Wednesday Evening
 

Thank you Pelican for allowing uploading of photos again.


From Wednesday evening: Here is a group shot of the boys at Truckstop enjoying the warm night and comraderie. From left to right are Kevin P., Jeff H., C. Banning, lfot(Derek), Chris(porcupine), SloDave, SteveB on Mul, and Radu.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185542960.jpg



Here we are at the end of paved Mulholland after a really fun night drive across the hill. We had a blast.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185543219.jpg



Radu and his new Radical Racecar roadburner. It sounds great at redline.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185543235.jpg


Thanks to all for a fine time sharing experiences, stories, and car talk.
This is worth doing again, don't you think?

Derek, I can't tell you how happy I am that I was able to help you spend the Corolla hot-rod money elsewhere. :D

They are back
 

Better?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185555118.jpg

wed. night
 

Wednesday was fun! Lets do it again. . .
- Steve B

Two more images from Wednesday evening.

Imagine a beautiful warm summer night in southern California. It's dark and quiet except for the occasional yips of distant coyotes. The many colored city lights blanket the distance and appears brightly electric. You turn around and see a radical race car in the blackness. It's Radu's new Mulholland ride and looks quite imposing. If you like cars and especially Porsches, then the image freezes you to admire an unusual street 911. The evening just got better. Other cars and friends are visible in the dark back-round.:cool:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185644414.jpg


Here is SteveB on Mul, our newest member thinking out loud what good times these are. Thank you Steve, it was great to meet you and we hope to be seeing you again. You made a fine introduction and you are always welcome to join us.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185644431.jpg

Good Times indeed......but theres always one guy in the crowd
 

or......
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185652119.jpg

or maybe....
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185652752.jpg

Yeah - don't bogart the you know what!

What!!!?

Had a great eve

when do we go out again??!!

-Steve B

Radu didn't want to be seen smoking his Marlboro, that's why he always turns his head while a cigarette is in his hand. Notice the photo of him with his Porsche shows his hand behind his back hiding his cig. It's not as sociable as it used to be in years past. Everyone please be extra careful during this severe fire season.

Our next meeting time will be posted to this thread. While the weather is good, we expect to get together once a week. It's not like the old days anymore and most of us are too busy with life to meet more than weekly. Besides it's more fun to get together on random nights less frequently, it's safer, makes for more variety, and creates the opposite of boredom.

Jane and I are considering bringing an ice chest with cold water and sodas, and perhaps cut up Subway sandwiches to an upcoming meeting. We can hang out watching old Mulholland movie segments on a portable DVD player while having refreshments. Or just enjoy the city lights while we eat and talk cars. This could be done after our trek to dirt Mul. Please post a reply if you find this a fun idea. :cool:

It's a great idea Chris. Let me know if there is anything I can bring.

Thanks very much Kevin.

Bean bag chairs. NO... better yet one of these!


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185774191.jpg

Jeff, that chair looks like fun. You could sit in a Gulf 917 every day watching old Le Mans re-runs.
Actually, the photo gave me a great idea. Make that a real seat in a real 917, and take runs riding in that front position at Willow, talk about an E ticket! If one can avoid a heart attack while riding in that position..it would make all the rides at Magic Mountain look tame. Makes a new definition of "taking the point".
Note: seat belts recommended.

I have had this recurring dream since I was five years old about a 917 in Gulf livery. I have even sat in one that was driven by Milt Minter but not the blue and orange one I still dream about. Every time someone asked if I could have any car what would it be? No brainer- a 917 K. It is a timeless design representing the ultimate in expression and a desire to win. Before the FIA imposed displacement limits back when factories raced under the "Makes" designation. So many variants from long tails "L", short tails "K" and spyders (Langen, Kurz,) were built its hard to choose because they all have elegance about them unlike other manufacturer’s cars at the time which were not as artistic.

To me they were the chairman’s of the board in business racing and proved it. These were the weapons used during the Battle of the Titans. To bad they never installed the air cooled 16 cylinder prototype that was actually built for the 917. The 917's life was cut short for "Makes" competition when the 3 liter rule was imposed and sent it on its way to dominate Can Am racing achieving a history making record setting second life.

