As promised in another thread ("Six 964's go to Spa"), I thought I would post about the creation of my little race tank - Der Kleiner Renn Panzer. For those with a background in Cal look VW's, yes you are right I cannot claim fame to this title, as it is a play on the famous DKP club of 1960's Orange County, LA. At least we are keeping it in the family.
A few years ago with the ever increasing value of the aircooled RS' and my wish to "push on" with track driving, I decided that it would make sense to take a stock 964 and create something akin to a 964 RS but without the concerns of affecting the integral value of the car if I had an "off".
So the search was on. Initially we - Steve Winter from Jaz and I - were on the look out for a Carrera 2 but then we came across Rob Hounslow's C4. This was a RHD car without A/C and without sunroof, so in its own right quite an unusual car for the UK but perfect for our needs. Rob had already done a lot of the cosmetic RS work - lightweight interior and door cards, Cobra seats, front brake ducts and the car also benefitted from a relatively recent engine rebuild.
While not immediately sounding like the ideal, the C4 made sense for a number of reasons. I already had a 964 RS gearbox with a fresh LSD so the rear trans was always going to be put in storage in favour of this. The C4 right from birth came with the 4 pot rear brake calipers, something that the C2 would have to wait a couple of years for. The servo and proportioning valve, while not quite up to 964 RS spec are closer on a C4 than on a C2.
Having agreed a sum with Rob, the car was duly taken to Jaz where the whole of the trans - front and rear - was removed and replaced with the RS gearbox. Steve and team created a few work arounds to keep the "brain" happy as clearly it had lost half of the transmission. All mounts - engine and gearbox were swapped out for RS items. RS swaybars fitted both front and rear. Bilstein PSS10 struts were installed with front and rear camber plates and monoballs. The car was run like this for about 6 months and perfomed really well.
I then got the itch to sort out the bodywork. It was clear that the dreaded tin worm had got in to the bodywork but then this was reflected in the price paid for the car. As ever, when you really started looking things were worse than first thought. Bruce Cooper at Sportwagen was entrusted with the work. How we managed to convince him that a lowly 964 should grace his body shop I don't know but we did. Quite a few months, a lot of cutting and fitting of new panels, installation of a Matter-esque cage, respray and a serious workshop fire later, the car emerged.
It is a thing of beauty. The guys at Sportwagen have truly done a magnificent job. I have glazed over a lot of the work Sportwagen have done but the quality of their work and professionalism through trying times really cannot be over emphasized.
While the car was off the road, the original harnesses and seats were swapped out for some Schroth 6 pointers and Recaro SPG's with painted seat backs and embroidered covers from Southbound. New RS door cards and a light weight carpet set were also ordered from Southbound. I resisted the temptation to totally remove the carpet and go a la Clubsport to keep the cost down - seems weird I know but funds dictated. To remove all the glue etc is a tough, time consuming job so I reined back on that. The carpet set has been trimmed to fit around the cage and looks great.
All the headlining however has gone so it is naked up top and lightweight, manicured fur downstairs - not a bad combination admittedly but I do appreciate the bare all over look too [
]
The central locking, electric windows and radio have all been removed. The flag mirrors have been replaced with the obligatory manual Cup mirrors.
I managed to source a set of 17" BBS split rims which suit the car perfectly and had them fitted with a set of MPSCs - great tyre if a little bit sketchy in the wet.
I picked up the car last weekend and was just blown away by it, having only seen pictures of all the work. It drove brilliantly with so much mechanical grip it really was a revelation. Its first real test was at MSV's Brands Hatch GP day on 11th July. I had so much fun in the car it was insane. I actually came away wondering what all the fuss is about on the modern gear. Sure you are going faster but are you having any more fun? As we all know, there is something very satisfying about hounding down a motor that really should be going a little quicker.
Are there any more changes to make? Very few. The front of the car is going to get some Armorfend to protect the luscious paint; perhaps when the front discs have given up the ghost I'll fit the RS uprights and upgrade the calipers to RS spec and fit drilled discs; oh and the small matter of the motor needing a look at, as it isn't very happy at the moment.
