by John Glynn | Jul 1, 2016 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Friend and fellow R Gruppe member, Guenter Kehr, has sent me some pics from the 2016 Bergmeister Tour, just completed by a great group of Porsche friends.
Long-time readers will remember the first Bergmeister Tour in 2010, when we took ten R Gruppe 911s from all over the world across Europe to the Alps, staying in Lake Geneva, Briancon and Monaco, following the old Monte Carlo Rally stages around the principality before coming home via Classic Le Mans.
Painstakingly organised by Leonard Stolk at Twinspark Racing in Amsterdam, every day was a unforgettable experience. Six years later, it is still the best thing I have ever done in my 911, so I was delighted to get Guenter’s pics and a reminder of how special it is to be on tour in a group of air-cooled 911s with like-minded people.
“Bergmeister Tour 2016 is completed,” writes Geunter. “Once again, an epic week of close to 5,000 km of intense driving on some of the most amazing roads across Switzerland, France and Italy. Lots of rain, fog, mud and gravel on the roads made driving even more challenging this year.
“This was certainly an excellent test run for my new Michelin Pilot Exalto 2 NO tyres in sizes 205/55 ZR16 and 225/50 ZR16 mounted on 7 & 8×16 fuchs. The Michelins lived up to expectations: very predictable in the wet and with good braking performance and traction in and out of the uncountable hairpins.
“The tyres and my new brake calipers saved me at least once from being smashed between a white van and a wall going up “La Madelaine”. Climbing up the ultimate Col de L’Iseran to an altitude of 2,770 m we even got freezing rain and snow. No reason to stop but first time ever I had to pull my heater lever on a summer tour. Too bad for the others who had sacrificed their heaters for less weight!”
Congrats Guenter and to his fellow Bergmeister tourers – looks like a blast. Check out the Bergmeister Facebook page for more information and photos.
by John Glynn | Jun 26, 2016 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Yorkshire’s EB Motorsport has unveiled its latest product: a perfect reproduction of the hard-to-find 5.5 x 15-inch Fuchs alloy wheel, now mandatory on all 2-litre 911s seeking an FIA Historic Technical Passport under Appendix K regulations.
These iPhone photos show the wheels painted to sample for a customer’s 2-litre 1965 911 race car, but they are available from EB Motorsport in a range of finishes. Manufactured to the same high standards as EB’s existing Fuchs reproductions in 9-inch and 11-inch x 15, and the well-known EB Deep 6 and 7R Fuchs rims, the front is CNC machined from billet aluminium, with the barrel laser welded for optimum strength and accuracy.
EB’s Fuchs recreations are never the cheapest but, with SWB Porsche 911 race cars built to FIA Appendix K regulations now changing hands for as much as £200k in some cases, the cost of £900 per wheel for such a high quality product is perhaps not that shocking.
“Our manufacturing process uses the highest quality materials and requires expensive machinery to carry out the machining and laser welding operations,” says EB’s Mark Bates. “The advantage of this investment is a strong wheel that has much a higher reliability than cheap cast wheels, which can fracture and fail. I would much rather have an EB wheel under me when at full throttle down the Kemmel Straight at Spa.”
EB Motorsport 5.5 x 15-inch Fuchs
Unlike the original Fuchs wheels, the EB Motorsport 5.5-inch Fuchs are ready to accept modern tyres and valves, with machined tyre beads and properly machined holes for modern valves. They are also a perfect fit for the collapsible spare tyres on air-cooled Porsche 911s: I have a 5.5 x 15″ Fuchs wheel on the spare tyre for my 1976 Carrera 3.0. and it fits perfectly under the bonnet.
“Before we recreated these rare 5.5 x 15-inch Fuchs wheels, we were running inner tubes on fifty year-old wheels with who-knows-what history,” says Bates. “From a driver’s point of view, the stress factor is much reduced in using these wheels versus the originals.”
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by John Glynn | Apr 22, 2016 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Porsche has just added a bunch of new N-rated tyres to its list of approved rubber for older Porsche sports cars. The fact that Stuttgart’s release considers anything pre-2005 as classic is something we’ll gloss over for now – not going there on a Friday afternoon.
Porsche N-rated Tyres on Classic 911s
The Porsche tyre N-rating system is a subject of much discussion amongst classic 911 owners: probably in the top three conversation starters along with “what oil should I use?” and “I once turned down a 964RS for £20 and a half-eaten steak and kidney pie.” Not fitting N-rated tyres to your old Porsche won’t make it fail the MOT or invalidate your insurance, but there may be some comfort in fitting tyres which Porsche has tested on your classic. It also leaves you with plenty of headspace to worry about the engine going bang or whatever people worry about these days.
