1972 ST Clone

[BILLY BEAN]

Kirk, a great build. Looking forward to seeing it in the flesh. Nearly there mate.
C'mon brake light picture please.

Thanks Dave. No brake light pictures as it will only provide further opportunities for you to take the .....

[rhd racer]

Brilliantly dry update

..emails from people you hardly know.....made me laugh out loud.

Car looks great, despite all the notes to yourself etc etc

[BILLY BEAN]

Brilliantly dry update

..emails from people you hardly know.....made me laugh out loud.

Car looks great, despite all the notes to yourself etc etc

Thanks for the comments. At least I made someone laugh.
Regards,
Kirk

[jeremyg]

Great story Kirk. And clearly a tale that hasn’t ended yet. Best of luck for the future with a potentially great car.

I may not be laughing as much as others ...as I’m just buying a car that was originally in bits, and was rebuilt by someone who’d never done an early Porsche before.
Note to self...

[Lightweight_911]

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It's great to see the car 'almost there' & good to know that you can still laugh at the 'hiccups' along the way !

What we need next though are pictures of your car & Dave's together ...

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[BILLY BEAN]

Great story Kirk. And clearly a tale that hasn’t ended yet. Best of luck for the future with a potentially great car.

I may not be laughing as much as others ...as I’m just buying a car that was originally in bits, and was rebuilt by someone who’d never done an early Porsche before.
Note to self...

Thank you for the compliment Jeremy. May all your "notes to self" be little ones. Best of luck with your project.
Regards,
Kirk

[BILLY BEAN]

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It's great to see the car 'almost there' & good to know that you can still laugh at the 'hiccups' along the way !

What we need next though are pictures of your car & Dave's together ...

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Andy,
I try to stay positive. The photo proposition is a good one which I will discuss with Dave.
Regards,
Kirk

[BILLY BEAN]

DRIVING UPDATE
I attended Boxengasse on Sunday as a guest of Autofarm. The ST was on show in their workshop to exhibit the engine which they had built. I travelled down in my 1970 911 which sprung an oil leak enroute ( Lower rocket cover) so decided to take the ST back home.
I have driven all sorts of cars, vans, trucks and diggers and I am not usually fazed by an unfamiliar vehicle. However, strapping myself into the ST there was an element of trepidation. Given the cost of the build and the difficulties experienced along the way just exactly what was I to expect from the drive?
Start up was instant with a loudish throaty roar. And off I went for a 89 mile drive. My PA will be pleased to note that the "choke" is now connected to the heater control between the seats. This being a no-heat vehicle. Having said that there was plenty of heat entering the interior. Surprisingly the seat harness (thanks Dave) and the original Recaro seat were comfortable. The short shift gear mechansm both hard work and requiring a lot of concentration. The jury is out on the gearshift.
Although the exhaust is aggressive it does not drone at speed and is not competing with the other mechanical noises. The exhaust box was something of an experiment being a very cheap mild steel box ( 2 in 1 out £135) modified internally and two exhaust pipes welded on (£110). Aesthetically and aurally definately a good result.
The steering is light with reasonable "feel". Light because early 911s are naturally so but with a GRP front end a lot of weight has been shed. Even 40 litres of fuel did not make much difference. Given the tires (TB 15) on the car grip at modest cornering speeds is extremely good and turn in is fine. One very sharp bend, at speed, did suggest a little understeer but in the fullness of time and with more confidence and a little throttle it should not be an issue. Damper and spring balance front to rear is not quite right. My initial impression is that front is over damped and possibly over sprung. Tire pressures maybe a little high too. On smooth roads the above is not an issue but on uneven surfaces it produces a "jiggly" ride.

The brakes are adequate: new disks and pads will take a bit of time to "bed in" before it can be determined just how efficient they are. The calipers are standard S fitment. The bias pedal box is set to 50: 50 front and rear at the moment. There is no movement in the pedal as it is straight onto the brakes. There is not much feel to the pedal and it does need very firm pressure.