I really cannot wait to get back in and drive the thing!
A massive "Thank You! to Steve and the Jaz boys and Team Sportwagen.
A few years ago with the ever increasing value of the aircooled RS' and my wish to "push on" with track driving, I decided that it would make sense to take a stock 964 and create something akin to a 964 RS but without the concerns of affecting the integral value of the car if I had an "off".
So the search was on. Initially we - Steve Winter from Jaz and I - were on the look out for a Carrera 2 but then we came across Rob Hounslow's C4. This was a RHD car without A/C and without sunroof, so in its own right quite an unusual car for the UK but perfect for our needs. Rob had already done a lot of the cosmetic RS work - lightweight interior and door cards, Cobra seats, front brake ducts and the car also benefitted from a relatively recent engine rebuild.
While not immediately sounding like the ideal, the C4 made sense for a number of reasons. I already had a 964 RS gearbox with a fresh LSD so the rear trans was always going to be put in storage in favour of this. The C4 right from birth came with the 4 pot rear brake calipers, something that the C2 would have to wait a couple of years for. The servo and proportioning valve, while not quite up to 964 RS spec are closer on a C4 than on a C2.
Having agreed a sum with Rob, the car was duly taken to Jaz where the whole of the trans - front and rear - was removed and replaced with the RS gearbox. Steve and team created a few work arounds to keep the "brain" happy as clearly it had lost half of the transmission. All mounts - engine and gearbox were swapped out for RS items. RS swaybars fitted both front and rear. Bilstein PSS10 struts were installed with front and rear camber plates and monoballs. The car was run like this for about 6 months and perfomed really well.
I then got the itch to sort out the bodywork. It was clear that the dreaded tin worm had got in to the bodywork but then this was reflected in the price paid for the car. As ever, when you really started looking things were worse than first thought. Bruce Cooper at Sportwagen was entrusted with the work. How we managed to convince him that a lowly 964 should grace his body shop I don't know but we did. Quite a few months, a lot of cutting and fitting of new panels, installation of a Matter-esque cage, respray and a serious workshop fire later, the car emerged.
It is a thing of beauty. The guys at Sportwagen have truly done a magnificent job. I have glazed over a lot of the work Sportwagen have done but the quality of their work and professionalism through trying times really cannot be over emphasized.
While the car was off the road, the original harnesses and seats were swapped out for some Schroth 6 pointers and Recaro SPG's with painted seat backs and embroidered covers from Southbound. New RS door cards and a light weight carpet set were also ordered from Southbound. I resisted the temptation to totally remove the carpet and go a la Clubsport to keep the cost down - seems weird I know but funds dictated. To remove all the glue etc is a tough, time consuming job so I reined back on that. The carpet set has been trimmed to fit around the cage and looks great.
All the headlining however has gone so it is naked up top and lightweight, manicured fur downstairs - not a bad combination admittedly but I do appreciate the bare all over look too [
]The central locking, electric windows and radio have all been removed. The flag mirrors have been replaced with the obligatory manual Cup mirrors.
I managed to source a set of 17" BBS split rims which suit the car perfectly and had them fitted with a set of MPSCs - great tyre if a little bit sketchy in the wet.
I picked up the car last weekend and was just blown away by it, having only seen pictures of all the work. It drove brilliantly with so much mechanical grip it really was a revelation. Its first real test was at MSV's Brands Hatch GP day on 11th July. I had so much fun in the car it was insane. I actually came away wondering what all the fuss is about on the modern gear. Sure you are going faster but are you having any more fun? As we all know, there is something very satisfying about hounding down a motor that really should be going a little quicker.
Are there any more changes to make? Very few. The front of the car is going to get some Armorfend to protect the luscious paint; perhaps when the front discs have given up the ghost I'll fit the RS uprights and upgrade the calipers to RS spec and fit drilled discs; oh and the small matter of the motor needing a look at, as it isn't very happy at the moment.
I really cannot wait to get back in and drive the thing!
A massive "Thank You! to Steve and the Jaz boys and Team Sportwagen.