Pirelli, Continental, Michelin and Bridgestone all have rubber on the latest classic Porsche N-rated tyre list. As impact bumper 911s are closest to my heart, it’s nice to see that Continental Sport Contact tyres continue to be available in 205/55 and 245/45 ZR16 for 7- and 9-inch Fuchs wheels as fitted to my Carrera 3.0 (albeit the Sport Contacts on my car at present are not N rated). For those who follow a Porsche-approved lifestyle, 959 owners are stuck with Bridgestone RE71s (plenty noisy at 80dB), 964RS drivers have a better choice of Sport Contacts, Michelin Pilot Sport 2, Pirelli P Zero Rosso or Trofeo R compounds, while 924 Turbo drivers have the Sport Contact, Pilot Exalto 2 or P Zero Rosso to choose from.
Porsche Tyre Test Drivers
Porsche invited Walter Röhrl along to help with approvals, the former World Rally champion offering input based on a long history of driving classic Porsche models. Many of the current works drivers also have a classic 911 tucked away somewhere – would be interesting to see one of them drifting a pre-’73, abusing a set of N-rated tyres (Pirelli CN36 or P6000 if you must have the N). It is also interesting to see Walter leaning on a pair of P7Rs (sexiest tread pattern ever IMO) but those tyres are not on the Porsche approved list as far as I can see: P7 Cinturatos yes, but not P7Rs.
“The driving properties in the early years were not as full or balanced as they are today,” says Walter. “The new generation of tyres is more fitting than ever to the driving style of a challenging sports car.” Porsche tyre tester, Dieter Röscheisen, said of the newly-approved tyres: “The new tyre releases will make it possible for classic models to follow the curve into the modern era with exceptionally good and balanced driving properties.” (I imagine it is more likely that a PR person said this. My hope is that Dieter was overexcited after spending an afternoon shredding 993 RS rear tyres and couldn’t elucidate.)
I don’t have N-rated tyres fitted to any of my five old Porsches. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest, as my cars are eternal works-in-progress and only one of the Porsches is currently road legal (a classic 2004 SUV model). I have a set of part-worn 205/55 16 Bridgestones for the 924 Turbo, which will be next to go on the road. I like Sport Contacts on the 911, but tend to lean toward Michelins as my overall tyre brand of choice: they drive so well, right down to the wear bars. All that will go out the window if you can now get P7Rs to fit the 911, as they are soooo s-e-x-y.
Track day fans on my 911 forum at impactbumpers.com use a load of different non-N-rated tyres on long road trips and pretty intense driving conditions and no big problems reported there. Bridgestone S-02s have long been a good choice for spirited ’74-’89 911 driving if you can get a set to suit: you can still buy 205/55 and 225/50 16s in Porsche N3 rating from places like Camskill, but I don’t think 245s are easily available.
by John Glynn | Dec 18, 2015 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
I’m working outside the UK at the minute, catching some winter sun in Fuerteventura. As ever, I’ve brought a few books along in case of long lunches, including ‘We are Porsche’: Ferry Porsche’s first autobiography, written with John Bentley in the early 1970s.
I’ve read this book many times, as Ferry’s words both inspire and encourage. All freelancers face constant changes and challenges, which can often feel insurmountable. Ferry’s story demonstrates that, no matter what life throws in one’s path, patient perseverance will find a solution. Hard work and the occasional retreat to simple pleasures can power body and mind through tough situations.
Ferry Porsche and his BMW Motorcycle
As a young man, one of Ferry’s simplest pleasures was motorcycling. At the age of eighteen, Ferry got his motorcycle licence and shares how the independence of increased mobility brought new opportunities to meet girls. “I no longer had to rely on the family car to get me from one place to another in a hurry,” he recalls. “The motorbike I then used was a 500cc BMW and this proved useful in more ways than one.”
This would have been circa 1927, making Ferry’s bike an R42: Max Fitz’s blueprint for just about every BMW road bike made afterwards. Pristine R42s now sell for big money – £40k or more – so Ferry’s mount was well chosen. Given Doctor Porsche’s interest in BMW motorcycles, I wonder what he’d make of the machine seen here, being offered by Bonhams at its Paris sale on February 4th: a 1952 Sunbeam S8, with Ferry Porsche power.
BSA bought the rights to Sunbeam’s motorcycle business in 1943 and revived the brand after the war, when it was given German motorcycle designs as part of the war reparations. Based on the BMW R75, the Sunbeam S7 had a pre-war-designed inline twin which left it low on power, and its successor, the Sunbeam R8 was apparently not much better.
Porsche Engine in a Motorcycle Frame
In 1969, the then owner of this S8 decided to upgrade the power with a 1200cc motor from a Volkswagen Beetle. This was not the ultimate incarnation, as he subsequently ditched the Beetle engine, replacing it with a 1955 1300cc Porsche motor featuring bespoke cast aluminium bellhousing and rocker covers.
The Sunbeam’s first outing was to the 1972 BMF show, where it caused a sensation. MCN’s John Ebbrell tested the bike for the paper, and the Sunbeam was also shown at Olympia, fitted with Amal concentric carburettors a la Triumph and others. A BMW tank was added later, along with Norton Roadholder forks and some other cool touches, including a Vincent Black Shadow speedometer.
