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My friend Jose from ID signs up this way printed out some bandaids to cover up some of the damage. Kind of a tongue and cheek joke. He adds blood stains in the shape of different race tracks.
The track shaped blood stains are hilarious. Don't worry about hanging on to the wheels. I need to pony up and buy a decent set, but figure out that damn ABS issue first.
The track shaped blood stains are hilarious. Don't worry about hanging on to the wheels. I need to pony up and buy a decent set, but figure out that damn ABS issue first.
I get a lot of chuckles out of those. So at a 90% chance of rain Thursday and 30% Friday I have to scramble and swap out some windshield wiper arms. I had a spare set but sold them a while back. . So i will steal the ones from the C2 since it is getting painted today. Finally
Although this was quick and easy work, looking back if i had to pay someone to do it? I just couldn't imagine. Finally finished the seat and harness installation and added a strip across the top of the windshield since there are no visors in this car.
🤞 Hopefully the weather will turn as 600/800 pound springs with fresh cup 2's doesn't sound like fun.
Last for now lets see what the next few days bring.
Sadly Saturday at NJMP Tbolt was a complete wash and Friday was just fair weather with mostly clouds and light rain. I was able to get a whole 3 runs in. But it was good 3 runs for the most part despite some teething pains. Broke the drivers side mirror mount and the passenger side mirror glass. These are easy fixes just bad timing.
The car ran quite well. It is a nice combination of power, gearing and LSD. The suspension is tired but still decent. After driving the boxster GTS at other tracks these last 3.5 years I had forgotten how much of a handful these cars are. But it was nice to have no nannies and drive a car that makes you drive, punishes you when you screw up and rewards you when you get it right.. I am more amazed how easy driving a 981 is in stock form. I was out there with some fast modern cars and I watched as the nannies kicked in saving them from themselves. I needed another day behind the wheel to get acquainted with the car and get my times down. I was just getting used to it when the weather changed for the worse.
I installed a Garmin catalyst my son and I shared. Great tool although I never really used data before and just relied on myself to judge how I am doing. He was faster than me by a few seconds but has had several days under his belt this year in a far easier car to drive. His line was clearly better but the cars have a lot to do with it. The tired suspension didn't help but I could have easily dropped my time by 5 seconds if I had another day. The first session was relearning how to drive a 964 and the track which I hadn't been to in a number of years. I was running fairly consistent 1:41's with a 1:40 being my best time in traffic but that was with me lifting to let the faster cars by. The garmin telling me my optimal time could be a 1:38. My goal was to break 1;40 but it didn't happen this weekend. I know I could get this car down to a 1:35 but will need some more seat time in it. The fastest cars out there were doing 1:32's maybe slightly less as the weather wasn't cooperating. The biggest issue is the crappy add on RS rear wing which completely obscures your rear visibility unlike the one I have on the blue meanie. The other thing was the safety devices cage. I never liked them and my helmet was constantly bouncing off the padding. The custom cage in the blue meanie is a non issue. I need to get that car up and running as it will be far more fun to drive but this was still rewarding.
I had a few major WTF moments. The first was I found out that the steering wheel can be misleading and requires a good tug to make sure it is locked in place. Very different from the disconnect hub I am used to. I found out the hard way while exiting turn 5 I pulled on the wheel a little and it came off in my hands. I was doing a decent clip and when I tell you time comes to a complete stop when something like this happens, especially when the next turn is coming up quickly. You can't loose your cool and as a million things including Oh **** came to mind I calmly placed it back on the car and verified it was secure. I am happy we spent so much time verifying the alignment or it could have gone south quickly. I was still able to pull off a 1:42 that lap. My son was kind enough to tell his instructor who is a friend of mine and now I will never live this one down. LOL. I am told T shirts will be made up.
The second was the brakes. They put the fronts in the rear and big reds up front. I am guessing these are pagid blacks as the slightest tap of the brakes and it sends you forward but the adjustable proportioning valve kept the car stable under braking. I spent quite a bit of time trying to bleed the ATE blue from the system. It looked crystal clear blue but had 3% water so I ran several large cans of Pentison though it not wanting to spend a fortune on Motul. Unfortunately it was a C4 initially and they had not removed some of the AWD lines so I had issues trying to get it all out. Apparently there must have been some air in the AWD portion which showed its head coming into turn 1 at 120mph. Pedal went to the floor and another Oh ####. Pumped it they came back and after pitting and checking it stopped fine but found I had lost about 3/8" of fluid and it was more blue than I cared it to be. Topped it off and it never moved again. This will be addressed If I use this on track again.
