356 Race Car

[sladey]

They make good boot polish

Also love the car

[roy mawbey]

It was nice to have chat with you also Martin this morning. Steve's car is really very nice, and the engine sounds great. Ian his engine guy really knows his way round the mechanics of the 356. A most interesting couple of hours.

I believe his first race will be at Donnington this Spring. ( If I overheard things correctly )

Roy

[vwretrosteve]

saw a few stills and some video of the action earlier - would have liked to have shown some support in person, but been on a deadline today.

all the best for the season ahead

[earlybay]

Hope testing went well today Steve, shame I couldnt get down there today too - hopefully be there next time though ..

[steve wright]

thanks guys, more pics to follow. great day getting to know the car (only the third time I had driven her (the other two were to the petrol station and MOT testing station!) so it was a real "let's get to know each other" session. Wonderfull day and great to see everyone there. the car performed better than expected: very chuck-able and forgiving, so it inspires lots of confidence. chassis and brakes are fantastic and the engine feels unburstable - it spent most of it's time between 5,500 and 7,000rpm all day. towards the end it went off song with a lack of urge/misfire type problem we've had since it landed. Ian has gone through all the electrics and we've changed the fuel so it's either a blocked jet or something similar or the right hand carb which was spitting back up into the throat of the carb. We've decided to can them and focus on getting the Solex P11-4's sorted so will install them instead. But what a day - thanks again to Robert for organising what is a great day out. Cheers, Steve

[dragonfly]

what a day - thanks again to Robert for organising what is a great day out.

It was a great day out, but sorry I didn't pop over to say hello. Your car looked beautiful!

[steve wright]

Sorry Dragonfly, we were pretty absorbed in fettling the car. yours looked like a great bit of kit and seemed to spend the entire day going round the circuit!

A few picture of the day, always good at Goodwood! I should add it was a really productive day as well. we tried a host of different steering wheels before settling on a Speedwell unit, removed the seat cushion to get us lower, realised the reason the passenger wiper was removed was because it floats on the screen above 90mph, found we needed to sort a front left drum that is dragging, scrubbed and got familiar with the Dunlop racing tyre (boy do those babies drift!), and got tyre pressures, etc dialled in. It was also good to find the engine temp remained rock steady and entirely acceptable, the brakes didn't get hot, nor the tyres, and the gearshift was sweet: we were going to install a quick-shifter, but this will shift as quick as you can dip the clutch. so all in all a great day....





After spending a fair bit of time up the arse of the 356 yesterday, this morning Ian took the P11-4's to be refurbished and stripped the front axle so we can rebuild the king and link pins. The GT drums are HUGE (sory no pic) but we'll probably reline the ally 55A shoes. Does anyone know who might do this in England?

Cheers,
steve

[964RS]

Steve

Please do not post any more pics of your car. I already take tablets for my BP and this is not going to help!

Unless they are of the car for sale of course...in which case post them in an email to me.

Fantastic looking car and all the best of luck for the races ahead - hope I can get to one to see it on track.

[one-two]

It's the people and the cars that make the Goodwood days so much fun - so any thanks are due to Al and to Steve and Ian. And also to Roy who quietly parked the loveliest 356A in the paddock. Best wishes, Robert

[sisu]

Good to see you getting the shakedown of the 356 under your belt. Hope you get some of the niggles sorted.
Driving on hard old bias ply tyres should have been a good schooling for the dunlop tyres you have.

[steve wright]

and a few more arty shots from a mate who came down for the afternoon to check things out
me thinking "now which way does the first corner go...". You really get a sense of just how small the 356 is from this perspective.


Checking tyre pressures


In the pits (love this shot)


And the final one, pressing on... and realising from this shot that I could've clipped the chicane a LOT more aggressively!

[roy mawbey]

Steve,

You friends 1st shot of the 356A from above is my favourite view of the car. It just makes me realise just how clever Kommenda was in the 560's to get something so right. It makes me more than pleased that I can see the same view on mine.

Roy

[roy mawbey]

In the 50's finger trouble

Roy

[steve wright]

Does anyone have any experience with suspension settings (castor, camber and toe for front and rear) racing the 356? thanks as always. Steve

[sisu]

Have you had Paragon do a 4 wheel laser alignment yet? Your car isn't that far away from stock in terms of suspension, wheels and tyres. They may suggest slight changes but they will give you a print out as well. This will at least give you a reference point.