Comments from some of the 912 competition drivers....
Click on the thumbnail photos to enlarge
them, back button to return.
From: Robert "Ben" Whitacre,
Missouri, USA, 1965 912 Karman Coupe; Originally Irish Green, now orange, used as a
street and race car. Car has been SCCA Solo and Pro-solo, SCCA
Driver's school and rally car since 1974. Car has original motor number
930257; Interests - Events, Touring, Technical, Restoration, Show,
Rallies, Autocross, Racing
From: Robert Coucher, London, United Kingdom; '65 912, Originally and
now blue, used as Street and Race Car, Very original car but fitted with a
1720cc engine, with 44 Weber carbs, extractor exhaust, bucket seats and
harnesses, ready for fast road-race use on European historic rallies.
Interests-Events, Touring, Technical, Restoration, Show, Rallies,
Autocross, Racing; Technical Committee
From: Bill Newton; 1968 912 Autocross Car [8/1/05 ] Autocrosses in
Northern California: many wins in GGR/PCA Class Bx; now runs at Sonoma
County Airport with Redwood Region and Empire Sports Car Assn. frequently
in top10. Continuous modifications have been made since the car was
purchased stock in 1987. It currently autocrosses in PCA Class Bx at
Redwood Region and sometimes Golden Gate Region events. Also runs with
Empire Sports Car Association, Santa Rosa, CA, in (SCCA linked) Class
SM2. Car evolved purely just for fun as a counterpoint to 911s and other
autocross cars. MOTOR: original case, hand lapped , with added oil
squirters , deep sump, 1720 cc, ‘C’ crankshaft, 11. 0 CR, heads by Tom
Manning ( when at Lukes & Shorman), Elgin cam #7208-19, all light valve
train, Arias pistons, Carrillo rods, 11lb flywheel drilled for 911S
pressure plate, stock size alum. crank pulley, Dellorto 40 carbs with 4.5”
velocity stacks covered by 6” tall UniFilter air cleaners , Facet electric
fuel pump mounted inside steering box, Ignitor pointless ignition, .050
distributor, Perma-tune box, Autometer Rev limiter, comp Bursch exhaust
with Walker turbo stainless- steel muffler, stock cooling fan with welded
vanes & fan + generator armature balanced. SUSPENSION: early 1990 Dwight
Mitchell comp set up: 19 mm front and rear sway bars, 21 mm/26 mm hollow
torsion bars, adj. spring plates, bump steer kit, strut brace, Koni
shocks with front externally adjustable, 911 motor mount with lip added ,
stock 911 motor mount bushings. Brakes are stock 912 , soft pads for AX,
stainless steel brake lines, DOT 4/5 fluid. Tires and wheels:6” offset
911S alloys, rear (1/4”) spacers, 205/50/15 Victoracer Khumos.
TRANSMISSION: 5 speed with short 3rd and 4th gears,
Welt. trans. coupling, reverse lock out and 911 transmission mount.
COCKPIT: 5 point seat belts, Corbeau seats, dead pedal, alum. billet
throttle pedal, alum. floor boards, 911 tach turned up to see 7000 rpm,
911 oil pressure and oil temp. gauges, 911 hand throttle. BODY:
stripped and painted in 2005, fiberglass front hood, interior upholstery
removed and bare metal coated with black truck bed paint . RS door panels
and door pulls. SOME SPECS : Weight: 2000 lbs., Motor
size: 1.7, HP: 135 est., Fuel: 50/50 110 & 91 pump gas,
Oil: 6 qts. Swepco 15-40 W, Max. rpms : 7200 : normally runs up to
6800 -7000
From: Gary Bayless
; Try
this link for some more recent pictures of 2 0f my 912s. I comeplely
built from the ground up the silver racecar. Started with a 912 engine and
now has a 914/2 liter in it. Weighs 950 pounds total Still hillclimbing.
The red 912 placed first in class at a SCCA Concours for retired race
cars, Bruce Anderson was the head judge! Gary Bayless
 From:
Michel Lauzon All, I would like to share a few photos with all of you of my 66 912.
