Is there a sports car that lends itself to modification quite like the 911? We think not, and we love a 911 Hot Rod here at Paul Stephens. Indeed, we’ve been immersed in the modified scene for many years now.
What is it that makes the 911 so perfect? Well, it’s a great sports car in standard form, plus the 911’s unique longevity, evolutionary path and a back catalogue of parts that are highly interchangeable, make it an ideal choice for owners who have the desire to create their own take on the 911 cult.
While the scene is now highly evolved, there was a time when the 911 Hot Rod could be a bit more rough and ready, built to be driven and driven hard, which we whole heartedly approve of!
Not So Mellow Yellow
Which brings us perfectly to this Hot Rod 911, that really is right up our Strasse, built purely for fast road driving, with an emphasis on simplicity and a bullet proof drivetrain.
Its Porsche Certificate of Authenticity says humble US spec, Bahama Yellow, 1968 911 E. It rolled off the production line on Oct 10 and was registered on Dec 12 of that year, via Porsche Cars Pacific inc, Burlingame, California.
It is, however, far from humble or standard now. The basis of this build is a full RHD body resto and bare metal respray back in the mid-90s, for Porsche stalwart Peter Andrews, which still holds up very well today.
Although originally fitted with a 2.0 engine, this had been replaced some time ago for a client who wanted a reliable classic car to use for European road trips, a decision was made to replace this with an engine from a later 3.0SC running on PMOs and hooked up to a rebuilt Type 915 gearbox, with an LSD and strengthened internals. The recipe worked well, so a full rebuild took place in 2016 to bring it back to its former glory.
The suspension was also enhanced with front and rear Bilstein dampers, uprated torsion bars, roll bars, Turbo tie-rods and Turbo steering rack, plus Weltmeister tower strut brace. Bilstein dampers again feature at the rear, with later aluminium radius arms, with larger bearings, plus RS spec roll bar, uprated torsion bars and adjustable spring plates. Braking is via SC callipers front and rear, and braided hoses, and modified pedal box bushes.
The original 15 x 6-inch Fuchs remain at the front, while at the rear 7-inch Fuchs are nicely tucked into the narrow arches. All four are correctly factory anodised and detailed and currently rolling on 15in Bridgestone Turenza rubber.
Interior wise it’s lightweight all the way, albeit still fully furnished and carpeted so as to be still civilised. Recent leather buckets, with tartan inserts look smart and offer great support and comfort. A Momo Prototipo steering wheel, as ever, is a tactile delight.
While its US history is scant, UK history is abundant, with comprehensive work and invoices from Jaz, Transend and here at Paul Stephens. There is also some previous owner history claiming past track adventures and driver days shared with heroes such as Stirling Moss, Derek Bell, Dickie Attwood and Vic Elford, with autographs in the driving manual to prove it!
And talking of owner history, we couldn’t help but concur with the wishes of a previous custodian in the history file, which read thus: “It will be sold only to a committed Porsche 911 driver, concerned with the car’s dynamic abilities, and not a museum piece.” Yep, what he said!
