Listening to the guy talks just makes you realise how much the passion has gone from the Porsche brand in recent years. They used to be so much more, now they're just the go to sports car for people who don't really care that much about cars.
What struck me about Porsches was that they stayed true to their roots so hard up until the first water cooled 911. That's when they started chasing numbers around the Nurburgring and throwing everything else out that made them great.
The GT3's and 911 GTS's and shit are phenomenal, it's the Caymans and stuff that really let me down. On 911's I've noticed the more options you add like AWD, PSM etc, it really starts to numb the car. What I don't like is the fact they keep making the 911 less and less rear engine every generation. After a while it really starts to kill the driving experience. There's a real sketchiness and sort of scary feeling in an old 911 thats not there anymore unless you go for a GT3 or an older GT2.
This is a great glimpse in to Porsche passion and ownership. I also own "Por-shahs" and this guy and I could talk hours and hours about the history, parts, maintenance, handling, and model year specs and problems. We know our cars are not perfect, but they are special. It's all about being and feeling like a part of a family.For many of us owning a Porsche is fulfilling a dream we had as a kid playing with Porsche hot wheels. I totally admit there are a lot of Porsche Pricks out there and a big stereo type to overcome, but the majority of owners at the tracks and PCA get togethers are really nice guys that enjoy talking about their cars. Great review and insight into 1981 911. BTW, a LOT of your shifting problems were because you were not rev matching when going in to the next gear... Its a 30 year old tranny, but you still could give it a little help by keeping the engine revs up when shifting. Great vid, thanks!!
he got cut off at the beginning, Le Mans cars had the key near the door so that race officials could reach in and turn the key off in the case of a crash where the driver is incapacitated. Safety feature, and makes it easier for a shutoff from outside the car in general if needed.
Grim Dark End ACKSHUALLY Le Mans drivers actually started the race by running to their cars. Porsche put the ignition on the left so drivers can jump in their car, turn the key and put it in 1st at the same time.
DefaultSettings I know this was two years ago, but that’s only partially right. Porsche originally did this because they started to produce cars during the war when materials were hard to come by and expensive, and they found that it was significantly cheaper when they put the ignition on the left to save materials...they just kept on doing this because it was good for Le Mans starts and continue to do it now for heritage.
awww haha i wanted it to keep going, coulkd listen to that guy talk about porsche's for hours haha... awsome 10 part series!! cant wait to see some reviews from the trip.. thanks for the laughs and take care!!
Fun video, but the car needed to spent a lot more time above 3500rpm. That's where the fun is. And yeah, those old 915 gearboxes are vague. Takes a lot of practice to feel comfortable with them.
One of my favorite things to do is listen to someone talk about their passion. The enthusiasm and depth of knowledge on what they find moving is pure art.
I wouldn't mind just being in the passenger seat of this car while that guy tells me everything he knows about his car and it's history. I hope to be that way with my Datsun 510 one day.
i belive that rev-matching is used to match the speed of the clutch and the engine (or the flywheel to be more specific), and double declutching (googled it, turns out it is the correct term xD) is used to speed up the gearshaft (havent googled it, this might not be the correct term :D) to match the output shaft inside the gearbox
Gábor Négyesi Interesting. Either way, in a car with synchro-mesh, rev-matching provides the exact same result in less time so unless you're driving a car from the 50's or before, it's not really useful.
love this video , the owner of the car is really cool and knows his shit my friend's dad had a volkswagen Karmen Ghia and it only had like 32k miles . then when he passed away the other side of his family took it it was really sad , all i wanted to see is it run , but atl east i got to sit in one
Cool and laid back with still a lot of info. That was pretty cool. It would be interesting to pepper these type of reviews here and there. Or maybe at season's end if you decide to go for another road trip.
There's something wrong with that transmission. My dad has a 1980 Weissach 911 that he has owned since new. I rode with him in it for years and drove it a number of years ago and that manual shifts like a dream. Never once had to fight for a gear and I had only been driving Manual transmissions for a year or so at the time. Edit: Apparently my dad's has a shift kit in it. Solves almost all of the problems with that manual. Still could be something wrong though. I wouldn't think a car company would release a Manual that fought back that much.
TheDonCucaracho just rev matching without double declutch (ie tapping on gas while clutch remain pushed in) won’t help with downshifting into gear for an old car like this one. You are correct for cars with synchro you don’t typically need to double declutch. But for an old transmission like 915 double declutching will help make downshift a little easier.
RegularCars I think some of the problem you are having with 3rd (and maybe other gears) is the syncro's are worn out so rev matching will make for much easier downshifts.
I totally recognize the part of Boulder around 4:59 since I lived in that part of town in 2009 and the drive north afterwards until the ponies area. Nice video.
Cool video. Next best thing to getting to take a ride in an SC, and the Porsche history tour guide was awesome. So many fun facts...even if half of them were edited out. Also, it's funny that he thinks dentists make $70k a year.. haha
They are talking about the 2.7 engine cracking and that just happened to my dad's 77 911 and it's in the shop now and magnesium is a Bitch to work with
in terms of waving, miatas are the same way, when I drive my dads Miata, people in NBs and other NAs wave but people in NCs are all "im 68 and im not a Miata enthusiast!"
cmon regular you ride bikes Rev matching should be your thing .. then again, trying to think about what you want to say then actually speak , while operating an unfamiliar vehicle on unfamiliar roads I guess you got your hands full.. I have noticed before on other video though you should try that blip for the downshift deal..just a tap on the gas right as the clutch is depressed helps those syncros mesh up for the next lower gear.. it's a practice makes perfect deal but has really helped me especially with older cars with worn synchronizers.
My dad has an 87. That year porsche went with the G-50 transmission, from then on the 3.2 earned its bulletproof reputation. 40,000 miles and 27 years later he's done nothing to it but change the oil.
My Father has the SC as well. The cool thing is they only made it for that year 81', his has been worked on and has a cammer sound. Great cars that are not to expensive right now 15K will get you a good one, its not Turbo so the laymen aren't as interested in them SC= Super Cerrera.
I've often heard the story of having the key on the left to gain time for a Lemans start which I think is a pile of BS. We are talking about a 24 HR race. What I believe makes more sense is that in the event of a serious accident any race marshal can easily reach in and turn the engine off instead of having to reach across the driver to get to the ignition key.
tartredarrow Knowing the history about something you own is pretentious now? Since when is knowledge a bad thing? I have a hunch you're only saying that because Porsche is an expensive brand.
I've driven a 2001 911 and was also quite disappointed in the gearbox, but everything else was fantastic. I get the feeling all Porsches are like this? Anyone here have a MR/RR layout with a nice feeling gearbox? Maybe you could change out the linkages for stiffer ones? *thinking*
Boulder, represent! Good choice, driving Highway 36 along the foothills. Shout out to The Bus Stop, the sketchy strip club mentioned at 4:54. Also, the car owner is totally a guy who lives in Boulder/went to CU...interpret that how you will.
Rev match. It was cringe worthy watching you shift that thing without doing so. You don't necessarily have to heel-toe, but little blip of the gas pedal will go a long way.
