What would a 993 hot rod look like?

[sea-speak]

hey --

I'm on a multiyear odyssey to figure out my porsche 993 purchase strategy. I'm pretty committed to getting this right -- when I had an opportunity to buy some brand new OEM Speedlines, I did... didn't matter that a 993 to put them on was not on the horizon.

So here's my conundrum. I am really attracted to Singer 911 idea / some of the R-Gruppe cars -- get (or make) a lightweight car, put a bigger than stock engine in it, and go have a ton of fun. I like super-involving cars. Something that's fun on the track but more important, a blast on the street. However, the Singers are $$$ and the problem with the old cars is that they don't have modern safety -- and if I get a car without airbags & ABS my wife will be furious (and won't ride in the car). Some guys might find the idea of their wife never getting in their 911 to be a huge benefit, but I don't. And no, there's no point throwing statistics or anything else at my wife, she knows what she knows.

That brings me to the 993: still aircooled, still looks great, has the ABS/airbags. Of course, it's 3000lbs and would probably be more fun with more power than stock (or with 300hp and 500lbs of weight loss). My question is -- is there any elegant (not kludgy) way to create something like I'm talking about for a lot less than Singer $$$? Or is the only wise thing to do to get a stock 993, put a decent suspension on it, and call it a day?

My wish list for a 993 would be:
-Stripped, cleaned, welded, & repainted
-Great suspension
-More power, or, even better,
-Lose 500lbs.
-Don't care about the interior at all. A little rough is maybe for the best.
-Driver involvement is more important than pure speed.

Any thoughts on the best ways (or if there are actually any good ways...) to go about this? I could use some thoughtful guidance.

[Steve]

Hi,
Such things are quite possible and we do them every day for race cars.

The only difference between such a street car and a race car would be suspension configuration and ensuring that the engine remain smog-legal & OBD-II compliant. Quote obviously, one needs a realistic budget to do this.

A 964 or 993 platform would both contain the requisite safety items to keep your wife happy.

[sea-speak]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your reply. Right, so, what is a realistic budget? And what are the big-dollar pieces of the project / what does the final result look like? Weight, HP, interior (does it still look vaguely like a street car inside, or is the entire interior gone...). Do you recommend starting with a cheapo or roller, or with a straight & clean car?

Curious,

Brandt

ps I am fully aware that Speedlines are heavy, corrosion-prone, etc etc... but they still look the business like nothing else on a 993!

[Steve]

Hi Brandt,

Big dollar pieces would be the engine, transmission, perhaps suspension, and any body/paint that may be needed.

Its very difficult to offer ball-park budget numbers due to all the variables at work here.

The car's condition, mileage, and your specific goals & desires really determine what you'll spend. I would not be afraid to spend $ 60K+ to do this properly.

In order to keep the 'cart behind the horse', whenever one of my clients asks about a custom project like this, I always ask them, "Whats your budget?" as that's what frames the end result. This is how you determine what you can do or not.

You can always call me,..

[earossi]

This is my maiden voyage on Steve's new forum! My caveat is that I am not a professional. But, I have messed around enough with Porsches for the last 25 years to get into a lot of trouble. Which brings me to the 993, which is my 9th Porsche, and probably my last one. I was fortunate to pick up a 98 C2S in my favorite color, Arena Red, about two years ago. Cosmetically, the car is nice. Its a driver, so not concours quality, but a nice car with no damage history. But, it did have high mileage. So, at 107k miles, it failed to smog out here in Chicago. I had been looking for an excuse to get into this car, and I thought that doing a nice upper end rebuild would be the ticket. I had anticipated a valve job, if you will. Well, the car went up on jack stands a year ago, and is slowly going back together today. So, since this is Steve's forum, I don't think he will mind if I share with you my budget......but more importantly, how I arrived at the budget.

These are my opinions, but I have been educated by a number of folks including Steve. First, for a 993, there is not much you can do cheaply to the engine to get more power. Porsche did a nice job on everything from twin plugging to the exhaust system. When I first talked to Steve about doing a valve job, I arranged for him to do all the machine work on the heads. At the same time, I had a discussion not unlike the one you are stepping into with him. Steve's advice was that the biggest bang for the buck to be had for a 993 was to regear the tranny. As you may be aware, the tranny is geared to make the car go something like 180 mph. I was told that the gearing was chosen so that the car could achieve the fuel economy needed NOT to be labeled a gas gussler by the US EPA. So, at 80 mph, you are loafing at bout 3000 rpm. The problem is that the transition between gears is huge. Driving around town requires no more than the first 2 or 3 gears. There is also a huge gap in ratios between the 1 and 2 gears. So, regearing the tranny for closer ratios will feel like you just picked up about 50 hp, according to all that I discussed this with. Steve can do the regearing, or you may get lucky, as did I, and stumble on a Motorsports gearbox that not only has the more useable ratios, but other niceties such as LSD and other internals that make it a nicer box. I was able to find a box that had just been rebuilt for $7500 (which is close to what it will cost you to have your car's tranny regeared ). I then sold my old tranny for $2500 which gave me a nice gearbox for $5000.

My valve job has mushroomed into a total engine rebuild, due to damage discovered as I tore the motor apart. I needed cams and new P&C's. I decided on Web Cam RS cams. I then had Steve upgrade the valving to RS specs to take advantange of the cams. I now have all my parts back from Steve, and all the new hardware needed, and am in final assembly. I was also lucky to find some nice used P&C's (a new set will set you back $4-5K). So, I can tell you that I now have about $13K in engine and transmission hardware including all the machining costs. I am doing all the assembly work myself, and I work cheap! I've had discussions with others of the man hours required to do a rebuild if you have a professional do it for you, and you are probably looking at 60+ hours to do it right (not including the machine work). So, for engine and tranny, you can easily spend $20-25K. Incidentally, the upgrade to RS cams and valves, along with a reflash of the computuer to tie it all together, will add less than 20 hp to the motor, so horsepower is not cheap on these motors!

Sorry for the long email, but this is my maiden voyage on the Rennsport forum! But, that is about where I am today. My car already had an upgraded suspension, which is another area that the 993 can greatly benefit from. You can spend between $3 and $5K on suspension work, but it makes a huge difference in the way the car rides. Hope that helps you on your new owenership. I truly believe that the 993 is the epitome of the 911 design. So, enjoy your car......it will only appreciate with time.