New leather

My handbrake and gearshift were looking a little worse for wear (after 17 years!) so I treated the car with some new leather. Opted for black as opposed to the original marble grey. Thanks to Greg at Tognola Engineering for fitting the parts (took him just under an hour).

Today I saw a Singer!

It's fair to say that Singers are like rocking horse sh*t - you don't really see them, like, ever. But today I popped by to see the guys at Tognola Engineering and there it was - Porsche 911 by Singer - apparently the only one in the country. It's essentially automotive perfection. A while ago a British chap called Richard Meaden headed out to California to find out if it really is possible to improve one of the greatest cars of all time and from what I saw today he seems to be doing a pretty damn fine job of it. Nice. 

993 Carrera versus 964 Turbo...

Yes I'm a 993 man but there's something about the 964 Turbo, especially this 3.6, that makes me go weak at the knees - was my monogamous relationship to it's successor momentarily under threat? Maybe. 

A few other bits and bobs...

Rear spoiler blind needed replacing. Easy job that requires a bit of press fitting. 

And my car didn't have scuttle gaskets when I bought it and seeing how fiddly they were to fit I can see why they weren't put back after some previous painting. The area just below the windscreen is notorious for rusting so I would imagine that job had been carried out by the previous owner. A few bolts needed loosening to separate the wing from the scuttle, then a rubber hammer and wedge was used to further prise them apart, before Ray and Paul got their rubber gloves and lubricant out to press fit them in. Even then the gaskets themselves needed trimming down as they were proving to be somewhat stubborn little things. A delicate job as it's easy to damage the wings so not one for the heavy handed. 

RSR Mufflers...

I love the sound of an air-cooled engine but like a lot of Porsche owners you just can't help but wanting a little more - a little louder, a little deeper, a little raspier. So I did a little research, which lead to Gert Carnewal, based in Belgium, mainly because of his competitive pricing for Porsche parts. And instead of looking into an expensive full system replacement I went for a set of RSR Mufflers on an exchange programme, which basically means you can swap your existing mufflers for another set (used of course) that have been opened up, modified and then welded up again, resulting in a new and improved sound. You pay 800 Euros for the mufflers and get 400 Euros back when you return yours. A cost effective mod. And then there's an additional labour charge to have them fitted, unless of course you can do them yourself. Here's Mike as Northway just about to tackle mine today...

Step 1. Remove tips - typically the old clamp bolts need cutting as they tend to rust - it's a good job that Gert supplies some new nuts and bolts. Clamps and sleeves should be okay.

Step 2. Remove tips and straps. 

Step 3. Fit new straps and fixings.

Step 4. Swap over the heat shields if they're good otherwise take the opportunity to replace them.

Step 5. Put back as you took off. 2nd tip back on so ready to fire her up...

Step 6. Send Gert your old mufflers and he'll modify them for the next customer.

Step 7. Enjoy the little louder, little deeper, little raspier sound of your air-cooled 911.

Out with the old and in with the new!

Time to say goodbye to my old Sport Classic II's (sold on ebay) and hello to my 18" hollow spoke 'technology' turbo wheels with a new set of boots in the form of Michelin Pilot Sports 2's. Thanks to Chris Paul at Jasmine PorschaLink UK for sourcing the wheels and the guys at Centre Gravity for the tyre recommendation. Plus I was lucky enough to find some shiny new gold crested Porsche centre caps stashed away in the spare wheel compartment of my car - nice. Here's the numbers:

FRONTS
Wheel: 18" x 7.5", ET 50 (mm)
p/n: 993.362.134.05
Tyre: 225.40.18

REARS:
Wheel: 18" x 10", ET 50 (mm)
p/n: 993.362.134.05
Tyre: 265.35.18

Next stop: Centre Gravity in Warwickshire for full suspension upgrade and geometry set-up. Booked in for 7th Dec.

And thanks Dad for helping me change the wheels over!

Thanks Kim and will do [Part 2]

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[Me]

Hello Kim. Hope you're well. Just wanted to share with you that after many years of hard work I finally treated myself with an air-cooled 911. And since it's the 50th Anniversary of the 911 this year it felt a good time to do it. I feel like a little boy again with a big toy. I'll be driving it to Le Mans next year. Love to take you out in it one day. Love to you & Tony. David

[Kim]

That's made my day that has. I knew you'd get there. What colour?
K

There's something quite nice about a Porsche parked up in a Marina - just popped into Windsor Marina as I was looking for a nice backdrop to take a few pics for the Insurance Company's Agreed Valuation Application. 

911 & Porsche World Picnic 2013

Dad and I at the 911 & Porsche World Picnic 2013 at Wellington Country Park, Sunday 15th September. Nice to be there with my own car.

Spotted this 993

Spotted this 993. Lovely. Not dissimilar to mine. I prefer the 'Turbo' wheels and planted set up so just ordered a set from PorschaLink and dropped an e-mail to Chris at Centre of Gravity to discuss my suspension options. Looking forward to his response. Exciting. 

I had just bought my first 911!

Hello blog. Sorry for the radio silence. This year has been crazy-busy! My beautiful daughter was born 23rd Jan (our first), we moved to Windsor (my hometown), fully renovated an 1870 Victorian house, and I officially started a new job at Google. So Porsche hunting didn't feature high on my ToDo List nor would it make much sense financially. Also I just sold my Mini Cooper S to make way for a practical family car, which came in the form of a VW Tiguan. That said, it's the 50th Anniversary of 911 and if there was any year to buy my first Porsche it would have to be this year. So every once in a while I'd get my fix perusing PistonHead Classifieds. Then late one Friday night I saw this shiny black 993 C2 being sold privately in Reading, and since I was passing by the following day on my way to Wiltshire, I decided to pop by and take a little look...and the rest, as they say, is history! It wasn't an S, it wasn't a Turbo (simply didn't have the money for either!), nor was it a low mileage garage queen with an impeccable service history, but it was black, 2 wheel drive, great condition, and money-wise I could make it work, just.

Within a few minutes of seeing it and hearing the engine note, something just came over me, and I turned to my other half Harriet, who was holding the Aurelia at the time, and said 'I really want this car' - and strangely enough she seems okay with that! So after a few phone calls - needed Jamie's and Fraser's blessing, Tom at 911Virgin (thanks for the wise words that day), my sister (who kindly lent me some of the cash - thanks Lin) I went swiftly to a hole-in-the-wall down the road and withdrew 500 pounds, shook the guy's hand, agreed a price (subject to PPI) and that's was it. I had just bought my first 911! It all happened so quickly. I kind of felt numb. I hadn't driven it. I hadn't really check it over. The amount of buyer's guides I read over the years and all that wisdom seemed to escape me that morning. But it just felt right and I knew that anything untoward would come up in the PPI so I followed my instincts. And that's how we left it. I didn't sleep for a week thinking about it and the car went to Ray Northway for a thorough inspection. Days later, when Ray gave me the nod (who by the way is an absolute gentleman), I transferred the funds and jumped into a Taxi to collect the car. I'll never forget the drive home, straight down the M4 from Reading to Windsor, driving my very own 911. I was living my dream and the car, by no means perfect on paper (had a fair few niggles - not surprising for the age / mileage though), felt absolutely perfect to me. I was finally a super proud Porsche owner and you should have seen the smile on my face! Happy days and may they continue...also, gives me a very good reason to keep posting.

Photo taken by my sister and that's my brother-in-law Chris. I'm on the phone to Ray Northway as the starter motor was playing up. No surprise as it came up on the PPI report. Shortly after I went for a long drive through Windsor Great Park. Bliss.