1974 Carrera Coupe - RHD, UK car

[nrc914]

That looks fantastic Paul - can't wait to see it hooning around Farnham and surrounding countryside!

[johnM]

Mmmmm Limey.

[waller]

I don't normaly have much to say but having read this right from the start over this week I have to say well done for putting the effort and money into this ,it would have been no fun spending the money on a new car ,and that would only go down in value

you have built a stunning car that should you ever sell im sure would be a name the price and it would fly away truly a money in the bank car ,which im sure you will forget and drive it like it should be

thanks for the enjoyable read
james

[Ferry Man]

thanks for the enjoyable read

Thanks James.

[Ferry Man]

The car is finished.

I collected from Nick late last week and just had time on Thursday evening to complete a few last minute touches and apply the decals.
Then Friday morning I set out for Pendine Sands (for the vintage hod rod racing on the beach).

The Carrera now has 750 miles on the clock!

(Thanks to Nick for the 'collection' picture below).

[Ferry Man]

Lyn & I spent a very pleasant weekend in South Wales and the car got a 'shake-down' before my trip to the Le Mans Classic in a couple of days.

Pictured below at Laugharne Castle.

[Bootsy]

Sits wonderfully.

Look forward to seeing it in Porsche Parking at Le Mans

[Ferry Man]

I'll find time today to write up my experiences with the car over the weekend but suffice to say I'm delighted with it.

I took the car on the salty beach along with the vintage racers but sadly I discovered from Nick Moss that in effect I've voided any & all warranty by doing so....

[Nige]

Looks great, is the ar*se down stance just settling in?

[Ferry Man]

Sits wonderfully.

Hmmm.
That's what I was thinking.
Or was I?

I confess I was not happy with the ride height.
And that’s entirely my fault.

I’d asked Early911 to set the car low. Purposefully low.
And yet when I collected I thought that’s a bit too low.
Then – after fuelling the car – I walked back to the vehicle and thought, wow, that looks great.
What a fabulous stance.
So, I spent 24 hours thinking: Is it high enough? Is it sitting low? Do I like it? Or don’t I?

All of this conjecture was of no real consequence because I’d always planned to take the car for a proper session to get the geometry sorted. I’d told Nick to set it ‘near enough’ and I’d drive it a good few miles to let things bed in and settle. Then it would get set up accurately.

Well – as it turned out – the ride height decision was made for me.
I had driven for two days without incident but upon turning into a car park there was a nasty ‘twang’ and it wasn’t the body grounding, it was a heart sinking moment.

You need to understand that the car was low, it had a heavy driver at the wheel and a beautiful (slim & lightweight) woman in the passenger seat, suitcases in the front and a brimmed tank of fuel.
As we entered the car park it was up a steep ramp and turning to the left. In doing so the treads of the front tyre caught the inner wheel arch lip and ripped it downward. Ouch.
It sounded bad but didn’t look too bad.
With carefully application of a wooden screwdriver handle between tyre and arch I was able to ‘ease’ the metal back to level and no damage to the paint.

But that was enough.
So, I felt it was time to lie in the gravel and try and raise the ride height.
I did have an 11mm ring spanner with me and it was simple enough to gain an extra ½ inch of clearance.
That resolved that problem.

[markm]

Paul, that does look nice congrats. Look forward to seeing it this weekend

[hot66]

looks great Paul

Does look like it's sitting low though

edit : posted before reading your other post .

[Ferry Man]

Looks great, is the ar*se down stance just settling in?

I’d expect an early 911 to have a wheel arch height of 25.5” at the front and 25” rear.
After my tweaking I’ve ended up with 24.5” on both fronts and 24” on the passenger side rear and more like 23” on the drivers side.
I’m guessing my raising of the front nearside may have only helped to further compromise the rear offside (these things all being connected) but it’ll do for now.
I will get things raised a little more and evened up soon.
But it drives absolutely fine now.

[Ferry Man]

I will admit I've discovered a few niggles and that's exactly why I'd tried to put plenty of miles on the car before setting off to foreign lands.
One thing Nick warned me about was a loose gear knob.
I'd supplied an aftermarket gear knob but Nick said it wasn't the firmest of fit.

Well after a few miles of it coming off in my hand every time I grabbed for 2nd or 4th I thought I have to remedy this.
So, I rummaged in my parts bin and found an old Sportomatic version.
Banged that on firmly and it's never moved since. Perfect.

Now, I have ordered a fresh crush tube and I may try re-installing the brand new gear knob but - for now - I'm rather liking the sporto.
I know where 'Park' is, I know where 'Drive' is. Wonderful.
I'm taking a perverse pleasure in having the wrong knob.
And you didn't expect to see that sentence written on DDK did you?

[jb]

I'm taking a perverse pleasure in having the wrong knob.

Maverick!