L AL E U Q R TO ISSUE 113
BER 2015 M E V O N / R OCTOBE
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THE PURELY PORSCHE MAGAZINE
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All TIPEC members will receive a 25% discount on the price of a 12 month subscription to GT Purely Porsche. To claim your discount contact our subscriptions department at gtporschesubscriptions@unity-media.com or call 01732 748084 and quote your TIPEC membership number. GT Purely Porsche is published on the second Thursday of the month preceding the cover date. Should have any difficulties finding a copy of GT Purely Porsche in the shops, please contact: Seymour Distribution Ltd on 0207 386 8000 or email: csu@seymour.co.uk
Chairman’s Chat All Torque is published bi-monthly by TIPEC (The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club) Text & images are © their authors/photographers. Front cover image: 930 on the Old Circuit at ReimsGueux, by Izzy ‘Mad Pig’ Spyder. All Torque is based entirely on submissions from TIPEC members. This is your magazine and we need your involvement! Submissions for issue 114 (December/January) must be in before Sunday 1st November 2015. Editor & designer: Tony Blow tony@typescape.com All Torque, Flat 2, 2 Bowmont Terrace, Glasgow G12 9LP. Printed by: The Lavenham Press Ltd, Suffolk (01787 247 436) Advertising in All Torque is managed by: Sean Smallman, Walnut Tree Farm, Grain Road, Lower Stoke, Rochester ME3 9RE (07500 332 790) Website: www.tipec.net Twitter: @Porsche_TIPEC Search for us on Facebook TIPEC Chairman: Jim Hearnden (07930 353 232) jim.hearnden@tipec.net Vice Chairman: Jason Gibson (07958 459 725) tipec@blueyonder.co.uk Treasurer: Paul Bird (01922 428 409) paulpsb928@yahoo.co.uk Advertising & sponsorhip: Sean Smallman (07500 332 790) sean.smallman@tipec.net Communications Director: James Garrard (07837 701 011) jamesgarrard@hotmail.co.uk Membership Director: Sue Simmons (07530 312 700) sue.simmons@tipec.net TIPEC Membership: Lavenham Group (01787 249 295) membership@tipec.lpl-uk.com TIPEC Valuations: valuations@tipec.net All Torque & TIPEC are entirely independent of Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, Porsche Cars GB Ltd and its dealers. All registered Trade Marks owned by Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, including the word ‘Porsche’, the Porsche Crest and Porsche Script are acknowledged as such and are their property. Whilst all due care is taken in the production of All Torque; neither TIPEC, its officers or the editor can accept responsibility for the advice, information or opinions expressed herein. Opinions contained in any article published herein are of the author or editor and do not reflect the official position of TIPEC, its management or membership, unless clearly stated by a club official.
Well another two months flies past. Sitting here in the evening writing this on the Bank Holiday weekend at just gone eight and it is getting dark. A sure sign that the nights are drawing in and summer is almost over. So get your Porsche driving in soon! Especially for the convertible owners, although I normally manage some hood down action in the winter. I had a Cayman on loan whilst the Boxster was being serviced and really missed not being able to drop the hood on a 28ºC day. One of our big events of the year, the Silverstone Classic, has been and gone. Unfortunately two of the days had rain of biblical levels but everyone seemed to have enjoyed it and no-one was washed away. It should be pretty common knowledge now that we have set the date for next year’s Simply Porsche event as the 5th June 2016. Mark this date off in your (electronic) diary and ensure you make it. Even better, come down for the weekend. The area has a lot of interesting things to do and see. We always book great weather for this so it makes sense to come down for the weekend. The Silverstone Classic will be a major event in the diary as well, so 22–24th July 2016 is another date for the diary. I note that after a few successful trackdays a few people have started a bit of motorsport with their Porsches. I recently attended a hillclimb at Harewood in Yorkshire. The mix of Porsche’s blew me away, lots of 944s and a mix of 911s. No Boxsters or Caymans though! This is inexpensive motorsport, or as cheap as it gets. I suspect a few more will be going this route next year, trackdays are great but competing against the clock is a very different challenge. I will write this up if people are interested. On a completely different note, one of the changes that has happened in my region is that we recently have a bigger pool of people organising events. This has not only taken load off of me and my AROs but has also given a different event from the norm for the members. If you are a member that does not normally do events or even the club evening, please make the effort to attend. We all do this as volunteers and a bit of support means it is all worthwhile. If you have an idea for a future event, for instance, I am sure your local RO would love to hear it. We now have new flags for the regions plus TIPEC business cards and also membership flyers, talk to your RO or AROs if you want some. An excellent way of starting discussions with Porsche owners, talking about TIPEC and even getting them to join. (ROs: we issued a lot out at Simply Porsche but if you want any stationery get in touch with me.) On a couple of admin points, the subject of valuations has come up several times recently. Jason Gibson has taken on this role together with the Vice Chair role. Valuations are for club members only and to initiate this please drop a mail to valuations@tipec.net. Membership issues are dealt with by Lavenham, so if members have any problems with renewals or new members then it is best for them to get in touch with Lavenham direct. Details for both are in the column to the left of this page. Finally a plea for more articles for the magazine. It makes Tony’s job so much easier if he has a pool of articles to work with. Maintenance articles go down well for example. I know a lot that have changed their Porsche in the past few years – this could generate a comparison or buying experience article. You do not have to be a Jeffery Archer or Enid Blyton, Tony is quite happy to bash your article into shape. Keep driving your Porsches and be safe!
All Torque 113 page 3
Club news Please remember that All Torque needs your articles – the next submissions deadline is November 1st. Please note the new address!
Silverstone Classic The 2015 event was a record-breaker, with its first ever six-figure attendance, over 1,000 race entries and £15 million of cars sold at auction. While July’s massive extravaganza further established the annual event as the World’s Biggest Classic Motor Racing Festival, plans are already well underway to ensure next summer’s Silverstone Classic is even bigger and even better. While fans can expect to see the return of Europe’s finest retro classes including the Masters FIA Historic Formula 1 Championship, Super Touring and Classic Pre ’66 GTs, some exciting new races will be added to the bill. One of the highlights will be a major Can-Am race next year to mark 50 years since the series started in 1966. The legendary North American-based Can-Am Championship featured outrageous sports racers often boasting well over 1,000 horsepower. Moreover, with very few technical restrictions, these amazing, cutting-edge Can-Am powerhouses were among the first race cars to sport wings, groundeffect aerodynamics and aerospace materials.
Change of address for All Torque Submissions for the magazine are always very welcome –All Torque is your magazine and we rely on your articles, reports and photographs to keep it full of interesting Porsche-related stuff. Please note the change of address in the event that you need to submit by post rather then email. Email:
Embroidered TIPEC polo shirts made to order. We have recently changed our supplier for club regalia and are pleased to announce our new web-based shop. http://stores.clothes2order.com/tipec There is also a direct link from our homepage at www.tipec.net
tony@typescape.com
By post: Tony Blow, All Torque, Flat 2, 2 Bowmont Terrace, Glasgow G12 9LP
Membership management Contacts for club membership queries. We have a dedicated membership management agent. The contact details for and TIPEC membership renewals, changes of address, queries, etc. is now as below. Please make sure you mention that you are contacting them about TIPEC: Phone: Email:
Club shop
01787 249 295 membership@tipec.lpl-uk.com
By post: TIPEC Membership Arbons House, 47 Water Street, Lavenham CO10 9RN Online: www.tipec.net membership renewals tab Password: tipecmember
At present we can supply good quality polo shirts in mens and ladies cuts. There are a variety of colours available to match or clash with your car, from Guards Red to Speed Yellow and a few that weren't on Porsche’s colour charts too. Polo shirts come with the option of black or white embroidered logos. In addition to the polo shirts we have mens and ladies fleeces. Also baseball caps, especially for our folliclychallenged Boxster owners.
Prices £14.99 Ladies Polo Shirts. £21.99 £17.99 Mens Polo shirts. £24.99
Ladies Fleece. Mens Fleece.
All prices are plus P&P but are much better value when ordering multiple items, so why not ask others in your region before ordering?
Hartech on film Independent Porsche specialists Hartech and their expertise in extensive engine work should be familiar to most TIPEC members, especially since Barry Hart (Technical Director) was the first Chairman of our club! Hartech have boldy stepped into the world of movies, putting together a 10-minute short film that introduces them and their services. Barry explains: “The video gives a picture of what we do at Hartech and hopefully some interesting shots of the business, engines, manufacturing and some Porsche racing. We had to squeeze 0ver 200 shots into two days of filming (from which about 100 have been chosen) and as you can imagine it was a challenge to have the perfect set-up for each. “The video, produced independently, shows around our workshops and our machine shop etc with shots of engines in various stages. “We are not specifically trying to ‘sell Hartech’ to all and sundry – we know we are a bit different to many other Porsche specialists in the way we go about our business and rather than hoping to influence all Porsche owners, what we hope to achieve is to convey that difference about us, so we end up attracting the type of owners for whom what we provide is suitable for them.
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“Repairing engines can also be quite a logistical problem for Porsche specialists when they have a car and a lot of parts to find space for while they order replacement spares and send parts of for subcontract work – clogging up their workshop space, often for weeks. “We have invested multiple six-figure sums in our engine remanufacturing facilities and this video hopefully demonstrates all that and the space, organisation, stock, in-house machining facilities, strip and rebuild organisation and how we even send rebuilt engines to them via a sturdy wooden box etc, all in a well organised system and relatively quick turnaround time with guaranteed reliability.” Hartech are offering copies of the video to TIPEC regional organisers who request it. Maybe you could screen it for your members at a monthly club meeting? Any ROs who are interested should contact Barry with a postal address via the Hartech web site www.hartech.org or by email on auto@hartech.org and he will arrange to send out a HD quality copy on USB stick, suitable for screening on a laptop or HDTV.
It’s a lot to get into 10 minutes (especially for video amateurs like us) but we hope the effort will prove to be worthwhile.
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www.hartech.org.uk tel 07000 100 944 or 01204 302809 (Bolton Lancs) All Torque 113 page 5
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CALL 0871 230 1088** WWW.NECCLASSICMOTORSHOW.COM *Club ticket (adult 16 years+) offer only applies to Saturday and Sunday, and only when booked in advance. Club single ticket offer is limited to four tickets per member and the club family ticket offer is limited to one family ticket per member. A family ticket admits 2 adults and up to 3 children (5-15 years). Book before Saturday 31st October 2015 at midnight and you will be automatically entered into our free prize draw to win a car. Hand in your ticket stub or print-at-home voucher to your club’s stand and they will benefit from a commission. **Calls cost 10ppm plus standard network charges. All bookings are subject to a single transaction fee of £1.50. Tickets include a showguide to the value of £7.50. Entry to the auction requires purchase of a catalogue. See website for all information. All information correct at time of publishing.
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09/06/2015 15:22
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911&PW advert 95x130.qxp_Layout 1 22/07/2015 10:20 Page 1
It really seems that nothing is too much trouble for these guys which is why the place is keeping busy. On the day of writing there was a variety of cars in; 996 Targa for service, 986 Boxster for condensers, ’84 Carrera for a light restoration, ’74 911S for an alternator plus project cars including a ’72 Beetle, 356A replica, 356 Speedster replica and a couple of cars for sale. Busy … The owners Paul & Mike Chare will be familiar to many club members. Paul joined the club in 1995 when he was immediately put to work as RO building the Central Region. He was the national event organiser 2000–2005 and says he was bullied in to being Vice-Chairman for a short time and even edited All Torque when there was no one else to do that! Mike is a Porsche trained technician and a total enthusiast too. With experience spanning over 10 years Mike has worked on both modern and classic Porsches and also works on 356 and early 911 race cars The fully equipped workshop, in Wythall (south of Birmingham near Solihull), is set up and ready to deal with all aspects of Porsche service and maintenance including Porsche Diagnostics. On Saturdays Zuffenhaus run a free car clinic giving owners an opportunity to book a slot for the team to look over their Porsche and discuss any issues – Wi-Fi and refreshments are available while you wait. For more info check out www.zhporsche.co.uk or call on 01564 823144 Paul & Mike are offering a free brake fluid change (worth £59) to all TIPEC members when having any service … you just need to show your club membership card.
