Porsche 906 under construction...+1

[moito]

well in our hyper modern times where everyone worships the digital wonder machines ,we very often forget that in the good old days they did not have 3d printing or any other RPT machinery ..... they built many things by hand...so they did with casting molds.
and you are right this simple deadheads can be made very easy and even cheaper as RPT.

i was working in a design agency for 10years as modelmaker...in the first years when i was working there we had no 3D print or cnc milling machines...we did it all by hand..clay moddeling, negative molds,fiber glas lay ups,etc,etc...and during the years we bought 3-axis milling machine,3D printer,laser scanner, this and that ...all very nice and cool stuff.....we got used to the comfort of clicking a button...et voila we had the super precise thing in hands....

one day i compared the costs for a complete show model back in 1995 and the costs for a similar one built in 2006...guess what...the production cost went up by 300%...
o.k the precision has increased but not by 300%
the benefit of the capability of producing components faster was eaten up by :...OH we have the high end machines,they do it all so quick..lets try a slightly different design ....


not saying all that modern stuff is bad but i totally agree whith ghandi.

[Olivier]

Franz,
I didn't know that you had a pattern maker background!My answer may be a bit long and boring, so my apologies.

To sum up a little bit, what can make a young (34) guy go crazy for a 50 yrs old race car like this one?
Well, my addiction was first a simple interest and attraction for timeless shapes and simplicity. A body, a chassis, an engine 4 wheels and that's it! But, the more I discover the car, the more I "understand" the way it was done, the more I am impressed! I won't disert pages and pages about the merits of a given part or a technical solution. There are some flaws on this car. At least, this is what I read about it. But, back 50 yrs ago, I am simply amazed by how complex everything can be on this tiny car!
The guys who designed it had probably (almost) no cost consideration in mind, and when they made their choices, they were uncompromised choices.
The machining of the rear uprights, with conventional machine tools, is more relevant to art rather than simple abilities.

Why do I explain it to you? Just to tell you that I agree 90% with you.
I was the last "generation" who made a little bit of paper/pencil/board design in school. I grew with computers things and spent quite some time with 3D CAD softwares.
You're AB SO LU TE LY right on one thing. These tools were supposed to ease things, and make them quicker. I know how it can be wrong, and I wouldn't publicly tell how sometimes designing parts I spent HOURS just to manage to put a fillet somewhere with my computer.

THe only guys I know who are really quick with CAD design, are the guys with a huge knowledge of the software, know very well how the differents functions work... I am not in this category unfortunatelly.

Regarding my project, and my personal skills/abilities. Unfortunatelly, my manual skills are very limited. I WISH i could have learned more in this field. I have a huge respect and admiration for peoples able to carve wood, weld, shape metal... I envy them. Unfortunatelly, I was never able to "learn" with somebody like this.

So I am doing things the way I CAN. with my own limited abilities/skills. The only thing I know a little is CAD and a little knowledge of the technologies arround, hence the rapid prototyping.

The remaining 10% is that modernity, when used correctly isn't a bad thing. All the CAD stuff has allowed to reduce from about 10 yrs for a whole new car design, to 4 or 5. And cost wise, with the rapid prototyping stuff, doing the design by myself... the patterns, once finished will cost me 30% of what I was quoted by a professional pattern maker. It will take longer of course, but, I wasn't able to afford it.

Franz, would you show some of your modeling stuff? I wish you were closer to my home! You couldn't get rid of me, and I would probably become your shadow!!!

Olivier.

[pursang]

Looking for a low fuel level sensor for our 906. Anyone know where I might find one?

[Chuck Miller]

Looking for a low fuel level sensor for our 906. Anyone know where I might find one?

I'd probably first try our friend Kevin Jeannette at Gunnar Racing:
gunnar@gunnarracing.com

Then I'd post here in 'For sale/Wanted other Porsche parts'

Hope this helps,
cm

[914-6gt]

No updates of any kind since 08/2014, so here is one... A few months ago I got lucky and located this NOS 906 LSD in Mexico, wax paper and all.

A nice piece added to the collection...

[Olivier]

Armando,

What's the difference between a "906" Diff, and an early 911 ZF Limited slip Diff (with nadella output)??

Now you have no excuse... You need a gearbox housing =) =) =)

Olivier.

[914-6gt]

Hi Olivier, probably no difference, but you meant a "901", not "911" for the early gearbox part. I'm going to need a whole lot more than just the 906 gearbox housing.

"One piece at a time". I also have these NOS parts; 906 flywheel, 906 alloy pressure plate and 906 clutch disc. Challenging to find and collect the factory OEM parts after all these years...

ERASE 906 flywheel.jpg

ERASE 906 clutch 1.jpg

ERASE 906 clutch.jpg

ERASE 906 clutch 3.jpg

ERASE 906 clutch 2.jpg

[Jon B]

What's the difference between a "906" Diff, and an early 911 ZF Limited slip Diff (with nadella output)??

Olivier & Armando, there were at least two versions of that ZF differential...

4061 004 004 with no pre-tension (preload)
4061 004 024 with wavy discs and pre-tension

The version without preload was the LSD option for 901 transmissions, but also used in the 904, 906 and 910- Porsche part number 904.332.053.00.
The 004 004 had its discs set to a 50% locking effect for street use, but they could be re-arranged for a maximum 75% locking effect.

DSCN9895.jpg

Jon B.
Vista, CA

[914-6gt]

Great information Jon, thank you! I believe I am missing your reference manual... Got lucky on that one!

[ErichW]

Nice find amigo.