I've been looking around at 80's ans 90's classics quite a bit , after all the weather has been freezing literally and the old computer has had a bit of use to say the least. It's hard to find something fun and useable that won't tie up too much cash sitting in the garage but I have grown a liking for the MR2.
I went to view a Mark one today that was supposed to be a bit special but suprise , suprise it really wasn't even close. The body was sound and the engine ran very quietly indeed but I doubted the clutch and it didn't give the impression of an enthusiasts car so I walked away.
I have my eye on a couple of Mark 2 cars that aren't too far away and will be taking a look at them.
The MR2 mark 2 has a lot of similarity to the Porsche 944. They are supposed to be well built with bomb proof engines if looked after and they are a 2-door rear wheel drive. I have to say they ar a very good looking car too and the performance is pretty similar I.E similar BHP through the different models. I suspect that from what I have read the handling too is along similar lines. I don't know if I will actually buy an MR2 as yet but knowing me if I fancy one I will and if not I'll move on so we shall see.
I was going to get an Audi S2 due to the fact that it's an iconic car , and 4 wheel drive ( ideal round here in the winter) but the more I looked in to them the more I realise tht with petrol getting close to 6 pounds a gallon 18-20 MPG average is going to make for a dear old car if I fancy a trip to Le Mans or some other rally. I don't need mega horsepower anyway , I've done that and I'm far too long in the tooth to be driving like a complete twonker on public roads.
Nothing more to report today except that I T-Cutted Mrs Mas's V70 T5 and it's come up a treat !
Regards Mas
Friday 10 December 2010
Friday 10 September 2010
Porscheless for the winter ?
Well I sold the 944 turbo on to a fellow enthusiast and I have to say I'm sure they got a sound and good value car. All major mechanicals sorted and not a rot box like some you see for sale. I hope the new owner looks after her and enjoys putting some miles on the clock.
Why did I sell up ? , a good question but for several reasons. One of the main reasons is that I just don't do Black cars. I bought that one as she was a good car and good value but even at my age I am still learning many lessons and I should have known that I would never be able to live with a Black car and I couldn't. The other main reason is that I think buying a second 944 Turbo in quick succession was another mistake. I shoud have tried an S2 or a 968 so that I had more of a change.
Everyone I know Porsche wise is asking me what I'll buy next and the only honest answer is that I really don't know. My thought process and dilemma goes that I sort of fancy making a road legal track car but that I think would have to be an S2 to be quick enough to be fairly competitive. I also fancy getting in to auto trials and similar fun low level motorsport, this would be a 2.7 lux with a rollcage and some other mods and woud mean joining a local motorsport club. I do fancy that but my other main hobby and family might not leave enough time to get too seriously involved in that. Another option is to get a 968 just because it's the ultimate development of the 944 and I havn't had one.
Either way at the moment I'm Porscheless and therefore putting away quite a few pounds every month. I think unless a real bargain comes along I'm best off sitting out the winter with an empty garage and starting again in the Spring with a good car fund.
Sounds like a plan ! ( but knowing me I'll buy something , I always do)
Mas
Why did I sell up ? , a good question but for several reasons. One of the main reasons is that I just don't do Black cars. I bought that one as she was a good car and good value but even at my age I am still learning many lessons and I should have known that I would never be able to live with a Black car and I couldn't. The other main reason is that I think buying a second 944 Turbo in quick succession was another mistake. I shoud have tried an S2 or a 968 so that I had more of a change.
Everyone I know Porsche wise is asking me what I'll buy next and the only honest answer is that I really don't know. My thought process and dilemma goes that I sort of fancy making a road legal track car but that I think would have to be an S2 to be quick enough to be fairly competitive. I also fancy getting in to auto trials and similar fun low level motorsport, this would be a 2.7 lux with a rollcage and some other mods and woud mean joining a local motorsport club. I do fancy that but my other main hobby and family might not leave enough time to get too seriously involved in that. Another option is to get a 968 just because it's the ultimate development of the 944 and I havn't had one.
