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Almeras Porsche 911 Bumpers & Body Kit

The third post in our week of catching up with Yorkshire’s EB Motorsport shares news of these trick Almeras bumper and arch body kits for Porsche 911. Note this picture shows the kit without bumper accordions installed: they would be fitted afterwards.

Almeras Porsche 911 Bumpers: New Deeper Front Spoiler

Formed to fit impact-bumper 911s with standard front wings and SC rear arches, the boys have recently tooled up to manufacture slightly modified front arches and this this deep front spoiler version.

Seen here on the 1975 911S mule used by the manufacturing team to ensure a great fit, the additional depth is obvious. Period pictures from the late ’70s and early ’80s show exactly the same version on Almeras cars of the period.

I know the shallower version looks and works great on rally cars, but the deeper kit was run more in period, as the cars were mainly run on Tarmac events. “What’s the rationale behind producing this deeper version?” I asked Mark. “It looks awesome!” was the answer. Good answer.

Here’s a link to the full range of EB Motorsport Almeras Porsche and 911 SC RS parts.

About Almeras Porsche

Started in 1975 by brothers Jacques and Jean-Marie Almeras, the Almeras Frères soon made a name for themselves on the European rally scene. With two notable wins in wide-arched Porsche 911s on both the 1978 Monte Carlo and 1980 Tour de Corse rallies, the firm became synonymous with a bespoke style of lightweight bodywork, designed to cover wide cut-slick tyres on Tarmac rallies.

Other Almeras wins included the 1978 French and European Rally Championships with Michèle Mouton in a 911 Carrera RS, and the 1980 Spanish and European Rally Championships with Antonio Zanini. I’ve always loved the look of these bodykits and have quite a few Almeras models on the shelves in my office.

 

 

Porsche 911 Backdate: EB Motorsport Panels

Porsche 911 Backdate: EB Motorsport Panels

Continuing our week of EB Motorsport news, I recently spoke to Neil who has used EB Motorsport Porsche panels to backdate his Porsche 911 SC.

Porsche 911 SC backdate EB Motorsport 2

What is Backdating?

Backdating is taking a later Porsche 911 and converting it to look like an earlier car. As the swooping roof line and much of the structural detail of the classic Porsche 911 body shell was unchanged for almost thirty years, it’s a popular way to get classic looks for a lower price.

Neil started with a 1982 Porsche 911 SC. The SC makes a good base for backdating for a number of reasons.

  1. The 911 SC shell was galvanised from new, so while there will be rust it is not always terminal
  2. Some of the rusty bits you change anyway through backdating
  3. The car is very simple and promotes DIY maintenance
  4. The 3.0 engine has excellent power and the chassis is ripe for lightening
  5. The 915 transmission, suspension and brakes are an improvement on an early car
  6. SCs are still cheaper than 3.2s (i.e. better 😀 )

Porsche 911 SC backdate EB Motorsport 1

EB Porsche panels include the ‘longhood’ early 911 bonnet, and early lighter bumpers front and rear. Neil also bought a lightweight roof panel, which he plans to use on the next build stage. “I fitted the panels and vinyl wrapped it in matt black to use the car and decide on the next changes. I also gold plated a few parts and installed a roll cage.

“The plan now is to change it a little, make it more Singer-inspired using EB Motorsport parts, including 911 ST front wings, 911 RSR rear arches and slightly different bumpers. I’ll fit the lightweight roof skin, probably install a centre-fill fuel tank and have it painted rather than wrapped.”

Porsche 911 SC backdate EB Motorsport 3

Ferdinand Magazine’s own backdate 911 project – based on the 1976 Porsche 912E shell I have stored in San Francisco – will kick off some time in the future. I will also use EB Motorsport parts, as the quality is so good. I’m looking forward to seeing what Neil does next on this very usable daily driver-style 911 SC base.

Porsche 911 Backdate: EB Motorsport Panels

Tuthill Porsche win in Belgian Historic Rally Championship

Tuthill Porsche customer and former Belgian Historic Champion, Glenn Janssens, has taken his first win in the Rallye de Wallonie, round three of the 2014 Yokohama Belgian Historic Rally Championship.

Glenn Janssens Tuthill Porsche win Rally (1)

Three Days of Hard Charging

Chased hard from the start by Raphael Borman’s Escort, Janssens could not relax when the Ford hit trouble. Right behind Borman was long-time rival Dirk Devereux in another Escort, closely followed by Patrick Mylleville in a Tuthill-fettled Porsche.

