Need a Track Car? Is 962 Okay?

[1990C4S]

Porsche 962 for Sale

[sand_man]

hhhhmmm, normally aspirated...

[GH85Carrera]

It would require a tow vehicle and trailer. I prefer to just drive my car to the track and have fun. It is just not for me.

[sand_man]

Cool car, though!

[1990C4S]

Incredible amount of work....and money.

[stomachmonkey]

What's a deckle?

[jhynesrockmtn]

Wow is about all I can say. I don't see this being allowed in vintage race groups, where else could you race it? Incredible build. I didn't see a price but just spent a few minutes on the site.

[Schumi]

first off.. this is an incredible effort. the best home-build groupe c car I've seen. The tub is spectacular looking. But..

While some details are wonderfully done there are a few issues I spot that I would never do on a car meant to be a proper endurance racer. I find these home builds consistent in the fact that they are done by people with considerable passion and fabrication skill and yet usually not the same engineering knowledge a factory car would have been built with. The way the rear upper A-arms are designed with the single plate triangle gusset and a threaded rod end on the outer joint isn't the way it's done. And the forward tube spliced into the other tube to sink anther rod end in it? Again, just not the way this is done.

The rear wing placement is far too far forwards even for an IMSA short tail car. Even on those cars the rear of the wing was about 8 inches rearwards of the rear of the body. With the wing that far forwards much of the effect the wing has on driving the diffuser is lost. *edit: just noticed it doesn't have the ground effect tunnels at all. That is the whole point of a 962! the tunnels!*

All the mixed hardware (socket head cap screws with black oxide coating mixed in with a few nice hex heads here and there? ) really gets to me too.

Sure the thing will run and drive but aggg I can't stand seeing these builds that could have really used someone who had worked on real 962's a while to coach the builder into not making design and setup mistakes.

/rant over.

[Jeff Alton]

I used to live a few houses away from him. Have seen this car quite a few times. It has been through a few iterations and is quite interesting.

Cheers

[afterburn 549]

Lets give the MAN Credit as he has done more than most people will ever do.
If one has not ever scatch built, its EZ to be the Critique .
Most people have a TV chair or a name on a bar room stool somewhere.
Thats what they have built.
Nothing.

[Schumi]

I'm not an armchair QB, I know I sound like a dick but I actually engineered prototypes for a living.

If you are going to spend this much time and money on a build, please spend some time and seek out a few other experienced engineers as guides every now and then. Please. There are many of us who who donate the time for free just to keep racecareng101 mistakes from being made like that rear toe link mounted directly in the middle of the rear lower arm putting it in bending, and the fact that those rear lower a-arms are actually inclined in a way that is probably putting the rear roll center high enough for a small SUV.

Again, I know I sound like a total dbag but these things get to me.

[sc_rufctr]

What a beauty... But does anybody know?

Why are cars like this right hand drive?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Cool from the concept of what an ordinary guy can build in his garage, but conversely I wouldn't trust my life on a racetrack to something a guy built in his garage for all the reasons that Mike noted. Just because it looks similar doesn't mean it's the same level of manufacturing and engineering as a real 962.

[berettafan]

Would be nice to have a job that affords the time and money for such a project.

[gorthar]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

What a beauty... But does anybody know?

Why are cars like this right hand drive?

Because most road-courses run clockwise it locates the drivers mass and sight lines where the most turns will be.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by gorthar

Because most road-courses run clockwise it locates the drivers mass and sight lines where the most turns will be.

OK... That makes sense. Thanks.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Schumi

The way the rear upper A-arms are designed with the single plate triangle gusset and a threaded rod end on the outer joint isn't the way it's done. And the forward tube spliced into the other tube to sink anther rod end in it? Again, just not the way this is done.

Boy, no kidding. WTF was he thinking? I can't see any reason to end up with the design he used. The attachment points to the tub don't look all that stout, either.

I can see someone not calculating the loads and designing the parts to suit, although the math isn't that hard and there are plenty of books out there to guide a person. What I don't understand is why the guy didn't just copy what a 962 suspension was like. It's not hard to find pictures, or to find an actual car to poke around.

All that time and effort could have been used a little better...

JR

[Schumi]

Originally Posted by javadog

Boy, no kidding. WTF was he thinking? I can't see any reason to end up with the design he used. The attachment points to the tub don't look all that stout, either.

I can see someone not calculating the loads and designing the parts to suit, although the math isn't that hard and there are plenty of books out there to guide a person. What I don't understand is why the guy didn't just copy what a 962 suspension was like. It's not hard to find pictures, or to find an actual car to poke around.

All that time and effort could have been used a little better...

JR

The rear kinematics are going to be jacked (literally) from the angles of those arms in front view too. The problem started with him using a Hewland gearbox from a Lola, and mounted it about 3 inches higher off the ground than it is ever supposed to be. So the pickup points on that box are way, way too high and therefore throws the whole rear off.

This is what I tell people who do garage builds- I understand you aren't in it to do the math and simulation like the engineers, but if you are doing it, make sure you copy things correctly and if you make changes understand those changes or get help.

Of course with stiff springs and slicks, the suspension can be horrible and the owner will still feel like it is awesome because it will only ever get pushed to about 60% on track. But I can guarantee you that rear end is no where near up for the limit handling that a track car on those tires deserves.

[javadog]

I wasn't even going that deep, I was just trying to understand why a person would design a bend into a tube, when he wasn't trying to go around something.

There's a bunch of things that make me scratch my head but I can't get past that first one. I'm sure there's a story but I can't think of what it might be...

JR

[gorthar]

There is a guy here in Ohio who builds and sells 962 monocoques to supposedly factory specification. I believe he sells all the bodywork and suspension as well. All you need to supply is the running gear and the cubic dollars.

Slack Motorsport 962s Monocoque Bodywork Chassis Parts - Porsche Tools and Parts