This took place last Monday (Sept. '02) at the Streets of Willow with the
PCA group. It was an autocross and was tons of fun. It was fun to spank a
few 911s around. Those guys have more respect for the 912 now! Wish
more 912s would attend these events. Mine was the only one. I have also
participated with the POC club at "The Streets". The POC is a
very good club and I recommend it if you want to try your 912 out on the
track. Enjoy, Michel Lauzon
From:
John Benton; Hey
Rick, I thought that you would get a kick out of this. It was very hard on
the tranny, but fun as all get out. I turned a 16.8 ET with a really bad
2.3 second 60 foot time. I wish you guys could have seen this. The whole
crowd was shocked to see a little 912 spank the Z. I have to admit that
the Z missed a shift and beat me on the next run by .2 seconds. Still, it
was a blast. Regards, John Benton
From:
Jack Frost; This porsche is just getting to be a "real" race car. I
have put a lot of effort into the engine and have gotten about all there
is out of it. The proof is in the dyno run and at the track where in a
"drag race" I keep up or ahead of the other 912's with much less
weight. I am confident that the power is better than any of my competitors
after the last races at Willow springs and California Speedway. The
suspension is next. I have been using stock boge and very worn out Bilstein shocks until now.
Today I am having Bilstein rework my shocks to match the use. The next
event will tell the tale. To date I have placed a consistent 20 out of 50 for many races. I am
confident that the lack of a proper suspension is responsible for a lot of
this place. The next 3 races will tell the truth. The car or the
driver? Time will tell. Once I get the car into the top 5 places it will be the driver. That may
or may not be me, but I built the car from scratch and will feel proud of
the result, whatever it may be.
From:
"JM" ; I will shortly be receiving two photos of Zasada's 912. I'll let you know
if they are any good. Question - do you have or know of any brochures
showing the '67 912 with the Fuchs wheels? I would like to have one
available to prove they were available on the 912 in 1967. James Kraus
 From: Bayless Family; just completed my 912 tube frame racecar. 4 years in the works. Built it
from the ground up. The only metal body is the window-door frames, the rest
is fiberglass or plastic and chrome moly tubes and aluminum panels. It
weighs less then 900 lbs. More picture of construction steps at
http://996tt.com/garybayless/ Hope to hillclimb and autocross/solo alot this year. Keep up the good work, Gary Bayless, Santa Rosa,CA
From: Kurt Mickelwait; I
have just discovered your site. Excellent! Now I know that other 912 owners
are out there. I track a 69 912 with a bunch of 911s, 944s, 928s, 968s ect..
in the Potomac PCA regions DE program. I get lots of good natured ribbing
for driving the 912. That is until I chase em' down then they aren't
looking! I have overheard people warning others to watch out for the SOB in
the green 912. Big time embarrassment to get caught by a "little"
912 while driving a 911. Thanks for the site. I will compose some info
for the engine, suspension and outlaw sections soon. 69 Irish green
sunroof coup. looks stock. (but it ain't!)
I
use it as a Drivers Ed car and also run in time trials (first in class GT6
Potomac 2001). Webers 1720 much done to motor, suspension and brakes.
BTW, it was one of the 912s used in the Movie "Spy Game".
From: James Kraus; The day after Labor Day I am back
off to Europe in the 912 (it's still over there!) for the 12th Classic Marathon, a 5-day
historic Rally from Belgium to Italy via France, Germany and Switzerland. Meanwhile,
my Solex carbs are being rebuilt in Oregon (Harry Biecker) and my distributor is in
Wisconsin (WR Durrance Engineering). I am trying to pull it all together in the next
few weeks.
