Is It Spring Yet?

One more

I can’t think of anything else to tinker with. It’s dialed in!  Let the sun shine in!!!

Randy, the speedster looks great !! A bit of weak weather coming our way, but Spring is in the air. Hope to see you at the breakfast spot with the 356 bunch.

Dave

My car is in the cocoon still, unfortunately. But it will come out soon I think.

Man, that shinny red!  Ceramic coating?

In NW FL we are lucky to get a week or 2 of Spring!  It's like a toggle switch here - a few nice days with 70's and low humidity and then next day 85 and same humidity!  Not sure this year since we got that unprecedented 8-9" of SNOW!

Curious on predicted FL hurricane activity this year.  Insurance in all of FL (not just coastal properties) has increased 400%.  A recent article said insurance companies were raking $ in from FL and spreading the profit to other state locations!  1/3 of FL home owners are un-insured now.  Just too expensive.

No ceramic yet. I did use Zymol rouge wax on it last year but it’s probably all gone by now. That is just Signal Red paint, soap and water!

@Butcher Boy Dave, can you send me a note with details. I’m so glad yours is finally running better.

It took 5 months to get my Audi tranny sorted out, but it is finally done. Only $4k total but TONS of hassles. It turns out you can’t replace an Audi transmission without Audi permission from Germany. It locks the donor transmission!  Insane. You have to satisfy them it’s not stolen — finally done somehow.

WIt my Audi gone, I drove the Speedster a lot more than expected this winter — not exactly daily driver, but much more than I would have normally.

The other huge non-Speedster news is that I built the audiophile system of my dreams. Off topic for sure, but it kept me busy. Vandersteen, Ayre, Aurender, Benchmark (and Samsung Frame to boot). All the fixins. I rebuilt the dresser to be an open back stereo cabinet to hide all the invisible pieces. Getting old has its advantages…

Randy....I really like your sound system.  I'm sure the sound quality is excellent !  My hearing has gone on to someone else I expect.  So a JBL Charge 3 in my car sounds pretty good ! ha ha !  My Speedster was about the same color of red.  Even now, when I look at some photos,  I smile.  It still looks beautiful to me........Bruce

@aircooled Hey, Bruce.

Aurender N10 Server

Benchmark DAC3 B dac

Ayre KX-R preamp

Ayre VX-5 Twenty amp

Vandersteen Quatro

The preamp is the jewel.  Almost as much as everything else put together!  Solid aluminum machined block!  I usually try to cobble together a miracle out of bargain this and that.  I chose to cut no corners on the Speedster and the stereo.  I just bit the bullet.  Both turned out great….

Signal colors from Porsche were always my favorites.  Signal Orange on early 911s…. I almost did silver with deep red interior for the Speedster like another contributor here ( @JoelP ), but red just called to me.

@Teammccalla- Love the converted dresser!  A couple more pics, please?                          Is the Odyssey battery normal or motorcycle/tractor size in your Speedster (which, btw, looks GREAT!)?  Where is it located and what cables do you have running to and from?  And do you know the specs (cam/rockers, heads and valve sizes, exhaust, compression, carbs, how high it revs with power- you know, the good stuff!) on your 2332?  Transaxle r&p and gearing?

My apologies for all the questions if you've detailed this elsewhere- give me a link to the post and I'll go back and look it up.  Al

Engine first:  

I have a 2332 T1 in a 2023 VMC.  The bottom end is Pat Downs VMC stock.  I had the top end rebuilt by a local shop Pat Downs recommends with a set of his custom dual spring heads and manifolds. And all the performance goodies.  My carbs are brand new Dell’Orto DRLA 40s.  I had them rebuilt by Rick Hunt even though they were new, just to make sure everything was fresh.  

It’s completely ”drivable” and pulls strongly to about 5500.  When I’m running hard, I shift at 5000.  HP, who knows…. I gave some HP up to tune it to a smooth runner.  It’s still a little rich but it’s got plenty.  I’d say it feels “quick” by modern standards, which is as far as I want to push it with my other equipment.  Its just meant to be quick and fun, not a real performance car.

