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Posted by: naro914 Oct 10 2018, 08:38 AM

We decided that this winter, our 914 race car "Papa Smurf" needed some love. The engine that Dawe's Motorsport built has been flawless for 2 years now, but it's time for a refresh. The 915 transmission is so poorly geared and with no limited slip that it has been a huge hindrance to race with, so that's getting redone.

So while everything is out, I figured it was a good time to fix all the damaged fiberglass body panels, fix the newly found crack in the chassis, strengthen and reinforce everything, tie suspension points to the cage, re-route hoses and lines to be cleaner, redo some of the wiring, add lightness where I can, fix the roof (came flying off at Road Atlanta and cracked it), etc. etc. etc. Essentially tear it down to bare chassis. Then media blast the whole thing (fix any rust spots we might find), powder coat, paint or wrap what needs what, and reassemble...hopefully before our first track event in March!!

I will post pictures, progress, video, etc here if I can remember to. Honestly...I NEED to take detailed pictures and video so I can remember where everything goes!! Just might be delayed in posting.

So...engine/trans come out Friday and the fun begins...

As he sleeps peacefully today on the top bunk:




Last couple times at the track...

Posted by: stownsen914 Oct 10 2018, 08:43 AM

Sounds like fun! Back to Dawe's?

Posted by: 914_teener Oct 10 2018, 08:46 AM

My dream garage.......


Who's 914 in the back round in the race shot?

Posted by: tygaboy Oct 10 2018, 09:20 AM

Dang! That is such a great looking car...

Posted by: naro914 Oct 10 2018, 09:25 AM

Yep, engine and trans...hopefully next week.
I'm doing the rest here in Charlotte.


That's Steven Vasina and that picture was from the PCA Race at Monticello Motor Club. We had awesome battles all weekend - he has a Dawes engine and better geared transmission. I have more car/grip but he would pull me out of the corners because of the gears.

Posted by: Jamie Oct 10 2018, 09:36 AM

Sounds like you are going to have a busy winter! When do you go racing in England?

Posted by: naro914 Oct 10 2018, 05:45 PM

Yep! We leave for Wales on Nov 3...

Posted by: JFG Oct 11 2018, 01:48 PM

where in wales are you racing? do you have a weblink for the event?

Posted by: naro914 Oct 11 2018, 01:53 PM

Anglesey Circuit
https://www.angleseycircuit.com/

Race is called the Race of Remembrance, run by Mission Motorsport. Their sister organization here in North America, Operation Motorsport, is the charity partner of our company NaroEscape Motorsports.

http://www.raceofremembrance.com/

Posted by: JFG Oct 11 2018, 02:39 PM

that's a very well liked circuit, never been myself, i have a local sports car lover who goes frequently for track days.

i will look into that event and see i can get up to visit.

thanks for the info. if i don't get up there i hope you enjoy your trip and race. it's a great place to be.

Posted by: whitetwinturbo Oct 12 2018, 09:55 PM

Where do I get one of those rear wing?

Posted by: naro914 Oct 13 2018, 06:04 AM

GT-Racing. http://www.gt-racing.com/porsche-914-parts/

If you can hold out, ours MAY be for sale. Ours is fiberglass....thinking of upgrading to carbon fiber. Depends on how much everything else costs if we can splurge on that...

Posted by: naro914 Oct 13 2018, 03:32 PM

Day 1


Attached image(s)

Posted by: naro914 Oct 21 2018, 07:10 AM

Day 3. All that’s left to remove is suspension, brake system and steering. Then off to fabricator and media blasting.
Engine/trans are at Dawe’s Motorsport.

Posted by: DRPHIL914 Oct 22 2018, 07:57 AM

media blasting? so you are going to repaint? awesome!

Posted by: Cairo94507 Oct 22 2018, 09:31 AM

Holy Moly! That is some major work and progress.

Posted by: naro914 Oct 22 2018, 12:26 PM

Yep!

Yeah...no kidding...sounded like a better idea before we started!

But now that we’ve taken everything out, there are a lot of things that need attention. Timing is good..

Got a track event in March we gotta make!

Posted by: naro914 Oct 25 2018, 03:16 PM

Papa Smurf's stuff in the trailer...not counting the suspension stuff yet.

Posted by: jmitro Oct 27 2018, 07:21 AM

heckuva winter project.

that A pillar bar is pretty far from the windshield A pillar. maybe now is a good time to make it hug the windshield

Posted by: MichiganMat Oct 27 2018, 10:14 PM

Whoa, the suspension points aren't tied into the cage on Papa Smurf? Man, thats going to be quite an upgrade, the chassis dynamics are going to change!

Posted by: ClayPerrine Oct 28 2018, 08:03 AM

Are you going to remember how to put it back together?

Posted by: naro914 Oct 28 2018, 09:16 AM

Probably not..

Posted by: naro914 Oct 29 2018, 02:24 PM

Totally naked Papa... now you can really see how beat up he's been over the years...


Attached image(s)

Posted by: pete000 Oct 29 2018, 03:28 PM

Yup, that's a real race car !

Posted by: 76-914 Oct 29 2018, 05:38 PM

Hey Bob, since it's stripped down do you have any weight reduction plans on the horizon?

Posted by: naro914 Oct 31 2018, 05:31 AM

It’s actually pretty light as it is...we did a lot of weight reduction years ago. Unfortunately we might gain some weight with the chassi stiffening and additional tubing being added to tie in the cage and shock points.

I know we could get some weight reduction from the nut behind the wheel!!! Working on that...

Posted by: naro914 Oct 31 2018, 05:34 AM

Papa is now away at winter camp for an extended sleep
Over - Skin and Bones Media Blasing and Restoration - for the work to begin!!

Posted by: Maltese Falcon Oct 31 2018, 06:03 PM

Hi Bob & Nadine...can you advise me on the Front/ Rear wheel spec that you are running with the widebody kit. When you saw our car at Renn6 (was a great show and good seeing you two ) it was on 17s which are ok, but looking at 18 or 19s..
Also....if you know the Front offset, Rear offset, and if any spacers are in your set-up. Much appreciated !

Posted by: raynekat Oct 31 2018, 10:30 PM

Are you keeping it the same color.....or something a bit different?

Posted by: naro914 Nov 1 2018, 05:43 AM

Hey Marty,
Good to see you too at Rennsport! I had want to talk to you about the fuel cell too but we got interrupted and then I forgot...

Our wheels are 16x11 front and 16x12 rear with a pretty big spacer in the rear...don’t know off the top of my head and it’s all stored away in our trailer at the moment. I’ll measure next time I’m over there.

17’s and up would be much easier to find tires for, but I don’t like how high it ends up making the car. 16’s allow us to get it low enough and keep the axles and trailing arms pretty much horizontal, which is what you want for racing.

Posted by: naro914 Nov 1 2018, 05:45 AM

Pretty much the same...may add some dark blue on the hood and follow the center of the front air dam blue up to the windshield...don’t know yet.

