Man that thing is looking all business..

Which switch activates the afterburners? :eek:

The afterburner must be triggered by the Throttle position sensor...

That's some good thinking Gabe on the switches, hey just a thought about the BreyKraus Harness Truss, Those things look wicked after you powder coat them in Black Wrinkle Finish. They aren't difficult to dismantle, I put a few in back in the day and had the upper and lower plates done. One time I did the bushings, another time I left the bushings alone, I couldn't decide what looked better, I liked them both. I wish I had some pictures...

Some love the "bling" of the silver, but it was annoying to me in the rearview mirror, plus it would blend with all that really nice Alcantera you've got there... Of course, don't do the stainless mounts, just the aluminum, if at all

Looking Good, Sounding Good:cool:-soon all it will need is a loose nut behind the wheel!:D

Paul: The second switch (fuel pumps) :)

Mike: I was thinking about doing the whole thing black...but it just matched with the shifter so well and tied in with the pedals I decided to leave it as is.

And a rear view mirror....whats that for? To quote my favorite movie Gumball, "The firsta rulea of Italian driving....whata isa behinda you issa not important!" :D

LOL I hear ya' I guess a little contrast won't hurt:D I just have thing for black wrinkle finish... Good thing I don't have a powder coat gun, I wonder what my wife's cat would look like...

+1
Got into trouble when my "ex" found me baking my valve covers in the oven! :rolleyes:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1226763399.jpg

Gab, seeing as you are less than a week away from saddling up your rocketship and riding cross country, thought i might give you some words of advice.

- Take plenty of time and miles to get used to the completely unique caracteristics of your ride. Get to know the power delivery and suspension gradually, or it may bite you in the ass. I remember coming through the mountains outside of San Diego on the first day and being so amped up with the car that i got too hot into one turn and had at total 'oh $hit' moment.

-If you don't have a Valentine 1, get one!

-Get used to people staring at you like you are driving in some sort of alien spaceship. Older P-cars are a rare sight these days, much less full blown race car replicas. The magnetism and charisma of your car will blow people away, old and young alike. i had guys coming up to me at gas stations along the way, like a bunch of kids going ga-ga over the latest toy in the store window

-Get ready to be challenged by every Ricky Redneck in his overly tricked out muscle car and every ricer punk between LA and TX. Your know the types.. they rev and gun in complete annoyance until they force you to blow them away. Just make sure there are not cops around when you do. I found that nothing could keep up with my ride even in a poor state of tune with low boost, and the Blackbird is going to be like the Millenium Falcon going warp speed.

-Take time to enjoy the scenery. It was my first cross country trip, and i couldnt get over how beautiful parts of the southwest were.

-Make sure you have all the stuff you need for possible flats, spare fan belt, etc, AAA.

-Finally, be prepared to have the time or you life! I know i did.

Man, when I was 25 (eons ago...) I didn't have a project like this...

;-)

LMAO Dave!! I knew we had something in common! The engine is a beauty, how long did it take to get the fan that nice??

Juice, very good advice. BIG +1 on the Valentine, dont forget the remote display! Very good call on the spare belts, in fact, I would practice changing it(them) before you leave, it's much easier to learn in the shop versus on the side of the road.

Your motor is 3.6 based right? You may need that funky 12 pt allen wrench that goes in the center of the alternator shaft, and possibly a 5mm allen wrench for the inner bolts. Bring vise grips too, if that's the case, cause the allen bolts are shallow and will strip quite easily

Also, bring a magnet for when (or if) you drop one of those annoying shims, or the pulley nut. They have a habit of disappearing under the crank pulley...

One afternoon....
Used a Dremel with a brass wire wheel( x2 ), after that Wenol polish. That shine sure didn't last long.

Bring a laptop if you have one. In the event that you break down, the Pelican Mafia will be tracking you and will be happy to help.

JP

This is something I plan on doing the whole way to New Mexico...its not that I'm scared as much as I just have a healthy respect for what it can do - thanks for the heads up from your trip as mine will be a mirror of yours. There are lots of mountains that I'll be going through (Flagstaff), so I plan on taking it real easy...easier said then done I know.

Haha I don't know if I can get used to that...between us Pelicanites on road trips maybe we can inspire the younger generation to get back to basics huh? And thanks for the compliments ;)

This is the part i'm really dreading, my luck the one time I do it I'll land my butt in the podunk jail. I'll keep an eye out on the V1...that thing is gooooood stuff.

Same here, this is my first from the west coast...bringing the DSLR to get some great shots. I'll share when we meet up in Hickory (as well as from the road).

Good thinking - I just have AAA right now - if I get a flat I'm kind of screwed as all my tires are on back order like no other and my spares I ordered....still on backorder.

