DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Kind of a pathetic update compared to the Herculean efforts being shown by Mr Slade but a happy tale nonetheless!

As distraught as I was at having to send back the Porsche script on my car to Canford Classics, it's actually turned out for the better and a bit of a blessing thanks to the might of DDK…....Karma!

The script I had been lent wasn't exactly in keeping with, first, the painted badge and engine grill I had, and then, the swanky new black anodised grill I subsequently fitted...…it was far too light and faded, nothing wrong with that, far from it, but I think everything looks best when it matches..…..



…...a shout out for help through the ranks of DDK and I was pointed in the direction of some NOS script by Mike (DarthMJH) and magically, I was then directed to an obscure French website (yeah I wondered that! ) by Dave (stretch) where I secured a black anodised NOS badge!…....Gentlemen, my sincere thanks ….…yum yum….



…..fitted on the car, I now have 'matching' black anodised grill, badge and script just as Porsche intended it! ….
……this should all fade nice and consistently together for the next owner to enjoy in 25 or so years time! ...…



The old script will now be winging it's way to Alan in Bournemouth, thanks for the loan.

Cheers,

Looks great, glad you managed to find the 911E badge as well.

Inspection time….



…and passed with flying colours..…



Nearly a year has passed since the car was 'finished'…….during that time I've acquired a set of Cookie Cutters, switched to a 380mm steering wheel, refurbed the horn pad, replaced the engine lid grill, script and E badge, along with the rear seat bases, interior door arms, handles and door caps……bar a few jobs like the rear view mirror, seat belt retractor covers (posted) and a few other minor items it's very close to being 'complete'.

During the year the car hasn't missed a beat and, bar a worn steering lock that was replaced, has never let me down…..the early pops and farts have become a glorious purr since the car was tweaked on the rolling road and mileage seems to improve how the car drives. The odd rattle to sort and the car will be just perfect.

Best of all, the past year has seen me cover 9,420 kilometres or 5,853.32 miles which has included trips to Germany and Wales, spirited drives through France and many an early morning blat through the countryside of the Cotswolds and beyond, on many occasions in the company of many fine fine 911's and their illustrious custodians. Not bad for a car that spends much of it's life cosseted in a de-humidifed garage…..one or two trips planned for this summer too!

And to think I once questioned whether I'd enjoy my early 911 experience……

….never in doubt!



Cheers,

Looks stunning.

And being enjoyed like the maker intended.

DDK - Say NO to garage queens!

Should see some action next month too ...... Looking forward to it.

Lovely car!

A visit to Centre Gravity on Tuesday with a morning session booked …..have been meaning to do this for a while as they initially set the car up straight after the rebuild before any settling…



…now in my mind the car handled and performed excellently, the only niggle being a slightly off-centre steering wheel after I'd switched to a JP 380mm item, I also mentioned that the steering felt slightly heavier at low speed compared to other early cars I'd subsequently driven……turns out the car had dropped a whopping 17mm from the last set-up pushing out both camber and toe, this even surprised Chris Franklin…

…..well my 'morning' session lasted from 8:30AM to 7:00PM! ….everything checked and set with torsion bars re-indexed to set me back to my original ride height….

…something very reassuring in seeing everything checked, torqued and marked…



….back to my, lower than stock, original ride height…...with the necessary .08˚ nose down rake of course ….



….and the charge was?……well, the morning rate I had booked, plus 1.25 hours for indexing the torsion bars, if that's ok?……cracking value and a truly first class, professional job…many thanks to Chris and Pete at Centre Gravity

Being a loverly summers evening I thought I'd avoid motorways and take the B4455/A429 Fosse Way back to Cricklade to test my re-set suspension……

…..now the Romans, unlike the Welsh, were pretty useless when it came to building roads, however the Fosse way still has it's stretches and proved to be a good test for the car….

…the result?…unbelievable!….I couldn't imagine the car could have been improved this much with a new found delicacy and poise and light, reassuring direct feel…simply delicious!

So, the last couple of weeks have seen an oil service and check, geo and an 800 mile thrash round the Welsh Valleys…....guess I'm all set for CLM!




Just need to find that tent!…..

Cheers,

Darren65 wrote: Just need to find that tent!…..

Cheers,

If you're unable to I have a small pop up one man tent which you can squeeze in with me. It will be very cosy

Darren65 wrote:
…the result?…unbelievable!….I couldn't imagine the car could have been improved this much with a new found delicacy and poise and light, reassuring direct feel…simply delicious!

Cheers,

That's a great result. Look forward to having a go next time we meet up.

Darren65 wrote:
……turns out the car had dropped a whopping 17mm from the last set-up pushing out both camber and toe, this even surprised Chris Franklin…

Darren, if Chris set it all up last year was there any explanation to why this has happened?

964RS wrote: Darren, if Chris set it all up last year was there any explanation to why this has happened?

...I guess, new shockers, new bushes, torsion bars settling etc etc....he did say last year that ideally the car should have done a good few miles before geo, mine went up on a trailer having never been on the road....

...that said, the drop in ride hide did surprise him although he doesn't expect it move at all now......amazing how well the car drove being out...Chris highlighted a few things, such as steering not self centring at low speed, drifting right under acceleration etc....stuff you just get used to and not really notice....

....you and John will have to take it for a run next week whilst I get cozy with Thomas in his little tent!

Cheers,

Darren65 wrote:
....you and John will have to take it for a run next week whilst I get cozy with Thomas in his little tent!

Little but quick to erect I'm told.


Car looks great Darren, look forward to meeting up next week

Darren65 wrote:
....you and John will have to take it for a run next week whilst I get cozy with Thomas in his little tent!

Love too but alas I am grafting next week.

Spent the evening measuring paint thickness! …..



…a little (lot!) sad I know however having painted a few early 911's I was curious.

My car averaged around 200-300 microns with a couple of areas a little over 400 microns where there was a little more filler!…….500 microns is 0.5mm.

It may seem incredibly thin although note that a new car will be about 110 microns… http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/ ... h/info-box …indeed, checking my wife's car with original never touched paint, this averaged about 100-120 microns. Incidentally the shuts inside the boot lid have no top coat and in this area the paint was down to 50 microns!

My 2.4E was the first early 911 we'd painted and at the time I insisted that I wanted the minimum amount of filler possible…...whilst it's nice to know that the thickest area of filler on my car is less than half a millimetre thick at most, you learn…..the flow and lines of the car would be better if we'd added another 200 microns or so in a couple of areas!

But then we can always sort that another day!

Hedingham 2014….

Darren

How many passes of top coat does that thickness represent?

Regards
Mike