Posted by: Maltese Falcon Nov 1 2018, 11:00 AM

Thanks Bob, whenever your time permits ¡ Spacing measurements (& offset) is critical when I order the centerlock wheels because there is no recipe for putting spacers back in . Call me if easier, you still have my cell # ¿?
Marty

Posted by: naro914 Nov 22 2018, 09:29 AM

Sorry so long since an update...been out of the country try
Ok, so far out guys at the fab shop have cleaned up the passenger floor board area and a bunch of holes and messy areas, and started redesigning the cage. Moving the front legs forward, adjusting the top bar by the windshield, better door bars, roof cross bar, then tying into shock points and triangulating it all. Plus adding Chris Foleys rear shock towers with spherical bearings.

Posted by: naro914 Dec 2 2018, 12:15 PM

lots of fab work done, and work progressing on the roll cage.
We decided to keep the back hoop in since it was in a good place, no need to replace it.

Posted by: tygaboy Dec 2 2018, 04:22 PM

I've bent a few tubes in building my car and I must say, that's a really great fit you got there!
Very nice work... More pics, please!

Posted by: naro914 Dec 23 2018, 02:45 AM

I’m sitting here in Denver, CO airport at 1:36 am waiting on a 5:33 am flight back to Charlotte...and I for some reason realized I hadn’t updated this thread in a while...

So, more pictures.
Progress is coming along nicely, though a bit slower than I’d like. Part my fault.

As of last I saw it (4 days ago), all the chassis repair work had been done, the Tangerine Racing rear shock towers welded in, cage is MOSTLY done except the passenger door bars. Dash bar is done, horizontal and angled bar behind seats are done, tying into the shock points is done, etc. Lots of the parts are tacked in for fit though by the time I typed this they are probably done.

Posted by: naro914 Dec 23 2018, 02:47 AM

...

Posted by: Cairo94507 Dec 23 2018, 06:51 AM

Wow- that is some serious bracing. That car will feel like a CNC chunk. No flexing in your future. Nice work.

Posted by: jmitro Dec 23 2018, 08:27 AM

agreed, very nice

Posted by: dan10101 Dec 23 2018, 08:39 PM

Very nice. I'm taking notes and saving pictures in my ideas folder!

Posted by: naro914 Dec 28 2018, 02:57 PM

Cage is pretty much done, just some minor braces. And working on all the little tears, holes and other chassis issues we find. Off to blasting Jan 2, then over to powder coating! Then MY work begins putting it all back together...

Posted by: GeorgeRud Dec 28 2018, 03:20 PM

Glad to see the Nascar styled side impact bars - much safer than just straight tubes along the door.

Posted by: naro914 Dec 31 2018, 01:25 PM

some would disagree with you saying Nascar style bars are not right for a 914...

Posted by: naro914 Dec 31 2018, 01:25 PM

Papa is HOPEFULLY going to soda blasting on Jan 2! Stay tuned!

Posted by: naro914 Jan 2 2019, 07:29 PM

Media blasting time! Almost done..

Posted by: horizontally-opposed Jan 2 2019, 10:31 PM

Man, that is some nice bracing work. Car was cool before, gonna be a lot cooler now. Nice work, Bob!

pete

Posted by: Cairo94507 Jan 3 2019, 07:16 AM

Totally cool to be able to start with a clean slate. Love these cars after they are blasted back to bare metal so you know what you actually have to deal with.

Posted by: Racer Jan 3 2019, 07:56 AM

Will you be keeping the rear trunk floor? I know many folks cut that out once the cage ties in the back of the car.

Posted by: Krieger Jan 3 2019, 10:27 AM

That looks really nice! I can't wait to see it painted again.

Posted by: horizontally-opposed Jan 3 2019, 01:08 PM

And their argument/preference is…?

Safety is never "not correct," especially if you don't see the upgrade after you close a door.

Posted by: sixnotfour Jan 3 2019, 01:14 PM

one is older acceptance the other newer safer

Posted by: brant Jan 3 2019, 01:23 PM

I think the previous comment about door bars was more specific to the structure they were mounted to... that the roll hoop upright (front and back) needed to be more structurally sound to the chassis to support the impact to the door bar without ripping the cage mounting point loose....

not that door bars are bad, just that they are a part of the full roll cage system and all weak links be addressed...


Bob
awesome job
keep up the good work

Posted by: naro914 Jan 3 2019, 03:52 PM

Thanks Pete,
You gonna be at Daytona 24 at all? Or Sebring WEC/12?

Posted by: naro914 Jan 3 2019, 03:56 PM

Chassis is going to be powder coated. We couldn't get an exact Olympic Blue powder coat match, but we're close with a color they call Powder Blue.



Funny part is...once the body is painted, it probably won't really LOOK any different than it does now - except the roll cage will be blue instead of black. Most of the work we're doing is for strength, longevity and handling...and will mostly be hidden from view.

Posted by: naro914 Jan 3 2019, 03:57 PM

What I REALLY need is for anyone that is going to track their car, autocross, race, etc to start buying their gear from us... so I can afford all this work...lol...

Posted by: tygaboy Jan 3 2019, 06:41 PM

And no concerns about putting that much heat into the whole chassis?

I'm not suggesting that it'll be an issue, just curious because I was thinking of powder coating just the cage tubes in my car. A race car fab buddy of mine advised against it.

Interested to hear what you're being told. Thanks.

And your updates are looking great!

Posted by: mepstein Jan 3 2019, 06:50 PM

Does 400 degrees change the metal? I’m guessing it doesn’t but I don’t have proof either way.

Posted by: naro914 Jan 3 2019, 06:59 PM

It was suggested/recommended by Peter Dawe originally, then recommended by everyone I asked. It’s actually not that uncommon. More durable, and honestly much cheaper than paint.
You have to take EVERY grommet, gasket and anything rubber off, all screw holes have to have screws in them and all studs have nuts so the powder coat doesn’t build up, etc.

So I guess we’ll see...

Posted by: naro914 Jan 3 2019, 07:03 PM

Media blasting done. Looks really naked!

Posted by: sixnotfour Jan 3 2019, 07:28 PM

some color

Posted by: mepstein Jan 3 2019, 08:17 PM

Do you have to remove all the seam sealer.

Posted by: sixnotfour Jan 3 2019, 08:44 PM

may smell cardboard smoldering..

Posted by: naro914 Jan 9 2019, 09:08 PM

Update....so we decided not to powder coat. I’m a bit disappointed but the reason is two fold:
1) seam seal. As Mr Epstein noted above, yes this is something I’ve thought about. The powder coater THINKS it MIGHT be ok, maybe...he said we could probably bake/burn it all off at higher temp, but would it damage anything? Plus we do have a lot of holes and duct areas blocked off with aluminum “caps” epoxied on. They would all come off or melt...or if the powder coat DOESNT stick on some spots, it will look like crap.