We take care of all Porsche models offering a complete service and maintenance program as well as MOTs. We have a fully equipped workshop in the Midlands with Porsche trained staff ready to meet your needs.
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Advertorial All Torque 113 page 7
Member’s cars Rescuing a corroded Carrera: Ian Coleman’s 3.2 had some nasty surprises for him when he pulled it out of its winter storage. Ian talks us though how he corrected the tinworm issues, with a little professional help.
Front bumper, valence and spoiler removed
I was expecting it to be a formality. It was 12 Months, less than 2,000 miles and winter storage in a heated and dehumidified garage since the last MOT, so it came as a bit of a shock when I was told my prized 1986 3.2 Carrera had failed for corrosion. My local MOT station offered to “weld it up” to get it through the MOT for under £500 and I was tempted as the tax had just run out as well, so getting it to anywhere else would be a challenge. It was September 2014 and in the end I decided to put it into hibernation early and get the job done properly in the spring.
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I got regular email updates with photographs from Nigel so I could see work was progressing well and to a high standard. I had suggested that the wing should come off to give easier access to the area being repaired but Nigel was concerned that if the wing proved difficult to remove, his cost for labour could escalate, and if the wing was damaged in the process, it might need painting or at worst replacing. It was nice to know Nigel was trying to keep costs from going any higher than they needed to. It was agreed he would continue with the wing in place and as it turned out he did a sterling job. The problem areas were returned to as-new condition and finished with a coat of stone-chip followed by underbody wax on the outside. Once I got the car home I couldnt stop worrying about the ticking time bomb that any additional corrosion in that area might become. I have read plenty about how the inner wings and A-posts can corrode, especially around the bumper mounts and where the wing fixes to the A-post. So despite the words of caution, I decided to take the wing and sill cover off to have a proper look and to rust proof all the vulnerable areas. I decided to do the nearside wing first and leave the offisde until the autumn so I would have some time to enjoy the car during summer.
Once I got the car home I couldnt stop worrying about the ticking time bomb that any additional corrosion in that area might become.
Having read Lorne Campbell's article in All Torque about having work done on his 944 by Trickett Welding, I decided to pay them a visit. I had a chat with Nigel and took the car in for evaluation. Nigel clearly knows his stuff and there was an impressive collection of customers cars (including a couple of other 911s) undergoing everything from a respray to full restoration.
The corrosion in question had started under the battery box and by the time it had become visible, it had perforated the outer floor near the front mount of the nearside torsion bar. The first step was to remove the bumper, front valence and fuel tank to get a full picture of the rust, which turned out to include battery tray, fuel tank support and part of the inner wing. All of the bad stuff was cut out and the remaining good metal prepared for new repair panels. A selection of pattern parts from Design 911, together with original parts from Porsche Bournemouth, were ordered for the job, supplemented with some repair sections fabricated on-site by Trickett welding.
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The first step was to remove the bumper and then the front valance and spoiler. This was all pretty straightforward with the Bently manual to refer to. The bellows panels need to be removed before the bumper can be removed. Four screws hold the bellows panel in place, two to the top edge of the front valence and two to the bottom edge of the wing. To get the bumper off there are two M14 nuts on each impact absorber behind the rubber trim, this slides off its plastic
Work has started on removing the rot, the battery tray is the last to go
clips quite easily. Finally, remove the screws holding the indicators in place and remove the indicators from the rear of the bumper while sliding the bumper off. Before the wing can be taken off, the outer sill cover must be removed. The first step is to remove the end caps, which are held in place with one self tapping screw, then the rubber trim – easy to do, you just gently peel it away from the bodywork (re-fitting it is not so easy!) Once the rubber trim is removed you can gain access to the screw holes, enabling easy removal of the sill cover. The next step is to remove the headlight in order to get to a screw inside the headlight bowl that fixes the wing to a bracket. This bracket is fixed to the inner wing and provides support for the headlight bowl, fuel tank expansion vessel and windscreen washer fluid reservoir – all a bit awkward to remove with plenty of penetrating oil and patience required. My headlights have the vacuum controlled automatic level adjustment and to my surprise there was a hiss of air when I removed the vacuum hose. Before finally removing the wing I had to remove the washer resevoir, breather hose and filler hose, the fuel tank expansion vessel and hose. The only bit I found tricky was around the fuel cap, where there is a metal flange which fixes the wing to the fuel filler tube plus a large circlip that holds the rubber gaiter in place, both are a bit awkward, especially while trying not to damage any paintwork. The last step before finally removing the wing is to remove all of the screws inside the luggage compartment and along the inside edge of the wing at the A-post.
New fuel tank support in place finished off with a repair piece fabricated by Nigel
long term protection. I used a wire knot-wheel on an angle grinder to remove all traces of stone-chip paint, under-body wax and surface rust from the affected areas (being very carefull not to remove any paint from the drivers door and scuttle panel!) This was followed by a good wash with acetone to ensure thorough degreasing. I did some research and decided that Por15 would be a good system to use. The second stage after de-greasing is to use the Por15 Metal Prep. This watery liquid is applied to bare metal and light rust for around 30 minutes before being washed off with plenty of water. This etches bare metal and neutralises rust. Once dry, the Por15 protective paint is applied. This gives a very hard, durable finish that can be overpainted if desired. I used this system to treat the inside edges where the wing joins to the inner wing and A-post, around the bumper mount supports, front jacking point, inside the sill cover, the lower part of the outer wing which sits behind the sill cover and various bits inside the outer wing including the back of the headlight bowl – which seems to get the brunt of the road dirt. I used the correct panel sealing tape from Porsche to join the wing to the inner wing. It has the feel of Blu-tac and acts as a sound deadener, cushioning the gap between the panels. It’s not cheap but there is plenty left to do the rest of the car and I am pleased knowing it is ‘right’. Everything was re-assembled with particular attention being paid to bumper alignement and panel gaps. The luggage compartment lid needed a bit of adjustment to get the ‘smile’ right. By far the hardest part of this project was re-fitting the rubber sill trim. There will probably be plenty of owners who could tell me a better way of doing this, but I used plenty of plumber’s silicon grease and slid it on from the rear wheel arch forwards. After several aborted attempts and some choice language I was finally satisfied with the fit. The ‘smile’ now looks even better than it did before and I have peace of mind knowing everything will be good for another 29 years! The final job was eight hours of detailing – but thats another story. I am now planning to do the offside sill cover and wing in the autumn once I have had a chance to enjoy the fruits of my labour.
With the wing off I was relieved not to find any further corrosion – everything else was solid metal. There was a little localised surface corrosion which I decided to treat prior to re-assembly to provide
A-post with wing screw holes stripped back
Wing and sill cover undergoing Por15
Text & photography by Ian Coleman All Torque 113 page 9
Member’s cars It’s never too late to buy a Porsche! If buying a 996 Carrera at the age of 47 is a midlife crisis, what do you call buying a Boxster at the age of 74? Andy Harris ponders, as he tells us all about his Dad’s new car.
lack any performance and runs beautifully smooth with loads of torque. If you were looking to purchase an early Boxster, I highly recommend the 2.5. Dad’s Boxster was purchased from M&T Motor Company in Newbury. I must say the service was excellent. We saw the car advertised on Autotrader. On arrival, the car was out and ready for us to look at, they were happy for us to spend as much time as we wanted looking over the car, not at all pushy and after a little test drive (with Dad coming back with the biggest smile ever), the purchase was made.
A ‘mid life’ crisis, is there such a thing? Well … at the age of 47 I decided to have my first Porsche experience. I bought, on a bit of a whim I might add, a 996 Carrera 2 and have not looked back. With 911s at an entry price of £10,000 you get a lot of pleasure for your pound! With that in mind, can you have an ‘even later life’ crisis? Well … at the ripe old age of 74, my Dad has just bought his first Porsche, a very tidy 1998 2.5 Boxster with 75,000 miles covered, a full service history from main dealers and specialists … and all that for less than £5,000. I would say that is fantastic value for money! The purchase of my 996 lead to a ‘domino’ effect through my friends. It wasn’t long before my friend Andy went out and bought a lovely black 987 2.7 Boxster. A few little maintenance issues were resolved not long after purchase, including a blown exhaust gasket – a testing job for our friendly mechanic as the bolts were well and truly rusted in. No job too big however, the car was soon back on the road and driving pleasure resumed. With both Andy’s and my persuasiveness, our friend Paul has just recently bought a lovely silver 986 3.2 Boxster S! Paul had previously owned a 996 C2 Cabriolet, so it was inevitable that he would one day again own a Porsche! Paul brought his Boxster to a car show in Henley, which both my Dad and I visited. Dad sat in Paul’s car and with a few jests from us in the way of ‘go on, treat yourself, buy one, life’s too short’… that was it, Dad had decided in that moment that he would like to treat himself! So the search was on. He had a little wish list: ideally blue in colour, manual gearbox, 2.5 would be more than adequate, not too high a mileage, and some good history. Within six weeks he had found the ideal car. Dad read that the earlier 2.5 litre engine was much favoured and I think this helped in deciding which to go for, it definitely doesn’t Text & Pphotography by Andy Harris
The dealer has carried out a service and has given the car a new MOT. A little tidying was required to the wheels. We contacted Elite in Reading and they have done a wonderful job with refurbishment, the wheels were turned around within a week and back on the car, new wheel and locking bolts with new centre caps to compliment the freshly restored wheels … and what a difference, they have brightened the car no end. We noticed a few small dents in the driver’s door and the normal upward dents in the boot lid where items have been placed and the lid closed pushing the panel out. We were very lucky to have Chris from Dent Tech spend an hour or so with his magic tool kit removing these. My son, Jack, then spent a few hours one Sunday afternoon (there was a roast dinner in it for him) washing, claybar-ing, polishing and waxing. You would now not believe this was a 17 year old car! The grey leather interior is worn a little to the bolsters but in good condition overall. A little company I have used previously called Trim Wizard can re-colour and make good for very little cost – this job is next on the list, and once done Dad will have a very tidy Boxster with many years of happy, open-top motoring ahead of him. Dad had his first experience of our local TIPEC club meet in July. What a night it was with over 50 cars! Jason put on a great show, always very welcoming and does his very best to get around all the members and non-members alike. Held on the first Tuesday of the month at the Novello, I highly recommend TIPEC Thames Valley’s monthly meet. Lots of stunning cars and very friendly people. The food is good too! I have a road trip planned for September 2015 with fellow Porsche owners Andy & Paul, mentioned above, to Belgium and France. This should be an exciting trip for us, a little culture, some great roads, good food, a beer (or two) and of course a few laughs and hopefully no breakdowns en-route! A story for another time …
Member’s cars
Since James Carney was in his teens, driving an MGB GT and riding a Honda 400 Four, he always wanted to own a 911. A 911T ideally, but without much cash and with an expensive hobby, the dream was shelved.