From: Jack Frost;
1966 Porsche 912 Race Engine, 1725cc, $12,000 Fresh, 30 minutes race time, 911S power. Chassis Dyno tested at 140 Hp @7,500 RPM at the rear wheels in 3rd gear (letter O gear),
including fully functional generator, 28 blade fan, and foam air cleaners. est. 180Hp+ at
flywheel. Desktop dyno says this engine should have 200+HP and it may. Shasta forged Pistons (mfg. JE Pistons), ceramic/Moly coated by Swain technology, matched
to <0.5gm, 399.9gm total inc. wp and rings. 12.0:1 compression ratio- measured fully assembled, 38cc, 0.050"min piston to head
clr, 0.140" EX valve to head clr. Carrillo Rods - verified end to end and total bal. to within 0.1gm, total 448 gm, rotating 299gm, reciprocating 149 gm., bolts 1/4"SPS Larger 42 mm Datsun intake valves (turned down to 40 mm) 5 angle back cuts + 3 angle valve
job, swirl polished to improve flow. 290 lb(@0.5") dual springs matched to 5 lbs, Titanium retainers, Chrome Molly push
rods. New EX valves, faced to increase piston clearance, machined to improve flow., 3 angle
valve job All new valve guides New Scat ultra light crankshaft, micro polished, balanced, magna fluxed, ew steel and
brass gears. Flywheel lightened to 11 lb. and balanced Honest Engine power pulley Overall assembly of individually balanced components clutch, pressure plate, flywheel,
power pulley and crankshaft balance verified to be less than 5 gm-cm total when assembled. New Stoddard 500lb/ft gland nut All critical components (bolts, rods...) 100% dye penetrant checked for cracks. All bearing clearances 100% checked, 0.0025" nominal, 100% rechecked and verified
using plasti gauge. Block decked, squared and measured to crank, line bored, shaved and returned to standard
mains. Cylinders utilize 0.040" Cu shims as assembled. Cylinders - machined and matched in height, final hone by hand to ultra fine finish using
ball hone (approx. 5 u inch) for Cr rings. Heads fully race ported by CE, and additional work by myself to achieve very high flow
rates. Rates were measured on a calibrated commercial 600 CFM flow bench. heads cc
matched. EX ports coated by Swain tech. These heads have a LOT of work in them. Oil- full flow, 80 lb min oil pressure at 8,000 RPM, hot (ref Smoky Yunick, 10 lbs/1000
RPM minimum). You must use an external 2 quart electric actuated (so you don't forget to turn it on),
accusump, check valve and Fram HP1 oil filter. Not included in engine price. $325 extra for accusump and filter mount. Oil cooling and lines- Must use front mounted, 23 row Lockheed oil cooler (suggested
source Porterfield Enterprises) under left front fender. Connect using AN-10 hose. Oil
temp thermostat must be used. Not included in engine price. $1,600 for AN -10 hose, 23 row
oil cooler, thermostat, AN - 10 fittings, instructions for routing. OIL - Red Line 30 weight race oil required. System holds 10 to 11quarts total. Elgin M7805-15 cam. 312 degrees at 0.015" and 274 degrees at 0.050" cam
lift duration, 0.412" cam lift. 105 degrees c-c, intake cl 101degrees. No flat spots in this baby, pulls steady to 8,000 RPM. Idle at 1800 RPM, and comes
on the pipe at about 4,500 to 4,800 RPM. Drive this thing at 5,000 to 8,000
RPM fro best results. Straight cut cam gear- noisy but it won't break the cam if you let off the gas quickly at
8,000 RPM. Intake manifold runners ported and "polished" for max. flow. Solex carburetors- venturi bored to 37mm, rejetted (160 mains, 160 air correction). Custom velocity stacks with removable foam air cleaners. Length tuned for 7200 RPM.
Total input runner volume, from valve to top of velocity stack volume equals 1.2X
volume of each cylinder. New stepped (1 5/8" to 1 3/4") Brusch headers. Electromotive crank fire direct ignition system. Utilizes toothed wheel inside a
housing that replaces the distributor. Std distributor can be substituted in field
as back up or if required by rules. System allows adjustment of soft limiter,
initial timing, 3000 RPM timing advance and additional timing advance or retard at 8000
RPM by simple field adjustable pots. there is even provision to add a knock sensor if you
want. Since I am not a recognized builder I will guarantee it for 10 hours racing or some
amount of calendar time whichever comes first, if it doesn't see over 8,200 RPM or run
without oil or some equally dumb thing and that it puts out a minimum of 135 Hp at the
wheels in third gear on a hot day at sea level. This is a full money back guarantee.
At the time of sale a contract will be worked out specifying the exact details.
The money will be placed in an escrow account and a third party agreed on to make
final determinations on warranty. Some type of data logger will be required to
monitor the engine time and parameters. Anyway it will be as simple as possible. You
won't find a deal like this anywhere else on a race engine! I race with VARA and have some references if required. I have all receipts for the parts.
From: James Kraus; Black Plate CA car, Bahama
Yellow. I believe originally sold and lived most of its life in San Diego. I
bought the car in 1999 and had the chassis rebuilt at Francis Tuthill's in England for
historic rallying. The car is very original and solid with no body rust. The
engine is still completely stock. The cars first outing was the Rallye de Paris on
March 4-5, 2000 which we completed with no problems whatsoever.
From: Ricardo R.