2) we couldn’t find a powder coat close enough in color to Olympic Blue...the original color of Papa Smurf and one of the colors of the outside. So we’d have to go with a different shade...meaning it won’t match and we’d have 3 very different blue colors on the car. Not what we want.

3) and...this is a race car. Powder coat or not, it’s going to get beat up a little, just general wear and tear. How do you touch up smapll areas and spots? Matching the color would be close,but not exact, so in the end it will look like crap.

So with so much uncertainty and so many opportunities for it to “look like crap”...we’re going the traditional route and paint it.

Posted by: Krieger Jan 10 2019, 01:08 AM

Bob, the car is going to look great. You made the right choice. Your #3 would be my #1 problem with powder coating an entire car.

Posted by: mepstein Jan 10 2019, 06:37 AM

The chassis I've seen powdercoated have been dipped first. Only metal left.

It's going to look great when it's done.

Posted by: naro914 Jan 30 2019, 04:16 PM

I've been a bit remiss in giving updates...thought part of that was the back and forth with paint vs. powder coat then scheduling the paint, etc.

So it went to paint last week.
We decided to change the color a little...make it a bit deeper and richer. So we went to 1975 Laguna Blue. We REALLY like how it came out! All the pictures make it look darker than it really is, but its really nice...still gonna do the dark blue section like before.

Here it is in the paint booth.

Posted by: naro914 Jan 30 2019, 04:20 PM

Then we decided to put bedliner type undercoating on the bottom and wheel wells. Our tracks down here have a lot of sand and kicks up rocks and all, so the wheel wells get beat up pretty bad (as you can see from some of the pictures before it was media blasted).

Posted by: naro914 Jan 30 2019, 04:24 PM

So yesterday we put the suspension on to make it a roller...









This is the rear spherical bearing shock top that Chris Foley at Tangerine Racing sells....REALLY nice!

Posted by: naro914 Jan 30 2019, 04:28 PM

and today he came home!





Now comes the real work!!

If you are on Facebook, I created an album of everything so far...and I'm going to chronicle the build there and highlight some of the products we sell that we are either putting back in or are new. I'll do my best to post updates here too.

https://www.facebook.com/naroescapemotorsports/

Posted by: mepstein Jan 30 2019, 04:29 PM

Looks great.

Posted by: AZBanks Jan 30 2019, 04:50 PM

OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!

Posted by: rhodyguy Jan 30 2019, 04:54 PM

That REALLY looks great!

Posted by: raynekat Jan 30 2019, 07:51 PM

No offense to your old blue....but the new color is light years ahead of the previous one.
Outstanding!

Posted by: Krieger Jan 30 2019, 08:16 PM

Looks amazing!

Posted by: naro914 Jan 30 2019, 08:49 PM

The old blue was Olympic. That’s the original color of the car so we stuck with that all these years. But now we had a chance for a fresh start, so instead of going with something much newer or more modern, we just moved up 1 year and there was Laguna Blue waiting for us.

Ok, I know all you purist are having issues here...I know changing the color is going to devalue this otherwise perfectly preserved factory showroom stock car....but.....

Posted by: 1970-1914 Jan 30 2019, 09:30 PM

Not sure if I missed it earlier... what size are those phone dials? They look really good on your car for some reason.

Posted by: naro914 Jan 30 2019, 09:38 PM

Those are Huey’s “track” wheels..16x8.
Papa Smurfs are 16x11 and 16x12...the smaller ones are just much easier to move around and not as much in the way.

But I agree...the phone dials actually look pretty good on a 914..

Posted by: r_towle Jan 30 2019, 10:16 PM

Racing Huey again this year?

Posted by: Cairo94507 Jan 31 2019, 07:29 AM

Your car is really looking great. I look forward to seeing it get resembled. Great job.

Posted by: BIGKAT_83 Jan 31 2019, 09:01 AM

You may have already seen this, but on the start of the MY CLASSIC Car show a couple of weeks ago they paned over the car show and Papa surf was on there.
Later in the show there was a alaska blue 914 also.

New paint looks great.

Posted by: 76-914 Jan 31 2019, 10:29 AM

[quote name='naro914' date='Jan 30 2019, 06:49 PM' post='2685014']
[quote name='raynekat' post='2685000' date='Jan 30 2019, 08:51 PM']
No offense to your old blue....but the new color is light years ahead of the previous one.
Outstanding!
[/quote]
Ok, I know all you purist are having issues here...I know changing the color is going to devalue this otherwise perfectly preserved factory showroom stock car....but.....
[/quote]

Priceless!

Posted by: DRPHIL914 Jan 31 2019, 11:34 AM

LOVE the color that is a huge improvement. Question, what coating did you use in the wheel wells?

Posted by: Alphaogre Jan 31 2019, 06:19 PM

You should have done from the sail upwards and the roof white like the smurfs hats, then throw on white wheels like their shoes

Looks great!

Posted by: naro914 Feb 1 2019, 07:44 AM

Stuff called Raptor Liner. My fab shop guys have had good luck with it. It can be tinted to color match, but we get so much black rubber on the wheel wells we decided to keep it black.

Posted by: DRPHIL914 Feb 1 2019, 10:55 AM

i had considered using that for coating the floor pan of my car when we painted last year but he used something else, which IMHO didnt work out as well as Raptor. i may end up redoing the whole bottom at some point in the near future, or atleast the area under rear trunk.

Posted by: naro914 Feb 1 2019, 10:58 AM

I really like the 'body color' look when someone shows the underside of a car, or from the side and all...but...we need to draw a line with a race car on looks vs practicality. I am NOT one to clean wheel wells after a track weekend (or ever for that matter), so we chose black. Oddly, Huey - which is more street than race - has always had black wheel wells and underside. Not liner, just black paint, but still...

Posted by: Amenson Feb 2 2019, 11:24 AM

Car is looking great. Whose camber boxes are on the front? Modified Tangerine?

I have been considering picking up a set but want to keep the gasket so that I can use the stock fuel tank area as a trunk but the current Tangerine setup seems to disrupt the area.

Posted by: naro914 Feb 2 2019, 12:48 PM

I honestly don’t know who’s camber boxes...they were done nearly 15 years ago by the shop I was using at the time.

Posted by: Joemo5 Feb 3 2019, 09:31 AM

I'm really fond of the way the roll hoop and the A pillars are tied into the roll cage with dimple died sheet. Its nice too see the 914 dash still in there too.

Posted by: naro914 Feb 19 2019, 09:39 PM

Few progress pictures: these are from last Friday. Lots more was done over the weekend including work on the dash, all the oil lines, fuel lines and trans cooler pump and lines installed and tightened. But everything was a mess and I wasn’t going to clean it up to take pictures, and now it’s up on the lift with the GT3 under it and it was sleeting and freezing rain today, so it’ll have to wait until it clears up...







This picture is to illustrate the contrast from the original Olympic Blue to the current Labuan blue. We needed to fit the hood on to measure a few things with the cooler and fuel cell.

Posted by: Cairo94507 Feb 19 2019, 10:13 PM

Amazing.