Almost 10 years ago I was introduced to C4BHX when it was purchased by a work colleague. Steve, an aircraft engineer, scoured the country to find a suitable car and proudly showed off pictures of his new Porker. I have to say at the time I was mildly envious but with two children making their way through the private education system I never seriously considered owning such a car myself. Scroll forward two years, I bumped into Steve early one morning while he was prepping our aircraft. I enquired about the Porker only to be told it was for sale as Steve had decided to get married and needed the cash. Every fibre in my body told me not to go and see it, but a week later I headed up into Derbyshire to view the car. My wife and I had discussed it, she said to me at the time “I don’t know why you’re asking, I know you’re going to buy it!” I fear she knows me too well … I arrived at Steve’s and we discussed the car over coffee, he showed me the documents he had on it – quite a collection from the original specification through all MOT certificates, service records and so on. The process was made easier because I knew Steve. Many of the apprehensions about large sums of money were made less stressful. We looked the car over together which was largely unnecessary – I knew from our conversations over the preceding years that the car had been well looked after, in good order for its age and mileage. We then took the car for a spin. This was the first time I had ever driven a 911 and unsurprisingly it was pretty mindblowing. I didn’t feel the need to go mad as it wasn’t my car (yet) and the roads were a little busy. Plus, I was acutely aware of the car’s pedigree. We went back to the house and chatted about the price. As I knew very little about Porsche and given how much I was planning to spend, I thought it prudent to have the car inspected by an expert. Peter Morgan Consulting carried out a 190 point inspection. Steve agreed to go halves on the cost so that if I didn’t buy the car he would at least have an up to date independent report which would aid selling. The car checked out well and was given a clean bill of health, with some obvious caveats due to age and mileage. Still a tiny bit nervous I went along to PCT in Coventry with the report and chatted it through with the head technician. He put my mind at ease, telling me that the cars are pretty much bulletproof and barring bad luck I could expect trouble-free motoring. So it was, a few weeks after our initial conversation, that I headed south at the wheel of my very own 911. The car felt fantastic. I owned the car for almost eight years and apart from normal service items, a relay for the rear window heater, two clutch pipes (thats a whole other story!) a new worm gear for the rear spoiler and a speedo head (a common problem I’m told) I had no trouble with the car at all. I should mention TIPEC at this point. My son and I attended the NEC show in November 2007. Among many other exhibits we spent some time on the TIPEC stand. It was there that I met Sean Smallman and was taken with his, and the other exibitors on the stand’s, enthusiasm for the marque. I signed up on the day and have been a member since. I attended many club nights during my ownership. In addition the car and I went to the Le Mans Classic three times and Silverstone Classic for the 50th anniversary parade. The track laps at Le Mans were
arguably the real highlight during my ownership. That said, touring with my wife and the trips away with friends were brilliant. Sadly however changes at work and personal circumstances made it necessary to review my ownership. Although the car had been trouble free for me I recognized that the potential for a big bill was never that far away and I was nervous of being caught out. I decided with a heavy heart that the car had to go. I wondered about the best way forward. I didn’t want lots of tyre kickers turning up at the house so considered other ways of making the sale. I came down in favour of Paul Stephens Porsche. They advised that they would probably obtain a better price than I could achieve with a private sale which would help to offset their commission and so it proved. I got the car ready for my final journey and set off down the A14 in early May towards Colchester and Little Maplestead. I met Paul on arrival, we had a coffee and chatted over my reasons for selling the car. Paul and I then took the car for a run before the car was raised up on the ramp and given a good going over by Paul’s technicians. Everyone was very friendly and professional and I left for the station leaving my car behind sure in the knowledge that it was in good hands. It wasn’t long before Paul found a buyer. There was a minor hiccough during the process which was sorted over the phone with Paul. I would totally recommend using Paul Stephens Porsche to anyone wishing to ease the process of selling a car. I’m not sure whether I shall look for another Porker going forward but can say I enjoyed every moment of my ownership of this fabulous marque. My time with the car was always made better by the people at TIPEC, my thanks to one and all. As a postscript, I was contacted by the new owner to enquire about the car and the reasons for selling. It was during that conversation that he told me his brother had crashed the car! Not too badly it seemed, with damage to the front end. The car had spun out on some oil while being driven at low speed. Yeah right! Good news is the car has now been repaired for about £2k so all’s well … Text & photography by James Carney All Torque 113 page 11
Porsche Seven? Richard Aylward tries out a very different marque ‌
Our TIPEC Christmas Lunches are always enjoyable and last time especially so. As luck would have it, in the Grand TIPEC Christmas Raffle I was fortunate enough to win a half day out in a Caterham Seven from Millwood Motor Company in Dursley. Not a Porsche. Not by a very long chalk. Now, I have only been a member of TIPEC for less than two years and I enjoy it immensely. The monthly meetings, short breaks and trips away are great. However my recollection is that they always involve Porsches, which is precisely why I joined. I love the feel of a Porsche when you first get into it – the great response from the engine and superb handling; in fact, the whole ethos. I also believe it’s still the only supercar that can comfortably be used on a daily basis and getting in and out of it doesn’t present a series of challenges. Still, never look a gift horse in the mouth … and never having driven a Caterham, I was looking forward to the experience. My good lady Caroline & I turned up at the appointed time on Sunday 9th August and were greeted by Paul Griffith who is the manager at Millwood. He had the car ready and waiting and after signing the usual disclaimer we were presented with the first challenge … getting in! Of course there’s no door, so stepping in is the only option but that’s a dilemma too. Do you just step on to the seat and then slide down hoping you didn’t have too much dirt on your shoe that you’ll then sit on? Do you try and step into the cockpit, (you couldn’t really call it anything else), but just forward of the seat? I went for the latter and managed this by a combination of holding tightly onto the headrest and lightly onto the windscreen. This worked after a fashion and I fell into what is a pretty comfortable driving position. My wife similarly crashlanded and we were in. I’d say the first impression is that it’s quite snug. Snug in the way a pair of shoes are and with about the same amount of room to move around. Well that’s good – I’ll be staying in the ideal position.
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RoadSport. This means that it’s a (so-called) widebody version to suit the (ahem) larger lady and gentleman. However, the increased track isn’t noticeable, perhaps offering more stability and since there’s hardly any weight difference, the performance isn’t compromised. The figures state a 0–60 time of 5.3 seconds and a power to weight ratio of 247bhp/tonne which isn’t shabby by any means. Keeping initially to A-roads, we headed along to Tetbury, then up to Cirencester. From there we took the A435 up through Charlton Kings and on to Evesham. By now I was really beginning to gel with the car and we changed direction to Pershore through some great B-roads before stopping at The Bell Inn at Cropthorne for lunch (we can recommend the cuisine). My wife then took control, (perhaps I should have had a drink first?) and we shot off to Ledbury then down to Ross-on-Wye before turning back part-way towards Gloucester, and on down to Monmouth. Since I was quite thoroughly sober, (only the experience was intoxicating), I then squeezed back into the driver’s seat for the trip down to Chepstow. These last two are fantastic roads and if you haven’t driven them you should really make the effort. The journey back up the A48 to Gloucester and back to Dursley was almost mundane by comparison.
A 0–60 time of 5.3 seconds and a power to weight ratio of 247bhp/ tonne isn’t shabby by any means.
Next we fitted the full harness seat belts and it was beginning to feel like lining up on the grid – quite exciting! Paul then went through the controls which really is a must … The ignition barrel is somewhere under the dash, a nice big red starter button (got that one), a simple rocker switch for the indicators, etc. All quite basic which added to the illusion of a track car – honestly Officer! Pressing the starter button elicited a juicy roar from the side pipe, so we folded the ‘doors’ back from their position above the bonnet and clipped them in. I slipped it into gear and we were off. Although basic, the controls were intuitive, the clutch was light and the engine on-song. Fortunately, we’d also managed to squeeze in a road map so that we could pick out some decent twisties. Of course, this was not one of the hooligan CSR models but a more sedate (if you can use that word with Caterham) models. This was a K-series 140 X-power SV
We never hit insane speeds, but we didn’t need to. Being low down and in the open, the feeling of speed was exhilarating and the lack of mass gave great acceleration. Finally, the handling was faultless, inspiring confidence. (Although not quite Porsche levels of confidence …)
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A thoroughly excellent day out. And why am I writing about these cars in a Porsche magazine? I like to think we all love great cars and this certainly is one. How do I rate it against my Porsche? I don’t. They’re completely different which is what made the day out so much fun. Try one – you’ll be pleasantly surprised – if only when you climb back into your Porsche and appreciate the space and all you didn’t just have. Would I buy one? Probably not, but what an experience! I really must thank Jon Vicker & Paul Griffith at the Millwood Motor Company for donating this prize to the Grand TIPEC Christmas Raffle last year, and for a fabulous welcome making us feel nothing was too much for them. Now back to my Porsche sanctuary … ah, bliss! Text & photography by Richard Aylward All Torque 113 page 13
A Panorama of Porsches
The last time a group from the South East region visited Stuttgart was November 2009, so David Stevens picked up the baton to organize another trip.
A small group of five TIPEC members from the South East Region, namely David Stevens (and his friend Nick Crow), Gary Wilton, Paul Steed, Emmett Jaques and yours truly Derek Flanagan, went on this pilgrimage to Stuttgart for a two night stay in July. David (997 C4S) and Nick ( Jaguar XK-R) drove to dreamland whilst Paul, Emmett, Gary and myself took an Easyjet budget flight from Gatwick – a bargain at £50 return and the 7:05 am flight only took an hour and 20 minutes. We then shared a taxi from Stuttgart airport to the Achat hotel in Porscheplatz, Zuffenhausen – a 30 minute trip was only 70 euro. The hotel was also a bargain at 55 euro per night including breakfast and was literally only 500 metres from the Porsche factory and museum. Upon arrival around 11:00 am we had a relaxing day. We took a wander down the road to have a coffee in the Porsche Museum and take a look at the flagship Porsche dealership opposite, before deciding to take a trip into the centre of Stuttgart for the afternoon using the railway station adjacent to the museum. We were amazed at the number of Porsches simply driving around and the finished new cars in their protective suits parked around the perimeter of the factory for us to drool over. Upon our return to the hotel for an evening meal at the hotel’s Italian restaurant, there was a 918 Spyder outside the museum in the customer car park for us to admire. Our schedule for the following day was a visit around the museum in the morning followed by a pre-arranged factory tour in the afternoon. After breakfast we took the short stroll to the museum past some interesting Porsche factory areas en route. The stunning, iconic, museum building rests on three concrete cores and appears to hover in space. Upon arrival our cameras came out and started clicking and clicking and clicking. When we eventually got inside we discovered that the entry fee was only eight euro (or four euro for those of us who claim to be senior citizens). Rather than book a guided tour we decided to hire the audio guides and they were fantastic, giving us all the information we needed on every display and the flexibility to control our own pace. The exhibition area covers 5,600 square metres and features more than 80 cars in chronological order, tracing the development of the Porsche marquee from its earliest beginnings, such as the legendary wheel hub motor of the Lohner-Porsche (the world’s first hybrid automobile, built in 1900) to the present day models, plus other static and audio displays demonstrating Porsche history, and pioneering technology. The 80 cars are part of their collection of 500 and are constantly rotated to provide a regularly changing display. There are legendary and iconic historic Porsche cars such as the Type 64 Berlin Road car of 1939, the Gmund 356 No. 1 Roadster, plus race and rally cars including the Moby Dick, 911 GT1s, and all the Le Mans Type C cars, as well as a vast array of production Porsches. There were also the prototype and concept cars plus Ferry Porsche’s various one-off anniversary presents. Many of the race cars are still used at historic car events around the world and some displayed the Goodwood Festival of Speed stickers. Walking around the museum is like travelling back in time seeing the many cars that we have idolised during our lives, such as the 904 GTS which was Porsche’s first with glassfibre bodywork, the 908/3 with a bodyshell that weighed only 12kg, and the famous 1982 Le Mans winning Rothmans livery 956s that came 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This car is displayed upside down with a claim that its downforce would enable it to drive on ceilings! One of the most unusual Porsches on display and also the slowest ever built (at 0–15 mph in 60 seconds) was not a low slung roadster or race car but a bright orange Porsche tractor with a 1.8 litre engine designed for the coffee plantations in Brazil. Its narrow, rounded, body was designed so that the sides would not damage the coffee plants, It has one seat, one headlight a warning light.
