OVERVIEW
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The Ultimate “R Gruppe” 911
2.9-liter Twin Plug 275 H.P.
Restoration - Performance - Cosmetic Upgrades performed by Willhoit Auto Restoration, Scott’s Independent, Canepa
Factory air conditioning Full leather interior
1st owner over 26 years
Ordered on March 9th 1971 and completed on September 8th, this 1972 Tangerine orange Porsche 911E began its life with Staff Sargent Willie J. Small. Originally intent on ordering a 1971, Small was told that Porsche was no longer taking orders for '71 cars at the time. Changing his original order to a 1972, he optioned the 911E with black leatherette with leather seats, USA-equipment, factory air conditioning, a Blaupunkt "Frankfurt" radio, tinted glass all around for a total of $9,080.36. He shipped the Porsche from Stuttgart to Houston, Texas on December 17th of 1971 and started his 26+ year ownership of the car.
Shortly after the 911 was delivered to Small, records show that he and the Porsche moved to California. An ever-caring owner for his car, the 911 would remain well serviced during Small's entire ownership with numerous records and maintenance documents to show for it. With the last registration for the car indicating Willie being the owner in 1998, the Porsche would then change hands for the first time and be sold to John Willhoit of Willhoit Auto Restoration. Willhoit purchased the car on behalf of its new owner, Carl Akins, in late 1999. With the 911 now in his possession, Akins would put the Porsche through a meticulous restoration that yielded the perfect result: A built, bespoke and truly world-class “R-gruppe” outlaw Porsche 911.
Beginning in 1999, Akins would start the restoration process for the 911 and take more than two years to carry out this meticulous project. In charge of completing the restoration, Willhoit began by stripping the Tangerine tub down to every last piece of hardware, cleaning and prepping the tub as they went along. Color matched to the original Tangerine orange from the Porsche factory, the now prepped Porsche tub was resprayed to perfection. With the rear seats removed to save weight, the interior was covered with leather and new carpet was installed throughout. The interior causes feelings of withdrawal as soon as you step out of the car.
The mechanicals of any 911 restoration are something to spend some time on, but Akins decided that his car should be something unlike anything else underneath. Scott's Independent, Inc. in Anaheim, CA worked closely with Akins and Willhoit throughout the build. The engine from the case up is anything but ordinary, sporting a NOS Porsche 911 magnesium crankcase, along with a NOS crankshaft. Custom Carillo connecting rods, Mahle 2.9-liter lightweight pistons and cylinders, special copper head gaskets, custom Elgin camshafts, racing valve springs and titanium retainers, magnesium throttle bodies ported to the Carrera heads, custom rebuilt mechanical fuel injection pump, twin-plugs with an ANDIAL distributor, and SSI headers with a custom sport exhaust that gives the 911 a spine-tingling wail at full throttle. This in combination with other engine components was good for 275 naturally aspirated horsepower on the dyno, almost doubling the 911E's original output. Scott's also rebuilt the 5-speed transmission from the ground-up, adding a shorter 3rd, 4th and 5th gear to the box, a more modern shifter along with a Quaife limited slip differential.
Suspension was a critical component to harness all of the extra power now being created, and Willhoit was keen on which modifications were needed. New bushings were installed everywhere, new torsion bars (22mm and 26mm), new sway bars, new Bilstein sport shocks and struts were added with raised and decambered spindles, new Porsche Turbo brake calipers with drilled rotors, stainless steel brake lines and Pagid sport pads taking care of the corners. New aluminum trailing arms, late adjustable spring plates, sport engine mounts, and a strut tower brace were added to ensure handling matched the car's newfound performance.
While these major upgrades were being completed, other items on the Porsche's list were checked off. Every piece of plating was refinished to factory specs, A/C lines and components were either replaced or rebuilt, new headlight and tail light assemblies were sourced, and NOS fog lamps were installed. With its final pieces completed and assembled in early 2002, the Willhoit and Scott's built 911E was finished for Carl Akins to enjoy.
The 911 arrived at Canepa on February of 2008 with 6,201 miles on the odometer. Bruce fell in love with this car, and proceeded to tweak it in subtle ways – adding a 911S front spoiler, exhaust mods, 911S front and rear bumper deco trim including deleting side lower molding trim, etc. Bruce mostly kept the 911E at his residence over the years, often taking a fun drive on a Sunday morning or a weekend rally.
The most recent owner is one of the most well-known Porsche collectors of 356 through 911 “Outlaw” type cars, 1973 Carrera RS examples, and 1967 911R’s. Dick Moran is a perfectionist and that is what drew him to ask Bruce if he could be the 911E’s next caretaker. Never satisfied, Dick proceeded to install Recaro sport seats recovered in full black leather, a black headliner, newly restored early deep dish 6” factory alloy wheels with Pirelli CN36 radial tires, upgraded Hella high-output driving lamps, etc.
Now showing just 7,900 miles since restoration/modification, the paint is in concours condition, with the interior looking as though the final pieces of leather were just stitched together and put into place. The engine growls at idle like a car that has something to say, with its revving and acceleration letting you know there is something much more underneath than your regular flat six. Only needing a slight cleaning and a light foam pad polish to present the car as it looked a decade before, this Tangerine 911E is sure to delight any Porsche fan. With its contemporary style with mechanical underpinnings intent on making the driver enjoy every minute of being in the 911, this is a driver's car through and through.
