1980 Porsche 911 Turbo

At Gaswerks Garage, we're excited to share the story behind this 1980 Porsche 934-style build. Starting with the right foundation is critical to any project, and this car reflects our philosophy of beginning with the cleanest, straightest donor possible before transforming it into something truly special.

The car began life as a 1980 Porsche 911 and was transformed into a 934-inspired build. After inspecting several candidates, this car stood out as the right foundation - straight, clean, and free of rust issues.

The car is finished in Grand Prix White, paint code L908, using Glasurit single-stage paint. All of the bodywork is executed in full 934-style configuration.

The interior features vintage Recaro seats with houndstooth inserts. The headliner is finished in Alcantara, chosen to give this build a unique character. Instead of vinyl, the interior was finished in leather and received new carpeting, a new dash, and new gauges. A boost gauge was integrated into the dash, along with a Prototipo steering wheel.

Weight reduction was addressed with a rear seat delete, creating a cleaner, more purposeful interior layout. The car also features a 917-style wooden shift knob - a classic Porsche detail originally developed to reduce heat transfer during endurance racing. The suspension was completely rebuilt with Bilstein shocks all around, upgraded torsion bars, and sway bars. A custom set of BBS center-lock wheels was designed specifically for this build, measuring 11x16 inches up front and an aggressive 14x16 inches in the rear.

The transmission is a Porsche 915 gearbox, fully rebuilt in-house with custom ratios tailored for the turbocharged engine, The engine started as a 3.3-liter turbo motor and was built out to 3.4 liters. It was fully rebuilt - including crank, rods, heads, pistons, and cylinders - using Mahle pistons and cylinders with compression set at approximately 8.2:1. The heads received intake and exhaust port work, and camshaft selection was optimized for this application.

The fuel system was modified to support over 400 horsepower. A custom stainless steel exhaust system was fabricated with heat to meet the requirements of this build.

The turbocharger is a modern Garrett ball-bearing unit, a significant upgrade over period journal-bearing turbos. This design reduces friction, allowing faster spool-up, smoother power delivery, and dramatically reduced lag. It also operates more efficiently and runs cooler, improving reliability and drivability.

Rotational mass was reduced by lightening the crank, installing a lightweight RSR-style flywheel, and fitting a Sachs performance clutch. Boost is set at approximately one bar, or 15 pounds, producing around 430 horsepower.

One of the defining visual elements of this build is the exhaust layout. From the rear, a large three-inch center-exit pipe exits directly from the turbocharger, with the wastegate dump positioned alongside it - an aggressive look paired with an unmistakable sound, especially under boost.