My GSR
On this page you find a report on the restoration of my own GSR. You can also find some of the technical specs.
By the way: when I say "restored", I mean restored. This means that the floorpan (chassis) and the body have been separated and that new floorhalves were welded in. Then it was time to sand-blast the entire chassis. After this, the chassis was primered and painted before assembling it again. Only new parts were used. When it came to the body, I decided to have a professional company carry out the welding, because I wanted the original factory-welds to be visible there where they should be visible and not where they should not be visible. The car had a very good body, but still there were some spots that needed attention. Then I had the car professionally painted in the original colours. Then the true re-building started (this is the best part).
When it came to
the engine, I realised that a GSR was meant for rally-purposes, just as
Volkswagen had in mind. There had even been company's in 1972 who specialised in tuning the GSR (and of course
other beetles). This provided me the main reason for transplanting a VW-Porsche
engine in my GSR. So I decided on a 2-litre, Porsche-cooled type4 engine with
144 ponies. The purist would maybe say that such an engine in a beetle would
cause him a sheer heart-attack because it is not original. Well I think it is
allowed in a GSR (even for a purist). The
engine was built in a joint-venture between Frank Slenders (Frankys)
and Gerd Weiser (GWD). I know they did a very good job on this
engine, so they should get some of the credit here...
In March 1999 both GSR's
(Andrι's and mine) were finished and they had to get a Dutch license plate. My GSR got
license AE-51-36 and Andrι's got AE-51-37. I got the older one because my GSR is
one day
older than Andrι's.
In January 2001 I undertook the first brake-upgrade. I said goodbye to the factory spec disc brakes in front and the drums in the back. The upgrade consisted of installing a complete Porsche 944 brake-system with ventilated discs around (including bigger, aluminum mastercylinder). This was also the time that other wheels were fitted. I chose original Porsche Cup2 wheels (all four are 7Jx17x+ET55) with Toyo Proxes TS1 tyres (205/40/17). To get these wheels fitted under the original fenders I used smaller (80 mm) McPherson struts on the front (adjustable aftermarket units from KW with yellow Koni's inside). In 2009 I installed a complete 944 Turbo system after carefully reconditioning it. The system is a brake setup to beat!!! For a report on these conversions you should check the "tech-directory".
My GSR's specs | |
Serial: | 133 2 39* *** |
Typ nr.: | 135031-262637 102/559/714 |
Enginenr.: | AD , 1,6 litre, 50 Hp |
Gearboxnr.: | AT 02.12.7 |
Colournr.: | L13M Saturngelb |
Extra's: | 102 / 559 /714 |
Built on: | 14 december 1972 |
Left factory on: | 18 december 1972 |
City of destination: | Koblenz (Germany) |
Price VW 1303S GSR (1972): | DM 7.650,- |
Current license-plate: | AE-51-36 (The Netherlands) |
My GSR's body | |
Completely restored: |
standard VW 1303S (type 135) unchanged |
My GSR's chassis | |
Completely restored: |
standard VW 1303S (type 135) - except: |
Frontwheel suspension: | lowered and adjustable narrow (80mm) struts |
Backwheel suspension: | lowered and with double springplates |
Gearbox: |
standard
VW 1303S (type 135 - AT) with strengthened gearbox-mounts. Replaced with rebuilt and modified 914 gearbox in 2011. |
Brake system: | Porsche 944 with ventilated (non-perforated) discs around, including bigger aluminum master cylinder |
Wheels: | Porsche Cup2, 7Jx17x+ET55 (original 993 front wheels around) |
My GSR's engine | |
Donor: |
VW-Porsche 914 2.0i - engine code: GB |
Displacement: | 1971 cc |
Carter: |
Porsche machined, incl. alignment pins (2.0 liter 914) |
Crankshaft: |
Porsche 71 mm
balanced (2.0 liter 914) |
Connecting rods: |
Porsche balanced (2.0
liter 914) |
Pistons: |
Porsche 94 mm (2.0 liter 914) |
Cam: | Schleicher 316 degrees |
Cam followers: | Light Wizemann |
Cilinderheads: |
GWD
1.7 liter; completely reworked and flowed |
Valves: |
40 x 34 mm (inlet x outlet) |
Valve springs: | strengthened |
Compression ratio: |
9.4 : 1 |
Ignition: | Hall electronic transistor-ignition |
Spark plugs: |
NGK B6ES |
Carburettors: |
Weber two double 44
IDF |
Flywheel & clutch: | Porsche 215 mm, lightened |
Cooling: |
Porsche - 911
12-blade fan
(original 964-993), thermostat and 520 mm external
aluminum oilcooler (AKG) |
Exhaust: |
GWD tuned spaghetti |
Performance: | 144.7 HP |
Torque: | 193 Nms |
V-max: | 203 km/h |
On the decklid
I have a sticker that says: "Porsche inside". The idea has already
been copied a few times, like "Weber inside", etc., but hey...who
cares...I copied it too, so I'm not thαt INTELligent!