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Dec 21, 2015 23:51:07 GMT
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OK, so what's the story behind the enigmatic 'Chump' 911? Well, it is a 1973 911T which had a 2.4l flat six. It was apparently restored quite a way back by a well known Porsche 'restorer' in Calgary. After the restoration it looked like this:  ^THE actual car!^ It was bought by the president of the Porsche Club (Canada), Ken McDonald, who also had a '77 911 wide body coupe and a 356. He was, apparently, draining the fuel tank down in his garage whilst preparing to hibernate the car for winter. He went into his house for a moment and while out of the garage, the furnace fired up, the fumes from the draining tank ignited and everything went up in flames. He lost all three cars to the fire. And the garage. Mr McDonald claimed that none of the cars were insured at the time and the Porsche Club held a fundraiser to help him out. When Scott discovered the car was for sale, it turned out there was no registration for it. This only happens when an insurance company pays out for a wrecked car, the reg is cancelled/revoked and this prevents the car from being allowed back on the road. So the car was insured after all...and Mr McDonald had been pretty devious in allowing the club to give him a big fundraised hand-out for his cars when it transpires he'd already had the money from his insurance. What a little ****!! The VIN that is stamped into the car had been sanded away when Scott and Andrew went to buy it and this is believed to have been done in an attempt to the true ID of the car and the fact it had been insured and subsequently had its reg revoked. "He was very dodgy about giving us a bill of sale for the car and we provided the VIN number (which we read off the underside of the panel with a mirror)." - So Scott and Andrew basically caught him out! Here's the bill of sale to Andrew from Ken.  On the back, note the price...that's £150....FOR A 911!!!! That's all they were worth back in 2009 when Scott & Andrew bought the car, but now this shell alone would be worth at least thirty times that! Even in this state.  They bought the car, now knowing that it couldn't be put back on the road in Alberta due to the insurance payout but weren't too bothered because they were buying it to turn it into a race car, "For our purposes we didn't need to be able to register it, we would have liked to use it as a rally car but you need to be able to insure and register it for this."It turns out Mr MacDonald was quite a dab hand at wheeling and dealing in a manner that would even have Arthur Daily squirming. "There was another incident where Andrew sold Ken a very rusty 70 911S shell. Ken tried to get away with restamping this VIN onto a 69 T but Andrew noticed that the VIN matched the shell he sold Ken and they certainly were not the same car. There is a thread about this on the early911sregistry.org."Have a read for yourself here: ww.early911sregistry.org/forums/showthread.php?58245-Help-with-Possible-Fraud!! A 911S is FAR more desirable, sought after and valuable than a 911T, so this was basically fraud. If you ever get offered a car from Ken McDonald of Canada, be very careful!  Anyway, Scott and Andrew got their hands on the 911 and this is how it looked the when they first got it.  They set about blasting the undersides, insides etc...to clean it all up and rebuild it as a race car. Despite its appearances, it's a remarkably solid shell. Sure, it was full of masses of thick filler from its 'restoration' but underneath, everything is completely solid. No rot! It's a car that truly belies its outwards appearance.   Scott and Andrew sourced a new engine for it in the shape of a 2.7 which they then fitted with Zenith carbs (avoiding the injection system that was standard), rejetted the carbs, custom made the venturis (Scott made these himself) and then fitted a distributor-less ignition set-up with Megajolt, EDIS and running Dodge Caravan (Chrysler Voyager) coil packs. Scott designed all the ignition map and it runs a switchable ignition. 911T map for normal driving and a 2.7 RS map for fast road and race driving. The wealth of paperwork and charts to go with this set-up is overwhelming! This isn't just an engine thrown into the hole! A 911 901 'dogleg' 5 speed is fitted with a custom clutch set-up. 80s 911 SC suspension, brakes and steering cover the handling and road holding. Meanwhile a plumbed in fire extinghusiher system, FULL roll cage, polycarb windows and stripped out interior finish up the race car side of things. It's a pretty impressive package overall, all wrapped in that wonderful body which reminds me very much of the Ray Bradbury novel; The Illustrated Man, where an unknown man is covered in tattoos, each of which tell a story. Who needs a service book to have history? |
