There were many 911s on display at the Rennsport Reunion 7, but the 1972 911T you see here had a crowd around it all day. Most people were staring at the back of the car. They were captivated by a wild series of polished exhaust pipes and resonators in a space usually occupied by the rear bumper and a large carbon fiber diffuser below. I was just as intrigued as everyone else. I soon discovered that this modified Porsche was built with innovative technology, craftsmanship, and passion.
The story of this car is one of friendship and thinking outside of the box. The car was built by Ken Montes and is owned by his good friend Mike Whittle.
“When Mike purchased his 911 from Chris, a mutual friend, he was very excited, and his excitement was indeed warranted!” says Montes. “Our friend Chris is also a genuine car guy who has owned a vast array of some of the coolest rides that anyone could ever want. The problem was that many people would see the car and associate the car with our friend Chris. Over and over, guys would ask Mike if that was Chris’s old car. Obviously, the answer was yes.”
Montes is a lifelong car guy who has worked for street rod builder Roy Brizio and designed aftermarket suspension components and other items for Hondas and Toyotas. He is also an inventor with at least twenty-six patents under his belt. Most recently, he has taken an interest in vintage Porsches, purchased a 1967 911 race car, and developed some carbon fiber pieces for use on 911s under the brand name KM.
Being a self-proclaimed OCD individual, seeing Whittle’s Porsche parked in his shop every day, Montes felt the urge to sort out a few things that bothered him about the car. Montes called Whittle and asked him if cleaning up a few things in the engine bay would be OK. After getting the go-ahead, he went to work on making a few adjustments to how some things were mounted and fabricated some carbon fiber parts for the car. Whittle was stunned by Montes’ efforts and was very appreciative.
“The night that he was going to drive the 911 home, we sat in my shop and talked, and he mentioned wanting me to make a few adjustments to the 911,” says Montes. “That conversation led to him telling me that he would love to do something cool to it that would make it his own. He wanted the car to be his and his alone and felt it would be nice if it were no longer someone else’s old car. Of course, since I have modified so many cars, I told him that if he left it with me, I could absolutely make it unmistakably a one-of-a-kind in my spare time. Mike remembered that I used to be in a punk rock band and said, ‘Let’s make it a punk rock Porsche!’”
This car is the first Porsche that Montes had ever restored. Not being a long-time Porsche owner allowed him to approach the project from somewhat of an outsider’s point of view. Sometimes, a fresh set of eyes can see things from a different and unique perspective, not being as influenced by what others have done in the past.
As with most old cars, decades of multiple owners can result in some modifications that reflect the trends of the time. Aftermarket alarm systems, stereos, auxiliary lights, and body modifications can take a toll on a car’s wiring, sheet metal, and everything else on a car. This Porsche was subjected to all these things and more. As Montes dug into the project, he discovered even more issues.
“I spent an insane number of hours undoing decades of terrible things that many previous owners did to this poor car, long before Mike or his friend that sold it to him owned it,” says Montes. “For example, I think we can all agree that a battery sitting on a wood section of a two-by-four held to the sheet metal with a construction screw is less than ideal for a Porsche 911. It was that sort of stuff that I had to deal with.”
Montes discovered many things beyond maintenance items that needed to be addressed that had been ignored over the decades. Body to fender bolts were missing, the door latches had become worn and loose, and the mirrors had double-sided tape holding them together. The original wood sections of the floor boards were rotted, and the seat rails had some missing and incorrect hardware. There were some old-style racing seat belts that were mounted unsafely and some controls behind the dashboard that were disabled or not functioning correctly. A cracked dashboard, sticky gauges, loose knobs, and other dash items needed to be fixed on the 911 as well.
Restoring a vintage Porsche can reveal some unpleasant discoveries, remembers Montes: “The frunk of the 911 was probably the worst offender. It was a rat’s nest! The fuse panel was almost a comedy act, with a decade’s worth of tapping in for 12-volt power. Not to mention the insane amount of nasty electrical tape that needed to be removed.” There was also a collection of crimped wires, incorrect fuses, multiple wires on one fuse, stripped screws, and some wires in the wrong locations. The frunk also had a carpet kit that was less than adequate for Montes’ taste.
“I wanted to address this area for Mike,” says Montes. “I wanted to give him something clean, simple, and a bit more stylistic. After I addressed the wiring nightmare, I relocated the battery into the ‘smuggler’s box’ after fabricating an aluminum drop-in tray and finished it off by cutting and replacing the power and ground wires to some heavy-duty cables that were sure to get the electrical system up to snuff.”
Restoration of the frunk started with removing, cleaning, and painting the fuel tank before prepping the underlying sheet metal and spraying it with chassis black paint. Next, sheets of waterproof panelboard were fabricated to create a sleek, useable space with a style to fit the theme of the car. Some of the frunk panels had shapes that were fabricated out of aluminum, which he designed to nest neatly with the rest of the panels. Everything was then finished by being upholstered in black Alcantara fabric.
In addition to the Alcantara, Montes fabricated a carbon fiber ‘smuggler’s box’ lid to cover the battery. This was achieved by using the original box lid and making a mold of it to keep the traditional shape. All of this work took a few weeks because he wanted all of it to be serviceable and removable with the standard Porsche bolts and hardware.
Inside, the interior was very tired, so the old seats, the steering wheel, and all of the factory gauges were removed. The door panels were beyond fixing, so they went into the dumpster. Montes crafted a set of new door panels with a waterproof panel board that he upholstered in a matching blue semi-traditional plaid pattern printed on denim material. This upholstery pattern was carried through to the dash trim panel. The rest of the door panels were trimmed in the black Alcantara to enhance the sport luxury look and feel of the cabin.
