author
Discussion

Steve Rance

Original Poster:

5,435 posts

230 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
Just a little fun. I chose a 964 because it had the classic lines of an aircooled with modern underpinnings Which allowed some great bolt on upgrades. My build was planned around prioritising driver involvement. I tried to keep the exterior of the car as standard as possible, the but the running gear and set up are pretty extreme.

If you built your own Porsche hot rod What car would you choose, what Direction would you take your build and what mods would you prioritise?

lemmingjames

7,433 posts

203 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
If im allowed a few options....
1. 356A Outlaw (think its the A's rear window) body with a subaru engine in (blasphemy i know)
2. 964 RWB kit/wide arch kit + ducktail + GT3 running gear/engine
3. 964 wide arch kitted safari (aka lifted) + GT3 running gear/engine
4. Putting a wide arch kit on my GT3 (has ducktail, cage, buckets already), some sort of trick suspension

Why - i like the look of 1-3 and know the engines
4. Because i already have the base car


Orangecurry

7,398 posts

205 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
Fun???? This is PH - where is the 'value'?

In the real world, a Cayman, stripped out, track-biased, and put a decent engine in. Cheap to start with, therefore a realistic proposition. I would actually track it, as much as possible, and push it because I can easily find nother shell when I get it wrong.

Fantasy world - wide bodied 964. Priority - suspension, not power. Involvement, not speed. So that's a standard 3.6 turbo, in black? hehe

Edited by Orangecurry on Thursday 15th October 08:55

Porsche911R

21,146 posts

264 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
realistic as a 964 project for me would be £££ with all the bits and a 3.8 >300 bhp engine.
I have already modded a 987.2 Spyder but did not go mental with it , it had PCCB any way so £8k on a few bits and it's a great drive.
Some times open top driving esp at night offers something very special as you hit the dips and crests and you feel the temp change as you do.


So 3 cars newer cars which sit right for me are:

1: 997.1 GT3
2: 997.2 C2S/GTS
3: Cayman R

Why: because the base cars are already good, the cars are modern ish and the paint should be good.

Add £40k to any of those 3 for the top best parts and all 3 would be winners in my book.

My mates building a 210bhp 66 911 so that will be interesting.

So while maybe not the most exciting list as I am keeping it to £110k as it's doable.
aim is 1200kg and 300bhp/ton for the top of my list 997.1 GT3.

https://youtu.be/yUDB5gISxvU very nice this Walker's bespoke lastest Porsche 911

IMI A

9,410 posts

200 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
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997.1 turbo manual to 680PS + wakes the car up.

SV jumped the start. Still not a patch on a hot rod air cooled which also have smile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7svElC12Pw




braddo

10,399 posts

187 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
Steve Rance said:
... I chose a 964 ...
I'm kind of annoyed the 964 has proven so successful for you because I was looking forward to you tweaking your 997 some more hehe


Steve Rance

Original Poster:

5,435 posts

230 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
Still have plans for a 997. I thought that it would be better to sell my un molested CS and look another 997 project instead. I would love to mod an early aircooled or a 356 though.

IMI A

9,410 posts

200 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
I've looked into earlier cars and they're different world expensive to modify properly and need next level of know how and skill. Money no object I'd take something like a 964 and do something a bit more exciting with the engine not that Ive ever found a 964 lacking in this department.

Cheib

23,110 posts

174 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
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I nearly bought two Hot Rod’s earlier this year...one was the grey “Tuthill“ car that was advertised on Facebook...was discussed a lot on here. I paid a deposit and went to look at it, Richard Tuthill was very honest about the car and I didn’t proceed. The other was Mintbrid’s 912 which was a lovely car...went to Holland to see it, unfortunately because of a problem with the alternator I couldn’t drive it. By the time it was fixed Covid hit and someone else bought it. Ho hum!

I’ve since spent a lot of time thinking about buying a 964 RS. Either a great original car (and not touch it) or one that needs some TLC and do a light hot rod job on it. A car that’s sound in terms of bodywork and mechanically....I can’t think of a better car that Porsche has made as a base for a hot rod.It’s relatively light, has a stiff seem welded chassis, LSD, RS suspension, close ratio gearbox etc. So I’d take the original engine out and put it in a crate. Get a 300 bhp plus engine built for it and maybe get some kind of upgraded suspension. Job done. All totally reversible. I’ve been distracted by the thought of buying either a 356 or an early S at the moment though so a hot rod will have to wait.