Posted by: Amenson Feb 20 2019, 06:35 PM

Looking great.

Would you mind posting some pictures of your front suspension setup.

Posted by: wndsrfr Feb 20 2019, 08:06 PM

You just might, maybe almost have quite enough oil cooler capacity there....wow!
I like the burp line setup to eliminate air bubbles--ingenious....

Posted by: naro914 Feb 21 2019, 09:05 AM

Sure. I should be working on it tonight and this weekend and will take some current ones.
Here are a few old ones from years ago, but the set up is basically the same.










Yeah...Peter Dawe didn't like the old cooler set up we had, so.... and yes, the little air burp line is very smart. Horizontal coolers tend to only fill half way because the air gap at the top of the lines have no place to go.

Posted by: Amenson Feb 21 2019, 10:40 PM

Thanks for the pictures.

Is that the ERP setup? What does it use for "ball joints"?

Posted by: naro914 Feb 22 2019, 03:36 PM

Yes, ERP. No clue about the ball joints...but a good question.
Shocks are Fox with remote reservoirs.

Posted by: naro914 Feb 24 2019, 08:28 PM

Update from this weekend. Started on the electrical..We have no idea what we’re doing with that but figuring it out as we go!! Biggest change is a new Cartek electrical kill switch vs. the manual one. Very different system and we’re moving the battery (among other things) so everything electrical is different. Plus, going to have a full AiM MXL2 system so sorting that out with what sensors we need and how they run. Nadine made a new dash face out of carbon fiber, but we still need to cut holes for switches and such so its not installed yet. Plumbing is done, brakes are bled with new Carbotech brakes. Lots of little things done...not as much as we’d like but getting there...

Posted by: naro914 Feb 24 2019, 08:29 PM

...

Posted by: vintage914racer Feb 24 2019, 09:35 PM

Curious if you have any shots of the chassis tears? I have one that I need to take care of on my track car and was hoping to see how yours was repaired.

Posted by: horizontally-opposed Feb 24 2019, 10:42 PM

This is gonna be sweet...

Posted by: Racer Feb 25 2019, 07:06 AM

Do I see oil lines running up the A-Pillars? Not sure I've seen that before. Is there a special reason for that type of routing?

Posted by: naro914 Feb 25 2019, 08:03 AM

They're not oil lines, they are vent lines - vent from the engine to the oil tank, and vent from the oil tank to the 'catch' can in the back (which I know is way too big but the guy that built it years ago made it really nice...so we just left it).
I know lots of people vent the engine to a catch can close to the engine - that's how Huey is too. But with a high compression race engine, we found it was better to vent to the oil tank (like they are designed to do), but since the tank is up front....

Its actually pretty common on bigger/high compression engines from what I've seen. I don't really like it...but when the guy that's been doing this for practically longer than I've been alive says it needs to be this way...and the engine runs flawless...I don't argue!

Posted by: naro914 Feb 25 2019, 08:12 AM

The only one I have a picture of from this work was kinda odd...it was the little section around the engine area on the drivers side that really isn't structural, more just holds the engine tray gasket. It was cracking off. We just welded it back on. (picture is tough to figure out where it is)



Previously, we've cracked the rear suspension points (which is why we went with Tangerine Racing raised rear mounts), Front control arm points (which is why there are forward bars in the front trunk area) and areas around the rear wheel wells, which got extra stiffening.

Posted by: mepstein Feb 25 2019, 08:49 AM

I’m not surprised papa needed a little help. These cars were built to be sporty drivers so it’s pretty amazing that it could handle a 300hp engine and wide tires on the track.

Posted by: Racer Feb 28 2019, 11:14 AM

Of course they are vent lines! lol.. but that wasn't registering.. I just saw lines running out from the tank and didn't think. thank you for clarifying.

Posted by: ClayPerrine Feb 28 2019, 01:59 PM

If you do a search for "pca club race road atlanta" the first video listed has Papa Smurf in it. It is right there in the preview.

Posted by: naro914 Mar 1 2019, 01:15 PM

All my videos are here:

https://www.youtube.com/Naroescape

Posted by: naro914 Mar 9 2019, 09:19 AM

Not much of what was done the past week/weekend was visible, mostly wiring. Nadine made a carbon fiber dash, which looks great. Installed and started wiring the electronic kill switch, etc.

Hope this weekend to actually be fairly DONE with most stuff. AiM dash/data system going in, shifter/shift rod, finalize dash, final wiring connections, re-wrap and secure all wire harnesses,...all the little tuff now. Body panels are at the painter.

Posted by: naro914 Mar 9 2019, 09:35 AM

And a little Saturday morning “piston porn”

Posted by: 76-914 Mar 9 2019, 10:16 AM

I consider this part the "Fun" stage; no problems or "gotcha's" or problem solving yet. Everything is just perfect. New, pretty and shiny stuff still in perfect condition. BTW, Papa is beginning to take shape and I like the look.

Posted by: sixnotfour Mar 9 2019, 10:49 AM

I didnt realize how it all started ..

https://naroescapemotorsports.com/naroescape-motorsports-cars-papa-smurf/



Attached image(s)

Posted by: KELTY360 Mar 9 2019, 11:03 AM

.....uhhhh, shouldn't that be in the Sandbox?

Posted by: mepstein Mar 9 2019, 11:23 AM

Are you rebuilding the engine? I thought Peter did it not so long ago.

Posted by: naro914 Mar 9 2019, 06:55 PM

It had about 80 hrs on it since the rebuild, so it was time for a refresh...which, in addition to the trans re-gearing, is part of what started this whole project. They found some scoring on a cylinder they didn’t like, so got a new p&c. For Dawe’s, a “refresh” is very thorough....check everything....

Posted by: naro914 Mar 9 2019, 06:55 PM

Posted by: naro914 Mar 9 2019, 06:57 PM

Yep...all started with Nadine’s fathers daily driver....25+ years ago...

Posted by: dan10101 Mar 9 2019, 07:31 PM

"Does that thing got a Hemi??"

"looks like it's pitching a tent..."

18-1" compression ratio?

128 octane?

Posted by: naro914 Mar 9 2019, 07:59 PM

Lol!!

It’s a secret...

Posted by: naro914 Mar 9 2019, 08:28 PM

So the goal for tomorrow, March 10, is to have the AiM dash installed and all the electrical finished and tested, shifter installed, and everything checked and tightened. Steering column got installed today (it’s 180 degrees off!!!) as well as a lot of little electrical connections.

Getting close!!

Posted by: naro914 Mar 10 2019, 07:44 PM

Not much to “see” from the progress this weekend but... we hooked up and tested all the electrical stuff, and amazingly everything works, no fires, no sparks! Steering column installed, shifter, new Rix shift rod bushing, Nadine started tidying up and wrapping the wires, test fit the AiM MXL2 dash logger and started connecting some of the wires. Loose wires you see are for the CoolShirt, AiM, and the Generator warning light on the panel the AiM dash will be mounted on. Getting REALLY close!!

