Back on the road again... A drive that defines the meaning of it all.

jpnovak · 01-02-2009, 07:46 PM

About a year ago I found a broken head stud in my ST replica's engine. This meant no track time for 08 while I got it fixed. The fix would have been quick but I was building my Dad's car all Spring. When he drove away with his new toy I decided it was time to get my car some TLC. AFter 5 years of trouble free driving and a bit of development it was time for something a bit new. And so it began...

In addition to the motor I thought the car needed a fresh repaint. My original paint experiment ended in a satin silver finish. I really liked it but it did not take well to the TX sun. 4 years later it was peeling in spots. So the paint came off. Some of you may remember my fun...

How to strip paint from a car in 2.5 hours

Once the car was cleaned up I did a bit of cutting and welding to smooth the shape. next came some primer and whole lot of sanding. Eventually I put some paint back on the car.

A new coat of color. 936 silver metallic

After a week of sore arms from the cut & buff process I thought the paint was acceptable. It is a track car afterall.

That meant it was time to make it go. Over the years I had collected some engine parts for the inevitable point in time when I would need to go inside the mostly stock 3.0. With SSIs and webers the motor pulled hard and consistent. It really changed when I installed EFI. Of course, the stock 3.0 never drove the way I liked. It didn't have that early car "essence". If you have never driven an early car with E or S cams you don't know what I am talking about. If you have then you know the feeling of torque that keeps pulling the more you put your foot in it. I always thought the stock 3.0 felt flat above 5K rpm when I was really used to a motor just starting to wake up. The tall gears never quite suited me either. the 78 915/63 was not bad but just didn't have what I was looking for.

I decided to make some internal changes to the car.

The first thing was to rebuild the motor. Nothing too special. There is a bit more detail here.

My first engine build complete - the 3.2SS is alive.

The 98mm high compression pistons combined with a cam that makes power to 7K rpm is just what the doctor ordered. At this point I felt I was getting closer to the "essence".

Of course, the new rev band meant I needed some different gearing. I always preferred the 901 shift pattern. So... 915 out, 911/01 in. I made a few internal changes as well. The gearbox ended up with AFJOU gearing, simplified differential update and the usual internal freshening of syncros and bearings. I know the gearing is short and close. Perfect. Are we there yet?

I finally get the drive train back in the car and fire it up. It started immediately and after a bit of fiddling with the laptop settled into an acceptable rich idle. The worst part was not being able to drive the car at this point. I had never finished putting it back together from paint...

So this week I had a little extra time and my wife was being extra supportive of getting the car back on the road. I convinced her that it had been long enough languishing as parts storage. We all know live gets in the way. Kids, work, money, time. Besides these obvious things there were project related stumbling blocks along the way. First there was selection of paint. Then the hours of blocking after the "hail" storm. Next was trying to paint when it was 108F outside. (Paint drys way too quickly at this temperature). The new motor threw a few curve balls as well. There were mismatched cylinder heights, building of new distributors, missing piston pins. The tranny seemed like the easiest part until I put the motor and transmission back into the car. It seems that a 901 will not mate to a 915 clutch. At the end of it all, through the high points and low points I prevailed and drive the car for 1.5 hours today. Mostly it was retuning the EFI on the motor, but really it was something more. I drove the car out of the driveway for the first time in about 8 months. As I sputtered along tuning the motor it all came to me.

Today's drive was about smiles, friends, family and community. Really, that is what this is all about. The smile on our faces when the right foot hits the floor or when the new motor is leak free and the tranny shifts solid and smooth, the friends you meet that will accept a phone call when you are distress, the community that brings us all together allowing us to answer questions and share our projects, and the families that take lots of time and effort yet let us play in the garage since we are not getting into trouble somewhere else. (getting in trouble for being in the garage too much is something different entirely.)

Tomorrow I will take it out for a multi-hour drive without a shift knob, door panels, and a short list of other things. Even with these parts voids the drive will be full of smiles, friends, community and family. In the end, its all about the "essence".

Happy New Year to All!!

Here is the project in its near completion.

SCWDP911 · SCWDP911's Garage

looking good Jamie!

Morrie · 01-02-2009, 08:03 PM

See you in the morning!!

MorriE

mjshira · 01-02-2009, 08:53 PM

dude, very VERY impressive. well done. you motivate me big time. man, too cool!

Tom '74 911 · 01-03-2009, 07:28 AM

I can relate in every way. Congrats to being back on the road.

Tom

jpnovak · 01-03-2009, 06:26 PM

Today's drive went on with little problem. I spent the day tuning EFI and breaking in the new engine. About 100 miles in the engine was starting to feel the effects of high cylinder pressures. I think the rings are seating nicely. Of course, There is no way I could count the pulls from 3 to 7K and back down with engine braking. Lots of load and hills really help the motor exercise.

All I can say is that a close-ratio gear box is addicting. I wish I could just make my 2nd a 1st and add a taller 5th on the outside. I guess a 904 mainshaft is in my future.

This car is a rocket ship from 5 to 7K. Wow! The thrust from 15 to 100+ mph is absolutely incredible. This is exactly what I wanted.

w21055 · w21055's Garage

Congrats on getting it back on the road. Paint looks great as well.

jpnovak · 01-03-2009, 07:02 PM

The paint is a 6-footer garage job. HMM the paint is better than my body work skills. Thanks for the compliment.

Kemo · 01-03-2009, 07:04 PM

nice...well done.

mjshira · 01-03-2009, 07:31 PM

dude, no pics from today, what gives? ;-)

jpnovak · 01-04-2009, 11:51 AM

James, I spent too much time paying attention to my laptop and the EFI. However, I did snap a few pics.

Our drive was great. We had 5 longhoods ranging from 68 to 73, two mid year 912E's, a, 86 Carrera, an 08 Carrera, a Lotus Esprit V8, an E36 M3, a 64 Corvette Convertible and a mid-60s ChevyII. it was a great mix of cars and a fantastic group of drivers.

One of the stops along the way.

The gathering on the road. We don't have the scenic stops that SoCal does.

The "pack" strung out.