Cars..

[9Mary7]

21 hours ago, roadscholar said:

they're really good cars for cheap money (comparatively)

My 986 was a 2001manual base version....... as analog as you could get in a modern Porsche. Wonderful Sports car in the truest sense of the term. Many faster but none as fun for the price of admission.

[roadscholar]

Totally agree, had more than a few Pcars over the years (50+ years), for pure driving pleasure it's hard to beat one, currently have an '01 S and 08 base. Also a 968 cab I got from the dealer about 25 years ago when a guy traded it in on a new Boxster. Back then the long time service mgr and I were amazed someone would do that, surely the 968 was a better car. Early Boxsters were plagued with some serious issues (not to mention the stigma as a chick car) but after those were fixed and the stigma faded gradually morphed into a great car, it just took me 15-20 years to realize it : ) 

 

 

 

[9Mary7]

3 hours ago, roadscholar said:

a 968 cab

Test drove a used one in Santa Barbara eons ago...... didn't buy it 'cause it was white.....what a fool I was.

[Dennis Andress]

Parts!

 

https://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesandservices/classic/genuineparts/originalpartscatalogue/

[TEWKS]

RED

 

1964

 

1966


1972

 

PS… I put the brakes on my car chase for the moment. Too many things going on right now to strap my finances to be honest. Nothing bad, taxes, vacation, well good and bad I guess. 

 

But I’m still looking and learning! 

[RandyShields]

15 hours ago, TEWKS said:

But I’m still looking and learning! 

A pristine 914 drove by me the other day on my trip to Home Depot.  I used to ride around in one of those with a friend who inherited it from his uncle in the mid-70s.  They are smaller than I remember them, but that engine makes a distinctive sound.  Not much power but they could corner on rails.

[roadscholar]

A little gaudy but it was the 70's, I traded a buddy a rough 911T for this 74 2L he'd modified. Handled great except the time it did a 70mph snap-spin entering the Fla turnpike.. backwards. 

 

[Dennis Andress]

 

[TEWKS]

^ Unobtainium. 

 

I’d be a freak with a used forty thousand dollar Porsche taking it anywhere. So, ya I’m probably out with that one! 

[Dennis Andress]

It's obtainable, technically, but I'd have to move back to the other side of the tracks. I enjoyed watching this guy having a good time driving his car, just like I do.

[TEWKS]

5 minutes ago, Dennis Andress said:

It's obtainable, technically, but I'd have to move back to the other side of the tracks.

Those tracks don’t run anywhere near my town! 

 

my word…

… … term used in fiction, engineering, and common situations for a material ideal for a particular application but impractically difficult or impossible to obtain

[Dennis Andress]

9 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

Those tracks don’t run anywhere near my town! 

Tucson and I have a long and varied history...

 

 

2000 Boxster for $7,000

[Dennis Andress]

Somebody posted front and rear weights, and weight and balance calculations….  He put the center of gravity about even with the door handle.  

[Dennis Andress]

The left exhaust tips are sagging. The right ones are scrounged over to the left. 

 

There has been a loud 'clunk' at low speeds for a couple of months now. About the time I noticed the sagging tailpipes the clunk seemed to have gone away.

[Dennis Andress]

Just now, roadscholar said:

 

Red..

I hung around and waited for the driver to return. I'd say him and his girl will graduate from high school next month. He said it was his grandfather's car. That his dad didn't care for it much and just let him drive it. The paint is fresh, the engine tired. It took the kid a few minutes to get it running and rolling down the mountain.

 

1962 356 B. Matching numbers.

[roadscholar]

12 minutes ago, Dennis Andress said:

I hung around and waited for the driver to return. I'd say him and his girl will graduate from high school next month. He said it was his grandfather's car. That his dad didn't care for it much and just let him drive it. The paint is fresh, the engine tired. It took the kid a few minutes to get it running and rolling down the mountain.

 

1962 356 B. Matching numbers.

 

Still working on my unfinished post : ) but that's a unique car other than someone put disc brakes on it (bolt pattern is different). Notchbacks (B cabriolet w/welded on hardtop) were just made two years and most were in '61. T-6 body (62>) had twin grills and squared hood, better looking and more desirable, pretty rare car.

[Dennis Andress]

7 minutes ago, roadscholar said:

 

Still working on my unfinished post : ) but that's a unique car other than someone put disc brakes on it (bolt pattern is different). Notchbacks (B cabriolet w/welded on hardtop) were just made two years and most were in '61. T-6 body (62>) had twin grills and squared hood, better looking and more desirable, pretty rare car.

A couple more pictures

 

 

[roadscholar]

On 4/13/2024 at 3:14 PM, TEWKS said:

RED

 

1964

 

1966


1972

 

 

Red.

 

'70 914-6

 

 

'73T modified to RS w/2.9L MFI, 275hp.

 

 

 

'74 Targa.

 

 

'79SC.

 

 

'75 RSR.

 

[roadscholar]

1 hour ago, Dennis Andress said:

A couple more pictures

 

 

 

It's the more common T-5, either someone got the year wrong or it's a very late '61/ early '62, title work wasn't an exact science in those days, and still isn't.

[roadscholar]

16 hours ago, Dennis Andress said:

A couple more pictures

 

 

 

Timely. You hardly ever see these come up for sale, there weren't very many.

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961-porsche-356b-coupe/?utm_source=dm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2024-04-15

 

[Dennis Andress]

I told the kid that his should be worth a down payment on a house...