Floirendo; Dear Sir,Attached is a photo of my 1968 912 which I race during our Vintage Racing meets of the
Manila Sports Car Club at Subic raceway Philippines. Modifications are Big Bore Kit, Twin
Weber 40's, Weltmiester short shift, Recaro Seats. For the future I will be installing
sway bar kits. Regards, Ricardo R. Floirendo
From: Tor "speed-racer" Hansen; Hello there Beck´s!
1. Im wondering If you could have a question of the month with the topic "Orginal
spec. oil return tubes or adjutabe afthermarked tubes". Im not schure if its worth
dissmounting the engine to install the orginal tubes compared to mount the easely
installed adjustable tubes.2. Im prepering for the "Challenge Monte Carlo 2000".
My team "I-902" (the reg. plate number on my car!) will be my self and a
mappreader. Do you know of anyone that have racen the challenge with the 912?Best from Tor
"speed-racer" Hansen
From: Rich Lambert; Hi Rick, Last week I received
this note from Dr. Vance Reed. As you can see, he saw my posting on the 912 Registry web
site concerning Dick Lovell. I thought maybe some of the current 912 racers might be
interested hearing about the originals. There's two notes, the first one he sent and his
reply to me asking if I could post this to the web site. Rich -------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: early 912 racers
From: dr.reed To: Rich Lambert
While browsing through the 912 registery site I noticed that you had an interest in
information on Dick Lovell, and I thought that I would pass along a tidbit or two.
In 1969, Dick Lovell, Bruce Campbell, Bob Summerour and I were all racing 912s in E
production in the SoCal SCCA division. Dick's car to the best of my memory was the only
long wheelbase (1969) model. Summerour and I had 67s, and I believe that Bruce's car
was a 66. My car, as well as Summerour's, had the suspension set up by Ritchie Ginther and engines built by Frank Comito. We had an absolute rev limit of 9000
rpms, but there was no torque at that point, so we regularly used 6500-7000 as a shift
point. The cars were quite good on the longer courses, however, we had trouble with the
speedsters on the shorter courses. Another interesting point is that Elliott
Forbes-Robinson was my SCCA driving instructor at Riverside and Willow Springs, and he
still is involved in Porsche racing after all these years. I currently own two Porsches,
but no 912, however, I am planning on recreating my E prod 912 to run vintage and PCA
races as well. We hope to start this winter. Best wishes, Dr. Vance Reed --------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: early 912 race cars, and the nuts behind the wheels From: dr.reed To: Rich Lambert
Rich, Thank you for your kind reply to my note. Of course I would not mind if you posted the
information to the 912 registry site. Who knows who it might bring out of the woodwork. I
do not know what happened to Dick Lovell, but Bruce Campbell was working on a doctorate in
zoology with intentions of teaching in those days, and Bob Summerour is currently
practicing psychiatry in Riverside California. We were in our twenties in 1969, and I
would say that Dick was late thirties or early forties at that time. He, to my
recollection, had been actively racing a speedster prior to building the 912, again I
believe that both of them were that robin's egg blue. Bruce's car was black, Bob's was
sand beige and mine was Bahama yellow. I'm sure that there were others racing 912s in that
era, but I don't know of any. Bruce was the first in our region, and he was one of the
SCCA's instructors, drove a Lotus/chev at the Times Grand Prix at Riverside, but I have no
idea where he is at this time. I saw EFR (Elliott) at Sebring during the PCA race this last Feb. and asked him if he remembered Bruce, which he did, but he had no
idea as to his whereabouts. Anyway, it's fun to go over that old information, and remember
those days. I still have some neat pictures of my old car, and even some super 8 movie
footage of Summerour at Riverside. Thanks for jogging my memory, it's been a great
journey, 32 years of involvement with Porsche automobiles, and no end in sight. Perhaps I
need to see Summerour in a professional capacity. Vance
From: Mike Lemmon; ; Hi Guys: Thought I would send a photo of the 912 racing at Mosport Canada, July 2-4,1999 at the
Vintage Festival. Talk to you soon! Mike Lemmon
From: Dave Atkinson ; ; Last weekend I ran an event
with VSCDA at Gingerman. A professional photographer snapped a couple of pictures and I
bought one as I didn't have anyone with me to take pictures. Anyway, he said it was ok to
put it up on the Internet so I thought I'd send it to you. Next race is at Gratten, outside of Grand Rapids MI, Aug 20-22. At Gingerman, another 912 showed up out of the blue to run on one of the days. His car was
