Spent the weekend with Hurley and the (great!) crew at Brumos for an upcoming story.

Car was dicey on Friday (no brakes, or rather a soft pedal, and squirelly at 140~mph under braking on the way into the chicane. However, Saturday the car was much better after several tweaks, allowing me to drop 20-25 seconds from my time in practice. Halfway through the session, I was really looking forward to another night's sleep, a few more tweaks, and trying drop a few more seconds and move into the faster part of Group 1 (while trying to preserve a piece of history that belongs to someone else...). Unfortunately, the motor let go at 150~ mph on the front straight, putting a rod through the case and ending my weekend of 914 racing. They moved me to a 964 Turbo for parade laps and to get used to the car so I could qualify in it and race it on Sunday, but alas, no tires for Sunday.

While the 964 Turbo was AMAZING, my heart was all about that 914-6. What an incredible car, and what an incredible opportunity to drive a legendary track with legendary cars. I'll never forget several mental images, including chasing a real 904 on the banking on the way to the giant American flag with "DAYTONA" written on the wall below it.

As for the 914-6 GT (winner of the first IMSA race and 1971 IMSA championship) itself, I am now a big fan of 2.5-liter flat sixes. 230 hp was just right, in my book. Early S brakes, just barely adequate. If that. Goodyear racing tires on 15x7s and 8s: awesome. Realization that you're turning 7000 rpm in a 914...in fifth gear: crazy. (Only way my 914 will go that fast is when dropped off buildings.) Handling: much better after the tweaks, and pretty damn nice at high speed thanks to the banking. Shifter: best 901 I've sampled, hands down.

Chance to drive a 914 I snuck out of Sunday school to go read about in Excellence: priceless.

Here's two pics taken by Patti Tantillo courtesy of Brumos, one of Hurley and I talking about the high-speed wiggle in the rear end under braking, the other is Hurley telling me to "get off the brakes," with Speedy and I laughing.

Wondering if any of you have more of this car in the pits or on track?

Finally, there were some seriously fast 914s out there, including a really trick 914-4. If you were in one of them, sorry for holding you up on Friday. I was terrified!

Best regards,

pete

Nice story.
Good pics.

Is the caption for the second photo...."Am I drooling , or did I just wet myself?" (See laughter going on in background )

So awesome!

No hatred. I love you, man!

Paul

is this the #59 brumos 914/6 that got crunched recently in a historic race (was is paul newman who crunched it?). looks like it got repaired nicely!

Way to go Pete! Thanks for sharing.

Concours on Saturday afternoon. What a beautiful day and beautiful cars.

Another picture

Nice Job Pete. My butt has been in that seat before as Bob Snodgrass and I were good friends. And no this is not the car that was wreaked at Rennsport I @ Lime Rock. That was a bad day for Brumos as Newman wreaked one of the Brumos replicas and Fred Schwab wreaked the Brumos 962. My last 914-6 conversion had a 2.5 Twin-Plug. Perfect motor for a 914.

T.C.

From the race shop before RRII

T.C.

You always have a way of livening things up around here Pete. Thanks for sharing!

Was there for the Newman in 914-4 accident (he had no where to go), and the Schwab thing too (he had no business being in that car, as he pointed out later). Believe you me, both things were on my mind as I flew to Florida. I dind't want to be "that guy" circa 2007.

Thanks for the extra pics! T.C., did you drive the car? Where? And, does the rear end look lower to you in your pic than at the concours?

Best regards,

pete (who is still pinching himself!)

Fun read, thanks!

Nice, you lucky bastard......very jealous, but I would have been COMPLETELY petrified to drive a car like that....an awful lot of pressure.....

Rennsport III was certainly a blast, and the last race of the day had Hurley chasing down a 2.5 liter 911 with the other Brumos 914-6, albeit a 2.0 liter one. This car then ran third I believe.

The weather was perfect, and the sight and sound of these cars running around the Daytona banking made the trip worthwhile. Make your plans for Rennsport IV!

BTW, the 2.5 liter engines were one of the most fun engines made, but expensive to duplicate. You need the short throw 66 mm crank with 2.7 liter barrels, and special pistons to get the compression up to where you need it. They allowed the 914-6 to run them to bring the engine capacity up to the class limit.

Way to go Pete!

I bet that was even more fun than a Merkur!

Can we expect a full write-up?

We already hated you!

Thanks for confirming my suspicions. I've already got that set up:

2.5
S-Calipers
15x7 and 8

Can't wait until I get a spare 10 grand to bolt it all together...

