Everyone Loves Before & After Pics

My wife's surgery was a terrific success.

The above image shows her brain before and after surgery. That tumor was the size of a lemon!

She is home and walking, talking, eating. Really remarkable. She will make a full recovery with no deficits.

If you have any call for a neurosurgeon, I can recommend Dr. J.P. Elliot in Denver. Nice work.

So, I may get back to posting about cars as our life returns to normal after 1 wild month

SC and 500E on Track

Not many things in life are free. And even fewer things in high performance driving are free. So, it was a huge surprise when our fantastic two-year old track High Plains Raceway offered two free lapping days between Christmas and New Years.

These days were weather dependent and the weather cooperated in spades. The mercury nudged 50 and as you can see in the pictures, it was a clear Colorado day.

I went to the track with my neighbor who swapped his 78 SC for the 92 500E. One Porsche for another part-Porsche. On track, the 500E impressed most on the straights, massive torque pushing you easily into triple digits on High Plain's back straight. The heavy-handed traction control did take some of the fun out of the twisties, but the car still was so flat and poised for a eighteen-year old super sedan.

My SC was a ton of fun. It was the first time I had it on track. Engine wise it is stock except for SSIs and a 2 in 2 out muffler and cat delete. The suspension though is track oriented with 22/28 weltmeisters, Bilsteins and Tarett sway bars. It had a very neutral, composed feeling. What a ton of fun. As it is my DD, I kept the revs under 5500.

So, this cut my track time drought from five months to two and a half. And that is reason enough to give thanks.

Cars & Coffee Boulder Pics

Today was designed to drive your classic car in Colorado. Sunny. High 70s. Just remarkable.

And it coincided with the monthly Cars & Coffee in Boulder/Lafayette. It is held at the Brewing Market in Lafayette. Which, by the way, brews a very nice Americano. But I would pass on the Breggo Sandwich, it is just an overpriced Hot Pocket. The scone however, was crumbly perfection.

The MKII ran very well. With my Wife upfront and Graham strapped into his Recaro in the back seat, we were all well cosseted on the forty minute drive from home. It was my first opportunity to use the overdrive on the car and it was great. Just like shifting into fifth, minus depressing the heavy clutch.

So, let me describe the pics in descending order from the top:

1. Yes, that is a 914 towing half a 914. I can't comment further. 

2. Flared and checkered Fiat Abarth.

3. Late Carrera and early Countach, both with gold wheels.

4. Ferrari 330 motor. Achingly pretty.

5. My MKII next to one of the few cars in the world that could make it look ugly, a Ferrari Dino. Owned by the same gentleman for 30 years. Some people know when they have some good and don't let it go.

6. One of the rows. Alfa GTV looking prettier for parking next to a Z3.

Future Barn Find Graphic

I had a few minutes to spare yesterday so I created this graphic that I think I will print up a few bumper stickers with. I think this would be pretty fun to have on my 87 Wagoneer or the race car.

Also might be inspiration for a new series of posts. We'll see. 

63,000 miles 911SC

'

The hibernation period for my much coddled and loved 1983 SC is over. We are having some beautiful spring weather in Denver and I wanted to drive her to work.

After being a bit dyspeptic upon startup, she soon cleared her throat and began singing her song of flat six. 

Ok, enough jargon. The car was a bit rough to start, but did run great after a few miles. I think it has more to do with 6 month old gas than anything else. So, I went and brimmed her to the top with Ethanol free gas from a Conoco in Lakewood. A rare find here in Colorado. And ethanol has a nasty habit of corroding the delicate CIS system.

Also on the drive in, the car ticked over to 63,000 miles. I bought the car five years ago with 58,000 miles, so 1k a year average. I've always had another Porsche that I use as my daily driver so I can keep this car in pristine condition. 

