YOU AND YOURS
Josh Kobrin and his 911 hot rod
When Josh Kobrin decided to start looking for a car to drive between his home in San Francisco and the snowy slopes at Lake Tahoe, he wasn’t exactly sure what sort of car he wanted. All he knew was that he wanted something a bit different and potentially a classic, hence he kept an open mind and considered various options prior to stumbling across an advert for a ’69 911T, which was located around 60 miles east of San Francisco in a town called Walnut Creek. Josh admits that he didn’t really come from a long line of petrolheads and, whilst he’d had a string of Japanese cars, this would be his first sporty classic. Not knowing much about Porsches, he made the smart decision to take along his brother Reuben, who knows his way around Us-built cars (he restores mid-’60s Mustangs) and could point out obvious issues, such as rust and accident damage. And boy, did Reuben ever have his work cut out for him! The car was bad – we’re talking about holes big enough for his dog’s paws to slip through across the floors, not to mention a hole in the passenger-side door that you could almost climb through. Josh explained, ‘the car was once light Ivory but had been repainted in pearlescent white sometime in the ’80s’. As you can see, a lot of that pearly paint has either been sunburnt or has literally worn through or flaked off, leaving what can only be described as a pretty ratty appearance. However, the car did run and drive, hence Josh decided to take it for a spin and was instantly hooked. Clearly there would be a lot of work to do, but with the revvy 2-litre motor buzzing away behind him, Josh knew he had to strike a deal, as he couldn’t wait to fit up a roofrack, load on the snowboards and head for the hills!
Josh enquired about the history of the car and was told that it was driven daily whatever the weather (including a lot of rain and snow, it would seem…) by a guy that really didn’t care for the heritage of the car and considered it to be little more than a ‘squashed VW Beetle’. Then it was flipped and ended up with a guy that had plans to build a rat rod, but had given up after a short while as he realised the car needed more work than he had initially considered. In short, this alone should have set off alarm bells but no, Josh had to have it, so a deal was struck and he drove it home.
Now, you may find this hard to believe but the car didn’t always look as good as it does today…in fact, it was running some later bumper parts and had been fitted with a Porsche reflector between the rear lights. Much of the chrome had been painted black (and white in some places) but Josh and Reuben had plans to clean that off and retrofit some of the missing parts. This work also led to the fitment of the red door (practically a trademark now!), which replaced the incredibly rusty original. And if you think the red door looks familiar, it’s possibly because the car (well, the owner, actually) has quite a following on social media (@joshyrobots on Instagram) and there are some appearances in some of the neat videos Josh has worked on and produced, which can be found at vimeo.com/joshkobrin. Josh is a copywriter by trade but he’s also a talented producer –
“Josh decided to take it for a spin and was instantly hooked ”
and this is how he has got involved in rallys, race meetings and classic car enthusiasts that really get what this project is all about.
Initially the plan had been to restore the car over a period of four months, however, Josh was just having too much fun driving the thing, so he had a chat with Reuben and the plan was revised. They concluded that some running resto would keep that magic alive, which was a great idea as it wasn’t long before things started to go wrong. Josh turned to Charles P. Rossignol in San Francisco for assistance with some of the mechanical issues that had arisen with the car. Josh said, ‘He was like a mentor, I guess – I explained that I wanted to learn and to get my hands dirty and it wasn’t long before I was beginning to understand how my car worked as we fixed fuel starvation issues, oil leaks and various other problems’.
Trying to drive an unrestored and, let’s face it, pretty rough classic car as often as Josh had in mind was never going to be easy, and problems ranged from electrical gremlins and fuse box issues to a rather scary moment when the steering suddenly felt strange and Josh realised that his spirited drive ended at that point as the A-arm had literally pulled itself clean off the mounts.
Fresh suspension mounts and repair panels were purchased via Restoration Design Inc and Reuben set about repairing the underside of the car over a four-week period. This resulted in fresh floor pan sections and the usual lower body repairs, however, Josh wanted to maintain the ratty appearance that he’d grown to love, hence the upper body was left as it was (albeit with the updates all removed and the correct bumpers and parts fitted). Not everyone will understand this train of thought, but there’s certainly an argument for both sides here. Sure, we all love to see a well-restored and cherished Porsche and, for some, the pride of owning such a clean car is what it’s all about. However, Josh knew that a shiny, restored car simply wouldn’t see as much use or indeed return as many smiles per gallon as he was achieving with this ratty ’69. Pushing the car to its limits – and sometimes beyond – was the magic that Josh enjoyed, and even just being able to drive the car on a wet day without worrying about the paintwork or even picking up a few extra dents in a parking lot is what this car is all about. He simply wouldn’t have as
It wasn’t long before I was beginning to understand how my car worked as we fixed various problems
much fun with a restored car and would forever feel guilty for driving such a car in the same (somewhat brutal) fashion as he does with this rat rod 911.
And it’s the ‘spirited driving’ that leads us to the next chapter in the tale of Josh’s 911T. ‘The original 110hp 2-litre motor eventually expired and, having talked with a few people, it seemed that it would make more sense to build a 2.7 motor than to try to rebuild the 2-litre’, said Josh. Therefore, a local Porsche garage assembled a 2.7 for Josh, which ran OK for a year or so before developing a few oil leaks and running issues. Then, whilst on a rally, the engine let rip and Josh was left with another dead motor (and no comeback, as not only was he racing but the 12-month warranty period had passed just a few weeks earlier).
Not one to be beaten, Josh hit the internet and eventually tracked down a 3-litre SC motor, which was fitted with a fruitysounding Glasspack exhaust system. This latest motor has really livened up the lightweight ’69 and Josh loves the bags of torque that accompany the 180hp 3-litre unit. In fact, the car was now so much fun that he decided to retire it from ‘family use’ and make it more of a weekend warrior. ‘Previously we’d used the car as a daily driver but it really wasn’t suited to that kind of use, more-so now, as I’ve fitted a roll hoop, which makes it a two-seater, hence my wife, Talia, and daughter, Harvey Lolla, now have to work out who gets to ride shotgun when I take the Porsche out for a rally or run!’, joked Josh.
Inside the car, things remain pretty basic – there’s a pair of leather-trimmed Recaros and an old Raid steering wheel but, otherwise, it’s very much in keeping with the overall theme of the car (and yes, it has ‘the smell’ that only an original, older Porsche interior can boast!).
Getting back to the additional torque and power gained via the fitment of the 3-litre motor, Josh felt the car could use a little more rubber out back to improve traction when pushing the car hard. Also, he loved the look of the period race and rally cars, which often ran lightweight or aftermarket wider wheels on the rear when competing. To that end he ordered a pair of satin gold Group 4 Campagnolo style rims (as used on many RS/RSR racers etc), which measure 7x15 and are fitted with 225/45xr15 tyres. Yes, they’re a very tight fit on a narrow body car but there’s no denying the fact that they suit Josh’s periodracer theme perfectly. To perfect the stance and tighten up the handling, Josh has dropped the ride height a little and fitted a pair of late 6x15 Fuchs with 205/50xr15 Bfgoodrich G-force Rival tyres.
We have no doubt that there will eventually come a day when Josh concludes that his car will have more than earned the right to a full restoration (or possibly not), but for now he’s just enjoying the ‘all-or-nothing’ road-racer ethos that very much put those early 911 racers on the motorsport map. PW
” Not one to be beaten, Josh eventually tracked down a 3-litre SC motor