All Torque 113 page 15
After taking hundreds of photos of the museum exhibits we were then very fortunate to arrange a unique and extra special VIP guided tour around the Porsche Museum Workshop that is not available to the general public. Here we saw cars from all eras awaiting some TLC. There was a rare 804 F1 car being totally restored, a 718R60, the first ever Le Mans winning Porsche 917 of 1971 and the latest 918 Spyder that recently broke the seven minute record around the Nürburgring with that incredible six minute 57 seconds lap. We then had time for a quick coffee break before meeting our guide for the Factory Tour. As expected, we were instructed not to take any photos or even show that we had a camera or mobile phone with us. Many of us had already taken the opportunity of storing our cameras and other belongings in the lockers, available free of charge. Our tour guide’s name was Patrick and had an excellent knowledge of Porsche and the cars that kept us all captivated during the tour. There were some prototypes going through the mixed model production line (which included the GT3 RS) but we were not allowed to visit every one of the 118 final assembly workstations on the two floors, with each process step having a maximum contact time of only three minutess 45 seconds. After the final assembly area we went to the engine assembly area where all Porsche petrol engines are built on a mixed production line basis with 77 workstations. Then onto the interior trim area where Porsche perform all interior leather trimming for dash, doors etc. Our tour concluded with the Boxster/911 final assembly line. The body shop is on the other side of the Porscheplatz road and they are transported by a conveyor system with a bridge crossing the road, three levels above the street.
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Of the 7,000 staff employed at Stuttgart only 3,500 are in production, utilizing a two shift system. Their current output target for 2015 is 200,000 cars which will be an all-time record.
Every Porsche on the final assembly line is made to a specific customer order with every component/assembly delivered automatically direct to the line for that specific configuration and specification. Every car on the line was different – we saw a mix of each type of Boxster and 911 model on a single mixed model line including many colours, body styles (Coupé, Targa, Cabriolet), models (C2S, C4S, GT2, GT3, Turbo) and for all markets in the world (left and right hand drive), automatic and manual transmissions, and 2.9, 3.4, 3.6 and 3.8 litre engines … thus demonstrating Porsche’s amazing logistics management. All inventory is transported around the factory using remotely controlled transit systems that follow paths marked by magnetic guides built into the flooring.
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The timing of our visit was perfect – not only did we have fantastic warm sunny weather but were blessed with the new 991 GT3 RS production in full swing. Flame Orange is clearly the most popular colour for these. Throughout the tour we were reminded of the Porsche philosophy that ‘form follows function’ which has been applied everywhere in the Porsche world. The degree of automation was amazing with Porsche research and production techniques being developed and sold to other automotive manufacturers and other industries. Although we were able to see numerous Porsche cars on the streets undergoing road tests, Porsche also use road simulators to test all production cars. They have also developed a unique cold dynamo test facility for all engines which they claim is superior to hot dynamo testing. An electric motor takes the engine to maximum power eliminating the need to use fuel or cooling in the engine and thus produce zero emissions during the test process. Hot dynamo testing is conducted on a sample basis. The visit to the interior trim area was rather surprising as I expected this activity to be sub-contracted but Porsche retain this activity inhouse to control the quality. Using a laser-cutting technology, optical technologies and computer programmes to measure the leather thickness and identify hide defects Porsche have reduced the number of cow hides used per car from 10 to four. They claim they already breed the right colour cows! (Ha ha.) After the factory tour we went across the road to the very large Porsche dealership which also had an excellent Porsche Selection and Porsche Design shop. It was then back to the hotel for a drink or two before an Italian meal in the adjoining restaurant. The next day David and Nick drove off to Ulm to visit the tank museum before visiting the Bugatti Museum in Molsheim (small but beautifully displayed) and finished with a drive to the Circuit de Reims-Gueux – unique and sad. Gary and I decided to take the train to the Mercedes Benz museum in Bad Canstatt. The overall journey was only 45 minutes and cost only 2,60 euro each way. This was another iconic building on eight floors with a spiral pathway down. Again entry was only eight euro or four euro concession with audio headsets provided free of charge. Mercedes has a longer history, dating back before 1900, and again this was an amazing museum but quite different to Porsche’s. For me it appeared to have less atmosphere. It’s a great pity that we don’t have automotive museums in the UK that are in the same premier league as Porsche and Mercedes Benz. Paul & Emmett went back to the Porsche museum for a gastronomic delight in Porsche’s Christophorus restaurant for lunch and visited the dealership as Paul was seeking a new Porsche to replace his Boxster 550 Spyder anniversary model that he had recently put up for sale. Paul had clearly focused on a Cayman as his next Porsche and was deliberating on colour choices and specifications. By the time we arrived back at Gatwick, Paul had secured a Cayman R by telephone with Porsche Centre Mid Sussex. I can truly say that the trip exceeded our expectations and we would highly recommend that if you get a chance, you take this trip to heaven and visit the Porsche museum and factory in Stuttgart – it’s a fantastic experience that is not to be missed and when done with a group of like minded petrolheads, who have more petrol than blood in their veins, it becomes a memory that will live with you forever. If any other group is interested in organising a similar visit I would be happy to provide details on our trip. I would recommend that you keep your group small (six to 10 people maximum) to optimize the factory tour experience. We reckon that with careful planning you could even do this visit as a day trip flying from Gatwick and it would be cheaper than a trip to Silverstone for the day. Text & photography by Derek Flanagan All Torque 113 page 17
Izzy and some other ‘Mad Pigs’ take a trip to the 43rd AVD Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring
Our five day trip started early Thursday morning, with us all meeting up at Lakeside services. Three TIPEC cars – a 944, a 930 and a 993, plus an Aston Martin V8. A quick meet and greet, then on our way to the Eurotunnel. Our first continental leg was to the Circuit of Reims-Gueux just north of Paris, which was closed in 1972, with it’s old Grand Prix stands and pits! Many photos and videos later, it was off again to the Nürburgring via Luxembourg. Base camp was established at Am Camping. The campsite has its own gate onto the Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit near the Schumacher Curves. Friday saw qualification of many groups ranging from early GP cars to sports cars up to the mid-1970s. We then checked out behind the scenes in the pits, followed by beers and BBQ. Saturday racing started early at eight. The morning was spent in the pits catching up with a few lads that were racing in some of the heats. The main event of the trip was the opening of the Nordschleife for Touristenfahrten (tourist drives). The first timers went out for a lap to get the right to have a sticker on your car. After restocking of food and drink and viewing many cars from brand new Lamborghinis to an original Fiat 500 tackling ‘the Green Hell’, as the Nordschleife was called by Sir Jackie Stewart, we headed back to the GP circuit for more historical racing and yet another BBQ. Beers and stories of bravery were told that night around the campfire! The alarm call came early again on Sunday with the sound of engines warming up from the pits. We had breakfast watching everything from American muscle to British heritage (plus the odd German machine), then headed off to see all the bits we missed on the previous days – car clubs, more laps of the pits, souvenir hunting and more laps of the Nordschleife for those who wanted! We all met up for the last few races, a few more beers, another BBQ, campfire, more stories and off to bed. The return trip was via SpaFrancorchamps, with a spirited drive of the old circuit. Then back to Calais for the Eurotunnel, goodbyes on the train, and slowly splitting off to our separate home destinations. A fantastic trip to be repeated. Next Le Mans Classic? Booked!
Text & photography by Izzy ‘Mad Pig’ Spyder All Torque 113 page 19
The Old Circuit at Reims-Gueux by Izzy ‘Mad Pig’ Spyder All Torque 113 page 21
Dean Lancashire’s 964 C4 rebuild The South Yorkshire & North Notts RO has been working on his latest purchase all year.
Earlier in the year I bought a Porsche 964 C4 in Metallic Black with linen leather. A cracking car which I’ve fallen in love with. The 964 is a great mixture of early 911 looks with improved, modern, relaxed, day to day driveability. I thought I’d run through some the faults I’ve found and improvements I’ve been making to the car as I seem to have it 100% sorted now (touch wood …) The car had been looked after pretty well and for a 25 year old car was in good fettle. It had a full engine rebuild around 10,000 miles (nine years) ago, so that seemed to sort the usual 964 oil leaks and flywheel problems. The wheels on the car were 18" Veloce black split-rims which I wasn’t keen on, so I sourced a set of Genuine 17" 964 Cup One wheels to give it the classic look. It still had a few minor leaks at its rear end, some easy to see and some not.
No1 was a leaking power steering hose. An easy fix. Another that took some finding was a small plug on the rear of the oil filter housing that was leaking and dripping onto the heat exchangers. That just required a new sealing washer. The last leak was a slightly warped magnesium cam cover on the offside. This was sorted with a pair of lower billet machined Rennline cam covers. I had the valve clearances and new plugs done at the same time. Another problem was me sweltering in the cabin no matter how you tried to turn the heating off. This did get me worried as the heating system in a 964 can be complex,
with a range of servos directing heat behind the dash (see Lawrence Dollimore’s article on page 24!) Anyway, it was an easy fix costing just £20. Both cardboard tubes that are behind the front footwell covers had crumbled away. They feed the heat that runs down the sills into the front bulkhead. That was a relief to my wallet. One other fault I had raise its head a month or two after I bought the car was the 4x4/brake light and alarm came on after driving around 10 yards. Thinking it was down to the brake/clutch fluid that had been replaced recently, I had John at Porsche & Euro Cars bleed the system through using the Bosch Hammer system, but this had no effect. I then tested the ABS sensors on each wheel using a multimeter (I found a how-to on the web as usual!) and found the offside rear to be defective. A new sensor was fitted and all problems were cured.
The 964 sits a little too high for my liking, especially the C4, so I’ve renewed all the shocks with Bilstein B6s and replaced the springs with Purple H&R sports springs. While that was being done new Chris Walrod bushes where fitted in the front wishbones. The car drove reasonably well after fitting the units but I knew it needed correctly setting up. I tried the local guys at Garnett Motors (The mother company also prints 911 & Porsche World and Classic Porsche magazines, as well as loads of others) who have a Hunter system, but they seemed to struggle adjusting it to my setup so I ended up contacting Chris at Centre Gravity. A month later I was down in Leicestershire at 8:30 am and didn’t leave till 6:30 pm. WOW these guys really know how to setup cars.
I was looking for a fast road and odd trackday set up and Chris explained that you couldn’t go as low as RS setup, as the car would suffer from bump steer – which I was noticing already on bumpy B-roads. After the day’s set up all I can say it was the best money I’ve spent. The car is an absolute peach on smooth A-roads and bumpy B-roads and fills you with confidence. Chris has even dialed out the understeer which C4s do suffer when pushed hard. I reckon nobody would know it’s a C4 now when driving, unless they saw the badge. On to the bodywork. Just a couple of areas needed attention that were visible, a small bubble near the nearside windscreen corner and two small areas of corrosion I’d spotted when I removed the sill covers.