To switch and begin driving this car everyday would be like using a new razor blade each time I shaved. I can only appreciate how smooth and effective a new blade is if I push my current blade's use until it become scratchy. Same with my daily drivers. I drive the Jeep and my stripped out SC targa all the time. So when I step into the coupe and become enveloped by the smell of aging horse hair and leather. The look of patinated carpets. The touch of the original Blaupunkt knobs. The muffled thrum of a the stock engine. It all is that much sweeter.

Someone last weekend suggested I sell all four of my cars; the 82 targa, 944 SPEC, Wagoneer and this coupe and get a Cayman or used 996 GT3. They are nuts. Like eating the same thing everyday. 

Really, the only people who eat the same thing everyday are babies, prisoners in third world countries and the insane.

My First Bring A Trailer Post.

So, after a two years of daily checking. And a least a dozen submissions, the first car I found and submitted to Bring a Trailer was featured.

This was quite a thrill. Despite the no pay, it brought as much joy as the first automotive writing article I ever placed with 911 & Porsche World. 

Good Fun. And I wish I had a spare $35k to pick up this racer.

Vintage Automotive Literature

As an author of an automotive book, I love finding the rare bit of automotive literature. They are the needle in the haystack of poorly produced auto picture books. But they are out there.

And when at Gallagher Books in Denver buying a book for a friend, I found a book for myself. Not the $400 history of the Grand Prix car, but something unique none the less.

A first edition, and I think only edition, of Russell Richardson's Europe from a Motorcar. It is a travelogue of sorts. A bit about the car. But more about the car as change agent. As freedom from the crowds. Even in 1914 when this is written, Richardson complains about too many tourists in big towns.

Track down a copy if you can. The words are solid and the over 30 images delightful.

Picture taken in my newly discovered toilet top light box. The white walls, white porcelain tank and skylight make it perfect for snapping pics of small items during the day. Got a love the glossy finish.

We Don't Need A Stinkin' Repaint. Oxidation Banished.

The Brown Bomber 944 was an eyesore. Sitting in the driveway with paint that was more oxidized than a 1966 Lafite left open on the counter for a week. It was ashier than Angela. It's beauty was more faded than Brigitte Bardot's. It's sable brown metallic looked more muddy river bottom.

So, I picked up a very inexpensive rotary polisher. An ADT model available at many places. Than did some research at autopia and got to it. I had never used any sort of machine polisher before so it was good to practice on a junky car. Lots of stories of burning paint and leaving holograms. I think most of the issues come on newer clear coat cars. The single stage paint is much more forgiving.

I started with the Meguiars M04 Heavy Cut Polish on a wool bonnet. I kept the speed at about 1200 RPMs. It was amazing how good the paint looked as the M04 polished down. The paint was smooth and shiny. I could have stopped there but I then applied Prima Swirl with a short napped wool bonnet. This product I had some issues with. Maybe it was because I used wool and not a foam bonnet? But It just seemed to gum up, although it did remove some more fine scratches. Finally, I hand applied some Klasse. 

The change is amazing. The paint is still a disaster with lots of chips and scratches but it looks a thousand times better. Just look at the difference in the hood that I did not work on. (this will be painted to match the wheels when the weather gets warmer). 

So, now that I have the equipment I can't wait to tackle some detailing projects on my 911, Boxster and wife's A6. 

Power Window Delete.

Although most racing is done with the windows down or even out, I could not just pull the glass from the Brown Bomber as it does reside outside. So, I needed to put some sort of system in place that would keep the glass in the up position.

With Lexan or Plexi windows this is easy, you just drill a hole in the bottom of the window and attach your pull strap there. But I did not want to pay $300 or even $50 for lexan windows. So I think I came up with a nifty solution. I just added an aluminum bar that connects the tracks on the windows. I was then able to drill through this bar and attach my strap to this. 

For adjustment, I removed the catch from the strap I bought and screwed it to the door. This allows for a minor lowering of the window say, on the drive to the raceway.

I then added a safety catch at the bottom of the door.