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Once the race car was finished, it was entered into the Chump Car World Series. An endurance race series where cars have to have been built within a certain budget, so when Scott & Andrew turned up in a 911, all prepped and ready to race, there was a lot of questioning and they were heavily penalised because it was doubted they could have built the car withing the guidelines and budget. They then set about compiling documentary evidence to show it was not only possible, but that they could do it again with other Porsches and Porsche parts available on eBay etc...if they had the time. I have a folder here FULL of eBay and other online adverts for project cars, engines and so on with prices that would make your eyes water! "Knowing what we know now", says Scott, "I'd have bought literally every single car and engine from those adverts back then" The folder shows other 991 cars for sale for $400 (£200), $350 (£175) and engines for similar money. Just imagine having access to that kind of resource now? Forget 'if only you were nearer', it should be, 'if only I'd have known?'  The huge wealth of documentation was finally accepted and they were then allowed to race in the series competitively.       And that, my friends, is how The Chump was born. For your viewing pleasure, here is a video of Scott racing The Chump at Spokane race circuit in 2012. Turn your speakers up. |
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So on my last night in Blackie, my last night with this incredible family, I get to enjoy a lovely pizza and some great laughs around the dining table but all the while knowing I'll be leaving it all behind in the morning. I'm not one to hang onto the past, but I do very often feel like I want to hang onto the present. A lot of people spend their lives wishing time away and wanting what is yet to come at the expense of appreciating 'the now'. I just relish every moment that I'm lucky enough to encounter and boy had I won the lottery when it came to meeting amazing people on this trip. I knew there were exciting times to come, but at the same time I didn't want this time to be over. I headed out to the 911, started it up and moved it over to the spotlight near the workshop. This gave me some light to work with but for a while I just sat there in the car, taking it all in and smiling to myself at how this family had let a complete stranger from England, here to buy a car, stay with them and be part of their family for a week. Not just as a guest, but to really be a part of their life for those six days.  I got out and started packing the spare parts into the car. A suspension arm, front bumper, some spotlights etc... all of which would easily fit into a 911, but with a massive cage and other race car parepenalia to content with, it took some Tetris like juggling to fit them in. I chained them all together to help minimise anything getting nicked, especially as the car has no side windows. Or locks.  Time to *try* and get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and I knew I was going to miss Yvonne, Clay, Gracie and my special friend, Roxy.  |
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I was a bit so/so on the 911. Until this picture. |
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stevek
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 728
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Wow you have really been spoiling us with updates tonight. Thanks for taking so much care and effort to share the trip with the forum. -Steve- Ps. Regarding RRG16 Tickets Whoops. seem to have missed out here. That's that then -_- Nope... General sale is in February, this was just a limited early bird sale So see you there hopefully! |
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Last Edit: Dec 22, 2015 1:13:21 GMT by stevek
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As I awake the next morning, the mother of all tractors pulls into the farm.   This thing is HUGE! It belongs to one of the neighbours and is here to help with the harvesting of Scott and Yvonne's crops. I'm asked if I'd like to join in and help out. I do actually consider how it would impact on my return to the UK if I were to take a few extra days here. Part of me doesn't want to leave, instead I want to call my GF and tell her to book flights, get out here ASAP with Jed and just leave the keys to the house with a local estate agents. Tempting. I decide to be sensible and kindly decline the offer. It's time to leave, despite my reluctance. Scott and I load the car onto his trailer, we hook that up to his Tundra and we're ready to hit the road. Clay decides he wants to come along....he wants to see the car off and also to get to "Spend time with Dad and Bruce" I don't think I really told Yvonne or Scott how much I was going to miss them, or how honoured I was to be able to spend this time with them. The loveliest people, truly the best. We head out down the dirt driveway, a mile of dusty opportunity for me to conveniently ask to go back because I'd 'forgotten' something.  But life goes on, we move forward and there were bound to be other adventures ahead. The farm gets every smaller in the mirror.  But the sight of the Porsche following close behind brings a smile to my face. There will definitely be other adventures ahead! Scott points the Tundra westwards and we head towards the Rockies.  A 12+ hour drive lies ahead. |