While in, I also had the front and rear bumpers off for paint and the rear aluminium collision bar off to make some new brackets. It’s made up of aluminium and steel items that don’t really mix well and after 25 years the aluminium brackets had just oxidised away. New brackets were fabricated up in steel at my end, then zinc plated and Waxoyled up before assembly. IK Classics took care of the corrosion with bad cut out and new metal welded in. Looking at the work they’ve done you couldn’t tell they’d been there. The front bonnet and wings were also painted at the same time. A new centre light panel finished the look and she’s looking like Gok Wan has knocked decades off her! I’m very happy with the finished result, now it’s time to get out drive! Text & photography by Dean Lancashire All Torque 113 page 23
Troubleshooting the 964’s climate control Lawrence Dollimore talks us through the 964’s famously complex aircon My 1990 964 C4 Coupé was acquired from Roly Baldwin (Eporsch) in 2011, with 96k on the clock and with the engine newly rebuilt by Paul Stevens (Purely9). It drove well, looked lovely and sounded like the Zuffenhausen gods meant 911s to sound. Being of a cautious disposition I arranged a Peter Morgan inspection and received within 24 hours an impressively detailed report, with photos. In essence the car was fundamentally sound but a list of non-critical things would need sorting at a future date – not unexpected for an almost 100k miles car. My basic philosophy for future work was to get expert help only where needed and, since I still have my tools and enthusiasm, do the ‘easier jobs’ myself. Roly knew this and so Adrian Streather’s masterwork on the 964 was thrown into the deal and was to prove invaluable over the following years. The aircon was known not to work from the outset and the rest of the climate control was on the wrong side of ‘iffy’. The supposedly ‘easier jobs’ started rather sooner than expected because the windscreen misted up within days and the carpet foam underlay (sound absorber) in the driver’s footwell was found to be soaking (missed during the inspection). The windscreen defroster on the Climate Control Unit (CCU) provided a hurricane of hot air that had it dry in no time. However, hot air was all that came out of the cabin vents as well, no matter what the temperature setting. So for many months the only climate control that could be achieved was by turning on the CCU for a blast of hot air whenever the cabin temperature became uncomfortably cold (so just like the old days).
Water ingress
Climate control system
Before I could start troubleshooting the climate control system I had to find the source of the water ingress. The carpet foam underlay was found to be holding around a litre of accumulated water, which I removed by taking out the underlay, rolling the lawn roller over it a few times and then leaving it in the airing cupboard for a few days to dry out. I then left my dehumidifier running in the car for a couple of days, leaving a nice dry car again. But next time it rained, or the car was washed, the underlay was wet again. So once more through the drying process.
The climate control system on the 964 is a real ‘piece of work’ and involves a level of sophistication hitherto unseen in 911s. My preparational research included a detailed study of Adrian Streather’s book. I then did a Google search and discovered a wealth of information, particularly on the Tore Bergvill website. I also joined Rennlist so that I could pick the brains of the global pool of 964 enthusiasts.
After ruling out the sliding roof drains and seals, and the windscreen and door seals, attention focused on the front bonnet seals, which were clearly split. New seals were fitted but still water continued to get into the car, albeit at a slower rate. I finally concluded that one or more of the two water drain tubes under the front bulkhead must be blocked. After some ineffectual fiddling around under the jacked-up car with compressed air and a piece of copper wire I finally required ‘expert help’, so back to Paul Stevens again. With the car on his professional high-lift jack he simply directed a jet of water into the drain tube outlet holes and this dislodged some long accumulated detritus, thus allowing the drains to function properly again. Thankfully no mouldy odour or signs of corrosion. One job now done.
The 964 climate control system is heavily into electronics, the brain of which is the Climate Control Unit (CCU) in the cabin. This is connected to a number of sensors around the car and controls a variety of servos and fans (blowers). In the most simplistic terms the concept for climate control involves the regulated mixing of hot air from around the engine exhaust (via the heat exchangers) with cold external air from the front of the car. The complexity increases when aircon is fitted. Beneath the front bulkhead there are five servo motors (12 volt) that operate valves for mixing the hot/cold air and for directing air to where it is needed, as instructed by the settings on the CCU. The various 964 gurus all warn that fault diagnosis is difficult because of the interdependence of some functions on other parts of the system and they are soooo right.
Climate Control Unit It is removed using two normal radio removal tools
Mixing chamber area Top left shows a temp sensor next to the defrost servo
Mixing chamber temperature sensor Cut the wires close to the old sensor to allow for splicing
Aircon
Mixing chamber area
CCU fan
Fixing the aircon was definitely an ‘expert’ area and so the car was handed back to Paul. He had to fit new compressor valves, re-gas the system and replace a broken fan housing and the ballast resistor under the front wing (a pig of a job because the resistor was so corroded) and, bingo, working aircon again – thankfully no leaks. He also did a check with his Bosch Hammer diagnostic tool, which identified a number of climate control faults that I would need to investigate.
I then spent what now seems a sizeable part of my life in this area (my back still aches), which sits at the rear of the luggage compartment under a plastic cover. Congested and fiddly would be an understatement and on my first exploratory visit I even removed the bonnet to allow easier access. It contains the five servos, two mixing chambers, two fans/blowers, two mixing chamber temperature sensors and a load of other stuff (including top access to the water drains mentioned earlier). I checked the servos by getting someone to operate the CCU controls while I checked if the servos moved correctly. The defrost servo did not budge and a check with my 9v battery also achieved no movement and so out it came (this required an especially shallow wrench and driver head). I dismantled it and it was worn inside. I tried to clean it by following guidance in the literature but this achieved little improvement but then I found a brand new servo on eBay at half price and so in it went and the defrost valve started to operate again. A check of the two mixing chamber temperature sensors found both were burnt out and so I replaced them (a reasonably simple wire splicing job) and something approaching temperature control started to be achieved, but not quite.
Finally, I discovered the fan attached to the rear of the CCU did not always operate unless you gave it a ‘flick’ – it seemed to be an inertia problem because once running it continued to do so – the ‘flick’ involved putting my hand underneath the dash to the rear right (on my unit) of the CCU and carefully feeling around for the tips of the fan blades. It is not something to want to have to do before very journey. The ‘inertia’ was easily overcome using some watchmaker’s oil on the fan bearing and it now starts and runs a treat every time.
There was one biggish area of expenditure in this area; replacing the noisy driver’s-side fan/ blower, where the bearing was found to be totally shot – this again required Paul’s expert help.
One interesting lesson was to discover that the cost of parts at my local Porsche Centre (Tonbridge) were not only no more expensive than online subsidiary suppliers but, apart from special eBay deals, often cheaper due to the TIPEC discount.
CCU The climate control system was only supplying hot air when switched on. Thinking it might be a faulty CCU, I first scared myself badly by enquiring what a new one would cost. So I resorted to Plan B by removing the CCU from the dashboard and then opening it up (the removal needs to be done carefully because the wiring harness at the rear may have been taped to other wires to keep it out of the way, and also the two multiplugs at the rear are not so easy to unplug and reattach). Nothing inside the CCU looked obviously loose or burnt-out and so I crossed my fingers and before reassembly I removed dust from around the cabin temperature sensor and checked the CCU fan was working by using a 9v PP3 battery. (The two wiring harness multiplugs that connect to the back of the CCU later proved of significant value because with the help of some online advice about what number connection is connected to what component I was able to use my multimeter to do some testing.)
Engine compartment The rear blower in the engine compartment is also a key component of climate control. It had been renewed when the car was purchased but a diagnostic check indicated the series resistor and outer NTC sensor in the black hot-air manifold attached to the blower should be replaced; both were simple and inexpensive jobs.
A servo undergoing battery test Connect the 9 volt battery to terminals 4 and 5
So now I have the genuine pleasure of a climate control system that is fully operational again. The aircon might not match modern systems but at least it gives me cool air on hot days and the CCU makes sure it gets to where I want it to be. My CCU turned out to work well once the faulty sensors, servos and other connected stuff were replaced – phew! For those who really do have a faulty CCU, I spotted a piece by Gina Purcell in issue 128 of Total 911, where she shipped her CCU to Tore Bergvill in Oslo, who fixed it. Tore is undoubtedly a Norwegian electronics god and a valuable asset to 964/993 owners with CCU problems.
Well that is one big job off my list – and it has been followed by others. And, yes, the successful outcome made this job a real pleasure – one of the reasons for buying the car!
References Porsche 911 Enthusiast’s Companion: 964 Adrian Streather Bentley Publishers, ISBN 0-8276-0293-9 Tore Bergvill’s website www.porschehvac.bergvill.com Text & photography by Lawrence Dollimore All Torque 113 page 25
Regional round up R2
Scotland
R8
Anglia & North Essex
R3
North East
R11
North London, Herts & South Essex
R4
Yorkshire
R12
South East London & North Kent
R5
North West
R13
Thames Valley
R18
Cheshire & Staffs
R9
South East
R6
South Yorkshire & North Notts
R21
Wessex
R19
East Midlands
R23
Southern
R7
Central
R22
Bristol, South West & South Wales
R20
South Central
R15
Cornwall & Devon
R2
R3
R4 R5 R18
R6 R19
R7 R22
R15
R20 R12 R13
R23
R8 R11 R9
R21
Scotland RO Neil Fraser 07946 616 782 (mobile) neil@fraser72.freeserve.co.uk ARO West Elaine Whitelaw elainewhitelaw6@msn.com ARO East James McLauchlan jjlin@blueyonder.co.uk Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month 8pm for an 8:30pm start in the 007 bar, upstairs at Bo’Ness Motor Museum, Bridgeness Road, Bo’Ness EH51 9JR. www.motor-museum.bo-ness.org.uk Well a fair chunk into the season and we have seen some good weather which is still holding up here in the North. The clan did a visit to the Silverstone classic this year as a different option to the national show at Beaulieu. We have done a few different shows and a boat trip to Loch Katrine – one of many good suggestions from the wintertime at the end of last season. The annual BBQ event was, as always, well attended and the weather played its part yet again in making it a great day out for all the family. We enjoyed Sunday lunch runs in the East and West this season
The clan at Loch Katrine
to capture members from all over the country for a day out, which went down well and I suspect is a suggestion for doing again next season. Recently at Calderglen Country Park, club member Brian wood yet again pulled of Scotland’s largest gathering of Porsches with a fantastic turnout of 145 cars from all eras and models. The venue for next year will be in question as we are running out of space to hold the event. It is now firmly part of the Scottish calendar and has been for the last four years. Well done Brian for such an amazing turnout and day out – not just for the Porsche petrolhead but a day enjoyed by the whole family with all the entertainment laid on by the park.
October 2nd–4th (Friday–Sunday) Autumn weekend run to the Lake District November 12th (Thursday evening) Ten pin bowling at Deer Park, Livingston December 11th (Friday evening) Chrostmas dinner and quiz night, Open Arms Hotel, Dirlton
The region is still looking forward to a weekend away to the Lake District in the first week in October. November sees us ten pin bowling and December has the Christmas bash as always ... and maybe, weather depending, a wee lunch run up the East coast later on in October. This season has seen a few new faces to the region which is always a breath of fresh air and the region’s numbers are still at 90 plus, so we are holding good on that side of things.