Ground Control.

I spent part of the day helping a fellow user on Rennlist work on his 951 the other day and only had a few minutes to fettle my own 944. So, not much time for diving into something deep. As such, I spent 10 minutes cleaning the two major grounding points on the 944. The top image shows the rear grounding point. The bottom image, the grounding point in the engine compartment on the driver's side frame rail. Now they are all shiny and my gas gauge does not flicker around like it used to. 

Firewall Gooooo! and pack those bearings...

A cracked firewall? Whoever heard of such a thing on anything newer than a De Dion Bouton? Uh, Porsche 944 and 968 owners. That's who.

It seems if you have a perfectly bled clutch and the feel still a bit on the pudding side, you probably have a cracked firewall. It is made of metal thinner than parchment paper and it gives way. 

One can of course, take everything out, weld in a good firewall section from a donor and bolt it all back up. But in many cases that is overkill. It is a hydraulic clutch and it does not have that much torque on it in use. So, I thought I would try a patch I found online to see if it worked. If it didn't, I would waste $5 and a couple of house.

The only reason the job is hard is there is some garbage in the way. Emissions stuff. And in my case, the wires from the firewall were wedged in the way of the bolt. The arrow is pointing to these wires. So, I had to loosen the brake booster from the inside, and was then able to get the wires out.

In image two, you can now see the 13mm bolt that bracket will attach to.

In the third image, you can see the templates I made to figure out the shape and size of the metal. I made a few from cardboard so I would not have to keep making them as they tore.

In the fourth image you can see the 1/8th in steel that I bent into place. I bolted it to the clutch master, and then, once it was tight, drilled the hole through the forward end of the bracket and the chassis.

In the fifth image, you can see it in place.

Tested, it worked a charm. There is no visible flexing or bulging of the firewall. And it lets me put my money into other places for now. Even if this bracket wears out, I made up another while I was at it to have a spare at hand. And the clutch pedal feels so smooth and solid now. 

In the sixth, you can see that I also repacked my front wheel bearings. As this was a last minute project I was glad that my local parts store had the requisite seals to do the job. 

The $30K Collection. The Captain.

All aboard. You ship sails daily from your driveway. Destination unknown. But the weather is always sunny and the journey always enjoyable. The commute is a short hop. The road trip is a circumnavigation. The buffet is fully laden and your are ready to sup on all that is luxurious. You sir, are a Captain. And a Captain is nothing without his ship. His lady. His passengers. 

Detroit has no ocean but a big lake. As such, they have experience with lots of Captains and the ships they require. Albeit mostly second rate Captains of ore ships who ply the inland sea but Captains none the less. On to the ships. Captain! Aside, Salute.

The 1965 slab sided Lincoln. The Kennedy car. For $15,000 you can live out your Captain fantasies and those carried over from watching Parker Posey in The House of Yes. Introduced in 1961 this beauty was as flat on the sides as Twiggy was on her front. But both somehow were quite attractive. With miles of electrics and a drop top that filled the enormous trunk this was indeed a dreamy ship. Go for the powder blue to get the most nautical effect. Maybe with a white interior and pretend you are ferrying guests from a Yacht moored of Monaco. The 340HP 462 provides propulsion as silent as Clancy's Red October. The rear hinged door is debonair. Go for an excellent condition hard top over a so-so convertible. And, as any Captain knows, check your charts for safe passage. Or, in land lubbers terms, measure the garage to make sure it will fit.

1968 Cadillac. The newest, biggest, smoothest V-8 ever offered is yours today for around $10,000 in perfect, shall we say, ship shape. We shall. With dozens and dozens of configurations you are sure to find a broker who has one of these cruisers that will raise your sails. Limo? Four door? Coupe? Yes. Yes. Yes. By golly your passengers will enjoy the ride to with laid back rear seating and carpeted footrests. For cabin trimmings do try to find one that has the optional DuBarry cloth with Leather trim. Best to get one of these and also hire a trusty helmsman so you can enjoy the company of your charges on board, the good ship Cadillac. The difference between the Cadillac and the Lincoln? Best brush up on the difference between International Style and Federalist Style.

