This week I completed the front end backdate on my Porsche 911 Restomod project. Before the RS style bumper installs in its final position, the body to bumper seals need to be installed. These seals are very visible on the exterior of the car, so now is the time to sort it out. Since I decided not to use the pre-1973 latch panel there is no place to mount the body seal.
Although I could attach the seal the fiberglass bumper, my concern is that the weight of the latched hood would eventually distort this lightweight bumper. So instead of gluing and screwing the seals in place I made a custom steel seal channel. The steel bracket supports the seal pressure whereas the fiberglass bumper could not. The added benefit of this approach is that the gap between the front bulkhead and bumper went away. The overall goal of the this RS clone project is to NOT look like a cheap kit car. While this is a hotrod budget build, I don’t want it to look cheap in the end.
Porsche 911 Restomod Progress Pics
My bead roller has seen plenty of use lately. Obviously, I really like using it for making curved bends in sheet metal. The rolled channel holds the factory seal in the same position as the 1973 and earlier latch panel did. My decision not to change the latch panel was based on cost in case you are wondering. Plus I’m going to hack into this panel when the time comes to add a front mounted oil cooler. For this reason, I couldn’t justify the expense of authentic sheet metal since I’m going to cut it up anyway.