Posted by: ClayPerrine Mar 11 2019, 06:17 AM

Do you have a picture of where your transponder is mounted?

Do you have the correct transponder to match the numbers in your logbook?

This is a hot topic with the T&S people these days.

Posted by: naro914 Mar 11 2019, 08:02 AM

Ill get a picture. Drivers side wheel well. And yes...number matches. Same transponder I’ve had since I started racing in 2006.

Posted by: naro914 Mar 11 2019, 09:28 AM

Transponder


Attached thumbnail(s)

Posted by: ClayPerrine Mar 11 2019, 09:32 AM

Bob,
Thanks for making sure the transponder is correct and working. At Sebring this year, 1/3 of the transponders came up unresolved. This caused havoc with the timing and scoring staff all weekend.

Clay

Posted by: naro914 Mar 11 2019, 09:39 AM

Well I don't know if it 'works'...green light comes on and never had a problem with it before. Sebring is always the worst - first race, lots of winter work on cars, drivers with new cars...especially the cup guys that just 'arrive and drive' and nobody pays attention to transponders.

Posted by: naro914 Apr 10 2019, 08:06 AM

Once again, a bit negligent on posting updates. Been a busy few weeks.

OK, where were we? Oh yeah wiring. Got what we could, done, before we made the trek up to Dawe's Motorsport Development in Stroudsburg, PA to get the engine and transmission installed. Here are a few pictures of the interior and with all the body panels before loading to head North.

Posted by: naro914 Apr 10 2019, 08:13 AM

At Dawe's we installed the engine and transmission.
We have a 915 trans with Vellios side shift conversion. Anyone that has had a Vellios knows they can be a bit tricky to adjust correctly. Peter Dawe's has a 'cut out' 915 housing so he can see inside while activating the internal mechanisms. you installed the entire unit in the car and go through the gears while he watches to see clearances and interference points. Make adjustments, try again, until everything shifts smoothly. Then re-install into your own case. Very slick...

Posted by: naro914 Apr 10 2019, 08:25 AM

Then on to the dyno.
I'll post video up when I get a chance. Not much to see...more to hear.

but here's the dyno sheet. Might be hard to read:

325 whp
279 tq (we did see 285 on one pull)

Not bad...

Posted by: Cairo94507 Apr 10 2019, 08:49 AM

Your car looks terrific. Great numbers too.

Posted by: 76-914 Apr 10 2019, 09:38 AM

Nice! Looking forward to some new video's.

Posted by: Krieger Apr 10 2019, 10:03 AM

WOW! Awesome car!

Posted by: naro914 Apr 14 2019, 05:22 AM

Here’s the quick video of the dyno run


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNwX6jMcw4

Posted by: Maltese Falcon Apr 14 2019, 09:10 AM

That's a strong engine , 325 rwhp !! Mustang dynos are know to be conservative. I'll bet that you will see higher numbers on a Dynojet 248c ...but that engine will haul the mail
Beautiful restoration and upgrade work as well

Posted by: ClayPerrine Apr 15 2019, 07:47 AM

Uh.. Bob...

Your transmission has a hell of an oil leak....

Posted by: vintage914racer Apr 15 2019, 09:02 PM

Thanks much for sharing. I need to replace the passenger rear suspension console on my track care , but I’m having issues finding someone local-ish with the skills and desire to do so.

Posted by: Dave_Darling Apr 16 2019, 11:20 AM

What's the component on stand-offs from the valve cover? Looks to be part of the oil system, but what does it do?

--DD

Posted by: naro914 Apr 17 2019, 09:58 AM

Its a small oil reserve feed reservoir. It allows there to be a small reserve of oil right at the engine oil inlet so it doesn't starve under hard right hand high G loads. Since most tracks run clockwise, you end up with way more times the oil is trying to move away from the engine. In a 911, the oil is being forced INTO the engine during those turns because the tank and feed are on the right. But flipping it around in a 914, you could end up with oil starvation. Dawe's developed this many years ago after finding high HP/high grip 914's were getting oil starvation on long right hand high G turns.

It's actually baffled inside too.

Posted by: ClayPerrine Apr 18 2019, 06:57 AM

Who sells them? I may want to put one on the monster motor.......

Clay

Posted by: naro914 Apr 18 2019, 07:02 AM

Dawe's fabricates them.
I can ask how much they would sell them for

Posted by: ClayPerrine Apr 18 2019, 02:13 PM

Thanks!

Posted by: naro914 Apr 30 2019, 06:33 AM

Sorry I haven’t posted an update lately...unfortunately not much has happened since we got back from Dawe’s. VIR and Road Atlanta one weekend, Hershey the next and Roebling Road this past weekend...all working, no playing. ☹️ With fab and paint delays setting us back a month, we’re in the thick of track vendor season so no time...

And now I’m waiting for outside vendors to do what they promised: headers/exhaust have been at the powder coater (for ceramic coating) for over 2 weeks now when he said “it’ll be a week”...windshield finally going back in tomorrow... still need to fab a rear one, plus all the rest of the little things, then corner balance/align, wrap, clear bra, etc..

So he sits and waits patiently...

Posted by: sb914 Apr 30 2019, 06:53 AM

Looks menacing! I like it .

Posted by: Cairo94507 Apr 30 2019, 07:04 AM

Pinacle 914. Beautiful.

Posted by: jd74914 Apr 30 2019, 12:07 PM

It is beautiful.

Have you tried larger end plates on the rear wing? Seems like you could gain some efficiency (both downforce and drag) by going bigger.

Posted by: raynekat May 1 2019, 12:05 AM

Smurf look good.....

Posted by: naro914 May 5 2019, 06:24 PM

The business end of Papa Smurf.

Posted by: tygaboy May 5 2019, 06:33 PM

There really is nothing quite like a "just done" car. You must be a proud Papa! Er, wait, what?
Seriously, the car is beautiful.

Posted by: naro914 May 5 2019, 06:34 PM

Just a little Sunday Papa Smurf sound for your enjoyment.
Just got the headers back from being ceramic coated.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoNOklDNLz4

Posted by: dan10101 May 5 2019, 07:17 PM

Awesome! Thank you!

Posted by: 76-914 May 5 2019, 07:23 PM

Posted by: 914Timo May 6 2019, 02:45 AM

If that car is even half as fast as it is beautiful, no one else has no chances

Lots of interesting and nice details, e.g the sump cover. Never seen one like that before.

Posted by: Jetsetsurfshop May 6 2019, 09:28 AM

You couldn't stab the throttle a few times for us...
Car looks amazing.

Posted by: naro914 May 12 2019, 08:33 PM

Most of what we did this weekend you can’t really see.
The clutch seemed odd: when you step on it, there was a click or pop sound in the tunnel. I had replaced the stock clutch cable with a Terry Cable version. It’s different. So I put the stock one back in and it seems fine...so now we have 2 Terry Cable clutch cables for sale

Also did some adjusting to the brakes. Again, something seemed “off” turns out I never tightened the lock nut on the rod between the pedal and the master cylinder...there was a fair amount of play when you stepped on the pedal. Better now.