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The trip into the Rockies is amazing on so many levels. Firstly, it's just stunning. Beautiful. Captivating. Scott informs me that in a week the leaves will take on their chameleon colour change and the landscape will turn the most amazing vista of reds and oranges. I'm a little gutted that I won't get to see it, but then it's just an opportunity to come back in order to do so. It's also humbling. These vast monuments dating back many millions of years, a range of mountains so vast it's so hard to comprehend their scale. Anything I could ever achieve in my life, even if it's significant, is but a spec of dust landing on a leaf, on a tree on the side of a huge piece of rock that is as old as time as we know it. Scale and perspective for what we are really doing here really does come into your mind when faced with 10 hours solid of landscape that will be unchanged long after man is no longer walking this earth. You'll probably notice that the past number of shots are all from my phone? I kept my camera in my bag for most of this bit simply because I wanted to just enjoy the landscape, take it all in and not lose the moment by trying to capture it all with my camera. These shots DO NOT do the Rockies justice, not even close. But they are more to show that we did make the trip. A verification of my amazing journey through these mountains rather than an attempt to capture their beauty. Only being there can really do that.   In a matter of a week or so, the road we are taking will be closed. The weather will dictate that no access in this area will be possible - this is a hostile landscape and mother nature takes no prisoners up here once autumn starts to take hold. Closing the roads through the mountains is the only way to ensure that lives aren't lost. You simply wouldn't make it so it's just easier to make sure people don't try.  We stop at a roadside services near Banff where I spot this stuck to a noticeboard. It would seem comical if it wasn't actually necessary for anyone wandering about in the wilderness here. This isn't sensationalist marketing, this is real life in the Rockies!  5.7 litres of petrol guzzling engine in a HUGE 4x4 towing a car and trailer through mountain passes meant this was a regular occurance:  One second you can be in bright sunshine, the next in pouring rain. This was middle of the day but the thickness of the clouds made it feel like dusk. I only saw but a tiny fraction of the tempestuous nature these mountains can throw at mankind.  If there was one photo to sum up the drive to Vancover:  My one regret, I didn't take it with my camera. My one comfort was that I took it at all. So easily an opportunity missed. Then we pulled over and I got my camera out for what was one of the most memorable moments of my life. Ever. |
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It's also humbling. These vast monuments dating back many millions of years, a range of mountains so vast it's so hard to comprehend their scale. Anything I could ever achieve in my life, even if it's significant, is but a spec of dust landing on a leaf, on a tree on the side of a huge piece of rock that is as old as time as we know it. Scale and perspective for what we are really doing here really does come into your mind when faced with 10 hours solid of landscape that will be unchanged long after man is no longer walking this earth. Immediately made me think of a quote by Hendrik Willem Van Loon, from The Story of Mankind: *n |
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Top grammar tips!
Bought = purchased. Brought = relocated
Lose = misplace/opposite of win. Loose = your mum
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^Perfectly sums it up^ Might look that up....thanks *n |
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hak074
Part of things
Posts: 446
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This trip of yours just gets better and better! How awesome to be towing your (and Bryn's) 911 back through the rockies to ship it home. What a cracker of a car and back story that goes with it too.
Its a bloody amazing part of the world that. We spent some time on Greyhound buses jumping between ski resorts a decade ago. The mountains are just awe inspiring. Then to drive out of the mountains and back onto the flats to Calgary, such a different landscape in a matter of miles.
Canada, 911s and the Rocky Mountains. Doesn't get much better than that. Such a good read.
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Superlatives = Fail.
I really am battling here Bruce.
A simple "Thank You" will have to suffice.
I really hope some of the other readers from everywhere on Internet land will make the effort to share this thread link where they go.
Many more people need to read this and be inspired by your story telling and the fact that life really is out there to be lived.
Also, celebrating the "NOW MOMENT" and enjoying it to the max.
I found myself on my US trip doing that multiple times a day.
Thank you friend.
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Last Edit: Dec 22, 2015 8:09:33 GMT by grizz
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Ian
Part of things
Posts: 977
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I originally thought it was going to be an exciting journey to collect the 912, now the chump car has joined the party, it makes it more enjoyable.
Do you Know if you will be able to road register it in the UK, or will it continue its like as a track car? I would have thought it may need a couple a creature comforts for this, but as we know you drive THAT land rover on the road, so just having a roof should be enough.
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Just joined, purely to read this story!
It's like a thriller that I keep sneaking a minute here or there to read a page or two. Mystery Machine, you have a great way way of writing and the photographs convey emotion, context and place beautifully. Well done.
I'm also not entirely un-envious of that 911, I've never "got" the whole Porsche thing but that car is just fabulous. I hope there's a way of keeping the finish in the UK.
Keep writing, keep shooting, you really are doing a superb job and I'm loving it.