Only the Ferrari 512S's and 330P3's and P4's come in as a second pick for me. (not the TR's) Although the TR as you have is years ahead in technology and I have always admired them.

I didnt care for the looks of the 917/30's even know they were the top shelf
model. In it's latter form turbo'd with over 1100 hp and cookie cutter vents super sized wing variant they lost the look and lines of the 70-71 models.

The 917's are too fragile for the street and economically a money pit but they still stand out today. If I had one would I take it for a spin around the neighborhood? You betcha! From all I have researched over the years the motors were very dependable as long as the redline was observed religiously. Nothing has the sound of an air cooled 12 into 2 exhaust like the 917 pushing the limits of 4th gear. What can I say I like old stuff?

I recall some guy named Banning having a similar dream.

Its good to dream.

Sounds great, Chris! I'd be happy to chip in towards the subs and sodas. . ..
I might even bring my Miniature Pinscher. . .
what night this week?

Steve, thanks. The meeting night will be posted tomorrow. We have found that if we announce the meeting night the day or day before, we have more Mulholland maniacs showing up for a good time. Speaking of Mulholland Maniacs, that is the title of the Eye on LA show hosted by Paul Moyer about the maniacs. I have found my Beta copy of the show which was shown on channel 7 (about 1981). I can now convert it to digital (thanks to Victor) and post to youtube for all to enjoy. Does anyone know if this will be a copyright infringement? Can I post all or part of the show? If I can post it and the other rare Mulholland footage that I have, I think the old and the younger generation will be quite entertained. George M., John H. and the ACR, Mark M., Dave G, Dave B., oldman Gary, Victor VT. and the CRE(many members), Jeff H., Larry O., Bobby C., Bart R., Chuck T., Tony C., Jeff C. and the TVL, the MRA, Radu M. with the newest group, and all the other groups and people that have made Mulholland a safer place to drive (Ha) and have helped bring fame (infamy?) to our beloved highway. :cool:

I thought that I would post some photos for everyone's pleasure.:cool:

Is that Jeff H. at the wheel?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185901677.jpg


Here is the aluminum 917 tubular frame that sits under the fiberglass body.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185901704.jpg


This is the powerplant, 12 horizontally opposed cylinders in a reliable flat design.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185901720.jpg

Here is the transmission, tough for sure to handle the incredible torque of the 917.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1185901736.jpg


PORSCHE, THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE!

Thanks Chris!


The history of the 917 at the end of its career.

Around the beginning of the OPEC crisis (remember gas lines) rules were imposed on Can Am race cars for consumption in MPG (who ever heard of such thing) which replaced displacement limitations of Championship of Makes (Prototypes). This would kill the 917 at the high of its career in both forms of classification.

The unofficial story:

Is the 917 in its final variant Model 30 was so dominant no other cars fielded against it were even competitive. The only way another car would win is if catastrophic failure or crash caused a DNF. If another car took 1st the 917 took 2nd and 3rd. Pretty Impressive. So the powers that be changed the rules ultimately ending the 917's racing career.

Here is the official story:

Porsche's first foray into the Can-Am was not by design but by the luck of the calendar. Beginning in 1969, Watkins Glen held a combined racing weekend for the World Championship of Makes (endurance racing sportscars) and the Can-Am. A 6-hour endurance race would be held on Saturday and a Can-Am on Sunday. The "prototype" sportscars that ran in the endurance were legal (though under-powered) to run in the Can-Am. So as long as the teams were there, they would enter the Can-Am. (Hey, the money was good.) Jo Siffert drove a factory entered Porsche 908 Spyder to a sixth place finish. Another Porsche driver, Tony Dean, who entered his own car, became a Can-Am regular with his 908 Spyder. (Like I said, the money was good.)

Later in the year, Siffert returned with a Porsche 917PA, an open topped (Spyder) version of the recently developed 917 endurance racer. The 917 had a complex aluminum-tube space frame chassis and was powered by an air cooled, 4.5-liter flat-12 engine. It was heavy and under-powered compared to the 7-liter Chevys prevalent in the Can-Am. Siffert's best finish was a third, but he did finish fourth in the Can-Am championship after only racing two thirds of the season.