Seriously, my assumptions over years of pouring over this GT stuff is, there's a fine balance for a 914 chassis. A 2.5 lightweight hitting 220-230hp just oughta do it. The 2.5 SS motor incorporates the spirit of what these cars were all about. High revving fun.

Congrats Pete. I can't wait to read about it.

Yep, 2.5 is pure magic.

A write-up is definitely in the offing... though it's more about Snodgrass than the car. That said, there is a really neat story on how this all came to be, and this 914-6 played a big part in that. Gonna have to figure out how to make it good without being too long.

In the meantime, here's a little about the cars:

Hurley's car was a 2.5 with a similar engine to the one in my car (carbed, high-compression, about 230 hp) but fresher and with a Hewland gearbox, windshield-delete, lower rear ride height, 944 Turbo brakes at all four corners, a far more extensive roll cage, and (I hear) quite a bit less weight.

And to think I wondered why HE didn't want to drive the "real" #59 914-6 before I got to Daytona.

Hurley was wicked fast in that car, turning consistent 2:04s -- the same time lesser drivers were turning in 750-hp 935s -- while rolling at 8000 rpm all the way around the banking. As for me, I got down to 2:22-2:23 and (later) 7200-7400 rpm on the banking, and feel certain I could have, after another night of sleep and more thought, dropped into the teens and hit 7500-7800 rpm on the banking and straights while still preserving the car (on Saturday, I was still short shifting from third and fourth on my way onto the banking so I could concentrate on steering at high speed). But I'll never know.

I felt AWFUL getting towed in and questioned everything about my driving, but they say it was a tired motor and the fact it blew where it did says I didn't break it.

After the 914, the 964 Turbo was a revelation, though. Where the 914 took everything I had to drive at 150 mph or so, 140 mph in the 964 was like driving a Cayenne on the freeway at 80 mph... and it had real brakes. Would have LOVED to race that thing, even if it did have the engine in the wrong place.

In the end, they seemed as bummed as I was that my racing was over for the weekend. Luckily, they've invited me back to drive their cars at RR4, or maybe the 24 minutes of Daytona. Hope I'll be able to take them up on it...

18 years later, it's funny to think about where a humble 914-4 can take you. I spent the week before Daytona driving my car every day to get the "new car" out of my system and reconnect with the 914 chassis. It's such a marvelous car. In some ways, it is my favorite Porsche unibody. Still light, with the engine in the right place.

I owe a lot to 914s, and the people who love them.

pete

Eric,

Right on on the 2.5 and wheels, but I'd recommend trying the S calipers with caution. They might be enough on the street, but they were not really enough at Daytona. Personally, I'd do 986 or 951 brakes -- but then I really value killer brakes.

pete

Pete,

Can you describe the "several tweeks" and the "few more tweeks" used to make the car better? What needed correcting?


Thanks,

Andys

Sure,

1. Brake pedal was soft. The brakes worked, but a full bleed restored a LOT of confidence. I think one more bleed would have been beneficial for Sunday.

2. Rear ride height lowered a bit. Would have liked to bring it down more, but the real #59 has clearance issues solved in the other car (Hurley's) by clearancing the tub.

3. Tire pressures. Just before going out, they reset them. I asked what they were running at. They said 19 psi, unless it was for Bob, who liked 18.5. I asked why and they said he liked the car a bit softer. I asked if that would add to or decrease oversteer, and they said decrease.

I don't know if they made any other subtle tweaks (we talked about rear toe), but it was a different car on Saturday. Different driver, too. I decided that I would stop driving my mirrors (but still watch them) and that anyone who wanted to go by had to earn it (which is safer for everyone anyway). I decided to keep my foot in it around the banking, too, which settled the car a lot.

I also decided that, if Saturday was like Friday, I was going to hand back the key and say "thank you."

That's because Friday was terrifying and I was really, really slow. Besides the whole driving a museum piece thing, Daytona is a pretty initimidating place and I knew none of the lines. Saturday was...so...much...funner.

The car played a big part in that. I think Sunday would have been even better, but I am thankful that the motor didn't blow on Friday. Had it, my only memory of driving that car would have been a bitter disappointment, mostly with the "me" part of the equation...

pete

Hi Pete, Never raced or really drove it. Bob let me sit in it, start it up, put it on the lift so I could see some stuff. Yes the rear end looks much lower from 2004. Here's another pic for inspection.

T.C.

Yep thats exactly whats in my car. Did the motor for under $10K. 2480cc twin plug, MSX gears, SC calipers and rotors (more than enough brake for my lightweight car) with 9" and 8" wheels. Car has tremendous balance and is wicked fast on the track.

Car just sings. Here is video if havent seen it in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSaL5XpVTt8