Using an early 911 as intended

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steve wright
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Using an early 911 as intended

Post by steve wright »

I decided to go to Bug-In to support Ian who is debuting his new race car. I couldn't make it for the whole weekend so took the 911 to Chimay, Belgium for just the day. It popped and banged for the first 10 minutes, dropping down to five cylinders, to rub in the fact that I'd not really driven her properly for months. As soon as she was warm I wound the car out to clear the fouled plugs and then we had a glorious drive there. Early Tunnel crossing (6.20am)
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A quick blast through France and into Belgium on deserted roads... stopping just for a moment on the old Chimay GP circuit, the remains of which can still be seen...
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Arriving in time for croissants and coffee.
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At Bug-In you see the weird and wonderful, here's a couple of examples.
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And yes the 356 drag car was as fast as it was mental.

Then Ian got in the Spyder, put it on the start-line and wound it off the clock before dumping the clutch at 8,000rpm and wheel-spinning off the line for a hairy first ride down the quarter mile. The thing will run to 10,000rpm and with a close-ratio 5-speed box will easily be a 10-second car when it's dialled in. To give you some sense of it's acceleration that's a whole lot quicker than the latest 911 Turbo.... And yes you have to dress crazy and be slightly crazy to drive something like this...
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Then it was back in the car for the blast home. Averaged 90mph on the run back, with the speedo not dropping below 80, with a couple of clear runs on open sections of motorway where I could stretched the legs of the car. It was rock steady and absolutely without any drama. Oil pressure & temperature all lovely - It felt like it would've happily pulled to the 8,000rpm redline, which if my maths is correct would be knocking on the door of 170mph.... Not bad for a tiny watch-winder of a motor :wink:
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All in all 9 hours driving and 7 hours wandering around Bug-In drinking it all in. What a great day and a lovely testament to what these cars can do, but more importantly, what fun can be had from them.

Cheers,
Steve

(Now all loved up again with his 2.2S!!!!!!)
'53 356 Pre-A (a box of bits!)
'54 Okrasa/Porsche/VW special
'58 356A Super (GS-spec)
'65 Razoredge Ghia
'66 Westfalia Camper
'70 911S (2.3 ST Le-Mans spec engine)

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http://www.classicporschemag.co.uk
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hot66
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Using an early 911 as intended

Post by hot66 »

Nice one Steve 8) Sometimes it takes a good run like this to get reacquainted :)
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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by one-two »

Steve, great stuff - let's have more pics of that crazy FIAT!
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Using an early 911 as intended

Post by sladey »

Any more info on this car?
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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by jury »

sladey wrote:Any more info on this car?
Image


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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by steve wright »

Sladey, it's an amazing little car. handmade 3 litre engine, carbon-fibre tub, lots of one-off hand crafted pieces, etc. I had a good chat with one of the guys from Vintech - they were justifiably proud of the build. they're a design studio and do a lot of stuff for the car manufacturers, but are old Porsche nuts so decided to display their skills by building this.

Enjoy the details at the link here: http://vintech-p550.blogspot.co.uk
'53 356 Pre-A (a box of bits!)
'54 Okrasa/Porsche/VW special
'58 356A Super (GS-spec)
'65 Razoredge Ghia
'66 Westfalia Camper
'70 911S (2.3 ST Le-Mans spec engine)

http://www.pushrod.org

http://www.classicporschemag.co.uk
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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by Bootsy »

Great thread - Mr Clark has come a long way since 'Bass Thing' (any old VW fans from the early 90s will get the reference!)
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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by sladey »

steve wright wrote:Sladey, it's an amazing little car. handmade 3 litre engine, carbon-fibre tub, lots of one-off hand crafted pieces, etc. I had a good chat with one of the guys from Vintech - they were justifiably proud of the build. they're a design studio and do a lot of stuff for the car manufacturers, but are old Porsche nuts so decided to display their skills by building this.

Enjoy the details at the link here: http://vintech-p550.blogspot.co.uk
Thanks Steve,

Once I followed the link I remembered when it came out. Also see they have no plans to produce them for sale. Interesting that they seem to be using the car
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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by WPS »

Hi all.

Steve had clearly enjoyed himself when he turned up in Belgium, big cheesy grin and some colourful language :bounce: and having ridden "shotgun" in the car to LeMans on strictly minor roads I can vouch for it's ability....and that engine sings!!
He keeps threatening to put the megaphones back on it as I've only heard it in "street trim" but he might be getting a bit old for all that now :lol:

A few shots and some incar of the "crazy" Fiat....sorry to the purests on here but I was asked.
It's a 1967 850 Spider. Tube chassis,straight tube front axle (dragster) and 4-link swing axle rear end with a modified Bug box with 5 dog gears and a spool with a 1999cc 225hp ish bug motor...highly modified of course.
We were only shaking down at the weekend but after years of building the thing it felt great and very different from the 356 racing I've been doing with Steve....think Tequila verses a good Red!

Enjoy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEbgiGqEO_w
Last edited by WPS on Thu Jul 25, 2013 3:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by decapman »

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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by hot66 »

what's the other lever for ? a fiddle brake ?
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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by steve wright »

Ah, welcome to DDK Mr Clark. First time I've seen in-car footage of you drag racing. That looks mental, like it's on fast-forward! More like snorting Tequila than drinking red wine I reckon... You will definitely need the parachute as relying on the hand lever for brakes seems a little crazy to me :shock:
'53 356 Pre-A (a box of bits!)
'54 Okrasa/Porsche/VW special
'58 356A Super (GS-spec)
'65 Razoredge Ghia
'66 Westfalia Camper
'70 911S (2.3 ST Le-Mans spec engine)

http://www.pushrod.org

http://www.classicporschemag.co.uk
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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by WPS »

what's the other lever for ? a fiddle brake ?

It's for staging/preloading the car so you don't have to use the foot brake (it's got one of those aswell) when preparing for the off....basically an inline master cylinder. It's only got rear brakes, 356B drums , most early racecars used 356 boxes but that soon ended in the early 70's when the aftermarket industry took off and VW close ratio gears (much stronger too) became available.
Stopping quickly is not too important in drag racing and in a lightweight car approx.500kg the drums work surprisingly well but we'll see...as Steve mentioned it may get a parachute in the future if things get scary! :shock:
Last edited by WPS on Thu Jul 25, 2013 3:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1952 VW Type 1
1959 Fiat 600
1966 Porsche 912
1967 Fiat 850 Spider
1967 Dodge A100
1971 Greeves Pathfinder

Wolfsburg Performance Services

+44 (0)7880-311850

#wpsengines

ian.clark@wolfsburgperformance.co.uk
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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by Barry »

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Re: Using an early 911 as intended

Post by Pandora »

I'm sure there is a good reason, but why the Fiat style body? I'd have assumed a Ghia or Beetle? is it a car you builtIan, or is it old?

Whichever, it's metal. Top job!

Al
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