How I started with 'Classic Porsche'

I have started this blog a little late so the first few pages will be retrospective.

The reason for this is that I do have some web space and some basic web design skills so I have knocked up a couple of Porsche pages before. Now that I find myself hooked on the Classic Porsche as a hobby it seems a good idea to properly chart my progress with the cars , clubs and people involved.

By way of an introduction, it is now a freezing cold December day and I have been a Porsche enthusiast for all of 4 months. I am now on my second Porsche 944 Turbo. The first Porsche I purchased was a 1985 944 Turbo which cost me all of 1,850 pounds around 5 months ago. I knew it would be a bit of a heap but assumed that if it drove O.K I would use it as an extended test drive and find out if Porsche ownership and just as importantly Porsche folk were for me.

I am a keen forum user in general as well as running one or two myself and have found the folk on the TIPEC ( The independent Porsche Enthusiast Club) forum to be very helpful and welcoming with a good mix of banter and genuinely useful information.

Many folk online have said that a cheapo 944 needing work should be avoided at all costs but despite this advice which I do generally agree with I decided that a cheap 'Test Drive car' was going to be my first Porsche. Those who know me for all my faults will know that I am an honest man, often too honest for my own good. With this in mind I decided that I would buy a cheapo car and use it for a few months then sell it on declaring all of its faults. If the car was too bad or blew up on me then I would reluctantly scrap the car. This was my plan and this was also duly posted on the TIPEC forum.

I bid for and won the car on E-Bay being well aware that if it was not 'as described' , I coud turn up to pay but choose to walk away. I would not take this 'risk' normally but for 1,850 pounds to be honest I wasn't at all bothered as to me it was worth it for the learning experience. The worse thing I could see happening would be that if it went bang after a month or two then I would have to sell it for 1,000 for 'spares or repair'.

So having won my bid I turned up to buy the car having driven about an hour and a half to Reading together with Mrs Mas and two small children. On the sellers driveway was an absolutely stunning looking Zermatt Silver 944 Turbo which is still one of my absolute favourite colours for an 80's Porsche. I was genuinely surprised by the look of the car and to this day I can say that the paintwork with its deep shine and thick lacquer was exceptional.

I had a quick test drive along local roads and it was obvious that the car had its faults. These included, suspension rattles and knocks (the steering was basically worn out. I was also aware that there was a small oil leak and that the heater was stuck on hot( story to follow).

Despite its faults the car drove like a rocket and the turbo showed plenty of boost. The gearbox and clutch were fine and the displayed 200,000 miles was of course untrue as the Odometer was broken. Clearly this Porsche had been no Garage Queen, not by a long way.

I duly paid up my hard earned cash feeling that she was an old heap but an old heap well worth 1,850 pounds. I then drove home as the missus and kids followed in the Volvo S60 D5. Despite being choked by the fumes from the oil leak dripping on the hot exhaust and the heater stuck on full blast, the drive home was a hoot. How amazing are these 944's to drive they really are. I have driven all sorts of cars in my time , small to large and cheap to very expensive but nothing more fun than the 944 Turbo.

Having driven the car a few times I took it to a well known independent Bedfordshire.

The lead mechanic at the garage carried out my free initial inspection and agreed that the body work and sills were very solid indeed, also the car was not a rot heap as some 944's can be. However every single rubber mount under the car was worn out and clearly had never been replaced. The oil leaks, rubbers , wheel bearing, brake restoration etc would add up to about 2,500 pounds if I wanted to put the car right.

Upon later reflection this really wasn't that bad. I could if I wanted to have the car ' sorted out' and it would stand me around 4,300 leaving me with a rare 'early' example of a 944 in a great colour. Sadly though I had to realise that it would still be a 200,000 mile plus example and the engine was bound to need some work in the near future. My final decision was that I would fix a couple of minor faults and sell the car.

Thanks to the folk on the TIPEC forum, I eventually found the well known 'Broken heater Clip' under the glovebox. Once exposed by my having removed the glovebox liner the fault was clear for anyone to see. Luckily for me this was one fault that I could fix cheaply and in doing so I would actually make the car far more comfortable to drive.

I reluctantly called a Porsche main dealer at Cambridge expecting to be regarded as a bit of a peasant but was very pleased with the helpful attitude of the parts man as I enquired about purchasing a new 'heater clip'. After a few minutes trying to find what part I wanted the man told it is actually called a 'bearing' which if you looked closely it was indeed. A small nylon bearing and a little metal clip that clamps it on to the metal arm or rod were what I needed. The parts man informed me that these only came in packs of three tough he could probably split it for me. He the told me the price of three 'bearings' and three 'clips'. This came to a sum total of just over three pounds including free delivery. I was embarrassed and told him I lived too far away to collect and how could I pay, surely not by card ?. He nearly sent it free but decided that he could get in trouble if he did so he duly took my money by switch and the 'clips' arrived a few days later.

Ten minutes work and the 'clip' was fitted by me allowing my 944 to blow cold air for the first time. I was so proud of my first ever fix that as usual I posted my experience on the TIPEC forum. All of the regulars seemed happy for me and humoured me, presumably realising that I am no mechanic and that this tiny fix had given me some sense of satisfaction.

I advertised the car for sale on E-Bay ( declaring all of the faults I knew of as promised) with a starting price of 1,800 and buy it now of 2,000 and had little interest. A week later I re-advertised the car at a fixed price of 1,700 pounds with no offers. The first interest was within hours and the man was quite local to myself being near to Hertford. Three other gents declared a keen interest and one man in particular seemed a decent bloke and begged second refusal on the car which he was duly promised. I really wanted to sell the car to the second man but he was from Lincolnshire and couldn't get over for a couple of days so in fairness I had to give the man in Hertford his chance to buy. Clearly despite its faults the car was a popular buy at 1,700 as a track car or similar project and it turned out I could have easily sold it 5 times over at that price.

The local man told me a tale re it being a track car project for himself and duly paid cash for the car. As it happened he turned out to be a 'dodgy' car dealer type. Surprise surprise when he turned up to collect the car he had a traders insurance policy (as you do). Much to my disgust he then re advertised the car 3 or 4times on E-Bay trying to turn a small profit by not declaring any of the faults that I had declared to him. I made very sure that I posted details re the car on at least two Porsche forums so that I could try my very best to stop anyone in 'the community' being had over.

I was now 'Porsche less' and spent hour after hour scanning the free ads and forums for a new 944 Turbo or a 968. There was not a 944 or 968 for sale anywhere that I didn't find out about and my viewings, particularly at the showrooms of dealers are a story in themselves. I had definately decided that the first decent quality 968 or 944 Turbo would be the one that I would buy and beig me , I didn't want to wait long.

The next chapter of my Porsche ownership experience includes:
Buying my second Porsche, visiting a classic car event and joining an owners club.
Clearly a busy few months in my Porsche owning life.

Regards Mas