I finally own an early 911!My story,my build(?) and more(+some really cool 911 shots)

[Mythos]

Guys thanks for the nice words! Eventually the 911 will come with me at the 'Ring(although I cringe when I think what turn this project might take with the car here).

Thanks for the suggestions on the Bentley(the super-mix of parts on the car is the one thing keeping me from pulling the trigger).

Zack thanks for the offer, I'm pretty sure one of these days I'll bother you.

[Mythos]

Being a couple of weeks without my Porsche it seamed fitting to do a small day trip to Stuttgart to get my fix. Unfortunately the moment I get close to the building the car guy inside me overpowers the photographer so photos are simple snapshots. The museum has been documented multiple times before and much better however since the collection is always on rotation maybe you catch a glimpse of something you haven't seen before...

[Mythos]

and part II...

[Bill Jennings]

Mythos,
Congrats on the new car I am looking forward to seeing your impression of the car when you take it round the ring.
I must confess to being infatuated about the ring. Where else can you drive flat out on a very long but narrow track with little or no run off. The combination of different vehicles (its a public toll road) bikes,cars, vans trucks buses etc means you have to be careful coming up on slower traffic yet always looking in the mirror to make sure you are not taking the racing line away from much faster traffic. If its growing in the mirror get out of the way.
My first trip there I felt very intimidated and I still feel intimidated. It is rare to do a full lap without a near miss or coming across an accident that just happened.
I cannot wait to go back.
Cheers
Bill

[atreat]

wow! great pics, I was there last year and in awe the whole time!

[Mythos]

There has to be something wrong with you if you fly from Europe's biggest/best(?) track the 20+ km Nurburgring to Greece to drive the...2 km Megara Circuit. While I'll have to admit that there are many things wrong with me the one that you might also care is my "I haven't been behind the wheel of my 911" syndrome.







So there I was. In my dirty old 911 under the Greek sun ready to enjoy a day on track without touching a camera(which apparently is a liberating feeling) with good friends around. However I must confess that -contrary to the whole 'feel good' vibe- I wasn't after just getting a taste of the car.

Staying 2000km away of your car leaves you plenty of time to go back to the limited track footage you have and look at those 20 laps you did(2 months back) over and over again. I wasn't happy with myself. So this Saturday I was on a...mission. Kill those front tires and finally learn what the car can actually do. Did I succeed on that?













Yes and no. I killed those two front tires(in a quite impressive braking pirouette on the track's main straight). However I completely failed on the driving front. I'll have to admit that I did the common mistake of getting carried away and just having fun! Sliding here and there and pushing harder all over the place is much easier than focusing on the areas you want to improve and working them one by one.

While driving the car more often would help I still feel that the car doesn't reward clean driving. It might be fun but takes a lot of effort to complete a proper on the limit lap even in a relatively simple track as this. From braking and downshifting that you have to get around the 'mechanical handicap', to the vague turn in to the always slightly sliding exit out of the corners. I did the sections as fast as I wanted at least once, so the 'ideal time' is there, but if in a half day of 15-20 laps you can't put them in one real lap then something is wrong with the driver or the car(or both!).

Bullet points:
-Still not happy with the soft and oversteer-y susp. setup.
-Very happy with the Carbotechs and the 3.0 SC engine that keeps surprising me.
-Still wondering if the 915 gearbox is gonna explode any other lap.

Slightly wider front tires is the next move. Maybe a 'budget' LSD, although budget doesn't really exists in the world of Porsche aftermarket parts. Problem is I want to dig deeper because I have a strong feel that the car can be much better but I can't yet justify it. Not until I have a solid base lap time...



These were more or less my thoughts looking at the heat haze coming out of the aircooled engine at the end of the day. These are my thoughts today, two weeks after. But since in a couple of hours the whole craziness of the Nuburgring 24h starts all the decisions will have to wait for at least a weekend!

[fongce]

Welcome and congrats ! Great story but even better pictures !!!

