1972 ST Clone

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BILLY BEAN
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by BILLY BEAN »

The removal of the pedal board to reposition the brake light warning switch, after the attempted burn up, showed a little light rust developing on some of the pedal box. This was something of a surprise. This was however ignored.
The car has had a light wash ( well a going over with a damp sponge) once since being back on the road and has been in a torrential down pour once. On that occasion there was a little water in the driver's footwell. Can you see where this is heading? At the time I put this down to my very wet feet getting into the car.
As the ST is at Autofarm and about to go back into their store and an indoor cover put on, I thought a bit of a clean of the bodywork was in order. Well a very thorough wash
( most uncharacteristic of me I must be getting soft in my old age) and plenty of water to get rid of the soap produced a little puddle in the driver's footwell. Being astute I put two and two together and thought well f*ck me another problem; a bloody water leak. Ironic really. First an an attempted fire and now a belated attempt by the ST to put the fire out. It is 50 years old so a bit slow in its reactions......much like the owner.
First thoughts were front screen rubber not doing its job. The screen had been a bit of a trial to fit. The screen being of a very generous size. How do we establish the culprit? Autofarm moved the car into a dark place and put a light in the front 'boot' and closed the lid. It was possible to see a tiny crack of light coming from the rear scuttle seal on the 'bonnet'. So rear seal not quite touching the GRP bonnet. Further investigation also showed that the heater/blower box seal was inadequate too. The latter relatively easily fixed with a better quality seal. The boot lid seal is more of a issue. The rear of the lid can be lowered a little on its hinges or the scuttle brace could be used to push the scuttle upwards a tiny bit but either 'solution' will upset the alignment with the scuttle which was hard won. The seal is a Porsche part rather than aftermarket and during the build of the car was a pain along the wing edges as it prevented the bonnet from aligning with the front wings. So at the moment we do not have a good solution which is not particularly positive news. Provided the car can be made watertight I am hopeful that there will be no more issues. Famous last words. Fortunately, I don't get down hearted by these problems but they are a little frustrating. They are first world problems so I can't take them seriously.
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jb
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by jb »

I feel sure that Autofarm will fix it but if it was mine I would put some kitchen towel in the footwell and run a hose onto the windscreen on that side to check - mine leaked when I did this!
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BILLY BEAN
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by BILLY BEAN »

jb wrote:I feel sure that Autofarm will fix it but if it was mine I would put some kitchen towel in the footwell and run a hose onto the windscreen on that side to check - mine leaked when I did this!
Thanks. Screen has been checked.
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BILLY BEAN
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

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Post Script.
I knew I should have stuck to not washing cars.
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BILLY BEAN
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1972 ST Clone

Post by BILLY BEAN »

