944 Spec car, Version 2.0
03-25-2012, 01:09 AM
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
944 Spec car, Version 2.0
Been told a few times to post some pics so here goes!
Bought this car last year....I disliked the color from Day 1, and then it broke down almost everytime I got it within 50 miles of a racetrack. After setting the timing correctly it made a whopping 108hp. It was dumping fuel in corners at 944fest..from a huge hole in the gastank right over where the exhaust used to be (it fell off the previous month at Gingerman). At 2011 NASA Nationals it decided to die before I took the green flag and was towed in - enough was enough and I decided to sit out the rest of the season and focus on 2012.
Apparently I was spoiled by tracking S2000s and BMWs...never had a problem with them.
Enter Dan Jauch.
He had swapped a motor in my 951 a few years back, kept the dragon chumpcar running (a pretty big feat considering the driver line up haha), and was building a spec car so kind of a no brainer.
After talking and hashing out a plan we decided to repaint, rebuild and replace pretty much anything that was of question and start from scratch. Much to his dismay, even painting the engine bay....
Previous owner was like 6'5" so the cage was not made to fit me, I had that redone by a local guy to allow me some breathing room by my head since I sit a lot closer to the wheel...also got rid of the x-bar on the driver side. Once that was completed I took it over to Cincinnati.
I had neck surgery in December for a severely herniated disc / numb arm d/t a go-kart mishap (those walls really jump out at you sometimes) so in went a Recaro SPG Pro HANS so the wife would actually even humor the thought of me racing again. Dan got it all test fitted/bolted in and I swung by and gave it my seal of approval prior to the start of paint so nothing was scratched up.
Dan went to work on fitting a new door courtesy of Ben Lowe as the drivers side had taken a hit at Mid-Ohio, hours went into the driver side fender/ front end and he smoothed out any other imperfections and shaved any unnecessary holes. A new hood was sourced from Andy Kihm for the nice price of $25 as the old hood was welded to the hinges on one side.
Along the way I picked up a project car with a newly built motor and delivered it to Dan - I sold off the car and gave the spec clutch to Dan for his car, I also handed him a carbon dash, a box of gauges and wires, new rollers, waterpump, timing/balance belt, fuel lines, fuel pump, traqmate traqdash, fire extinguisher/lines, 2 starters, aerocatch hood latch, door handle parts, windshield, lindsey red samco hoses, newly anodized fuel rail and bolts from Josh B, polished cam tower, powdercoated intake, 3 sets of wheels to paint, AFM, setrab oil cooler, kokeln swaybars, brakelines, brake rebuild kits, wheel bearings, tierod ends, lots of misc gaskets/rubber, etc...Dan donated a late header, DME and numerous parts along the way from his stockpile.
He started on the dash after fitting the seat, putting it in/taking it out, tweaking this/that, a few revisions later and many cuts he had a nice lightweight dash with all the necessary gauges: traqmate traqdash for mph/rpm/lap timing/shift light, oil temp, oil press, water temp, fuel, volt, and hourmeter. He also moved the killswitch from under the hood to the rollcage (so much better) - all new battery lines were run and he redid/simplified all of the wiring under the dash. With 4 screws the carbon dash comes out allowing access to any gauges/wiring as needed.
He fabricated a middle sub-panel that houses 2 gauges and the power / push button start along with switches. After the paint was done he ran the fire extinguisher lines (one for driver, one over the headers/fuel lines) and made an exhaust.
The color I decided on was Grey Black / Guards red ala GT3RS. Unreal job, I cant thank him enough for the hours he put in. (Thanks Erin!)
Alan was there for many hours helping out, thanks Alan. He donated a set of headlight mounts which are awesome. Dan's cousin Jimmy put in a lot of hours as well - thanks to him. I talked to Dan like everyday during this so Im sure I forgot lots of stuff but he amazes me with how much he can get done in a small amount of time...but now onto the pics:
Just arrived:
Hole in fuel tank, got a perfect replacement from Ed Baus delivered to the track in the backseat of a 996tt...
All holes shaved including hood, F+R bumper:
Lots of bodywork/sanding:
Bodywork done, car in primer:
Cage painted, then taped off for grey:
Interior/engine bay in grey black:
Cage untaped, body/interior painted:
Finished product home, a few stickers applied:
Bought this car last year....I disliked the color from Day 1, and then it broke down almost everytime I got it within 50 miles of a racetrack. After setting the timing correctly it made a whopping 108hp. It was dumping fuel in corners at 944fest..from a huge hole in the gastank right over where the exhaust used to be (it fell off the previous month at Gingerman). At 2011 NASA Nationals it decided to die before I took the green flag and was towed in - enough was enough and I decided to sit out the rest of the season and focus on 2012.