more modified than mine, but as he was a late entry, they had him run in another group. I
went over to talk to him, but I guess he was having major over-heating problems, and some
356 guy was buzzing in his ear at a mile a minute, so I didn't get to talk to him. Then later he packed up and
disappeared. If I see him again, I will turn him on the Registry. If you are interested in the slow but sure developments on my car; I put in a rev limiter
set for 6000 RPM. It cuts in when the tachometer reads about 5300. I think that was a
worthwhile mod. Got a 5 speed now so I can keep up with some faster cars in the field. New
ball joints so the front end no longer shimmies around the quick corners. New torsion bars
for the rear, along with plastic bushings and new 195-60 Yoko's ( replace 5.0-15
bias-ply's ) for the next race, I will let you know how they work out. All for now, Dave Atkinson
From: Larry Shephard;; 1967 Karmann coupe,
Bahama yellow; Purchased new in June 1968, One owner car. Autocrossed/timetrialed for 5
years before being put back to street use. It was in run in modified class with a lowered
chassis, added sway bars/ neoprene bushings and Koni adjustable shocks, and 7" steel
rims with Goodyear racing slicks. Engine was at 1700 cc's with SPG roller crank and
MC-9.5/1 pistons, had reworked Solex carbs and ported and polished super 90 heads. Also
had a 6-36 ring an pinion and the gear box was a close ratio 5 speed update to the 4
speed. The ignition was a early Perma Tune set for 10,000 rpm limit. When the gas crunch
hit in 74 we then retired it back to street use where it still runs daily. It now has a
much milder street engine but most of the chassis mods stayed with it so it is low and a
great handler.
From: Alexander von Wachter; Good morning Rick - my
912-Co-pilot Evelyn did a translation for the rally-roadmap interesting to know probably
for other 912 drivers in Europe to follow the route at a later date. Feel free to place it
to our 912-register. Alex ----------------- Location where we start our rally-sections; Hotel Strasserwirt, 9920 Strassen/Osttirol,
Austria (located 30 km west of Lienz, 15 km east of the boarder to Italy) phone: 0043-4846-63540,
fax: 0043-4846-635455 You might contact Mr. Mueller at 0049-8131-84210 at M&R
Automobile in case you want to join the rally 10-13th of June. If so, please mention
Alexander's and/or my name. This is a summary of the roadmap: Drive from Munich to
Strassen on Thursday afternoon, arrive Strassen approximately at 4 pm which gives enough time to have a ride into the
"Pustertal" (Brunico/Bruneck in Italy). Due to Alexander's schedule we might
arrive only in the evening...... On Friday we start at 9:30 to the
"Lesachtaltour" (185 km, about 110miles): Strassen, Lienz, Greifenburg,
Kreuzbergsattel, Hermagor, Gailb.-Sattel, Strassen ("Karnische Alpen"). On
Saturday (at 9:30) we do the "5-pass-tour" in Italy (200 km, about 120 miles):
Strassen, Toblach, Pso. Croci, Auronzo, Lake Misurina, Pso. TreCroci, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Pso. di Falzarego, La Villa, Brunico (Bruneck), Toblach,
Strassen ("Dolomiten"). The plan for Sunday - on our way back to Munich - is to
drive through the Antholz Valley, Staller Sattel, St. Jakob to Felber-Tauern-Tunnel.
Each day of driving there are stopovers for coffeebreaks and lunch planned.
Unfortunately, I do not know where and when, as the paperwork will be given to us only at the Strasserwirt. Savety first - if you drive threw the
Dolomites - watch out for capricorns, cows or burning Jaguars :-) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Best regards, Evelyn
From: Villmarkshuset AS; Hello
there! Just wanted to tell you and all the members that my co-pilot, Oyvind Rothe and I came in
2nd place in the last weekends race here in Norway "The Porsche/Castrol Cup Round
trip Telemark". We raced against a 911 Carreras(993), a 914/6 (3.2L SC), a 911
RUF-Turbo, two 911SC and a 944 Turbo. The race was on public roads in the "Monte
Carlo" style. It was a fun race on both backroads and on the higway. My old 912 did a wonderful performance (eh... pluss my exelent driving performance....
yehhh!!!). But my car need some minor tuning afteher the race. The starter went dead!. Old
and tired. I wish all other racers "happy trails" for the rest of the summer! Best from Tor-S. "Speed-racer" Hansen
From:
Joseph Vampola; Rick I'm going to sell my
912 vintage racer VARA # 912. I will be racing it at Tustin & Pomona. I'm asking
$16,500. Comes with trailer, 3 sets of tires & wheels(set of slicks),bolt on rear
flares for slalom racing. Spare motor & trans, close gears W/low ring & pinion.
