Follow along with the brave restorers at Gunnar Racing as they tackle the restoration of a mystery 917. So far it looks like it might be 917-021, but apparently Gunnar took on this project without it’s serial number plate, so they’ll be relying on additional details to help establish it’s provenance. I’m willing to give the folks at Gunnar the benefit of the doubt, they’ve restored their share of 917s in the past, as well as examples of just about every other Porsche racing model. Perhaps the mystery is the reason they’ve chosen to document the hell out of their restoration. Whatever the motivation, I’m glad to see the frequent updates. They’re 12 releases into an ongoing YouTube video series documenting the process; everything from grinding down the paint to see the history of liveries, to suspension and transmission and my-word-that’s-scary-to-take-apart removals. Coupled with reams of photos on the restoration team’s blog, this is pure Stuttgart candy. They’re hoping to debut the restored car at this year’s Monterrey Historics, I can’t wait to see how it turns out. It’s nice to not have to wait until the debut to see the car, I’ll be following along closely on their YouTube channel.
You can also follow along on the 917 discussion forum at CKnet.
Tag: porsche 917
Sorry for all the Porsche 917 posts late—you know what? Scratch that. There’s no sense in apologizing for it. I’d probably make damn-near every post about this majestic ride if I could.
Now the videos we saw earlier this week of a 917 (reproduction) in traffic do a bit to give you the true stature of the machine. It’s giant reputation and it’s long low proportions have, like the 910, always made it seem to me like a larger machine. Low- yes; but big. The long swept tail in some iterations make it seem even more so. Even though I’ve seen a 917 in person on the track, and through the window at Symbolic Motors, I’ve never been close enough to actually take in the true scale of the beast.
But this photo from Sports Car Digest of a Gulf liveried 917 parked next to a Porsche 914 on the track at Spa-Francorchamp, 1970, really hits me with the true scale of the thing. I’ve seen hundreds of photos of the Porsche 917: On the track, in the pits, on the big screen. None of them have, for whatever reason, given me a true sense of how small this incredible machine is. I’ve driven a 914, a car so small that I could barely shift into 2nd gear without uncomfortably pushing against my leg. The 917 is TINY.
Maybe it’s like how people are surprised when a famous actor is short when they see them in person, but the 917 seems like too much of a giant to be this small.
“Honey, will you run up to the gas station and pick me up some soda?“
“Sure thing, dear, let me just get my nomex on.“