Photos by Elaine Whitelaw and Andy Bennetts
Porsches galore at Calderglen
Prizegivings at Calderglen
North West
North East region club night
Startos replica at Raby Castle
RO Andrew Lane 01772 740 625 07949 167 698 (mobile) caymanlane73@gmail.com ARO Simon Kendal 07540 525 841 (mobile) s.kendal@sky.com ARO Richard Sholl 07970 147 779 (mobile) rksholl@sky.com Meetings are held first Monday of every month from 8pm at The Boatyard Inn, Bolton Road, Riley Green, Houghton, Preston PR5 0SP (01254 209841). When this falls on a Bank Holiday, we meet on the second Monday instead. I’m sure you’ll agree that here in the North West, the last couple of months have been fairly busy. I just want to say, as we always do, thanks for taking part, as without you, the members, these events would be nothing. For those reading the reports and wondering about whether to join us on our escapades, I say get involved. It really is the best way to get the best out of your club and your Porsche! July and August have kept up that momentum. I’m sure that you’ll all be aware that we love our runs out for a bit o’ grub here in our region. Mid July saw a hardy bunch head out to the Duke of Wellington Pub near Haslingden and Helmshore for a Friday Night Feast. This venue is also becoming a bit of a favourite of ours. It’s well located for all and serves good food. What’s not to like?
356 at the Corft Classic
North East RO wanted! ARO Andy Blythe 01642 809 031 andy44s70@gmail.com Meetings are held first Sunday of every month 7:30pm at The Sporting Lodge, Low Lane, Stainton Village, Cleveland, TS17 9LW, just off the A19. In June and July we are meeting on the SECOND Sunday of the month. As the summer comes to an end and it’s time to put the garage queens away for the winter, I have found myself able to leave the Porker taxed for a little longer. With the advantage of paying direct debit for the tax we are no longer tied down to having the car out for six months of summer. Over the past few years we have experienced Indian summers later in the year so why not leave the car taxed for another month or two and enjoy a few more dry days blasting down the country lanes or even bringing your prized Porker to the club night. Here is a round up in pictures of the events the club has attended over the summer.
My work and racing commitments have meant a lot of the events are last minute and for this reason I would like to start a Facebook page to let people know what we as club members are up to. To be added to the page send me a Personal Message on Facebook – you can find me under ‘Andrew Blythe’. The North East really could do with an RO who could devote more time. If anyone would like to discuss the role call me for details or come to the club night. I will give you support in the role as ARO. In the meantime for all the northern members here is what the rest of us have been up to: Malton Big Breakfast, Croft Historic, Swainby Car Show, Raby Castle Classic Car Day and guest spots at the EVO On Track trackday. Club meets are on the first Sunday of the month at the Sporting Lodge on the back road to Yarm. Hope to see you there.
Yorkshire RO & ARO wanted Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 7:30pm at The Arabian Horse, Main Street, Aberford, LS25 3AA (Tel 0113 281 3312). Just off the A1/A64. RO and ARO required, to host monthly meetings and to attend/organise local events.
The end of July had many members taking part in our Annual Concours and BBQ, this year at Colin & Cath Hammerton’s house. This has been a long running favourite for our region for many a year. It has evolved over the years from a show and shine on club night, to a more family orientated day. It’s a chance for people to sit back, relax and have a chinwag. Staying true to the good old British summertime, we couldn’t have asked for a wetter day! Undeterred, plenty of people turned up at the Boatyard to be led in to Great Harwood. On arrival at Colin & Cath’s even more Porkers were already in position ready for the day’s fun. We had an excellent turnout of 16 cars – thank you! After a final bit of (pointless!) fettling judging got underway. Meanwhile, Colin was busy BBQing, Cath was fixing drinks and organising people, and everyone else generally mucked in to some extent. Colin’s son, (who is a regular attendee with his dad at events) had also fixed up a fastest lap competition on his PlayXBox4 thingy using the Top Gear track and a 911 2.7 RS as the car. All I can say thankfully it was a computer game and not a real RS. The repair bills would have been quite eyewatering! Marc Slater got the fastest time showing that there’s life in us over somethings (ahem!) Spirits were high for the day and, as usual, the standard of the cars was very high. Judging was very difficult. However I’ll put you out of your misery with the results.
All Torque 113 page 29
North West concours winners: Colin, Alan & Doug!
Cheshire & Staffs RO Dave Watson 07889 804 598 (mobile) watson_david@btinternet.com ARO Gareth Aldridge 07881 228 944 (mobile) gj.aldridge@yahoo.co.uk Cheshire & Staffs on Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/TIPEC.CS
North West region cars at Haigh Hall
We got the event shelter out (which is always an event in itself!) and Richard cooked us some bacon butties. You see, food is never far away with us lot. We have to bribe the members with something!
North West concours in the rain
Colins’ 944 won first for a third year in a row. He only needs one more and he’ll have all the bottom row of shields on the plaque! First time concours entrant Alan Aspden took second with his 3.2 Targa, and we had a bit of modern stuff in third with Doug Ogden and his lovely 997 Turbo. Visitors Choice again went to Darren Pollard and his lovely 993 C2S. I can’t give praise enough for the tenacity of our independent judges who soldiered on for at least a couple of hours in rubbish weather. A great big thanks to Dean Hughes and Dave Courtney who battled the elements. Big thanks too to Richard who carried umbrellas over the judges to keep them as dry as possible. My heart also went out to all who’d probably spent many an hour sprucing up their cars. Finally a big thanks to the Hammerton’s for allowing us to ransack their house on a wet Sunday afternoon, and for putting on a great spread. It’s a good job those floors could be mopped clean! Was that your job Colin? Early August found us at another regular meeting, The German Classic & Sports Car Show at Haigh Hall, Wigan. An Excellent turnout yet again of around 17 cars for what may be its last year there. However, talks are being held to try and secure next year and beyond at this venue. We had good weather all day, a lovely mix of cars from 944s to 993s, 3.2s, 911 Turbos Caymans, 928s and Gen 2 GT3s – the GT3s getting a lot of admiring glances.
We have a couple more events taking place just as we go to print. The Gold Cup at Oulton Park, and the trip to the Nürburgring and beyond. These will be in the next edition. You will find a list below of what we are still getting up to before the year is out. First let me remind you that we will be having our Christmas lunch again at Mitton Hall on Sunday the 6th of December. If you want to attend I need a £10 deposit pp ASAP. We will be in the private dining room again which hold 25 so be quick. Meal prices will be in the region of £30 pp for a three course lunch plus coffees. All those who went last year said it was a lovely afternoon in a great setting. October 4th (Sunday) Treasure Hunt around the roads of Lancashire finishing up with a spread at Alan Aspden’s House October 5th (Monday) Club night November 2nd (Monday) Club night December 6th (Sunday) Christmas lunch at Mitton Hall December 7th (Monday) Club night and annual quiz with prizes Keep your eyes peeled on FB and regional pages for events that may be added. Or why not come down the Boatyard to a Club night to get up to speed? We’d love to see you. It’s your club, you are what you make it. On top of these events, a good few of the region meet at Mitton Hall for the Supercar Sundays (first Sunday of the Month) and also Supercar meets at the Phantom Winger at Preston. These are held on the third Sunday of the month all year round.
Meetings are held third Tuesday of every month 8pm at The Whipping Stocks, Stocks Lane, Over Peover, Knutsford, WA16 9EX. We have had a packed calendar over the summer months with several events clashing on the diary. Nevertheless, the region has been out in force resulting in some memorable runs out and gatherings at shows. The net result of this has been that we have signed up several new members in recent months – so a warm welcome to you all! If you have not already supplied an email address to me, please make contact so that we can add you to the region’s mailing list and keep you posted on forthcoming events. As always, you will find a current listing on our Facebook Group (www.facebook.com/groups/TIPEC.CS) or on our regional page on the club site. Due to magazine timing, we missed recording the results of our annual Concours in late July. I would like to congratulate the winners (Matt Webb, third with his 914; John Biddulph, second with his 911 Carrera hotrod; and Bob McWilliam in first place with his lovely 911 3.2 Carrera). Thank you to everyone that made the effort to present your cars so nicely. It was a great evening. A few of us managed to make it down to the Silverstone Classic and parked our cars up on the TIPEC stand. I managed to pick the wettest day possible so perhaps not the best day to enjoy the stunning machinery that was on display or racing. It was great to see Porsche Cars displaying various race cars from the Museum (935, 917, 904, 944 GTP, 550 Spyder, 961, and various 911s). Hopefully we will see some of them on the Region’s Stuttgart trip to the factory and museum in September. We need to extend a big thank you to Adam Calvert and Steve Webb (Dealer Principal) of Porsche Centre Bolton. They travelled down to our August club night and delivered a very interesting presentation to a packed room. The quiz left everyone’s confidence in tatters though – sounds like even the anoraks struggled with the questions! Adam also organized an open day at Porsche Centre Bolton for Saturday 26th September, which will happen before you get this mag.
PCGB Porsche Pageant and concours Good turn out of cars at Chatsworth House with a great variety. Dropped on a few bargains that Porsche Nottingham were selling off, for one a lovely Summer Martini jacket, and Dave W managed not spend all his money at the stall. Only spoilt by the GT3’s battery failing to start at the end of the day– thanks to Dave & Pete for the bump start. Porsche batteries’ typical life is two years and guess what? It was two and a half years old, so now replaced with a trusty Bosch battery. Matt Webb’s 914 at the Cheshire & Staffs concours
Racing 356 at the Oulton Park Gold Cup
Bob taking first place at the Cheshire & Staff concours
Tatton Park in August – ‘Passion for Power’
The weekend of 22nd/23rd August was the second Tatton Park Show of the year (themed as ‘Passion for Power’!) The event had a supercar tent with some interesting cars and we put on a good show on our Club stand display, despite holidays making it difficult for all to attend.
November 17th (Tuesday) Club night at the Whipping Stocks. Meet 8pm. Guest Speaker Night (TBC).
As I write this, the most recent event was our attendance at the Oulton Park Gold Cup meeting during the August bank holiday. I would like to thank Ian Highfield for acting as standmeister for the weekend and Gary Ince for organizing our tickets.
December 6th (Sunday) Ten pin bowling. Venue TBC.
The weather was a little mixed though this made for great racing, with the ’60s touring cars race being particularly memorable (Mini Coopers running rings round Lotus Cortinas in the rain). Porsche was represented in a number of categories with a lovely 356 and early 911 out on track, and with a 911SC and a couple of 924s keeping up appearances in the ’70s Roadsports race. The paddock didn’t look too shabby either! Now that we are in September, the calendar is slowing down a little. Though we still have plenty of things planned for the remainder of the year. Our forthcoming fixtures are as per the list below. Hope to see many of you at a Club Night or event soon. October 3rd (Saturday) Aintree Track Day. October 11th (Sunday) Run to RAF Cosford Aircraft Museum, Shropshire. Meet at the Whipping Stocks at 9am. October 20th (Tuesday) Club night at the Whipping Stocks. Meet 8pm. George’s Model Car Night.
November 21st (Saturday) Merry Miller Porsche 928 UK Meeting.
December 15th (Tuesday) Club night at the Whipping Stocks. Meet 7pm for Christmas Meal. 8pm for drinks. January 3rd (Sunday) Annual New Year’s Drive and Lunch. Meet at the Whipping Stocks at 9:30am. July 6–12th 2016 Cheshire & Staffs Trip to Le Mans Classic.
TCC/Rotary Club Classic Car Show Back at the Deaf College this year. Organised by The Rotary Club of Doncaster St George’s and Traditional Car Club of Doncaster. A good turn out of club members with great weather. Pete B had a good workout trying to polish a scratch out of Phil’s 996 Cab, he had a good hour working at it with sweat dripping off the end of his nose – it was a bit like Council roadworks with one guy working his socks off and 10 folk watching. Yorkshire Porsche Festival PCGB event at Lotherton Hall. Superb turn out with mixed weather hosted by Strasse of Leeds and Specialist Cars of Malton. Always a great show with plenty to chinwag about all models of Porsche. Ashover Classic Car & Bike Show Excellent job again Stuart for organising another great show. August Club Night & Concours, Pride of Ownership Another good turn out with 20+ cars. We invited our old detailing wizard Mick Charlesworth to perform independent judging of each car. We then had all other members and visitors vote for their best looked after cars. Amazingly the votes were very similar with Mick’s votes deciding just the third place as it was so close. Third Place: Dave Crompton in his 2006 red 997 C4S Second place: Graham Britt in his 2003 Rivera Blue 996 Turbo (Good job I kept it clean for you) First Place: Andy and Val Lenton in their cracking 1986 white 3.2 Carrera Cab. (And not for the first time) Well done to all who came, some really nice motors and thanks to the Old Bell for putting on the BBQ again.
