Just like the originals !

Another part of the jigsaw just arrived......

Lifter inserts, nitrited and with circlips just like the originals as used in PreA and Denzel motors :-)

Cannonball Brakes Pt 2

The second stage of the "Cannonball" brakes is complete....

If you want to brake late no good using those skinny original brake shoes.

Today we machined the front drums, ready for some bigger ones :-)

Cooking on Gas!

Things are moving along now at a rate of knots, it's all hands on deck with the Cannonball on the horizon!

Our OOCrasa heads are now machined to accept 80mm Nicasil cylinders, If the original Nicasil's were good enough for Porsche to use on the 917's, then they are for sure good enough for us ;-)

Next step will be to put the heads on a flow meter to get some numbers, that is after we finish the manifold modifications.......

What a dilemma!

It's looking like the most Cannonball fun will be in the smaller displacement class, so we are thinking...................

Which Porker crank?

Run the 74mm crank and enter the 1500 class or 64mm crank and the 1300 class..... Mmmmmmm

A pinch of this and a dash of that.....

Here's a very cool Blog we've been following for a while now, Shinya Kimura, formally of zero engineering.

He's now started Chabott engineering and still doing his stuff, mixing a little of this with some of that to fabricate some amazing creations.

He's very much like us .......... who wants to go to a shop to buy all your parts when you can think outside the box and make them yourself.......

Shinya we take our hat's off to you!

Cannonball Brakes

2 are better than 1 !

The first stage of the "Cannonball" front brake modifications for the '53 are just about complete .......

Plan B

We've spent a lot of time thinking about the gearboxes of the '53 & '54.

Many hours of calculations, working out ratio's and various scenario's, in the quest the get the maximum out of these boxes.

We came up with what we thought was the ideal solution......

Then it was a hunt for someone who could actually make what we wanted, a Spiral bevel to Klingelnberg Palloid system, or to put it in plain English, a new R&P.

We eventually found someone who could make it, but before we went ahead and had these made we did more calculations and realised that for the R&P we wanted it would require us to machine the inside of the gearbox to make everything fit snugly.

This wasn't really an option, as we thought it would weaken the gearbox and we plan to push these little boxes to their limits.....

Luckily we had a contingency plan................... PLAN B.

We can still achieve the same overall outcome, Maybe Plan B should have been our first choice.

Stay tuned to see the outcome of PLAN B................

Gentlemen, start your engines!

Registration is open.....

OOC 54 Commented

"Bring it on, there is only one place to be next summer.....the race of the century...........OLDSPEED CANNONBALL CHALLENGE........ They built the cars in Germany.........and they are coming home...........but we have made a few changes!"

Denzel powered '52 Kab

Herr Specializer's '52 Kab is finished :-)

We received this video, shot after it had just made it's maiden voyage. For those of you that don't know it is running under Denzel power and doesn't it sound amazing ;-)

It's a shame it's on the other side of the pond and won't be able to attend the Oldspeed Cannonball Challenge to help fly the flag for the OOC.

We aren't going to say too much more about it as it will be at a photo shoot in the next couple of days for a magazine feature. Be sure to lookout for it........

Nice job Rich and all involved :-)

Loaded.....

All the big cannon's up north are loaded and primed ready for the Oldspeed Cannonball Challenge and we know you have some secret one's still under wraps ;-)

Our friends over at the Sechs Volt Garage already have The Abarth Zwitter in race trim, ready to have some breakfast in the smaller displacement class.

We also know you Northern boyz wear your colours with pride and will try to fly your flag the highest in all the classes, we can't wait............... for "The Clash of the Titans"

There's a few renegades within the OOC, so all we'll say is

It's not the loaded Cannon's you need to look out for, but "The Loose Ones" ;-)

Wait for it !

Fingers are twitching and feet are tapping, Just over a week to go before registration opens.....

They're at it again!

Look what our friends up north have found now.....

A March '52 Panel van

Not even they can get this ready in time for the Cannonball, or can they.........

Tick Tock.....

The clock is ticking and it's not too long now until June and the Oldspeeed Challenge.....

We're still busy with the gearboxes on the '53 & '54, now we have bearings there is just one last 'special' piece missing.

Hopefully we'll have it soon and then the boxes can be reassembled

Our Norwegian friends are also busy getting ready, the HPD special is in the garage to be put into race trim in preparation for the big day, they are also working on some secret fast projects :-)

In their words, B.C. Oldspeed Challenge - 'man against man, machine against machine, the mother of all Cannonball runs Belgium to Bad Camberg', this is one not to miss.

