That's cool.

I think I've also hear beech but probably just because it sounded like Birch.

I would have to do some research to find out.

I suspect balsa if it comes in a harder version that would not be crushed by the driver's grip or eroded by his gloves abrading it. Reason why is they used balsa wood cores for some composite parts back then, such as the fiberglass hoods on the 911R. I assume balsa is lighter than birch and light was what they were going for.

I have some chunks of mahogany you can have.........

I'm not sure the harder version of balsa would be hard enough.

One post on Rennlist alluded to it being wood (birch) not because of weight reduction, but heat transfer. Said that the tranny linkage would get too hot, wood was used to insulate. Said it was a birch plywood. Easy enough to make.

I sent a PM to a couple of 917 owners as well.

Gordon Wingrove in Porscge 917: The Undercover Story says it was "what appears to be a birch ply" and was done for heat insulation purposes, especially useful in long races. He was a race mechanic for John Weyer back when they raced the 917s, so his testimony carries some weight.

I bet they would have used balsa if it was hard enough, though. They loved saving weight. Maybe the 908.3 had the balsa knob. :)

Hans Mezger apparently said the same thing. Mentioning that Balsa would soak moisture like a sponge and crack.

are you saying that the shift knob was insulated? the shift knob got so hot it needed to be insulated?

Yes and no, the heat was transferred down the shift linkage from the tranny. Supposedly, if they used an aluminum shift knob, the heat would transfer into the drivers gloved hand. Not fun for long races. The wood acted as an insulator between the linkage and hand.

Shift knob was not insulated, but it was the insulator.

Morning U'all

U-Haul? Morning!

Yeah it was a workable pre-coffee typo

If only she raised the camera a few mm's up... Oh well. :D

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sr4K9oIpxKg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And had on a different outfit, maybe add a pole.....

What outfit?

Well ditch the baggy pants for...

What the hell are you taking about?!? I'm not seeing any baggy pants here..

The vid I am seeing is a blonde, with a grey wife beater and strawberry parachute pants

Hmmm...