South Yorkshire & North Notts. Joint RO Dave Warren 07952 065 543 (mobile) dave.warren1401gmail.com Joint RO Dean Lancashire 07860 198 627 (mobile) dean@tachart.com
Val Lenton took first place at the SYNN concours
Meetings are held first Sunday of every month 5–5:30pm (meeting proper begins 7pm) at Ye Olde Bell Hotel, Barnby Moor, Retford, Notts, DN22 8QS
November 8th (Sunday) Bond Film night (SPECTRE).
So we are now into September and the nights are starting to draw in. Summer seems to have flown by, the good thing is that the bad weather and salt doesn’t seem to hit till around November so there’s still time to enjoy our cars at the weekends.
November 13–15th (Friday–Sunday) NEC Classic Motor Show.
Here’s a summary of what we’ve been up to over the past few months followed by future events.
Second place for Graham Britt at the SYNN concours
All Torque 113 page 31
A wet day at Thoresby
Jeff, Ray & Paul at Croft Nostalgia Weekend
Croft Nostalgia Festival Vintage racing and military weekend at Croft, Darlington, worth a night away. Vintage cars/outfits, aeroplane displays etc. Classic Car Show Thoresby Park, A damp start to this, but turned drier in the afternoon. Not the best turnout but the weather never helps. Historic Vehicle Rally & Vintage Fair Wentworth Woodhouse. The best day’s weather in over a week with a great turn out of cars and bikes. This show just gets better by the year. September 11–13th (Friday–Sunday) Annual Weekend of the Year. WotY, always a favourite weekend for our members. The Corbet Arms, Uffington, Shrewsbury, SY4 4SN. Close to the welsh border where theres lots of cracking driving roads. The hotel is all booked up and by the time you’ve read this we’ll have been and come back. October 6th (Sunday) Club Night, Old Bell, Barnby Moor 7:30pm October 18th (Sunday) North Yorkshire tour & lunch. Drive around the sights of North Yorkshire with Lunch planned at The CB Inn (Charles Bathurst Inn) at Arkengarthdale. Meet at The Little Chef just after A1/A638 J38 at 9am. October 25th (Sunday) Carole Nash Restoration Show National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth. Advance tickets £8 pp, on gate £12 pp Sunday 1st November 1st (Sunday) Club Night, Old Bell, Barnby Moor 7:30pm November TBA Outdoor karting at Sheffield December 5–6th (Saturday–Sunday) Christmas weekend in York, a change from the usual meal. Drive up Saturday, shopping for the girls, beer
Sunshine over Wentworth Woodhouse
and possible York brewery visit for the guys, or other way round, with a Christmas Meal in the evening. Same Sunday without the beer. Steady drive home. Staying at the Travelodge York Central (90 Piccadilly, YO1 9NX) Get the right one, there are two. Dean & Ray already booked. Please keep an eye our website as event dates will be updated as we go along: www.synd.org.uk
Central tipeccentral@outlook.com Joint RO Lindsay Brown 07768 442 050 (mobile) Joint RO Steve Jones 07775 581 044 (mobile) Joint RO Stuart Wakeman 07912 620 181 (mobile) Meetings are held second Monday of every month 7:30pm onwards at The Bull’s Head, Birmingham Rd, Shenstone, Litchfield WS14 0JR. www.vintageinn.co.uk/thebullsheadshenstone Central Region’s third annual Pride of Ownership show was in again bathed in sunshine, this must be the only show this year that has been. We saw a wide selection of Porsches which had seen more than just a bucket of water and a sponge, and the voting was even closer than previous years with two outright winners and a further 12 cars receiving car care kits kindly donated by our friends at Meguiar’s. Prescott Revival back in August was a cracking day, made better by glorious sunshine and a very busy hill climb. I was lucky enough to get a passenger ride in Gary Wiln’s McLaren, all I can say about the ride was WOW! What an experience, that car is awesome! Bank Holiday Monday saw us at Pershore Plum Festival. We met up at Hopwood Services and arrived at Pershore Abbey in convoy in heavy rain, this was a great shame because this is a great event again spoilt by the British weather.
The end of the season is upon us now with only a couple of events before the Classic and Sportscar Show at the NEC, and then the Christmas meal will be upon us again. What happened to 2015? We are now planning 2016 events so if anyone has any fresh ideas we will welcome any input. October 14th (Wednesday) Club night at The Bull’s Head November 9th (Monday) Club night at The Bull’s Head November 13–15th (Friday–Sunday) Classic and Sportscar Show at the NEC December 14th (Monday) Christmas meal at The Bull’s Head
East Midlands New RO & ARO wanted urgently! Meetings are held third Tuesday of every month 7pm for food (meeting proper begins 8:00pm) at The Field Head Hotel, Markfield Lane, Markfield, Leicestershire LE67 9PS.
South Central RO wanted! ARO Pete Garrett 07804 030 695 (mobile) garrett-peter@sky.com Meetings are held from 10:30am to Noon on the first Sunday of every month (with tea/coffee and bacon rolls available at the bar) and from 7:30pm to 10pm on the fourth Monday of the month from April to October. Both at The Red Lion, Evenley, Nr Brackley, Northants NN13 5SH
Porsches at Little Gransden air show
Meeting at the Ace Café
North London, Herts & South Essex RO Vince Dallimore 07798 630 649 (mobile) NLHSE@tipec.net ARO Peter Musk 07734 769 953 (mobile) NLHSE@tipec.net
Shark gathering at Dungeoness
of Daventry and were shown how to correctly clean and detail your car. I for one am now a convert after years of scepticism. Later that month, sadly in wind and rain ,I attended the Silverstone Classic, in spite of the weather and after purchasing a large umbrella, I still enjoyed it, though a lot of time was spent inside the friendly TIPEC gazebo.
Informal meetings are held twice monthly: First Sunday of every month from 10:30am at The Goat Inn, Vicarage Causeway, Hertford Heath, Herts SG13 7RT and last Monday of the month from 18:00pm at Ace Café London, Ace Corner, North Circular Road, Stonebridge, London NW10 7UD.
August bank holiday Sunday, Vince, myself and some other optimistic members met up at 8:30am in Gamlingay to convoy to my favourite car/air show at Little Gransden Airfield, Cambridgeshire. After a grey but dry morning admiring all the exhibitors the normally fantastic afternoon air show was cut short due to the appalling weather. Sadly we missed the Lancaster and one of the last flights ever of the Vulcan.
Since our last report, we have been quite busy in spite of the changeable weather. One sunny morning in late July, Vince and I attended a demo at Maguires
Our usual informal monthly meetings at the Goat and the Ace Café continued to be well worth attending, with always a great collection of interesting cars.
Gmund qs
30/6/08
16:49
After parting with my beautiful Cobalt Blue 987 Boxster S manual, my last visit to the Ace allowed me to show my new acquisition, an immaculate Meteor Grey 997 911 Turbo Tiptronic S. Happy so far, but I’m sure there will be times when I will miss the soft top, though probably not until next spring. October 3rd (Saturday) Tilford 928 meeting. November 13–15th (Friday–Sunday) NEC Classic Car Show November 21st (Saturday) Merry Miller 928 meeting.
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South East London & North Kent RO Jim Hearnden 01634 869 658 07930 353 232 (mobile) jim.hearnden@tipec.net ARO Paul Greer 07799 412 870 (mobile) prgreer@blueyonder.co.uk ARO Martin Jackson 07718 808 103 (mobile) martinjackson911@yahoo.co.uk Meetings are held first Friday of the month around 7:30pm at The Horseshoes, Dean Street, East Farleigh, Maidstone, ME15 0PR. 01622 741 683 www.thehorseshoeseastfarleigh.co.uk Club meetings The new location is pretty easy to get to, it is about 15–20 minutes from J6 M20, the easiest way to enter is via the Tovil area of Maidstone, using the Old Tovil Road and continue down Dean Street. It has a massive car park as well as being large inside and the landlady has given us our own area both inside and in the car park. This one is a couple of miles closer to the motorway so even easier to get to. Partners are more than welcome and it is not all car chat. The venue does great, reasonably priced food so if you do not want to cook, you can have a meal before the meeting starts. We now have 70 people on the SELNK list and a lot of these Paul, Martin & I have never met. It would be great to see some of you in the forthcoming few months. There are some members that I don’t have email addresses for. If you have an email address and do not see mails from me, then please send me a mail to jim.hearnden@tipec.net and I’ll add you to the list. That also applies to people in adjacent areas who would like a copy of our calendar. Please also ensure that you update address, car and email details when you renew.
July Club meeting This meeting coincided with a family event so I couldn’t make it! Untypically the third in a row for me. Turnout was pretty good considering it was a holiday period. After the family event in Leeds I managed to escape to Harewood Hillclimb for the day with a lot of Porsches.
August Goodwood Breakfast Club: Thoroughbred Cars If Brooklands was an early start this one was much worse! A 6am rendezvous at Clackett’s for a 7am meeting at Fontwell was a bit early for many. Those that went really enjoyed this event. Looked like a real mix of cars.
Tour of Hush Heath Vineyard Paul had suggested this earlier in the year. On the day someone cancelled for the guided tour, so they offered it to us. Around 10 minutes into the tour Richard arrived complete with his two dogs. We then found out that Richard actually owns the Manor house and 400 acres where Hush Heath is based. After a good walk, managing to avoid the rain, we made it back to the main building, where after a guided tour we then had a tasting. Despite the normally prodigious alcohol consumption of the SELNK group to my surprise by far the most popular thing people took away was the delicious apple juice. Afterwards we had a picnic in the grounds despite the ever worsening rain. A great event and one I suspect we’ll repeat.
August Club meeting Finally I managed to make a meeting. Good turnout after a slowish start which was a bit nerve wracking.
July Goodwood Breakfast Club Yet again a great morning. A smaller turnout, as it was peak holiday time, meant a smaller queue than normal for us to get in which makes a change. Excellent breakfast and a great chance to meet up. Brooklands Car Show & Jumble Nick Seager took this on as his first event to organise. He’d made a cracking job of the organisation, unfortunately his and Debs’ dance to the weather gods wasn’t so successful. It was an early meet at Clackett Lane services and a drizzly drive to Brooklands. The 10 or so Porsches looked great in front of the Brooklands buildings and the organisers complimented us on both our turnout and the fact that we’d braved the rain. The compulsory bacon roll followed by a tour of the museum followed. Despite the weather, the feedback for this was good and congratulations to Nick & Debs for their first event.
Headcorn Air Display I’ve donated quite a few pounds to the Vulcan aircraft charity over the past few years and this is the last year it will be flying. I was determined to see it fly so when I found out it would be at Headcorn I offered it out to the club. Take up was pretty good considering it is a bit of a niche activity compared to what we normally do. No car display so it was a ‘bring the tin top’ if you want, yet we had a turnout of three out of four Porsches with Clive & Janet’s 928 arriving later. Due to an early start we ended up with a really prime location. For aircraft enthusiasts this was a great day, with some good displays. The main reason to be there though was Vulcan which arrived at 14:45 and gave a good 10 minute display. I think we all felt a bit emotional and at the end the audience burst into spontaneous applause. What a shame it won’t fly beyond 2015. Beach & BBQ Martin organised this one for Bank Holiday Sunday instead of our normal Fish & Chips run. Everyone who went enjoyed themselves despite the slightly overcast weather. Ace Café Another one for Martin. Despite this being a bank holiday Monday it appears the dodgy weather put people off for this one. Limited turn out but from the pics I have seen some lovely cars.
