blown 944

Very cool. I love the "can do" attitude.

Cyril

Very nice and inspiring story

JackOlsen

Thanks again, guys. I appreciate it.

I had been looking for a scissors lift that I could put into the floor. An outfit that sold second-hand machine shop stuff on Ebay put up a pair of Vestil industrial lift tables and it got my brain thinking about how one of them could be repurrposed as an automotive lift. The first of the two sold for $700, and that got me thinking even more -- I spoke with my father and older brother, both engineers, to see if I was crazy or not. It's a slightly different design than an automotive lift -- it has a more robust hydraulic unit and different safety systems. It's designed for more-frequent use, and is also put together with the knowledge that it's going to be taking a lot of hits from forklifts. Normally, these things are more expensive than an automotive lift, but I got the second one for... $455.

I learned how to cut and mix concrete for the hole the thing sits in. So far, it's all worked without a hitch. I use the thing all the time, since it doesn't require arms being swung into position or anything other than pushing a button to raise the car up. It's not perfect for all kinds of cars -- I use supporting blocks for my BMW and my Jeep, but there's still limited access to the belly of the car. That's not an issue with my 911. I can get to every serviceable component on the car, since there's only flat sheet metal where it contacts the lift.

You can see some pictures from the installation in this video.



You'll have to wait through the dramatic music, first. But if you'd gone through the work of putting the thing in the ground and the worry of whether the whole project was crazy, then you'd understand that the music captures how it felt when the old car finally went up into the air.

And I'm not sure if I'm near a TV location in the video. I didn't know. Is it from the original series?

lart951

Jack, wasn't there an article about your car many years ago in Excellence magazine?

lovemyp-car

Absolutely phenomenal video, gave me goosebumps when that gorgeous car fired up in the garage! The idea is so true, and I think speaks to a bigger idea surrounding why all of us motorheads fire up our cars and motorcycles and go for a long cruise through our favorite twisty roads on a nice Sunday afternoon.

Pretty neat to have the guy in the video commenting on it on our lowly Rennlist 944 forum

Drive on fellas,
Ethan

JackOlsen

As long as odurandina doesn't change his avatar, I'll keep coming back.

lart951, there was an article about the car back in the December 2003 issue of Excellence. That was before I'd put on the Porsche text decals.



This is the car last week. Still going pretty strong, in my opinion.

333pg333

I think people might be lining up to be you when they die and get reborn...just saying...

gruhsy

I have that issue....going to dig it out now. Cool video

V2Rocket

270 hp is a ton for that lightweight bathtub!
what a hoot it must be, and what a sound!

JackOlsen

Thanks again. I'll throw in one last video -- the least polished, production-wise -- but also the one that makes the biggest claim for my 43-year-old, 270-hp street car.

333pg333

How good is that! What does your car weigh wet Jack?

JackOlsen

Thanks.

I'll convert to kg, and say I'm right about 1,100 kg with a tank of gas. Just under 1,200 kg with my aero bolted on and the driver inside.

The 991 GT3 lists its curb weight at 1,430 kg. If that's the EU figure, it includes 65 kg for a driver. If that's the case, the GT3 weighs around 265 kg more than my car. If the official figure doesn't include the driver, then the GT3 weighs an extra 330 kg.

(For Americans, that means the GT3 is either about 584 lbs or 725 lbs heavier than my car.)

Smudo

Hi, the GT3 according to EU Regulation rules (and Porsche official numbers) weights 1505 kg. This includes 68 kg for driver, 7kg for luggage and 90% filled tank (that's around another 52kg). So with full tank GT3 is around 1435 kg or 1378 kg without any gas. Those numbers are without any extra equipment, smallest possible rims etc. so most of the cars in real life wight some more. The new GT3RS weights 10 kg less (EU number - the same size of tank). But this includes the factory installed roll cage.

333pg333

Power to weight is always interesting but it doesn't cover the vast advancements in technology.

Just as a point of reference. The link below is from our local Porsche Club and how they determine what class a car will run in. It's not the only factor but as far as power to weight goes this is what they refer to. They determine this figure by converting bhp to kw and then dividing that figure by 1.32 to get the power to the wheels. (While this % ratio is a little high for the transmission losses, we all have to adhere to it therefore an even playing field for all)

So take Jack's car with 270bhp. Convert that to KW's gives 201. Then divide that by 1.32 = 152wKW. Then divide 1100kgs by 152 and it gives a figure of 7.23

http://www.pcnsw.com.au/PorscheClubs...0x%20Model.pdf

You can then compare it to other factory figures as a point of reference. The number for our car last year was 2.82 to compare.

Dash01

What's the record lap time at Willow Springs for the Porsche 951?

Perhaps, given its inherently better weight distribution, handling, ease and economy of power enhancement, a 951 might be an even better platform than a 911: Weight loss on a 951 can be achieved the same way as with Jack Olsen's superb outlaw 911. Drag and downforce might be improved significantly, in which case fat tires may not be needed, thereby reducing unsprung wheel weight, acceleration/deceleration, and fuel economy.

Modded 951 cars are breaking Porsche records in Sweden and Australia, according to posts on this forum. It would be interesting to see such cars run at Willow Springs...