1972 Car and Driver road test of the 2.4 911s ...

[Early_S_Man]

Since all of my searches for the original posting failed until I remembered 'Bedard and Titanium' ... I decided to post a new thread that should turn up in most searches ... for the 1972 road test!

Hey, emcon5 ... 'bout time to replace your low-contrast dark digital pic sourced article for the real thing!!!





















One final note to those fanatics that always are raving about brake, wheel, & tire 'UPGRADES' ... take a look at the stopping distance from 80 mph for the 911E Targa on skinny little 185/70 Pirelli tires ... and then tell me about all of the improvements [of statistical significance] in those numnbers you can cite over the past 10 years or so with ABS and fat, sticky tires??? Best numbers I have seen for your current 'super' cars, ricerized and all -- 993, WRX, et al ... are only 10 % better than those 1972 numbers!!!

Some improvement for an additional $30K - $90K, huh?

[Early_S_Man]

And ... for all of you wondering what was the best spark plug tool ever put in a factory 911 tool kit??? Here is what 'it' looks like ... the 'famous Klein 21' tool, along with a few maintenance parts & tools for a '73 ...

[IROC]

Excellent article and I fully agree with the spark plug tool statement! I wouldn't want to change plugs without it...

Also, I had never heard of the "higher steering wheel option". Interesting.

Mike

[Paul Franssen]

"When the roof section is in place, the Targa is as weatherproof as the coupes."


For the rest, the reviewers don't really sound all that convinced about the roadholding ...

[Rot 911]

Did anyone notice the E is faster than the S across the range (with the exception of top end of course). Also stopped faster.

[SC-targa]

This article is a great resource. Those 72's are so sweet.

I believe what they meant by "Higher Steering wheel" is an extended hub. I'd love to have one. I also love the comment on how the cars are "fairly heavy" at nearly 2500 pounds. I wish my SC targa was that light.

C&D made a little mistake on the brake specification. The E & the S had the alloy "S" calipers in front. The T had the smaller cast iron calipers on front brakes.

C&D makes such a big deal about the handling differences, saying that even the weight of the sunroof made a noticable difference, but I'd be more inclined to attribute the differences to the alignment and corner balancing.

If you look at the stopping distances, they are way behind current cars. Most of the current sporting machines stop from 80 mph around 200', not 280 like the S did. And with ABS, they can stop nearly as well every time, without requiring any operator skill. We all know that our pre-ABS 911s tend to lock the front brakes on wet roads, limiting our stopping ability.

C&D must have really beat the cr@p out of those cars to get the excellent acceleration times they made.

Regards,

Jerry Kroeger

[emcon5]

Originally posted by SC-targa
If you look at the stopping distances, they are way behind current cars. Most of the current sporting machines stop from 80 mph around 200', not 280 like the S did. And with ABS, they can stop nearly as well every time, without requiring any operator skill.

I wonder how much of that is tires. Tire technology has come a long way in the past 30 years.

Tom

[IROC]

Originally posted by SC-targa
This article is a great resource. Those 72's are so sweet.

I believe what they meant by "Higher Steering wheel" is an extended hub. I'd love to have one.

Yeah, now that I think about it, that's got to be it...

Mike

[}{arlequin]

Thanks Warren. I already had these from your older posts, in B&W. Now we've got the color upgrade.

[MAS]

"C&D must have really beat the cr@p out of those cars to get the excellent acceleration times they made."

Yeah... I remember reading a C&D test of the (mid year) regular 2.7 911S's and seeing a 5.9 second 0-60 dash recorded.

-MAS

[Wil Ferch]

I remember buying this issue.... new .....

---Wil

[layzee]

Originally posted by SC-targa

C&D made a little mistake on the brake specification. The E & the S had the alloy "S" calipers in front. The T had the smaller cast iron calipers on front brakes.

Not sure about that. I am sure I have read only the 911E Sporto (i.e. mine) got the 'S' calipers.

[}{arlequin]

What exactly makes this spark plug tool (and Hazet as well, I guess) better than a regular jointed socket? Is it b/c it's the perfect length? Does it grip the plug better, and how? Finally, are they still available? Thanks.

[techweenie]

I remember the issue. It made me want an 'E'.

I had forgotten about the colors of the cars on the cover. Those bright colors went into disfavor for about 20 years. At least where I lived, Porsches had to be black, silver, red or white.

Today, each of those colors would bring a premium price on the market.

[Early_S_Man]

Dave,

There are several aspects to the Klein tool that make it and the accompanying 10 mm Allen wrench that drives it, perfect:

1. One piece, and one piece, alone, goes into the cylinder head, and sticks out, fully 'reachable' ... by three to five digits of one hand, by feel, in the dark, or out of sight, on a hot engine ... so no disasters of the nature of a recenct thread can occur in your garage, or by the side of the road!

2. The flared, knurled end gives perfect control by fingers to start or remove the plug after loosening torque has been applied with the Allen wrench. There is no chance of cross-threading a new or used plug when installing it by finger power alone.

3. Because final torqueing is done by a single hand on the short Allen wrench ... overtightening the spark plug is highly unlikely ... hot or cold engine!

4. It came with the car, free, and will last for a lifetime ... how many tools can you say that about?

One final note ... though several people have posted that it can be used to loosen lug nuts ... 21 mm, or 13/16" is NOT 19 mm, and such abuse is LUNACY!!!

Unfortunately, they aren't available new any longer ... though they do show up on eBay from time to time, sometimes identified only as 'Porsche mystery wrench!'

[}{arlequin]

Thank you. That only makes me want to find one.

[stlouishandball]

Great article! Thanks for posting the pictures.

I have also had the experience with the front wheels locking up on my 72S during hard braking. I am relieved to hear that it seems to be symtomatic to the car.

[Bill Verburg]

That was the test that got me to buy my '72. I still have the original issue.

[rickeolis]

In grade school, I used to be able to read C&D mag’s in the library, and was glued to every one of these articles.

Those, along with the comparative performance specs in the back of the mag’s led me to realize that I would indeed own a 911 one day!

Thanks Warren!

[Loual]

I remember reading that article when it came out--I was in 8th grade. I read it over and over and over, savoring every word. Great memories... interesting to be able to read it now, having my own 911 for over 20 years, and be able to relate every word to my personal experiences.

Did you catch the line "911's are fairly heavy at 2,500 pounds"? My, times have changed.

C&D got a 5.9 second time out of a mid 70's 2.7? I wonder what was left of it. I think the factory quoted it at 7 sec, which is what it feels like to me.

Thanks for the memories.