Back where she belongs !

I have to confess that I have neglected the Herts Classics blog for a while. I have a good excuse though as I havn't actually had a classic in my garage for the last year.

We have too many cars at home general (4) and insuring and taxing them all does rather add up. None of them are worth anything mind you but I just didn't really have the room or time for another classic.
Slowly over the last year I have missed my classics and muted getting another one. I really did love the Mr2 T-Bar and seriously considered another one but the kids so love going in the car out and about that it would have been the cause of many arguments as to which of my two sons was going on each trip out.


Having looked around at cars of interest not too much really seriously tempted me. The Celica GT4 did as I do fancy a 4 wheel drive. The winter roads around our village are terrinle they really are however I realy do find the early shape Celica ugly and just can't live with it. Now the later shape with the 220 GT4 mechanicals would be a dream ! but fortunately they didn't do that car.

I have also been tempted by the Audi S2 as it is a proper 4 seater but it doesnt have much of a reall following and is no real head turner / talking point really. So where did that leave me ?, yep back with the 944. I looked at all the options , try an S2 get a cheap Lux and 'do it up' etc etc but in the back of my mind was would I just harp back to my two 952's.

I had always said that I regretted selling my first 944 Turbo , mechanically it was an inferior car to the Black one in many ways but there was no getting around the fact that the Zermatt paintwork and deep laquer looked absolutely superb. The car oozed class and always received good comments from 944 folk and car enthusiasts in general. The fact that I knew it was leaking oil and had about 20 plus other faults didn't stop it being a 'sexy'.

Having sworn that if I ever saw it for sale I would buy the car back , I did see it for sale about 9 months ago and locally as well. The 'trader' who had bought it from me after I declared all the faults and sold it basically for parts had tarted it up and sold it on. I say tarted it up , its hard to see what he actually did TBH. I was tempted but let the car go even after the seller told me he had the oil leaks done and had put some original Turbo Tele alloys on which really are quite a find in themselves. I later found out that despite telling me he had , he hadn't fixed the odometer or cured the petrol fumes piling in the car at speed though. He seemed rather shocked that i even knew of those faults :)

A few weeks ago ( end of September 2012) again I see my old tubo for sale. This time she has been purchased by a man in North Lincs and he clearly has put her in his lorry yard and had no interest in her at all. I suspect like many folk he bought on impulse and then realised his mistake and the work involved in putting one of these great cars right.

So now the car is for sale for a few hundred quid more than I sold her , the list of improvements is as follows :

1) Added deep dish 17" Turbo Teles
2) cured oil leaks
3) changed timing belts
4) replaced totally shot leather seats with some 'dubious' Cream Vinyl ones

So it would have been rude not too. I duly buy it now on the bay and make my way up there to bring her home. I took her round the block for a quick test drive
( on trust) and its plain he hasn't been entirely truthful in his sale add suprise supride not ! , the car is as I remember her including a huge ammount of exhaust
fumes in the car which he neglected to mention and the common steering joint rattle over bumpy ground which will need sorting. However for the price, she was coming home with me !.

Today she is sitting in my garage hiding from the newly arrived winter weather.

I have done a little bit of paint tidying and have purchased a new boot seal having diagnosed the fumes problem my taping up the whole rear hatch area with masking tape. As I type I am awaiting a chance to test drive and see if I have cured the fumes. If I have then there are plenty of other niggles to get to including:

1) key doesnt operate passenger door ( lock has come adrift)
2) Odometer faulty
3) Stereo needs fitting
4) sunroof broken ( no shock there)
5) no central locking ( not sure im bothered on a 2 door car but all in good time)

My Classic car for this season has 'finally' arrived

Well after much wondering pondering changing of minds re budget etc, I finally did what I normally and bought a cheapie to see if I like them or not. I'm quite fussy in some respects as I didn't want Black, White, Red or Yellow if I'm honest and I did want a Rev 3 or later which had to be a T-Bar. Oh also it had to be for not too many pounds so I can learn to tinker and find out if I really do like the MR2.

I Took a punt last Sunday and bought this dark Green Rev 3 UK T-Bar for around a thousand pounds.

I need to sort the wheels out but apart from that and a ripped seat bolster ( as they all are) , it's a tidy car and runs superbly.



I Look foreward to meeting some other Two's in the near and hope I've had the chance to do a few touch ups and some wheel refurbing 1st.

Regards

Mas

Run up to Christmas

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

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

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

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

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