Either way at the moment I'm Porscheless and therefore putting away quite a few pounds every month. I think unless a real bargain comes along I'm best off sitting out the winter with an empty garage and starting again in the Spring with a good car fund.
Sounds like a plan ! ( but knowing me I'll buy something , I always do)
Mas
Wednesday 31 March 2010
Update on the Porsche 944 Turbo overfuelling and running rich
O.K now I do have an update on the overfueling and running rich tale.
The car is no longer ovefueling or running rich and neither am I as
I'm £560 poorer :P
Promax have fixed the loose pipe they found on the turbo but the car was still apparently running too rich. Some fault finding later and a new Air Flow Meter
a(Bosch refurb unit) was fitted so the car I am told is now running correctly.
I know the AFM was always a likely suspect and TBH I don't think that Mr Rolling Road is to blame. The AFM had clearly been cut open and resealed before and as I have previously mentioned, the adjustment was right up one end on the screw which is not the norm from what I have read.
It will be interesting to get the car back and see does it drives any better than it did when I bought it. It will also be interesting to see if it does a few more miles to the gallon. I know we don't buy these cars for economy but assuming the AFM was always knackered it must do a few more MPG now. The fuel tank has super unleaded in it at the moment so it will be a fair test drive.
I'll drive the car back from Bedfordshire in a few days and close this particular tale with my opinion on how the car is driving. I would have liked to have spent that £560 on servicing and 'improving' the car but since we own Porsche cars we're going to take the odd hit arent we !.
Theres plenty more 'Classic Porsche' ownership news to come though.
Regards Mas
The car is no longer ovefueling or running rich and neither am I as
I'm £560 poorer :P
Promax have fixed the loose pipe they found on the turbo but the car was still apparently running too rich. Some fault finding later and a new Air Flow Meter
a(Bosch refurb unit) was fitted so the car I am told is now running correctly.
I know the AFM was always a likely suspect and TBH I don't think that Mr Rolling Road is to blame. The AFM had clearly been cut open and resealed before and as I have previously mentioned, the adjustment was right up one end on the screw which is not the norm from what I have read.
It will be interesting to get the car back and see does it drives any better than it did when I bought it. It will also be interesting to see if it does a few more miles to the gallon. I know we don't buy these cars for economy but assuming the AFM was always knackered it must do a few more MPG now. The fuel tank has super unleaded in it at the moment so it will be a fair test drive.
I'll drive the car back from Bedfordshire in a few days and close this particular tale with my opinion on how the car is driving. I would have liked to have spent that £560 on servicing and 'improving' the car but since we own Porsche cars we're going to take the odd hit arent we !.
Theres plenty more 'Classic Porsche' ownership news to come though.
Regards Mas
Monday 15 March 2010
Rolling Road, Porsche meet , up to Promax busy busy
Well, at least I can't say tht March hs been uneventfull so far.
Early on in the month, I went to my second P.C.G.B meet having gathered up a few other folk to come with me , well 944 owners to come as well to be precise. This made a lot of difference but also one or two folk made a point of saying hello anyway including the P.C.G.B Le Mans organiser with who I had a fair old chat. With the support of my fellow 'front enders' and the other people I got chatting with the evening was actually very pleasent. I met too many folk to mention in detail but it was a sociable evening and I even met someone with whom I shared a little history.
Moving on to things actually Porsche. I had thought that my car ran extremely well and without any real fault. I nearly sold her a few weeks ago on impulse
(nearly bought another Porsche again) and I'm so glad that I didn't. Out of curiosity I had decided to go for a rolling road session and since there wasn't a group one arranged for the near future I sorted myself out a mid week slot at a garage near to Royston which has a firly modern rolling road. Firstly I would say if you havn't done it then do it as it is interesting just to see how the thing works. On arrival you sign your disclaimer of course ( welcome to 2010) then you are strapped in or at least yuor car is and then they run the car up slowly. As the car is warming they listen to the engine with a stethospcope no less and measure the exhaust for fuel and other strange measurements are taken. Once your car has a fairly clean bill of health they gradually warm it up to a ' power run' which of course is the main reason for your visit :).
