An audiophile and petrolhead's musings: in the hi-fidelity, first class, traveling set - Page 129

Today we're going to Virginia to check it out. It'll be fun.

Damn, I feel sorry for that guy we met today. He had what seemed to be everything he wanted in life, then his wife started having an affair and then decided to divorce him. Now he has to sell off his cars, as well as the rest of their communal property, and split the assets. This is after she emptied the accounts and ran off to Miami to be with the guy she's having the affair with (she met the guy on Facebook, he's 15 years her junior). I'm not sure if I've met a more desolated human in my entire life. He broke into tears twice while we were there, once he was practically sobbing. It really hurt my wife and I to see anyone like that, she was almost crying over it. Such a nice guy too, a retired exec with Hilton hotels.

We looked over the Countach; cosmetically great, mechanically crap. He was going to get it fixed, but all that went down and he never did. Also there was a sweet little `74 Carrera RS recreation (a modified `74 911S). I6 enlarged to 3.2L (~300hp), RS body panels, roll cage, fully adjustable dampers, original 5-spd RS gearbox, 964 LSD, the whole kitchen sink went into it. It's an RS in nearly every way, except for the bits that were modernized for performance. It drives like a racer, with a really stiff chassis, but the suspension was set where it doesn't beat you up. Amazing engine note too. Sweet, sweet little car.





Edit: Weren't there some other posts?
Edited by Magick Man - 2/19/13 at 9:19pm

Yeah, we worked a deal for both the Countach and the Carrera. I'm as pleased as I can be, though I feel for the guy immensely, losing his toys and all. I couldn't let the Countach get away, it's on my big list and the prices are starting to spiral up dramatically. If I wait I'll be paying double within 5 years.

He invited me to look over all the cars and gave me starting prices, the RS remake is practically detail perfect, except it's faster than a real RS and has that trick suspension. I don't believe I'll ever get a crack at something like that again, unless I build it myself (or go in for a real RS @$500k), so I had to strike while it was hot. That's going to be my main track car, couldn't really ask for anything better.

Yep, yep, that's it up there, white w/ green trim, RS arches, and the duck tail spoiler (vintage Fuchs wheels; 8" front, 9" back). It falls into the great analog drivers I have, along with the M5, E-type, and Cobra. It's very point-and-shoot, and the 50/50 weight has a great feel.

I'm not completely sure how "Track Day" works, likely, depending on distance, I'll drive or trailer the car to the track. SMR, which is only 20 miles away, I'll probably drive, but VIR is a few hours, so a trailer is more likely. I'm sure there will be other drivers, unless I plan to put down serious money to get the place all to myself. I'm thinking I'll use magnetic numerals, but yeah, a lot like that. My wife and I are both going to be taking driving classes, for road and oval tracks, and we'll get SCCA licenses so we can compete in regional SCCA events. For her, I'll get a roll cage and harnesses rigged up in the Mini, with the proper modifications, it'll be a great little racer.


Edited by Magick Man - 2/20/13 at 4:41pm

The new mechanic started today, so that means we have 4 now, counting the owner. He's cool, though. Like, "Wow, there's an Aventador, a Ferrari, a Porsche, and Countach here, that's upscale." I look around, "Umm, yeah, those are mine." "Where do I start?" "Grab an Italian lady and start stripping."

Was close on the Carrera RS, it makes 313bhp, 270 at the wheels, that's good for a car weighing ~2300lbs. She's very eager, and kind of a noisy little thing... no cats, racing headers, not much in the way of a muffler, just a dual inlet/outlet job that looks more like a fat pipe. Spent time with the 458 finishing it, nothing major just saving settings and exhaust tuning, and carefully started tuning the GT, so we wouldn't trash the dyno again. So far it's been a hoot, although the system is officially rated at 30psi from Heffner, the big Garretts can pressurize to 40 and we tested a couple runs at 35, which made nearly 1400hp at the crank. What we ended up doing, however, is actually backing off the peak boost to 25, which gives us a bit north of 900hp to the wheels (1050 crank). With the new flash I can change it at will in software with presets, but that's a good place to default to and well within tolerances.

To be frank, it's unnerving, anyway. 0-60mph is 2.3-2.4sec, 100 in about 2 seconds more. Veyron what? Agera who? Yeah, that's me, driving around town in "valet mode".

There's a company in California who supposedly makes a spot-on F1 replica for ~$300k, and it includes an all-alu supercharged Rover 4.5L V8, making 650bhp. I've been waiting to see any reviews from buyers.