-Made brackets for the fire suppression nozzles.
-Fixed an issue with the GoPro dash mounted on/off button and light (we use that for a rear facing camera)
-Cut and painted screening for the front fender vents and installed screen for the oil cooler intake
-Started making the glove box door (it’s where we keep the log books)
-Spent way too much time trying to figure out how to run the fire suppression lines...(still don’t have an answer)
-Got it corner balanced and aligned last week.
-Oh, and cut a hole in the front hood for fuel fill.

Going to get wrapped on Wednesday.

Posted by: AZBanks May 12 2019, 11:18 PM

A work of art!
Can't wait to see video of it in action.

Posted by: Cairo94507 May 13 2019, 07:05 AM

Rolling perfection.

Posted by: 76-914 May 13 2019, 11:17 AM

Spoken like a true gear head.

Posted by: naro914 May 18 2019, 05:31 AM

Little change to the color scheme...

Posted by: rick 918-S May 18 2019, 06:00 AM

Looking Great Bob!

Posted by: Krieger May 18 2019, 07:33 AM

When are you scheduled to drive? I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on how the cage mods have affected the handling .

Posted by: dan10101 May 18 2019, 09:09 AM

Nice!

I'm here for the inspiration.

Posted by: horizontally-opposed May 18 2019, 01:53 PM

You are crazy if you add a livery to this thing. Just gorgeous. I'd add the simplest numbers possible and call it a day.

The car looks great, Bob!

pete

Posted by: naro914 May 18 2019, 04:19 PM

Next Friday (May 24) is test and tune day!! , then we’re doing the SCCA Time Trials Nationals on Saturday and Sunday both driving and as a vendor.

So...in the end, this will be 8 months from running car, tear down, rebuild, to back on track. 2 months later than I had hoped, but we’ve done a lot more than I originally planned so I guess not bad...

Posted by: naro914 May 18 2019, 04:40 PM

Thanks Pete...but we also have some sponsors, or more like companies that gave us free or greatly reduced rates to get this done we have to take care of. And it’s kind of a showcase of what we sell and what you can do in your own race car...

It’s a race car. Personally I don’t like boring single color simple race cars. Heck, even our “street” 914 is way beyond simple...

Plus we need PCA Racing, Vintage Racing, and SCCA decals, classes (VGTO, GT4 and GT2), weight (diff for PCA and SCCA of course),

It won’t be crazy...

Posted by: naro914 May 18 2019, 04:42 PM

This is our side numbers...pro-ish style

Posted by: naro914 May 18 2019, 04:43 PM

^^ wow, showed up really big!

Posted by: Betty May 19 2019, 09:59 AM

As somebody who works Grid for PCA Club Races - thank you, thank you, thank you for using simple, easy to read numbers (I hope the ones on the front trunk are easy to read too).

You haven't really 'partied' until you're one of a team of 4-5 people trying to get 70+ race cars directed to, and parked, in a specific numbered Grid spot before the race.

Complicate that with drivers that are strapped in with Hans devices that make it nearly impossible for them to see you and see where they should go, and race cars that do not turn easily at parking lot speeds (and that you sure the heck don't want to ask to back up)!

I also hope you're one of the considerate drivers that show up to Grid loooong before the rush of inconsiderate drivers pile in right before the 5 minute warning that Grid is closing!

Posted by: ClayPerrine May 19 2019, 10:05 AM

And thank you from the Timing and Scoring folks too. Trying to read numbers at speed when they match the colors of the hippie swirl on the side of the car becomes a real "challenge".

Oh.. and check your transponder number against your logbook too. Unresolved transponders are the biggest headache T&S has.

Oh.. and Betty wanted me to tell you that you are invited to help grid a big group at COTA. If you experience it, you will understand.

Posted by: naro914 May 19 2019, 10:42 AM

'Lol....remember, we have been doing this race thing a LONG time now
Nadine did T&S starting back in 2004 for 8-9 years, then Scrutineering for another 7 or so.
She was our regions race chair one year
We’ve both done grid and worked corners.
I’ve been racing since 2006.
So yeah, we totally understand the work that the volunteers and national staff deals with

We still have the same transponder we’ve had since the beginning, and it seems to work (lights on). We’ll know next weekend, doing a SCCA time trial before my first race at VIR.

Still haven’t decided the hood number, but it will certainly be contrasting color.

Posted by: 914four May 19 2019, 05:55 PM

Before you sell the Terry Cables check the clutch tube to be sure the bracket is not braking away from the welds inside the tunnel. This happened to my car during Okteenerfest last year. Adjusted the clutch several times and could never get it right. There was a clicking sound inside the tunnel and I found where the bracket had broken lose. This is a YouTube video of what I found: https://youtu.be/IYEEur77Dk0

Seems to be a common problem and might be worth running a scope inside the tunnel to check.

Papa Smurf is looking fantastic!

Kelvin

Posted by: naro914 May 27 2019, 05:34 AM

Hi Kelvin
I thought the same thing, but I do have an access panel to that whole area and it’s fine. With the stock cable it works perfectly, no clicking, and it’s easy and smooth... just strange.
Personally, I thing there is a slight kink in our clutch cable tube right where it exits the fire wall. The stock ones have the Teflon shield on them, the Terry Cable ones don’t, (but they’re thicker cable). So it may be hanging up on the kink a little...don’t know.

Posted by: naro914 May 27 2019, 05:55 AM

So....update!! As I mentioned above This weekend was the first time out for Papa Smurf. Friday was a testing day, Sat/Sun was the SCCA Time Trials National Tour event.

We had two sets of really old tires...no need to spend a lot of money on new slicks for a test day and just a TT at a track that destroys tires...Friday went very well, only two minor issues:
- in my second session out, I started to smell fuel. When I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw a liquid spitting up onto the rear window...obviously fuel. Not wanting to test out our new Lifeline fire suppression system I shut it down and got towed in. We found a loose AN fuel fitting at the fuel rail. Easy fix.
- Cody Forbes of Black Forest Racing was there to help out with testing. I let him take it out and toward the end of the session he was having an issue shifting into 2nd and 4th. Turns out I never locked down the stops on the Rennshift and one had vibrated itself “in” and stopped the grow from going far enough to engage the gear. Another easy fix.

Otherwise...the tires sucked, but we managed through them and I ended up finishing First Place in the top class U-1!!

I’ll post some video links when I get them up. Here’s one on FB that Cody took.

https://www.facebook.com/294754070719241/posts/1052575261603781?s=100010301555341&v=e&sfns=mo

Next up, PCA Club Race at VIR later in June!

Posted by: Cairo94507 May 27 2019, 06:30 AM

Congratulations on a great day.

Posted by: tygaboy May 27 2019, 07:20 AM

Beautiful car.