As my car started to build up I had been told that there should be no more than 3000parts fuel in the exhaust gases. The revs stepped up and the turbo kicked in with an almighty roar at which the exhaust fuel particulates went over 14,000. Clearly the car was not right and eventully it even started to cut itself off presumably for safety. I had no idea this problem existed prior to my visit.
The owner offered to check the fuel pressure regulator and the airlow meter
( at cost of time of course)to see if something could be simply rectified and I was very hesitent to let him do this not for financial reasons but because he was not
' my Porsche specialist'. Eventually I decided that since he had my car on a rolling road and what better way to diagnose the car ? , I would let him take a look. In hindsight I wish I had not agreed as I had always intended to go to Promax after the session for a bit of performance enhancement. After this man 'tweeked' my Airflow Meter the car now has the same problem but in a more serious way. Leaving with a car running worse than it went in I was a very unhappy bunny. Fortunately the nam didn't have the cheek to charge me for the 2 and 3/4 hours rolling road time we used but only for an hour. In normal circumstances I would have insisted he that he fix the car for free at least back to how it went in, however it was clear to me that he was not the person to be tweeking my Porsche 944 Turbo.
So today I drove the rather awkward journey to Promax where I am confident that they have the knowledge to fix the car properly but of course I will report back the result ( and cost) as soon as the car is sorted.
As a side note I have been invited to join a group of 8 or 9 non Porsche club folk wh live local to me on a 4 day trip to the Le Mans 24 hour. I gracefully accepted the invitation and the result of that weekend wil be a long blog entry I am sure.
It has been an eventfull Porsche month so far I think.
Regards Mas
Early on in the month, I went to my second P.C.G.B meet having gathered up a few other folk to come with me , well 944 owners to come as well to be precise. This made a lot of difference but also one or two folk made a point of saying hello anyway including the P.C.G.B Le Mans organiser with who I had a fair old chat. With the support of my fellow 'front enders' and the other people I got chatting with the evening was actually very pleasent. I met too many folk to mention in detail but it was a sociable evening and I even met someone with whom I shared a little history.
Moving on to things actually Porsche. I had thought that my car ran extremely well and without any real fault. I nearly sold her a few weeks ago on impulse
(nearly bought another Porsche again) and I'm so glad that I didn't. Out of curiosity I had decided to go for a rolling road session and since there wasn't a group one arranged for the near future I sorted myself out a mid week slot at a garage near to Royston which has a firly modern rolling road. Firstly I would say if you havn't done it then do it as it is interesting just to see how the thing works. On arrival you sign your disclaimer of course ( welcome to 2010) then you are strapped in or at least yuor car is and then they run the car up slowly. As the car is warming they listen to the engine with a stethospcope no less and measure the exhaust for fuel and other strange measurements are taken. Once your car has a fairly clean bill of health they gradually warm it up to a ' power run' which of course is the main reason for your visit :).
As my car started to build up I had been told that there should be no more than 3000parts fuel in the exhaust gases. The revs stepped up and the turbo kicked in with an almighty roar at which the exhaust fuel particulates went over 14,000. Clearly the car was not right and eventully it even started to cut itself off presumably for safety. I had no idea this problem existed prior to my visit.
The owner offered to check the fuel pressure regulator and the airlow meter
( at cost of time of course)to see if something could be simply rectified and I was very hesitent to let him do this not for financial reasons but because he was not
' my Porsche specialist'. Eventually I decided that since he had my car on a rolling road and what better way to diagnose the car ? , I would let him take a look. In hindsight I wish I had not agreed as I had always intended to go to Promax after the session for a bit of performance enhancement. After this man 'tweeked' my Airflow Meter the car now has the same problem but in a more serious way. Leaving with a car running worse than it went in I was a very unhappy bunny. Fortunately the nam didn't have the cheek to charge me for the 2 and 3/4 hours rolling road time we used but only for an hour. In normal circumstances I would have insisted he that he fix the car for free at least back to how it went in, however it was clear to me that he was not the person to be tweeking my Porsche 944 Turbo.
