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Ault Park Concours, Cincinnati, Ohio


Barry Wolk

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This weekend is the Ault Park Concours http://ohioconcours.com. If you're in the area it's worth the trip.

This will be our third invitation, the first for the Porsche. It's now as road worthy as it will ever be. Every system has been gone over. It's virtually a new 53 year old car.

In the last few days I've installed new tires and the Pertronix ignition system. I also installed new gaskets behind the "beehive" tail lights. There are an amazing number of reproduction rubber parts available for the 356.

The oil's been replaced with an oil recommended by the Porsche Club that's high in ZDDP, additives that were taken out of oil because they spoil catalytic converters.

The ball joints are all new as is the entire braking system, including stainless steel front and rear brake hoses. The ID of the old rubber hose was apparently clogged, making the car pull drastically.

I've adjusted the clutch linkage and taken all the slop out of the accelerator linkage. The cumulative slop was only allowing the throttle to open half way making for sluggish performance.

Yesterday was the crowning touch. I contacted a man that builds VW race engines. In four hours he got the car singing a totally different note than it had before.

He brought a flow gauge with him to balance the carbs. They were way off. After he got both butterflies to operate in sequence the car still wasn't running right. He pulled out one of the idle jets and it read .55 mm stamped into the brass. He said that that was the problem. It appears that today's gas formulation makes these old guys run rich so he went back to his shop and found a pair of .50 mm jets, installed them and the exhaust stopped producing black soot. By leaning out the idle mixture (which is used up to 3000 rpm) it was getting more power because of a complete burn of the fuel charge.

He detected some valve train noise and suggested doing a valve adjustment. He followed the specs in the owner's manual and it quieted down until the engine warmed up. The clatter was actually worse. He said that the specs on the Porsche engine were different than the VWs he was used to working on. On the Porsche the specs call for a gap of .008 for the exhaust and .006 for the intake. The VW runs .006 for both. I had him pick up a set of valve cover gaskets and come back and match the VW specs. He suspected that they changed the spec over time because of noise complaints on the early cars. Contrary to my thinking, he told me that a smaller gap was necessary because the gap opened up with temperature. I thought that strange because metal parts expand with heat. Turns out the whole engine "grows" increasing the valve lash.

It now starts at the push of the starter button and purrs like a kitten. Unlike conventional engines the flat-four idle speed increases as the car warms up. He explained that as the rising heat of the engine helps to vaporize the gasoline charge.

Whatever he did, it worked. I took it for a test drive and it acted like a totally different car. I am very pleased and very confident that we will have an uneventful trip.

We get an extra dose of respect from the judges at these shows because we drive the cars, unlike a lot of the exhibitors. What good is a pedestal car? I have enough sculpture. laugh.gif

Last year. Mayor's Cup.

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I'll see you there, Barry! BTW a very good friend of mine, the President of the TR6 club (6-PACK) Greg Donegan, is the class host for Collector Foreign this year. I'll likely be helping him out during the show if needed.

I second Barry's recommendation! The Ault Park Concours is definitely one of the class acts of the hobby! cool.gif

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Here's a photo of Barry and Gynette in their '55 Porsche Continental at the Concours this afternoon. cool.gif (Sorry about the shadow on your face, Barry. This was the best photo I got! blush.gif )

Thanks for helping to make the show so much the better. Please come back next year! smile.gif

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Skyking</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dave, how about a photo of your car......... </div></div>

Actually I didn't prep the Prius for the show properly! I wouldn't want to dissappoint anyone! smirk.gif

Actually I had my TR6 at a show in Louisville yesterday, but forgot my camera. It's not much to look at right now either, however! bored.gif

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Here are a few field shots I took today. Unfortunately the fields (there are 4 seperate display areas) are not laid out for easy overall views, and most of my photos are of individuals cars.

(BTW, the small black car in the last ("<span style="font-style: italic">Garden of Old Roses</span>") photo is an exceptional restoration of a 1931 MG Magna police car, one of 2 surviving and the Best of Show at the Louisville British Bash the previous day! cool.gif

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