Car has many front row starts.( pole at Pomona 97,outside pole at Palm Springs,ect.) &
many top 5 finishes in EP. Thanks Joe.Vampola. 760 599 9307
From: William Todd; '66 Karmann Coupe, White, Full race;
1973 RS look-alike; 5 white face gauges, 1968 type chassis/uph/doors. 5 speed. Full flow
oiling w/spin-on oil filter, Aeroquip hoses. High back red leathers to match interior.
Thanks, Bill
From: Jeff Wayland; 1966 Porsche 912 Coupe Race car:
Currently competing in SCCA EP class, many regional wins, no DNFs in 4 yrs, never bent,
immaculately prepared. Call or e-mail for detailed spec sheet and spares list. Ready to
race. $17,900 or best offer. Jeff Wayland, Ontario, NY. 315/524-2899, e-mail
Jeff_Wayland@rge.com.
From: Andrew D. (Andy) Keller,
CPE; 1967 model year Karmann coupe; Owned this fun and cost-effective
car since 1975. Have made subtle improvements. Since 1984 have held a
competition license with Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing. One of about two
cars in the club regularly raced that is street legal; driven to and from
all races. Profession: Human Factors Engineering.
From: Mike Lemmon; Ontario, Canada, 1966 Karmann
Coupe, I have had this car for the last 5 years. The car was cosmetically in concours
condition when I purchased it at an auction. We spent the first two years taking the car
to concours, it placed first in class and won best in show at the Upper Canada Region PCA
concours event. I was introduced to the drivers ed program through the porsche club, and as they say the
rest is history! I did 5 drivers ed events with the car, got totally hooked on
driving the car on the track, got my racing license, and last year attended my first
actual race at the Double Fifty event at Watkins Glen. (The only 912 at the meet???) I have since attended another vintage race at our local track, MOSPORT, it was a regional
event, with several classes, with over 350 cars attending, about 40 of which were vintage cars. At this event the 912 won the Most Presentable Car of the Meet, thats real kudos for the
912, seeing there was several GT1, GT2 and several other Porsches in attendance.
I will now be campaigning the car at vintage events through our local organization, VARAC. The car is currently painted Red, with a full roll cage, racing seat and belts, fire
system, and fuel cell. The displacement remains relatively stock at 1582, but is now 12-1 compression. I look forward to hearing from anyone who is also racing thier 912, or anyone who has a
passion for keeping these great cars doing what they do best!!! Yours truly, Mike Lemmon
From: Jim Cole; Hi there! Great
site! I have a page of my 912 with a 2.4 914 engine. If your
interested its at
http://members.home.net/jecole/912_24.htm
. Jim Cole, 69 912 2.4, 72 914/6. Followup in response to Webmeister questions-
Wed, 20 Jan 1999 Hi Rick! The tranny's and clutches are all the same. So the 914 just
bolted right in. The 2.4 is 10:1 has a cam, ported, 48mm webers and pulls about 150hp.
Makes the 912 move VERY nicely. THe only competition for it in Autocross are a couple of
full race 911's with huge tires and hp! Very nice site you have! Cheers, Jim Cole
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From: Joe Russo; Hey there, Joe Russo
here, I just got engaged and feel the need to have money more than to work on a race car,
so I'm going to try and sell the 912 :( Following are the specs: '67 912 VINTAGE RACE PREPARED. ENGINE: 1720cc with Webers and K&N filters, Crane CD
ignition, reground performance cam, 356 Enterprises "stepped" exhaust (1
3/4" to 1 5/8"), runs extremely strong and VERY reliable. TRANSMISSION: low mile
rebuilt five speed, very smooth. SUSPENSION: brand new Koni adjustable shocks all
four corners, strut tower brace, brand new adjustable rear spring plates, stock torsion
bars, new front pan and poly/graphite front bushings w/ custom zerk fittings for
lubrication. BRAKES: new master cylinder and stainless lines all four corners, brand new
rotors, rebuilt calipers and PFC Carbon/Kevlar pads in front. BODY: very straight, late
model Porsche silver, no rear bumper, lexan rear quarter windows, front side
windows/frames removed, trim blacked out, aluminum plates over headlight buckets, battery
master cutoff. INTERIOR/SAFETY: completely gutted, painted black, Jaz aluminum racing seat
(driver's side only), Autopower roll bar, 5-point harness, Momo steering wheel, Autometer
guages, 5lb fire system, original dash in good condition. WHEELS/TIRES: one set steel
wheels (chrome) with street tires, one set cookie cutters with BRAND NEW BFG R1s (NEVER
USED). Car only taken on track twice, prior to many of the new parts being installed. Just
got engaged; $11,000 obo. Car is in San Diego, CA.