Bro, like I said when I first saw your initial thread after you bought the 934 - you were the inspiration for this trip. I couldn't believe the fun you were having - the joy that was so evident in every post...I'm looking forward to a bonding experience like no other with the 935. Life just doesn't get much better than this does it... SmileWavy

RSRfan: Def. will do - I'll also be posting progress at every stop :D

Craig: Yeah man, its taken a lot of me and the wife bustin' butt to be able to do it in such a short timeframe. I count myself as one of the luckiest guys ever to have such a great wife who encourages me to pursue my dreams...but we had a deal. I bought her the house and furniture of her dreams and she's allowing me to build this car (and my 944 GTR) :cool: :eek:

Gab,

The only part of that advice I'm not sure of is the piece about having all the stuff you need for possible flats.. with those Gumballs forget about it!!! Although Justin makes a very good point... especially having AAA

So, you've got a breaker bar with that huge socket for the single wheel nut.. With all the spare wheel parts you've accumulated, have you thought about getting the wheel guys to fab you some sort of trick spare wheel on a space saver that will fit in the trunk? After all it is a street car right?

The old Ferrari 512BBs used something similar as some of them had the single splined hub.. think some of the TRs did as well. Just a thought.

+1 on enjoying the scenery!! America The Beautiful is an absolute truth!

My cross country trek didn't have the hyper energy that you guys had/will have.. but it was fun non-the less driving the flamed dually!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1226842493.jpg

Paul, LOL! That truck looks like something Captain America would drive!.

The flat tire issue is a concern for all widebody 911s with over-sized wheels/tires.
There are multiple problems:
- When the tire is flat I cannot get a jack under the car, even in the garage.
- If I can get the spare on, the car should not be driven far with such a mis match.
- The flat tire and rim will not fit in my cockpit and I sure ain't leavin' it behind.
- No tire store will carry my rear size in stock (which is your front).

I carry a tire repair kit and a foot pump and pray for no sidewall damage.

Not to be gloom and doom but nothing prepared me for this at 80mph:



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1226851708.jpg

Very true. A flat *will* effectively mean a tow.........275/315 F&R on my 930.

Hint: A 996 TT spare goes a long way towards solving most problems.

Paul, is the person taking the picture driving an F430????!?!?!?!?!? Love the truck, very purposeful and looks the part as well.

Brian: Holy God dude...if that happens my rear or front fender will disintegrate instantly...and you're absolutely right about not getting any type of jack under the car. We were hoping for air jacks but time didn't allow to set them up which would be the only way to change the tire. I think i'll look at a foot pump and puncture repair kit.

If the worst happens and I do get a flat with no body damage, its going to mean AAA and two plane tickets and the car will meet me in Houston and still try to make the run to NC, if not in the Blackbird then forsure in the BMW.

The tire corpse on either the front or rear rim won't fit in any part of the car and I'm not ditching either centerlock that goes south...this is going to be a ballsy kind of Gumball run, just a very cautious one at that. I CAN'T WAIT!!!! WHOO HOOO! 6 more days until I start the journey to pick her up!

Yeah, I know.. the paint job is what effectively drove the price down for a really nice low mileage dually. PO used it to tow his matching 40' tri-powered Fountain.

I just use it as my all around tow/parts hauler & "Porsche Support Vehicle."
Its no chore with a four-fifty-four..

not meaning to hijack your thread....but this has been an great story to follow, even if someone doesn't care for butt-draggers.


I got interested because of searching for something a little bigger to go on the back of my Euro 928---it currently has 315/25/19's on the rear, but when I finish the body work/paint job, it will have enough room for the 355's.

Personally, I think your 355's wheels should have had another half to 3/4 inch taken out of them.....that way, the sidewalls would be straight up and down, instead of pulled out at the rim---just my .25 cents worth.


As I said, this is a great story to watch. I can't wait to see the finished project.

Maybe one day you'll bring it to one of Lone Star Region's Concours meets.....?

Good luck and congrats on your project.:D





--Russ

Butt draggers ? that's what mortals refer to our cars as ?? Geez!!!

Well after talking to the Pirelli Rep they said that the widest fit to still yield maximum performance was a 13.5" measurement from bead to bead which these wheels have.

If you have the clearance to run taller tires than 26" I'd go with MPS2's as the 345's are wider than my 355's, however they're just shy of 28" tall which won't fit into the fender.

I'll be sure to bring it to some of the Lone Star events when I'm in town, but I don't think the concours guys will appreciate the non-shiny paint, and customized everything. But who knows.

Glad you dig the project, and thanks for the kind words.