70 S, RHD, Signal Orange, UK->Australia->UK

[yoda]

I had two mirrors fitted to my Alfa and while only moderately helpful when driving, they made parking and reversing in/out of the garage much easier.

[911hillclimber]

Older I get, I find the modern cars with huge field-of-views encourage a 'glances in the mirrors' approach, and my 911 was impossible to do that until I modified the adjustability of the Durant.
Having been on 2 wheels for many years, the glance back over my right shoulder is normal, and in a LHD car a right shoulder glance will show everything there, not so much in a RHD car?

Anyway, I prefer to see as much as possible in as quick a time possible in the West Midlands as in the 911 I seem to be a magnet for motorcycles (usually hunting in a pack) and bald bullies in Range Rover Sports, the Boxster is worse.

Sorry to inaglasshouse for my thread drift.

[PMNorris]

Each to their own. I like my PORSCHE stickers and S front bumper. I also added a RH small flag mirror, but I am thinking of replacing them with Durant mirror to make it correct for a 70 (not that my car is anywhere close to standard, but I think the Durant looks better).

[inaglasshouse]

Turns out they all look good - thanks for the car pics!

DVLA have been in touch - they have accepted the little video I sent them and decided they don't need to do an inspection of VIN etc, so it seems like we are getting there. Fingers crossed for a 1970 plate some time soon.

The car is booked in for some minor fettling with an expert next week.
Status right now is:
- engine: pretty good. Not leaking oil any more, makes a good noise, pulls nicely up to the 4K rpm limit I have imposed. Oil pressure very good.
- fuelling: not bad for a baseline. Good enough for now. Clean idle, revs pick up well. Seems a bit rich but not ridiculously so. Rebuilt throttle bodies must be helping.
- gearbox and clutch: very nice
- geometry: hideous! The only good thing to be said is that my guesstimate of rear torsion bar indexing (using the elephant racing online calculator) has turned out to be fairly close. My attempts at string based setup of toe don't seem to have gone well.
- dampers (exe-tc trick ones): very interesting. I'm looking forward to learning more about these when the geo is sorted. For now they seem to achieve an implausible (hence strange) mix of firm and compliant on the very bumpy b roads I've been frequenting. It's odd - on the face of it they feel hard, but then you remember that on this stretch of road you would normally be bumped around all over the place, and that's not happening. Perhaps that's mainly because I'm going very slowly. I'll reserve judgement for now.
- rattles and squeaks: not many
- brakes: reasonably effective but spongey. I'll give them another bleed. No leaks.
- bits falling off: well... one brake caliper did come loose.... ooops. Clonking noise was loud enough (when one bolt fell out and the caliper started moving) that I noticed and fixed it before any permanent harm was done.
- other snags: many, the worst of which is a fuel leak.
We're not done yet...

Cheers all, enjoy the weather.

[yoda]

Making great progress Richard, can't wait to see it! Once sorted and run in, will be interesting to see how you think it feels compared to your other car, especially the suspension.

[911hillclimber]

Are the dampers '3-Way' ?
A friend runs them on his hot 450 bhp hillclimb Impreza, and now sorted, the suspension seems great, a quality item.

I had a set of AST 3-way on my Impreza 10 years back and needed a private test morning at a local sprint track to sort them with someone who knew what he was doing. Adjusting after each run on the track dialed them in in about 1 hour. Easy to adjust them so the reactions are awful.

Once sorted, just fabulous.

[inaglasshouse]

Are the dampers '3-Way' ?

Hi Graham

No, only one way adjustable (rebound).
It's their standard "road" unit for early 911s; https://www.exe-tc.co.uk/classic-911

Other settings are pre-set by Exe-tc. They asked me the intended usage, car weight, torsion bars and ARBs I was intending to use, and built accordingly. When the units arrived they included a little set-up sheet with info on the settings, recommendations for caster, camber, etc, and recommended starting point for the rebound adjustment. I think that (with Tuthill, and Singer) they have done a lot of work on high-end and race / rally / track 911s, but we'll see whether their idea of a road car is the same as mine!

