It's almost 6 months to the day since I bought Scarlett in South Carolina and she's finally done. Ok, I'm lying, there are a few really minor details to button up before I pick her up next week, but basically she's done. Today I took the day off so I could go take her out for a test drive so we can go over anything that might not be to my liking. This was quite a momentous occasion for me because i never even test drove the car when I bought it so today would truly be my "first drive". I also whipped out the camera because I wanted to commemorate this day before the next phase of her build...paint!
I know, she looks like every other 911, but she's mine, and under that somewhat tired exterior is basically a new car. The boys at Speedsport Tuning did a phenomenal job executing my vision. Yes I got the car with an already freshly rebuilt engine by Porsche but they had to deal with a fairly complex CIS to EFI conversion that was not smooth at all and spent hours tuning the car to make sure she runs perfectly. Heck, she starts up faster and easier from a cold start than any of my modern cars! The transmissions was completely rebuilt and improved upon and the shifts are amazing! People say the 915 transmission is no good and everyone needs to have a G50 but this rebuilt transmission is spot on, smooth and very engaging.
The engine runs and sounds terrific mated with SSI heat exchangers and Dansk sport muffler. It has just the right amount of grunt and ruckus without being annoying. Nothing compares the sound of an air-cooled flat-6. You hear absolutely everything and it just sings to you.
I really love how the interior worked out. It's not complete yet as I still have a number of things to install myself later but the Momo Prototipo Heritage wheel, the Momo Targa Heritage wooden shift knob, the custom red and rotated tach by North Hollywood Speedometer really add to the aggression factor. I love how the black Rennline aluminum pedals add a touch of modern without screaming for attention. Even the rollbar, which I waffled back and forth about doing, I think really gives the interior some "purpose". I was extra relieved that the new key I got cut by a local locksmith from a really worn out copy of one of the original keys actually worked.
As I mentioned in the previous update, the hood and decklid struts were replaced with Rennline mechanical struts and it no longer pushes up on the driver side of the decklid causing extra unevenness.
I'm extremely happy with how everything turned out. The car drives exactly as I hoped. The KW Classic dampers, new Turbo tie rods and refreshed suspension bushings really make the car ride like new with a distinctly German, firm, yet supple, attitude. Once these are matched to wider wheels and fresh tires, I think it's really going to wake up.
We're not at the end of the build yet but while a lot of people tend to always start with the cosmetics, those are always last on my list. The important thing is that the car is fully mechanically sorted and once I've finally broken in the engine, I know I can push her hard without a single bit of hesitation because I have confidence she'll do exactly what I want.
Finally, here's a little video of me taking her out for the first time. It's not terribly exciting. I was making sure not to rev the car out too hard as I'm still well within the engine break-in mileage but what a momentous day this was. She's definitely "Steguis" approved.