Form AND Function. It doesn't get better than that.

Congrats on your results in both!

Posted by: kid914 May 27 2019, 07:58 AM

Love the rims. One off?
Gorgeous!!!!!!!!

Posted by: AZBanks May 27 2019, 12:45 PM

WOW!

Papa looks great!!!!

Posted by: mepstein May 27 2019, 01:57 PM

Posted by: Larmo63 May 27 2019, 07:40 PM

It's so awesome seeing your car back on the road after the drama you went through with the engine a while back.

You sent me a very nice PM encouraging me to finish my car when I got discouraged. I'll never forget that.

Thank you, and Bravo on the win!!!!!!

Posted by: horizontally-opposed May 27 2019, 08:07 PM

P1 outta the box!

I'll second that comment about form and function. Car looks great, and obviously goes great. Well done, Bob!

Posted by: Betty May 27 2019, 09:58 PM

P1 at the very first outing after a MAJOR rebuild, AND on crappy tires... Papa looks awesome... the business booth/setup looks very classy.

Congrats on all of it (but just the teensy-ist, tiny bit more for the success on track cuz that's just the way I feel really deep down inside)!

Posted by: naro914 May 29 2019, 07:52 PM

Video!!
Quick recap of the work we did, plus a lap from the SCCA TT this past weekend.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w24UYb3hNBQ

Posted by: stownsen914 May 30 2019, 06:48 AM

Lookin good Bob. Love the engine sounds with the close ratio gearbox!

Posted by: Cairo94507 May 30 2019, 09:03 AM

What a great video. Loved the sound.

Posted by: naro914 Jun 25 2019, 11:08 AM

Finally got a chance to do a real race after all this work - PCA Club Race at VIR in Vintage class.

Results:
Fun Race - 1st overall
Sprint 1 - 1st overall
Sprint 2 - DNF (threw an alternator belt)
Sprint 3 - 3rd overall

Not a bad way to celebrate your birthday weekend!!

we accumulate points through the races and I ended up 3rd overall, but most importantly I won the coveted Workers Choice Award!

The only issue - besides the thrown fan belt - was having issues with shifting into 2nd later into the 3rd race...










Here's a video of my fastest lap of the weekend - which came on the last lap of the last race, even with a few mistakes and not being able to grab second at Oak Tree turn. I'll put together a video of actual racing action later.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s568Vbrh-IE

Posted by: Betty Jun 25 2019, 04:12 PM

Worker's Choice! Way to go Bob and Papa Smurf!!!

Posted by: sixnotfour Jun 25 2019, 05:23 PM

Posted by: 914-300Hemi Jun 25 2019, 07:36 PM

Congrats and the car sounds great

Posted by: Krieger Jun 25 2019, 11:05 PM

Congratulations! And three of the top four cars were 914s!

Posted by: Jetsetsurfshop Jun 26 2019, 09:57 AM

Awesome.

Posted by: wndsrfr Jun 26 2019, 10:04 AM

Geez Bob...2:09's!!!... Sweet

Posted by: naro914 Jun 26 2019, 10:08 AM

watch the video....2:07's...

Posted by: ClayPerrine Jun 28 2019, 10:36 PM

You sure it was 2:07s? I can pull the timing data from the PCA club racing website and see your times on every lap.

Posted by: naro914 Jun 29 2019, 04:37 AM

Have at it! And you will see I did multiple 2:07 laps.
The picture of the timing sheet was from Sprint 1 because thats the race I won. Video and my fastest lap was Sprint 3.

Posted by: ClayPerrine Jun 29 2019, 07:19 AM

Congrats on winning the race.

Posted by: naro914 Dec 30 2020, 09:10 PM

So...18 months after the last post on this thread - almost to the day - I have very sad news...this is a VERY hard post to write...but hey...its 2020 right? What else is new?

As some of you may know (and probably most do not), during the practice sessions at the PCA Club Race at Summit Point in September, I experience a stuck throttle which force me head on into a tire wall/mound that did major damage to Papa Smurf.

Here's the video. https://youtu.be/nhCRNtCPxno

After a lot (an AWFUL LOT) of soul searching, staring, partial disassembly and consulting with body shops and mechanics, we've decided its time to cut our losses and move on from Papa Smurf into our next chapter of racing...whatever that may be.

I know...anything is possible to fix, but we just don't have the mental fortitude, time, or desire to spend the financial commitment its going to take.

So...we will be selling off most of what made Papa Smurf such a great car...primarily the 3.4 liter Engine, 915 Transmission (regeared, LSD, Velios, cooling), wheels and tires, body panels that aren't damaged, wing(s), suspension, etc....

Over the next week or so I'll start putting together listing on mine and the NaroEscape Motorsports Facebook pages of what exactly we have... As some of you know, the engine and trans were built by Dawe's Motorsport and they are about as good as you can get. Recent refresh on the engine and new build on the trans. 325 RWHP @ 7000 RPM.

PM me for details.

I just read this entire thread and almost cried. Look...I know its only a car and during this year there are WAY more important issues at hand that many of you are dealing with, so please don't confuse my sentiment here to insinuate I am diminishing REAL world issues. Life, safety and peoples livelihoods are obviously way more important.



2020 can't be over fast enough.

Posted by: wndsrfr Dec 30 2020, 09:18 PM

Ohh Bob....no words really except the great relief to see you walking around the paddock afterwards with everything intact...
+1 on the right equipment...

John

Posted by: raynekat Dec 30 2020, 09:55 PM

Happily you are safe and sound....that's what's most important.
Still doesn't make it any easier to lose a car that has so much time, money and emotion put into it.

And yes, i can move on past 2020 too.
What a crazy year.

Posted by: gereed75 Dec 30 2020, 09:59 PM

Oh man that is a tough one to watch, glad you were unhurt. I was cringing as I watched the video not knowing where the mishap was about to occur. Was especially puckering as you came into the downhill. Could have happened at a lot worse places!!!

Posted by: PanelBilly Dec 30 2020, 10:19 PM

Everything happened so quickly. I glad you weren't hurt.

Posted by: Jetsetsurfshop Dec 30 2020, 10:31 PM

So hard to watch.
We all know this is possible every time we strap in. Happened so fast.
Glad you're ok.

Posted by: Krieger Dec 30 2020, 10:48 PM

Oh no! I am so glad your not hurt. A car can be replaced. Take your time to decide what is right. Thank you for posting the video. It is an excellent reminder of how quickly things can go wrong. As a former pilot, a couple of the publications I subscribed to would break down accidents for analysis. I wish you the best in 2021!

Posted by: djway Dec 31 2020, 12:09 AM

I still miss my first car. It is the memories that are attached to them.
Wheels? I still could use the sizes/offsets or possibly purchase them.
Glad you are walking around.

Posted by: infraredcalvin Dec 31 2020, 01:38 AM

I’m sorry to hear of your decision and see the video. BUT, thank you for the safety reminder. Not 5 min before stumbling across this thread I was contemplating why I use my full gear when running my car in DE... now I remember!