In 1970, Siffert again drove a factory entered endurance Porsche in the Watkins Glen Can-Am. This time he scored an amazing second place finish in a 917K coupe. The only Porsche regular in the Can-Am, however, was Dean in his little 3-liter 908. It may not have been fast, but it was reliable. This was proven at Road Atlanta when he gave Porsche their first Can-Am victory. This win broke Team McLaren's 19 race win streak. Dean finished sixth in the championship.

There were three Porsches regularly driven in the 1971 Can-Am -- the 908 of Frank Matich, the 917PA (ex-Siffert car) entered by Vasek Polak for Milt Minter, and the 917/10 of Jo Siffert. The endurance Porsches also put in their appearance at Watkins Glen (for the last time), but the best finisher was Gijs van Lennep in ninth.

Siffert's 917/10 had the same wheelbase as the 971PA, but the body was shorter and had fins on each side of the rear bodywork. Engine size was 5- liters when introduced (a third of the way into the season), but up to 5.4-liters by the end of the season. Just before its first race, Siffert signed a sponsorship contract with STP. They couldn't come up with any day-glo red paint (STP's racing colors) in time to paint the car for the race, but they did find contact paper in the proper color with which to cover the car.

Siffert scored several top-5 finishes, including two seconds, to finish fourth in the championship. Unfortunately, he was killed in a Formula One race before the season ended. Minter finished sixth in the championship.

1972 saw the face of the Can-Am change with the introduction of Porsche's new 917/10K. Fitted with twin-turbocharged, 5-liter flat-12 engines, the factory supported, L&M cigarette sponsored, Roger Penske prepared 917/10Ks of Mark Donohue and George Follmer won six of nine races. Donohue missed four races because of injuries suffered in a testing accident, so Follmer was brought in as a substitute driver. After Donohue returned, Penske entered cars for both drivers. Follmer accounted for five of the six Porsche wins and was rewarded with the Can-Am championship. Several other drivers raced 917PAs or 917/10s, but not of the configuration of the Penske cars.

Had the 5-liter turbocharged flat-12 not worked out, Porsche had built a normally aspirated 7.2-liter flat-16 motor. Though tested, it was never raced. It was never needed, as the turbo motors produced 1000 hp on the dyno and 900 hp in race trim.

The body of the 917/10K was slab-sided with a wing mounted between fins on the rear bodywork. The bodywork directly in front of the front wheels, was concave, instead of the normal convex shape, to help produce downforce. The 917/10K could go from 0-60 mph in 2.1 seconds, 0-100 mph in 3.9 seconds, and 0-200 mph in 13.4 seconds! Their race performance was so awesome that they were called the Porsche "Panzers".

In 1973, Porsche and Penske upped the ante. Donohue's 917/30 had streamlined bodywork and a new 5.4-liter, twin turbocharged, flat-12 motor that produced 810 ft-lb of torque and 1100 hp in race trim (and had seen 1500 hp on the dyno). This was the most powerful road racing car until the turbocharged F1 racers of the mid-1980s. Donohue called the 917/30 "a monument to my career as an engineer and driver."

Porsche won all eight races in 1973. Charlie Kemp and George Follmer won the first two races in 917/10Ks before Donohue and the 917/30 got their act together and won six in a row and the championship. This was the first time that anyone had won six straight Can-Am races.

For 1974, the Sports Car Club of America, partially because of the OPEC oil crisis and partially because of the dominance of the turbocharged Porsche engines, introduced a fuel consumption formula of three miles per gallon. Porsche pulled out of the Can-Am. The only Porsche regulars during the five race season were a couple of old 908s.

The 917/30 made one appearance in 1974, at the Mid-Ohio Can-Am. Reasons varied from the official story that this was the track at which it got the best gas mileage, to a rumor that the promoters would not rigidly enforce the gas mileage rules in an effort to increase interest in the dying series. Brian Redman started the car on pole but finished second.

The 917/30 made one last run before being retired to a museum and occasional historic racing duty. On August 9, 1975, Donohue drove it at the Talladega superspeedway to a World Closed Course Speed Record of 221.120 mph. It had run 250 mph on the straights.

jeff -

i've been looking for a good book on the 917. any comment on this one?

Amazon.com - Porsche 917: The Winning Formula

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...VL._AA240_.jpg

thanks.