As you may know Redline is the child of Peter Zimmermann. Marc now has the shop and is a whizbang. I called him today to get ready for the California smog test.

What he said is worth sharing with you. Get the car hot while going to get smogged and check the pipes to the front cooler to see if the thermostat has opened. Run the car at higher RPM (4000 or so) on the freeway for 5 minutes to get it hotter. This may burn off some of the residue inside the cat.

Gonna try it Monday and will let you know if it goes smoother than last smog test.

 

That has long been the prevalent wisdom. One also needs to time the arrival for when the shop opens or by appt. Waiting in line, which means the car sits in the lot negates your effort at warming the car up.

 

The techs have always told me that the cars that come in first thing in the morning always pass.

....and yes Marc is awesome. I was told not to look around and to never even speculate at what was under the blanket as you walk in the front door. My guess is a 917 but I don't really know.

 

I can attest to Ruby passing early in the morning....

 

Um, Ed. You may not know this, but.... Ruby...she knows the secret handshake.

 

The original reason I was going to do the post was forgotten and now I will include it.

Marc said that some of the customers that he deals with that currently have, or have had the water pumper Porsche, have upgraded or are looking to upgrade to the air cooled 911. He thinks the SC and Carrera are becoming more in demand because of the retro H2O crowd.

 

OK, now I'm curious...Whats under the blanket???

 

I got mine really hot, checked the cat with an infrared thermometer, 450F. Took it in, and waited an hour before the test. Tech did the smog test, and passed with room to spare.

Marc probably has a Ferrari prototype....

Jake, what year is yours?

 

I don't really see that reflected in Aircooled SC or Carrera prices, but time will tell I guess. Seems like plenty of them to be found.

 

Unfortunately, many, many more bad ones than good ones. It will be interesting to watch this, and I agree with Marc. People (enthusiasts) still want P-cars, but cars like the GT-3, the new Speedster ($GASP!$), and others are so far out of reach for most that owners, once tired of their H2O car, will go looking for a sports car (call it a blast to the past).

The supply of long hoods has been reduced greatly, so the next cars in line, beyond a few special '70s models, are the SCs and Carreras. I have a hunch that we're going to start reading about some interesting auction sales in Sports Car Market Magazine in the near future.

 

whats ubder the cover????? It's killing me.

 

It could be a 908...or a Martini RSR, or a 906, or... I'd love to tell you, but then...

 

Maybe we'll find out at RRIV?!

 

In racing, it's customary to cover a car that has been in a wreck. Our 965 was crammed into the wall in Miami and we promptly covered it in the paddock. Emotions were high, and we were focusing on our teammates efforts when my crew chief looked over and some spectator was pulling the cover up over the front fenders...crew chief launches a ratchet in his hand right into the door of the partially covered car "it's covered for a reason you a$$hole". Spectator took off running.
I'll wait for the unveiling if I have to.

 

My guess is that it looked something like this:

....but you did not get that from me.

Truth be told....there was a couple of them.