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Posted by: Dave_Darling Apr 22 2007, 07:24 PM

This was the second time the local PCA was able to organize a tour of Canepa Design. Wow--just wow!! If you like historic Porsche race cars, or historic non-Porsche race cars, or really hot street cars, motorcycles, or even pimped-out SUVs, you have got to see this place!

The 917/10 and 962 were very cool. Ditto the 935s, including one of the original "Moby Dick" cars. The 964 Speedster and recent Turbo likewise. An F1 car, a Nissan GTP car, an old dirt tracker (which Canepa competed in!), a 240Z competition GTU car, some NASCAR stuff, all sorts of neat machinery was on hand.

Oh, and did I mention that they had ten 959s there?

We looked around at the cars in the showroom. Then we went into the workshop to look at some other interesting machinery. From there, we poked around in the warehouse. More cars and yet more cars, plus interesting parts and molds for some of the fiberglass parts... It really was amazing!

If you get a chance in the future, I highly recommend going!

Oh, and for the crowd--

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58802017@N00/sets/72157600110439815/

--DD

Posted by: lotus_65 Apr 22 2007, 08:06 PM

That was spectacular, not a single dud there. Nice photography too.

The one I audibly gasped at was the 917. I'm stoopid for that car.

Thanks!

Posted by: drive-ability Apr 22 2007, 08:09 PM

What is this axle designed for ? Why the dampener?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58802017@N00/468989223/in/set-72157600110439815/

Posted by: Eric_Shea Apr 22 2007, 08:20 PM

"in" it.

Posted by: TimT Apr 22 2007, 09:06 PM

that dampener is a rubber "guibo" mounted on a 935 titanium axle...

Posted by: URY914 Apr 22 2007, 09:09 PM

Dave, those are great pictures. See my PM.

Posted by: carreraguy Apr 22 2007, 09:34 PM

Nice pics Dave!

I was on the PCA tour in 2005 about 6 months or so before he opened it to the public - here's my thread:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=56752&hl=Canepa

Canepa was the tour guide then and had a bunch of anecdotes re: his successful efforts to get the 959 "Federalized". Quite a facility! A must visit for any car nut! I posted a bunch of pics on the Bird too.

Posted by: mills914/s Apr 22 2007, 10:53 PM

His show room is right up the street from me I drive by and look in the windows all the time at the great cars.
I met a tech one time who was tunning jerry seinfields PORSCHE 959 with a laptop computer. I sat in the car at the shop and talked to the guy for a while it was great.

Seth, Santa Cruz,CA

Posted by: dgw Apr 22 2007, 11:57 PM

Great pictures Dave.

thats a beautify chebby, and a nice Pontiac too. My friends had those, I was just happy to have wheels.

I kept looking for a Cobra, figured there had to be one with all those other cars there.

Street legal 959's. I wish I could afford one of those.

Thats his new place in Scotts Valley isn't it?

Posted by: Dave_Darling Apr 23 2007, 12:39 AM

Yup, Scotts Valley.

I speculate that the rubber "damper" on the 935 driveshaft is actually there to allow for some growth of the length of the axle assembly. That's one thing that universal joints can't do that CV (constant velocity) joints can.

--DD

Posted by: Paul Illick Apr 23 2007, 06:22 AM

A guibo is usually to limit torque loading shock on the axle/transmission. If that's a titanium axle (!!!) it's probably to keep it from shattering.

Posted by: BigD9146gt Apr 23 2007, 10:26 AM

Too bad it had to go that far though... my friends father had 3 959's in the Bay Area 10 years prior to canepa's effort. He had the connections and knowledge to make those cars legal in the states (two of the buyers being canepa & bill gates). I'm not sure exactly what happened, but the rich guys reverted back to tight ass status and didn't want to pay my friends dad what they'd already agreed on... so the cars sat in a container, on the docks in SF or something till canepa murdered a few.

I guess I just don't understand why people destroy low production/homologinized cars for either movie entertainment or because the country in which you reside cannot recognize a world renown auto manufacturer when they see one! Honestly, if you can afford one of these cars, you can afford to vacation to another country and drive it there... maybe someplace where speed laws apply for such a car!?

Sorry, done with rant.

Cheers, Don.

Oh ya, those rubber dampers are to reduce the shock load... when you have that much power on hand and that much rubber touching the pavement, CV's couldn't hold up.

Posted by: bondo Apr 23 2007, 12:39 PM

The black car with 4 fins is a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville, a cousin to my favorite 50s fin car, the 1959 Impala.

Posted by: Dave_Darling Apr 23 2007, 02:41 PM

Thanks for the ID, Royce.

Don, I don't think that Canepa had to "murder" any 959s. We were told that the particular loophole that they got them through meant that no crash testing was required. They simply have to meet US emissions requirements.

...Then again, they didn't mention anything about previous efforts to Federalize the 959, so...

--DD

Posted by: Cap'n Krusty Apr 23 2007, 02:44 PM

When I worked at Porschop in LA, Otis Chandler was one of our regular customers. While we never became close friends, we saw each other occasionally over the years. I was at his place shortly after he got his 959. He was laughing about what it took to bring his in and to be able to drive it on the street. ATTITUDE! He went to the DOT and EPA and said, in effect, "What can WE do to get this thing done? Can you help me?" He said Bill Gates and Paul Allen went to the DOT and the EPA and said, in effect, "We're rich and we're gonna do this". The absolute WORST thing you can tell a bureaucrat is you're gonna do something whether he likes it or not. Those cars sat, Otis drove his.

The Cap'n