My wife had some issues getting used to the car but by her 4th session it clicked and she picked up the pace. We were very happy driving a 964 again but it does make you work and we had considerable aches and pains the next day. In all I had a great time saw dozens and dozens of old friends some I haven't seen or driven with in over 10 years. I might take this up to mid Ohio if I can fit it in. I really do find that the new cars are faster but offer very little as a driver other than bragging rights of who's car is faster. Once the Blue meanie is done I think I will see much faster times without the need to work so hard but still have all the fun these cars offer.
Great story! Glad you had a good time especially for a shake down session. Sounds like you just need to lower the seat and then on to the next one.
I was pleasantly surprised how well the car ran overall. I wish I could lower the seat but as Cindy and I both drive it is a compromise (at least for me) I set the car up so she is safe and comfortable and still meets the min requirement for belts and such for me. I have to sit on the seat shell so Cindy can use the cushions. I honestly don't notice there is no padding. Lowering the seat would be ideal but will have to make do with it as is.
BTW Nick had his first session in Blue and will be bumped to white in another event or two so timing is perfect as Cindy and Nick will both be driving in white. Looks like he will be in black soon enough at the rate he is going. His instructor comments said he was the fastest driver in Blue/white and quite skilled. Many of the kids who raced their scooters around the paddocks when they were 5 are the now the next generation of PCA family members and will soon be showing us how to drive. LOL
I installed the numeric shifter which arrived the day before I left for the Glen. It is a very nicely built unit and does what it says and is a huge improvement over stock although IMO has lots of room for improvement.
Unlike the other SS kits this eliminates the front rod which eliminates the adjustability for and aft. That I am not pleased with and it is also aligned improperly from left to right with no adjustability. So when driving 1st and 2nd are where 3rd and 4th normally would be and 5th is way over in right field which somewhat defeats the purpose of this. I found the short throw setting to be unbearable. Way too short a throw and by doing so makes it notchy and requires additional force to get it into gear. I immediately switched it to the longer throw setting which I prefer. I also did not use the Golden rod although I have access to two I am currently not using I figured let me try it without as they recommend.
My bushings overall were in decent condition but the ones going to the trans seemed a bit sloppy. I purchased new bushings and installed them and to my surprise the new ones weren't much better. I installed them anyhow. You do not feel any play with the bushings as they are, so I see no need to go further but you may consider bronze bushings instead at $50 vs the GR at $250.
Before After, still some play
The numeric product is a very nice kit well made and executed but could IMO use some refinement. Additional throw options or an extended shaft for higher placement of the shifter would be nice.
Way to pretty to conceal but something you can't leave exposed IMO
I had issues installing the unit as it did not slip in as easily as they show although my car is a C4 converted to C2 but don't think the tubs are different. I had to modify it slightly to get it to slide into the tunnel.
I doubt much will make its way back to the shifter but I sealed all openings and used a cap from a battery terminal to plug the hole and silicone with a zip tie to keep the opening plugged.
After reviewing everything the SB was ready for a 3 day event at the Glen with NNJR.
So it has been a while since I had time to drive an air-cooled 911 on track these past few years I have been driving the Boxster GTS which is an incredibly capable car and is almost like cheating it is so easy to drive fast. It took me the entire weekend to warm up to it again but once I got back in the groove I remembered how satisfying it is to drive these older cars. I need a few more days of seat time to get the max out of it but using the garmin catalyst is so much easier than the old AIM units and helps show me what I had forgotten and picked up the pace by day three. Unfortunately my herniated disc in my neck made it harder to get my times down and will keep my from attending the advanced event in a few weeks. I have no doubt if I could make that I could get her down to 2:17 possibly 2:16 but couldn't break the 2:20 mark this weekend. I hate to admit it but my wife was on my heals coming within 3 seconds of my best time. I have to giver her a lot of credit for driving this beast. The Guard LSD in this thing is amazing but only likes full throttle threw the esses which can be a bit unsettling compared to the same in the boxster.
