THE ANTI-RESTOMOD

The Anti-restomod

James shows us how to build a hot rodded 911 the old fashioned way.

“The thesis behind it is ‘big engine, lightweight car’, but it’s based on a number of cars I’ve either owned or admired.”

Though it feels these days as though the vintage Porsche world is dominated by big name restoration shops chasing evermore exquisite paint finishes and finer interior materials, it’s worth remembering from time to time how the scene really began, with weekend engineers sharing parts and trying things out in their own garages.

James Shira has been working with Porsches since 1999, a time when air-cooled Porsches were much less valuable than they are now and people took risks with cheap parts and experimented with three and a half decades worth of 911 variants.

Fast forward to the present day and we arrive at “The Deuce”, James’ latest car, assembled with the help of Marco at TLG Auto. Half in primer and half in the original Sepia paint, it remains a rolling project, but rushing it to a show car standard really isn’t the idea here.

“I’ve done a number of early 911 projects and I’ve been able to apply those lessons here. The main lesson being you can’t rush excellence.” Explains James. “If you try, you’ll pay the price. It’s mostly gone well, but you do have to be patient”.

The base car began as a barely running project from 1972, nothing to really write home about as early 911s go. Now it houses a 3.8 litre Varioram flat six, similar to what you’d find in a 993 RS. “I purchased these parts from Porsche many years back” explains James. “So I had them on the shelf. I wanted the Varioram because of the torque benefits. The idea was ultimate reliability and a tame character at cruising speeds, but something more violent at pace. The entire process took several years.

I came up with this car based on a desire to ‘build one like we used to’. I was surfing the web looking at cars and came across it. No flares, barely running, etc… That’s when I asked my friend of 20+ years Marco of TLG Auto to take on helping me”.

A 90s RS drivetrain in a 70s body. The interchangeability of parts between Porsche models is part of what made them so popular with hot rodders, the idea that you can take parts manufactured decades apart and adapt them together to create the finished package you want is an enticing formula for anyone used to the struggles of working on cars.

“I’ve done a number of early 911 projects and I’ve been able to apply those lessons here. The main lesson being you can’t rush excellence.”

"I came up with this car based on a desire to ‘build one like we used to’."

Nowadays modifying Porsches is a highly commercialised practice, but the old-school car builders are still around if you know where to look. James didn’t create The Deuce to make a profit out of it, he just wanted to see what would happen if he tried.

“The car is mechanically set up. Paint and body are next but not pressing, I just want to use the car now and enjoy it without worrying about paint chips etc… I like to take the car out in the evenings after the traffic dies down and I can find some open road. The car loves being pushed. I’ve also picked my kids up from school in it which gets some unusual looks from the other parents, she’s a loud car!

I’ve made a lot of friends through the Porsche community. I also did my first restoration in a public storage unit outside of NYC, and getting that car running and driving was a big emotional thing for me. My dad, who passed a few years ago, was a huge automotive guy. We used to work on cars in our little California garage when I was a kid, and we’d go to all the car shows too. One of his go-to moves was ‘big engine, small car’. In a way, I’m still hanging out with him today via my builds.”