UK Outlaw

For those who couldn't care less how their 356 left the factory!
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Graham Kerr
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Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:21 am
Location: West Sussex, England

Re: UK Outlaw

#106 Post by Graham Kerr »

I'm sorry I've been getting way off the map with Cobras, Harleys and 911's. Returning to jolly super little 356's, down at the workshop everybody has been doing the overtime to try and get my modified T6 B finished in time for a few upcoming events. Yes, do you remember events, that is where people and their cars congregate, drink a few cold ones and chat about their beloved vehicles. Anyway following all the recent trials the engine is now running sweet as a nut with no oil aerating and pushing 50 to 60 psi. All that was left to do was take it for a test run. I can't add the clip to this post but if you follow the U Tube spec below you will be able to see the wild beast let loose for the first time in nearly three years. Now I know you American guys are quite cost bias and always want to know the worth of anything, well, I can tell you that I could have bought a pretty highly optioned new 911 for what this little escape has cost me. Do I care? Get outta here, I'd do it all tomorrow. utube clip: https://youtu.be/-D_ND0xpSc4
86 SSE Turbo Look 3.2 Carrera
Cole Foster Chop
75 Honda ST70
94 Buell ST2
74 Dax Cobra
18 Macan Turbo
62 356B T6 (modified)

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Graham Kerr
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Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:21 am
Location: West Sussex, England

Re: UK Outlaw

#107 Post by Graham Kerr »

356 h 12.6.jpg
356 h 12.6.jpg (212.18 KiB) Viewed 6606 times
Firstly escape on the previous should have read escapade but who cares. Still bombarded with lots of little jobs that we knew about but said we would attend to at the end of the week, which week we were not sure of but all of a sudden it's time for THAT job to be addressed. A small problemette that has raised its' nasty little head is spring rates and the way the car tracks and steers. Obviously with lots of new stuff up its' back end it was fairly probable that various settings would have to be looked at and as this is a very specialist job I am pleased to say maestro Patrick is working hard with alignment gauges and bits of string and castor equipment to enable the car to track a reasonably straight path down the tarmac. With the stock torsion bars doing a small amount of work we are going softer with the spring rates on the Koni coil overs to find a nice balance between a decent ride and decent roadholding.
One other problem that moved onto the back burner was the handbrake, the last type of handbrake I wanted was the prehistoric umbrella type fitted as standard on the car, they used to fit these on Ford Populars good heavens and anyway I didn't have any handbrake bits in the cardboard boxes of spares I got with the car many years ago. I fitted an early 911 floor mounted lever and assembly quite some time ago but it hadn't been hooked up to the 911 rear brakes that are now in the car. So Steve welded up some tubes under the gearbox crossmember as end stops for the handbrake cables, of course this meant taking the gearbox crossmember off and spraying it then putting it all back again. But, job done and one more ticked off the list. The last job but one was to braze up a few retaining fixings for the sill moulding which I fitted after the car was sprayed. This moulding is actually the front wing moulding off an MGB and I used it because it was a smaller and neater version than the Porsche one plus I had a pair kicking around in my garage. OK last little jobbie was to fabricate a small debris guard for the oil cooler in the front wing and make a similar guard to sit in the hole in the front wing where there is usually something that I can't remember, a horn or a light or similar.
That's it for now, suddenly my thoughts are turning to the interior, it's predominantly vynil God how do you spell vynel anyway it's plastic and I think it should be leather, sorry Mr.Cow but I like the smell.
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356 m 12.6.jpg
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356 l 12.6.jpg
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86 SSE Turbo Look 3.2 Carrera
Cole Foster Chop
75 Honda ST70
94 Buell ST2
74 Dax Cobra
18 Macan Turbo
62 356B T6 (modified)

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Graham Kerr
356 Fan
Posts: 217
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:21 am
Location: West Sussex, England

Re: UK Outlaw

#108 Post by Graham Kerr »

