My new project.........

[Mike]

Thanks everyone for the comments, appreciate the feedback and the effect the car has on people, I've said it before
but it really does make it all worthwhile.

As for the what fuel question, just regular pump stuff, if Neil's feeling particularly flush he might splash out on 97,
but as it's me more likely the cheaper one!

Walter Rohl, Vic Elford, great names indeed, and even Mark Hales won't be able to find fault with this gearbox......

Realistically though I had always hoped the original pairing of Pucci and Steckkonig would be involved but sadly as
I mentioned in the pic of the day thread, Giulio Pucci died two years ago but I'm recently in touch with his brother
Gianfranco, who is looking forward to the car coming to Sicily later this year where we can show it to the remaining
Pucci family. The family are Sicilian so very much local hero's with the father Count Antonio Pucci competing in 356's
and 904's during the 50' and 60's, should be quite a welcome.

The co driver Gunther Steckkonig is alive and kicking and still around the historic scene, after the Targa he went on
to race 908/3's, 934's and 935's and he's demonstrated the 917, in fact here he is discussing gearbox's with David
Piper, that's Piper wagging his finger saying "miss a gear and I'll sue"



Gunther looks a great old boy, anyone who waxes his moustache is ok by me!

[Mike]

Anyway back to the paintwork. The devils in the detail they say, so here's some devilish detail for you! The boys at 'Unit 24' have
been busy finishing the major panels while artist Mandy has been doing the fine detail work.

One of the best decals on the 'werks' cars was the Bosch Electric with the sparkplug, a fantastic piece of artwork. It didn't feature
on the original of mine at the Targa but it was on it in one of it's earlier guises. That was enough for me so here's it going on, the
Bosch Electric and the pin stripe have already been done, so Mandy's just sprayed the black on the sparkplug and is now taking
out the masking to show the silver underneath. You can see the pieces from the plug's screw thread on her thumb.

[Mike]

I had made a sticker for the Heinzmann extinguisher system bottle, but it would have been too easy to put one of those on the scuttle......











Needs a little cleaning up of the edges, but came out really well. The umlaut over the U will have the distinction of being the smallest bit
of paint detail on the car

[sladey]

I must remember that for my next game of trivial pursuit

[Mike]

thanks Mark

We tried redoing the Prototype on the duck tail in the German spelling without the 'e' but didn't work at all.
So gone back to how it was, only better!

[Uk911]

Just insane, totally insane.......but bloody loverly...mark

[Mike]

Thanks Mark, hope that means you like it!

The last piece of art work (hooray I hear you say) has proved to be the most difficult in terms of finding the right design.
It's the ACS logo on the front nearside wing. I always assumed that ASC was the Automobile Club of Sicily which would figure
but as we researched it there's no such organisation.







This colour pic through the flowers gave us the yellow colour of the band and then the shot of the car jacked up showed the
yellow band was actually a sprocket so we could work with that, but it was only when Jason the painter spent some time on
google that he came up with what ACS actually was, it's the Automobile Club of Switzerland, here's the clubs current modern
logo.

[hot66]

what was the swiss link to the car ?

[Mike]

The ACS is Switzerland's version of the AA, so now began the phone calls to Zurich which started with me pretending my car
had broken down as the only phone numbers on their non english web site were the emergency ones. Eventually got through
to the right people who spent days trawling their archives, libraries and motorsport department all to no avail.

So the Automobile Club of Switzerland couldn't find a copy of their badge from the 1970's, maybe the Swiss should stick to
what they do best, making chocolate.

As for the Swiss connection James, I can only think it must be the co-driver Steckkonig, a German but perhaps Swiss-German,
the question's winging it's way to him as we speak!

[Lightweight_911]

Mike - do you know George Krompecher (GeorgeK on Early S Registry/Pelican, etc) ?

He's Swiss & a very knowledeable guy ...

I can pm his contact details if you need it.

[Mike]

That would be great thanks Andy! Might have to edit the bit about Swiss making chocolate......

So now Mandy the artist and I sat at the computer and working from the old photos came up with our representation of the design.
Jason and Mandy then positioned the first mask for the circle and the black base went on. Working in solvent so a quick blast with
the heat gun and then on with main mask, then the white for the lettering and the yellow of the band and more heat gun.





Then the exciting bit, the reveal! Off peels the masking to show the finished thing........





Once again a great job by the team, made more so by the fact this was the last one



Just as we were finishing the design stage we had one last bit of help as Gianfranco, Giulio Pucci's brother sent me a picture
of Giulio getting into the car, and the picture showed the best view of the ACS logo so far, pretty much as Mandy had drawn it.

[pht9]

Great stories Mike, this car needs a book publishing on it, like the 917-021 story

[Mike]

Thanks Phil, see you at Essen hopefully!

[Highfield]

or maybe Mike they really were paid up members in case of a roadside need

[911hillclimber]

Mike, this really is gob-smackin'

I've just been looking for a green the nearest match from Halfords to Bilstein damper green and I thought I was trying hard!

Just got to admire your pointed attention to detail!

Doubt this could be put into a book, maybe a trillogy!

Love this thread.
Graham.