Moby Dick

turbolader · 9th July 2004, 01:56

Thinking of motorsport?dreaming of victory?dreaming of porsche?

Almost every car porsche has ever entered in to the LE MANS has gone on to become a legend & no other racing team could hold them back.Well thinking of legends??this ones my pick,the 935,called the MOBY DICK,cause it actually looks like the blue whale i read in a book years back when i was a lil one.Its creation was due to changes in FIA regulations sometime between 1975-76.This boiled down to a scrapping of the custom-built racers,previously represented by the 2142cc RSR turbo,in favour of 'silhouette' production-based series.The basic interest was to increase interest in the racing as the cars would be more closely related to the cars found in dealerships & public driveways.mmmmmmmmmmm smart!
The 935 was based on the 930 turbo road car but our eyesight can spot a large no of differences.It was built under the hands of Nobert Singer.It was stripped of all rust-proofing,sound-deadening & anything considered superflous for racing.a fullalloy roll-cage was then added enhancing rigidity as well as safety,a raft of switches(in the pic)to control every operation was bored into the dash & the outsize 'power tap' fitted just dehind the gear lever to allow the driver to adjust boost while on the hoof.Externally the 935 featured a combination of visually similar & altogether new componentsto those of the outgoing RSR turbos.The integral air ducts were just as prominent & it had a decidedly 911 look about it.at the rear,any similarity to a production cars bumper assembly had been completely removed,leaving a latterbox-shaped chasm into which tail lights & exhaust pipes were plunged.

But the most striking visual feature was clearly the huge rear wing.THe design of the wing led to yet another ding-dong between the porsche motorsport division & the FIA.According to the rule book,porsche was allowed to modify the standard production spoiler of the car,so the engineers came up with a design,as you would expect,incorporated the very large & effecient air-to-air intercooler.However when the 935 appeared at the beginning of the 1976 season the regulators decided that despite porsche being able to change the standard wing,the original must still be able to fit.As the air-to-air intercooler would not allow this,it meant using the poorer twin air-to-water alternatives until replacement radiators & intercoolers could be developed later in the season.Despite the early reliability problems this caused,the engine itself quickly proved it had the potential to be a winner.

but Singer wasnt a man to be worried about trying something new & moving into the grey area of the rule book,& not long after the 935 began racing in the earnest,he pushed a lil harder.The 935 needed more downforce at the front,something tat couldnt be achieved as the headlights we positioned on the bonnet.After a careful re-reading of the rules,he came up with the idea of shifting the headlights lower to the bumper & then flattening the bonnet,creating the 'slant-nose'.

In effect,Singer was changing the whole shape of the group 5 series,gradually implementing changes that would run in contradiction to the original idea,i.e. to produse race cars based on production cars.So determined was he that even the angle of the 911's roofline was made shallower on the 935.He got away with it as technically it was a bolt-on aerodynamic enhancement that couldnt be seen from the front of the car.
For the 1977 season,although it did not appear fot the first reace at Dayton,twin turbocharges were fitted to the 930 engine.In testing,the increase in power & speed seemed reliable but after a season of problems it became clear the operating temperatures tolerances were being pushed to the absolute maximum,resulting in piston & head gasket failures.Hence for the 935(1978),for the first time porsche turned to water cooling race car & this allowed an increase in capacity to 3.2liters.
Despite Singers best efforts,the 935 won only 1 event-the relatively low-key 6hr event at Silverstone.It did appear at Le Mans,finishing a disappointing 8th,but not at all in the other 2 events in which it entered.But the best results came after Porsche withdrew official backing for it,when the JR 001 & JR 002 were privately entered in the Hockenheim 24hrs,finishing 1st & successfully in the IMSA series in the US during the early eighties.The Triumph was left to the Kremer Brothers,whose private entry of their own take on the 935(the K3)took the overall win in 1979 with Klaus Ludwig,Bill & Don Whittington at the helm,beating 2 works 936's into the bargain.The Kremer Brother's 2 other K3's finished in 3rd & 13th.It was a tremendous victory for a team not oficially backed by the factory.Later on with with a few more modifications it went on to win the IMSA & FIA championships.

