Another hot rod

The Sports Purposes manual page 4 shows a list of the general specifications of the Competition Equipment 911S. On the list is shown "Leather steering wheel 380mm."

As the theme of this hot rod is to use factory parts whenever possible, I looked for a thick rim 380mm wheel with an appropriate date for an ST to use for the hot rod. In the case of this project, an appropriate date is prior to February 1971, the build date of the car.

A friend in England had an interesting wheel that fit the requirements of the project and we got it about two years ago. The part number stamped into the hub is:

914 347 806 10

The date stamped into the hub is:

4 70

The leather covering the rim has a visible grain and typical factory style stitching. On the back side of the hub, inside of the cancellation ring, the number 88 is stamped.

This is a used wheel. The directional cancelling ring and horn contact are old and appear original to the piece. The leather is old and has a few scuffs and mars from use. The spokes have a few chips and scratches but remain in their original factory finish.

Other period race equipment collected for the interior have similarly acquired some patina over the years. So, hopefully the wheel will fit right in with the overall look of the interior.

A puck horn button was on the 380mm wheel when we got it. Unlike the later RSR thick rim 380 wheels, the leather spats on the thumb rests on this example have been trimmed flush, ostensibly for use with a puck horn button.

Perhaps Allen or another of the 380mm wheel police can shed some light on the part number on this one.

The "story" for this wheel is that it was factory installed on a TR that was returned to the Race Department for an update to ST specs for the 1970 season. The update included ST flares and other revised details, including fitment of this wheel. Subsequently, when the TR was restored in England some years ago, its steering wheel was replaced with a period correct wheel and this early fat rim 380 went onto the shelf for quite some time, awaiting its fate to become the tiller on the Olive Tart.

Here are some pics:

Tom, I have a part which I think might appear in The Sports Purposes manual page 4 or 5 of the general specifications of the Competition Equipment 911S.
It's a 62ltr steel fuel tank, but with a large dia fill neck for a blau cap / offset to one side so not 'center fill' in the strict sense.
I understand it's a race dept. item - still has a number wrote large across it in yellow crayon - maybe the original part or chassis number??
For interest.
Could you check if something matching this general discription does infact appear in the manual??
I'll post some pics of it later in the week - need to get down to my shed at some point..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gilbert911

Tom, I have a part which I think might appear in The Sports Purposes manual page 4 or 5 of the general specifications of the Competition Equipment 911S.
It's a 62ltr steel fuel tank, but with a large dia fill neck for a blau cap / offset to one side so not 'center fill' in the strict sense.
I understand it's a race dept. item - still has a number wrote large across it in yellow crayon - maybe the original part or chassis number??
For interest.
Could you check if something matching this general discription does infact appear in the manual??
I'll post some pics of it later in the week - need to get down to my shed at some point..

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Hi Chris:
Yes, that tank is listed in the same Competition equipment 911S as the "Leather steering wheel 380mm." The list is on page 4.

The tank you refer to is described as "62 l tank with big tank inlet under the lid."

The "big mouth" 62ltr tank is the standard tank delivered in a factory built ST. The big plastic 110L or steel 100L tanks could be specified, but the 62 ltr big mouth under the hood fill is the standard tank.

Please post some pics. Thanks

Great find!

100L Center Fill Tank for the Olive Tart:

While we are on the topic of gas tanks, I updated this post with a picture of the steel 100L tank that we will be using for the hot rod.

This image shows the tank prior to restoration and removal of that big nasty dimple you can see on the top of the spare tire bump.

You can also see that the center fill neck on this tank has been configured in such a way as to allow for through-the-lid filling. It is fitted with a nipple for a breather tube on the angled section of the filler neck (see detail photo).

This fine old 100L tank was found in Germany, but the exact donor is unknown. It was represented as having been used in a 2,3 ST.

The neck accepts a large 110mm diameter Blau filler cap.

Note that the original finish on the tank is satin black on bare steel and that the original finish is both old and covers the weld at the base of the filler neck, suggesting that this was indeed an original race tank. There is no undercoat on the bottom of the tank, which had the same satin black original finish.

Tom,

Have managed to take some pics of the 62ltr tank I mentioned a couple of days ago.
Smooth satin black paint finish (top and bottom) looks to be the exact same as the 100ltr tank you have.
The number written on my tank appears twice;
300647 maybe the chassis number that it was intended for?
Does anyone recognise it? :)
Would you say that these 62ltr tanks number fewer than the 100ltr?

Chris:

That is a very rare race tank.

I have seen lots of 100L steel tanks, side fill and center fill, but yours is the only 62L "lightweight" tank that I know of.

Has anyone seen another?

You were lucky to find the absolute perfect tank for your lightweight project.

As to the number inscribed in yellow crayon, 300647, I expect that this tank was meant for 1971 911S ch nbr 9110300647. This number would be in the neighborhood of several of the 1971 ST chassis, 300637, 300683, 300612, 300589 and 300561 all of which were completed to Safari spec.

The chassis number of my hot rod is 300694.

Maybe Raj or Hugh can tell us the build specs or some details on 300647, the car your very special 62L tank was most probably bolted into at one time.

Tom

Hi Tom

IF this was from a 1971 car number 911 1 30 0647 (it could also be one of the other years and still be 300647 ie 1970 car 911 0 30 0647, or 1972 car 911 2 30 0647 ) it would be the ST 2.2 safari car S AA 4825 which I understand still resides on the east coast in the USA.