So here is the summary:

A-1 sidewinder
NOS Dellorto 40 DLRAs from Rick Hunt
”Mild” VMC cam
94mm cylinders And Mahle Motorsports 94mm piston kit
1.25 Rocker arm kit with swivel ball adjusting screws
Custom Pat Downs heads.  AA 500 series cylinder heads with 40x35.5 stainless valves, D port intake, dual valve springs, chromoly retainers, 94mm bore
IDF port matched manifolds to cylinder heads done by Pat
Chromoly .035 wall push rods, racing push rod tubes, push rod tube seal kit
Replica Carrera air cleaners
Pat Downs welded fan
3:44 R&P stock VMC
Kennedy stage 1 clutch

@Teammccalla posted:

Getting old has its advantages.

Yeah, like Bruce said, nothing sounds any better (or worse*) than my JBL earbuds and MP3s. After 30 years doing sound and driving/riding convertibles and motorcycles, my hearing is probably 50% of what it was in my teens.

My son put his good stereo stuff into an early 60’s MCM console stereo cabinet. Looked so cool.

* That may be an exaggeration. I can tell the difference when my home theater amp auto switches between analogue Dolby 5.1 and whatever spec the digital HD channels broadcast in.

@ALB

The battery is an Odyssey PC680.  Stock VMC cables.  No extra grounds.  My battery is in the standard front box.  Any advice welcome.

I’d say it works (barely adequately) so far with the IMI-101 starter.  I’d like it to be stronger still.  I’m going to try it for awhile, especially when weather gets hot.

Which makes me remember, I want better cooling!  It gets hot, close to overheating sometimes. I think moving the cooler to the front is in my future.  I might look at an upgraded cooler too?  

@dlearl476 posted:

Yeah, like Bruce said, nothing sounds any better (or worse*) than my JBL earbuds and MP3s. After 30 years doing sound and driving/riding convertibles and motorcycles, my hearing is probably 50% of what it was in my teens.

My son put his good stereo stuff into an early 60’s MCM console stereo cabinet. Looked so cool.

* That may be an exaggeration. I can tell the difference when my home theater amp auto switches between analogue Dolby 5.1 and whatever spec the digital HD channels broadcast in.

Everyone can hear the difference with my system.  Mom looked at it puzzled for awhile and said, wow, that’s nice.  She has no interest in such things usually.  88 year old dad had a similar curious reaction, and he’s hard to impress.  Vandersteen and Ayre are a different league than I’ve ever heard, and I’ve toyed with audio for 30 years.  Get yourself one!

@Teammccalla posted:

No ceramic yet. I did use Zymol rouge wax on it last year but it’s probably all gone by now. That is just Signal Red paint, soap and water!

FWIW, i swore off wax and elbow grease last year after a guy on another forum posted about a tech demo his PCA chapter had with the guys fromThe Rag Company. I’ve been using their Optimum NoRinse and Opti-Coat HyperSeal ever since. Twice the results and 1/10th the effort.

@ALB

I can take some more pics but here are a few.  Looks like spaghetti but everything is shielded and crossing at 90 degrees, etc.

@WOLFGANG posted:

Man, that shinny red!  Ceramic coating?

In NW FL we are lucky to get a week or 2 of Spring!  It's like a toggle switch here - a few nice days with 70's and low humidity and then next day 85 and same humidity!  Not sure this year since we got that unprecedented 8-9" of SNOW!

Curious on predicted FL hurricane activity this year.  Insurance in all of FL (not just coastal properties) has increased 400%.  A recent article said insurance companies were raking $ in from FL and spreading the profit to other state locations!  1/3 of FL home owners are un-insured now.  Just too expensive.

What is the plan for these 1/3 of non insured Fl homeowners when things turn bad? Whine for the Federal government to help them? Few people can afford to be self insured.