Skip to content

964 backdating (2023)

Date
Words
Jordi Edo

Follow the restoration of this 964 backdating project.

Where it started

After long conversations in the workshop and in the bar, we arrived at an outline both sides agreed on.

A backdating is not something you do by the book. It is not copying, it is not “I want a Singer”. There are thousands of details and thousands of scenarios to weigh up, among them what the car will be worth once the project is finished.

That is where Valentin Motors puts the emphasis: that this 911 should have a particular value when it is done, that it should be distinctive and its own thing.

Work in progress

The final result, in progress

The starting point

The donor car was a 1991 964 Carrera 4.

Midnight blue Porsche 964 with Valentín Motors decals and a flat-six on a stand behind
Side of the midnight blue 964 with white mirror and the cover half removed
Front of the midnight blue Porsche 964 with round headlights and three-piece wheels

Mechanicals

On this project we are not taking the 964 out to 3.8. The upgrade is a Stage 1: EPROM chip, air-flow meter, special air filter and a sports exhaust system.

Cooling fan freshly painted in ivory beside the black fan housing
Closed flat-six crankcase on the bench, with the through-bolts laid around it
Three intake manifold boots with new seals, ready to fit
Block, crankshaft with rods and camshafts stripped out onto the tray
The six pistons with their cylinders and the heads, stripped out on the bench
Flat-six being assembled with the timing chains exposed
Fan housing and impeller in bare aluminium, before painting
The six piston and cylinder assemblies lined up on the bench, with rods, rockers and sorted hardware
Engine being assembled with the valve springs exposed and the timing under way
Engine bay of the 964 with the ivory cooling fan already fitted

Backdating the body

Conversion to F-series looks.

Front of the 964 with the bumper removed and a white panel being trial-fitted
Rear of the 964 stripped down, with the rear suspension and back panel exposed
Rear of the 964 in filler, with the smooth CS-style engine lid and the rear screen removed
Front wing sanded and in filler, with the engine bay open behind
Detail of the widened rear wing, with the panel joint being prepared
Bodyshell being prepared on stands, with the steering wheel and dashboard stripped out
The 964 under preparation inside the workshop, among other cars in progress