From: TSutan7539; 66 912, turn key race car, street
legal, Chiffon White, Fuel Cell, Roll bar, Fresh 5pt harness, Recaros, Momo, Lexan, 1722cc
w/9.5:1 comp., 500 miles on engine, rebuild Webers, Fresh Goodyear racing slicks, Very
Fast ! VARA log book, be ready for 98 LA Vintage Grand Prix. All documents
available, asking $14,500 obo Contact Tom at 310 285 3658
From: David Atkinson; My car is pictured on
the race pages... As to the car, I bought it locally in 1989. It had been shipped from CA
the previous year. I converted it to a race car in 1995, although it is still street
legal. I have been making small upgrades to it each season. I want to thank Rich
Lambert and Joe Russo for sharing their experiences. I too have a problem with wheel lift
at the front and his comments have helped me decide to go with the heavier torsions in the
rear instead of a sway bar. Also the discussion concerning tire size was very
enlightening. Some of the clubs I run with require bias-ply tires, so I have been running
5.00-15 Hoosiers on 6" steel rims. When they wear out, I will move up to 5.50-15's.
After hearing Rich and Joe's comments that even 205's will fit, I feel more confident that
I will have no problems with these wider tires. Thanks again for the great site.
Dave Atkinson
From: BUTZI P; The first Autocross of the Twickenham Auto Club in Huntsville AL. You'll be happy to know me and my trusty 912 took
1rst place in E- production. Between the weather, the competition and the comraderie it
was a day not soon to be forgotten. The course that was set was like none I've ever
driven. It was basically a road course, wide-open. I didn't think I stood a chance of
being competitave, even though that's not really the point, I was pleasantly surprised
when the car just ate up that old run-way with ease and energy. I ran consistent 49s for
the first 5 runs and on the final run, after coming to grips with the higher speed corners
and a little brain-picking of my comrades, I ran a 47.89. It was a satisfying ending to a
picture perfect day. It reminded me what the true meanings of life are, set goals
and have fun achieving them. That one was for Ferry. Peter Baldauf
From: Dick & Flo; Following restoration in '93 I
began autocrossing and participating in driver ed events. Tracks include Mid-Ohio and
Putnam Park. MidOhio region along with several adjacent regions have formed an inter-
regional autocross championship each year and I have participated pretty much since '93. I
have installed factory front and rear sway bars (16mm) and run Yoko AVS Intermediates
(195/65/15). In P3 it's pretty competitive. As for the P3 1st in class at the '93 Parade,
yes it was my 912. I will send a scanned picture of it in action at the '93 Parade soon.
Regards, Dick Snyder
From: Joe Russo; The racing
page is great, and I hope that it continues to grow! I know that there are
more 912 racers out there, including at least one SCCA E Production car
which competes at the national level. I'll also be sure to let the other 912
owners in the local PCA chapter know about the registry. Thanks, Joe
From: Dave Atkinson; Hello 912 Registry, Attached
is a photo of my '67 912. I have raced it for the last 2 years. The picture was
taken in the paddock at last years VSCDA Children's Museum Vintage Grand Prix in
Indianapolis....I would love to see you use it on your photo page. I will register
my car on your page, but I thought I would send a picture ahead first. Will re-visit your
page soon. Dave Atkinson, Toledo OH
From: Joe Russo; 1967 Coupe; The car is
nearly completed for vintage racing, and has been on the track twice so far for testing.
