by John Glynn | Jul 17, 2013 | Project Cars, Market & Prices
This interesting Porsche 997 Carrera 2S is currently for sale. Hard to believe perhaps, especially as it looks so good riding on black-centred Fuchs alloys worth over £3,000! The matching Carrera S side stripes add to the look.
First registered in November 2004, this Arctic Silver 911 benefits from many driver’s improvements including a brand new engine fitted by Porsche in the last 31,000 miles. Black leather sports seats surround the all-important 6-speed manual transmission shift.
The cabin has Bose sound, with heated seats, PCM navigation, and Sport Chrono Package Plus. It’s got PSM stability management, PASM active suspension, Xenon lights. Elsewhere is a full set of Bilstein B6 front and rear shock absorbers, uprated rear control arms and carbon fibre headlight surrounds with carbon rear spoiler lip.
Ignoring all the cringeworthy acronyms, it’s basically a hoot to drive. Custom Bilsteins, Xenons, good seats and a 6-speed gearbox are all you need to have fun in a Porsche. If carbon trim is not your thing, then stick those bits on eBay and put the rest to standard, or give it a Gen 2 GT3 look:
Anyone looking for a sorted 997 to drive and enjoy on fine driving roads in the UK and Europe, or track days anywhere within motoring distance should check this one out. The sum of its parts could be just what you’re looking for.
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by John Glynn | Jul 16, 2013 | Porsche Cayenne, Project Cars
Last Saturday was spent in the Ferdinand Cayenne, doing some eBay pickups and drop offs in London and the wilds of Essex before heading to a client to catch up on what’s been happening there. I found this big shed in a field (above).
It was a boiling hot day, with temps on the dash display showing a stunning 42 degrees when I got into my lovingly-nicknamed ‘Big Pig’ to come home. Before that, the delights of Palmers Green and Cockfosters in London on a typical Saturday, with meandering seniors parking anywhere and everywhere, and stopping their cars mid-street to talk to neighbours. Can’t wait for my turn.
Once I’d sorted the PCM sat nav by sticking my Garmin to the front of it, the Cayenne made light work of the morning’s challenges. That boot (trunk) showed its limits when I arrived at a breakers to collect a set of 20-inch wheels I had won. Four wheels that would fit flat in the Subaru had to be stacked in the Pepper: not a great tribute to luggage space.
One weak point of the Cayenne since pickup has been the air con. I had it apart last week for a quick visual check, but the fan was still screaming when run at full tilt and struggling to cool the car down in these temps. I’m happy to knock Porsche a bit for selling shoddy engines in 996s and Boxsters (latest thing now affecting engines is stretched timing chains), but even I know they can make working air con, and much of the system in mine is brand new.
Mike had a think before suggesting pollen filter as a likely culprit. Apparently the filters get greasy, sucking up air from right above the exhaust manifold. Sure enough, when he took it out it was choked with a greasy film of dust. A new one cost all of £8.60 – who said Cayennes were expensive to run?! Problem solved in less than a minute: palatial cabin restored.
Next was a code read on the just-updated Porsche PIWIS system, so all the very latest diagnostic codes. A few things came up, including a camshaft position sensor which is known to be an issue on some of these. First logged many miles ago but ‘not present’ on code read. This means it is popping up but not stuck on all the time. It was pretty cool to watch real-time cam timing coming off the engine: very interesting.
We’ll watch this cam timing sensor and change if it it keeps on. Also had a play with setting rear park sensor proximity live on PIWIS to no avail – I’m going to have to change a few. My gear selector on manual is not working – some issues with dashboard gear display also. It locked in neutral on me once while in London traffic: more nosey poking required.
Ferdinand’s Porsche V8 is holding steady at 20 miles per UK gallon with mainly B-road and school run use. Rises swiftly towards the mid-20s when on the open road and the sometimes maligned six-speed auto is more than enough for UK motorway speeds: even 90-ish is not too loud. That nose might look a bit off when parked, but it does the trick for slipperyness and wind noise at speed on the highways.
A full tank will do about 400 miles if you run it scary dry. I’m filling up at 350 and running ordinary 95RON at the minute with no issues. I’ll try a few tanks of 99 soon and see what that does for it. Still loving the Cayenne, its ample strengths and its interesting foibles.
