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Monkey Wrench
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 919
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Early 911 with see through firewall
I remember an article in Excellence about a really trick early car.
It had carbon fiber bodywork that was partially painted with silver. I'm looking for information/pictures about the area behind the seats. From what I remember, it had a clear firewall which permitted you to see the engine and tranny. Anyone remember that one? |
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 264
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I can't remember which Excellence but I am pretty sure the guy who own's the car is "GrantG". (Sorry I can't manage to copy his Avatar over) Go to Rennlist and do a search for "GrantG" and you should be able to email him. I think he is from Denver? I found the picture but can't get it to post. He blended the carbon fiber and silver paint scheme. Beautiful and lightweight to the max.
Matt Grant 73 Carrera RS 2.7 Carbon Fiber replica 96 993 C2 Coupe Polar Silver/Full Flamenco Red Former: 73 911S Aubergine/Blk 89 944 Turbo S Blk/Blk 02 996 C2 Artic Silver/Met Blue 88 944 Turbo S Silver Rose/Burgundy plaid
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SBWDP-FTP Gruppe P 1973 911 Sepia Brown! 1997 993 C4S (wife's car) |
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Also go to Rguppe web site or Thom's rennlight.com and find my table of comparisons among light wt. cars. Grant's is there as Carbon Copy, the name in the Excl. article which is cited at the bottom of my table.
Yes - it is an interesting and exciting car. I think the max can be pushed a bit further...
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"A man with his priorities so far out of whack doesn't deserve such a fine automobile." - Ferris Bueller's Day Off |
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Uh oh now I've done it.....I've insinuated that there is a limit to lightening a car.....Does the Church of Light Weight have the capability to send down thunderbolts! Hmm, I wonder if I am hit by lightning while in the car if the resulting fire would burn off extra weight? ;-)
Matt
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SBWDP-FTP Gruppe P 1973 911 Sepia Brown! 1997 993 C4S (wife's car) |
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Matt,
A nice oblong 3' x 2' hole vaporized in the roof would probably save you a lb or two ... if only you could somehow get the plasma to exit through one of the windows! Otherwise, the 'other' 3' x 2' exit hole on the way to ground could get a bit messy to patch!
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Warren Hall, Jr. 1973 911S Targa ... 'Annie' 1968 340S Barracuda ... 'Rolling Thunder' |
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there is a limit to lightening a car... in fact, there are lots of limits: technology at a given time; and more to the point, how much moola you can spend -- a guy who makes CF parts for Porsche once told me that you need to think in multiples of 10 -- cost for parts in some race series are in the $100s /lb.; next up $1,000s/lb. then...
there is a limit to lightening a hummingbird... or so a graduate student claimed when I was a biology prof. His PhD showed or at least suggested that one could not pack more mitochondria (energy generators) into the flight muscles and still maintain the contraction strength of the muscle. So that's a hard limit. Money is just a soft limit. Keep repeating that to yourself...
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"A man with his priorities so far out of whack doesn't deserve such a fine automobile." - Ferris Bueller's Day Off |
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Join Date: Feb 2004
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Potential disclaimer:
See-through plexiglass firewall! (not for prevention of actual fires!) ![]() |
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It was at Hershey 3 years ago. I have pics at home. Someone also posted a lot of pics of the car on Renlist too.
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John Adams 1980 ROW 911SC |
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Monkey Wrench
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 919
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Any pics or links would be greatly appreciated!!
![]() I'm looking for more pictures of the inside. ![]() ![]() Last edited by Spede; 05-03-2006 at 06:35 AM.. |
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Hi - I think you're asking about my car. The firewall is aluminum to about 1/2 height and then Lexan from there to the roof. Feel free to email for more info. I don't have any great photos of that area, but could probably find some time to snap a couple.
-Grant grantg10@aol.com
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2022 GT3 Manual, 73 Carrera RS 2.9 Twin-Plug MFI Carbon Fiber Replica Former: 18 GT3 Manual,16 Cayman GT4, 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, BMW 635CSi Euro, Ferrari 550 Maranello, 06 Evo IX w/ many mods |
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Grant, I don't think you're going to find anyone here that would mind seeing some more photos of your ride.
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89 Carrera 3.4 "There is a right way to go around a corner - it's called the line." -- PCA DE speaker bryteside.com - good things happen. |
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I always thought it would be interesting to explore turning the motor and gearbox around a la 914 in a 911 with a firewall behind the front seats like that.
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Remember our friends: Warren, Ron, Grady, and Steve. 76 912E RS (i.e. "Real Slow"); 63 Volvo P1800 "S"; 71 Jaguar XJ6 Series 1; 05 GT3; 23 Cayman GTS 4.0; 97 Boxster |
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Quote:
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2022 GT3 Manual, 73 Carrera RS 2.9 Twin-Plug MFI Carbon Fiber Replica Former: 18 GT3 Manual,16 Cayman GT4, 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, BMW 635CSi Euro, Ferrari 550 Maranello, 06 Evo IX w/ many mods |
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My offhand guess is that it's 200-250 pounds difference depending on what motor you have. Add a little more if it's an aluminum case or a late motor with all the bells and whistles like a 3.6.
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Remember our friends: Warren, Ron, Grady, and Steve. 76 912E RS (i.e. "Real Slow"); 63 Volvo P1800 "S"; 71 Jaguar XJ6 Series 1; 05 GT3; 23 Cayman GTS 4.0; 97 Boxster |
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Join Date: Feb 2003
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Well, the quick answer to that question is, which car is better balanced...a 911E/S, or a 914-6???
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Jake Gulick, Black Rock, CT. '73 yellow 911E , & 2003 BMW M3 Cab. Ex: 84 Mazda RX-7 SCCA racer. did ok with it, set some records, won some races, but it wore out, LOL[/B] |
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Quote:
I have driven a Cayman and 996 and that difference was interesting. I also examined a nice 906 racer recently and saw how the drivetrain was mounted with the cooling fan against the firewall... How would one make the transmission drive forward rather than reverse? Turn it upside down 180 degrees? What about lubrication in that configuration? Would make for an interesting shift linkage too...
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2022 GT3 Manual, 73 Carrera RS 2.9 Twin-Plug MFI Carbon Fiber Replica Former: 18 GT3 Manual,16 Cayman GT4, 73 911S, Two 951S's, 996 C2, 993 C2, BMW 635CSi Euro, Ferrari 550 Maranello, 06 Evo IX w/ many mods Last edited by GrantG; 05-03-2006 at 10:03 AM.. |
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The motor would be 300 lbs. + heavier, of course, the real question is which vertical slices (parts) of what component weigh how much, at what distance from the car's mid-point... i.e. think in terms of taking 1" slices up & down and rearranging them -- each one gets multiplied by the moment arm it acts on (the distance from the mid-pt., more or less).
A cable shifter can work for many wierd congiurations - the Boxster and 996/997 uses that, IIRC. Grant -- more pics would be fabulous...
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"A man with his priorities so far out of whack doesn't deserve such a fine automobile." - Ferris Bueller's Day Off |
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