Dark thoughts.
I moved house early part of September 2021 and due to lack of garage space at the 'new' residence my cars have gone into store at Autofarm and have not been used until today. Having so many months away from driving a 911 I started to feel a distance from the driving experience and questioned whether I should sell the early 911s. I have been contemplating a 1970s Alfa. Terrible admission. Perhaps the feelings I remembered getting from a 911 were actually illusory. Maybe I would not 'bond' again once in the driving seat? Being a lot older than 911hillclimber perhaps I should hang up my metaphorical driving gloves? String back of course.
Autofarm extracted the ST from their store and re fitted the gear tower. The gear tower is from a later 911 and was fitted with a short shift kit. I found this did not help the driving experience and great care had to be taken dropping down from 5th into 4th gear to avoid hitting reverse. Inevitably reverse took a few hits. The change was very "notchy" and "mechanical". Gary Cook reworked the gear tower and returned it back to standard.
There were familiar smells when I got in the car: fuel, oil and the odd remnant of a fart. The engine burst into life on the first turn of the key and the thoughts of getting rid of the car disappeared. Such a wonderful noise. Mike at Autofarm had kindly adjusted tire pressures and after strapping myself in moved off. Even at slow speeds there is a certain feeling that the car is alive. A sensation I certainly don't get in my daily BMW as nice as it is.
Went to the nearest money pit to get some E5 99 octane fuel. £80.00 almost got to the the three quarters full point on the gauge. That was not going to last long!
Since moving to Woodstock ( not the famous one in the USA) I have joined an old gits club. Of course it is not actually called that. Far more sophisticated in Woody: it is Probus. Originally assumed is was a group interested in the local transport system. The membership comprises exclusively of retired men and I am the new kid on the block. Today was a Probus outing to The Motor Hub. Been there before. Today we got to look "behind the scenes" at a private car collection. Around 20 cars. Six vintage Bentleys including four "blowers", a beautiful 1930s Alfa drop head, Ferrari 275 GTB long nose, Delage just to name a few. Some collection!
Apart from traversing to the above venue I did a detour on the return and in total covered around 85 miles on some lovely Cotswold roads. The fuel gauge does descend at an alarming rate though.
Picked up Matteo to give him a taste of ST over a short distance.
Well, thoughts of selling the car are well and truly banished. The new gear shift is a delight. Actually faster and certainly a lot smoother in operation than the short shift version.
It is a pain though not having my own garage to house the cars as it certainly inhibits the spontaneous drive out. Ah well. Good news is that today we got planning consent to add an extension to the house and to develop a two car garage. No room for a three car place so anyone interested in buying a nice 993 Targa or a short shift kit? ImageImageImage

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matteo68
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by matteo68 »

And what a machine it is too.

Even a quick trip to Eynsham and back was enough to convince me that GeLo 44 is going to be worth all the blood, sweat (Angus’), tears (both) and hard-earned (mine) over the coming year - target for completion: CLM ‘23.

Those arches over those 9’s and the raw, visceral noise as I watched you drive away this morning were things I won’t forget in a hurry. 85 miles through the Cotswolds this afternoon must have put a grin on your face from ear to ear.

Utterly awesome and something you should never, ever sell.
'72 T 210 2176 (ex-Hawaii donor car for '72 M491 2.5 SR)
'72 S 230 0347 (two-owner tangerine unicorn)
BILLY BEAN
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by BILLY BEAN »

matteo68 wrote:And what a machine it is too.

Even a quick trip to Eynsham and back was enough to convince me that GeLo 44 is going to be worth all the blood, sweat (Angus’), tears (both) and hard-earned (mine) over the coming year - target for completion: CLM ‘23.

Those arches over those 9’s and the raw, visceral noise as I watched you drive away this morning were things I won’t forget in a hurry. 85 miles through the Cotswolds this afternoon must have put a grin on your face from ear to ear.

Utterly awesome and something you should never, ever sell.
Matt,
Most kind of you.

I am sure, given your enthusiasm and determination, that your Gelo replica will be much better than my modest build.
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BILLY BEAN
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

