I have recently re-joined the Club after a twenty year absence (I used to own a beautiful Polar Silver 1996 993 C2 Manual Coupe before children arrived) and have also purchased a 1972 T Coupe in need of restoration which is being shipped from the USA at present.
Interestingly it was supplied new to Hawaii and has resided there ever since, with the last owner having owned it since 1984. It appears to be in sound condition throughout with only some superficial rust on the lower doors and the engine turns freely by hand.
However I have obtained a CoA-type record for it and examined the chassis plate and various stamps on the car and it is clear that it has been resprayed at some point from the original Tangerine to Burgundy and it is not matching numbers (the originally-supplied 4-speed gearbox was changed to a 5-speed (1974-dated gearbox code visible) and furthermore the 2.4 MFI engine bears a 1973 number. I have written to the previous owner in Hawaii to see if he can provide some insight into why and when these changes happened and hope to hear back in due course.
I have always had an interest in the ST competition cars of 1970-72 and I also wanted a 1972 oil-flap car (of which not many were made) so when I found this car I felt it would it make an ideal donor car for an exact recreation of the GeLo Racing Team M491 2.5 ST (supplied from the factory in Tangerine) as it raced at Le Mans (and be super-accurate and obtain FIA HTP papers for it in the process). As the engine will be significantly changed and I am proposing to fit ‘Nurburgring’ ratios to the gearbox, matching numbers are arguably not so important.
However, sourcing genuine ‘72 or NOS ST parts will be a challenge (and expensive) however, so the alternative to an ST replica would be to restore it back to original T specification (accepting it still won‘t be matching numbers and I’m not sure I would want to put 4-speed internals back in either).
So before I start out on this project, I would be keen to hear from other Club members as to what they think about this and what they might be inclined to do in the same circumstances as well as any advice regarding experiences of restoration specialists (good, bad and ugly).
Look forward to hearing.
Interestingly it was supplied new to Hawaii and has resided there ever since, with the last owner having owned it since 1984. It appears to be in sound condition throughout with only some superficial rust on the lower doors and the engine turns freely by hand.
However I have obtained a CoA-type record for it and examined the chassis plate and various stamps on the car and it is clear that it has been resprayed at some point from the original Tangerine to Burgundy and it is not matching numbers (the originally-supplied 4-speed gearbox was changed to a 5-speed (1974-dated gearbox code visible) and furthermore the 2.4 MFI engine bears a 1973 number. I have written to the previous owner in Hawaii to see if he can provide some insight into why and when these changes happened and hope to hear back in due course.
I have always had an interest in the ST competition cars of 1970-72 and I also wanted a 1972 oil-flap car (of which not many were made) so when I found this car I felt it would it make an ideal donor car for an exact recreation of the GeLo Racing Team M491 2.5 ST (supplied from the factory in Tangerine) as it raced at Le Mans (and be super-accurate and obtain FIA HTP papers for it in the process). As the engine will be significantly changed and I am proposing to fit ‘Nurburgring’ ratios to the gearbox, matching numbers are arguably not so important.
However, sourcing genuine ‘72 or NOS ST parts will be a challenge (and expensive) however, so the alternative to an ST replica would be to restore it back to original T specification (accepting it still won‘t be matching numbers and I’m not sure I would want to put 4-speed internals back in either).
So before I start out on this project, I would be keen to hear from other Club members as to what they think about this and what they might be inclined to do in the same circumstances as well as any advice regarding experiences of restoration specialists (good, bad and ugly).
Look forward to hearing.