W126 Mercedes 560 SEL. With their 2380KM of coastline the Germans are certainly capable of constructing a ship that meets their specific North Sea needs. It is the W126 and it is yours with low miles and all options for $15,000. There were dozens of variants and over 800,000 produced, but you are looking for something specific sir. Either the high compression 5.6 liter V8 with 300HP. Or, if you don't mind searching the deep blue for a while, an AMG modified version with the DOHC 6 liter V8 and locking differential. This machine will pound through the harshest waves and fastest currents. The rakes and rafes out there will hold out for the 2+2 seating variation that creates a rather sporty Barchetta feeling. Set sail, to an electronically limited 155MPH. 

Photos: cteinternational.com, oldcarmanualproject.com, 

Leaving It To The Pros...

I received my first royalty check for Hunt for 901 and splurged by paying my mechanics to do the timing belt and water pump install on the Brown Bomber. That is the name that has stuck in the past few weeks on my track car. 

Really, of all the jobs on a 944 the one that you do not want to mess up is the timing belt because if you do, the whole top end of the engine can be ruined.

And another thing about doing this and oil and gearbox fluid changes is being green. I remember as a kid, no joke, pouring oil in the backyard and flushing radiators right into the storm drains. Oops. Who knew it was bad, right?

So, now when you do these jobs at home you need to bottle up the old stuff and bring it somewhere. Ugh. Might as well pay my shop the $20 to do the change in the first place.

Can't wait to pick up the Brown Bomber later today and rev it up. I was too afraid to bring her past 3k as the belt was ten years old. Good thing too, the old belt had several cracked teeth.

Finally, notice that early 911 Targa in the pics. It is a daily driver. And yes, that is my mechanics finger poking right through the bodywork. At least it is lightweight.

Streetview catches Porsche Prototypes and My Old Car

FIrst, streetview caught a bunch of Porsche prototypes in Colorado. And then I looked up my home. This shot is from two summers ago. Judging by the 951 I used to have and the weather.

I think this might be a good way for Faston to find some rare cars.

Some people get all jammed up like they are being spied upon. Who really cares? They can't see me in my house. And even if they could, they could watch me type, cook, eat, wrench. Thrilling.

A TV Show About Cars That is Good...

I watch Top Gear but I do not love it. It has its moments though. My Classic Car with Dennis Gage is a 100% disaster. He is bad. His crew is bad. His mustache is a joke. Motor Trend TV is so repetitive that it is unwatchable due to the nonstop puns, hack descriptions of power and the over the top host who styles himself a voice talent. If you can imagine the most boring person you know making a TV show, that is what Motor Trend TV is like.

The worst TV show about cars ever. And I mean ever. Is 101 Cars You Must Drive Before You Drive. This show makes My Classic Car seem like an Emmy winner. There is at least three shots in each episode where they shot into the sun and you can see the dirt on the lens. Have some respect for yourself people. And the host, a stand up comic knows as much about cars as the Bush administration knows about middle eastern culture. This show is soooooooooo bad it is unwatchable. And that is saying alot. I will read or watch most anything about cars. Like the movie Eyes Wide Shut. It was so bad I could not watch it despite the massive amounts of nudity.

Anything on Speed is too loud and too overproduced. Why all the yelling Pinks host and Tuner TV host? Enough. No one LIKES TO BE YELLED AT.

But now there is one very good TV show about cars and about how most of us enthusiasts engage with them. Most people don't race, buy cars at auctions, wax their mustaches or go fake tanning in their cars. What they do is buy them, tinker with them, and then sell them on to do it all over again. And that is exactly the premise of Wheeler Dealers.