SELNK members eating out ...
Harewood Hillclimb
The Vulcan flying at Headcorn
October 2nd (Saturday) Porsche meeting & trackday at Goodwood Circuit TIPEC have been invited to be part of a Porsche meeting and trackday at the fabulous Goodwood Circuit, all in aid of Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice. It is both an end of season Porsche show and also a trackday for those that would like to give the car a run around the famous Goodwood Circuit. We will have our own paddock and parking area, with club stand. For those who would like to participate in the trackday, there are morning and afternoon sessions available. Tickets are £20 and only available in advance for the paddock meet. There are are also Morning and afternoon track sessions available (or both if you want). Please see www.clubcarrerauk.com for more details on pricing and times. Track spaces are limited, so please book asap. December 12th (Saturday) Christmas dinner at Brands Hatch This looks a great event, where we are ‘piggybacking’ onto a much bigger party. There will be a live singer, dancing, lots of food and knowing SELNK lots of alcohol as well. Tickets are £66 per head and I need a deposit of £30 per head ASAP. We already have 32 booked and confirmed but a few spaces remain. A lot are staying at the Thistle Hotel which is a five minute walk away. February 6–7th 2016 (Saturday–Sunday) After a brilliant Spa day earlier in the year Kim has organised another and has negotiated the same deal as 2015. The price is £150 for two people with one nights bed, breakfast, evening meal and entrance into the pool, spa etc. beauty treatments and alcohol are all extras. The 7th will be Jean & Andy Waters 40th Wedding Anniversary so celebrations will be required! May 13–16th 2016 (Friday–Monday) Laon 2016 I have 13 booked for this and deposits are now due, details below. I have handed back the other rooms I had blocked out for us, so anyone else will be in a hotel over 40km away! If you wish to reserve your place I suggest you phone 01732 879143 or mail admin@sceniccartours.com Please ensure you quote TIPEC Group when you book and please let me know that you have booked.
Anglia & North Essex RO and ARO wanted Meetings are held fourth Tuesday of each month from 7pm at The Bunbury Arms, Ixworth Road, Great Barton, Suffolk IP31 2NX. www.nextnorth.com/bunbury/findus.htm RO and ARO required, to host monthly meetings and to attend/organise local events.
Two DeLoreans on the pre–2000 sportscars night
This Lamborghini Huracan was maybe not pre–2000!
As it is now the beginning of October, we need to start thinking about the Christmas Party again. Last year’s event at the Calcott Hotel in Reading was great fun, so I think we will be going there again. Most likely date (at the time of writing this) is Friday 4th Dec. Hopefully the early date will mean it doesn’t clash with work parties etc. The cost is £45 per person for the dinner dance and as it is at an hotel, rooms are available for those who want to stay over.
The ’66 Corvette Coupé
Thames Valley Joint RO Jason Gibson 07958 459 725 (mobile) tipec@blueyonder.co.uk Joint RO Paul Mabley flyingpig71@hotmail.com Joint RO Nick Ramsay tipec1@witzendcs.co.uk Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 7:00pm at The Novello, Bath Rd, Littlewick Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3RX. It’s hard to believe that Summer is finally over. As I write this at the beginning of September it seems that it didn’t even begin. So I guess we should be grateful that the events we attended (other than Silverstone Classic) were blessed with pretty good weather. Simply Porsche in June was fabulous weather as was the joyful Cranleigh Classic that many of our members attended in August. Sadly the Cranliegh show clashes with The Southern Region BBQ in the New Forest, an event that we attended for a couple of years before we started going to Cranleigh. If you haven’t been before, please add it to your diary next year. With the end of summer comes the end of our themed club nights, our final two in August and September were well attended: Topless night and our final night was the pre-2000 Sportscars night. The weather in the days leading was rubbish, as was Tuesday morning. By 7pm it looked like it might be a quiet night but they started to arrive, and in the end we had over 40 cars – maybe not all pre-2000, but some lovely cars. A wide variety turned up from a ’66 Corvette C3 Coupe, a few Lotuses, a very nice bright green TVR Sagaris, Lambo Huracan and a couple of DeLoreans. Of course there was plenty of Pork too.
See you all soon! Please keep an eye on our diary page at www.tipec.net/regions/thames-valley
South East RO Derek Flanagan 01342 717 754 07767 254 820 (mobile) derek.flanagan@btconnect.com ARO James Garrard 07837 701 011 (mobile) jamesgarrard@hotmail.co.uk Meetings are held second Wednesday of every month 8pm at The Bolney Stage, London Road, Bolney RH17 5RL, just off the A23, 10 miles south of Crawley. South East Region’s own Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/412785915550876 For those of you who haven’t made it along to a monthly meet yet, we always welcome new members and prospective members. We’re a friendly bunch no matter what model of Porker you own or desire and you will be guaranteed to receive a hearty welcome and make some new friends. You also have the opportunity of winning our regional lotto with all SE Region members going into the hat each month, but you have to be at the meeting to win if your name is drawn out. Festival of Speed June 2015 Special Thanks to member Alan Cordery for the Sunday ticket to this year’s festival of speed at Goodwood Estate. There was a stunning turnout with lots to see and do as always. The paddock areas were full of stunning Porsches from GT1s to 917s, 962s, and Paul Newmans racing 935 – a particular favourite of mine. I also had a chance meeting with TIPEC lifetime member Derek Bell who was next to his own 924 GTS. The event is a must on any petrolhead’s calendar.
All Torque 113 page 35
Thames Valley July meeting Had the most amazing night out in a car park somewhere in Maidenhead, hosted by TIPEC Thames Valley region. It’s always a bit of an eye opener to see what our neighbouring regions get up to, and I saw some really stunning cars. The car park was full to over flowing with Porkers. I could have had a mean curry at the venue but, to be fair, I didn’t get chance to owing to the volume of lovely cars. Big thanks to Jason for the invite, and to all those who attended, it made the night a really special one. So, top tip of the month – if you want to get the most from TIPEC, please remember to interact with other regions, you will be very surprised at what you might find. July Open Day at Porsche Brooklands Tim Munford and the team at Porsche Service Centre Brooklands hosted a stunning display of cars. As I turned the corner to the garage I was taken back to see my own Porsche 944 Turbo SE, which they are currently working on, taking pride of place under the main entrance next to a lovely early 1960s 356 speedster and a pre-’89 Special Wishes 930 Turbo LE ... so thanks to Tim for that one. They also had their stunning Porsche 911/930 3.2 Targa on display which was the project car for last year’s competition. The car sold on the day for just shy of £80K. So smiles all round, the new owner bagged one of the most stunning examples of a Targa I have ever seen. We enjoyed free run of the workshop and showroom with BBQ food and free Porsche health checks to be had. If you haven’t seen the boys at Brooklands yet, then pop in and say hello to the team, their work comes highly recommended. Return to Misano World Circuit Italy, July Back to Misano World Circuit this year for Gruppo Peroni’s Coppa Italia Races, first covered in All Torque issues 91 & 97. A chance to break away from the usual events in the UK. My wife and I head out to Italy for our two-week holiday in the sun and combine it with a bit of Porsche racing too. MWC has a very relaxed atmosphere which allows you access to pit areas – and if you’re very lucky the pit wall. It’s not just Porsche racing to be seen, it’s a weekend event which starts at 9am on Saturday and finishes at 7pm on the Sunday, so if you’re looking for good food, summer sun and a fix of racing then this is for you. Just remember your sun cream! September 6th (Sunday from 9am) Shere Hill Climb Event 2015 Entry to the event is only from the A246 end of Staples Lane (GU4 7RL). The event takes place up Staple Lane, in the beautiful Surrey Hills near Guildford. The lane is a public road which will be closed to all other traffic for the day. The course runs from close to the junction of Staple Lane with the A246 to the summit of the hill, with the paddock located at the base of the hill. The road ascends by 300 feet over a distance of nearly a mile with a series of challenging corners along the route. Straw bale chicanes are added to the course at various points to increase the difficulty. There will 135 cars running, representing an amazing cross-section of motoring history from the early
days of the car right up to a few modern exotics. Each car will complete three runs starting at 9:30am and finishing at around 5:00pm. Sadly hill climb run entrance is now closed. TIPEC Members stand on the day with unusual select cars in attendance. Spectators welcome for a fun day out. The full 2015 calendar of events is listed on the SE Region page on the TIPEC website.
Wessex RO Pete Blackler 07779 203 278 (mobile) peter_blackler@sky.com Meetings are held third Thursday of every month from 8:15pm at The Bucks Head, Meonstoke, Hampshire SO32 3NA. www.thebuckshead.co.uk The Bucks Head is just off the A32. Meonstoke lies just North of Fareham, only 15 mins from the M3.
Southern RO Andy Fenwick 0776 720 1220 (mobile) andy.fenwick@tipec.net ARO Jim Tarrant 0120 260 1886 jim.tarrant@consequia.com Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 7:30pm at The Angel, 188 Ringwood Rd, Longham, Ferndown, Dorset, BH22 9AP October 6th (Tuesday) Club Night, The Angel, Longham November 3rd (Tuesday) Club Night, The Angel, Longham December 1st (Tuesday) Club Night, The Angel, Longham December TBD Southern Region Christmas dinner Please visit our website at www.tipec.net/regions/ southern as we are continuously updating our events page. Members will also receive email notifications of upcoming items.
Cornwall & Devon RO & ARO urgently wanted For now, contact Sue Simmons 07530 312 700 (mobile) sue.simmons1@gmail.com Cornwall & Devon region is merged with Bristol, South West & South Wales until a local RO is found.
Members cars at the Castle Combe Autumn Classic
Bristol, South West & South Wales RO Sue Simmons 07530 312 700 (mobile) sue.simmons1@gmail.com ARO Debs Bradshaw 07423 436 503 (mobile) debbradshaw@sytner.co.uk ARO Mick Simmons 07793 905 918 (mobile) mjs019@gmail.com Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 7:45pm at The Plough, Pilning, Nr Bristol BS35 4JJ. www.theploughpilning.co.uk The summer has come and gone so quickly and there have been some really good get-togethers – Poole, Sherborne, Beaulieu – to name but a few. However there are still things to look forward to – Annual BBQ in a few days time, a weekend trip to the Isle of Wight, the Autumn Classic at Castle Combe, Goodwood, etc, etc ... and a Ladies Afternoon Tea of course! Please send me your photos of any events you attend, Porsche specific or mixed. I would like to welcome our lovely new members – I hope you enjoy your membership and please contact me if you need any information. By the time this comes out we will be heading for another bumper Christmas meal and our end of year Grand Charity Raffle – wow it all rushes by so fast. I am already busy planning next year’s trip away to Ireland to do the famous Causeway Coastal Routes – one of the top 10 drives of the world. If any other members would like to join our region for this September 2016 trip please get in touch as there are limited spaces. We have an itinerary specifically for ourselves. Thanks for all your support and I hope to see you all soon. October 3rd (Saturday) Goodwood Porsche Special Day See www.clubcarrerauk.com December 13th (Sunday) TIPEC Regional Christmas Lunch at Alveston House September 2016 (TBC) Trip to Ireland’s Coastal Causeway with stunning views Contact me at sue.simmons@tipec.net for details of any of these events.
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