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

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.

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

Nov/Dec 09 Classic Car Show, club membership & Porsche NO.2

Several viewings later and still scanning all of the ads, I happened across a 944 Turbo on E-Bay. E-Bay was not exactly where I had in mind for my second 944 but the ad was appealing. The car was an 87 Black 944 Turbo with Black leather sports interior which is a real bonus in any 944.

The advert had stated that the car was immaculate inside and out (a lie) and that it had been looked after for the last 8 years by a genuine enthusiast (which turned out to be true). I really didn't fancy a trip to North Wales just to view prior to bidding and having seen the description and pictures as well as chatted to the vendor, I decided to try and close the auction with a strong early offer which was duly accepted. The seller said he was so confident in the car he would be happy for me to walk away but that he knew no one would. Bold sales chat indeed !

I purchased my train ticket from Virgin, central London to Bangor and was robbed for 79 pounds due to the 'late nature' of my booking, you'd think it was Easy-Jet the way they price their tickets. Sitting on the train I found out that a lady in front of me had paid less than 30 pounds for the same journey booked early.
On my arrival at Bangor I was picked up by the car dealer who had clearly sold the car to a local man years ago and taken it back from him 8 years later. The prior owner of the car was a mature chap who my research had told me was a member of TIPEC and I though this was in the cars favour. On arrival at the dealers site I found it was no back street affair. It was a thriving site with many customers and in excess of 200 cars.I was immediately given the document pack and the keys for the car and told to take the car out for a test drive alone and on trust. This I thought a bit silly these days but the man had it seemed had either sussed what I was about from our previous chats or clearly just didn't care.

Looking over the car including checking sills wing tips boot lining etc as I had now learned to do it was immediately obvious that the immaculate inside and out was a bare faced lie. The car was certainly not rotten and the full Black leather Interior with sports seats was exceptional without doubt.

However the vehicle paintwork was showing its age with touch ups etc and the one major point for me was that the cars front N/S wing was not up to standard and would need replacing to do the rest of the car justice.


Despite being not exactly as described, I drove the car and found it to be far tighter in every respect than my old 944 Turbo and in my opinion worth every penny of the agreed price. The deal was done and I started a 5 hour drive home which I carried out with only one service stop. That alone should tell you how much I enjoyed driving the car. The journey was far from a chore despite no C.D's and near useless radio reception.

Since purchasing the car I decided that we would go as a family up to the Classic Car show at the N.E.C. It had been my intention to join TIPEC for some time but I thought it would be nice to do it face to face on the stand at the show.
Myself and the family visited the TIPEC stand, the PCGB stand, Volvo Owners Club
(a story in itself there) and generally looked round the show. I found the helpers on both the TIPEC ad the PCGB stands to be very friendly and welcoming and there were some great examples of the marque. One car that still stands out in my mind was an early 911 Turbo belonging to a man called Paul who was on the PCGB stand. This chap was apparently a ' normal member' and was clearly a true enthusiast and an asset to a club stand as was his car. I have to say there was far more to see at the Classic than you might expect and in my opinion the show knocked the 'normal' motor show for six as it was more than just sell you a car. The real joy of the show for me ws checking out all of the 80's classics including much to my suprise a Talbot Sunbean TI which I had been fortunate enough to own an example of as a teenager. How I wish I still had that car.


I would say though that with the crowds pushing a pushchair around and feeling pressured to move on was not ideal. If I went to the show again I would like to go alone and mooch around whilst having the odd pint along the way. I duly signed up to TIPEC before leaving the show and received an unexpected show membership offer which was welcome indeed.
Back in not so sunny Hertfordshire I now had time to think what I might like to do with the car next season as it became clear that very little happens in classic car circles through the winter. My first disappointment was at the total lack of an active TIPEC region for Hertfordshire. I was aware of this before joining as I had contacted the local coordinator and found out that both he and his deputy were not attending meetings and were due to resign. Being keen to stay with TIPEC I had a dilemma, do I put myself foreword to try and get meetings going again even though I'm a club 'Newbie' as we call them on the web or do I just sit back and hope that someone else does something. At first I didn't want to stand up and be counted but I quickly realised the region was dead on its feet and decided to start P.M'ing anyone I could to try and promote 'new meetings for 2010'. I also visited the pub that had previously held the clubs monthly meetings and found that it was large and comfortable with a huge floodlit car-park. It was suggested to me by committee members that I let Christmas and new year get out of the way and then try contacting local Porsche folk by E-Mail. This seemed good advice and at the time of typing new year is nearly up so this will be my next step. I can only hope that like me, a few other Porsche folk will think it worth having a Hertfordshire region but only time will tell.

I have had the car in the garage for most of the last four weeks as living down a rain or snow covered track in December isn't ideal for any car let alone a low slung sports car. Quickly I have found out that this is not ideal for a cars battery and so I have purchased and plugged in a vehicle battery conditioner. The make is C-Tec and they are very well known so for a few pounds I should now be able to keep my cars battery in tip top condition despite the freezing temperatures in my garage.

In the medium term it is my intention to treat the car to a 24,000 mile service and a belts change in the spring as despite having covered only 9,000 miles since the last change this was carried out many years ago.

Now we wait for January the 21st to find out if their will be an active Hertfordshire region of TIPEC and hope that I have something positive to report in the blog. Regards Mas

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