Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

OPC Hatfield '911-50' 1972 2.4 Targa Restoration

GT4

Well-known member
Joined
8 Nov 2008
Messages
30,181
Here is the blog for OPC Hatfield's 1972 2.4TE Targa resto:

http://pchatfield911restoration.wordpress.com/

ding a suitable car within a few hours (in the form of a 1972 Porsche 911T Coupe), we were all quite happy with ourselves. The car was advertised on a well known Classic Car website as an auction car, set to fall under the hammer at a Bonhams auction at the end of June 2013 with a guide price of £15,000 – £18,000. Excited at the proposition, we registered our intent to bid and eagerly counted down the days to the auction. As the auction drew close, we realised that all of our proverbial eggs were in one solemn basket and if this car didn't come in below our £20,000 budget, then we would be a day late and a dollar short. Coincidentally, we received a hot tip from a friend and customer of Porsche Centre Hatfield in the form of Tony Outridge. Tony has been buying, restoring and selling classic 911's for some years and had got wind of a 1972 Targa which had been collecting dust in the forecourt of an Independent Porsche Garage by the name of RPM Technik.

After a few phone calls and a quick run up to their Hertfordshire base, a deal was brokered and we had our very own '72 Targa in Ivory White, complete with Targa top and black Fuchs alloy wheels. Upon initial inspection, the PC Hatfield team were happy with their work, procuring the vehicle for a sensible price well within our budget.

This was just as well, as the 1972 911T which we originally had our sights set on went for just shy of £50,000, well out of our financial reach!
 
I'm looking forward to seeing what these cars eventually sell for, and whether they'll sell with Approved Used warranty and Finance etc... I'm they'll go for mega-bollock money...
 
Roro said:
I'm looking forward to seeing what these cars eventually sell for, and whether they'll sell with Approved Used warranty and Finance etc... I'm they'll go for mega-bollock money...

They won't have a Porsche Warranty. Mine didn't even have that. But Porsche do a Classic Warranty for older cars which is a rebranded third-party warranty.

I bet they go for a fortune too. If it was my money I'd rather be involved in the whole process and watch the restoration unfold. Far more satisfying plus you know it'll get done to your standards.
 
True, own standards, as well as own colour... :whistle:

I think to be able to buy something this old from an OPC with any kind of warranty would be just amazing, and the provenance and all that stuff as well as the actual restoration work would be top-notch and cement future values.

... One would hope. :)
 
Cheers GT4
I've added this to my favourites. Should be an interesting if not good evolving story.

:thumb:
 
I don't want to be uncharitable to OPC Hatfield, and it is still work in progress, but if I had a resto done, I'd have it done by a resto specialist.

The only reason OPC technicians know where that 2.4's engine is, is that Porsche continue to put it pretty much still there on the 991.

I doubt any of the staff ever worked on one before, and even if they have, resto skills are not the same as normal maintenance.
 
.... 991 has an engine :eh!:

I thought it just had 2 fans to keep the little mousies cool when they're running around the big wheel thing, called the IMS I think.
 
A that my friend, is why you are only allowed access to a Dulux colour chart and not a SnapOn catalogue.
 
GT4 said:
I don't want to be uncharitable to OPC Hatfield, and it is still work in progress, but if I had a resto done, I'd have it done by a resto specialist.

The only reason OPC technicians know where that 2.4's engine is, is that Porsche continue to put it pretty much still there on the 991.

I doubt any of the staff ever worked on one before, and even if they have, resto skills are not the same as normal maintenance.

I don't want to be uncharitable to anyone, but I must object.
I am an opc technician. Not Hatfield, although I did work there many years ago. I have also worked on many classics. 2.2s 2.4s 2.7s SCs 3.2s. Oh and 356s and 912s. I have done everything from bulbs to engine builds. I still know a couple of the guys at Hatfield. They have a similar background to me. I will be part of the team working on our next restoration project.
I would often have the same opinion about a "main dealer" as you. But in my experience it is not true at Porsche Centres.
 
Hamster82 said:
I don't want to be uncharitable to anyone, but I must object.
I am an opc technician. Not Hatfield, although I did work there many years ago. I have also worked on many classics. 2.2s 2.4s 2.7s SCs 3.2s. Oh and 356s and 912s. I have done everything from bulbs to engine builds. I still know a couple of the guys at Hatfield. They have a similar background to me. I will be part of the team working on our next restoration project.
I would often have the same opinion about a "main dealer" as you. But in my experience it is not true at Porsche Centres.

Great stuff :thumb: I didn't know OPCs had the same recruitment policy as B&Q
 
GT4 said:
Here is the blog for OPC Hatfield's 1972 2.4TE Targa resto:

There is a similar car in the Silverstone OPC showroom, are all OPC's going to be restoring a 'classic'
 
Pretzel said:
GT4 said:
Here is the blog for OPC Hatfield's 1972 2.4TE Targa resto:

There is a similar car in the Silverstone OPC showroom, are all OPC's going to be restoring a 'classic'

They were all invited to produce one for 911-50 celebrations (OPC Hatfield was shown as work in progress on the 911-50 night last year, although they had guest spots for other [completed] OPC entries)
 
Hamster82 said:
GT4 said:
I don't want to be uncharitable to OPC Hatfield, and it is still work in progress, but if I had a resto done, I'd have it done by a resto specialist.

The only reason OPC technicians know where that 2.4's engine is, is that Porsche continue to put it pretty much still there on the 991.

I doubt any of the staff ever worked on one before, and even if they have, resto skills are not the same as normal maintenance.

I don't want to be uncharitable to anyone, but I must object.
I am an opc technician. Not Hatfield, although I did work there many years ago. I have also worked on many classics. 2.2s 2.4s 2.7s SCs 3.2s. Oh and 356s and 912s. I have done everything from bulbs to engine builds. I still know a couple of the guys at Hatfield. They have a similar background to me. I will be part of the team working on our next restoration project.
I would often have the same opinion about a "main dealer" as you. But in my experience it is not true at Porsche Centres.

How many air-cooled specialists do Hatfield have?

How many have worked on 2.4s? (in recent memory)

My post was slightly tongue in cheek (and specifically towards OPC Hatfield), but the skills are specialist, not generalist.

The problem comes when trainee technicians don't see or practice on the older cars during apprenticeships, then those skills are lost forever.

Even a fully trained master tech will be rusty if they don't see the cars regularly.

Use it or lose it (or never have it).

If they were heart surgeons or 747 pilots (even HGV drivers), if they don't see enough experience within a set period, they lose their licence.

Why should I trust a technician who hasn't even diagnosed a classic issue for x years over a specialist Indy who fixed the exact same thing last week?

I have nothing against OPCs, both my Porsches were/are serviced and maintained within the network, but mine goes to OPC Cambridge, who although significantly smaller dealer, have three air-cooled specialists, with at least two having served for OPC Cambridge since the 964's day.

Having said all that, you could enquire of your OPC Hatfield contacts why they didn't get the resto finished on time (it was just a shell with no engine on 911-50 night, albeit a Slate Grey shell), why it had a non-authentic Alcantara dash and why they had erroneously fitted a RHD door mirror to a LHD car (which although appealing to my sense of symmetry OCD, failed in functionality and originality)

photo.JPG


I also still stand by my assertion that restoration skills are quite different to maintenance skills.

I bet the paintshop and upholstery were farmed-out for a start ('cos OPC Hatfield even do that on the modern stuff! - OPC Cambridge has an in-house bodyshop - even restoring a 1952 Porsche Tractor when I dropped my 993 off for paint last month)
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,354
Messages
1,439,446
Members
48,708
Latest member
JLav211
Back
Top