Keep your head up, might be a good time to see how nice more modern gear works. I continuously talk myself out of selling my 914 and buying a prepped cayman for the track. Maybe in a year or two.

Glad you’re safe and injury free, good luck on your next choice of race car. You still have Huey to get the vintage bug out of your system.

Posted by: BillJ Dec 31 2020, 06:26 AM

I think that is the right call Bob. After our chat and walk around the other day could not help but be sad but stand by the comment that a new adventure may be best. You can still rally the other car and there are plenty of rsr chasis waiting for new hearts and you can still play with the usual gang? Or something totally new!

The best part of this is you werent hurt.

Posted by: Cairo94507 Dec 31 2020, 06:34 AM

OMG! I am so glad you did not get injured. But I am sad to hear Papa Smurf will be retired for good. Just an excellent car. Not the way I wanted to start my morning.

Posted by: pete000 Dec 31 2020, 09:58 AM

So sad to see after the Steller rebuild of this car. State of the art everything. It proved it was a champion right out of the box. Good luck with the next direction.

Posted by: brant Dec 31 2020, 12:30 PM

sorry to see this post
and really glad you are ok.

what are you using for data acquisition?
the video is better than anything I have been able to achieve

Posted by: 76-914 Jan 2 2021, 03:39 PM

Damnit! If you stay in the sport would you please keep posting your videos. Look forward to those.

Posted by: naro914 Jan 2 2021, 03:55 PM

Hi Brant
Sorry...I replied the other day but didn't hit "add this" right away. when I came back was when the site was down and it was lost...

We use an AiM MXL2 for data acquisition/dash and AiM Smartycam GPHD (bullet cam) for video. Simple. Data overlay is automatic - no RaceRender or having to merge files - the driving part of the video is straigt from the card - no changes. what's nice is you can set it to automatically start and stop recording based on a parameter - Speed, RPM, etc. so no missed video, no video of sitting in the paddock, grid, etc.
We are an AiM dealer afterall so...

I use Window Movie maker to make the movies/text part.

Posted by: BillC Jan 2 2021, 04:23 PM

That absolutely sucks, Bob. I was really hoping you'd be able to get the car back together again.

Posted by: horizontally-opposed Jan 2 2021, 04:43 PM

Bob,

Above all else, I am really thankful you're okay. Cars are fixable or "replaceable," or we were merely lucky to have certain cars for a certain time—sometimes a long time. Such was obviously the case with Papa Smurf. And I watched with no small delight the refresh of this very cool 914. I thought I knew I knew its story "fairly well," but Jeff's post made it even cooler. And the refresh came out so well. To see the latest chapter cut short, and so soon, is hard to see even all the way out here in CA. But that gets me back to my first point…

I am so glad you're okay, and that you were wearing all the gear—and particularly a HANS. I balked at the price of a new HANS recently, but paid it with gritted teeth. Your video is proof of how quickly it can go wrong and you're along for the ride. But back to my first point, again: When I was hired by PCA, Nadine and you were high points of the first few PCA National leadership meetings I attended. Your enthusiasm, your welcoming attitude, and your obvious work to make space for others. And me. And that's worth a whole lot more than any car.

Hope to see you down the road…

Posted by: stownsen914 Jan 2 2021, 05:28 PM

Definitely a bummer. I remember riding in an earlier iteration of Papa Smurf at Pocono many moons ago. Sorry to see him go. Thankfully you walked away. Thoughts on what's next?

Posted by: 914-300Hemi Jan 2 2021, 08:58 PM

Bob,
I am glad that you walked away without any injuries. Papa Smurf will be missed and it is a sad days.
I look forward to your next adventure.

Posted by: racerbvd Jan 3 2021, 01:58 PM

Glad that you are ok Bob , looking forward to your next venture.

Posted by: naro914 Jan 3 2021, 03:03 PM

Thanks Pete. (but you didn't buy the HANS from us? LOL)

Papa Smurf has been with Nadine and I pretty much since we've been married, and in Nadines family since the 70's. To many, that car defines us. Because its what got us into PCA, racing, and honestly cars in general, very few people know us without him. I just wish if this had to happen, it happened BEFORE we put in all the time, effort and $$$$$ we did a couple years ago. But then again, it was 2020 right? Nadine lost her father in March, so I guess it's appropriate we should lose his car this year too....

I still remember your first PCA board meeting when Betty Jo was still Pano editor handing it off to you (Petit LeMans weekend I think). I distinctly remember a bit of tension in the air... lol.... She did a phenomenal job with Pano through all those years, especially considering the budget and personnel constraints she was under. (I think she was actually paid well below minimum wage!!) In your brief time there, your ideas, style and perspective took Pano to a whole other level, on par with the best publications out there (though I still perfer the smaller format! ) I suspect your tenure with PCA ended for similar reasons as mine did, which I would love to discuss one day over an adult beverage or two. In the end, I think it's worked out for the best for both of us....

If and when this craziness we're all going through now ever gets back to some semblance of normalcy, Nadine and I plan to come out to Napa again. I'll let you know when and maybe we can get together and share a few stories.

Posted by: AZBanks Jan 3 2021, 04:14 PM

Bob,
Thanks for sharing your journey with Papa Smurf with us. It is sad to see it end but I am glad you are well.

Posted by: Racer Jan 3 2021, 07:21 PM

Sorry to see the end for Papa Smurf but glad you were ok. Sorry to hear of Nadine's dad's passing as well. I recall many an NNJR PCA event in the 1990s.. you guys with your 914, and me with mine. Good times/memories indeed.

Posted by: Shivers Jan 4 2021, 08:23 AM

I'm sorry for the loss of your car.

Posted by: mepstein Jan 15 2021, 07:21 PM

Bob- just in case you are looking for a replacement, I’ll have this for sale. It will be a roller - no engine or trans but complete otherwise. Currently the engine and trans are in the car so it’s running and driving. $14,914 located in Parksburg PA. Email me with any questions. Mark@MarkEpstein.net

Engine is a Peter Dawe built 3.6 RS.

@http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=6073


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Posted by: djway Jan 15 2021, 09:27 PM

Do you know your wheel sizes and offset?
Thanks
DJ

Posted by: mepstein Jan 15 2021, 09:33 PM

I don’t.

Posted by: naro914 Jan 16 2021, 07:21 AM

Thanks Mark. However, we’ve pretty much decided if we can’t fix Papa Smurf we’re going away from 914’s as a race car.

Dwayne - I apologize for not getting the wheel offsets for you. We pushed him into a trailer and I forgot to take the wheels off first to measure them.
I’m out of town this weekend but I will try to remember to do it Monday. Please PM me your email and I’ll take pictures of the measurements so you know exactly instead of just my interpretation of the measurement.

Posted by: djway Jan 16 2021, 02:22 PM

Pm sent.
Hopefully I get to purchase one of your sets. I really like the design, and we know they fit.