Yes a 964 RS would be an expensive car to do that too but as a package it’s got a lot of what you already need and is expensive to do.

Porsche911R

21,146 posts

264 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
IMI A said:
I've looked into earlier cars and they're different world expensive to modify properly and need next level of know how and skill. Money no object I'd take something like a 964 and do something a bit more exciting with the engine not that Ive ever found a 964 lacking in this department.
yep older cars = £250k these days :-( it just gets hassle when you talk metal work and paint and buying a donor let alone engine and all the bolt on goodies.
one gets used to speed and imo today you NEED over talking power , as UK B roads are 1 guy at 40mph and 3 lemons sitting behind very close together.
30 years ago we did not have the population boom so a Sunday drive was nice, now you go out Sunday and really do have to over take a lot of cars.
hence 300bh/ton makes sense, if I had a free empty roads for ever 250bhp/ton is fine.

My Spyers just about perfect at what circa 270BHp/ton and you can do the 3/4 car over take and the car has bags of feel.
But on longer bits you do just crave a bit of extra BHP hence me looking at the 997.1 GT3 and > 300bhp/ton.
my 991.2 is what 370 BHp/ton and a bit too fast but bloody fun if you take the risks but still lacks the ultimate feel for the hooning car but it provides in different ways due to the performance on offer.

IMI A

9,410 posts

200 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
I think that many people who mod 911 do not do is set out their vision for what they want from the start as you see awful lot of them up for sale when finished like the lovely purple CC 996 CSR that failed to sell. Mission creep happens and you've paid more for a 996 hot rod than a 996 GT3..

Sometimes best not to over complicate and just buy an RS or GT2 or whatever IMO money no object of course I'd love to build my own 997 GT2 with turbo as a base just like the guys at Weissach as all a GT2 is is a 997 turbo without AWD but can't justify another £75k of unicorn mods to my 997 when I can just buy a 7 GT2.

I would give my right arm to do it though. 800 bhp engine is 25k. Tractive Suspension and AWD delete 10k, gearbox with LSD 10k, GT Aero 30k fitted. But nowhere to drive on public roads and I'd probably kill myself so 993 better hehe


baconsarney

11,990 posts

160 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
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Not a Porsche owner but have come close a few times... For me would probably be a bargain basement 944... the possibilities seem endless smile

Porsche911R

21,146 posts

264 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
IMI A said:
I think that many people who mod 911 do not do is set out their vision for what they want from the start as you see awful lot of them up for sale when finished like the lovely purple CC 996 CSR that failed to sell. Mission creep happens and you've paid more for a 996 hot rod than a 996 GT3..

Sometimes best not to over complicate and just buy an RS or GT2 or whatever IMO money no object of course I'd love to build my own 997 GT2 with turbo as a base just like the guys at Weissach as all a GT2 is is a 997 turbo without AWD but can't justify another £75k of unicorn mods to my 997 when I can just buy a 7 GT2.

I would give my right arm to do it though. 800 bhp engine is 25k. Tractive Suspension and AWD delete 10k, gearbox with LSD 10k, GT Aero 30k fitted. But nowhere to drive on public roads and I'd probably kill myself so 993 better hehe
you like the BHP then lol, I don't want 1bhp more than my GT3 has, what I do want is a 1200kg car on very posh shocks and very posh brakes with a good set of ratio's and a working diff with a set of Carbon recaro poles in it and the lightest wheels I can afford.
300bhp/ton is perfect for me as long as the cars weighs 1200kg. I think you need a vison and you need to have owned ALOT of cars to get to the right vision.
Also you need to forget about status and rare models and the look at me aspect.

if I do 997.1 GT3 who else would think it was a £120k car ? A lot of owners don't like that, they want to be seen in a £120k car not a 13 year old £70k car.
the modded 997.2 GT3 at JZM has NOT sold at £109k so the markets dead for these cars it seems.


supersport

4,040 posts

226 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
I would like an air cooled car that felt modern. I love the light weight and how you can put them about, but it feels old at 33 years old and I have had it for 15 years. But I would like more modern oomph, heating/cooling and toys.

