A Dream Fulfilled - MY 904FF

[jwhillracer]

Steve

I will take your comment as a compliment but it reminds me of the saying " it takes one to know one!"

.........and you seem to know several, Bill!

Best wishes from another nut,

JW

[Pandora]

I would invite "Pandora" and any others to come and see the car at any time.

Excellent! lets arrange a time and I'd love to pop down

Al

[Kirklands 904]

Well, back again to continue the saga. As I have been writing these notes I realise that my time line is all mixed up so the story is not necessarily sequential but just as I remember it. Those who know me will appreciate my problem!

There is one little story that I am forced to tell against myself. Since the original 904 was a Targa Florio and Le Mans car, I decided early on that it had to have a proper fuel tank that would give a reasonable range on the road, would fill the space under the bonnet and look something like the original. It would be good if it could be fabricated in aluminium. The tank would sit on the top chassis members and would have a sump which would give a reserve and prevent surge.

My pal, Alex Brown then became involved. Alex is the owner of the Fairley Mercury - a 1953 Shelsley special, single seater with a Mercury V8 flathead which has been breathed on somewhat and is approaching ERA times at Shelsley Walsh. It is beast and takes some driving to such an extent that after one particularly hairy run which finished with the Fairley squirming its way up the finishing straight, a marshall in the top paddock suggested to Alex that you didn't see many of a certain type driving that sort of car.

Alex, ever helpful, suggested a chap on the West Coast who might be able to do it.This chap shall remain anonymous for reasons that will soon become clear.

He visited and took measurements of what shape it had to be to fill the hole in the front. He indicated that he would make a model to check everything was correct before going on to fabricate the final tank. He appeared weeks later with the most magnificent WOODEN tank which can be seen below. The only problem was that it didn't fit!. He now revealed that he couln't weld aluminium but that he had found a subcontractor who would do it for a four figure sum. This was far more than I had expected or was prepared to spend and as far as I was concerned we had better terminate the whole thing. We now had weeks of arguing how he was to be paid for the hours and hours and hours he had spent on the wooden tank We finally agreed a figure at which I thought I was being absolutely done and was being taken for the proverbial ride.

On a trip to Malton with the Fairley, Pete Robson, who did the engine work, when he heard the story said that he could make a tank but it would have to be in steel and it would be useful to have a model to work to. Back at home, I made a wooden model in a morning and that was duly transported to Yorkshire.

Somewhere around this time, I had seen a chap on E-bay who was making replica Porsche Filler caps. A 4" version was duly ordered from California and was taken with the tank. A bolt-on filler neck was made by George Laycock in Norton to accomadate the huge filler cap. A few weeks later it arrived by courier and is now fitted and in operation. One day I shall work out what it holds but it's a bloody lot! You will note from the photograph below that it has a flip up filler and not the Porsche replica. Simple reason is that the Porsche one was put away safely and for the life of me I cannot remember where!. A replacement had to be purchased and the tank modified to take it. Pete Robson made a beautiful job and baffled the main tank to prevent surge. I paid less for this one than the wooden one.

I now have a thing about fuel tanks and go absolutely rigid even at the mention of tanks especially wooden ones.









Have a laugh on me, a sorry tale!!

[mdmax72]

At least you got there in the end Bill even if it was the expensive and long way round.

Here's what l came up to satisfy my engine thirst.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=40982

Is your car going to be a road going or just for the hill climbing events?

[Kirklands 904]

Rich

You haven't been in my workshop, have you? Your filler cap looks identical to the one that I have misplaced!.

I love your tank, lovely job!

I am hoping to get my 904FF on the road and do a few hill climbs but not looking forward to the IVA test.

[40 scout]

Bill you are nuts !!

Take my hat of to you sir

Keep up the amazing work

Steve

Certainly meant as a compliment Bill - your dedication is amazing - well done

Steve

[Kirklands 904]

Well, here we are back again.

I am back in Scotland after the first outing of the 904FF at Shelsley Walsh which did not go entirely to plan. In fact it was a bloody disaster.

I had two major problems

1) the engine would not go properly and the Dellortos kept flooding and in fact at one point the engine hydraulicced and we gave ourselves a petrol shower clearing it with the plugs removed. I have left the car in the Midlands with Aldon (Alan Goodwin) to sort it out on his rolling road.