So today I drove the rather awkward journey to Promax where I am confident that they have the knowledge to fix the car properly but of course I will report back the result ( and cost) as soon as the car is sorted.
As a side note I have been invited to join a group of 8 or 9 non Porsche club folk wh live local to me on a 4 day trip to the Le Mans 24 hour. I gracefully accepted the invitation and the result of that weekend wil be a long blog entry I am sure.
It has been an eventfull Porsche month so far I think.
Regards Mas
Friday 12 February 2010
My first ever P.C.G.B regional meet experience Feb 2010
I thought someone may like to hear my experience of going to my first PCGB regional meet which was in Essex.
I set off last night in plenty of time ( 50 mins) to arrive for 8P.M , only to find Google was quite out of date in its directions (yes really). This caused me to arrive at the venue 15 minutes after the 'start time' but since I was expecting a load of folk at a bar chatting I wans't too worried. My car drove as impecably as ever and the drive itself was enjoyable. Upon my arrival I checked out the car park , one 944 , two 928's and many, many 911 varients.
As I strolled in at 8.15 there was a lady PCGB member from the Institute of Advanced Motorists giving a lecture/presentation so I crept in and stood at the back as you do. Obviously during the lecture this didnt give even sociable chatty me any chance to meet anyone but the presentation was quite relevent to us Porsche folk so worth a listen. I would say there were around 40 people in attendence.
After the lecture most folk huddled quuickly in to groups of 5 or 6 plus and clearly all knew each other , I was quite visable but noticably only one club official and one other member spoke to me or even appeared to notice that I was there. I spoke for some time with a nice chap who I had approached and said hello too and it turns out that he was a new member like myself in the last week and has a 993 Targa. The only other person I met was the organiser a young gentleman who came round promoting a Scalextric night in two weeks time. Sadly this night out was too early for me to get to after work so I declined. The club chairman was there circulating but didnt appear to have noticed me though he walked right past me two or three times.
Would I go again , yes I would but would I go alone again, no I wouldnt as if I had not met the other new member I would have been the proverbial spare part at a wedding.
On a fun note,in my efforts to make conversation I mentioned Karting to the organiser chap and that I was interested in some Krting nights that another nearby region were holding as this region was not too far away. The gentleman quickly replied " ooh you may be better supporting their region in any inter region Karting as they are a bit too good ".
From the look on his face I belive that the neighbouring region had a bit of a reputation and could strike the fear of God in to the hearts of any potential competitors.
Cheers Mas
I set off last night in plenty of time ( 50 mins) to arrive for 8P.M , only to find Google was quite out of date in its directions (yes really). This caused me to arrive at the venue 15 minutes after the 'start time' but since I was expecting a load of folk at a bar chatting I wans't too worried. My car drove as impecably as ever and the drive itself was enjoyable. Upon my arrival I checked out the car park , one 944 , two 928's and many, many 911 varients.
As I strolled in at 8.15 there was a lady PCGB member from the Institute of Advanced Motorists giving a lecture/presentation so I crept in and stood at the back as you do. Obviously during the lecture this didnt give even sociable chatty me any chance to meet anyone but the presentation was quite relevent to us Porsche folk so worth a listen. I would say there were around 40 people in attendence.
After the lecture most folk huddled quuickly in to groups of 5 or 6 plus and clearly all knew each other , I was quite visable but noticably only one club official and one other member spoke to me or even appeared to notice that I was there. I spoke for some time with a nice chap who I had approached and said hello too and it turns out that he was a new member like myself in the last week and has a 993 Targa. The only other person I met was the organiser a young gentleman who came round promoting a Scalextric night in two weeks time. Sadly this night out was too early for me to get to after work so I declined. The club chairman was there circulating but didnt appear to have noticed me though he walked right past me two or three times.
