Big Earl wrote: : PLEASE READ!!! I DO NOT!!!! care if you object that this isn't how Heir : Porsche intended it to be. Please don't waste your breath. I feel that if : it is your name on the title you should modify a car however you see fit : and opinions about the "Ethics" of vehicle modification are truly the most : stupid of all comments made.
: I have been following a V8 Conversion on E-bay, and I went out on Friday : and looked at and drove the car. I have some sincere questions, and I : wonder if anyone can offer some actual insight.
: The car I looked at was a 500 and some odd horsepower 67 911. I drove it : and it was no more tail happy than any 930 I have driven (including my : own). I really didn't find a problem with weight balance at all. I have : heard some arguments about center of gravity, etc, but I couldn't make this : car exhibit anything that didn't feel stock plus 300% HP.
In 1969 Porsche lengthened the 911 chassis because with the 6 cylinder hanging out there (vs the 4 from the 356), the cars weren't always handling hard corners correctly. While the first chapter of Naders book "Unsafe at any Speed" was dedicated to the Corvair, subsequent chapters were dedicated to Buick secret recalls, VW van's getting sucked into the oncoming lane when trucks passed, and the 911 due to problems in corners. (As a teen I wanted to buy a 67 corvair convertable and my dad made me read the book cover to cover... by 65, Chevy had fixed the corvairs problems, but the damage was done and the car died). Ironically, my dad owned a VW van at the time and I constantly pointed out to him how dangerous that car was after reading the book.
I don't know if it was just that most folks put down the book after the first chapter or ??? but it seems people were a bit more upset about the Corvairs which were a pretty standard (although unconventional) car, whereas most didn't get too upset if someone bought a sportscar and rear ended a tree (which was the most common accident).
Porsche themselves were having enough trouble with the cars to make a change, course, they may have been pushing the cars hard, and you might not.
I suspect it's not just weight, but how far it's hanging in relation to the axle, and your hanging more weight farther out (8 cylinders) than they were.
While the v8 motor is debatable, it's probably much less debatable in cars that are pre 1969.
At least the Porsche owners weren't losing their left arms as well, from the book, most Corvairs owners lost a arm after the car spun, hit the tree with it's back end and flipped over... never ride with your arm out the window...