Anyways guys im sorry i cldnt get more pics of the *935(K3),but in my next post sure will try harder.TC

Revvmaster · 9th July 2004, 03:12

Hey turbolader welcome aboard.

Now we officially have two Porsche obsessed residents on-board (the other being Ported Head).

Great find pal. Moby Dick IMO was one of the most underrated Porsche cars in its racing lineup, always being overshadowed by the mighty 917 and its great historic lineage. To find someone like you devote this kinda means a lot to Porsche fans like me.

Keep em coming.

Revv

P.S. Try and used lower res pics henceforth.

Rehaan · 9th July 2004, 04:02

Hey Turbolader,

That was a really informative post on the history and development of the 935!
IMO, the second pic is a pic of all the fuses (with the ampereage rating on the removeable caps), incase you were refering to that as the "raft of switches (in the pic)"

Since you seem to be a huge porsche fan as well, check out Pheads Porsche Model History thread.

I have resized your pics in order to ease up on the dialup users

cheers (welcome aboard)
R

F50 · 9th July 2004, 18:06

Ya surely Hero in its time and Legend now .... Never liked its look but great in performance ...surely one of the most underrated cars ....

ported_head · 9th July 2004, 18:59

great to have another Porsche fanatic aboard, id never thought id find any until i cam aboard the TB crazy train. i love the 935 a lot too, but my favourite at LeMans has to be the GT1. IMO a perfect adaptation of the road going version, even the looks, if you ever wonder what a 911 would look like under a heavy dose of aero steroids, the GT1 would be it.

PS: Did you by any chance scan the pics from an issue of GT Purely Porsche? they seem awfully familiar. Just in case you did, it would be a good idea to credit the source.

