One month to go.. Car Still in pieces!

Well, there's only a month to go before the rally starts. Thank so much to everyone who's sponsored us.. We're up to around £1,400 now which is amazing. Mark is back off holiday and is completing the final assembly of the car now. It's going to be very tight indeedy. We may have to forego some of the mechanical work that needs doing, and just hope the car lasts the trip! Next week we're going to meet with Rani and Flembo for a drink to discuss preparation for the rally. These guys are doing it in a frankly awesome Ferrari 360CS… It's a stripped out racer (though it's still got air-con. Damn). You can go to their web site here: http://www.team79.co.uk/

Post pickup work required

I need to speak to Jaz and JZ Machtech about the further mechanical work I'll need doing on the car when we pick it up from Mark. Ideally I'd like to replace the clutch, replace all the shocks, install poly bushes and turbo tie rods, lower the ride height, oh and change all the wheel bearings.. I'm worried that the bearings might not be strong enough to cope with the new big wheels.

First coat of paint is on!

While I was away on holiday, Mark and Angela sent some pictures through of the latest progress on the conversion. They sent the pictures at 11:30pm, so Mark truly is working night and day to get her ready on time for the Cannonball 8000 rally. As you can see from the pics, a huge amount of progress has been made in the last week. All of the wings and bumpers are lined up, the primer is down, and now also the first coat of orange. All of the rusty sections have been removed and replaced with new parts, the underside has been waxed and sealed up. Putting all of the parts back together can take much longer that you might think Mark warned me though. Andy has quoted me on the last few parts I need to source - exhaust, chrome wing mirrors, and door cards. It's all coming together!

I've updated the main Porsche 911 RSR web site

I've updated my main landing website http://www.myrsr.com/ check it out! There is more information on the RSR replica project, and details on our efforts to raise some money for Cancer Research UK by driving our Porsche 911 RSR accross Europe in the Cannonball 8000 rally.

Latest trip to Wales to check on progress

We went up to see Mark at RS-911 at the weekend to check on the progress of my rsr. We're really against the clock now, as the Cannonball 8000 rally is only 60 days away. Mark has made a huge amount of progress on the car, with all the interior stripped out, all of the rotten pieces replaced, and all but one wing welded in place. He's sourced an original RS rear deck with duck tail spoiler, and it looks awesome! I've now got to get a suitable exhaust, chrome wing mirrors, door handles, and the inner door cards - luckily for me, Marks friend Andy (Lightweight 911 on DDK) was there to offer his assistance with finding these.

It's coming together..

I just talked to Mark, and it seems like things are coming together.. I've got the seats ordered (picture on the left), Marks sourced a replica RSR half roll cage - he's stripped out the interior and he's fitting the rear bumper on today before moving onto the WEVO short shifter kit I bought. We're going up to see him at the weekend to take measurements for all of the stickers we're having made up for the race. I'll get a load of pictures of the conversion off him for the web site then. It should be all primed up and ready for painting in a couple of weeks - woohoo! At least the Boxster is all sorted now - new gearbox, flywheel and clutch. Bit of a nightmare really but it's behind us now. The garage we bought it from helped us out with the final bill in the end.

Progress!

Mark sent me an email yesterday with an update on the project. The front end is pretty well sorted, with the wing and wheel arch on the driver side in place, and the passenger side going on tomorrow. The front and rear bumpers will come over from Sweden soon. He'll sent me some update photos in the next couple of weeks. I'm starting to panic a bit about the schedule as the Cannonball 8000 is rapidly approaching and I know Mark's got a lot to do still. The whole project was held up for months because it was so hard to get the wheels sorted.

The track day pics came through

We weren't out for too long on the track but we got a few good pics. This is one of me and Helen - you can just see the look of horror on her face! We've got the boxster back now after 3 weeks at Jaz Porsche in Wembley. The garage we bought it from (911 Virgin in Uxbridge) are shrugging off any responsibility for the gearbox because we'd taken it on a track day. Of course there is no way a few laps round mallory park caused massive failure of the gearbox, dual mass flywheel, and clutch - the argument continues!!

Oh dear.. Gearbox disaster

The track day was great fun, but we only managed to get out onto the track a couple of times before some odd rattling / clanking noises from the rear made us decide to stop. It had been making a few funny noises since we bought it, and these noises got worse as the day progressed so we retired after lunch. I didn't even drive it hard, so it must have had something wrong with it originally that the driving antagonised. We drove around in the afternoon OK other than some dodgy noises coming from the rear, but when we started it the next morning the rear wheels had completely seized up unless you dipped the clutch. We phoned the AA and got them to transport us back to London the next day :(

Cannonball 8000 Track day on Friday!

Can't wait for Friday! We're doing a Cannonball 8000 Track Day at Malory park. Unfortunately we'll have to do it in Helens Boxster, but it's accomplished track day car. I'll be getting the car graphics delivered tomorrow.. Nothing fancy, just our cars number and a 'http://www.myrsr.com/' logo.

Sold the Targa - boo hoo!

We decided to sell our beautiful 911 Targa. Helen uses it every day, and even though she loves it, it's just not really that practical for the constant sub-mile commute. We found a nice, Boxster at '911 Virgin' in Uxbridge to trade it for. As always with these things, I did my shirt on the deal, but it's done now and Helen's really happy with her new car! The guys at 911 Virgin said the Boxster is in tip top condition - just been serviced etc. Here's the old darling... I hope to get another Targa one day - maybe a pre-impact bumper. I know a lot of people don't like them, but there's nothing better on a hot, sunny day.

