Peter M Posted 6March, 2018 Report Share Posted 6March, 2018 34 minutes ago, tazzieman said: The iron weights bit was rather embarrassing , given the engineering prowess of the company. Mind you they were making aerofoils for the lethal 917 in 1969 using tinsnips and duct tape. I think you're a bit harsh. This is called engineering development and is a normal part of any successful product. Remember Porsche was a pretty small concern at this time and only had experience with one road car of their own, the 356. Was the Spitfire an embarrassment because it had about 3 dozen marks and was constantly refined during it's lifetime? The weights came about because they found customers were concerned with cross wind sensitivity and needed something that could be retro fitted to older cars immediately. They were only 10kgs each. Later they discarded the weights and installed two batteries in the front corners to achieve the same ends with a bit more elegance. Later on they found further tuning of the suspension, including the lengthen of the wheelbase, solved both the cross wind sensitivity and the rear end liveliness. Now if your talking about using roller element IMS bearings. That was inexcusable engineering and you won't hear any defence from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzieman Posted 6March, 2018 Report Share Posted 6March, 2018 1 hour ago, Peter M said: I think you're a bit harsh. This is called engineering development and is a normal part of any successful product. Remember Porsche was a pretty small concern at this time and only had experience with one road car of their own, the 356. Not harsh. In his book which I recall you have , Frere said it was "shameful". The page snapshotted above makes it clear. And Porsche were quite big , even in the 1930s. Dozens , hundreds. Though people like to think it was just Ferdinand and a spanner and a ruler. I've just written a potted history of the 356 development for our club .I've done quite a bit of research into the fascinating early history of the company established in 1931, building rear engined cars since then (copying other brands). Corvair were just unlucky. They were the fall guys. Then , like Porsche , they fixed the glaring problem. Don't get me started on the flaws of the modern era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter M Posted 6March, 2018 Report Share Posted 6March, 2018 Whenever I get close to buying Frere's book I think I've got enough books on Porsche and can't justify another. But I'm sure I'll break down one day though! I'm interested in a copy of your 356 history as they are something I know little about. Can I pm you an email address? As for copying, that's surely code for Hans Ledwinka? I don't think the Corvair was unlucky. They did sell 1.8 million! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzieman Posted 7March, 2018 Report Share Posted 7March, 2018 15 hours ago, Peter M said: Whenever I get close to buying Frere's book I think I've got enough books on Porsche and can't justify another. But I'm sure I'll break down one day though! I'm interested in a copy of your 356 history as they are something I know little about. Can I pm you an email address? As for copying, that's surely code for Hans Ledwinka? I don't think the Corvair was unlucky. They did sell 1.8 million! I'll pm you a copy once our editor has passed it as fit and proper! Ledwinka and more. I'd have a Corvair anyday. It's nice to have cars no-one else has , whatever they are. Haven't seen a Corvair in Tas. Nor a Tatra or any other really interesting air cooled non VW non P cars. Though there is that old Panhard PL17... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert930 Posted 7March, 2018 Report Share Posted 7March, 2018 On 3/6/2018 at 9:46 PM, Peter M said: Whenever I get close to buying Frere's book I think I've got enough books on Porsche and can't justify another. But I'm sure I'll break down one day though! I'm interested in a copy of your 356 history as they are something I know little about. Can I pm you an email address? As for copying, that's surely code for Hans Ledwinka? I don't think the Corvair was unlucky. They did sell 1.8 million! Hi Peter, your inbox is full, can't PM you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter M Posted 7March, 2018 Report Share Posted 7March, 2018 Hi Robert, house keeping completed on PM's. Fire away! 7 hours ago, Robert930 said: Hi Peter, your inbox is full, can't PM you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.