718 RS Spyder - Where are they?

[vricardo]

Hey Mike, thank you for those wonderfull pictures!


Just a clarification: the car with the number 27 stickers is in fact chassis #718-033, property of Warren Eads.
Assuming the pictures were all taken at the same time, is there any chance of knowing which chassis # is the magnificent 550 in front of all those 356s, in the last picture?

[Mr9146]

Vasco,

Very nice pictures.....

#44/27 is Warren Eads' 718-033 monoposto...

This might help:
http://www.hillmanimages.com/912/rsk.html

Cheers

I have spent many, many, many hours working on this car (and playing in this car when I was kid) over the years. I have quite a few stories about it, too.

Chuck, perhaps now would be a good time to upload those Willow Springs photos.

[Mr9146]

I've also seen these cars at RRIII in Daytona, 2007 but don't know the numbers...
Do you remmember seeing them there?
Do you know their chassis number?

Vasco, I don't know the chassis number but I believe car #136 also belonged to Warren Eades at one time. The car was sold to Terry Jones in 1997/1998 and raced by him at the 1998 Historics. I have quite a few 35mm photos of those cars from the Historics that year ... I will see if I can dig them up.

[vricardo]

Hey Marco, long time no see!
How's that terrific 356 I saw you driving in 2008, at Willow Springs?
If you could get those fotos+info it would be great!

[larwik]

I believe #27 and the Abarth Carrera #33 (slightly flared?) at the "TN Tubs"-event belongs to a very cool guy named Tom Trabue...He also races a silver SWB 911.../ Lars...

[Chuck Miller]

OK,

Here's some pics I took at Willow Springs in June of 1998.......

- Warren Eads in 033 on the pre-grid talking to his engine mechanic Al Cadrobbi (red hat/green shirt), and the late Topper Chassie (denim shirt) who was driving the pace car.......... The young man do'n tire pressures is our own Marco Gerace

- After some laps... Marco and Al on the left

- Engine cowl is off and we are looking at the damage after an engine fire that our hero Marco put out pretty much single handed........... but I will let him tell the story........

Marco, these pics are yours if you want them.........

Cheers

[John S]

Here is one of the museum cars being exhibited at Phillip Island last weekend.

[Grun68]

I believe #27 and the Abarth Carrera #33 (slightly flared?) at the "TN Tubs"-event belongs to a very cool guy named Tom Tribue(sp?)...He also races a white SWB 911.../ Lars...

Lars is correct. Tom Trabue has #27 in his shop along with the abarth. The unrestored/as raced 550 belongs to Jim Watson. Can't recall the chassis # of the 550 but I believe it was the second to last or last one built for that year. Here is pic of his 911 race car.

Mike

[Mr9146]

an engine fire that our hero Marco put out pretty much single handed........... but I will let him tell the story........

Man, Chuck, you make me sound way cooler than I actually am.

But here's how I remember it ...

Warren and Al were at Willow that day tuning the RSK before it went on a plane to England to participate in some hillclimb event. I was just hanging out at the track with my dad (white shirt next to me in the first photo) and I asked Al if I could help him and Warren with the car; he gave me a tire pressure gauge and told me to keep track of the pressures. Warren went out, did some laps, came back in and while Al adjusted the carburetors I checked tire pressures. Warren went out again, did some laps, came back in and was talking to Cadrobbi about the changes while I checked the tire pressures again. I started with the LR and just as I put the gauge on the stem **WHOOOF** the hair on my arm smoked and disappeared.

I yelled fire but there were no visible flames because it was underneath the engine cover, but I distinctly remember watching the paint on the engine cover start to bubble and turn black from the heat. I hit the back of Warren's helmet and yelled fire at him again; I started helping him get out of his belts and helped him out of the car (he was a LARGE man) by pulling him over the center-seat tonneau cover and body of the car. At the same time Al and my dad had taken off the engine cover while a couple of people ran up with some CO2 or Halon extinguishers. It all happened in about 30sec, but it's not every day that you watch an RSK burn so I remember it clearly. My response to the situation was the reason why Cadrobbi allowed me to apprentice with him.

What ended up being the cause of the fire was a stuck needle valve in one of the carbs which led to overflowed fuel leaking onto the exhaust. The damage to the car was purely cosmetic (LUCKY!!) and the paint was repaired within a week. The car made it to the hillclimb event but I'm not sure how it did.

So, I'm not quite the hero Chuck thinks I am, but I was glad I was there when it all went down as it led directly to me working on 5 Spyders, a 904, a 906 and helping a couple of screaming Germans to push start a 917LH on the tarmac at the Monterey Airport in 1998 (the tower was not happy about that one).

[Flieger]

Wow, that is a great story Marco. So that apprenticeship is how you got that brake annulus you so generously gave me. That must have been a lot of fun.