Tyres… What to do about tyres. I've heard the Michelin TB15's are good for this kind of conversion, and I've seen some great pics. They cost £220+VAT for the fronts and about £240+VAT for the rears. I've got a bit of an issue though - the sizes don't seem right on the rear. The rears come in two sizes, 295/40VR15 and 335/40VR15 - the first is a little bit too narrow for the rims, and the second is too wide. After discussing this with Mark and his friend Andy, I've decided to go for the Yokohamas that were originally on the RSR. These are only made in small batches once a year, but luckily Mark knows someone I can buy a set off - some luck at last!

Well the good news is that Mark thinks the wheels are very good quality - if a little on the expensive side. The bad news is that we can't find the locking wheel nut to take the old wheels off - aaagh!! Looks like I won't be taking the old wheels back with me after all. I'm going to have to go back and search the house for it. Here she sits.. Desperate for attention!

Oh my god, oh my god, they're ready!!

Finally!! The wheels are ready - woohoo!! I'm going to take a day off work to pick them up from Northampton and drive them up to Mark in Wales. I've then got to take my old wheels and drive them back to Northampton (I'm part exchanging with the new wheels). I have to say, Biagio has done a great job - they look awesome.. If you need any Fuchs wheels for a project like this, or you wnat to resore your current wheels, this is the guy to talk to. Email him on: biagio911@btinternet.com

Wheels - taking forever!!

The wheels are taking ages to make.. I got a phone call saying they're going to be longer than expected. This is a real issue, as Mark can't progress on the bodywork until he gets the wheels in. The rear wheels are so wide, it's risky welding the arches into place until he's sure they'll line up with the wheels.

Taking form

Finally, a little progress. Mark has lined up the fibre glass 'duck tail' spoiler and the rear arches. The arches can't be welded however until the wheels come through!

Damn, that's rusty!!

Oh crikey... The rust is worse than I thought. In fact, it's so bad we fear the car would have split in two if it had had a hard lateral impact (quite possible with my wifes driving). Mark is having to replace the sills, kidney bowls, and B-pillars. Nightmare!!!

Finally - Fuchs are sorted

OK, great - I've found someone! His name is Biagio, and he specialises in wheel restorations - mainly Porsche wheels of all ages. We agreed on a price and a time frame, but it's still going to take a couple of months. Not what I was hoping, but I really don't have much choice at the moment. They're being fabricated in a TUV certified factory in Germany and so should be safe and well balanced. They're over budget and will delay the project by a month or so, but at least they'll look the business. I'm giving him the old wheels to offset the cost of the new ones (slightly). In the mean time, I'll keep on looking for the rare chrome window surrounds.

More sourcing headaches

It's never easy is it? I'm finding myself increasingly frustrated trying to source these wheels. I've emailed and called all sorts of companies but to no avail. This company in Germany can do them, and at a very good price, but not until at least May. This is a real problem for me because Mark needs the wheels as early as possible in the project to ensure that the rear flared arches line up OK. He gave me a month to get him the wheels before it started to impact the project schedule - I thought - 'ha! No problems'. It's now two weeks on, and I've got sod all. I'm also a bit pissed off with myself because Mark pointed me in the direction of some rear quarter windows with chrome surrounds (very rare) on ebay. The auction finished at around midnight and I bid on it…. then fell asleep and got outbid at the last minute by a fiver - AAAAGH!!! . Anyway, I'm going to dedicate this weekend to finding possible sources for the wheels.

Wheels don't come easy..

My main priority with the project at the moment is getting the wheels sorted out. The '73 RSR originally had 9Jx15 on the front and 11Jx15 on the rear - all four with the classic 'Fuchs' design. So, 9 inches wide and the front and 11 inches at the back - an awesome look. Getting original wheels is difficult and expensive though, at least £5K for a set, probably more. I've decided to go for a replica set (didn't take me long to decide) because I should be able to get all four for £2K - £3K. I can't seem to find anyone to do even the replica wheels though!!! This is an original 11" x 15" Fuchs wheel designed for the 1973 Porsche 911 RSR

Found a garage to do the project

I talked to a few people who said they could do it, but their interest faded rapidly when I talked about being on a budget. I was getting more and more frustrated, when I happened across an advert in one of the Porsche mags for a company called 'RS-911'. I gave them a call and got chatting to a friendly guy called Mark. Straight away, Mark was open and frank with me about the project - he seemed genuinely interested in doing the work, and my budget wasn’t a problem in the slightest. My wife (Helen) and I drove up to the RS-911 garage in the heart of Wales and got stuck into discussing the ins and outs of our requirements. Mark was astonished by some of the figures I'd been quoted down London way, as was I when he told me how much less I could source parts and get work done through him. We were given the tour round the garages and shown similar projects being worked on by RS-911 currently. Mark gave us some very good advice, and helped us through some decisions on the work we'd not pinned down. This is a pic of Mark and Helen. At first she was a bit horrified at the thought of leaving her precious car with someone for a few months to cut into pieces and reassemble. Marks calm confidence and professional looking operation soon had her relaxed though, and we both realised that finally the project could definitely go ahead.

Getting the donor car

We found a car up north somewhere.. It had 120K on the clock, but had an engine rebuild done around 100K. The body was a little rotten, but we weren’t too bothered about that as it can be sorted out during the project. It was important that the mechanics were OK mainly, and apart from a rough clutch it wasn't too bad. It did however have blacked out windows - my god, get them off now!!

OK, so this is the plan…

Buy a knackered old Porsche 911, get it backdated to a 1973 Porsche 911 RSR look-a-like, take it on the 2007 Cannonball 8000 rally across Europe and raise money for Cancer Research UK… Easy huh?!