For sale due to the advancing age of its owner, the Sunbeam was offered at Bonhams’ last sale in the RAF Museum at Hendon where it failed to find a new home. Given that the price aspirations seem sensible (£9.5k), I was surprised by this, so I emailed Bill To at Bonhams to get his thoughts on why such an interesting piece failed to sell.”We were a little surprised ourselves, but I guess that’s the nature of public auctions: we just don’t know what to expect on the day,” said Bill.
I’m not the world’s biggest vintage bike fan, but I do like this. If it’s something you are also inspired by, get yourself to Paris on February 4th, or contact Bonhams to register as a bidder. I want a ride if you buy it!
by John Glynn | Apr 18, 2015 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Watched some Variant 1 KW Suspension going on a Grand Prix White Porsche 964 Targa earlier this week. It was interesting to follow the Porsche project as the rusty old factory dampers came off the 911, to be replaced by KW kit.
When it comes to upgraded Porsche suspension, KW kits are amongst the best available. The German brand with a penchant for finding fine detail on its ex-Formula 1 hydraulic test rig is a favourite of many winning race teams, particularly in the exhilarating VLN championship, so it’s no surprise that KW Suspension Variant 3 kits are common on Porsche cars used for fast road and track days.
The new three-way KW Clubsport adjustable coilover kits are one of my favourites amongst the firm’s 997 GT3 RS track day crowd, but the cheaper V1 and V3 kits are an affordable, quality upgrade for worn-out original suspension.
With prices starting at just over £1,000, the KW Suspension Variant 1 coilover kit is hard to beat. The struts are made from stainless steel, with corrosion resistant springs and bump stops. They also come with the top mounts, which are usually ruined on old 911s. This saves a few quid.
Variant 1 is TUV-approved, so maximum lowering is restricted to no more than 70mm: not that you would want to go quite this low in a classic 911, assuming you were serious about driving. Experienced suspension tech Ricky (above with old and new) carefully set the ride heights before fitting the kit, but the rust-resisting trapezoid thread and composite collar will move freely at any stage in the future, so a new owner could easily raise or lower the car using the supplied KW toolkit.
KW Suspension says that each Porsche suspension kit has been specifically tuned for the car in damper setup and spring rate. The new dampers reduce body roll when the suspension is in compression and give much sharper handling than anything fitted to 911 road cars as standard.
It probably sounds like I have swallowed the KW blurb on this, but I’ve road tested quite a few KW cars and no doubt they feel better to drive. One interesting comparison would be the Bilstein setup fitted to the 964RS I lived with for a few months. That was special, but there seems very little in it when the cars are on track.
by John Glynn | Mar 4, 2015 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
I bumped into Stéphane via the Cult of Porsche Instagram channel. He’s building a cool 1980 Porsche 911 SC backdate down in France, so I got him to send me some pics and explain his love for the badge.
“I’m 33, and live in La Rochelle in Poitou Charentes. I’ve loved Porsche since I saw one for the first time, maybe when I was 6 or 7. My father owned a 1966 911. It was the only “new” car he bought. He drove a lot of cars (Jaguar Mk2, R8 Gordini, Audi Quattro, Mercedes 190SL, Mustang…) but the 911 was his favourite.
“My dad lost his good situation at the end of the 1980s and never had the ability to buy sports cars again. For me, the Porsche 911 was only an unaffordable dream. I worked hard and hoped to have my own Porsche and take a ride with my father. Sadly, he died in 2010.
“I bought my first Porsche 4 years ago: a 2001 Boxster. A while later, I changed it for a 1981 Guards Red 911 SC. I then the red one to do some work on my house. In 2012, I found this 1981 Porsche 911 SC (above) in Perpignan with a 964RS conversion. Turns out it was in mint condition! I was not a huge fan of this colour, but it was a really good base for my project.
“When I bought it, I planned to respray it in black, with 17” Fuchs, but 17s are too heavy for my 204bhp 3-litre engine! So I decided to buy original SC bumpers and started to work on the body. One day, I some photos of the Gérard Larousse 70′ 911 and decided to backdate my SC.
“Inspired by the R Gruppe, Rod Emory, Magnus Walker, I made my own colour. The rest of the spec is like this:
- Front wings, hood, and bumpers are in poly, from Rennspeed
- Wheels: 7 x15 and 9×15 Minilite from Historika
- Tyres: Toyo in 205/50/15 and 225/50 15
- Bilstein Club dampers
- Wevo shifter
- BF Torino Nürburgring seats
- Schroth 3-point harnesses
- Nardi steering wheel
- RS style door cards (homemade)
- Aluminium grille on the rear (homemade, inspired by Kremer)
- Dual chamber stainless steel exhaust (no brand, probably homemade)
- Powerflex Black Series Bushes
- Goodridge brake hoses
- EBC Red brake pads
“I think the next stage will be adding a roll cage in a few months. I’d love a PMO conversion with 964 camshafts. Until then, I’ll drive, drive, drive and enjoy my new toy, hoping my father can ear my flat six.”
An excellent project and no doubt dad would love it: well done mate. Follow Stéphane on Instagram here.
