Dillon Colorado - May 2006

The Midwest R Gruppe drove 2500 miles + to California in 2006 and one of the stops was in Dillon, Colorado.  This shot was taken on a boat ramp at Dillon Reservoir. The snow in the morning had been forgotten later that day as we drove through the Mojave desert.

A lot of memories from that trip....

Ludwig, the MAD 2.8

For the past couple of years I have been digging pocket change from under the couch cushions and scrounging parts to build a new engine for my '70 911 "S".  The original 2.2l has been covered up and tucked into the corner and this new 2.8l beast is being made ready.  I hoped to have it running this past summer...but that just didn't happen.

Getting closer though.  A few final details and we will be ready to go!

Leather Sofa's and Old Steering Wheels

The mailman brought me this cool old 350 mm Momo Monza steering wheel last week.  The leather is just amazing.  Only problem is that it apparently was involved in a hard accident at some point and the top two spokes were broken.

I am tempted to leave it as-is simply because the repair is just so cool with the old rivets and such.  I really want to use it in the car though, so I plan to drill it apart this weekend, have it TIG'd and then file and finesse it back to perfection...but maybe not...I just cant decide! 

Should be a fun project.  I love the wheel, only thing that would make it better is if it was 380mm.

I will update when I get more done.

NOS EMPI GT Mags For Sale

I was at a local hot-rod show a few weeks back and ran into an old wheel collector that I had met about 15 years ago. I asked him if he had any old Porsche or VW mags and he told me about a pair of two-piece wheels that he had bought a few years back.

Turns out that they are original EMPI GT Mags.  You can see how the casting was originally designed for the 205mm VW bolt circle, but later modified for the smaller Porsche pattern.

This pair appears to be NOS.  They show no evidence of ever being mounted to a car or having a tire on them.  They have been sitting for decades and due to the high magnesium content will need to have the lips re-polished.

$600.00 for the pair  SOLD!

New Jo Siffert book

From the first time I read about Jo Siffert, I was fascinated by him.  He was the stereotypical suave racing driver of the late '60's.   In just a little over a decade Siffert clawed his way from nothing, to the top of auto racing - Formula 1 for Yardley-BRM and Sports Car racing for Porsche.  Jo even owned his own Porsche dealership in Switzerland and leased many of the racing cars used in the film LeMans to Steve McQueen. 

I interviewed Brian Redman a few years back and he had this to say about Siffert:
"He was always buying or selling something.  He had lady friends all over the place – he was a great character and a great driver."

This is why I am so excited about a new Siffert biography by Ed Heuvink.  You can buy the book from my friend and Siffert's teammate Vic Elford  -
http://www.vicelford.com/storebooks.html#Book52

Another NOS GT3, This Time its an RS!

With only a handful of factory applied miles on it, this 2007 GT3-RS is essentially NOS. Sporting factory roll-cage mounts (rare on US spec cars) and with AC delete, this could be the ultimate dual purpose track-day weapon.  This GT3RS is as new, with all of the factory delivery protection on it.  Front lip spoiler has never been installed and thus is uncracked or scraped.

Price - $135,000

Click on the Flickr photo below and automatically view an 11 photo slideshow!

Barn Find Treasures...They Are Still Out There!

Built in Sept '65 and put up on blocks sometime in '72. Keep looking, there is still old tin out there.

Rally in the Valley - 2010

Last weekend I hitched a ride from my friend Brian in his Conda Green '71 911 S. We traveled to Virgina for the annual Rally in the Valley, a casual gathering made up of members of the R Gruppe and the Early S Registry. While there, Raj was kind enough to make his 1967 "R" available to me for a feature story in an upcoming issue of Excellence magazine.

There never seems to be a shortage of events during the summer, but I think that RITV will be on my short list for the future.

Can a Car be NOS? 2004 Porsche 911 GT3

This 2004 GT3 is as brand new as you can get for a six year-old performance car. Showing only 21 miles on the odometer, this car has been lovingly preserved in a climate controlled Porsche museum. Looking inside, you see that the plastic has never been removed from the seats and gauges. The factory cardboard is still covering the carpet. The car is perfect!

Many GT3 enthusiasts feel that the 2004 generation of the GT3 was the pinnacle. Later versions were saddled with unnecessary luxuries such as sunroofs and air conditioning. This car was spec'd to be the ultimate track-day weapon. In this case, AC and sunroof were left unchecked while the important performance items like Porsche's spectacular ceramic disc brakes were selected. One unusual option is the Speed Yellow seat belts which match the exterior paintwork.

Click on the link below to see 13 more photos in slide-show format.

Asking $107,000.00