[Mythos]

Well I might not be able to drive my 911(since there are 4-5 countries seperating us)but that doesn't mean I can't get some satisfaction shooting a couple cool Porsche cars. Here is a small set of a super clean Carrera 3.0 we are using for an '80s Road Tour' package.











And some fresh stuff from today's Nurburgring Historic Trophy classic event(although one of the most impressive car was this dpmotorport SC/rsr replica hybrid parked in one of the spectating areas).











Photos don't do justice to this white beauty...(now I have to remove from my head the idea that I need to do the same to my SC)

[motofoto]

Lovely images. Really nice.

[joe payne]

Beautiful!!! Enjoy the Porsche life!

[impactbumper]

Awesome thread

[neill]

I know you have more photos of the white DP car... you should really share them!

I am building a white one very similar

[Mythos]

This is one of the things you HAVE to share. In my last trip back home had the opportunity to visit one of the nicest Porsche workshops I've ever seen. The fact that it is located in Greece -of all places- makes it even more impressive. Not only the workmanship in all stages of restorations I've seen was top notch but in every single corner there was a surprise. From the original red RS in the entrance, to the rare engines, to the race cars, or to the clean chassis hidden away waiting for the right build.

Hope the quick snaps do it some justice, enjoy:

[Mythos]

part 2 - more photos






















Definitely one of the most impressive spaces I've visited and again pictures only show small part of the impressive collection and were taken during a busy day while all lifts were being in use.

For those interested there is a website: PETRORETRO911 | Porsche restoration specialists. Authentic fully restored Porsche cars and car parts.

However if looking for rare parts or interested for special builds(or chassis) you should actually contact them directly since almost no info of available stock is online.

[Mythos]

From the first day that I bought the car I was sort of dreaming that trip. The trip to the legendary Nurburgring. The return to Germany. In a way...the return home.



But like all 'great plans' there was always a reason to postpone it. At first it's a quite long trip. Almost 2500 km if we trust Google. Especially for a 40 year old -race prepped/stripped- 911. The timing was never right and then I always wanted to combine it with a visit here, a museum there, some alpine passes. The months passed and I kept daydreaming about that 'ultimate roadtrip'.

And then one morning I woke up and I couldn't wait a single day more. I wanted my old rusty oil-leaking 911 here. So I jumped in a plane to Greece with the plan to drive the car straight from Athens to Germany.

As with all spontaneous decisions I had forgotten some minor details. Like the fact that in the last TD I did in May I had completely destroyed the front tires(and had barely any thread left in the left rear). While I sourced some wider 225/50 15 fronts to replace the 205/50 on the car I couldn't find a set of 235/50 15 rears that the car runs.

But that shouldn't be a problem in the middle of June, should it?

I re-planed the route to Athens-Patra(200km), then a ferry from Patra to Ancona(24h on the boat)and then a straight run from Ancona, Italy to Nurburg, Germany(1200km). Ambitious but do-able.



Arriving to Patras port I started seeing some problems in my...solid(?) plan. You see I left Greece the hottest day of summer(up until that moment)and 200km was enough to get a good taste of the comfort level of the car on the highway. A stripped out 911 with a relatively straight flowing exhaust wasn't looking as ideal as I thought for the 14 hour highway run across Europe that I've planned. On the positive side I had a ton of room for my stuff....




After some small delays and 24 hours spent 'trapped' in a ship my 911 was ready for the big run.



The delays meant that I'd have to do the biggest part of the trip during the night since now work commitments meant that there was no time for an overnight stop at a hotel. First couple of hours driving in Italy, with the open road ahead, towards a beautiful sunset were amazing...



Driving into the night approaching Switzerland I started realizing that this wasn't exactly the dream roadtrip I had imagined. No stops to enjoy the view. Constantly fighting the urge to stop to take a cool photo here or there. Stops for fuel are combined with some stretching but most of them stayed as sort as possible. In half of them I wouldn't even turn the engine off.



