Hi Chris,

Read this thread regarding SS brake lines...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/414900-pelicans-non-dot-stainless-brake-lines-what-brand-they.html

Them's the brakes...
 

The half shafts with constant velocity joint ends are hanging down while the engine is out. You can see the big stainless steel AN lines hanging down that deliver oil to the front oil tank and back.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1213847066.jpg

The steering rack is tight and still feels like new.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1213847083.jpg


All the bolts are tight and nothing is damaged. Just many years of waiting...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1213847103.jpg

The rear brake lines are even more stiff than the fronts. All new brake lines will be installed tomorrow I hope. It won't take me long.
Note the big oil lines hugging the underbody.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1213847137.jpg

Mulholland Videos
 

Thanks Peter, my sister posted it to the thread for me some time ago. you'll notice that it is a little different than the standard version, music wise.

brake lines
 

Thanks Dave, some good info there...

OK, a bit off topic, but then again, we're banished to the OT forum, anyway. Another first for me today. I've now totaled a car. Not the Porsche. But rather, my parents' old Lexus. Got hit from behind on the fwy while I was stopped for the car(s) in front.

It's bad when you can't close the trunk.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...DSC_1385-1.jpg

It's even worse, I think, when you can see the road from inside the trunk.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...g/DSC_1393.jpg

Not being able to close the trunk, I couldn't activate the switch to turn off the light in there. Worried I'd come out to a car with a dead battery (unlikely, but I didn't want to find that out 30 miles from home, AAA or not), I just pulled the very hot lightbulb out of the socket.

It was almost comical, bending the muffler away from the rear wheel and off the ground, bungeeing the trunk semi-closed, borrowing duct tape to try to hold the flapping bumper cap from flying in the breeze, looking into the side mirror to see it dragging along the highway home nonetheless, and finally cutting said dragging plastic off entirely on the side of the road and bungeeing the bumper up. Heh heh. I've never driven a car with a bungeed on bumper, before.

First words out of my mouth to the guy who hit me from behind, as we were stepping out of our cars on the side of the highway: Are you OK?

His response: What happened?

There was no point in being antagonistic at that point, but WTF? :confused: You didn't pay attention and forgot to stop, unlike everyone else in the 4 lanes of traffic. What's so hard to understand about that?

Mulholland content: In delivering the car back to my parents this evening (Mom? Dad? Surprise!), I took the racecourse home, at least. Going through corners with any sort of dip or elevation change, I'd hear the dangling muffler scrape along the ground.

I'm glad you are OK. Isn't there air bags in that thing? I did that with my dad's car a few years ago on the 405. I was on my way to LAX to pick them up and just like you, stopped in traffic, some guy in a Toyota truck decided not to stop and plow into the back of the car. Not as bad as your parents car though.

We'll be expecting an update in the morning on how your feeling. A hit like that usually causes pain in your neck, back and shoulders.
P.S. Don't say anything here that you wouldn't say directly to your insurance company.

We all hope that you are without any injury, and that this matter will resolve itself easily. :)




I noticed that the Times article was brought out again, here is a portion...

Driving Mulholland — like any great road — is an exercise in physics as the driver courts the breaking point between centripetal and centrifugal force. The road is the constant; the variable is ignorance, and for the best driver, Mulholland is a text set in Braille.

CHRIS BANNING was introduced to readers of The Times in 1982. He was 26 and known as the King of the Mountain.
"My dream was to build the fastest car on Mulholland," Banning had once said, and with a hand-built, acid-dipped Porsche 911 Carrera — roof chopped and lowered for greater aerodynamics and an engine that could grind out almost 180 mph — he achieved his dream.

Dressed in blue jeans, wearing a pair of aviator glasses, and with a neatly trimmed mustache, he was described as soft-spoken and polite. Today he's much the same, only a little more nostalgic. Perhaps he has reason. He and writer Dan Mcgee have just published "The Mulholland Experience," a 302-page history of the road.

Banning grew up on Mulholland, and as a boy he absorbed its legends. Gary Cooper and John Carradine used to mix it up here in their Duesenbergs. James Dean is said to have tested his silver Porsche 550 Spyder on these curves before driving it to a race in Salinas that he never made.

Late at night, Banning listened through the open louvers of his family's home off Java Drive to the racers in the distance. Of all of them, Charley Woit made the greatest impression — at least until Banning was old enough to make his own.

Mulholland Charley, as Woit was called, was legendary for driving with one hand on the wheel — a '51 GMC truck, a '55 Hillman Minx or a 427 Corvette — and the other on a can of beer. He dominated the racing circles up here, and then one day, he disappeared, letting his reputation drift into legend, allowing a younger generation to come into play.

The races were always at night when the sweep of headlights showed oncoming traffic, and spectators, armed with CBs, police scanners and flashlights, could keep the coast clear. The course, laid between Coldwater Canyon and Deadmans, had 11 turns, a decent straight away, a pit area and most importantly, fewer driveways than anywhere else along Mulholland. It was, in short, perfect for following the leader, with speeds often running in excess of 100 mph.

