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Another bespoke Tuthill Porsche 911 is about to depart for a new home, where the classic combination of simple spec and crisp styling is sure to delight its new owner. Imported to the UK from America in 2007, the refurbishment of this delightful LHD 1972 Porsche 911T has been an interesting project to celebrate its first decade of life on this side of the pond.
First supplied in February 1973 by the legendary Stoddard Cars to an enthusiast in Ohio, the 2.4-litre 911T received an engine upgrade to 2.8-litres in 1977, and stayed with its original owner for twenty years in total, before ownership passed to another local Porsche aficionado. Eventually the car came up for sale and was brought back to England.
On arrival in the UK, it was prepared for racing with a roll cage, safety fuel tank and fire extinguisher system, as well as an engine rebuild. The Porsche raced for one event only until being retired for fast road use only. Following a repaint and lightweight retrim, the owner clocked up just 2k miles on the car in this guise before it was offered for sale some years later.
Arriving at Tuthill Porsche as a retired racer with fixed front windows and (curiously for a late 1972 car) without the side oil door, the build recipe began to come together. The decision was taken to fit steel ST rear arches, at which point the paint on the rear quarters was stripped to find an original oil door nestling behind filler applied during one of the previous resprays. This was exposed as part of the bodywork refurbishment, with ST bumpers also fitted in place of the previous items.
Inside, the new owner kept it simple. The old roll cage, front window sliders and other parts were removed and rear seats were refitted. Trim changes were left to a minimum, with a zero-distraction dash behind a classic Momo Prototipo steering wheel and reproduction seats upholstered in the owner’s family tartan. Bonnet-mounted reproduction spotlamps were also added to improve the classic 911’s somewhat limited lumen levels.
Filling the standard front arches and ST rear arches is a set of wide 15″ Fuchs-style alloy wheels, with Pirelli P7 Corsa Classic tyres sized at 235/45 15 front and rear. Suspension and brakes are refurbished Porsche specification.
A quick check of the engine showed all was not well in 2.8-litre land. Our engine builders stripped it to find cracks around the ringlands of all six pistons, so we rebuilt the flat six with 90mm barrels and new pistons, taking capacity to 2.7-litres, with better torque through Weber carburettors and SSI exhaust manifolds. The finishing touch is a custom 2-in, 2-out exhaust silencer manufactured by our fabrication team, which sounds absolutely perfect.
There is a great deal of satisfaction to be gained from driving a no-frills classic 911. This is one of those cars that will deliver the simple pleasure of air-cooled Porsche ownership on any given Sunday morning, while still looking good regardless of what it is parked next to. We look forward to seeing some great driving adventures on the owner’s social media stream!
We are always delighted to help owners achieve their personal Porsche ambitions. Contact us to discuss building your ideal 911 to personal specification.