It will probably never happen again that's why all the lightest fastest Oldspeed Vw's from Europe will be taking part......

Nuts!....

In our quest to make the '53 as light a possible the wheel nuts are now ready :-)

Once again a big thanks goes to 'The professor' for his ingenuity.....

I spy....

Herr Blower was recently spotted at VW Action, looks like he was in need of a little extra motor cooling ;-)

OOC Juniors

As the winter is coming and in the quest for more speed, it looks like the OOC juniors will be burning the midnight oil too, modifying some of their toy's ;-)

'54 sunroof reunited

The summer is nearly over, so it's time to get back on our projects.

The '54's body has been reunited with the pan so the build up can continue, although there is no gearbox in there yet as we are still working on that one ;-)

'53's brake drums

The brake drums for the'53 are finally finished.

They have been machined and the cooling rings sweated on, machined on the inside for a better braking surface and studs have been added too.

We could have used "A" or even "B" brakes, but we wanted to do something different with the '53 and have something "in the werks" for the backing plates....

And anyhow we don't plan on having too much weight to stop :-)

A big thanks goes to R.K. a friend of the O.O.C. for many years...

An Invitation

We are not people of many words, we are men of action and don't get into wars of words with keyboard warriors..

It has been said, on forums, that our '53 won't ever see a race track, well to put the record straight, in 2011 it will be at the B.C. Oldspeed Challenge, in the 1500 class and also at Spa Francorchamps for 1 hour of racing the track.

In 2012 it will be at Le Mans Classic, where we can organise a 3 lap race of the full track.

So to put it in your own words, will you be joining us racing, or in the bar "drinking beer and chasing women"

You know where to find us..... ;-)

1/2 a day off !

what do you do when you have half a day off work?

you machine some of these of course!

These are the set for the '53, no prizes for guessing what they are ;-)

As it was nasty weather yesterday and today the sun is shinning, there was even time to go for a ride

with a passenger :-o

'54's Brakes

The rebuilt beam and front brakes are now installed on the '54 pan, just need to install the master cylinder fluid reservoir and the rear brakes of course, but before we can do that, some gearbox modifications are needed..........

Lavenham 2012

Following a review meeting with representatives of the Lavenham Parish Council at the weekend,we are pleased to be able to let you all know that the second Lavenham Vintage VW meet will be happening as planned in the summer of 2012.

They hope to be able to start the registration process next summer, so please keep an eye on the Pre67 website for full details in due course.

'54 Beam

The beam adjuster is now welded into the front beam, it has been welded in the "middle" position so both up and down adjustment is possible.

As those of you who have done this know, with the adjusters in place it is no longer possible to fit the cover for the tunnel. This not being an option for us, the cover was modified so it will fit properly and can also be removed without too much trouble.

Some New Rubber !

Things are back to normal now after LMC and even though it's holiday season we have still managed to do some work on the cars.

The '54 sunroof has got some new rubber on the freshly painted rims, a set of Michelin XZX 165SR-15's. :-)

We are also at present testing a set of Vredestein 165HR-15 Sprint Classics and plan to test a set of Dunlop 500-15 R5's soon....

Le Mans Classic 2010

Here are a selection of the photo's from LMC, the rest we will upload to our Facebook Page over the next couple of days.

908/2 flat 8, this is the actual car that was driven in the 1970 24 Heures du Mans with the camera attached. The car was driven in the race by Herbert Linge.

Herbert Linge gets behind the wheel again, happy memories.......

The 1970 24 Heures du Mans winning duo of Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood

The winning car of the 1970 24 Heures du Mans with the two drivers Herrmann and Attwood.

Vic Elford gets in on the action too :-)

The legend himself Vic Elford

René Metge has 3 Paris Dakar wins, a 24 Heures du Mans win plus much more...

1971 winning 917 of Marko/Lennep

The 1971 917 of Larrousse/Elford that was clocked at 386 km/h

Richard Attwood was actually talking part in the Le Mans Classic, driving a 917 with Vern Schuppan , here they can be seen changing drivers during racing.

Ex Jim Clark 356A was also racing

Oldspeed Legends

What can we say.......

We are back after four days of watching some of the greatest classic race cars on the planet and meeting some of the most famous Porsche werks drivers to ever drive the marque.

