KS's hillclimbing odyssey

[neilbardsley]

Sry to hear about your Mother in law. Many congratulations on your season.

Looking at your oil pressure/temperature gauges from the previous post aren't you tempted to get the oil hotter before the run? Motul told me that the oil works best between 90/110c

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[KS]

The oil temp gauge isn't at all accurate, but you can leave the engine running for as long as you like before a run and it never gets hot. One reason why I don't run an extra oil cooler. Only when being made to work hard for a prolonged period out on the road does the temp rise significantly. Also bear in mind that you are at the mercy of the pit marshall - you go when he says, not when you're engine's at a perfect working temp.

[KS]

Well, it's been a while since I bored you all silly so thought it was about time I brought those of you still awake an update.

A lot has been happening over the last couple of months, largely revolving around spending money I don't have. I thought the 'triple lock' safeguarding state pensions included protecting you from the rising cost of motorsport, but apparently it doesn't. Must write to my MP to complain. So, I decided to drop the engine and box out of El bastardo naranja and, as a post elsewhere on DDK suggested, swap out the rods, pistons and cylinders for something new. The reason for this is that the rods are, TBH, too short for use with the 78mm crank, while the pistons are designed for use with stock 71mm stroke crank. I decided to swap out the cylinders at the same time so I could sell on the complete 2056cc conversion package (more details soon) to help fund the upgrades.

After chats with Jim Calvert at Stateside Tuning, who I've known for 30+ years, I bought a set of AA 5.325in rods with ARP bolts (as opposed to the 5.158in originals), and a set of JE forged 'stroker' pistons and European Racing cylinders. This will likely push the peak power slightly further up the rpm range but that's not a problem. The pistons will be slightly lighter which will help, too. The rest of the engine will stay the same. Well apart from the valve springs - they're to be slightly heavier as the current set has suffered a little from the engine being red-lined on every run. That has meant the collet grooves on the valves have burred over slightly, but not enough to warrant changing the valves.

I handed the engine over to Jim to do the necessary (oh how I wish I had a garage/workshop...) and he's now well on the way to completing the swap(s). We found that number three rod bearing had suffered, but nowhere near as badly as in the past (it's the last in the line for oiling) and the valve springs had attacked the valve guide bosses a little as the valves floated at high rpm. Jim's machined the bosses to give a little more clearance and also checked out the valve seats (all good - no movement) and touched up the valve seat angles. Everything else all checked out just fine.

We're swapping the stock 7mm rocker arm studs for 8mm ones (why VW/Porsche chose to use 7mm studs I have no idea) and will probably add some 911-style tappet screws. Cam and followers are all OK, so they remain unchanged. And that's about it. Well, apart from my plans to add an oil cooler so I can push the car harder on longer road trips.

The only other thing that's happened is that I've had the front and rear panels (bonnet/'frunk' and rear boot lid) painted Nepal Orange to match the rest of the car. Considering the car was painted in the USA 20 years ago, the paint match is incredible. It was done by Nick Quince at Colourworx in Newquay using a Standox colour scanning system. Anyway, here are some pics to send you to sleep. More news as it happens (you have been warned).



Nude motor...


Out with the old...


In with the new...

[911hillclimber]

Sorry if I've missed this:
What of the cam shaft and the carbs, or big changes there too?

[KS]

Cam remains the same, and I run 48mm throttle bodies, no carbs (blood-sugar levels not great, so you could say I'm on a low-carb diet!)

[Lightweight_911]

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Car looks much better 'all orange'

What sort of power increase are you hoping for (not that I know/remember the current output) ?

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[KS]

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Car looks much better 'all orange'

What sort of power increase are you hoping for (not that I know/remember the current output) ?

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The matt black was only ever meant to be a temporary thing to cover the bare 'glass, but needed to wait until the winter lay off so it didn't disrupt things. As it turned out, I dropped off the panels on Monday afternoon, to be told it would be a few weeks, only to then get a call on Friday saying they were done!

There probably won't be any appreciable change in power output (last measured at 180-185bhp), the main reason for the revamp being to improve rod angle and reduce piston slap, which meant that the rings couldn't seal as well as we would have liked. I also wanted to take the opportunity to check bearing wear and raise the CR slightly.

[Ollie]

(180-185bhp)

Seems pretty respectable... what was the 914/6... c.100bhp? You must be edging closer to a 914/6 GT!

[KS]

Sadly doesn't have the torque of a 'six' but it's definitely a lot quicker than my old 914/6 with its stock 2-litre motor (110bhp, or thereabouts). What is on its side compared to a 914/6 is weight, or lack of it...

[911hillclimber]

When does the gearbox start to come into the equation?
Your tyres are getting sticky, the track start line too so the box/drive shafts get a bit teased or will the clutch act as a 'fuse' in the transmission?

An LSD will make it harder on the drive train still, but I don't think you are there yet?

[KS]

Well the trans was gone through by Mr Bainbridge and shows no reason for concern. Driveshafts are (probably) OK, CVs I expect to give trouble at some point, but in the meanwhile have to keep fingers crossed. I'm in no financial position to address everything I'd like to replace, but as you suggest, the clutch is a 'fuse' – I'd rather replace a slipping clutch than a grenaded trans! The tyres are only as sticky as a set of road-legal treaded tyres can be, while startlines at Tregrehan, Castle and Werrington are more like skating rinks than drag strips. Wiscombe is grippier but the car never hooks hard - wheelspin is the order of the day in pretty much every case.

[Mike Smith]

Sounds as if you still need that 904 Input shaft and a change of ratio`s

Yes! - I know ---------- It`s the money

[KS]

Sounds as if you still need that 904 Input shaft and a change of ratio`s

Yes! - I know ---------- It`s the money

Agreed on both counts... Sigh. I need a win on the lottery.

[neilbardsley]

Keith isn't a compression ratio of 9.3 still quite modest on a race engine?

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[KS]

It's not a race engine, Neil - it's a road engine I'll be using on the hills. The car has always been intended for 'double duty'. There would be a lot of differences had I built it solely for hillclimb use - different cam, higher CR, no heat exchangers, larger exhaust primaries etc. The car will still see plenty of road use.