The engine is very free revving and makes a pleasing, if loud, noise especially from the induction. It is not entirely happy on a partial trailing throttle. Throttle off is fine though. Throttle on is fabulous. I expected lots of pops and bangs on throttle off as there is no fuel cut out device. The MFI pump being shorn of any unnecessary bits.

Given the minimal sound proofing the volume in the car is better than I expected. Certainly tolerable. Except for 5th gear which is really loud and will have to be changed.There is no inspection plate cover over the gear linkage adjustment hatch which means more gearbox, final drive, engine and road noise. A bespoke hatch is yet to be fabricated to deal with the RSR torsion tube strengthening which compromises the original hatch shape.
Items reported in earlier posts have yet to be dealt with.
Namely:
Rev counter ( not working properly)
Oil temp gauge (not working)
5th gear ( very loud whine)
Rich running
Bias brake control ( not fitted)
Steering pulling to the left when hands off the steering.
Fuel sender ( rubbish repro item does not work)
and some small interior cosmetic items.

It is quite a raw driving experience which was anticipated. Once certain issues have been addressed and I can get more driving time I think I have a rapid and exciting car.

The rich running and a fairly spirited drive produced 10mpg. A bit of a surprise. Hopefully this can be improved on!

[Lightweight_911]

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Good to hear that it lives up to - &, in some areas, exceeds - your expectations !

I understand what you mean about having some trepidation about that first drive - a great relief to get that over with.

Out of interest, what was the Boxengrasse event like ?

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[yoda]

That sounds like a great start and I am sure you were expecting some snagging. Look forward to seeing / hearing more about it.

[BILLY BEAN]

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Good to hear that it lives up to - &, in some areas, exceeds - your expectations !

I understand what you mean about having some trepidation about that first drive - a great relief to get that over with.

Out of interest, what was the Boxengrasse event like ?

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Thanks Andy.
I was surprised by Boxengasse. Reputedly there was a limit of 750 tickets. "Sold out" on the website. It appeared well organised with plenty of parking. Fortunately, the parking fields were dry.
There was a preponderance of post 1990 cars which seems to be par for the course at all Porsche events (Classics at the Castle being the exception).
There were a small number of traders but no heavy "sell" as far as I could tell. Food was available from one supply only. Food could be ordered on-line and collected or purchased direct. The usual fare. There were a few moans about slow food service but it did not impact on me as Autofarm provided food and drink.
Autofarm had their workshop open with a good selection of air cooled cars including an RS and a RHD RSR along with lesser models. In the Autofarm car park there were a selection of cars including a soft window targa S, 2.4RHD S, 2.2 S, some air cooled back dates, a 917 (not genuine but still a nice build) and some nicely built rally cars from Tuthill.

[BILLY BEAN]

That sounds like a great start and I am sure you were expecting some snagging. Look forward to seeing / hearing more about it.

Thanks.
Yes I expected some snagging as it is not a straight forward restoration and there was guess work on my part notably with the engine specification. Fortunately, although early days on the engine, it seems fine.
Regards,
Kirk

[BILLY BEAN]

MINI UPDATE
A few of the snags sorted:
A new oil temperature sender replaced with an old one. Gauge now functions and holds a steady 180.
Sticking rev counter now sorted and working fine.
Rich fuel mixture leaned off a little and engine seems "smoother".
Steering sorted and no longer wants to find the near side hedge row.
A 100 litre fuel sender ordered from the USA.
The main issue is now the fifth gear set for the 915 box. Found my notes on the gear ratios.
The offending gear is from an SC and identifies as
SN 28/23
Part number 923 30290523
New ones are available but as I have already sold one kidney the new replacement gear is out of reach.

[BILLY BEAN]

A blog by a friend of mine. Scroll down a little to see the ST Clone.

http://www.cumbriancarnut.com/boxengass ... -aug-2020/

[hot66]

Has Phil sold his early car ?