-Simon
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Scott, although I do not share your automotive addiction in this case, I really like your life style: family, farm, f...olkswagens bigger brother. Thanks to you, too for making a huge part of this fine thread possible. Amen to that. If it wasn't for amazing people like Scott, his family, camerashy, his friends and the other people I met along the way....this would have been a tale of staring at motel ceilings and waiting for flights, with maybe the odd interest break that I had a burger. The people are the people are the foundations, the bricks, the mortar and the roof of this story. The rest is the furniture....which would be just items left out in the cold if they didn't have the context to tie them all together and give them meaning. curse word analogy, but I know what I mean.... Also, celebrating the "NOW MOMENT" and enjoying it to the max. I found myself on my US trip doing that multiple times a day. Thank you friend. And thank *you* because, likewise, I got the same message and feeling when reading your thread. I know full well that you are very much a person who appreciates everything that happens, even the rough....knowing it makes the good times even sweeter. Do you Know if you will be able to road register it in the UK, or will it continue its like as a track car? I would have thought it may need a couple a creature comforts for this, but as we know you drive THAT land rover on the road, so just having a roof should be enough. Yep, the plan is to get it road legal and registered. There is no reason it can't be because I can prove the identity of the car, I have a reasonable paper trail and the fact it was de-registered in Canada doesn't affect its eligibility for registration over here. Compared to the LR, this thing is positively luxurious. Just joined, purely to read this story! It's like a thriller that I keep sneaking a minute here or there to read a page or two. Mystery Machine, you have a great way way of writing and the photographs convey emotion, context and place beautifully. Well done. I'm also not entirely un-envious of that 911, I've never "got" the whole Porsche thing but that car is just fabulous. I hope there's a way of keeping the finish in the UK. Keep writing, keep shooting, you really are doing a superb job and I'm loving it. -Simon Thank you Simon, I really appreciate it. Do check out the rest of the forum and a few good places to start are the Readers Rides section where there are some truly awe inspiring builds. Then within this section I can highly recommend Grizz's own Epic road trip to the USA There's also B3nson's European road trip and SurprisingSkoda's Gatebil road trip both of which I haven't had chance to read myself yet, but am saving them for sometime over Christmas when I can take the time to enjoy them both to the full like I did the USA trip thread. Canada, 911s and the Rocky Mountains. Doesn't get much better than that. I think you'll like the next bit then..... |
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fer4l
Posted a lot
Testing
Posts: 1,497
Club RR Member Number: 73
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Dec 22, 2015 10:00:19 GMT
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OK, so what's the story behind the enigmatic 'Chump' 911? Well, it is a 1973 911T which had a 2.4l flat six. It was apparently restored quite a way back by a well known Porsche 'restorer' in Calgary. After the restoration it looked like this: ^THE actual car!^ It was bought by the president of the Porsche Club (Canada), Ken McDonald, who also had a '77 911 wide body coupe and a 356. He was, apparently, draining the fuel tank down in his garage whilst preparing to hibernate the car for winter. He went into his house for a moment and while out of the garage, the furnace fired up, the fumes from the draining tank ignited and everything went up in flames. He lost all three cars to the fire. And the garage. Hmmm - one has to wonder re the 'accidental fire' given the rest of what you say about Uncle Ken's dealings - sounds right up there with the A&E 'I was hoovering the stairs naked in a general state of excitement while the gerbil had his run when suddenly the clingfilm dispenser exploded and...' book of excuses! Lovely car, awesome through and through - congratulations, not many people get to go from nil to 1823 in a single trip plus have the trip of a lifetime - as Grizz says, we make our own luck sometimes and it seems you have certainly done plenty of that!  Cheers Matt |
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Last Edit: Dec 22, 2015 10:03:05 GMT by fer4l
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oukie
Part of things
Posts: 307 
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Dec 22, 2015 10:02:06 GMT
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As many have said already, this thread is truly awesome, oh and you love bloody cliff hangers don't you.
Keep up the good work Bruce.
Chris.
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Mr2 mk1 x4
Honda Accord 2.4 Executive (luxo barge)
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Dec 22, 2015 10:14:38 GMT
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While in the midst of the sublimely beautiful Rocky Mountains, Scott pulls over. I'd been quite excited at the prospect of this part of the trip, it was something we'd discussed a few times before I flew to Canada and it was something I was particularly looking forward to. As much as seeing The Chump for the first time, as much as getting to drive the 911 for the first time, THIS was a highlight moment that I knew I had to make the most of. This is not an exaggeration. The 911 is more to me than the sum of its parts. It's the embodiment of the trip, the tangible mass that ties me to Canada in a way that's hard to explain. It is Scott, it is James, JP, Yvonne, the landscape, the laughs....it is everything above and beyond one of the best cars I could ever own (with Bryn...which adds an even greater layer of connection) So, here we are in the middle of the Rockies with this car. Why not capture the moment for posterity? As far as backdrops go, the Rockies is 'OK' I suppose? It'll do.   |
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Dec 22, 2015 10:26:18 GMT
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Away from the farm (which I'm already missing) it's amazing how different the car looks. The same item in a completely different surrounding, a different context and the whole voyage of discovery starts again, seeing things you hadn't noticed or seeing them in a different way. It's like that enormously satisfying feeling of peeling off huge bits of wallpaper at a time only to find, once you've worked your way around the room that there is another layer of wallpaper beneath so you get the satisfaction of tackling that all over.     And then you step back and the wind is is knocked right out of you when you take in the whole view:  I've got to head to London now....got a date with a Sierra, a powerstation and a camera. Three things I never thought I'd put together in a single sentence? More to come later. |
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b3nson
Part of things
Posts: 886
Club RR Member Number: 22
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Dec 22, 2015 10:40:33 GMT
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Does the greatness ever stop?
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'99 Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo
'08 Panda 100HP
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hak074
Part of things
Posts: 446
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Dec 22, 2015 11:34:46 GMT
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Oh wow! Out of the ballpark! That 911 with that backdrop. You were spot on, I bloody love this next bit |
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