Would I go again , yes I would but would I go alone again, no I wouldnt as if I had not met the other new member I would have been the proverbial spare part at a wedding.
On a fun note,in my efforts to make conversation I mentioned Karting to the organiser chap and that I was interested in some Krting nights that another nearby region were holding as this region was not too far away. The gentleman quickly replied " ooh you may be better supporting their region in any inter region Karting as they are a bit too good ".
From the look on his face I belive that the neighbouring region had a bit of a reputation and could strike the fear of God in to the hearts of any potential competitors.
Cheers Mas
Saturday 6 February 2010
Porsche 944 Meet Rutland Water 31st Jan 2010
The meet had been arranged around a month ago by a couple of people on the Porsche Club G.B forum & was intended as an informal get together of all 944 folk who might be feeling sociable. I had certainly been looking foreward to the meet as I had neve been to a '944 meet' before.
I drove up to Rutland via the M11-A1(M) and A14 which was claimed to be 75 miles and around 90 minutes. I have never passed so many speed restrictions and speed cameras in my life and in the end I arrived some hour and 3/4 after having set off. I only saw one 944 along the way and wasn't too sure how many of the 14 folk who had said they were coming would actually turn up.
On arrival at the Rutland Water sports Centre Car Parks ( of which there are several) , after a slight hiccup all of the 944's got together in the bottom car park. Much to my suprise on what was a freezing cold Januay morning there were 15 Porsche 944 of various models Colours and variations all lined up for a great photo opportunity.
No meet would be complete of course without some people as well and there were 16 drivers ( 15 in a 944) and two sigificant others. We all did the milling round , looking over cars and general chatting bit and I am pleased to say I met some very pleasent sociable folk. Some of the folk were P.C.G.B members and many were not but all that I did manage to chat to were a pleasure to meet.
The above pic is of a few folk gathered round the engine bay of 'Peter's car' , if he wanted to have a 944 that would always attact attention and get folk interested then he certainly achieved that with his 'Lux Conversion'. peter told me he started off in a minor way but got a bit carried away
I can certainly see what he means :P , other cars at the meet included an infamous 3.2 litre 944 turbo and cars ranging frm a very nice early dash White 944 lux , various Turbos 220 and 250 , S2's and one Cab. All in all a fantastic selection of 944's to feast your eyes on.
Including mine of course !
As the cold and damp started to penetrate ( us not the cars) we moved on to a nearby village pub which was packed to the rafters with Sunday Lunch folk but they squeezed us all in on various tables around the pub. This was a bit of a pity as we were all split up but it was unavoidable. I enjoyed the company of all of the 6 other folk around the table, we had a roast and a good natter and after lunch we all set off on our own journeys home.
Myself and two ther 944's drove together back down the A14/A1(M) route and we had a spirited little convoy, making some very nice progress through the traffic together before finally going our seperate ways. All in all a very pleasent Sunday indeed.
I drove up to Rutland via the M11-A1(M) and A14 which was claimed to be 75 miles and around 90 minutes. I have never passed so many speed restrictions and speed cameras in my life and in the end I arrived some hour and 3/4 after having set off. I only saw one 944 along the way and wasn't too sure how many of the 14 folk who had said they were coming would actually turn up.
On arrival at the Rutland Water sports Centre Car Parks ( of which there are several) , after a slight hiccup all of the 944's got together in the bottom car park. Much to my suprise on what was a freezing cold Januay morning there were 15 Porsche 944 of various models Colours and variations all lined up for a great photo opportunity.
No meet would be complete of course without some people as well and there were 16 drivers ( 15 in a 944) and two sigificant others. We all did the milling round , looking over cars and general chatting bit and I am pleased to say I met some very pleasent sociable folk. Some of the folk were P.C.G.B members and many were not but all that I did manage to chat to were a pleasure to meet.