My new toy, Macan Turbo with 440bhp twin turbo performance plus engine.
My new toy, Macan Turbo with 440bhp twin turbo performance plus engine.
IMG_1520.JPG (3.39 MiB) Viewed 6509 times
Someone up there doesn't like me I'm sure. Main man Steve at the shop, Classic Fabrications said that the car is at last running fine although he did have reservations regarding the Weber carbs only because these bad boys do not have any choke mechanisms to assist cold starting so he reccommended that the car be put onto a rolling road at a local tuning shop just to get them absolutely spot on. It would cost a few hundred but rather necessary. It turned out rather more than necessary as the rolling road guys were able to crank out nearly 138bhp at the wheels after a few hours swapping jets etc. OK I know all of you have a buddy whose healthy four cylinder would put this to shame but I shall be more than happy with this output that is, of course, until I get that 3.6 964 lump installed. Anyway the car came back to the shop and although it was hoped that it could be put on the trailer and delivered back to me, Mr Murphy had other ideas. Firstly the alternator decided it didn't want to charge any more then it was discovered that the oil temerature gauge was not functioning and then the indicators stopped working. I told Steve to immediately order a new alternator because to have it repaired could have taken 10 days. It's also a pig job to do on a 911 engine, I recently replaced the alternator on my 911 and it means carbs off, fan and housing out, cooling and ducting metalwork comes off, altogether a right pain in the you know where. My oil temerature gauge is an Autometer ultralight 2 5/8ths piece which I bought as a set from Jegs Automotive a few years back when I was in the US. Of course there was no chance of finding such a part in the UK so I had to order one direct from Autometer in the States. With shipping, clearance and duty that was best part of 400 pounds but hey ho. The indicators was a 10 pound flasher unit so that was definitely a relief. So provided there is no more drama whilst the car is having its replacement alternator fitted it should be back and laying rubber all around my local lanes in about a week. I am really looking forward to taking the car to a show and the next on the calendar is Boxengasse in Bicester Northamptonshire. I don't know what Boxengasse means, maybe it's German lingo, who knows but if you google it you will see all the cool Porsches assembled there. Following that we have Classics at the Castle, the castle being 12th century with plenty of boring history but there should be a gathering of approximately 60 356's which is about the whole 356 population of jolly old England. Tally ho chaps.
86 SSE Turbo Look 3.2 Carrera
Cole Foster Chop
75 Honda ST70
94 Buell ST2
74 Dax Cobra
18 Macan Turbo
62 356B T6 (modified)

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John Clarke
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Re: UK Outlaw

#109 Post by John Clarke »

Hi Graham
Perhaps I missed it, but how did the Boys weekend go with your 356 down to the Chateau in France for the Faux Le Man Classic , last month I believe?

Cheers Jay
 

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Graham Kerr
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Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:21 am
Location: West Sussex, England

Re: UK Outlaw

#110 Post by Graham Kerr »

Four rows of louvers and frenched '39 Ford blue dot taillights
Four rows of louvers and frenched '39 Ford blue dot taillights
356-ddk5.jpg (199.86 KiB) Viewed 6391 times
Lil beastie parked next to my wide body 911 (dig polished Fuchs)
Lil beastie parked next to my wide body 911 (dig polished Fuchs)
356-ddk4.jpg (184.74 KiB) Viewed 6391 times
Carbon fibre engine cover is a faux carbon fibre wrap
Carbon fibre engine cover is a faux carbon fibre wrap
356-ddk3.jpg (124.42 KiB) Viewed 6391 times
Hood badge copied from Chrysler art deco piece
Hood badge copied from Chrysler art deco piece
356-ddk2.jpg (106 KiB) Viewed 6391 times
Licence plate surround from Naples Porsche
Licence plate surround from Naples Porsche
356-ddk1.jpg (171.99 KiB) Viewed 6391 times
Hi Jay, our little Porsche group which is a spin-off from the DDK interweb forum, we are called cars and cabbage but don't ask me why, didn't invade the beautiful departments of La Belle France mainly because we all couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery even if we had been on patrol in the Sahara for the last month, but we have an associate member who resides in a gorgeous part of Ireland so there is a vague plan for eight of us to jump on the ferry and dump ourselves at his vast mansion. It might happen but probably won't but we definitely will all be going to Classic Le Mans 2022. The chateau and chef are booked and there will be much eating and drinking, so much so in fact that we may not even get to the circuit. We will have a good time though.
Hey ho, my car is done, on the road legal beagle and driving like it should. Steve of Classic Fabs called to say there was a couple of things he wasn't too happy with. I thought oh no, I can't suffer any more problems and said just get the car back to me. The problems were minor. The new oil temperature gauge that I just got from the States was not working, this was important due to the much restricted air routing for the engine. Also the car was sitting much too high in the rear, the rear mudguard a full 2 to 3 inches above the top bit of the rear wheel. These were not major problems and to try to rectify the first I hunted around one of the many boxes of parts in the garage and found another Autometer oil temp gauge that should be going into my Cobra. I yanked out the sender, screwed it into the 911 block and bingo the gauge worked, actually I reckon it might have been an earth problem. Regarding the raised suspension I didn't have the correct C spanners to wind back the springs on the coil overs so I simply pulled the torsion bars out and left the Koni coil overs as the only suspension. The car dropped about 2 and 1/2 inches plus I gained a little suspension travel as well. Perfect.
Nothing else to do but gas it up and go for a blast and it certainly does blast along very well. Although the rear of the interior is well covered in dynamat, the sound proofing material, it is noisy not helped by a whining 5th gear synchromesh, non air filtered Webers and no head lining but I'm not complaining.
And last but not least a couple of pics taken at my most recent cars and coffee meet at the Milk Churn in Rudgwick. It's been quite a long journey.
86 SSE Turbo Look 3.2 Carrera
Cole Foster Chop
75 Honda ST70
94 Buell ST2
74 Dax Cobra
18 Macan Turbo
62 356B T6 (modified)

