R c r 904

[Cliff Beer]

I had a 550 Spyder from Vintage with a 2.0L Subaru Turbo JDM. While the power was nice, the sound was wrong for the car. I think that the sound of 2.5 L NA might be better suited to a 904 and/or 550.

The bigger problem with the 550 was the suspension (scary at speed) and the brakes.

The car was too fast for its own good. That is the reason for modern suspension, brakes and engine on the 904.

You can see and hear it here YouTube - Vintage 550 Porsche Spyder - Subaru 2.0 Turbo II.

Strangely enough, I have a lot less in the Cayman engine and trans than it would cost to do a hopped up VW or subaru or 3.0L air cooled engine.

As for the delays, while I would like to have it done faster, I also realize that this is a one-off with a lot of trick stuff.

Sounds pretty good Mike. Well, at least fairly authentic.....just like a porsche air four banger engine, lots of clatter and valve train noise, etc.

I like how you're really babying the car and keep the revs down. Kidding.

Cool projects Mike! Keep the pics/vids coming!

 

[Mike]

Cliff, that car is long gone. Sold it to a guy in the Netherlands. I bought the car after seeing one of the Beck cars in Fran's shop. At that time, I Fran also had the 904 body and the real 904. I wanted Fran to do the 904 - but he was not ready so I bought a used 550 for $30k.

I never buy cars to baby them. That's why I don't buy originals (along with the problem of not having enough $$) and some other issues.

I intended to take it to the track and had Fran add a roll bar and some other stuff. When I got a chance to drive it hard, I didn't like it. There are several situations (such as S turns) where the steering wheel and front wheels do not seem to be connected. Everytime it happened, I felt my heart skip a few beats and not in a good way.

If I could fix the suspension, I would consider doing another 550 - I love the shape. Probably would consider a Subaru JDM NA engine.

Fixing the suspension is more than I want to tackle.

 

[Mesa]

The Subaru's can make great power, but I agree with the rest. The "missing plug wire" sounding exhaust note is a real deal breaker for me.

We all look forward to your 904.

 

[Jack]

I recently listened to a Subie 2.5 NA in an airboat with fabricated headers and it sounded great.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Pics of the car primed....as you can see the tail has been flared to give a 930 type flare...the nose has also been gently massaged as we are running 16 inch 3 piece RCR917 wheels
These pics are a month or two old...car is now painted and being sanded....paint is nice blue colour too...not like the primer though

 

[Doc Kaler]

That's gonna be one neat ride! You may be forced into production......

 

[René]

that looks very nice Fran, you have the wide body version? bigger scoops and wider wheel arches, nice.

small

wide

love those little porsches

 

[Hume Fields]

Fran/Mike,
I understand that the RCR904 is in for upholstery. Any new pictures of the 904 with paint and the doors installed? :stunned: :stunned: :thumbsup:

 

[Mike]

Here are some recent pictures. The car looks great in person. The interior materials are really nice - I'll save those pics for later when it is more complete. Great job Fran!

 

[domtoni]

Lovely piece of work !!

 

[Den]

Wow Fran, That's looking real nice. Another fine job sir.

Cheers
Dennis

 

[Dalton Veitch]

That looks lovely, much higher quality than a real one. But it's just not right without an air cooled engine I'm afraid.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Yeah yeah....but its a modern Porsche engine in a modern 904 so it fits right in....:tongue3:

 

[Dalton Veitch]

Gee, you're a smooth talker aren't you? I suppose it's OK then. Seriously, I wish Porsche had continued down this mid-engine road, producing by now the lovely car that you have, instead of their growing fat-arse models.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

They did but they got pricey..Carrera GT springs to mind...

but for real people the Boxsters really drive well and are now dirt cheap in the States and the Cayman really is a cracking handling little car.

Had the pleasure of driving a new 911 Turbo (Cabriolet) recently and it was an underwhelming drive...the same guy has a well sorted Boxster and having driven that too, its much more involving and way more fun to chuck around...

This little 904 is going to be a blast and its really coming together well and looking great...the chassis is aluminum, steel and honeycomb with one off bespoke parts all over it...very sexy little thing.

 

[Garry]

Fran,
You guys keep turning out works of art. We are all thankful that you and your team are around to teach us Novies how to do it.
Garry

 

[Hume Fields]

I seem to have lost track of how this car has progressed. Was it completed and delivered or is it still in assembly? It seems like such a neat package for a very worthy and historical Porsche. Replicas of the 904 seem to be about as rare as the original cars but somewhat less expensive to obtain tehse days. :blank: :blank:

 

[David in Durango]

the only P-car in my vocabulary is Pantera, however I've always loved the pre-917 race cars and that is the secondary mammalian protubrances! (Didn't think I could say t!tz)

 

[Roger]

Nice video with a (short) Piston Heads article.

 

Fran,
Great looking car. Do you have any more photos of the finished car?