I realized I missed an update from our travels around "The World"

Here is a couple photos from our trip to the "RRC 09" We met some new friends and we excited to see some familiar faces as well.

Our hosts were were very attentive. The food was great! the camp ground was a fabulous idea, Monument National Park was awesome, and Gateway Museum was a site to see!

We were presented with the long distance award. All in all, I think with the driving we did while in Colorado we logged over 3000 more miles this year.

The gathering

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Art shot

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Monument

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The topic of this thread

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Gateway

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Awards

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Hot chic out of this world

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Well, I hurt the transaxle in the Alien last fall after returning from the RRC. I wasn't going to even pull the car out of storage this year. I have been busy trying to get the Ravenna car done. But I had some set backs so I decided to fix the transaxle in the Alien. Here's how the car looked when I pulled it out of storage. Damn good thing I didn't let this sit until next year!

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We had heavy rain here several time this year and water got under the door of the storage garage. With the hunidity the interior of the car turned into Mold!

We had heavy rain here several time this year and water got under the door of the storage garage. With the hunidity the interior of the car turned into Mold!

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Then something was walking on it. I think a cat got into the garage!

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Engine is covered in corrosion!

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So, the engine is out, the rear tires are bald, the brakes are torn down, transaxle is apart, the car is dirty and the interior is covered in Mold!

See ya at the RRC 10!

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Yikes . Mold sucks. Sorry you had this set back but if anyone knows how to deal with it you are the man

I am freaking out just a little. I tried to buy two tires for the rear of the car only to find out Yokohama discontinued my 255/50/16 I ended up ordering 4 new tires! Won't be in until mid week next week.

Dang Rick that sucks. Good thing you did catch it before winter. At least you can take care of it now. Would have been much worse after winter. Still sucks but at least you have a week & a half to get it done right . Best of luck man! You have a fair amount to get done. Wish I were closer to help

Sorry to hear about the Alien, everything looked good this spring. Glad you looked at it before it was in worse condition. Good luck with getting it ready.

Mold, yuck!

Glad you got it out of there when you did!

Moister is just a killer of most any car.

Very nice to see you've dug right into the project.

Get it back on the road.

I needed to clean up a couple cutouts in my rear trunk. When I redesigned my throttle linkage I had to make some clearence. The cutouts were rather unsightly. So, here's the redesign.

Here's the before.

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Here's the panel I made.

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Here it is welded in.

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Done ready for the engine.

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so while the engine was out did you swap out the adaptor plate for the one with your logo on it?

Not yet.

We are rooting for you Rick and Sandy!!!

Kind of scary with all that mold!

The Alien lives once again . But here's the deal.

I'm taking her to the RRC 10 and maybe to the MUSR Tail of the Dragon 10. After that she's going into the deep dark recesses of Area51Werks. She will be going under the knife for a complete Alien autopsy. Earths climate and organisms have attacked her at her core. The massive power that propells her at warp speed have stressed her chassis. We need to go in and find her weakness and through this process see how we can make her a supreme being again.

She won't likely be seen in the light of day until we have looked at every part of her anatomy.
She traveled many distant journey's in search of her kind. She found safe refuge at Series 9 when her cooling system failed in NM. She alway's came in peace and made many new friends.

If you haven't had a chance to see her and your on the fence for either the RRC or the MUSR, this may be your last chance for many light years. But rest assured, she will be back!

Hello Rick,

I have read your blog on this project and I am speechless, I would like to discuss the detail on how you were able to put this all together. I am finishing up a 2002 restoration and looking for another challange and yours seem like a winner.

I would like to see if you would email me your contact information so that I can post the several pages of question I have so far on how this was done. Please contact me at justin_evertatsbcglobaldotnet. Respectfully, Justin Evert

I guess I forgot to up date this since the RRC 10. The Alien failed to make the journey. So not only am I looking at the entire chassis, brakes, suspension and paint, I am opening up the engine to find out what happened to the oil pressure.

Had a great time at the RRC though!

Good luck Rick. Hope to see you on the road out here real soon.

I had my oil tested. the oil issue didn't seem to act normal like when I've spun bearings in my drag car back in the day.

The oil tested normal so I'm looking at the pressure relief valves and oil pump pickup tube before I start taking the engine apart. Cross your fingers for me.

Hope everything works out for the best. A simple fix would nice!

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Good times!

Keep us posted!

WOW!! Rick I just read this thread for the first time. I had no idea! All I have to say is:
I would love to go for a ride in a real v8 914 some day! I can't believe all of the engineering. I hope to have an Alien sighting and possible abduction sometime. I believe... resistance would have been futile.

The Alien needs to get back to assimilating. I hope things are looking up Rick. I want to see this extraterrestrial beast. I just wish it could be WCR-11.

Rick, Back together on the track for 2012 WCR? I need to bug my dad to see if we have any video of that..

Thanks guys, Hey, I had my oil tested after the drop in pressure. There is no metal in the oil and no anti-freeze or water. So I'm going to drop the pan and see if the pickup tube is loose. I'm also replacing the pressure relief valves and springs. These are external and easy to do. If the oil pressure issue is related to one of these things I could run the car another season.

