Hey I've just started building one of these too! Except I'll be doing the car from Steve McQueen's movie "Le Mans" that is a little bit different. Do you know about the HRM resin engine transkit? Good luck with your build, I'm sure you'll be finished way before I am.
Regarding references, below is a link to a gallery of a 917K rebuilt by Gunnar Racing. Maybe not period accurate but mighty impressive all the same.
http://www.pbase.com/917carl/car_returns&page=all