The above pic is of a few folk gathered round the engine bay of 'Peter's car' , if he wanted to have a 944 that would always attact attention and get folk interested then he certainly achieved that with his 'Lux Conversion'. peter told me he started off in a minor way but got a bit carried away
I can certainly see what he means :P , other cars at the meet included an infamous 3.2 litre 944 turbo and cars ranging frm a very nice early dash White 944 lux , various Turbos 220 and 250 , S2's and one Cab. All in all a fantastic selection of 944's to feast your eyes on.
Including mine of course !
As the cold and damp started to penetrate ( us not the cars) we moved on to a nearby village pub which was packed to the rafters with Sunday Lunch folk but they squeezed us all in on various tables around the pub. This was a bit of a pity as we were all split up but it was unavoidable. I enjoyed the company of all of the 6 other folk around the table, we had a roast and a good natter and after lunch we all set off on our own journeys home.
Myself and two ther 944's drove together back down the A14/A1(M) route and we had a spirited little convoy, making some very nice progress through the traffic together before finally going our seperate ways. All in all a very pleasent Sunday indeed.
Friday 29 January 2010
Today was new wheels and new headlight bulbs.
If you know 944's you will know they are famous for having rather weak headlights. I often read about folk considering HID conversion before even trying uprated bulbs which seems strange to me. My other two cars both Volvo have a similar reputation and I have always used Osram Silverstar with great success.
I scanned the web and found a pair of Osram Nightbreaker bulbs for a mere 12 pounds ( usually about 18 or 20 with postage) and these are supposed to be even brighter with a 35meter longer beam than regular bulbs so I thought I'd give them a try and today i fitted them when I finally found out how to change a 944 headlight bulb that is !.
Also recently arrived are my new 16" Cup One wheels. I am well known for my dislike of the Turbo Teles on my car and have wanted to change them for ages despite them being in far better condition than the shocking Cup Ones that I have just purchased. Today I fitted the cup ones with their Goodyear Eagle tyres and took the car for a test drive in damp conditions. The wheels are in a shocking state and will need a refurb but before I invest 250 pounds I thought I would have them on the car for a few weeks and see if I like them.
One thing I did notice was that the Goodyear tyres put the power down in the wet under heavy acceleration far far better than the cheepo brand tyres that I had on the car. The cheepo tyres were in the wet basically dangerous. I would add these were not fitted by me but came with the car and were brand new so I used them until I got some new wheels, this is something I will never do again.
On Sunday I'm off on a long driveout for a Porsche 944 meet and who knows i may even drive back in the dark , one thing is for sure I'm highly likely to be driving in very wet conditions so the new tyre brand will be a godsend. I will report on the Nightbreaker bulbs as soon as I have tried them. Cheers
I scanned the web and found a pair of Osram Nightbreaker bulbs for a mere 12 pounds ( usually about 18 or 20 with postage) and these are supposed to be even brighter with a 35meter longer beam than regular bulbs so I thought I'd give them a try and today i fitted them when I finally found out how to change a 944 headlight bulb that is !.
Also recently arrived are my new 16" Cup One wheels. I am well known for my dislike of the Turbo Teles on my car and have wanted to change them for ages despite them being in far better condition than the shocking Cup Ones that I have just purchased. Today I fitted the cup ones with their Goodyear Eagle tyres and took the car for a test drive in damp conditions. The wheels are in a shocking state and will need a refurb but before I invest 250 pounds I thought I would have them on the car for a few weeks and see if I like them.
One thing I did notice was that the Goodyear tyres put the power down in the wet under heavy acceleration far far better than the cheepo brand tyres that I had on the car. The cheepo tyres were in the wet basically dangerous. I would add these were not fitted by me but came with the car and were brand new so I used them until I got some new wheels, this is something I will never do again.
On Sunday I'm off on a long driveout for a Porsche 944 meet and who knows i may even drive back in the dark , one thing is for sure I'm highly likely to be driving in very wet conditions so the new tyre brand will be a godsend. I will report on the Nightbreaker bulbs as soon as I have tried them. Cheers
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