An Alpine trip (with photos)
08-04-2012, 05:06 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
An Alpine trip (with photos)
Would like to share my experience of a trip to the Italian and Swiss Alps, to drive the Stelvio Pass, with a bunch of 911-guys (No, they're certainly not all d***heads 
)
Idea was to go through Germany by car train, from Hamburg to Lorrach and then drive on towards Austria, to meet up with some others, coming from different locations and thus not by train. Departure was to be Thursday 28/6.
Some weeks before, one of my cooling fans started howling and the hub got very hot too. Ordered a replacement and was promised delivery 1 week before planned departure. Unfortunately, delivery was delayed, as I didn't get it until that very same Thursday. Instead, I would have to drive the entire way on Saturday, along with a 911 owner who couldn't make the train either.
Installed the fan Thursday evening, but noticed Friday that this brand new one was making squeaky and whining noises too. Considered cancelling the trip, but figured it should work, being brand new and all. After doing a 1300km trip Saturday, I checked it at the Austrian border. Turned out it had virtually fallen apart! The new fan was sitting totally askew and completely jammed. That's Bosch 'Made in Brazil' for you!
Thus down to one working fan, and the weather was really hot. Meeting place was in Bregenz, where there was a harbour festival going on, so traffic packed and crawling along. Watched temperature get hotter than ever before with some alarm, but made it to hotel alright.
Next day we set out towards Stelvio. Along the way, another car broke down, with an alternator no longer charging (the silver car being pushed in one of my photos). Owner and a mechanically proficient member of our team managed to get it going again however, by taking apart the alternator and manipulating the brushes. As we started climbing the serpentine roads, in very hot weather, my car got even hotter than previous evening, and the clutch started acting weird too (sank towards the floor, with only about 1 inch of movement before catching). Obviously heat-related, as it only happened when the temperature was highest (maybe air bubbles in the hydraulic fluid ?), but it, along with the temperature, made me decide not to do Stelvio. No joy in the drive as I was staring at the temp guage continually, and the prospect of maybe not being able to change gear on a steep, narrow mountain road, if the clutch got worse, was wildly stressing.
Thus I turned back and took a more direct route to Livigno, where we would spend the night, and made hotel arrangement for us all. Later the rest arrived, after driving Stelvio. They confirmed I had made the right decision, as it had been very hard on the cars.
Team was to split up Tuesday after some more sightseeing, but I decided to leave already on Monday, going first to a Porsche Center in St.Moritz, in the vain hope they might have the fan I needed in stock. Of course they didn't, so I continued towards Trier in Germany, to visit friends living there. Have no photos from this part of the journey, partly because it was raining at first, partly because I had to drive over 600 km and it was 2 PM when I set out, so not much time to waste.
In the meantime, friends had located a special workshop for old Porsches close to Trier, that might be able to help. We visited it on Tuesday, and after some rummaging around deep inside their vast storage area, I'll be darned if they didn't produce a (used) example of the fan I needed. Fitted it Tuesday afternoon and could set out on the 1000 km drive home Wednesday with peace of mind that I wouldn't overheat, if getting stuck in traffic.
Not quite the trip planned, but still managed to see some spectacular Alpine landscapes. Switzerland (and northern Italy) is a beautiful place for sure.
Note on temp: When it was hottest, it was midway between the two rightmost dashes, which should be around 95º C. According to owner's manual, dash warning comes on at 118º C, so I should have been at a safe level, but still uncomfortable to see it hotter than ever before, and clutch trouble was very real.
First string of photos are taken on the trip from Bregenz towards Stelvio:
This was my point of turning back.
Next photos taken on the way to Livigno:
Livigno, as seen from our hotel.
Rest of photos taken between Livigno and St. Moritz:
Lago Bianco, Switzerland (and next photo)
Regards,
Erling
) Idea was to go through Germany by car train, from Hamburg to Lorrach and then drive on towards Austria, to meet up with some others, coming from different locations and thus not by train. Departure was to be Thursday 28/6.