Cheers, Richard.

[inaglasshouse]

DVLA have been in touch - they have accepted the little video I sent them and decided they don't need to do an inspection of VIN etc, so it seems like we are getting there. Fingers crossed for a 1970 plate some time soon.

1970 reg now assigned, V5 is in the post. We are getting there...

[BILLY BEAN]

DVLA have been in touch - they have accepted the little video I sent them and decided they don't need to do an inspection of VIN etc, so it seems like we are getting there. Fingers crossed for a 1970 plate some time soon.

1970 reg now assigned, V5 is in the post. We are getting there...

Good news Richard. How long was the turn around by the DVLA? Asking for a friend.
Kirk

[inaglasshouse]

Hi Kirk

Hope all is well with you. Are you allowed to take that 2.2S over 4K rpm yet? I can't wait until mine is run in - very frustrating!

DVLA? Ages, but that was mainly due to COVID.

Initially it took about 2 weeks before I heard back, and the news was that DVLA wanted an inspection (of Id numbers, not roadworthiness). Then lockdown happened and no inspections were being done (about 3 months). I chased up when restrictions were lifted. Heard nothing for a couple of weeks but then was told there was a long wait for inspections. I suggested alternative evidence of identity and age, eg a video showing whole car then zooming in on VIN and engine numbers, other ids matching Porsche docs (gearbox), date stamps on components (eg instruments) etc etc. DVLA said OK, and mainly seemed interested in the VIN video.
After that about another two weeks.

No idea how long it would take if no inspection were requested... my previous import in normal times took no time at all - less than a week, from memory. For that one DVLA accepted the US Title as identity and date evidence.

Cheers, Richard.

[BILLY BEAN]

Hi Kirk

Hope all is well with you. Are you allowed to take that 2.2S over 4K rpm yet? I can't wait until mine is run in - very frustrating!

DVLA? Ages, but that was mainly due to COVID.

Initially it took about 2 weeks before I heard back, and the news was that DVLA wanted an inspection (of Id numbers, not roadworthiness). Then lockdown happened and no inspections were being done (about 3 months). I chased up when restrictions were lifted. Heard nothing for a couple of weeks but then was told there was a long wait for inspections. I suggested alternative evidence of identity and age, eg a video showing whole car then zooming in on VIN and engine numbers, other ids matching Porsche docs (gearbox), date stamps on components (eg instruments) etc etc. DVLA said OK, and mainly seemed interested in the VIN video.
After that about another two weeks.

No idea how long it would take if no inspection were requested... my previous import in normal times took no time at all - less than a week, from memory. For that one DVLA accepted the US Title as identity and date evidence.

Cheers, Richard.

Video sounds like a very creative solution. Clever man.
The S has now done 800 miles but I am sticking to 4000 ish RPM. May go wild to 5500 once I get to 1000 miles. Yes frustrating exercising restraint during "running in" but there is no option for the long term health of the engine. In any event I am of the generation that when you purchased a new car (a long time ago admittedly) there was always a running in regime to be observed. Somehow seems fitting to be maintaining such a regime on a 1970 car.
Regards,
Kirk

[inaglasshouse]

I think you are being a lot gentler with your new engine than Porsche ever were!

[Gary71]

Awesome use of technology to get you over the line!

Bet you can’t wait to get it out on the road properly

[jonno1]

I have been told a few times now that a new engine does need to be given the beans (once warm) to bed the rings in and that constant driving at low revs isnt that good for it.

[inaglasshouse]

Agree 100%, it does need load. But that can be done without using all the revs initially. Certainly true that pootling around on a light throttle the whole time is not a good plan.

Even moderns allegedly benefit from some runs up to 5k rpm, then running back down on the engine braking, a fair few times in the first 100 miles. That was the internet wisdom anyway. I did it with my new F10 M5 when I collected it and it never used any oil in the 4years I had it (some did). Who knows if it made a difference.