Racing hit a fever pitch during the summer of '82. A year before, Polygram Pictures came out with "King of the Mountain," starring a young Harry Hamlin and the veteran Dennis Hopper.

Between 1980 and 1982, the so-called Mulholland International Raceway saw four deaths and 140 injuries. When a hit-and-run driver struck a 12-year-old boy at 1:30 on a Sunday morning, the L.A. City Council adopted an emergency ordinance that permitted them to close segments of Mulholland.

The racing scene never recovered.

(at least not fully ;) heh, heh )

Chris,

I think Turbo tie-rods are in order here. Much better steering feel than the older version you have on there. Also, if I was to be driving this car on canyon roads with wide "slicks" I would consider replacing the ball joints too. Cheap insurance against a failure due to metal fatigue.

Short story: I was driving a Volvo P1800 (my second car and my first race car - don't ask me why) home one night and took one of my favorite freeway interchange overpasses at about 90mph. It was a long left hand sweeper. I arrived home and was backing into my garage when the right front ball joint sheared off and the car dropped down. Fortunately no damage done but it could have been much worse had the failure occurred at speed. Needless to say, all ball joints and tie rods were replaced immediately. ;)

Keep the pictures coming!

David

Thank you David, excellent advice!
During the "Renaissance break-in period", I'll change to Turbo tie rods before the necessary wheel re-alignment, that might be slightly overdue ;) .

Ball joints have less than 4 thousand miles on them and are probably OK, but they are worth checking and replacing as you so wisely said. :cool:

Best regards,
Chris Banning

Not feeling too bad in the shoulders, neck and back. Just a touch of soreness, but nothing to complain about.

Understood re: insurance company. I have absolutely nothing to hide. I (along with surrounding traffic) had stopped. I looked in the rearview mirror to see a car approaching way too fast to stop. Just about that time, I see him hit the brakes. Note I was stopped prior to him jumping on his binders. He nailed me from behind, and his momentum pushed me into the car in front. Here's the editorial part: I find it hard to believe that even were my car not there, would he have been able to stop in the additional 20' that my car (and the space in front of me) represented, to prevent him from hitting the car in front of me.

On the way home, I drove at or below the speed limit the entire way. (Even on Mul.) 45+ miles. Hazards going. Hard to do much more, when I was concerned the bumper bits might fall off in traffic. I dragged the muffler through every dip in the road and driveway. Couldn't even back out of the driveway at home. Had to do a 3-point turn on the lawn to go out forwards, as the muffler would wedge under the rear wheel.

Checking ball joints is a very wise thing to do. My left joint failed at 20 mph and was very scary. Wheel tucked up in the wheel well, and all control was lost. Especially scary since just the month before I had just completed a "spirited" run up hwy 33 and back. Woulda just rolled me up into a crumpled orange ball.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...lljoint001.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...lljoint005.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...lljoint003.jpg

Lurking and enjoying this thread. Someday I will get down there and drive Mullholland.

Unusual high temperature
 

These high temps have required me to pay attention to the garden instead of the Porsche. See www.californiacactus.com to see my cactus garden.
Inside the house it's still almost 84 with the air on. But it's 108 outside, yuk! It's brutal up here on the hill!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1214008836.jpg

The heat brings out the snakes like the one here that I saw around noon time in the garden.
After photographing him, he jumped as fast as lightning into the bush above him. Unreal!
You will note by the bulge in his throat that he has just eaten.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1214008857.jpg

By the way, I called Dave B. at TRE Motorsports to ask if he knew anyone who had a 12 plug dist. for a 911. He kindly directed me to Henry at Supertech who sells very nice custom distributers for Porsches. If time and money is available in the near future, I will upgrade to twin plug. An exrta 15 horsepower? I hope? (heads already drilled) It's something that I've always wanted to add for a final touch. What do you think?

I had seen one on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-TWIN-PLUG-DISTRIBUTOR-for-2-0-thru-3-8_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247QQ categoryZ6755QQihZ017QQitemZ4548055399QQrdZ1QQsspa genameZWD1V

I'm glad to see you are making forward progress Chris. It's a great feeling when, after a long period of time, you begin to fall back in love with a car. Sometimes, it's something as simple as seeing a gleaming set of 9s and 11s. That always does it for me :)

Come by for a case of Brad Penn oil for the big start up. You may end up with a small group of Porsche techs and enthusiasts following along to see the big moment.

i'd play hooky for that!

Sounds like a good excuse for a MIRRC meeting/party.

Sounds like a great idea. Once all these cars get running, we need to do a MIRRC day at Streets of Willow or something. One of those El Toro autocrosses could be fun too.

Sounds excellent but can something like this be organized with just two weeks leadtime?

Brakes on line
 

Thanks Jeremy, there is No Substitute! as you know.
Also thanks for the invitation, we'll talk.

Next post to have newest progress.

You already posted these images a page ago. You reflush your brakes again?