When the chequered flag fell after three days of flat-out action, it was Janssens and experienced co-driver Stefan Prevot who crossed the finish line first, and on top of the championship leader board. The Tuthill Porsche team could not contain its excitement following another strong European win.

Glenn Janssens Tuthill Porsche win Rally (3)

Tuthill Thrilled to Win

“The Belgian Historic championship is a true test of rally machinery,” said Richard Tuthill. “This country may look flat, but the courses demand tough cars and precision driving. Glenn excelled with this win and rightly takes the championship lead.

“Nothing excites Tuthill Porsche more than great competition. Glenn is a great competitor and a pleasure to work with. The championship runs to November, so we’ll be working flat out to keep the car on song, ensuring Glenn and Stefan get the support and equipment required to fight for victory. A second Belgian Championship title for a Tuthill 911 would be an amazing achievement.”

“This weekend, we used three different brands of tyres,” said Glenn. “I started on Dunlop but found more grip with the new Pirelli tyres we used on Saturday afternoon. On sunday I switched to Michelin rubber, which was most effective in this excellent weather. I’m really looking forward to the next round of the season.”

Round 4 of the 2014 Belgian Historic Rally Championship is the Sezoens Rally, starting on May 16th. Here’s some video of Glenn Janssens in action last weekend:

Roof Box on a Porsche 911

Roof Box on a Porsche 911

Now Ted the Jack Russell Terrier is here, I’m probably going to run a split dog guard in the Cayenne and maybe get a roof box for the odd time the whole family takes off in it. Seems the standard Cayenne roof bars are too wide for most aftermarket boxes: need to try and find a Porsche one.

Porsche 911 964 Roof Box

Looking at Cayenne roof box pictures on Rennlist (mostly a deterrent to my idea), I found these pics of Andy Roe’s paint-to-sample 1991 964 C2 Coupe with a Thule roof box fitted. Seemed pretty handy so I dropped him a line.

“At 320 litres, this is more than enough space for what I need,” says Andy, a Briton now living in Bologna, Italy who tours with his family in the Porsche. “There’s enough space for 4 or 5 reasonably-sized bags. I keep the heavier bags in the car.”

Porsche 911 964 Roof Box (1)

People will no doubt ask about the change in noise and efficiency. “No real change in wind noise at 65mph,” Andy explains. “Fuel economy did suffer slightly: maybe 5-10% difference. Some change in the way the car accelerates and how hard you need to brake when fully loaded, but nothing major. I recommend this to anyone trying to make their 964/993/911 more practical.”

No doubt there will be a few haters, but I bet Andy clocks up more miles fully loaded than most of them. This to me seems a great way to use a 911 more often and avoid the dreaded 320 Touring. It’s not going to damage the car and keeps the car in regular use for more than weekend meets.

EB Motorsport Lightweight 1965 911 for Spa 6 Hours

EB Motorsport Lightweight 1965 911 for Spa 6 Hours

Had a good catch up with the EB Motorsport classic Porsche parts brothers over coffee in Banbury last week, before taking a ride in their newly-finished 1965 Porsche 911 at Tuthill Porsche. The car will debut at FIA Masters at Donington this weekend.

EB Motorsport classic Porsche parts 1965 911

Driving the 1965 Porsche 911

What a car! All steel, it weighs 915 kilos without fuel and an estimated 180 bhp from the FIA-certified 2-litre motor. Light weight is great but it is likely to need ballast to comply with FIA papers. Geared to a top speed in the 120s, it’s running at 4k-ish at 70 mph, but put your foot down at 70 and the acceleration will surprise the cars around you on the motorway.

EB Motorsport classic Porsche parts 1965 911 (2)

Nicely finished inside and out, the ’65 is painted in Jo Siffert/Andre Wicky ST tribute livery, and runs Tuthill Porsche’s bolt-in roll cage: something I really want to fit to one of my own projects. The ivory air box has divided opinion: good feedback on Facebook but others are not such big fans! I quite like it.

EB Motorsport classic Porsche parts 1965 911 (3)

The car has just been granted entry to the 2014 Classic Spa 6 Hours. Mark ran Steve Winters’ (Jaz Porsche) 1965 car last year and managed 3:09 race laps in a car he’d only just sat in. Looks like the 2-litre 911 lap record at Spa could be up for grabs this year: will have to figure out what that is.

Enjoyed the chat with EB last week: got a week of EB updates coming on the Ferdinand Magazine blog through the end of April. Next one tomorrow!