I occasionally help out with this 914 racecar that's putting out 400+ horsepower, normally aspirated. Either the motor or the driver has found a way to blow apart just about everything involved with putting that power to the wheels. Recently the car has been having clutch problems. Factory race clutch packages which supposedly handle 500 horsepower aren't cutting it.

The car was at Fontana this weekend. I was about to go up to join the race crew when I learned that the car broke...again...so I stayed behind and helped when the car came back.

Here's what awaited us as we began to investigate. Hmm, clutch is stuck in a state of engagement. Spline area of the clutch disk sits askew. And what's that copper stuff trying to poke out of the clutch package at the lower left?

I began taking the clutch off the flywheel and the whole thing practically exploded in my face. Ah, here's the problem!

oopps

Oops, too quick on the draw.

Got Torque?

Here's the hapless car. My hopefully less cursed six project is in the background. It was neglected today in favor of trying to fix the racecar.

Kickass ..I didnt know you where freinds with him. he has a awesome 914. He is the guy who protests Roger Sheridan every time Roger backs his car out of the trailer.

Can you get a shot of the exhaust on that car for the club. It is the best sounding 914 (Hands down) that I have ever heard. I know he runs POC religiously (and so does my GT3RS team) so..I have never had time to speak to him. I think his name is Scott.. or the name of the shops is "Scott's"

Please let him know he has a "fan" in me.

Now.. tell him to step up to the plate and get a real clutch (TILTON multi dics) He will never keep those together...

Cool.. ask him to join the board.

B

Oh.. just to throw gas on the fire.

Porsche Motorsports doesnt even get 400hp from THEIR 3.8 RSR slide valve engines with injection.

I know this guy runs Motec.. so I know its injected.. but what size is the engine ?? Does he have a 4.0 engine ??

He normally wins his class at the Tribute.

B

Hey Brad, I know the guy you are talking about his name is Kenny he works for Scott's Porsche has a bada$$ race car and as you said races POC religiously.....I have lunch with him at least once a week! the son of the owner of Scott's is already on this board, this kid was born in a 914...really took me to school on 914 data I learned a hell of alot from him Marc le Friant(the true 914 wizard) by the way if I got Kenny on this board no one would get a comment in edge wise, once you wind him up about racing look out LOL

I want to see more pictures of the car. I see it has the AIR rear but a different front. Please post pics of the whole car if you have them.

-Ben M.

Thanks, Drums66, for revealing my secret identity. LOL

Yes, I'm Marc, and my dad has owned Scott's Porsche since about the time I was born. My first car was a 914.

Ken Rumbaugh now runs the shop and throws a lot of money at the 914-6 racer. He's a great driver but he just about always breaks. I wouldn't count on him joining the board anytime soon; he's not much into computers.

The car in question is running Electromotive. I believe it is now a 4.0. Exhaust is custom-built. Front flares were hand-built and still steel. Front bumper is a 935-style unit modified to fit the car's unique profile.

We are going to a Tilton-style setup. As with many things on this car, my father the technical genius is engineering a solution of his own.

As for me, I have no delusions of greatness. I slum around the shop either digging through a pile of junk for parts for my project or working on customer cars to pay off my parts bill when I have nothing better to do.

I was trying to stay low key, but I couldn't resist posting this topic. So now I have to spill the beans.

NICE.

I knew I saw a laptop on top of the car...and I assumed the top of the line Dat acq or injection (Motec). I also run TECIII on our race car (for now).

If there "happens" to be any more people hiding about what they know or who they are...you should speak up now. I show a lot of favoritism towards people I know are on the bleading edge of 914 tech LOL.

I'll make sure to stop by and say hello the next time (if ever) that we run a POC event. We are just about done running POC (might use it for test days).

Thanks Marc !!

Some more "teaser"pics of the racecar. It's got one of them schoolbus exhausts, eh?

and another:

The drivetrain:

the interior. TEC 3 brain and Corsa data acquisition should show.

Damn.. he has air jacks

I mounted my TECIII about 6 inches down from that location..LOL

He must be running a Vellios box. I see a 915 shift tower...

B

No, that cooler isn't for chilling beers. It's for the cool suit. Here's some exhaust pictures. At idle, this car sounds more like a rumbling V8 than a flat six.

and another:

Thanks. That is exactly what I wanted to see.

B

Yeah, he's running a Velios conversion. My dad found a way to detent the shifting at the side console to "gate" the shifter...I believe. I have so little involvement with this car right now. Kenny came back from Fontana going on and on about the Wevo setup that some other car was running. It would be nice to toss the Velios setup, but I guess it works well enough now.

I know he likes to "Engineer" but WEVO sells a direct bolt on flywheel 5.5 clutch setup with a Hyd. throwout bearing that will handle more than 400hp.

