Kudos to Do-Gooders

[brookedale091462]

Do we have a thread for "do-Gooders"? In our overly critical globe everyone seems to be bitching.

If we don't I'll start one here.

Last summer I was racing at Sonoma, 900 miles from home. Somehow I jammed my gears and was stuck in reverse or third or both! After a tow back to the garage where I held the clutch in the whole way I jacked the car up and thought about whether I wanted to call it quits for the weekend or grease up.

Along comes a skinny, weathered racer. He proceeds to say, "What the hell happened we were having fun out there."

Before long he was under the car taking off the bottom plate on the gear box and trying like hell to unstuck the stuck part. He was under there for a good hour to no avail. I had stuck it good. Later I figured out who he was and went and said hello to him and his gal.

Much later I looked him up and saw how long he has been working on and racing Porsches. A long time and at some great tracks and some big races.

Thank you WAYNE BAKER. We need more like you out there.

[72targa]

Hope it ok that I moved this to general info...

[Frank Beck]

Wayne is a good guy. One of the old timers who is still active in the industry.

Dennis, what you describe as a “do gooder” is typical track culture. Lending a hand, a tool, or parts to competitors is the norm. Kindred spirits do things like this and it’s actually one of the most enjoyable aspects of the racing community.

BTW: Typically when a gearbox sticks in between gears and won’t “unstick” something is bent and/or broken. What ended up being the fix?

[brookedale091462]

Frank
Had to open up the box. bent is the answer.

[Frank Beck]

Sooo...

Lesson learned?

If it won’t go in, don’t force it.

[brookedale091462]

yes, of course. Every (ad)venture is a lesson.

[rower]

I learned that lesson too but not quite the hard way.

A 1928 Bentley taught me to shift by feel; now I use just two fingers and feel it the way in.
The Bentley required double clutching and rev matching and I felt panicked and would just pull it straight down when there was a really slight jog. It worked, like a crash box grinding.

Now I just feel the way, no force, so gently and it works wonders on all cars for me. Including 901 and 915 gear boxes.