In March of 1968 Porsche published a bulletin entitled "Information Regarding Porsche Vehicles Used for Sports Purposes" that provided details, specifications and guidelines on building a car for competitive events such as rallying and circuit racing. This 1967 911 Coupe, VIN 306607, has been built following those specifications (with a few modern mechanical updates). The project started with a collision-free, and minimal rust California Black Plate car. Over 30 tubs were looked at before this one was chosen. A great deal of originality was maintained while many performance enhancements have been made with an emphasis on a recreation of a period correct rally car that would hav been built by a privateer.
306607 was featured in the December, 2008 issue of Excellence Magazine in a well researched, well written (and accurate) article by Peter Linsky.
Modifications include:
Rally Accessories
306607 has been built as a period correct rally car built under the specifications in the March, 1968 Bulletin. This is a car that would have built by a privateer in late 1967 or 1968. Rally parts include:
NOS performance seats: race bucket for driver, performance sport seat for navigator
NOS under-carriage skid plates
NOS H-1 headlights
NOS hood mounted Cibies
NOS through-the-grille Bosch fog lights and grilles
Original Numbered Engine Case - The Rest Has Had Some Modifications!
Using the original aluminum case (a bit heavier but much stronger than magnesium), the engine has been rebuilt to single plug 2.7 liter specs by John Bunin of Werkstatt in Vista, California. Machine work was done by Competition Engineering:
New 2.7RS Mahle pistons and cylinders
Two 2.7S engines were purchased to find a perfect crank and rods
The engine has dyno'ed at 220+ horsepower and 0-60 is - quick (but more fun on twisties).
Fabricated Oil Cooler Lines
Transmission
There are two transmissions:
Original 901 4-speed.
5-speed 901 with Porsche's traditional short gears: A-F-M-S-X. This transmission is used for street, track, autocross and rallies.
Suspension
Modern suspension and brake upgrades, done by German Master Tech in Bend, Oregon include:
Front:
hollow torsion bars
Weltmeister 19mm sway bars
Carrera 3.2 calibers with Zimmerman vented rotors. A-arms with Koni struts (with Koni inserts) and cross members from a '73 911S were installed in order to accommodate the larger calipers.
Elephant Racing polybronze bearings
Strut brace
Turbo tie-rod ends
Dual circuit master cylinder
Rear:
Adjustable spring plates
Carrera 3.2 calibers in the rear with Zimmerman vented rotors using the great adapter kit made by Michael Moran of the Early 911S Registry.
Koni shocks
Elephant Racing polybronze bearings
Hollow torsion bars
The car was aligned & corner-balanced.
Additional Performance & Cosmetic Work:
There was slight rust in the floor behind the driver's seat and under the battery box, and the driver side of the floor-pan and the battery box were replaced to exact Porsche factory specs by Urs Gretener of Gretener Prototye Engineering/Corroserie Gretener. Gretener also installed the rollbar.
There was also slight rust in the seams where the front fenders mount to the tub (fortunately all on the fenders) and in the door bottoms. Repairs and a complete repaint in the original color of Bahama Yellow were done by AutoWerks of Bend, Oregon.
The interior, including carpets, dash, door panels and headliner was done by Autos International.
There are two sets of seats:
Replica Scheel R2's, made by Vintage Seat
NOS factory rally bucket driver's seat & passenger's lightweight sport seat (ca. 1967-1968)
Roll bar modifications, including head restraints, were done by German Master Tech in Bend, Oregon.
Four sets of seat belts:
Period Autoflug 4-point
Schroth 5-point harnesses for sports applications
Retractable 3-point belts for street
Aircraft style lap belts
Two hoods:
Original hood mounted with NOS Cibies for street & rally use
Second hood painted in original color with no lights used for track, autocross and hill-climbs
H-1 Headlights
Through-the-grille Bosch fog lights (NOS grilles)
Two Rear Bumper Configurations
Set of bumper guards with factory nudge bar mounted
Second set of stock bumper guards with no nudge bar
Two sets of wheels & three sets of tires:
For street use, NOS 911R 7x15's in the rear (with 22mm spacers) and deep six with hearts 6x15's in the front - the same combination that the Porsche factory used on the 911R. Yoko AVS 225/50's are mounted on the rear and 205/55's on the rear. The inside of the fenders have been slightly shaved to accommodate the larger size wheels and tires, but no flares have been installed.
For shows, a set of period Dunlops, 500M-15 in the front and 550M-15 in the rear mounted on the same wheels as the Yokos
For sports purposes, a set of 7" wheels are mounted front and rear, with Yoko AO32R 225/50's front and rear.
Planned Uses
As mentioned, this is a purpose built car that has three possible configurations: show, street and track. It's first track event was a Porsche DE day at Portland International Speedway where I drove it in Novice Class. Driven by an instructor in Expert Class it held it's own against Turbo's, GT3's and the like. It recently ran at Infineon (Sears Point), driven by Tim Morris my mechanic, and performed well. Jeff Gamroth of Rennsport in Portland made a few recommendations regarding performance, mainly wheel and tire size, that have been implemented.
Configurations
Show - Factory Correct Rally Build for Shows includes:
Original hood with hood-mounted Cibies
Through-the-grille fog lights
7x15 911R wheels in the rear and 6x15 deep sixes in the front with period correct Dunlop racing tires
Dansk muffler
Factory correct roll bar
Period correct Autoflug 4-point harnesses
All NOS rally accessories listed above
Street - Street use configuration includes:
Original hood with hood-mounted Cibies or second hood with no Cibies
Through-the-grille fog lights
7x15 911R wheels with Yokohama AVS ES100 225/50 street tires in the rear and 6x15 deep sixes with 205/55's in the front
Stainless sport muffler
3-point retractable seat belts
5-speed short gear 901 transmission
Sport Seats or Scheel R2 seats
Track - Track configuration includes:
The original hood with Cibies is replaced by a second hood with no lights.
Heavily modified sport muffler (read unrestricted) with dual outlets
7x15 Fuchs with Yokohama AO32R 225/50 semi-racing tires front & rear
Racing roll bar
Schroth 5-point harnesses
Scheel R2 seats
Interior Set Up For A Track Day
There are also configurations for auto-cross, rally and hill-climb.
Summary
My goal was to be respectful of the authenticity of this car during its build. Despite extensive performance modifications, it's still an authentic SWB 911 a few nuts & blots away from its original configuration. It still has its original engine case, original transmission, original panels and original color. It's performance modifications make it a great car for simply driving in a spirited manner on the back roads of Central Oregon -- or for a variety of sports purposes. Out of about 30 Porsches that I have owned this is my all-time favorite.