You will be hearing more and more about WEVO in the coming months.. I just dropped off my personal 915 gearbox for my tube frame 914..soon to have a short stroke 3.2 with the same ITG filters and TECIII..LOL

Damn.. you moved to my "must help list" quickly..

Let me know what you need..

B

They're almost there with the clutch. Tilton apparently doesn't make pull clutch setups, but a three disk arrangement was purchased and the rest has been adapted and is already there. We installed it in the car but couldn't get enough engagement in the clutch, so the flywheel may need machining for an improved action on the throwout bearing.

Could you send me some information on Wevo's setup so I can pass it on?

Damn meursault.... You nearly cheated me.

You show in the other thread your 911 gear box and told you have used some sportomatic parts. Then I started to have doubts if you are real pro. Not just any guy have all those parts laying around and can put them together so that all works.

Damn I am happy I didnt try to tell you something you allready have learned in mother's milk.

Really nice to have more pros here.

His output shafts are stock early 911. There is really nothing special about them. The sporto did use them.. but so did all the early 901/911 boxes.

B

Actually, no. The only gearboxes in which I have found that particular length flange is the sportomatic. Believe me, I have a large selection of transmissions to look at.

For example, the gearbox I converted for use in a 914 was complete and had flanges with the right bolt pattern. They were just a bit too short, though.

I assembled a stock 914 axle from stub axle to flange and a 911 axle with the large CVs from stub axle to flange. Only the sportomatic flange and the 72-73 shaft made up the distance to give me an equal length axle.

I need a measurement. I have ran across 3 different lenght early 911 flanges all with the same part number.. I promise none of them came from a sportomatic (dont know that I have even seen one in person..LOL

I'll shoot pics with measurements of what I have.

It has also been discussed that the 914 stock axle was actually too long for the application. The axle end would actually hit the stub axle in hard turns... so I use the .250 shorter early 911 axles and have NO problems with them hitting the stub axles.

Pics to come (something I have needed to do for awhile now...)

B

That car is unbelievable!! I've got to schedule a vacation out there!

mersault,

I think your father might have contacted me already about our WEVO clutch package and probably knows as much as he wanted to.
His concern was that the driver has managed to break anything else so far and that a triple plate clutch was going to eliminate that risk.....
Our 500 ft/lb set up is a 2 plate Tilton package.

Be sure your friend Kenny is actually referring to a full WEVO Sideshift kit, not just a car with a WEVO shifter, I dont think there were any cars with WEVO Sideshift kit's at Fontana. The shifter is only part of the solution, the Sideshift kit transforms the whole installation.

Regards

Hayden PTBT

Hayden, (Is that your name?)

The concern seems to be that the actual Tilton pieces available are not designed for pull clutches nor will they be in the foreseeable future. Is that merely for the three disk setup? I mean, do they offer a two-disk package that is in fact intended for pull clutches?

Thank you for the response. It's great to have a parts manufacturer frequenting this board.

I think Kenny did see a car out there that was running a Wevo-converted transmission. I remember specifically that he was commenting on how much of the shifting mechanism was enclosed in the nosecone. I wasn't out there; I don't know.

Thank you,

Marc Le Friant

Marc,

Yes, it is Hayden. The PTBT is just the abbreviation for Pretending To Be Tracey, my partner at Windrush, who is actually the registered user on this Forum.
The racing clutches designed for the type of cars we are all involved with are all (well mostly) push center style.
The CART cars and F1 cars use even smaller pull center clutches - but their release mechansim and bellhousing is all so unique, the application is not likely to filter down to club level cars.
A pull center clutch can be built more compact as the diaphram spring is edge pivoted (around it's perimeter) rather than a rocker style pivot, used in the push center clutches.
I have heard of an AP club level clutch, similar application to the Tilton's, that uses a pull center, but I have not had one to look at. It would be a standard pattern 5.5"Ø 8 bolt pattern for uniformity, of that I feel confident.
The 915 bellhousing is designed for either push or pull center clutch. The 911's all used pull center and the 912E used a push center. Our WEVO cable release mechanism set-up is a more refined derivitive of the 912E set-up
The packaging is so tight for length that we could not make a 3 plate set-up for the 915 without it being considerably more costly and probably hydraulic. However, the CWP in a 915 and other internals are not likely to accomodate anything above the torque capacity of a 2 plate clutch, so it's moot.
We have packaged a 3 plate Tilton 5.5"Ø carbon clutch in a short 930 bellhousing, that was tight, but we can do it. All the clutch parts are sititng on the bench, but we have not manufactured the very unique hydraulic release mechansim parts. In that case the motor, transmission and clutch are all about the same capacity - upwards of 600 ft/lbs of torque!

Regards

Hayden PTBT

Haha, I laughingly told Jacques to use a 912E bellhousing!

He seems to feel that pull clutches are superior to push. But fer chrissakes, do whatever it takes to have a decent clutch!

Thanks for the info. I'll pass it on.

that sure is a fine rear shot of kenny's car in the above picture........mighty fine