I was rather surprised by how many came up to me and loved the car overall as it was. To me it will be the **** Box but to others they seemed to like it as is.
She ended up leaking a bit of oil on the floor. I brought her home and what I thought was a leak from the case thankfully ended up being a corroded surface on the coupler that goes from the case to the oil return line so the aluminum crush washer was leaking. I had a spare coupler so I replaced it and all is good for now.
My son was finally bumped into white and is carrying speeds that would easily place him in Black and possibly red in his well setup 981 Cayman S. He was quite a bit faster than his old man but he acknowledges how much harder these cars are to drive fast and he has an additional 100 HP and his car weighs in at 2800 pounds so slightly lighter. I hate to bolster his ego too much but he is a natural and watching his near perfect line lap after lap will make him one of the faster drivers. It is so cool to see all of the kids of my friends who used to ride their skate boards up and down the paddock now making their way up to the advanced levels driving.
My hats off to NNJR Thom has done an amazing job organizing some of the best events which were safe and enjoyable. It was nice seeing so many old friends and although my left arm got a workout since my car probably had the lowest power to weight ratio I still had a great time. I hope to be back next year in better health so I can play with this before the Blue meanie is done and she will be retired and begin the transformation to RSR street rod.
BTW I lost my mirror glass on the right of the car midway through a session. I had never seen this happen before but was interesting to see the heating element that sits beneath the glass. I have a replacement glass I will be installing.
It has been awhile since I posted on this car. After rebuilding the rear brakes which had seized the car turned out to be an amazing track car. My son who is one of the better young drivers I know wanted to drive a 964 after driving nothing but Boxsters and Cayman's on track. His initial experience was eye opening. Spun first turn of the first lap thinking the car handles like his Cayman. It was fun watching the video of him entering the turn about 20MPH to fast for a 964 doing a complete 360. He quickly learned what older cars without nannies can be like. No damage other than to his pride but he quickly got over that. He actually picked up on how to drive an old air-ccoled fast on track and was within a second of my actual time but 2 seconds behind my potential best. We were both increasing in speed and the new rear brakes made the car much more stable when slowing. Imagine that LOL. Interestingly I insisted my son take out an instructor and he agrees that the car has the mechanical grip of his 996GT3 with full race suspension and Hossiers while we are running just cup 2's. I have video of my son following a 4.5 L GT4 for 7 laps and was up its behind through the back portion of the track. The Gt4 would not give him a pass and could only pull from him down the front straight. So these cars might be lacking HP but can handle with the best in the twisties.
Sadly the last run of the day he dropped it into second instead of 4th going down the front straight. I blame the mistake on the numeric shifter. Normally 4th would be over to the left a bit more but places it further over to the right. A simple stupid mistake but that ended my season since the Blue Meanie engine is not yet done. Interestingly I can find very little damage. Cy #1 had a broken rocker and 92% leak down after I replaced the rocker. It is clear it is leaking through the exhaust the rocker that broke but the borescope doesn't show any damage. Otherwise everything seemed to hold up to what appeared to be 8500 rpms. Clutch and everything are like new without any signs of damage and the gearbox is still fine. So it might be a simple fix one head and be done but something tells me I will not stop there.
I decided to resurrect this thread since I now have the time to drop the engine and start the rebuild. I hope to figure out what was done to give this car CUP Car/RS power. It appears stock for the most part but I know it has been messed with. So for now the engine is down and the dismantling begins. I will report back what i find although I plan to take it slow since I want to document everything.
It was nice that they modified the A/C bracket so it was easy to remove.
I will eventually post more on the Blue meanie engine since it is close to being installed in the car again. The plumbing work has taken far more time than expected and everything had to be made as we go.
One slippery slope on this engine. Wiring harnesses are done but cooling plumbing still has a bit of work.
The Twin turbo engine is going in a different car. I just posted that for those that followed the Blue meanie project which has been going on for a number of years. The **** Box is my backup track car. Right now I am down 2 track cars. Here is the car the TT engine is going into.
The original engine was a protomotive build putting down 330RWHP but lost a valve in cylinder #5. So the new engine will be closer to 600RWHP.
05-25-2021, 12:34 PM
. So i will steal the ones from the C2 since it is getting painted today. Finally
Here is the car the TT engine is going into. 
