mechimike wrote:

On German cars in general, I've found that any serviceability is purely incidental.

If they factored serviceability into the design, that would be essentially an admission that at some point, a component will fail.  That means it is not perfectly engineered.  Since that cannot be the case, the conclusion is obvious that repairs will not be needed.  In the event repairs are needed, the only possible cause is owner error or abuse, and therefore the appropriate punishment for the shoddy treatment of sucthe engineers' creation will be dispensed at the time the repair is made.

It's beautiful!

What are you doing, Dave?

mechimike wrote:

We drove the 450 to Virginia and back this weekend, about 900 miles round trip. Averaged 12-13mpg highway, except for one inexplicable tank of 18mpg.

Sounds like the department of weights and measures needs to stop by that little establishment...

Sounds like they'd welcome the visit!

"Apparently we've been dispensing a gallon and a half but only charging for a gallon."
"I guess that's why we're not making any money."

If they factored serviceability into the design, that would be essentially an admission that at some point, a component will fail.  That means it is not perfectly engineered.  Since that cannot be the case, the conclusion is obvious that repairs will not be needed.  In the event repairs are needed, the only possible cause is owner error or abuse, and therefore the appropriate punishment for the shoddy treatment of the engineers' creation will be dispensed at the time the repair is made.

Our 924 Turbo build has been going on for the past several months. So far, it's still not starting.

Save your time. We have a 924 Turbo sitting in our team captain's backyard after running just a few races. Never got the thing to run more than three hours before blowing a motor (Although MS is probably a great idea), the handling is nothing compared to a 944, and besides - the judges hated it. A legitimate $500 car rebuilt with junkyard parts that never got less than 200 penalty laps.

It's a factory Porsche turbo, they said. Consider yourself warned.

I think by now the team realized that turbo = fast, but also turbo = sit-by-the-side-of-the-track-and-wrench-all-day, so they kinda cooled down their excitement.

I just hope it'll have enough small-time breakdowns in the first race that we don't blow it up outright.

Our secret weapon is that the car will (supposedly) run on Megasquirt using EDIS ignition, meaning that every single porsche part in the fueling and ignition department came from another manufacturer. Right now we have bits from Mercedes, Subaru, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, VW/Audi (duh), and Saab (don't ask).

As long as we use enough JB-weld, it oughtta hold, right?...

I kid, I kid...

rambling_along wrote:

As someone who has had two main car focuses over the years, Porsches (356, 930, 911) and AMCs (Gremlin, Javelin, AMX, Ambassador, Concord, and maybe a few others I can't / don't want to remember).  I have found there to be almost no difference in reliability between the two companies.  Ok, maybe I have blown up a few more Porsche engines, but the AMC's have always been terribly allergic to any sort of bend in the road.  Hmm, I wonder if putting a Porsche engine in an AMC would be the perfect solution.  Then I would be unreliable and unable to turn...

But the factory DID this!!!

The 2 liter Gremlin with the 924 motor, circa 1977. It exists:

http://www.allpar.com/forums/topic/1407 … ohc-4-cyl/

Most lemony lemon ever???

Yes, and an AMC "Spirit" with the Audi/Porsche motor and a Gulf Oil paint job would redeem that theme from its overuse, I think. Or, how about a 924 team does the Wayne's World Pacer theme, (which also had the Audi engine as an option)?

As someone who has had two main car focuses over the years, Porsches (356, 930, 911) and AMCs (Gremlin, Javelin, AMX, Ambassador, Concord, and maybe a few others I can't / don't want to remember).  I have found there to be almost no difference in reliability between the two companies.  Ok, maybe I have blown up a few more Porsche engines, but the AMC's have always been terribly allergic to any sort of bend in the road.  Hmm, I wonder if putting a Porsche engine in an AMC would be the perfect solution.  Then I would be unreliable and unable to turn...

But the factory DID this!!!

The 2 liter Gremlin with the 924 motor, circa 1977. It exists:

http://www.allpar.com/forums/topic/1407 … ohc-4-cyl/

Most lemony lemon ever???

As someone who has had two main car focuses over the years, Porsches (356, 930, 911) and AMCs (Gremlin, Javelin, AMX, Ambassador, Concord, and maybe a few others I can't / don't want to remember).  I have found there to be almost no difference in reliability between the two companies.  Ok, maybe I have blown up a few more Porsche engines, but the AMC's have always been terribly allergic to any sort of bend in the road.  Hmm, I wonder if putting a Porsche engine in an AMC would be the perfect solution.  Then I would be unreliable and unable to turn...

win win!

[ I just change the plywood every few months.

and use the old piece to start the barbeque?

We drove the 450 to Virginia and back this weekend, about 900 miles round trip. Averaged 12-13mpg highway, except for one inexplicable tank of 18mpg.

Sounds like the department of weights and measures needs to stop by that little establishment...