Road Rally 912

[Rallynut]

When I signed on as a new DDK member I mentioned that our 912 was used as a road rally car and there was some interest shown in its build specification so here is a bit more detail.

But first if you are not sure what road rallying is then do a search and find out. It is not stage rallying as it takes place on open public roads and relies on a high level of skill from the navigator to follow the route and keep on time.

We have owned the car for ten years which is ex California and we purchased it from the importer after looking for almost nine months for the right car and almost giving up. But why a 912 rather than a 911? Well price was a factor but at the time some rally organisers were talking about limiting the numbers of 911's on an rally as they were rapidly increasing in popularity so we thought that a 912 might be just a bit different.

Over the years this is some of the work and modifications that have been carried out.

Fitting of towing eyes

Underbody alloy shields

Complete electrical re-wire using modern automotive electrical parts and relay switching

Ammeter replaces clock

High level LED brake light

Fixed back seats with full harness

Trip Meter and clocks for navigator with stopwatch for driver

Navigators foot rest

As you can see not a huge amount of special work. There was all the usual brake and suspension overhauls and the car is currently in the workshop for a engine rebuild although there are other upgrades going to take place as well.

I was going to attach some pics but as we have had intermittent mains power all weekend using the computer has been difficult so that will happen later.

Any questions or more detail please ask and I will try and answer.

John

[100702mark]

John, done the odd HRCR event in mine. Im tending to avoid now the ones that have special tests that are a bit to heavy on the car so more navigation biased. Just out of curiosity how are you running your retrotrip? Ive never quite managed to work out a speedo cable feed so ended up with a wheel sensor but it occasionally gets hit by stones and of course wheelspin throws it out also.

Regards

Mark

[Tclynes]

I plan to do more and more rally routes in mine now I have more free time. There was a good article in the latest 912 registry magazine about the Neige and Glacé rally.

Some people are keen to do full mods, but I think as long as you don't intend to enter one of the African events you can get away with reliability mods such as the under body protection and making sure the electrics are in order.

Any other events people recommend?

[Rallynut]

Mark,

Like you I tend to avoid events with serious tests as I am not very good at them compared to our road performance. We probably only do two or three UK rallies per year and these are low level club events. I decided that seeing Mini's scorching round tests in times I can only dream about that front wheel drive is a must but I don't fancy a Mini.

You ask about trip meter drives. We use a Terratrip which is driven from a sensor which looks at the rear wheel handbrake drum. This was a quick fix when we first got the car and has amazingly continued to work all this time. The sensor is mounted on an aluminium bracket looking at some small steel plates epoxied onto the drum. I would not recommend it as a good system but like you I could not devise a good way of mounting a sensor in the speedo cable. However, the car is currently going through a bit of a refurbishment and I understand that it is possible to mount a sensor looking at the front disk bolts. I will investigate this and I also have an idea for a speedo cable sensor for those events that insist on such things.

John

[100702mark]

Thanks John, sounds like we have reached the same solution on the back hub at the moment, let me know if you find a speedo cable solution and I will do likewise. You should take a look at the Lancashire Automobile Club Fellsman Rally in May next year, no regularities or tests but feindissh navigation on fabulous roads.

Mark