This is an early RSR bodied 911 that we just finished for a client in southern California. It was a car that he had always been in love with but owning a real 1973 911 RSR was not in the cards. The next best thing was to build one based on the look of the original with a bit of a modern edge. As our client put so elequently, he wanted to create a Dr. Jeckyl presentation with Mr. Hyde performance. To achieve this there had to be substantial alterations, deletions, and modifications to bring it all together.
We started with the drivetrain. The donor engine was a 3.6 liter 1995 993 engine which we built to a 3.8 liter. In order to keep that fabled RSR look we installed a Rothsport slide valve system complete with bright red anodized trumpets and hand laid yellow fiberglass surround to keep the original look. We then fabricated a custom 993 coil mount in the engine bay and integrated the fuel line feeds into it. Also in the engine bay we installed the 993 ignition along with a 3 way switch to toggle between three different maps. 92, 100, and 109 unleaded and next to the ignition we mounted the Motec M600 engine management with a custom fabricated mount. For the exhaust we used a set of S-Car-Go 1.75” headers coupled together with one of our hand built stainless muffler systems.
Next was the transaxle. We had to build something that was bulletproof and could handle the power of a 3.8 liter engine. We started with a early 915 magnesium transaxle and added custom gears, steel synchro’s, billet shift forks and side cover, and Wevo shifter and linkage.
Next up was suspension. We reinforced the chassis to accept JRZ coilovers and Eibach race springs, removed all of the rubber bushings and replaced with Elephant Racing control arm and trailing arm polybronze bearings. We also went with the Elephant Racing ASP spring plates and adjustable swaybars.
For the brakes we went with the Brembo 355mm front and rear GT kit and a 22mm master cylinder and stainless brake lines. Zeufenhaus supplied us with custom 9 x17 and 11x17 3 piece wheels which resembled the original Fuchs wheels of that period.
For the body we used a rust free 1970 911T and added steel RSR fender flares. The color the owner decided on came from his memory of his fathers 1964 356SC which was slate grey. He decided to use the new 2011 grey/black color. Because this was going to be a California car he opted to remove some weight by doing away with the heat and wipers and removing all unnecessary electronics and dash controls. We then added a set of reproduction Cibie headlights to finish it off.
The interior plan was also based on the memory of his fathers 356SC which had red seats. We located a set of original RSR turnbuckle style seats and recovered them in red leather and installed a set of reproduction 5 point REPA harnesses attached to a custom fabricated roll bar. We then recovered the dash cover in leather and covered the speaker grill and defrost ducts. To finish off the interior we covered it in black german velour carpet.
This was one of our favorite builds to date as it embodies everything we can do and our client gave us the freedom to show our abilities. Thank you John!
Stay tuned. This car will be featured in Excellence magazine in the next few months.