Although it was 35deg and we need some sleep, it was fantastic to see some of those drivers once again get behind the wheel of the cars they drove back in the day and take to the track. Believe us, they still drive with passion, way too fast for people on a pension :-)

We got to chat to Vic Elford and ask him how it really was to drive the 917 down the Mulsanne at over 386km/h, he replied " it was a joy to drive and I loved that car, although you had to be 100% committed as it was very unforgiving, you needed the whole road on the Mulsanne straight as it would tend to wander around a little".

Wander around! in a fiberglass car, cm's from the ground at 386km/h, only two words come to mind when describing these Porsche drivers, Balls & Steel.....

We also asked Herbert Linge, is it true about the 1954 Mille Miglia when you were Hans Hermann's co driver driving a 550, he laughed "yes but we were much younger then"

As they approached a rail crossing in the race the barrier came down as the train was approaching, they both ducked and drove under the barrier.

We also managed to get a few new members ;-)

1 René Metge

2 Richard Attwood

3 Herbert Linge

4 Gérard Larrousse

5 Vic Elford

6 Hans Hermann

Lift off........

Gone to Le Mans..........

1

24 Heures du Mans 1971 - The end of an era

During the '71 season the FIA decided to change the sports cars rules, this mean't it would be the last year that the Porsche 917's and Ferrari 512's would dominate the racing.

Ferrari would bring their 512 M spec and in reply Porsche would bring two new versions of the 917, the K spec would have the short tail modified and now ran a magnesium chassis and the LH (longtail) version would receive aerodynamic improvements.

The race started with the new Indianapolis rolling start and the No 18 917 of Rodriguez/Oliver was straight into the lead.

The No 21 917LH of Elford/Larrousse was clocked at over 386 km/h (240 mph) something that couldn't be matched by the 512M, its top speed was only 320 km/h.

The race would eventually be won by a 917k magnesium chassis, No 22 of Marko/van Lennep and the No 19 917K of Attwood/Müller would be second.

The winning 917K completed 397 laps a record distance of 5335 kms, the record would stand for another 39 years, until 2010 when it was bettered by the 3 Audi R15 TDI +'s.

In the 1970/71 season the 917's entered 21 races and won 14 of them.........

2

24 Heures du Mans 1970 - Battle of the Titans

Porsche returned with their 917's , five factory cars were entered and another nine of these flat 12 aircooled beasts by privateers. Not to be outdone, 11 Ferrari V12 512's were also entered.

This was the first time the 917 appeared in Gulf livery of the John Wyer team, it would later become famous in the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans. Much of the racing footage in the movie is actually from the race, shot from the No 29 Porsche 908.

McQueen actually tried to enter the race with Jackie Stewart as co-driver in No26, a John Wyer 917K chassis 917-013, but the entry was declined.

Porsche also entered their new low drag 917L (or Longtall) the fastest lap and pole position went to 917L No 25 driven by Elford/Ahrens, but unfortunately would retire with cooling problems.

The race was eventually won by the 917K No 23 of Attwood/Herrmann, second was the 917L No 3 of Larrousse/Kauhsen and third overall was also a Porsche, the 908 No 27 of Lins/Marko.

Porsche had achieved what they set out to do 19 years earlier, overall victory at 24 Heures du Mans.

3

24 Heures du Mans 1969

Porsche return with one of the greatest race cars ever built, the 917.

2 factory cars are entered driven by Elford/Attwood No 12 and Lins/Kauhsen No 22, a third privateer 917 was entered by gentleman driver John Woolfe.

Both the Factory 917's retired from the race with clutch problems, it was left to the 908 driven by Herrmann/Larrousse No 64 to fly the Porsche Flag.

They didn't disappoint, it was a dramatic finish to the race with the 908 and GT40 of Jacky Ickx repeatedly overtaking each other. The GT40 eventually won by 100 meters due to the 908's brake problems.

The class win and second overall was once again overshadowed by a fatal accident. The 917 of John Woolfe crashed on the first lap at Maison Blanche and he was killed, it was possibly due to the fact that he had not bothered to use his safety belt.

At the start of the race the drivers were required to run across the track, climb in and get it started as quickly as possible to pull away form the grid. Woolfe probably didn't bother with the belt to gain a better start.

This was the last year of the traditional start, in future it would be the rolling start that we know today.

4 Days....

24 Heures du Mans 1958

Porsche debut their new Spyder 1500 RSK

The team of Behra/Herrmann No 29 finished 1st in class (1600) and 3rd overall. The second factory team of Barth/Frère No 31 finished 1st in class (1500) and 4th overall. 5th overall also went to a Porsche, a privately entered 550A driven by Godin de Beaufort/Linge.