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by John Glynn | Jul 15, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
I love the daily drivers used by some of my Porsche friends around the world. The Californian climate allows the use of proper oldies, as is the case with this 1965 911, just pressed into service by a SoCal superstar: Hans Lapine at Kundensport in Camarillo, CA.
“It’s a 1965 2.0, with a bit more ooomph,” says Hans in his Facebook thread announcing the car. A bit more ooomph is right, as bluey runs an Andial-built engine. “The add-ons will be original rollbar, Scheel seats, my old Britax harness and maybe an old Momo steering wheel.” Soaked in the patina of a fascinating history, this 302-numbered chassis will provide some smiles in the months ahead.
Someone once said “time is a great healer, but a lousy beautician”. Based on what we see here, I’m inclined to disagree. Sun-bleached short wheelbase cars are the way forward!
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by John Glynn | Jul 15, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Ferdinand’s Porsche 924 Turbo project is finally being painted. I spent all day yesterday stripping the body for the prep guy to start on it this week.
Rob Campbell and I dragged the car out of storage at Rob’s Racing Restorations in Pershore, pulling it into the workshop and 30-degree heat. Not the best day to do the job, but the only spare day either of us have in the next few weeks.
A flat battery was no surprise, so we ran jump leads from my M3 to the 924 Turbo and it fired straight up. I finally drove my first few metres behind the wheel of the silver 924. This runs well and ticks over nicely: I was suitably impressed.
There are quite a few bits on a 924 body but it all came off easily enough. I’ll have to fit some new side window and tailgate rubbers and still not decided on pulling the windscreen: I think we should but we’ll see what the prep guy says. The tailgate stays on until the really dusty stuff is done.
We’re estimating four days to bare metal the car and get it ready for paint next weekend in original L97A Diamond Silver Metallic. Looking forward to seeing it done and will be back over there during the week to take more pics. Only rust on the whole car is this bit by the aerial: I am redoing it as standard so leaving the roof aerial on. We will chemically remove that surface rust and prep thoroughly to prevent recurrence.
There’s a small chance I will sell this later in the year as I have no time to use my cars at the minute and storage is not my favourite! Get in touch if you’re interested. It’s a left hand-drive 1980 Series 2 Turbo, no sunroof, lower than average miles and there is no rust underneath.
The mechanicals seem in good shape, so could make a terrific rally car! Not looked at German 924 Turbo prices for a while, but I will price it in line with what’s happening in Europe.
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by John Glynn | Jul 10, 2013 | Project Cars, Porsche Cayenne
It’s a week since I picked up my new Porsche Cayenne S and started using it as a daily driver. Week 1 has been interesting, and not at all bad.
Mine is a 2004 V8 Cayenne S with 117,000 miles. It was owned by a friend for four years, so has been well maintained. Fuel carries prodigious taxes in the UK, so I was expecting most people to ask “what does it do to the gallon?” first. Surprisingly few people have asked what it does on fuel and everyone asks what I paid! Clearly some ownership aspiration for Cayennes out there.
First test for the Cayenne was what would the kids think. I took Ciara (middle, aged 11) with me to collect: she jumped straight into it and wouldn’t come out. Eliza (eldest aged 14) immediately called it “Eliza’s car”, and asked if she could take her test in it. Orla (youngest, aged 8) squealed when I told her it had a DVD player in the back. Cayenne claimed top marks with the kids.
Second test was Mrs Glynn’s reaction. She has her own cars so I am not letting her burn my Cayenne’s petrol for a while, but the verdict from the passenger seat was “I hope it’s not an expensive indulgence” and “what is up with this air conditioning?”.
The air con struggled to keep up with thirty degrees C ambient temps on our first drive in the car. The volume of air coming from the vents on full tilt was deeply unimpressive! I stripped off some panels and found the rather small cabin air intake was over an exhaust manifold – clearly not a great idea. A quick check on the Rennlist Porsche Cayenne forum found others complaining of the same issues.
Playing around with different techniques in this warm weather all week, I’ve found the easy solution is to do a mile or so with the windows open to blow out the warm air inside, set the temp to LO, recirculate when the car is at its hottest and keep it ticking over close to LO using face and floor vents. So far so good.
