Reintroducing a storied car to the Early 911S Registry...

[beh911]

Thought I would resurrect my intro thread with this.

Looking for some opinions on age of the spare tire in my car. It is a very old XWX, just not sure how old.

Can anyone decipher these tire markings into a date of manufacture? I haven't had any luck in my research.

It goes without saying this exact wheel/tire combo won't ever see any road time, but it is cool looking...

[Bill Simmeth]

Here's a link to an article at Tire Rack on the date codes. Based on that, the last 3 digits of the DOT code stand for the manufacture date, in this case 183. That decodes to the 18th week of the 3rd year of the decade (which decade is not coded). So, unlikely it is the original spare.

[beh911]

Thanks for that link. So mid May '73 or '83 date of manufacture.

I believe it is May 1973, as I have a receipt from early '74 for mounting a new tire on the spare.

So it looks like the tire is 38 years old...

[beh911]

So I'm a bit bored. Bored with the McQueen car selling at an astronomical price and what that says for other cars or the price of wheat or the overall state of the world.

I am also finding the mid August summer doldrums tedious as my car's A/C is inadequate to fight the heat and humidity (see my A/C in pic #4 below). Looking forward to the fall, when weather cools and leaves turn and drives are more enjoyable. I'm also making it out to RRIV, spending a week on the Monterey Peninsula with the fam.

Some random shots of the car follow, showing stuff that makes it interesting and somewhat unique.

1. The not available from the factory combo of above and below the bumper supplemental lights. In this case the Hella 118 driving lights and amber 169 fogs. I think you could only order a car with one or the other. The amber fogs were not allowed in the U.S. at the time, but that didn't stop the original owner from ordering a set from a dealer in Germany a couple months after delivery--contraband, basically.

Also, note the H1 lens light pattern. This is not what you typically see (go look at yours). These were purchased in September 69 in Germany and brought to the U.S. by the original owner. More contraband. I've only seen one other, and I bought it from Cliff (see this post: http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...?61656-H1-lens). Maybe it's a Euro thing, I dunno.

2. With the car sitting in the garage half covered, my weak attempt at an 'art shot'

3. Rear tow hook. I haven't seen too many of these. In the background are magnesium exhaust valve covers, and yes, they leak, despite attempts to true them I need to replace with the 930 style covers, but these old ones look so cool despite their determination to make a Rorschach test out of my garage floor. Also in this shot are the old fittings on the tank to cooler lines. Replacement lines don't use these anymore.

4. My A/C unit... I love seeing these windows open on 911s. Good eye if you notice the stroller and lawn mower (unworthy stable mates for sure) reflecting in the curves of the rear fender.

5. Rear fog light. The early ones are very cool little pieces. A few different lenses were made for them, but the housings and brackets were the same. The heavy gauge metal, grommet, and thick flat head screws all speak to the typically overbuilt German engineering of the time.

Here's to cooler weather!

[beh911]

This weekend was the Fall HSR event at Road Atlanta. I ran up to the track on Saturday. What started out as borderline cold and cloudy turned into a t shirt and sunburn afternoon. First time testing the heat in the car. I would guess there were less than 1000 spectators in total, far smaller crowd than the Walter Mitty in the spring and the 125,000 plus that will be at the track in a couple weeks for the Petit Le Mans. Maybe a sign of the times or maybe folks are saving up their energy or ca$h for the Petit...

The car ran flawlessly on the trip, it's first highway cruise since I've owned it.

I am reminded as I post these pics that back in 70 and 71, Captain Mike, my car's original owner, took the car to Sebring and Watkins Glen from his home in Raleigh, NC to enjoy the machinery of the day. Of course, it's the same stuff we worship now at the vintage events. It felt good reconnecting the car to its past and my old friend, who would have celebrated his 66th birthday this week.

1. Cool detail shot as I got out of the car in the paddock. Beautiful company for sure. Parking courtesy of a fellow S Reg member...
2. In the paddock among some beautiful 2.0 liter pieces. Light ivory delight!
3. Spectator Hill - Looking out over the famous esses into Turn Five, which is a difficult to master uphill off camber bit. This hill will be a mob scene in a few weeks.
4. Just the car
5. The famous bridge turn, turn 11. Before 1998, the right inside wall of bridge was the apex for turn 11... obviously wasn't going to fly going forward as the track sought to get the ACO support for the Petit concept, ALMS series and potentially other bigger name events. The winter of 97-98 brought on a rework of Turn 10 (the dip) into the current day 10a/b complex. I've driven the track in both configurations. The 10a/b definitely slows things down, but it also suddenly made Road Atlanta a track that was hard on brakes, chopping up the flow of a very fast and hilly circuit.

BTW, the gravel pit above the car in the background is where the leading BMW prototype ended up on the penultimate lap of the 2nd annual Petit back in 99. I was parked in exactly the same spot back then (in a different 911) as in this picture. The second place Panoz took the lead with 2 minutes to go and won this incredible event on their home track.

When I pulled into my garage last night, the trip odometer showed the miles I have put on the car since purchase -- 901. Fitting indeed!

[Longballa]

I dig that shot from the back of your car over looking the track. Very cool!

[NV Stig]

BEAUTIFUL MACHINE! Never saw that brochure for the MFI before. Really cool!

[beh911]

BEAUTIFUL MACHINE! Never saw that brochure for the MFI before. Really cool!

Thanks! I've corresponded with the Porsche archives in Stuttgart and my contact had never seen one before. I'd have to go there in person to research the brochure's scope further...

[beh911]

Searching around on old S Reg threads brings up the darnedest things... Just came across this thread from '09:
http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...uto-Show-in-NC

This is my car, parked next to the '50 F1 pickup of Captain Mike (now sold). When restoring the F1, he found a crated zero mile correct engine for it.

This was the last time he had the Porsche out in public before selling it to me.

[Max (SD)]

Regarding your rear fog light, does it have a separate switch or is it triggered with the front fogs? Can you post a picture of the switch(es)?