Re: 1949 Porsche Gmund Cars

[Porschinelle]

Otto was the first to use the Fuhrmann 4 cams engine in its Fetzenflieger

[Porschinelle]

He was before also one of the first to race the Berlin Rome car designed by Ferdinand Porsche

[Porschinelle]

He also drive on ice



On water

on 2 wheels

and you may also told us how he lost the use of his right arm and race with only the left arm for doing everything : hold the steering wheel and change geers


On the above pic Otto is seen talking with Nikki Lauda

[Porschinelle]

[Porschinelle]

[Porschinelle]

[Porschinelle]

A part these pics : nothing
So if some of you have Gmund engines pics and mainly Gmund race cars engine pics please show them to us
To stay in the period a pic taken at the Stuttgart plant for the delivery of the 500 356 with anumber of engines certainly not too far from the original ones

[gerrymc547]

Trevor: re: 25349
Many thanks. I had the honor to visit Joe's shop, when he was doing 550-01. The commercial presentation only touches the tip of the iceberg. He is truly remarkable. To my knowledge, he has restored 550-01, 03, 04,( articles crediting Porsche AG are false) 0073, and 718-016. I'm sure there are more, but these I am sure of.

[JTR70]

Love this picture. Makes me want to torture some aluminum into a new fan shroud. I really like the aluminum generator adaptor plate with the kidney shaped holes. Those two are going on my 356 projects list.

Anyone know where the air ducts on either side of the engine bay begin?

Also, could it be that the coil is built into the distributor cap or is it just not yet installed?

Hey Ashley, I don't think those are ducts but look like stand-off brackets for the hinges to work off of... but with all the mods I've been seeing done to these cars back in the day it wouldn't surprise me if they had been converted to vents. Those sound like great custom fab projects!

Thank you Gerard! Great educational posts as always!

[Impi]

Hi Justin I don't know about this particular engine with the aluminium fan shroud but if it belonged to Otto at some stage there could be a bit of history attached Porsche built 3 cars for the Berlin to Rome race before the war they were based on KDF Wagens and used lots of aluminium every where including the fan shrouds. the kidney shaped holes were part and parcel of the early KDF beetles. after the war one of the cars was destroyed by GI's using it for joyriding, one car was accident damaged and one car ended up in Otto's Hands The wrecked car was stripped of useable parts and these also ended with Otto. recently the parts were bought and a replica of one of the cars was built by the Grundmann's in Germany (a very nice bit in the split window section of the SAMBA forum
Regards
Armand

[S.J.Szabo]

Mr.Porschinelle:

Given my great respect for your expertise, it is with no small trepidation that I propose that the "L" in "SL" was actually the indicator for the German word for "light" (lichte(?... my German sucks)). "Superleggera" was, I believe, a term coined to describe a small-tube frame construction by the fabrication house that popularized its use later in the '50s (whose identity is now running around in the dark corners of my enfeebled brain... could be Touring, but I won't bet the ranch).

Your pardon if I am wrong once again.

[Porschinelle]

Hi SJ

Only one word : "Bravo !" (in French in the text)
When I discovered my mistake to call the Gmund race GT instead of SL I wondered what that SL could mean
Knowing that theses 11 cars were based on one principle : minimum weight
I made the link with "Superleggera" who is an Italian word meaning "super light" used by Alfa Romeo for their aluminium "Giuletta" and Maserati for its "Birdcage sport car"
So of course Stuttgart is in Germany and Gmund in Austria both German speaking cities
Sometimes simplicity is not the first to come an of course SL mean
"Sport lechte" the best known example being the Mercedes 300

SL "Gullwings"

[Porschinelle]

To SJ again

After sought my mistake came by the fact that from 1947 to 1950 Ferry Porsche worked on the "Cisitalia" race car project for his Italian" friend Pierro Dusio (the money gained was used to pay the deposit requested by the French governement to free Ferdinand Porsche from his French jail therefore I was not chocked by the fact that Porsche could use an Italian word
Herewith one of the 2 Cisitalia built exposed at the Stuttgart Porsche museum

[Porschinelle]

I have made some more search about the 356 race engine with 4 carburetors
Found a pic of the 1953 Carrera Panamericana race in which Porsche enter 4 new 550 spyders 550 01, 02, 03, and 04
These 4 spyders were not yet fitted with the Fuhrmann 4 cams engine but a pushrods engine similar to the one used by the 356 race cars





Found this pic of 550 race number 160 driven by Hans Hermann with the engine lid off
Its seems that the push rod is fitted with 4 single Solex 32 or 34 carburetors and not 2 dualbarrel carburetors
Knowing that the 1953 Carrera Panamericana was raced end of November 1953
it is not impossible that a similar motor be fitted in May June 1954 on Gilberte Thirion 356 SL 061

[Rickie]

Gerry, Apropos the Otto Mathe "550" hardtop photo with the red interior, you are 100% correct regarding the roll under leading edge of the hood on the factory cars, which clearly is not present on this car. But other than the ice racer with the Fuhrmann engine, I have never heard of any other scratch built cars being constructed by Mathe. Any student of Porsche history knows full well of Mathe's engineering skills and his penchant for modifying vehicles to his taste, primarily with an eye to improving performance. Consequently I am wondering just what it is that is in that photo. Also note that the hardtop is removable, as were those on some of the factory cars. I hope someone can shed some light (leight?) on this...RR