Suspension work currently in progress. Currently silver, formerly black, and brown before
that. The interior is gutted with a rollbar, racing seat, fire system, etc. The
exterior is stock except for the removal of the rear bumper and side window frames, and
replacement of the rear quarter window glass with lexan. Thanks so much for establishing
this registry, and I hope more of the 912 vintage racers out there will join. Grill
badges and/or decals would be GREAT!!....Thank you VERY much, Joe Russo
From: Brian
Ruggiero;
I own a 1967 912 Coupe that I've had for over three years now. After driving the car
on the road for a few years I learned about autocrossing through a fellow member of the
Connecticut Valley Region PCA. The next season I bought a helmet and went racing.
Autocrossing is a great way to learn more about the handling characteristics of your car.
I learned that my car would understeer due to the short wheelbase and lack of a
rear sway bar. I recommend autocrossing to anyone who wants to drive their 912 the
way it was built to be driven.
Webmeister: The autocrosser Jeanette refers to in the
following post is Eric Nichols, (also see his post in the competion
Setup
section).
From: Jeanette Ahlgren; Tracked down THE BEST 912 auto
crosser I've ever seen (he happens to own one of the prettiest cars too), and have asked
him to write something of his car ... and ALSO hounded him to send you some photos.
This car/ driver combo. put away 911's, 914's and a Mustang GT at one auto cross I
attended in Sonoma County. It was FANTASTIC! At any rate, I'm twisting his arm. If I don't
succeed, I've warned him that I'm going to blow his cover!
Webmeister: We asked Jack Frost if he knows Joe Vampola and Larry Bartholomew, 912 racers shown in
action through links on our
Photos
page...
From: Jack Frost; I know Joe and Larry very
well. We pit together with Phil Van Buskirk (PML).
We all pitted and raced together in LA. Joe Vampola got me interested in 912's at a BMW
drivers school in HOLTVILLE CA. back in the early 1990's. These are the finest bunch
of people racing 912's (some converted to 911's) in the country.
From: Jeanette Ahlgren &
Duane Bibby;
This is the first... after winning 'Best Sports'car', people were talking garage-queen
stuff. (Never!) "Nemo", under previous owners, had been an auto cross star...
So, we took him to the Samoa Auto X (near Eureka CA) and let him romp. Quite a fun
little brat! Over and out. Jeanette Ahlgren & Duane Bibby
From: Eric Nichols; 1967
Karmann Coupe; I am the 5th owner of this car, and have had it for 11 years. It has a red
vinyl interior, and the optional 1967 4.5" Fuchs alloys and 5-speed gearbox. I
frequently autocross this car in the SF Bay area and routinely beat 911's of all vintages!
From: Joe Des
Rosiers; I
currently own a 912E sunroof coupe. After entering a few of the local Porsche club
autocrosses, I was addicted to the sport. I have made a few modifications to the car to
make it handle better and to give me better control on the course. These modifications
include: factory short shift kit, lowering the car 2" all around, giving the rear
wheels a few degrees of negative camber, running 4 6x15 Fuchs w/ BFG R1's on them. A
couple weeks ago, we slapped a sway bar on the rear of the car from a 1971 911s. We had to
remove a heavy lead weight that was bolted to the underside of the transmission mount in
order for the sway bar to fit. The autocross performance was excellent, except for the
loud "banging" noise that occurred every time that I got hard on the
accelerator. The loud noise was stopped after I re-installed the weight (or whatever it
is) and pulled off the sway bar. If you have any explanation of what this large
"weight" is, and its purpose, or have any solutions for fixing my problem( I
need that sway bar back on the car for next auto-X) PLEASE SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO:
desros@txdirect.net Your help is greatly appreciated.
From: Rich
Lambert; WA,
USA; I purchased my Signal Yellow 1968 912 coupe (my 3rd 912) from the 2nd owner. He
bought it in 1969 and kept it in pristine condition for the next 26 years. In those 26
years he repainted the car the original color, rebuilt the engine, and replaced the front
suspension pan. It came with the original radio, Wabasto gas heater, and a non-original
8-track tape deck. Hmmmm...what to do with a pristine 912... The modifications since I've owned it include a full cage, racing seat and 6-point
harness, new brakes, new suspension, rebuilt engine, totally gutted and bare metal
repainted interior, 15x6 Fuchs w/205-15 BFG Comp TA R1 tires, the removal of any
non-essential systems (i.e. heaters, radio, four-way flasher, window regulators...etc.)
and numbers and racing stripes. Currently the 912 is used only for vintage racing and
occasional blasts through the neighborhood to test out new modifications. |