Here's the test results

Rick,
Anymore progress on the "Alien"?

Been doing some digging on gearbox mods, and wanted to see how much reconfiguring you did on the gear to make the 928 work.

Hope there's good news?

Regards,

Justin

Justin, 901 with HB fifth gear and a billet intermidiate plate.

I guess I should have updated this thread again. I'm working on a replacement car so I can take the Alien off the road.

I dropped the oil pan just before the WCR 2011 and discovered a sludge in the bottom of the pan with carbon crystals in it. It looks like I cooked the oil and the viscosity enhansors were separated. I pulled the pressure relief valve to clean it and discovered I had two aluminum crush washers on the cap. This would lower the opening pressure. I think there was a perfect storm here that caused the pressure to fluctuate. In any case I put it back together and I have normal pressure.

To extend the life of the car before a major rebuild I rebuilt all the calipers and pulled all the CV's apart and repacked them. I also had a rear alignmnet done. She's not too pretty anymore, Some rust starting to show and lots of rock chips and paint damage from bug guts. But were still rolling.

So off the to WCR. Sandy and I put about 4700 miles on the car. There is a stretch of road between Salt Lake and Medford that was rumored to have felt our tire rubber blister her surface at triple digits... maybe..

Were back home and getting ready for the RRC. Maybe in the Alien, maybe in Sandy's Ravenna car.

[So off the to WCR. Sandy and I put about 4700 miles on the car. There is a stretch of road between Salt Lake and Medford that was rumored to have felt our tire rubber blister her surface at triple digits... maybe..

Were back home and getting ready for the RRC. Maybe in the Alien, maybe in Sandy's Ravenna car.
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Triple digit!

How high for how long?
'Drive like you stole it"

Missed another update I guess. (Since last fall) The Medford redline run was was nothing compared to the route home from RRC last fall. We followed a new Caddy hot rod with an LS engine through a 40 mile section of deserted prairie two lane blacktop. 40 miles behind this caddy at speeds that would make many uncomfortable. I never looked at the speedometer. We went through the Black Hills and did the tourist thing. A great end to a great event with good friends.

Fired up the Alien and took her out for a nice drive today. I'm trying to figure out if my coolant leak is from the radiator or a hose. Didn't really worry about it too much just drove her with no drama. I have a few things to fix from last years hard miles. Among the items is a broken throttle cable up on the top of the engine. I'm still driving around with the #9 tie wire fix we did at the RRC last fall. I actually forgot about it. The leak turned out to be a hose clamp.

I'm getting caught up with my work load. I should be down to 5-6 days a week from 7. It looks like I'll have a little time to give the Alien the once over just before the trip to Beaver Utah and the RRC!

She won't win any beauty contests this year. I spotted some rust. I have lots of rock chips and bug guts stuck all over the front end from last year yet. I still have a broken windsheild from that big rock I took in the lower left corner on the way to RRC last year. I have a new glass and may at least change that before I leave.

I still need to take her off the road and do a full on re-do but I can't bring myself to do it until the Ravenna car gets paint. She's close but not close enough.

So, I'm going to drive her like I stole her!

Cars like this NEED to be driven or they just rot like boats!!

I have 3 cars with over 200,000 miles and thats because I drive them!

I am worried about not driving my benz enough so I make sure to take it out and make sure it is warmed up for 45+ constant miles at least once a week!

Sandy and I just returned from another road trip to the RRC12. We had an awesome time. It was nice to see our friends.

It's a good thing I didn't change the cracked windsheild before I left. I got another crack while following Kevin and another one on the way home off a truck in a construction zone.

Today is 914 day. We are going to take a final drive up the scenic north shore of lake superior before I put the Alien in the shop for a much needed resurection. I'll get some photos and post them tonight.

Here are a couple from our trip out west. The car ran flawlessly. The temp rose a couple times while in town but that's normal when your in 90+ degrees and bumper to bumper traffic.

Anyone know where this is?

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Following this since the beginning. Whatacar!

Ok down to business. One of my favorite shirts is the Alien. I think U should do another run with "Alien Reseraction". What Say Y'all? Looking forward to the rebuild!
. Bill

Taken today on 914 day! On the western shore of Lake Superior.

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First off, amazing build

Second, where did you get the adapter plate , to adapt the trans to the motor?

oh and third if you dont mind

what did you do about the axles ?

Thanks again and keep abducting

Thanks for looking. I made the adaptor plate in my garage and I'm running a 901 with stock axles.

lol, no mask on or anything, true enthusiast

What a car! And I was up there a few weeks before in my TR6 for it's maiden voyage after restoration. I love Duluth.

Next time call me and stop at Area51Werks for a visit. I have a Bugeye here you would dig

for ben from OR. Here's your casual reading...

In the spirit of the COTM contest here's the Alien build thread. The car made it out of the garage this summer for three short trips. I need to check out a wheel bearing issue before I hit the road again. Dang winters are hard on cars that sit in unheated spaces.

Thanks Rick!

It'll be a nice read I'm sure.

^this!


Hey Rick, I might have missed it being asked or brought up before...have you thought of ditched the 928 motor and go with a newer V8 from a Panamera or Cayenne?

Actually Marty from MSDS is doing that right now.