Automotive



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Overview

My automotive children; youngest to oldest...

 1984 Porsche 930
Black (L041), Euro spec, turbocharged, air-cooled, four-speed, 7Jx16 (front) 8Jx16 (rear) white Fuchs.

A Porsche 930 is a bit like a well-groomed mullet: all business up front, and an absolute party in the back. Unlike the Porsche 911, the rear of the 930 has flared fenders, an additional inch of rubber on either side, a whale tail full of intercooler, and a turbocharger the size of your head to move it from point-A to point-C ...while everyone else is still at point-B.

I am the second owner of this all original 930. It was brought over new in 1984 to the US from Germany and imported into Canada in 2008. With no power steering, no power brakes, significant turbo lag and oversteer tendencies, it can be very engaging to drive. Being all black and notably unwieldy, driving it is akin to wrestling an angry grizzly.

Modifications: H4 headlights
Mileage: about 1,000km/yr

Stock Specifications:
Kerb weight: 1380kg (3042lb)
Displacement: 3.299L (201.3CID)
Acceleration:
0-100km/h 4.8s
0-160km/h 11.6s
0-200km/h 20.4s
Quarter mile 13.6s @ 170km/h
Top speed: 278km/h (173mph)
Power: 224kW (300hp) @ 5500rpm
Torque: 412N·m (305lb·ft) @ 4000rpm
Power-Weight ratio: 162W/kg (10.1lb/hp)
Power-Displacement ratio: 67.9kW/L (1.49hp/CID)



 1973 Volkswagen 1303 LS ("Super Beetle")
Red (Kasan L30B), automatic ("autostick"), "L" (luxury items), "S" (1600cc engine)

This car was imported into Canada from Germany in the early 1990s. For the second half of its life, it has been parked in my garage and is under restoration. The plan is to have it back on the road within a year.

An "autostick" (Automatic Stickshift) has a three-speed manual transmission with a standard dry clutch that is actuated using vacuum stored up from the engine (so there is no clutch pedal). To soften the clutching, there is a hydraulic torque converter coupled between the engine and transmission. These vacuum and hydraulic mechanisms can be problematic so the entire system is often swapped out for a typical four-speed manual; I have chosen to keep the car as it came from the factory.


Modifications: Restored to stock specs
Mileage: about ???km/yr

Stock Specifications:
Kerb weight: 918kg (2024lb)
Displacement: 1.584L (96.7CID)
Acceleration:
0-100km/h 18.4s
0-160km/h Down a steep hill
0-200km/h Off a cliff
Quarter mile 21.2s @ 110km/h
Top speed: 124km/h (77mph)
Power: 36.8kW (50hp) @ 5000rpm
Torque: ???N·m (???lb·ft) @ ????rpm
Power-Weight ratio: 40.1W/kg (40.5lb/hp)
Power-Displacement ratio: 23.2kW/L (0.52hp/CID)