9th July 2004, 01:56	#1
turbolader BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: andheri Posts: 138 Thanked: 0 Times	Thinking of motorsport?dreaming of victory?dreaming of porsche? Almost every car porsche has ever entered in to the LE MANS has gone on to become a legend & no other racing team could hold them back.Well thinking of legends??this ones my pick,the 935,called the MOBY DICK,cause it actually looks like the blue whale i read in a book years back when i was a lil one.Its creation was due to changes in FIA regulations sometime between 1975-76.This boiled down to a scrapping of the custom-built racers,previously represented by the 2142cc RSR turbo,in favour of 'silhouette' production-based series.The basic interest was to increase interest in the racing as the cars would be more closely related to the cars found in dealerships & public driveways.mmmmmmmmmmm smart! The 935 was based on the 930 turbo road car but our eyesight can spot a large no of differences.It was built under the hands of Nobert Singer.It was stripped of all rust-proofing,sound-deadening & anything considered superflous for racing.a fullalloy roll-cage was then added enhancing rigidity as well as safety,a raft of switches(in the pic)to control every operation was bored into the dash & the outsize 'power tap' fitted just dehind the gear lever to allow the driver to adjust boost while on the hoof.Externally the 935 featured a combination of visually similar & altogether new componentsto those of the outgoing RSR turbos.The integral air ducts were just as prominent & it had a decidedly 911 look about it.at the rear,any similarity to a production cars bumper assembly had been completely removed,leaving a latterbox-shaped chasm into which tail lights & exhaust pipes were plunged. But the most striking visual feature was clearly the huge rear wing.THe design of the wing led to yet another ding-dong between the porsche motorsport division & the FIA.According to the rule book,porsche was allowed to modify the standard production spoiler of the car,so the engineers came up with a design,as you would expect,incorporated the very large & effecient air-to-air intercooler.However when the 935 appeared at the beginning of the 1976 season the regulators decided that despite porsche being able to change the standard wing,the original must still be able to fit.As the air-to-air intercooler would not allow this,it meant using the poorer twin air-to-water alternatives until replacement radiators & intercoolers could be developed later in the season.Despite the early reliability problems this caused,the engine itself quickly proved it had the potential to be a winner. but Singer wasnt a man to be worried about trying something new & moving into the grey area of the rule book,& not long after the 935 began racing in the earnest,he pushed a lil harder.The 935 needed more downforce at the front,something tat couldnt be achieved as the headlights we positioned on the bonnet.After a careful re-reading of the rules,he came up with the idea of shifting the headlights lower to the bumper & then flattening the bonnet,creating the 'slant-nose'. In effect,Singer was changing the whole shape of the group 5 series,gradually implementing changes that would run in contradiction to the original idea,i.e. to produse race cars based on production cars.So determined was he that even the angle of the 911's roofline was made shallower on the 935.He got away with it as technically it was a bolt-on aerodynamic enhancement that couldnt be seen from the front of the car. For the 1977 season,although it did not appear fot the first reace at Dayton,twin turbocharges were fitted to the 930 engine.In testing,the increase in power & speed seemed reliable but after a season of problems it became clear the operating temperatures tolerances were being pushed to the absolute maximum,resulting in piston & head gasket failures.Hence for the 935(1978),for the first time porsche turned to water cooling race car & this allowed an increase in capacity to 3.2liters. Despite Singers best efforts,the 935 won only 1 event-the relatively low-key 6hr event at Silverstone.It did appear at Le Mans,finishing a disappointing 8th,but not at all in the other 2 events in which it entered.But the best results came after Porsche withdrew official backing for it,when the JR 001 & JR 002 were privately entered in the Hockenheim 24hrs,finishing 1st & successfully in the IMSA series in the US during the early eighties.The Triumph was left to the Kremer Brothers,whose private entry of their own take on the 935(the K3)took the overall win in 1979 with Klaus Ludwig,Bill & Don Whittington at the helm,beating 2 works 936's into the bargain.The Kremer Brother's 2 other K3's finished in 3rd & 13th.It was a tremendous victory for a team not oficially backed by the factory.Later on with with a few more modifications it went on to win the IMSA & FIA championships. Anyways guys im sorry i cldnt get more pics of the *935(K3),but in my next post sure will try harder.TC
	() Thanks

9th July 2004, 03:12	#2
Revvmaster Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,190 Thanked: 95 Times	Hey turbolader welcome aboard. Now we officially have two Porsche obsessed residents on-board (the other being Ported Head). Great find pal. Moby Dick IMO was one of the most underrated Porsche cars in its racing lineup, always being overshadowed by the mighty 917 and its great historic lineage. To find someone like you devote this kinda means a lot to Porsche fans like me. Keep em coming. Revv P.S. Try and used lower res pics henceforth.
	() Thanks

9th July 2004, 04:02	#3
Rehaan Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 24,046 Thanked: 34,074 Times	Hey Turbolader, That was a really informative post on the history and development of the 935! IMO, the second pic is a pic of all the fuses (with the ampereage rating on the removeable caps), incase you were refering to that as the "raft of switches (in the pic)" Since you seem to be a huge porsche fan as well, check out Pheads Porsche Model History thread. I have resized your pics in order to ease up on the dialup users cheers (welcome aboard) R
	() Thanks

9th July 2004, 18:06	#4
F50 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai/USA Posts: 1,707 Thanked: 103 Times	Ya surely Hero in its time and Legend now .... Never liked its look but great in performance ...surely one of the most underrated cars ....
	() Thanks

9th July 2004, 18:59	#5
ported_head Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 2,387 Thanked: 20 Times	great to have another Porsche fanatic aboard, id never thought id find any until i cam aboard the TB crazy train. i love the 935 a lot too, but my favourite at LeMans has to be the GT1. IMO a perfect adaptation of the road going version, even the looks, if you ever wonder what a 911 would look like under a heavy dose of aero steroids, the GT1 would be it. PS: Did you by any chance scan the pics from an issue of GT Purely Porsche? they seem awfully familiar. Just in case you did, it would be a good idea to credit the source.
	() Thanks