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Martin Benade
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Re: UK Outlaw

#111 Post by Martin Benade »

Sounds like you’ve got things handled in the fun department. And you don’t mind your mouth too much, always entertaining.
Cleveland Ohio
62 Cabriolet
56 VW
02 IS 300
04 Sienna

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Graham Kerr
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Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:21 am
Location: West Sussex, England

Re: UK Outlaw

#112 Post by Graham Kerr »

This build is more or less finished, the fun now starts with my Cobra especially as I recently got the word on a built 428 FE engine up for grabs. If I get that I'm going to need shares in Pirelli.
86 SSE Turbo Look 3.2 Carrera
Cole Foster Chop
75 Honda ST70
94 Buell ST2
74 Dax Cobra
18 Macan Turbo
62 356B T6 (modified)

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John Clarke
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Re: UK Outlaw

#113 Post by John Clarke »

Hi Graham
Are you taking the 356 to Hedingham?
Jay
 

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Graham Kerr
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Location: West Sussex, England

Re: UK Outlaw

#114 Post by Graham Kerr »

Jay, so sorry for not replying sooner, I'm building a third garage at my house and in the evenings I'm really smashed so it's nosebag two glasses of Rioja then I'm off to bed. Anyway the garage is just about finished, it will be a no working on cars garage, solely for parking the 911 and Harleys. I had every intention of getting to Hedingham, I'd paid the entrance fee and paid to go over the Dartford crossing and did in fact get over the crossing but when I come off the M25 to go to the Thurrock services for a slash, I hit the brakes and the old dog suddenly veered to the left with an horrible graunching noise and stopped mid lane. Fortunately the car still drove and I made it down the road a few metres to an industrial park to survey the damage. What had happened was that a bolt from the 944 front nearside brake caliper had parted company somewhen back down the M25 so when I braked it threw the caliper back into the inner part of the wheel. It was the bottom cap screw that was missing. My insurance includes breakdown cover so I gave them a call on my mobile and the guy that came out was diamond. He had one of those lo-pro ally jacks because my car is v.low, hoiked it up and saw what had occurred. He swapped the existing top bolt into the bottom position so that when I braked the caliper would now go forward only as far as the hub. He had a poke around in his truck to find a spare M12 bolt but had no luck so he said lets see you drive a bit and so I did and as everything looked and performed OK he said good luck and foxtrotted oscar. I thought brilliant I can make it to Hedingham after all, but, big but, the handbrake said No, we are going home, slowly. I was gutted because I knew that if we had got to Hedingham and there was no reason why we could not have got there, in attendance would have been Andy Prill and PRS and I know Paul from PRS is such a good bloke he would have driven back to Billericay and got me a bolt, no question. But Classics at the Castle was not to be so we trundled of home using gears to slow down and in fact never needed to brake all the way home.
Now this brake issue is strange because I'm always using threadlocker for anything that has to do with motion plus when it comes to bolts especially the cap screw type I am mr. muscle usually relying on a breaker bar rather than torque wrench, so I can only assume that when the car was at Honiton and I know the guys had all the brakes off the car, they possibly just positioned the calipers but forgot to tighten them. It's just an assumption and I'm just putting it down to teething problems as the car hasn't turned a wheel in anger for quite a few months. I'm sure there will be more episodes but hope that they will be minor. If you are over my part of the world anytime pop in and see the car. Just give us a bell on 07941268159 and we can talk about 356's over a cuppa.
86 SSE Turbo Look 3.2 Carrera
Cole Foster Chop
75 Honda ST70
94 Buell ST2
74 Dax Cobra
18 Macan Turbo
62 356B T6 (modified)

Jonathan Bradbury Bigelow
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Re: UK Outlaw

#115 Post by Jonathan Bradbury Bigelow »

Congratulations on finishing and driving your outlaw. Do you notice any difference in handling with the extra weight in the back??

