I deliberated long and hard over whether I should take the 356 over to Classic Le Mans or smooth down there in the 911. In the end I thought that as the car had travelled to RPM Tecnik earlier in the year and then to Boxengasse or whatever it was called after that plus the Classics on the Green affair which was a bit nearer to me and on each of these trips had performed without drama or at least nothing had fallen off, I thought let's go for it, paint UK on the back and head off for Folkestone and 'sous La Manche.
There were three 911 in the party and we all made a complete balls up of trying to stay together so our Rouen lunch stop went by the wayside. I didn't see any of the other guys until I found my way to the village where we staying. The chateau we had rented for the classic Le Mans event was incredible, a 16th century manor house with walls a foot think vast bedrooms and living rooms, extensive gardens, garages and out buildings, a stream at the end of the gardens where there was also a herb garden which our chef Martin put to very good use. We knew we were going to be very comfortable.
There is loads of stuff about the actual racing at CLM on you tube and such so I won't go into detail here except to say that Porsche club France did a super job looking after us with a splendid air conditioned grand marquee with cold beer and beverages plus coffee and nibbles which was a very welcome oasis on the hot and hectic days at the circuit.
The guys intention was to take in some of the invasion beaches but long lunches and long distances made this something that we shall endeavour to complete on a subsequent trip, quite possibly next year. However we did have a rather nice stay at the lovely harbour town of Honfleur. And way too soon we were hammering up the autoroute back to Calais for the shuttle train and then the dreadfully boring drive back home.
I parked the 356 in my garage on Wednesday night after driving over 1200 absolutely trouble free miles. I was quite impressed with my little car but it wasn't going to get any rest - not for a while because on Saturday morning it was off to Goodwood for the Flat 6 trackday. All I had done to the car was to throw a pint of 20/50 in the tank to top it up, I hadn't pulled the plugs or lashed the valves - done nothing but it was still going very well indeed. Goodwood was brilliant, I was out with some quite quick bits of kit - GT2's and 3's and most were gentlemanly when passing - my 160bhp to their 450 makes me something of a road block but passing was always on my left and always on the straights so everyone was cool. My pal Nathan was there and he very kindly took some pics of the car which I just hope I will be able to transfer onto my ramblings here. So here goes and KTF guys.https://1drv.ms/a/s!AmagAyllnMgIgdlo2XUDkntvIwh3cQ
Project 25
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Re: Project 25
Porsche 356B T6 (modified), Porsche Macan Turbo , Porsche SSE, Dax 289 Cobra, Buell S2 Thunderbolt, Honda ST 70/125, Harley Davidson custom evo softail
Re: Project 25
Nice write ups Graham. Glad it’s going well. Never mind about being slower than other guys on track - they like something to overtake! That’s the way I see it anyway.
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- I luv DDK!
- Posts: 906
- Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:20 pm
- Location: West Sussex
Re: Project 25
Jobs to be undertaken are: pull the engine and gearbox. I'm swapping the 2.4 for a 3.2 - more power, more torque. Gearbox up for a lower ratio diff, replace very noisy 5th gear bearing and general check over. Reposition shift rod and mech to enable fitment of my Rennspeed shifter which is a lovely bit of kit, (got one in my SSE - great gear changes). Fit 944 turbo front calipers and a remote servo (this might need a vacuum pump) and after this lot have a hunt round for a nice interior if I have any dosh left over which is highly improbable.
Porsche 356B T6 (modified), Porsche Macan Turbo , Porsche SSE, Dax 289 Cobra, Buell S2 Thunderbolt, Honda ST 70/125, Harley Davidson custom evo softail
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- I luv DDK!
- Posts: 906
- Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:20 pm
- Location: West Sussex
Re: Project 25
So that was the morning taken care of and after a bit of lunch I got cracking with getting the engine and gearbox out of the car. I pulled all the wires and pipes clear, took a few pictures to remind me of where they all went and taped and labelled all the loose stuff. The most difficult bit was getting to all the oil pipes but I've got some big spanners, I think they are ex-railway, anyway it all came loose thankfully. As you can understand it's all a bit tight in the back of the 356 so I used my engine crane and a trolley jack underneath to jiggle it all out. I hadn't realised how heavy the trans actually is and I did have a problem getting the universal joint on the front (rear?) of the gearbox to clear the back part of the centre tunnel but I threw an additional strap around the trans and was able to pull it clear, then it was next stop, ground floor.
Tomorrow it's out with the Jizer, scrubbing brush and power hose and get it all sparkling clean or at least less grimy.
Porsche 356B T6 (modified), Porsche Macan Turbo , Porsche SSE, Dax 289 Cobra, Buell S2 Thunderbolt, Honda ST 70/125, Harley Davidson custom evo softail