Sure they do some dumb stuff like replacing the original Blaupunkt in a Cosworth Benz with a flashy CD player but overall they do exactly what most people do. Their best to make the cars better. And the two have genuine enthusiasm for cars, not themselves, which I can't say about any other TV show about cars. I only wish I could be the host.

Enjoy, and look up all the shows there.

You Can Only Go As Fast As You Can Stop.

That is certainly not Aspen Pure brake fluid in the above picture. It is more like coal ash spill brake fluid. It actually contained wisps of thicker bits. Very dangerous, I'd say.

Also notice the new stainless flex lines. I am of the opinion that stock is usually better than aftermarket, but in this case I disagree. Mainly on priced. The stock rubber lines are more expensive than a set of bright new metal cased lines.

I did not get to bleeding the clutch as the days are short and my workshop is my driveway. Maybe next weekend.

A/C Delete Finally, Finally Complete

Finally the Rapunzel's hair-sized rats nest of wires and devices and hoses that is the air conditioning system in a 944 has been removed. The shot above shows all the contents that are hidden behind the passenger dash. Out of sight, adding weight silently. Like an extra chocolate bar a day, the weight sneaks up on you.

Good thing I did just hack out all the wires because I wanted to keep my heat in tact for defrosting my windows on early race mornings. There is a ground and relay that need to be kept for the heating system to function. But careful following of wires will allow you to remove the entire A/C wiring harness from behind the center console to the under dash connections.

Next I'll be installing some new brake lines and bleeding the clutch and brakes. Because right now both of them are softer than Ron Jeremy before his dose of, as the French say, le weekender.

Art into Words Show

The Transportation Guild that I am a member of is hosting its first show.

There will be some fantastic paintings available. But how does an author showcase his work? Looking at a novel in a gallery, unless its some illuminated manuscript, is kinda like trying to enjoy a meal cooked on TV. It works. But lacks the sensual pleasure.

Hence, the authors in the guild wrote some short stories that give a bit of a background to what might have inspired the images the artists painted. I rather enjoyed the work. I wrote some stories about a Model T, Duesenberg and a Porsche 911 Turbo. And I would rather like to see this done across more art showings. 

A/C Delete Not Totally Complete

The nooks and crannies of a 944 hide more parts than the nooks and crannies of an English Muffin hide butter. I thought I took all the stuff for the A/C out but there seems to be a passle of stuff left under the passenger dash.

Can I take all this stuff out? Will I mess up some of the regular heating system which I want to keep? Who knows? Find out soon...

A/C Delete Complete, Bonus Euro Bumper Depth Mod

After three days, and a total of 9 hours the A/C delete is complete. Thanks to the tech article on the spec 944 website I was able to create this super cheap bracket. I was wandering around the pick and pull yard looking for a suitable bracket and found a plain on on a mid-eighties Volvo. I kept looking though and found this toothed-washer bolt and bracket combo on a 91 VW Jetta. It works like a dream and really holds the alternator in place.

The picture above was taken from beneath the car and really shows how simple this is. The write up keeps talking about the 'top' alternator bolt, but the writer obviously meant the bottom one. Also, to get the belt tension right I had to use a pry bar between the alternator and the big bracket the alt is bolted to. The 5pk860 belt fit perfectly. I also had to twist the hose that goes to my radiator overflow tank so the alternator did not rub on it. Simple, but a big mess if you over look this.

Since it was 50 degrees in Denver today and being outside was so nice I also did the euro bumper mod. This was as easy as taking a 9/64 bit and drilling into the bumper supports, this way, the bumper can be pushed back to euro depth after it is installed. I did have an old towel that I held over the drill while I did the job because it does erupt with some force. It also made clean up very easy. In the above photo you can see how much deep the bumper is. I'd guess around 4".

Off to finish decorating my Buche de Noel cake. If it does not come out terrible I'll post a pick. Heck, making this cake was almost as complicated as the above work. Maybe more complicated.