Hello Hugh:

Thanks for the detective work. I think Chris will be interested to see your post.

At first I thought that Chris' 62L tank did in fact come from the 300647 Safari that you identified. But, as I thought about it, it seems more likely to have come from the 72 car 911 2 30 0647, which I believe resides in the U.K. and was factory prepped for circuit racing. That car seems the more likely of the two to have been equipped with a 62L tank as I would have thought the Safari cars had steel 100L long range tanks. I heard that the 72 car had some extra parts left over from its restoration, so that also would argue in favor of the 72 ST as being the most likely donor.


The 71 Safari at first made make sense because some other bits of the original equipment from that Safari were abandoned at a German garage some years ago when the car was updated for FIA historic rallying. The car was blue with a black front lid in those days.



It seems that nobody throws out old Porsche race parts! I think we have some bits from both of the cars you referenced that will be going on the hot rod.

Tom

UPDATE: BASED ON INFORMATION IN ANOTHER THREAD IT SEEMS ALMOST CERTAIN THAT CHRIS' 62L TANK CAME FROM THE MY71 SAFARI 300647.

Every hot rodder knows The Third Axiom

Less weight = More Horsepower

This truth was best postulated by the late Ken Miles:

SIMPLIFICATE AND ADD LIGHTNESS

A thorough review of the Spart Parts List for Competition Typ 911S shows just how well the engineers in the Race Department understood this concept and how imaginatively they were able to apply it in practice.

Earlier in this thread we have discussed the balsa "reinforced" grp front lid, the grp front bumper and the ALU door skins. The extreme practice of the concept was demonstrated by its application to safety equipment: the ALU roll bar.

However, the creativity of the Race Department was not focused only on the bigger, more obvious parts to save pounds. They focused even on the smaller details to save ounces and grams.

Attached are images of a hodge podge of light weight parts that have been collected for the Olive Tart.

The interior parts include many of the well known bits that became famous with the introduction of the 1973 RS Sport. These items were used on the ST before the RS sport was conceived and include simplified door paneling trim, door lock pulls, interior door handles and needle felt carpeting. All of these factory parts have been collected.

The driver side door panel is a used item and came from the same unknown donor ST as the balsa reinforced lid shown earlier in this thread. There is evidence of the same blutorange paint on it lower rear edge.

The passenger side door panel is NOS and has its part number tag intact: 911.555.032.00

The plastic interior door handles (courtesy of the Fiat 500 parts bin) are NOS and still in the Porsche parts bags. 901.531.067.00

The leather door lock pulls are NOS and the part number shown on the old VW Porsche tag is 911.531.317.00

The collection of NOS needle felt carpet is from two different sources. Most of the pieces have part number tags intact. Some pieces are bound; others are unbound. There are also a few yards of factory original uncut material to provide for missing bits.

The carpeting for the rear seats and parcel shelf came courtesy of Gilbert911 on the board. Those pieces are shown in the third image.

Also present in this image are the rubber insert pad for the foot rest, the radio block off plate and its basketweave vinyl cover.

Weight at the rear most extreme of the chassis had always been a major concern for the 911 engineers.

The Race Department had previously developed lightweight engine tin for the 911R and those bits were carried over to the specification of the ST.

Most of the pieces of grp tin made from natural colored grp have been collected. Some pieces are NOS and some are used.

The Andial engine came with its factory original natural colored grp shroud and related pieces. It will be complemented by matching tin.

Here is a pic:

"Bad" weight is that which sits far above the center of gravity.

Losing bad weight not only reduces overall weight but also lowers the center of gravity.

The Race Department took the opportunity to rid the 911 ST of some bad weight by substituting the standard production car's heavy glass windows with lightweight plexiglas.

The complement of plexiglas glazing used by the Race Department included the rear windshield, door windows, quarter windows and fixed vent windows. It took some time to collect all of the original Porsche Race Department plexiglas parts for the hot rod.

The rear windshield is a race proven part. It came from the same unknown donor ST as the balsa front lid and the driver side door panel. That car was written off somewhere in Germany.

Interestingly, the rear screen still has its old 2,2 sticker applied in the same location as a production car. The significance of the 2,2 sticker to me is that it suggests this window is from a factory prepared 2,3 ST. I say that because the sticker is something that the Sales Department would have liked to see on the car as it ties the race track to the cars offered in the showroom.

The original window seal for the rear screen shows evidence of the same lurid color scheme of Blutorange and Signal Yellow that adorns the front balsa lid. See the paint over spray on the upper right hand corner of the rubber seal.

The "plexiglas" logo is stamped in the lower left hand corner of the screen.

All of the other plexiglas is NOS.

Look closely and you will see that all of the race glass is stamped with the identical plexiglas logo as on the rear screen. The vent window is standing in front of the screen so you can compare their respective logos.

Here are the part numbers shown in the Spare Parts List Type 911S Competition:

911.542.925.00 Door Glass, Left PLEXIGLAS
911.542.926.00 Door Glass, Right PLEXIGLAS
911.542.923.00 Side Window, Front Left PLEXIGLAS
911.542.924.00 Side Window, Front Right PLEXIGLAS
911.542..927.00 Rear Side Window Left PLEXIGLAS
911.542.928.00 Rear Side Window Right PLEXIGLAS
911.545.903.00 Rear Window PLEXIGLAS