“Of course, the cracked dash needed to be addressed as well,” says Montes. “Repairing those cracks was pretty easy by cutting out the raised edges and filling them with epoxy that I later sanded smooth. I didn’t want to remove the windshield or dashboard to upholster it, so I made my own tools to be able to upholster the dash with Alcantara in place. Although that was difficult, it was much easier than the alternative.” The next task was to fit Autometer gauges into the factory gauge cluster openings.
“Many people questioned the choice to use American gauges in the 911, but both Mike and I are big fans of Autometer’s Pro Comp line,” says Montes. “The fuel gauge was a bit of a challenge since the Porsche fuel level sending unit runs on a non-common ohm number. After speaking with our friend who owns Tognotti’s Auto World, an aftermarket parts retailer in Sacramento, he gave us the solution with a digitally programmable sending unit interface from Autometer.” Montes then made a carbon fiber cluster with LED indicator lights, a billet E-brake handle, billet door handles, red door open straps, and carbon fiber floor boards.
Next, Montes installed Sparco SPR adjustable hard-shell seats; however, like most sport seats, they sat a bit too high once rails were added. The issue was solved by installing two pairs of drop-seat adapters designed specifically for the older 911s. After adding the six-point Sparco seat belts, he had the look and feel he wanted. A Blaupunkt stereo head unit was fitted along with a low-profile speaker tube like the ones typically found on an ATV roll bar in the back, allowing wireless music anytime from any device.
The most recognizable feature of most cars is its exterior appearance, and this car is instantly recognizable and unique. The exterior is actually how this project got off the ground. Montes had made a rendering of what he was thinking Whittle should do to his car, with the goal of really bringing this old Porsche to life.
Since Montes was already collaborating with a race car aerodynamicist on a Ford GT40 replica, he applied those same mathematical principles and aerodynamic concepts to create the modifications you see here. Extensive design and calculations were involved, and countless hours were spent crafting molds for the carbon fiber components. The result? An impressive, nearly 300 percent increase in flat underbody surface area.
Three hundred percent? Montes explains: “Yes, we achieved a 300 percent increase in surface area, which allowed us to efficiently streamline the turbulent air and direct it in the most effective way. The front diffuser kick-up and canards were custom-made for this specific bumper, designed with the final shape of the underbody in mind.
“I built the front diffuser with a sand wood core, vacuum-formed with carbon fiber. This eliminated the open spaces under the front end that caused turbulence and significant lift. The side skirts needed to be five square feet each and perfectly flat to blend seamlessly with the factory metal 911 floor. I used 4K carbon fiber with a foam core, making them incredibly strong yet light enough to hold horizontally with one hand. Of course, fitting them to the original 911 body required a slight aerodynamic compromise, but aesthetics were key, too.
“Once the design was finalized, I began making the molds. Since I planned to produce more sets in the future, I opted for sheet metal molds for durability and long-term reliability. In fact, all of our carbon molds were made from metal. Next, I tackled the large negative spaces behind the rear tires—what I call ‘parachutes.’ These older cars have bumpers and cavities everywhere! I designed a sealed carbon fiber rear section to block those cavities and reduce drag and turbulence.
“After fabricating those parts, I turned my attention to the area beneath the deck lid, another ‘parachute’ created by the original bumper. With the rear bumper removed for aerodynamic purposes, I also needed a sealed carbon fiber section here. Since the rear mid-section would sit directly against the muffler heat shields, I solved the potential heat issue by adding gold heat shielding to the underside of the carbon fiber. Problem solved!”
Montes also wanted to get the volume of potential downforce generating air that passes under the car to be as effective as possible. The solution for increasing the speed of the air that squeezes under the car between the floor and the road was a rear diffuser that pulled more air in and directed it out of the center rear. This was a little challenging because he wanted to keep the existing stainless exhaust manifold that partially hung past the flat horizontal plane of the underbody. The only solution for this was to create an opening profile that traced the exact shape of the exhaust tubes, creating a very recognizable feature unique to this car.
Finishing the aero package on the top side of the car, Montes crafted a carbon fiber duckbill spoiler that nests perfectly into the factory engine vent groove. He finished the styling off with tinted polycarbonate engine heat vents and machined aluminum vent holes that allow the engine to vent and breathe properly. The body is painted in a bespoke blue color that was blended just for this car.
For power, a 993-generation Varioram flat-six engine was already in the car when it came to Montes.
“Our mutual friend and awesome race car driving madman Colby, from Muffler Tech in Sacramento, California, installed it,” says Montes. “I had very little to mess with in there. I only needed to move some wires, make the carbon fiber dividing panels, fuse box cover, and a couple of small, superficial modifications. The 915 transmission and its WEVO components were also worked on before me. That was done by Holleran’s Performance in Auburn, California, which specifically works on vintage Porsche cars. The only thing left was to give this car a proper personality.”
The suspension was already dialed in with Rebel Racing suspension components, coilovers, and a Tarett Engineering anti-roll bar and drop links. Montes designed carbon fiber and billet front strut tower braces for the project. The finishing touch was the massive three-piece Fuch/BBS wheels that were disassembled and restored in a satin black powder coat.
Giving the car a real identity was something that Whittle and Montes had discussed often. After a few ideas and conversations, they came up with a perfect name for the car. At some point, Whittle said something to the effect of, “That would be the bomb,” prompting Montes to say, “Hey—how about B72!”. Since Whittle and Montes are both fans of defense aircraft like the B52 strategic bomber, it was a perfect fit to give this Blue 1972 911 a fitting designation. That is how Mike Whittle’s B72 came to be.
A tremendous amount of time, thought, and aerodynamic engineering went into this car. It may look wild, but the design is based on sound aerodynamic principles that have resulted in a wild design that has tamed the wind. A different perspective on a classic design has created a very interesting and unique Porsche.
