I got this shot walking through the paddock at a Rennsport Reunion a number of years ago. There it was, a 917/30, all opened up and ready to be admired, the absolute monarch among the merely incredible peers of the automotive realm that surrounded it. The preparation of the engine had been meticulous; washes of anodized blue were complimented by the shades of gold of the fan housing and fittings as well as the red-brown of the huge distributor caps. The light was not too bad, even in those days of unforgiving transparency film, and it would have been an affront to the photographic and automotive gods not to have made the image.
I’ve always liked the shot, but it does raise some interesting questions. I don’t recall ever seeing an engine that looked this good back in the days when the various 917s were the weapons of choice of the talented cadre of drivers that employed their power to such good effect. So how should an old race car and its engine be restored?
We’ve seen both ends of the spectrum. I particularly recall a red 906 from some years ago; the car had been air conditioned (!) with the compressor painted bright red, as was the transmission housing; the coil-overs, rear sway bar, heads, and even the starter motor were chromed as a counterpoint to the glossy black fan shroud. I seem to remember some carpeting in the cockpit too, but by then my eyes were burning a little too much for me to be sure.
Across the abyss is the other type of old Porsche racer, which sees intermittent wipe-downs of the engine with a mineral-spirit soaked paper towel, and has many crevices featuring grease-dirt that is just a bit too hard to get out. Black spray paint is periodically used to cover up engine shroud rust and minor chassis component rust, and available funds are used to keep it running. Now that I think of it, I used to have one of those.
I’d be interested to know how you think an old race car should be restored (or not)? Right now, I’d come down with the type of work done on the 917 in the image above; maybe it never looked that good when it was racing, but it was tastefully presented at that Rennsport and was basically faithful to its past. What do you think?
View Comments (8)
I believe restorations should preserve the history of the car, not create a new history. You don't want the car to fall apart with rust, but you do want people to know it raced at Le Mans, Daytona, or wherever. It's going to be a subjective decision, but I wouldn't chrome plate anything. That's me.
If the car is original, it should be kept as it is, except a thorough mechanical revamping
as necessary, without any estetical changes.
Anything else is, in my opinion, a vulgar mistake.
I second CGTS on his comment. Nice pic! .)
I also agree with the above. Raced cars are like boxers or pro football players. Each scar or scrape comes from its history. Why erase that. Just like older people in your life, it's nice to see photos of what they used to look like, but you would do nothing to change who they are today. The past has made them who they are today, memories and all.
When we restore 917/RSR calipers and 908 calipers, we go to great lengths to make sure they look as they did "back in the day" to see blue and gold anodizing on a car such as that, really leaves me a bit queasy.
It is interesting and refreshing to consider this blog vs the Scottsdale Preview here which suggests that cars like mine (one of those "across the abyss") are quite unworthy of note or bid unless they've gone thru a 110% "resto" (better than they left the factory) and are collectible white glove art-works, documented as formerly driven by a celebrity driver or "star of some ilk". (and if one does bid on a "lowly offering", it would only be for the purpose of dismantling, dipping and "restoring" it for anticipated ROI)
I suspect there are more than a few of us "old race car" Porsche owners who actually are on limited proletarian budgets and have some time constraints, for whom it is a challenge just to get the old race car out to a Concours so to endure judges' outrage at offensive track rash on the paint, worn carpet spots, holes in the body or engine tin where a competition mirror or instrument was once affixed, smudges & oil smears on the judging sheets ............ notwithstanding keeping it currently active in Vintage or club racing or other PCA approved competition so it can even be shown in CSI. Fortunately i have gotten over being embarrassed by that standard of perfection, and now just find it amusing. When a helpful judge points out "things that i should attend to for next time", I can respond, "Thanks, I'll try; It's an old race car for goodness sake." The real reward comes when somebody walks up later & says "Thanks for bring it out." !
I can really admire a perfect restoration, don't get me wrong, But, old things are an archive and should be left alone generally speaking so future generations, they may want to see how they were: Paint type and finish, panel gaps, dents and dings were a just left good enough and no more back then, the real effort was in getting the mechanics just so regardless. Look at many of the cars at revival meetings, and compare them to pictures from back in the day - they never ever looked close to being so perfect. Originality, once lost cannot be recovered. As one famous Italian builder, supposedly, said of a fully restored car at Pebble Beach: 'I could hardly recognise it as one of my own.'
Interesting post, but there's a perspective that is difficult to ascertain if you're not directly involved with the purchase or restoration of these cars. For the most part, when these cars end their lives, they are old, used race cars. They typically get scavenged for parts, sold to club racers, tossed in the back of old shops, and very often completely neglected. So, preserving them in their "raced" state is usually not an option. There are very few cars that are raced, and then deemed to be "historically significant" so that they are then put away exactly as they were. I know one exception, and that's the Corvette that won it's class at Daytona or Le Mans that's in Bruce Meyer's collection. It was tucked away the day after with the race dirt still on it intact.
But in general, the cars that are restored are incomplete, missing parts, been scavenged, and sometimes crashed. So, restoring them back to "newish" looking is pretty much the only thing that you can do - otherwise they are simply a pile of parts. We've done this now with two race 962s, and I have a third (and possibly a fourth one) on tap to be restored from a pile of parts. The bottom line is that keeping them in their "period correct" as-raced condition is usually not an option...
-Wayne