Ferrari Mailing List: Sooo

[Douglas Anderson (dnt]

Rick notes “AJ is right.  When the 911 started peeing on their garage floors, the honeymoon was over.”

 

Early to late 70’s was hell for the US imports auto industry.  Even the Old Man made up his mind – screw ‘em – we aren’t going to import a variety of our line.  What with DOT and emissions choaking the engines even (even??)  the Corvette couldn’t sell a manual transmissioned car in Kalifornia.  And the phenomenal horse power?  165 Hp.  Ohhhh – wee.  And 15+ seconds in the quarter mile.  Heh.  No Jan and Dean or Beach Boys car songs or Ronny and the Daytona’s for THAT era.  Little GTO yer really looking fine . . three gears left in your four speed – listen to them grind – I’ma gonna wind it up, grind it up blow it up .. GTO.

 

So in 1967, along comes Porsche.  Proud as ever for making the largest pressure cast magnesium engine block in 1968.  Ayep prizes, kudos, things to put on the wall.  And as the engine progressed through 2.0 to 2.2 to 2.4 and finally 2.7 things weren’t looking so good on old Porscheplatz #1 in Stuttgart.  That mag case would wiggle and wander and pull studs and leak like a sieve – except the underpowered, for the time, 911 T.  It just leaked a little.

 

To add to the mag case woes – the wonderful 3 into 1 exhaust (x 2 two cyl banks) was out and Kalifornia INSISTED on certain stringent emission levels. To meet those levels Porsche added, taaa taaaa, the  THERMAL reactor.  An exhaust log manifold to replace the 3 into 1 log manifold.  The thermal reactor was ducted into the heat exchanger for cabin heat which after a peppy run would glow red hot and could light a Churchill cigar.  Oh yeah – and since hot air is lighter than cool and displaces the static after engine shut down cool air after that peppy run and while enjoying your Churchill, your 911 engine was cooking.  Cooking to the extent any car that got more than 50,000 miles on the engine was under suspicion.  Seals were turned into linoleum and the car peed on the garage floor.

 

In 1977 the engineers who hadn’t been fired, quit, or died came up with an idea . . . . let’s pull the aluminum cased RSR engine off the shelf, detune it a bit and drop it in the 1978 911 SC.  Cool (which was said in German).

 

BUT emissions kept nipping at Porsche’s heals, and also any importer including Ferrari’s. 

 

By 1980 Porsche picked up a good idea . . . use the O2 sensor Volvo has been playing with to manage the catalytic converter.  Voila – perfect.  Out goes the little oxidizing catalytic converter, the air pump and the EGR and in comes the O2 sensor and a three way cat. 

 

That made a 100,000 to 200,000 mile drive train.

 

Thus endeth the newly sold peeing Porsche’s.

 

And so in our house hold today our 1978 308 GTS with it’s wonderful sounding Weber’s is waiting to be set up (incorrectly) which will end up barely passing our Kalifornia smog. 

 

Anyone have a magic set of jet specs?  I’m all ears – or eyes.

 

(sigh)

Doug