Everything was fine until I brought a Boxster into the household, that was definitely when the rot set in. I think that if I was going on a Euro jaunt I would take the Ferrari, despite having enjoyed taking the 911 on these trips many times.

I still appreciate it on those narrow twisty bumpy roads, but with some modernisation it could be better.

BertBert

18,953 posts

210 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
I'm not exactly hot-rodding per se, but I am upgrading my 69T. I desperately want to keep the awesome light, nimble feel of the car. Slightly stiffer torsion bars, control the roll a bit better with front and rear arbs. So far so good, still light and nimble, but roll controlled. Now to the power. I currently have a wheezy 2.0 at around 120bhp on webers. I don't want to get over-tyred as that will defeat the object. So I am fitting a 2.4S MFI motor at around 190bhp. Perfect.

Oh bugger, that's just a 73 2.4S spec then (albeit with a 901 box)! But will have got there in my own way and all in cost (inc car) of about £82k biggrin

And as for hot rodding a 997 GT3, I am almost certainly going to move on my high mile, super-well-maintained clubbie. Got to be the perfect candidate!

Bert


CarreraLightweightRacing

2,011 posts

208 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
Good to see you back posting on PH Steve wink
The 964 C2 is a great starting point but most are likely to face a world of grief fixing existing issues before getting to the meat of the modding. If I was to go crazy with another Pork flavoured project I'd be taking a 997.1C2S, giving it the Sport Classic look, removing all BS and 200kg, then fit a 4.0l engine, that should make quite an interesting proposition.
Or a simple project would be taking a 996.1GT3, drop as much weight as possible, maybe getting close to -200kg if you're lucky. That would be a wonderful thing. Obviously the weight loss would include a host of exotic materials and special parts.

Robbo66

3,828 posts

232 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
72 car with 340bhp and GT3 crank would be my choice wink


IMI A

9,410 posts

200 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
^^^ that's nuts

IMI A

9,410 posts

200 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
Porsche911R said:
IMI A said:
I think that many people who mod 911 do not do is set out their vision for what they want from the start as you see awful lot of them up for sale when finished like the lovely purple CC 996 CSR that failed to sell. Mission creep happens and you've paid more for a 996 hot rod than a 996 GT3..

Sometimes best not to over complicate and just buy an RS or GT2 or whatever IMO money no object of course I'd love to build my own 997 GT2 with turbo as a base just like the guys at Weissach as all a GT2 is is a 997 turbo without AWD but can't justify another £75k of unicorn mods to my 997 when I can just buy a 7 GT2.

I would give my right arm to do it though. 800 bhp engine is 25k. Tractive Suspension and AWD delete 10k, gearbox with LSD 10k, GT Aero 30k fitted. But nowhere to drive on public roads and I'd probably kill myself so 993 better hehe
you like the BHP then lol,
No substitute for bhp IMO smile

Edited to say you can never have enough power!

Cheib

23,110 posts

174 months

Thursday 15th October 2020
quotequote all
BertBert said:
I'm not exactly hot-rodding per se, but I am upgrading my 69T. I desperately want to keep the awesome light, nimble feel of the car. Slightly stiffer torsion bars, control the roll a bit better with front and rear arbs. So far so good, still light and nimble, but roll controlled. Now to the power. I currently have a wheezy 2.0 at around 120bhp on webers. I don't want to get over-tyred as that will defeat the object. So I am fitting a 2.4S MFI motor at around 190bhp. Perfect.

Oh bugger, that's just a 73 2.4S spec then (albeit with a 901 box)! But will have got there in my own way and all in cost (inc car) of about £82k biggrin

And as for hot rodding a 997 GT3, I am almost certainly going to move on my high mile, super-well-maintained clubbie. Got to be the perfect candidate!

Bert
Sounds fantastic ! Dare I ask how much a 2.4 MFI engine is costing ? My understanding is that it’s possible to get up to 180bhp out of the earlier 2.0 cars (at some expense obviously!) whilst the engine still has enough torque to be great on the road.