This 951 is dedicated to the most wonderful woman I know, my Wife

Without her benevolent understanding and enthusiastic participation I would never have the mental or physical resources to continue my work. She has never once complained or asked me to forsake my project, to push forward when I was ready to throw in the towel. Every time she was there under the car with me holding bumpers, wrenches etc. I realized that I am the luckiest man on this Earth. Before she met me she didn't know what a ratchet wrench with a 12mm deep socket was, but before I met her I didn't know what love was. I am her automotive education and in return she is my inspiration, and for that I say, 'Thank you baby.'

 

Systematic Build Up

Click on the Thumbnails to Enlarge

To build one must disassemble:

First on the list was to get rid of all unnecessary items.What comes to mind but the sticky, smelly and very old interior? When I picked her up I noticed something in her I never saw in pictures, a certain tiredness. You could tell that the life that was left in her was fragile, so with that I slipped her a sleeping pill, kissed her on the forehead and watched her fall into deep sleep before I brought out the angle grinder & dumpster.

                          

Seating:

Fitment of the 996 GT3 seat...oh this baby feels nice! The 996 sliders will fit in the 951, although you must prebend the tabs at the front of the slider assembly in order for them to lay flush with the floor. Seating position is fine for the street, but for the track might be a tad too high with a helmet.

           

Wheels & Brakes:

The wheels were obviously outdated thus requiring a newer, more refined wheel. It had to be open spoke to both cool and show off the newer braking system. The wheels would have to withstand a brake upgrade, so keeping that in mind the 996 Sport Design was chosen. The standard Brembo 4 pot caliper braking system itself is more than adequate for the 951's current output hence the rebuild, however with the larger motor later on an upgrade is hardly unthinkable.

           

Body:

Trial fitment of the body panels proved to be challenging for one man, but still possible. After a fairly labor intensive effort to fit the panels to the stock body I decided it was best (as I have no real paint booth) to indulge in some "garage art" painting. This way I could get just about all of the panel without having to string them from the ceiling.

                     

 

Next on the list was the installation of the fiberglass Euro bumper and the racing wing setup. It was simple & straight forward, the hatch & assembly took less than 30 minutes.

                

With the body staring to take shape it was time to replace the stock bumper with the fiberglass nose Broadfoot built for me. I work at a quick pace so that's why there aren't more pics of the different stages.

               

 

Surgery:

With all the panels fitted its time to start cuttin'! The rear suspension is soft so the quarters would hit the tires, thus the starting point.

First I traced along the rivet line to cut away the most amount of metal for weight loss, later I'll have to weld a patch from the fender to the wheel well. Now I take my 4 1/2" grinder and play. I do have to say, initially taking a grinder to your pride and joy is harder than one might think, for example...what if you slip? HA, that's what makes this project so fun - I just roll where the next mod takes me. Had to cut the outer fender then cut the wheel well its attached to. This gets really hot and very smelly...ahh burning undercoat!

After I let the car off the jack its time to do the other side. Simply rinse and repeat. After having the driver's side under my belt I felt more confident and thus went much faster on the passenger rear. Now its time to reinstall the flares and do the front. Now this was the challenging part. The wheel tubs have to be removed permanently and cutting along the rivet line will only give an inch or so. As of now the front suspension is too soft and will allow the body to roll and hit the tires, so she eagerly awaits the Leda Adjustable coilover kit.

                               

   

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