[Dennis Andress]

I'll just leave these here for Pat.

 

[TEWKS]

We were debating during today’s ride drive 😀(sorry) to START the merits of the Cayman vs the Boxster. Those pictures may have just ended that conversation! 

[Dennis Andress]

Look what I got!

 

A friend stopped by today and kinda freaked when he saw that I was cleaning lug bolts in an ultrasound….

[Dennis Andress]

On 4/14/2024 at 7:13 PM, Dennis Andress said:

The left exhaust tips are sagging. The right ones are scrounged over to the left. 

 

There has been a loud 'clunk' at low speeds for a couple of months now. About the time I noticed the sagging tailpipes the clunk seemed to have gone away.

 

Let me backup a few days and start this story again...

 

I believe, in spite of Bill's insistence that I'm wrong, that having the engine in the back is a bad idea - which Porsche has perfected. Proof? It's right here. Electronic engine mounts which freeze in place at critical times, so the engine doesn't sway and cause the rear tires to loose their grip on the road. Their electronics fail, often. They ain't cheap.

 

Aftermarket is the way to go. No electronics, nylon bushings.

 

 

 

Honestly, one of the reasons I didn't go to START is that I felt I'd have to park the car through summer if I didn't fix this.

[Dennis Andress]

@TEWKS - Far be it for me to show a preference.

 

[TEWKS]

3 hours ago, Dennis Andress said:

@TEWKS - Far be it for me to show a preference.

 

Now you’re just confusing me! 

[Indy Dave]

@roadscholar must be here!

 

 

 

 

 

[roadscholar]

That reminds me, in the 70's I lived in a subdivision in Ormond Beach, there was a group of us with dirtbikes (2 stroke) that rode together on the weekends but we also had sportscars (couple 911's, couple 930's, an RX7, and 528i. We'd drive to the mountains with wives/GF's and romp thru the twisties on a long weekend back before the Dragon was a thing or the Cherohala was built, it was great fun. I think we might've been onto something : )

[roadscholar]

On 4/21/2024 at 11:23 PM, Dennis Andress said:

I believe, in spite of Bill's insistence that I'm wrong, that having the engine in the back is a bad idea - which Porsche has perfected. Proof? It's right here. Electronic engine mounts

 

Don't think I said that, and with maybe a million miles in the seat of them (road and racetrack) I've always considered the 911 one of the more outstanding automotive designs ever, although they don't handle as well as a mid engine car but we can certainly debate it : )

 

Having the engine in the back is a good idea if you want a roomy cabin, rear seats, and a sleek roofline but if you want optimal handling from a sportscar it's not. If it was that's where Formula 1 cars, Indycars, and FIA prototypes would have put it. Actually the first Porsche (number 1) was mid engine but from then on were rear engine (except race cars) conceding performance to functionality/usability for a wider audience. 

 

Not sure 'perfected' is the right word, even so, amazing strides have been made but still a work in progress. Porsche has been engineering solutions to combat the ill-effects of a rear engine design for 70 years, electric engine mounts are just the latest gizmo, there are dozens of innovations that came before covering every iteration of 356 and 911 since the beginning. If GM could've held out another couple years with the Corvair (by then the 911 had become fast) they'd have likely figured it out too, and BTW the Germans would have never tolerated an idiot like Ralph Nadar : )

 

There are others but here's a few I can think of, most seem obvious by today's standards but were relatively forward thinking at the time. Early 356's only had 3.5 inch wide wheels, they increased to 4.5 from 1956 to 1965. Later higher hp 356's (Super 90's and Carrera's) had a camber compensator to keep the swing axles from tucking during hard cornering. In 1964 the 911 came with independent rear suspension and rack and pinion steering, In '67 Porsche put a molded/curved lead pipe inside the front bumper to weight and keep the front end down at speed, 356's and 911's have always had the fuel tank, spare wheel/tire and battery(s) in the very front (from '69-73 there were two batteries, one behind each headlight). The fuel tank was shaped so the spare fit in a cavity semi-surrounding it which kept it in place. In '69 the wheelbase was lengthened 2.5 inches giving the car a better ride and more stability at speed, also increasing wheel size from 4.5" to 6" for wider tires. Torsion bars and anti sway bars kept increasing in size as the car gained weight and power. 1972, an "S" front spoiler was available with an aerodynamic lip that kept air from spilling under the car. In 73 a ducktail spoiler came on the RSR (race) and Carrera RS (street) to combat rear lift at high speeds, in 74 (race) and 75 (street) it was replaced with a whaletail and deeper front spoilers/lips to reduce lift. In 1976 the 930 came with much larger rear control arms (bananas) made of aluminum and provided wider track plus wider wheels. Wheels were staggered from the 70's on and grew increasingly in width and diameter over the next decades. From 67 (S) and 69 on, wheels were made from light drop-forged alloy to reduce unsprung weight.

 

The 964 (1990) was available with AWD which planted the car and countered oversteer but it also came with revised wishbone suspension that improved handling, the 993 (95-98) was even more improved, those were the last air-cooled cars and the end of the original 911, an amazing run of 35 years. The 996 started the water cooled era with a clean sheet of paper and has had at least as many upgrades if not more leading up to the 992.2 culminating with the GT3 and GT2, the most track focused street legal/usable weapons to date. I have a feeling they're not done yet.