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The ST has been extracted from the Autofarm store and as usual I was a little apprehensive. The car has been on a CTek so the battery was fully topped up. Starting took a few turns and the single light weight Odyssey battery seemed up to the job. A tootle ( it's an old phrase young people will not be familiar with) around south Oxfordshire for an hour or so and all was well. Parked the car over night on the drive at home and as close to the house as possible ( daily BMW wedged behind it) and connected the CTek.
The plan on the following day was to go to a free event at the Gaydon motor museum. Of course the day did not quite pan out as intended. I was going to set off around 4.30pm to get to Gaydon around 5.30pm via some nice, usually quiet roads. At 5.20pm I was behind schedule so decided to "catch up" some time by travelling up the M40. Boring but swift. Joined the M40 at junction 10. A mile or so the traffic comes to a standstill. Oh b×llocks! The well laid plans etc. Long story short. Very slow stop start for 45 minutes until in sight of junction 11. Then no movement for another 50 minutes. The ST is quite happy sitting in traffic but the fuel gauge was descending at an uncomfortable rate and there was not much fuel in the tank. Simple solution is switch off the engine. Another 15 or so minutes and the chaps in blue arrive down the hard shoulder. Electric over head sign now says M40 closed. Traffic starts to move a little. Thank goodness as I was at that point losing the will to live and had decided to exit the motor way when I reached junction 11 and return home. And it was raining a little now to add insult to injury or so I thought. Battery was flat so could not start the engine. Get out and push the thing onto the hard shoulder. The traffic was edging forward now and again so decided to push the car along. Even at 900 or so kg it is a tough push for my old frame. A guy in a van offered a tow but I declined as the police were in evidence. Another guy gave me a bottle of water. The rain had stopped but it was warm. Of course the approach to the slip road was not down hill but up an incline. My luck. I did keep pushing with longer and longer rest period as I was knackered. Now I was really losing the will to live. Cursing the situation and contemplating giving the car a good kicking to vent my frustration. Once did that to a Viva HB I had and which cost a bit to repair the damage. Reminding myself of this particular incident the kicking was held back and a bit of Anglo Saxon ensued. At this point I was considering abandoning the car on the hard shoulder. And then the white knights in the shape of three young blokes arrived out of some stationary cars. "What's up mate? Broken down? Can we help?" "Yes please a bump start should do it." It was an effort to get back in the car and the three Angels were already pushing. Into 1st gear clutch up and dead stop with a loud "Whoa" from the rear. Moving again and 2nd gear and start. I dare not stop to say thank you to the the guys. Relief. They saved the day. Took off up the slip road and round the junction and back down the M40 in the opposite direction and home.
Now the charging light never came on whilst the engine was ticking over in the traffic jam. The capacity of the new alternator to charge has been checked on two seperate occasions. So is it the light weight battery? For now I was happy just to get home and lie down in a darkened room.The following day changed the battery out for a standard Bosch one and hope this solves the problem or will I need to resort to a two battery set up?
Unfortunately only time will tell. It is at times like these that I am glad I have a reliable daily drive.
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by Lightweight_911 »

.

That's frustrating/annoying Kirk !!

As far as the battery is concerned, all I can say is that I've run 2 x early 911's plus my 904 - all with high compression twin-plug engines - with just a single lightweight Odyssey (PC680) battery without any problems.

All 3 cars were fitted with lightweight high torque starters.

The cars had minimal electrical requirements (no heater motors, windows, etc) but all 3 did continental trips & lots of stop-start driving without any problems.



.
Andy

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- subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere”
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by Lightweight_911 »

/\ /\ /\

Before Sam chimes in, I'll clarify the above by saying that the cars did have windows - just not electric windows ... :wink:

.
Andy

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- subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere”
BILLY BEAN
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by BILLY BEAN »

Andy,
Yes a bit frustrating. Starting to wonder when the issues will come to an end.

When I was considering the lightweight battery option both Richard ( safety colours) and your good self were positive about that type of battery. So I had no hesitation about fitting one. So maybe I have a duff Odyssey but it seems to check out OK so maybe the issue lies elsewhere? Time will tell and hopefully I do not have to do anymore pushing of cars!
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hot66
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by hot66 »

Does it go flat when the car is left off a trickle charger ? There shouldn’t really be any current draw when sat in storage
James

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BILLY BEAN
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by BILLY BEAN »

hot66 wrote:Does it go flat when the car is left off a trickle charger ? There shouldn’t really be any current draw when sat in storage
James, it is OK for a couple of days off the CTek but I have never left it any longer than that as I routinely couple my cars up to a trickle charger when parked up. Not sure what, if anything, is drawing power. No alarm, no tracker.
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by Lightweight_911 »

.

I must admit that, although I bought a couple of trickle chargers several years ago, I never use them - but I do always fit a battery cut-off switch to all my cars.

I maybe lucky but the cars always seem to start fairly easily after a period of inaction - even in some cases over the past couple of years of 6 months plus - & I've not had any problems with the batteries going flat.

Hope the problem with yours turns out to be something simple.


.
Andy

“Adding power makes you faster on the straights;
- subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere”
BILLY BEAN
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Re: 1972 ST Clone

Post by BILLY BEAN »

Thanks Andy.
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