Porsche RSK 718 Spyder Replica PROJECT

As such, not many of these machines are in circulation and they rarely come up for sale. Such was the case with Rafik Dous, who was actually looking for a 550 Spyder replica when he came across this tired 'RSK Spyder' 718 replica in Melbourne. Complete, but in a sad state, the RSK presented a challenge. Rafik not only completed the resto, but added some practical and valuable modifications that turned this replica into a practical daily driver.

Rafik's 718 replica was one of a handful built by a Melbourne-based company in the mid-1980s. Problems with the initial batch of vehicles, built on shortened VW Beetle floorpans, led the company to modify the design of the fibreglass body to fit an uncut VW floorpan. In this spec, only around a dozen were built, four of which were assembled by the factory and sold as complete vehicles, the rest sold as kits. Rafik's research uncovered that of the four built, one race-spec vehicle caught fire and was destroyed. Of the three survivors, one was located in Tasmania, another tracked to South Australia, with the third being the example Rafik chanced upon in Victoria.

Initial inspection revealed the RSK Spyder had definitely been built for looks, not comfort! The doors opened to a narrow angle that made entry and exit almost impossible. Similarly, lengthening the body resulted in an incredibly awkward driving position, with the pedals too far from the seat. Considering Rafik is over 6 foot, that's saying something! The original soft top was useless, and the maroon paint didn't do much for the lines and overall look of the car, either. It didn't sound appealing, but Rafik saw a diamond in the coal and decided to purchase the vehicle and plough ahead with a restoration.

First stage after purchase, in approximately March, 2010, involved stripping the interior to inspect the floorpan for rust. This revealed the Beetle-base of the RSK Spyder was solid with no rust issues - a scrub with a wire brush and underseal was all it needed to be good to go. The engine, a Porsche 912-based flat four with big bore kit, was also complete and in good order, only needing stripping, cleaning and reassembly. Transmission was stock Volkswagen. That left the body. Like the rest of the car, this was in reasonably good, complete condition, but had some ergonomic and aesthetic flaws that Rafik was determined to eliminate as part of the restoration.

On the 'to do' list of body mods were rear wheelarch flares (to counteract the overly 'long' look of the body), proper door hinges, and blanking off the bumper mount holes in the RSK's front end. To get the right flare and width for the guards, Rafik built up the shape with surfboard foam, then laid new fibreglass over the top. This not only served the aesthetic purpose Rafik intended, but allowed the fitment of wider rear wheels & tyres. Similarly, the bumper holes in the front end were filled and glassed over. Don't think the RSK wasn't safe, though. Rafik cleverly scratch-built new bumpers, which actually sit behind the front and rear panels.

With that done, attention was turned to the doors. The factory-supplied doors opened about 30 degrees, with only a foot of actual entry space. Rafik tried a number of options, and even considered suicide hinges before eventually biting the bullet and having a set of custom hinges made. $850 later, the RSK Spyder had doors that opened properly (80+ degrees), and were more solid than the originals, too. Hinges on the flip-up rear panel (that allowed access to the battery and spare wheel) were repositioned and refitted at this point. The originals had been poorly placed, resulting in sideways movement that led to cracking in the panel. The final touch on the body before it was primered and ready for paint was to fit a pair of Spyder-style mirrors. In their streamlined pods, they looked much better than the door-mounted mirrors the car had when Rafik bought it.

At the same time he was tackling the problem of the door hinges, Rafik was also looking at the seats. As mentioned, the original seats weren't suitable, so all manner of replacements were tried, fitted and rejected (too wide, too high, too uncomfortable) before Rafik had the original idea of using go kart seats. These offered the low height he needed to see 'under' the windscreen, with the right width and pedal reach (on modified frames and tracks) to fit the cabin. As anyone who's driven a go kart would know, they aren't exactly comfortable, so Rafik had them reshaped, then padded for comfort and trimmed in vinyl.

By late May, after a lot of prep, the body was ready for paint. Rafik had elected silver in the style of the original Porsche Sports Car racers from the 1950s. Allied to the red interior, Rafik expected it to be a standout choice. Seeing the finished article come back from the painters - more than two months later - convinced Rafik he made the right choice. The factory Porsche Spyder-inspired silver looked stunning.

By September, 2010, the project was nearing completion, but Rafik made a few minor changes - and a couple of major ones! - to make the RSK more practical as a regular driver. These mods included adding storage space by repositioning the battery from the space behind the seats to the engine bay, and fitting a new pedal assembly. This was a VW/Porsche hybrid and proved to be difficult to fit, but worth it in the end. With the wider rear guards, 205/50 tyres (on 5.5 inch rims) could be fitted, with 185/55 tyres on the front.

By late October, 2010, new carpets (red, of course) had been fitted, with the clever touch of using side spears from a 356 Speedster to bind the edges to the floors. With seat belts fitted, the car was ready for registration. Concerns over the 'inboard' bumpers proved unfounded, as the car went through the inspection and registration process without a hitch. The engine was a little wayward, but not enough to effect its approval.

Fast forward to July, 2011. Motivated by Melbourne's Winter weather, Rafik decided to make the removable hardtop he'd planned earlier. An interesting sidebar to the project at this stage was that after removing one of the rear wheels to access the engine, the wheel nuts were only finger-tightened up - and forgotten about. You can guess what happened next! While driving in peak hour traffic, the loose wheel left the body, then proceeded to skip across four lanes of Melbourne traffic! Incredibly, the wheel missed everything on its bouncing gjourney. No-one, including Rafik, was hurt. Apart from the wheel, the RSK was unscathed, too!

Creating the hardtop involved a scratch-built steel frame, covered in galvanised steel sheet, sound-deadening material and red canvas. To provide proper headroom for his six foot frame, the hardtop needed a rear-to-front slope of around 10 cm by Rafik's measurements. To avoid drilling into the body, the hardtop is actually attached by brackets mounted inside the car. It sits flush at the leading (windscreen) edge, but there's a deliberate gap at the rear. In addition to providing ventilation, this gap also prevents the hardtop from rubbing and scratching the paint. The finishing touch for Winter driving was a pair of Perspex side windows, mounted on tracks and fixed by bolts through the door tops, accessible from inside the door pockets.

With the hardtop and side windows in place, Rafik truly had a year-round car. Given he uses it for daily commuting, he's proven the strength and practicality of the restoration, as well as the improvements he's made. Rafik says its low height makes the RSK a little daunting to drive in city traffic - everything towers over it, even cyclists! - but he enjoys it immensely and has no qualms in using it as a daily driver.
The next phase of the project is now underway - a soft top using an original Porsche 356 convertible top as a template.