i have a chance to ride a 904 GTS!

[wreckah]

woo-hoow, i'm stoked.

lately i'm doing a bit of work on the side for a very wealthy industrial here in belgium, and he's got a lot of historic racing cars.

One of the most gorgeous cars he owns (next to his original GT40 and ferrari 275GTB) is a completely mint and original 904 GTS! (way way way more beautiful than his carrera GT, which i really don't like to be honest)
this is what it looks like (not the actual car, but a pic is always nice )

2 liter flat six, around 220hp

this weekend i was working on one of his lamborghini's, while he was racing his 904 in the streets around the garage...what a sound, and what a car! I will get a chance to ride along with him one of these days, and maybe drive it myself around the block (a man can hope, can't he? )

anybody on this forum ever drove one? Care to tell me what it's gonna be like?

cheers, jan

[livi]

Congrats, Jan! That should be a very rewarding experience. Be sure to have your camera ready. We want to see pics!

Closest I have come riding any special breed was the 959. Not that impressive perhaps on the paper, but in reality that car is brutal. Ride of my life. So far..

[Zef]

Lucky guy...just be sure to give us info on that ride...Yup...a very lucky guy.

[NY65912]

Just make sure you don't wet yourself while in the car. I know I probably would.

Lucky dog!

[wreckah]

i'll take some pics when the boss is not around, he's a bit worried of getting too much exposure (understandeable).

i just hope i don't wreck it, it's worth about 1 million EUR at the moment...

[MBEngineering]

HI from what I can remember thay are quick, and with not much in the seating department you can feel the car, it's hard to explain if you have not been in one , the boss/owner of the Porsche dealer I started at had one and I got all the fiddly jobs to do , like change the plugs, change the exhaust, change the wheels, hold up the rear lid while the boss and his son worked on it, you put up with the agro as you may just be asked to go on road test, "YES PLEASE", the car was sold on to the continent, poss Belgium and I am trying to trace where it went to/who has it now, I did have 2 b/w photos of it and I do now some history of the car, but no chassis No, could you ask the owner of the one you now where he got his from and has it any paper work from Parker & Parker Ltd in Cumbria , the cylinders and pistons where changed on the one at Parkers , 2lt 4 cam. if you get the chance go,go,go!!!

regards mike

[drauz]

I drove one over a private drive for about 3 miles once. You sit very low - butt on the ground feeling and very close-coupled in the tight interior. It is very noisy, not just the engine (a NICE sound) but the whole chassis resonates like, well, vibrating fiberglass. Visibility is restricted everywhere but where it matters - right in front - you see the road inches in front of the nose, like a sports-prototype.

The control inputs are just what you'd expect - raw, light, direct, even primitive. The 4 cam is really zippy - fantastic throttle response. I was impressed by the torque (which I had expected to be nil), but when it came on cam(s) - wow! I got that "pulling away from your grip" kinda feel - intense acceleration in 2nd & 3rd near the top of the rev range. The car is so light that forethought & precision are absolutely key to staying out of trouble - more time behind the wheel helps, I'm sure! The narrow (by modern standards) tires contribute to all this - I now avoid over-tiring old sports cars - it loses more than it gains for my taste. Brakes were a bit darty and slow, but I think that was because they were cold track compound and the hydraulics may have been a bit tired - the car wasn't driven often (few old Porsches are driven as much as they need to be). Of course, handling felt neutral. I could barely imagine what the Targa Florio must have been like in a 904 at full tilt, lap upon lap. Driving it for such a short stint, not owning it, on a tight curvy path, being so light and dynamic, I came nowhere near really excercising its limits - only my own.

Yes, one of the drives of my life - thanks for reminding me... and do whatever you can to get your shot.

[Superman]

Jan, I think the 904 had a 2-liter flat FOUR.

I have never driven anything that remotely resembles this car, but I would expect it's like driving a 200 hp go-cart coupe with license plates.

[drauz]

Porsche designed the 904 for the new 901 flat 6, but it wasn't ready when the chassis were. So, the production 904 had the 2L 4cam 4cyl (0-60 in 5.3). A few factory racing cars had the 6 installed & one even had the flat 8!

[CJFusco]

One of my all-time favorite cars. Enjoy the drive, and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, get some big pics.

[safe]

Very cool and beautiful car!

Grady Clay on this forum used to own one IIRC.

[Early_S_Man]

1400 lb weight range -- same as the '66 Lotus Elan, but twice the hp, and 175 mph top end! 906 engine with 210 hp at 8000 rpm definitely sounds like a raw fun go-kart to me!

The 2.2 liter 771 engine was raced in a few 904s ... 275 hp @ 8400 rpm!

http://www.pelicanparts.com/vasekauction/771/med/ulthm.htm

[Joeaksa]

Enjoy it and take loads of pictures!

[Kraftwerk]

I had lunch last week with a guy who used to own a RS 60 (only 20 built !) and that was a thrill just to hear from someone who had one of these super rare treasures. He bought his in the 70's as a roller with two race engines on pallets. It is a dedicated (and unbeatable in its day) race car after all, these were not street engines. When he recently sold the car he kept one of the engines...now freshly re-built by some guy named Doyle, I think, in Wisconsin. It is going into his original speedster. Though not a direct fit, he has to cut away some of the metal in the engine bay, but he will have a fast light car to drive and enjoy. Not as worrisome as owning a rolling museum piece like the 904, which is simply gorgeous. Have fun.

[wreckah]

@ drauz: thanks for the ride report, makes me wanna go out in it even more

i talked to the chief mechanic (= my buddy, and the one who introduced me with the rich guy ) a couple of weeks ago, and he said it was a 2.0L flat six, twin spark plugged.

@ mike: hi mike, i will ask my buddy where it came from, maybe he knows, and i will PM you if i can find anything. It would be cool to retrace the history behind it. If i'm not mistaken, the car was completely restored here in Belgium. I'd have to ask to be sure. In the weekend i'm going to work there again, so i might know more then

[904svo]

This is my 904 kit car and it does sound and drive like a 904. It's
powered by a 2.0 ltr type 4 engine.

[Lukesportsman]

Is that Beck's replica?

[EarlyPorsche]

Without a flat six how does that kit sound like an original? A speaker under the hood?

[904svo]

It's a copy of Beck's 904, it was sold by Avanti Motor Corp.


I,v been in a real 904 (3 times).They were all equipped with
a 4 cyl engine with a muffler. People forget that most 904"s were
equipped with 4 cyl engines for the street the 6 and 8 cyl versions
were produce by the factory for racing.

[wreckah]

well, here's the real deal this car is just amazing...

i took a seat in the passenger seat this weekend, but we only drove it in the garage, but still it felt unbelievable. Rock hard suspension, and it feels as if the throttle is applied directly to the ground, very direct!

click for big.