Will Trent's Porsche 911 Targa

[mrmike]

Since my '66 GTO is nearly done, I can start on my newest project.  A TV/Movie Car that I call Will Trent's Porsche 911 Targa.  There is some controversy around what year it is as Will Trent has referred to it as a 1973 and Executive Producer and Novelist Karin Slaughter has said that it is a 1979.  I am using the Revell kit no. 85-4527 which is a 1984 version, so I will be attempting to make it a 1973 if I can.  I will also include the words on the left side of the Porsche-Rat, Snitch and Traitor.  Let's see what I can do... 

[Leo64]

I've watched the first season of that show, and it was pretty good.  I hope you have some luck replicating the car.  It is interesting that on the IMCDB website they list the car as a 1974.

Steve A

[Rob Hall]

On 8/12/2023 at 8:44 PM, Leo64 said:

I've watched the first season of that show, and it was pretty good.  I hope you have some luck replicating the car.  It is interesting that on the IMCDB website they list the car as a 1974.

Steve A

Fun show...the bumpers are definitely from a later car...could be a mid 70s car with the chrome headlight rings.  The bumpers look like from a 964 generation.

Edited August 14, 2023 by Rob Hall

[mrmike]

There is some controversy about the year of the Porsche.  In an episode, Will Trent is saying that it is a 1973 and series Executive Producer and book writer Karin Slaughter says that it is a 1979.  Based on my research, I'm going with a 1973 version as I will try to convert the Revell 1984 model to a 1973-ish Porsche. 

[afx]

I believe I'm correct that 1973 was the last year of the long hood, small bumper cars with the turn signals in the front fenders.  The big bumper, short hood style came out in 1974.

1973 Targa

1974 Targa

Looks like they removed the black accordion sections and  blended in the front and rear bumpers similar to the 1794 RS.

Edited August 15, 2023 by afx

[mrmike]

I have finished painting and assembling the engine.  I wasn't sure about wiring the engine, so in the end, I didn't.

[mrmike]

I have been working on Will Trent's Porsche 911 Targa. First up is I drilled 6 holes in the cylinder heads and one large hole in the distributor. Next will be the ignition coil. The single wire is for the coil to the distributor and the bundle of three wires are for the cylinder heads. The Targa top has been completed, but I'm not completely happy with it and may rework it again. The body is in the midst of sanding mold lines.

[mrmike]

I am nearly done with the Porsche engine. After looking at several Google photos over the last couple of days, I think this is how it goes. This is also a curious location for the ignition coil on top of the air fan. The instructions don't tell the name of the part, so I am flying blind here and I had to manufacture my own ignition coil.

[mrmike]

As I fired up my computer this morning, I worked on my Porsche 911 this morning.  I installed the motor into the chassis along with the rear shocks.  A test fit showed the ignition coil sitting above the hood line, so I remounted the coil lower on the air fan.  I still have other parts to paint and install on the chassis around the engine.

[SpikeSchumacher]

Looking good Michael!

[mrmike]

Thanks Mathias!

[mrmike]

I have been working on the Porsche by adding the front and rear suspensions and adding to the engine itself.  Is this engine turbocharged?  The interior is next and I may have to go out and get a can of flat brown spray paint or I will have to use my airbrush.

[Dann Tier]

LOOOOVE Porsches!!...nice job so far!!

[mrmike]

Thanks Dann!  Gonna have to get the air brush out and paint the interior and the seats.   Brush painting doesn't seem right and I can't seem to be able to find an appropriate flat brown in a spray can.

[mrmike]

I have been recording the Will Trent series the second time around and looking for details of Will Trent's Porsche.  The writing on the left side of Will's Porsche has been removed, so maybe I'll go without it since it does seem like extra work, even if I just try to get the font right.  The series seems to be at the last episode for next week entitled, "A Bad Temper and a Hard Heart."  On to Season 2, whenever that'll be...

[mrmike]

I sat down with my Badger Universal 360 in my hand, some Tamiya XF-10 Flat Brown paint and I painted the interior parts of Will Trent's Porsche 911 Targa. Then I started painting the Fuchs wheels and I stopped to give my hands a rest. I still have the back wheels to do.

[mrmike]

After looking at the side panels and some other parts, I have decided that some Semi Gloss Clear would be a good addition since it would take away the flatness supplied by the paint.  The wheels are done then I realized that they are chome-plated and I followed the instructions and painted theme with flat aluminum.  I may have to rethink this and get out the Alclad Black and Chrome paint and paint them as well as the headlight surrounds

[mrmike]

I've been working on the Porsche 911 a little bit. The wheels and tires are on and the interior is painted and partially assembled. The seats and the side panels need to have decals installed. Other interior parts have been painted brown and need additional detailing. I removed the headlights when I realized that they needed to be painted with Alclad II Chrome paint.

[Bugatti Fan]

This model is coming along nicely. Looks like a nice kit to build.

Back in the 70's my boss had a  911 Targa in that unusual shade of yellow. Anyone know that colour specification?

[mrmike]

Noel, what year was the Porsche that your boss owned?  Colors vary from year to year.

Edited September 11, 2023 by mrmike

[mrmike]

I added decals and did some touchups of the interior and did some assembly. This was an hour and a half of work and I still have to add the interior side panels and the dash.

[beeRS]

Interior is looking good ?? 

[mrmike]

Thanks Sonny!

[mrmike]

I finished decaling the interior this morning. Now I will have to use flat clear on the seating surfaces and semi-gloss clear on the dash and side panels.

Edited September 12, 2023 by mrmike

[mrmike]

Last night before I turned in for the night, I added some 1/16 styrene round stock to the holes in the rear bumper for the bumper guards. Then I added the bumper extensions to the rear bumper since they are part of the front bumper anyway. I decided to leave the bumper extensions along and paint them body color instead of trying to sand them smooth.