One other niggling problem is with intermittent reversing sensors, which I will look at some day. I’ve already crunched it into a post: not the best start. Front sensors are handy as it is hard to judge that nose. They don’t like the very narrow drive to my office, but I’m used to the terrified bleeping now.
On the first night the Cayenne was outside the house, some little shagger nicked the centre caps off the wheels. I’m assuming they are now on some lowered VW, but what a pathetic thing to do. I bought two sets of cheap repro caps on ebay and superglued the replacements to the rims. The spares are there for when these get torn off by tyre fitters. One seller also sent me Porsche logo’d valve caps for free, which I’ll offer as a Ferdinand prize some day.
Other issues which I will probably blog separately included DVD settings (sorted) and condensation in one rear light unit. I’ve got an aftermarket towbar, but a genuine Porsche tow hitch – need to find a hitch ball that fits, so I can tow with this.
The radio on my Porsche PCM 2 struggles with weak performance from the standard diversity aerial in marginal reception zones. Radio 2 strength is not great around here and Chris Evans on the school run is quite an intermittent affair. Not a bad thing, some of the time. I only listen to 6 Music (digital station), so haven’t used any of the other audio or nav bits. I’m half tempted by a Dension 500 kit to plug an iPod into, but really all I need is a handsfree phone kit. Maybe I’ll just swap the Parrot 9200 from the Subaru.
Other things that niggle: no place to put keys up front without them rattling, front cupholder insert missing, one rear plastic trim on the centre console is broken. The central air vents have lost their rubberised coating and the vent flaps are all detached internally, but I bought a replacement part from an eBay breaker which I’ll fit some day soon.
Does any of the above matter? No. What matters with any Porsche is how it drives.
If you’ve only ever driven a few miles in a Cayenne and thought “argh, this tank is way too stiff” or “I cannot get on with this gearbox”, welcome to the club. My first miles in the car were spent wondering what I should stick it up for on Pistonheads. One week and 500 miles in, I love it. When you stop thinking about it like a 4×4 and just drive it like a Porsche, it is the most amazing thing.
Turn-in is fantastic. Turn the wheel and the front just goes – no body roll out of the turn, no sloppy steering, no massive understeer. It just flicks in and holds any line you want. I’d love to do a track day in it.
To really keep that engine cooking, drop a gear or two as you brake for corners, then hold a steady throttle and squeeze it on when past the apex. Waiting for the gearbox to wake up once the bend has been despatched is when seconds are lost going nowhere and frustration builds with Tiptronic. Same thing going up hills, as it sticks in D5 or D6 for ages before dropping down. Get on the buttons and whack it into fourth for some fun.
My biggest niggle at the minute is the thing is too quiet! We need to release a few decibels. I’ll post some more in a bit on fuel economy as that has been REALLY interesting.
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by John Glynn | Jul 4, 2013 | Project Cars, Porsche Cayenne
I’ve just bought a 2004 Porsche Cayenne S to add to the Ferdinand fleet. In Basalt Black with black leather and 117,000 miles on the clock, it’s a nice example with plenty of life left in it.
I’ve had the Cayenne itch for a while. Part of me thinks Ferdinand Magazine and my little social media agency should run a Porsche day-to-day and, with building in full swing at home so plenty of big stuff to move around, school runs to do and my insistence on four-wheel-drive on a daily driver, it was really the only choice from the Porsche lineup.
What Cayenne to buy was pretty easy – something under £8k was the first deciding factor. Respect to my Cayenne brothers running the V6, but I didn’t want a six-pot. Kudos to Turbo owners, but Cayenne Turbos are still pricey and not my bag either. Liner problems aside, the V8 is pretty reliable once the coolant pipes are sorted. The previous owner has done the aluminium coolant pipe upgrade on this car, and it’s got new-ish tyres, recent brakes and drives a treat. No sunroof and no heated seats a minor downer, but it rides on steel springs, which I was also pretty keen on.
Of course there are a few snags on my list – most of it trim wear and tear – but that’s to be expected for the price. Having good Porsche independents as clients will make sorting out the trim and other small issues easy to do.
So far I’ve done just over a hundred miles and all good. The fourteen year-old wants to take her driving test in it and Mrs Glynn won’t give back the keys. A good start – we’ll see how long the honeymoon lasts.
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