Apparently I was spoiled by tracking S2000s and BMWs...never had a problem with them.
Enter Dan Jauch.
He had swapped a motor in my 951 a few years back, kept the dragon chumpcar running (a pretty big feat considering the driver line up haha), and was building a spec car so kind of a no brainer.
After talking and hashing out a plan we decided to repaint, rebuild and replace pretty much anything that was of question and start from scratch. Much to his dismay, even painting the engine bay....
Previous owner was like 6'5" so the cage was not made to fit me, I had that redone by a local guy to allow me some breathing room by my head since I sit a lot closer to the wheel...also got rid of the x-bar on the driver side. Once that was completed I took it over to Cincinnati.
I had neck surgery in December for a severely herniated disc / numb arm d/t a go-kart mishap (those walls really jump out at you sometimes) so in went a Recaro SPG Pro HANS so the wife would actually even humor the thought of me racing again. Dan got it all test fitted/bolted in and I swung by and gave it my seal of approval prior to the start of paint so nothing was scratched up.
Dan went to work on fitting a new door courtesy of Ben Lowe as the drivers side had taken a hit at Mid-Ohio, hours went into the driver side fender/ front end and he smoothed out any other imperfections and shaved any unnecessary holes. A new hood was sourced from Andy Kihm for the nice price of $25 as the old hood was welded to the hinges on one side.
Along the way I picked up a project car with a newly built motor and delivered it to Dan - I sold off the car and gave the spec clutch to Dan for his car, I also handed him a carbon dash, a box of gauges and wires, new rollers, waterpump, timing/balance belt, fuel lines, fuel pump, traqmate traqdash, fire extinguisher/lines, 2 starters, aerocatch hood latch, door handle parts, windshield, lindsey red samco hoses, newly anodized fuel rail and bolts from Josh B, polished cam tower, powdercoated intake, 3 sets of wheels to paint, AFM, setrab oil cooler, kokeln swaybars, brakelines, brake rebuild kits, wheel bearings, tierod ends, lots of misc gaskets/rubber, etc...Dan donated a late header, DME and numerous parts along the way from his stockpile.
He started on the dash after fitting the seat, putting it in/taking it out, tweaking this/that, a few revisions later and many cuts he had a nice lightweight dash with all the necessary gauges: traqmate traqdash for mph/rpm/lap timing/shift light, oil temp, oil press, water temp, fuel, volt, and hourmeter. He also moved the killswitch from under the hood to the rollcage (so much better) - all new battery lines were run and he redid/simplified all of the wiring under the dash. With 4 screws the carbon dash comes out allowing access to any gauges/wiring as needed.
He fabricated a middle sub-panel that houses 2 gauges and the power / push button start along with switches. After the paint was done he ran the fire extinguisher lines (one for driver, one over the headers/fuel lines) and made an exhaust.
The color I decided on was Grey Black / Guards red ala GT3RS. Unreal job, I cant thank him enough for the hours he put in. (Thanks Erin!)
Alan was there for many hours helping out, thanks Alan. He donated a set of headlight mounts which are awesome. Dan's cousin Jimmy put in a lot of hours as well - thanks to him. I talked to Dan like everyday during this so Im sure I forgot lots of stuff but he amazes me with how much he can get done in a small amount of time...but now onto the pics:
Just arrived:
Hole in fuel tank, got a perfect replacement from Ed Baus delivered to the track in the backseat of a 996tt...
All holes shaved including hood, F+R bumper:
Lots of bodywork/sanding:
Bodywork done, car in primer:
Cage painted, then taped off for grey:
Interior/engine bay in grey black:
Cage untaped, body/interior painted:
Finished product home, a few stickers applied:
Last edited by SamGrant951; 03-25-2012 at 01:25 AM.
03-25-2012, 09:11 AM
#6
Rennlist Member
Sam, that looks really really nice! the red wheels are different but really make the car stand out!
Trending Topics
03-25-2012, 10:25 AM
#9
Rennlist Member
This car totally sets the standard. It is sooooo nice!!! Anytime you're coordinating your silicon hoses with the rest of the car's color scheme, you're just nailing it. 
03-25-2012, 11:05 AM
#10
Rennlist Member
Looks great. I'm really liking your dash.
I took my '44 to an ax last weekend. Must have done something right, i pissed off a couple people for entering in the the wrong class. Hey stock motor, stock brakes, stock trans etc.... It's just a street legal car with a roll cage..
I took my '44 to an ax last weekend. Must have done something right, i pissed off a couple people for entering in the the wrong class. Hey stock motor, stock brakes, stock trans etc.... It's just a street legal car with a roll cage..