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Martin Benade
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Re: UK Outlaw

#116 Post by Martin Benade »

I bet there is a difference in everything now.
Cleveland Ohio
62 Cabriolet
56 VW
02 IS 300
04 Sienna

Jonathan Bradbury Bigelow
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Re: UK Outlaw

#117 Post by Jonathan Bradbury Bigelow »

Hey Graham, Anymore impressions about the car now that your finished? How is the handling and power in the smaller car?

Brad

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Graham Kerr
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Re: UK Outlaw

#118 Post by Graham Kerr »

Hi JBB, Sorry for delay in reply, I've been putting in big hours on the construction of my 3rd garage, now complete and way cool, so after my brake caliper issue I haven't driven the car mainly because I had another issue with the fuel line. It was just a minor leak but it threw a bunch of fumes into the car so I jacked the old beast up onto stands to A) sort the leak problem and B) make sure any holes from the exterior to the inside had been fully sealed. And it is still on the axle stands because I wanted to make up a centre console for the car because, as all the switches are on a slightly raised plinth just behind the shifter and between the seats, there is an inordinate amount of wiring coming down from the back of the dash panel to the central tunnel and I wished to hide this away from sight. At this time I also wanted to fit another stereo so I could have DAB, which is digital broadcast of music something like your Sirius stations, so that got done as well. Hang on, not finished yet as just before the holidays I had ordered a stand alone electric heater for the car, the 2.4 engine runs on only headers so it doesn't have heat exchangers and I thought a little interior heat would be better on longer journeys.
This week it will be back on it's wheels again and I should be able to give it a decent blast up the road. Another thing I've done is alter the throttle linkage a little to give me faster full throttle. I shall offer a road report shortly provided it doesn't snow or do any thing too nasty in the interim. Actually I must put a few miles in the cupboard because I'm doing a track day event at Goodwood fairly soon so I think I should have some idea of it's limitations prior to this meeting.
86 SSE Turbo Look 3.2 Carrera
Cole Foster Chop
75 Honda ST70
94 Buell ST2
74 Dax Cobra
18 Macan Turbo
62 356B T6 (modified)

Mark Schumacher
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Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 9:15 am

Re: UK Outlaw

#119 Post by Mark Schumacher »

Graham
Nice build! Hope it is a ton of fun driving
Curious regarding the oil tank. Can you provide a little information? Oil capacity, dimensions?
I think I can figure out the line routing from the pictures. I am working on a dry sump 4 cylinder for my ‘58 Outlaw and it seems you have good solution for oil tank placement
Mark

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Graham Kerr
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Location: West Sussex, England

Re: UK Outlaw

#120 Post by Graham Kerr »

Hi Mark,
I originally wanted the oil tank to be positioned in the right rear fender (passenger side) and have an access flap like they had on the '74 era, I think, 911's however there was just insufficient room especially routing all the relative pipework. So as the fan for the 911 engine is way to the rear the decision was made to fabricate a tank to be positioned onto the bulkhead above the front of the engine. We did have a couple of attempts at making the tank because the first one didn't have sufficient baffling to eliminate the oil frothing which was ocurring when the oil was returned from the front mounted oil cooler. The second tank has the return oil pipe exiting directly to one side of the tank so the oil has to run down the side of the tank and not just fall in. I'm not too sure of the capacity of the tank but it is something in the region of 7 litres, I don't have a dipstick but there is a sight gauge which is the small vertical pipe shown on the previous picture of the engine immediately above the front right hand ram pipe on the Webers. I run a Mocal temperature thermostat in the hard lines that run up to the front oil cooler which is an aftermarket 7 row piece. There is an Autometer oil temp gauge fitted on the dash and I have noticed that for general driving it shows around the 180/200f mark but I don't think the thermostat has been allowing oil up to the cooler so it has only been circulating around the engine.
If you are running a stock style cooling fan on your 4 cylinder you may not have enough room to have the oil tank where mine is, of course if you will be swapping to a horizontal fan ala 917 which I reckon is uber cool then you'll have no problems.
86 SSE Turbo Look 3.2 Carrera
Cole Foster Chop
75 Honda ST70
94 Buell ST2
74 Dax Cobra
18 Macan Turbo
62 356B T6 (modified)

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