2) the gear change was hopeless. I tried to use the original 914 linkage with the tail shift 901 box but it did not allow me to find the gears and I when one was found I was never sure what it was. It could be reverse, second or fourth or alternatively first, third or fifth. I must express my appreciation to Jonathon Williamson who battled manfully with Walter to try and adjust the linkage to give first and second/third so that I got one run up the hill ( very slowly I may add with a misfiring engine and missed gears)
I am now appealing for help - a chap approached me and told me he had put a cable change system on the tail shift 901 box in a replica he had built and promised he would send me details of the company who provided the kit. I have not heard from him (probably a mix up on email addresses) so I am wondering if anyone knows of this company or kit or alternatively have any drawing or pictures of a cable change for the 901 box. I have found on sit on the internet etischer.com which shows a DIY solution but would be grateful for any further advice and assistance.

[jwhillracer]

Hi Bill,

Would you please PM me your email address - I have a drawing and a few instructions for adjusting the tail-shift linkage from the factory manual for you.

Cheers!

JW

[911hillclimber]

Bill, so sorry your first visit was so full of issues, and with respect to the gear change, boy, do I know how you feel!

My 915 box now changes gear like a standard 915 in an early 911.

do you have a picture/diagram how your lever in the cabin is arranged please?
I guess the 914 box you have has a dog-leg 1st?

[Kirklands 904]

PM sent to JW

Box is dogleg first and tail shift out of a 1970 914. Linkage is fitted as 914 with front rod shortened since distance from lever to rear bulkhead shorter on my 904FF than on a 914.rear rod is standard 914. New balls and bearings all through

I have no photos nor can I take any till the car is back with me.

[911hillclimber]

Is the dog leg 1st sprung Bill? Ie on the 914 do you have to overcome a small spring to go over the neutral plane and back to 1st?
I found the positioning of the link to the rear shaft of the box critical and not to bulk the detented gear selector positions.
The 915 layout is far simpler to accommodate, but the Elva Porsche I think used the 356 box and rear end selector.
Search google for pics (there are plenty) and you will see the linkage.
At the start I had the Lola's linkage straight onto the box selector shaft. This turned out to be a weak solution.
My box now has the original link Crispin Manners and Co designed and it is much better though made of many parts.

[Brookesy]

I am in the process of fitting a complete cable shift system to my Nike which has a 2.7 s mated to a 914 tailshift box.

I sourced the system from Brandwood Cars. Arizona USA. If you google cableshift you will find the website and see a full range of shift solutions for VW and Porsche applications.

You will notice that on the website it mentions that a system is not available for the early tail-shifter, however after a few emails and phone calls, they have supplied me with the first one they have developed and the quality and standard of fabrication and overall finish of the product is truly outstanding, and I found them very helpful to work with.

Due to the installation of the gearbox in my spaceframe I need to make a minor modification to give clearance to the cable mounting bracket. However it woud be a straight bolt on job with a standard set up, with a complete new gearlever console mechnism and very high quality cables to replace the 914 lever/rod system.

The system was not cheap as it attracted the dreaded carriage from US and of course import duty, but I consider it worth every penny to give me a slick, positive gearchange with no play no matter what your engine and gearbox mounts are allowing your engine to do and even includes a reverse lockout to prevent those moments that sometimes occur with the dogleg gate system.

I will post some photographs when I get the frame mods completed.

[911hillclimber]

Good to read you are still going at it!

I seem to have a 915 that actually shifts gear 99% reliably, still depends on the quality of the 'operator' though..

[Kirklands 904]

Thanks for info on Brandwood Cars and their scheme.

My pal Peter Bentley and I have designed a cable scheme which we shall share with you all when we we have it installed and checked that it works. At the moment I have a Porsche Boxster gear lever installed in the cockpit, have made a mounting bracket that fits on to the two studs at the back of the box which normally holds the rear bearing on the shift rod. A bellcrank is fitted to the mounting bracket which will have a ball pin fitted to it to move the shift lever in and out. Another cable will rotate the shift lever to operate the relevant fork in the box. I will keep you all advised as we progress.

[Pandora]

I was still in touch with the ex-Porsche designer Dawson Sellar

Hi Kirklands,

Sorry to be the bearer of sad news, but Dawson passed away last month. He had been battling Cancer for a few years.

He was one of the nicest, most innovative, practical and enthusiastic guys you could meet, and taught me so much about the realities of design, with the benefit that a funny tale from his times at Porsche, BMW, Ogle or Ford or work with Sweepers, Landing-Linde or Linn Hi-fi was never too far away.

At Porsche he was perhaps best known for the 928 Interior layout and design, but also did a lot of work on liveries for race cars - the 908 Targa cars, 917 'pink pig' and some of the early Martini coloured cars, to name a few.

To demonstrate his level of innovation, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5WEMqXk4U0

I'll miss him.

Al

EDIT - Tribute from Peter Stevens - check out the 914, he never mentioned that his was an ex-development car when I had mine, though he did give me an original sales brochure he had knocking about.
http://www.cardesignnews.com/articles/n ... on-sellar/