Some weeks before, one of my cooling fans started howling and the hub got very hot too. Ordered a replacement and was promised delivery 1 week before planned departure. Unfortunately, delivery was delayed, as I didn't get it until that very same Thursday. Instead, I would have to drive the entire way on Saturday, along with a 911 owner who couldn't make the train either.
Installed the fan Thursday evening, but noticed Friday that this brand new one was making squeaky and whining noises too. Considered cancelling the trip, but figured it should work, being brand new and all. After doing a 1300km trip Saturday, I checked it at the Austrian border. Turned out it had virtually fallen apart! The new fan was sitting totally askew and completely jammed. That's Bosch 'Made in Brazil' for you!
Thus down to one working fan, and the weather was really hot. Meeting place was in Bregenz, where there was a harbour festival going on, so traffic packed and crawling along. Watched temperature get hotter than ever before with some alarm, but made it to hotel alright.
Next day we set out towards Stelvio. Along the way, another car broke down, with an alternator no longer charging (the silver car being pushed in one of my photos). Owner and a mechanically proficient member of our team managed to get it going again however, by taking apart the alternator and manipulating the brushes. As we started climbing the serpentine roads, in very hot weather, my car got even hotter than previous evening, and the clutch started acting weird too (sank towards the floor, with only about 1 inch of movement before catching). Obviously heat-related, as it only happened when the temperature was highest (maybe air bubbles in the hydraulic fluid ?), but it, along with the temperature, made me decide not to do Stelvio. No joy in the drive as I was staring at the temp guage continually, and the prospect of maybe not being able to change gear on a steep, narrow mountain road, if the clutch got worse, was wildly stressing.
Thus I turned back and took a more direct route to Livigno, where we would spend the night, and made hotel arrangement for us all. Later the rest arrived, after driving Stelvio. They confirmed I had made the right decision, as it had been very hard on the cars.
Team was to split up Tuesday after some more sightseeing, but I decided to leave already on Monday, going first to a Porsche Center in St.Moritz, in the vain hope they might have the fan I needed in stock. Of course they didn't, so I continued towards Trier in Germany, to visit friends living there. Have no photos from this part of the journey, partly because it was raining at first, partly because I had to drive over 600 km and it was 2 PM when I set out, so not much time to waste.
In the meantime, friends had located a special workshop for old Porsches close to Trier, that might be able to help. We visited it on Tuesday, and after some rummaging around deep inside their vast storage area, I'll be darned if they didn't produce a (used) example of the fan I needed. Fitted it Tuesday afternoon and could set out on the 1000 km drive home Wednesday with peace of mind that I wouldn't overheat, if getting stuck in traffic.
Not quite the trip planned, but still managed to see some spectacular Alpine landscapes. Switzerland (and northern Italy) is a beautiful place for sure.
Note on temp: When it was hottest, it was midway between the two rightmost dashes, which should be around 95º C. According to owner's manual, dash warning comes on at 118º C, so I should have been at a safe level, but still uncomfortable to see it hotter than ever before, and clutch trouble was very real.
First string of photos are taken on the trip from Bregenz towards Stelvio:
This was my point of turning back.
Next photos taken on the way to Livigno:
Livigno, as seen from our hotel.
Rest of photos taken between Livigno and St. Moritz:
Lago Bianco, Switzerland (and next photo)
Regards,
Erling
08-05-2012, 12:11 AM
#6
Race Car
Wow, outstanding. Thanks so much for taking the time to share it here. Great roadways and you had the ideal machine! What is the offset/width on your front wheels?
Trending Topics
08-05-2012, 08:24 AM
#9
Racer
Thread Starter
Front wheels are 8.5x18, offset 52mm. Would recommend wheels with higher offset though, as my car tramlines quite badly with these.
Regards,
Erling