If one were to set out to restore a 1973 Porsche T Coupe that had spent several decades in neglect back to its showroom-new condition, who better to do that job than the folks who built the car in the first place?
Well, that’s exactly what the folks from the Porsche Club of America decided when they selected a 1973 911 T Coupe to be the prize for the PCA raffle, rather than a new car as had often been the case. So the club located a 38-year old car in miserable shape in Los Angeles, shipped it off to Stuttgart, Germany, so Porsche itself could restore the car to its full former glory.
About the original car
The original 911 T Coupe (U.S. model) actually originates from the final year of production of the so-called “F model.” The car came with an air-cooled 2.4-liter flat six that cranked out 140 horsepower at 5,600 rpm, allowing for a top speed of 127 miles per hour. While this might sound like a spec sheet for a modern compact car, for its day the T Coupe was a very sporty offering.
The 911 T Coupe is easily recognized due to its narrow body and features a classic silver metallic exterior with a black interior. “The body form, color combination and year of production make this vehicle especially popular among collectors and ensure good value retention,” explained Paul Gregor, of Porsche Club Service.
Of course, if you look at the “before” photos you will have a hard time identifying much of those characteristics as time was not kind to this specific car. But after Porsche Classic experts were given just under a year to work their magic, the original beauty of the car began to come back in full glory.
Porsche says that every single part down to the nuts and bolts was inspected, refurbished or replaced during the build. The car was of course rebuilt to original spec using as many original parts as possible, with only the required deviations taking place according to original documents for the most accurate replacement parts possible.
A few modern (and invisible) touches were applied to the car, such as dipping the car in an electrophoretic dip to help protect the vehicle from corrosion. The only other changes included a switch to modern water-based paints and testing methods, but otherwise the car is completely true to its original form.