The most pleasant surprise is the car. Not only for holding together(which was never a given) but for also having a decent fuel consumption, lower than 10l/100km to be exact and decent ride quality on top. The novelty of the deep exhaust note though completely wears out. If someone offered me a stock part I'd probably install it on the spot. In the side of the road with hand tools.



Approaching the middle of the trip going through kms and kms of tunnels you find yourself having some doubts. The relief doesn't come until you completely leave the Alps behind. Weather, even in summer, is tricky and having driven these parts in terrible weather I know that fog and rain are enough to turn that part of the trip into a miserable experience. I've added some oil for the first time in the trip. Partly because it was needed partly because of the small pools of oil the car left behind everytime it stopped for fuel.



Seeing the sunrise now almost in Germany is special. Driving is now a process done subconsciously. You realize that you are driving for almost 10 hours and 900 km straight from sunset to sunrise in a car that -for you- is special and that is triggering that emotional part of car ownership. You get refreshed. You want your old car to make it. You want to make it.



But then Germany decides to remind you that summer doesn't mean that much in these parts of the woods. Pouring rain makes an appearance and stays for the last 300 km. Visibility goes to zero. The decision to make the trip with rear tyres that have no thread left doesn't seam as smart anymore and speeds drop radically. On top of that you find out that your old early 911 isn't as waterproof as you thought. Water, fingers-deep, inside the cockpit makes the whole experience even more surrealistic. You are so close but these last few km feel almost impossible to cover.

And then...you are there. You turn off the 61. You see the signs. Nurburgring. You pass next to Brunnchen. You pass Pflanzgarten. You see industry pool testing. The rain almost stops. You even stop at the boulevard and take a 'tourist' photo to remind to yourself that the car actually made it there.



4 countries. 1400 km. More than 14 hours of straight driving with the 3.0 engine from the 1980 running almost non-stop for whole length of the trip without missing a beat. What more could you ask from a car?

[Mythos]

(split because of the 10 image limit)

Well...I'll be honest much more. I didn't do all these kms to just take a photo with the Nurburgring on the background. I want to drive! A couple of hours of sleep and by 17:15 that the track opens for the public the weather has completely changed. Everything is dry and sun makes an appearance. A quick check at the car park and the traffic is minimal.

Good weather and no traffic is a clear signal that now is the time for that first lap. A quick check on the car and everything looks okay. You can't even tell that this car has done 1200 km straight only a couple of hours back. The rear tyres are long gone but I promise to myself that I'll take it easy.

A deep breath before the toll booth goes up and you go out.



I really have no words to describe the minutes after that. Whatever I'll write will not be enough to convey the experience. Driving the Nordschleife is always special. But driving it in a car that is unique for you adds an extra layer of satisfaction.

Lap times or speed aren't really relevant. You are driving your strange handling, manual, analog machine from another era in a track that is also so strange, dangerous, unique...in a way the Nurburgring and the 911 connect. Landmarks of an era long gone. None of the two would be build today. Too dangerous for the average consumer they'd say...

Never meet your heroes is bull ****. Let the car of your dreams meet the track(or the roads) of your dreams. The experience is literally priceless.

[puddy]

Hey Mythos, great thread, love the pics!! This maybe a long shot but do you happen to know who shot this image from The Ring? I'm trying to find a really high res version of it. Cheers!

[tips]

great write-up !

[Olsen911]

Cool - Thanks for sharing.

This is what it's all about.

Thanks - Cheers - Olsen911
Tommy Olsen

[Mythos]

Thanks guys. Here is also an incar video from my first Nurburgring lap with the car...



It is a very very conservative lap since basically I have no idea how the car would handle the quite demanding track. Still better than my random rumbling above...

P.S: Puddy unfortunately I have no idea other than the 'obvious'. It is a DP Motorsport car captured at the exit of Brunnchen II. Maybe contacting DP Motorsport directly could get you in touch with the owner of the car or the photographer that captured it.