Working as Mighty Motor Media promoting Porsche specialists gives me great access to some of the best Porsche workshops.
On my last visit, I was talked through a GT3 RS inspection (on lift behind this 911T). The car was a well-known track day ride, and the owner’s not known for sparing horses. After buying KW suspension for his GT3, the owner discovered the workshop was booked up three weeks in advance. So he took his car to a Porsche crew in Berkshire who claimed they could do the job. It did not work out so well.
As with the cracked ceramic disc episode that saved the owner fifty quid but cost fourteen grand to correct, the GT3 man collected his car from the other crowd, paid a big bill and instantly noted a steering issue. The garage brushed it off as dampers bedding in, but a few days’ driving led to urgent Porsche attention.
They found a series of problems: some potentially deadly. The struts had been installed the wrong way around, so left was right and right was left. The top bearings that should allow the assemblies to swivel with the steering were fitted wrongly, fixed with the wrong top nuts and trashed in short order, so the springs had started turning on their perches. The other garage had not tightened the grub screws holding the perches in position, so the car was unscrewing the ride height with every turn of the wheel, sinking 40mm in a week.
A new Cargraphic silencer had been fitted slightly sideways and wiring for one O2 sensor was cut to fit around it. The wires are heat-resistant stainless which cannot be soldered, so were extended by wrapping copper strands in. The ‘fix’ had not worked and, as these sensors operate in a range of less than one volt, the car was running terribly. Truth is, the wire did not need cutting to fit: it fits without modification.
A simultaneous service had lost the bungs for the airbox, but most worryingly of all, the mechanic had repaced the brake pad pins incorrectly, and the pins were falling out. At some stage, this GT3 was going to have no brakes.When I arrived, the guys had just started stripping it. The work would take at least two days and some new parts to fix.
Two big bills and many new parts, versus a three-week wait with the chance of a cancellation? OK, it’s aided by hindsight but I probably would have waited. Ever had a similar experience? I am always interested in hearing how good garages are, or not.
I need this in my life. It’s a Porsche 917 Laser kit car, currently for sale on Los Angeles Craigslist.
Not sure I agree about ownership, but it is an intriguing piece of Porsche-derived kitsch. This one looks pretty straight, with the right wheels, apparently good fit and finish and an engine that’s clearly had some money spent. Plus that silver metalflake. The owner says:
The body is all original and free of cracks or damage,original paint. Interior has new carpet, newly upholstered seats and new racing harness. Italian suede quick release steering wheel. It has a custom tubular subframe that makes the car very solid.
Besides the fiberglass shell everything is new. New suspension with KYB shocks, bigger torsion bars, new bushings, new axles and control arms.
The engine is a 2 liter turbocharged VW flat 4 producing close to 300hp. Garrett turbo charger. It has 2 dual barrel weber carbs, new fuel pump, starter, alternator. Engine has 60 miles on it, everything is new, from mahle pistons to heads and empi valve covers. Custom headers, new oil cooler with electrical fan etc.
The transmission is a brand new 4 speed heavy duty unit with a new stage 3 hydraulic clutch and lightened flywheel. New brakes, new rotors, brakemaster cylinder. Wheels professionally powder coated flat black, brand new Mickey Thompson high performance tires.
This car was built to perform. Well over 20k was spent to create the car. Fully street legal with all the lights and horn working properly. Car runs and drives perfect its a blast to drive. Asking 16500$ for this truly unique car.
If you wanted to have a bit of fun, this could be the thing. Just as traffic light folks start pointing jolly fingers, you drop the clutch and obliterate them. Only downside for some people might be getting out of it in public. It’s not entirely Cult of Porsche – a beach buggy version would definitely be – but what a perfect car for a Friday blog.
British law says that cars over three years old must have an annual safety inspection, known here as the MoT (Ministry of Transport) test. Racing Restorations UK recently took our Project 924 Turbo for its test. It’s the first step in registering the Italian-plated Porsche here in England.
The test checks what you’d expect:
Body or vehicle structure free from corrosion or damage, engine mountings secure etc. Fuel system: No leaks. Security and condition of pipes or hoses. Fuel cap fastens and seals securely.
Exhaust emissions: dependent on the age and fuel type. Exhaust system: secure & complete. Catalyst where one was fitted as standard. Without leaks and is not too noisy.
Seat belts: checked for type, condition, operation and security. All seat belts must be in place. Seats: driver’s seat can be adjusted. All seats for security and seat backs can be secured in the upright position. Doors: Latch securely. Front doors open from inside and outside. Hinges and catches for security and condition. Mirrors: minimum number required, condition and security. Load security: boot or tailgate can be secured in the closed position. Bonnet: securely latches in the closed position.
Brakes: condition, inappropriate repairs or modifications, operation and performance. ABS or electronic stability control (ESC) where fitted. Tyres and wheels: condition, security, tyre size and type and tread depth. Spare tyres are not inspected.
Registration plates: Condition, security, colour, characters correctly formed and spaced. Lights: Condition, operation including HID and LED headlamps for cleaning, self levelling and security. Headlamp aim. Main beam warning light.
Wipers and washers: operate to give the driver a clear view ahead. Windscreen: condition and driver’s view of the road. Horn: correct operation and of suitable type. Steering and suspension: condition, steering oil level, operation, a check for inappropriate repairs or modification including corrosion to power steering pipes or hoses. Operation of steering lock mechanism.
After an hour’s worth of checking, the 924 failed, but only on a few things.
First was the headlamps, which are left hand drive and dip to the wrong side. Track rod ends and one rear wheel bearing were past it. There’s a problem with the rear fog light being intermittent, the windscreen washers don’t work and it needs new wiper blades. The tyres passed but they are pretty old, so we’re changing them.
Rob at Racing Restorations will do the track rods and wheel bearing, I’ll swap the lamps and fix the other bits from my stock of 924 and 944 parts and we should be good for a re-test next week. Then I need a letter from Porsche confirming the build date, and we’ll be ready to submit a registration application.
The boys say it drives well: worn second gear synchro being the only real issue. My transmission guy has our spare gearbox apart and apparently it’s not pretty, with worn selectors on 1 through 4. We’re still trying to figure out what bits Porsche and Getrag used in the early 924 Turbo gearbox: must be Mercedes or similar from the period. More news on that as we find it.
As an aside, I’ve just bought a complete 924S back end including the aluminium arms from a mate, so that might come in handy. Aluminium arms will be nice if we go for this Carrera GT idea and try for trick underpinnings – same as fitted to 944 Turbo.
Glenn Janssens leads the Belgian Historic Rally Championship, following victory in a Tuthill Porsche 911 equipped with the all new Tuthill Porsche Dog Box on last weekend’s Wallonie Rally.
Wallonie was the third round of the Belgian Historic Rally Championship. Janssens’ victory is the driver’s second podium this season after finishing second on the opening round.
Janssens and co-driver Tom de Geetere stormed to an early lead in their 3-litre Porsche 911, after posting two fastest stage times on Friday. “Friday evening was wet and the opening cobblestone stage was slippery. We started with a reasonable safety margin, but were surprised to find our pace was quickest,” said Janssens.
Over the next two days, Janssens extended his lead. By Sunday’s chequered flag, he had a winning margin of over two minutes, claiming 17 out of 22 class stage wins.
“Our car has been running extremely well since Tuthill built us a specially developed gearbox at the start of the season,” added Janssens. “On this event, the car was absolutely perfect from start to finish; it couldn’t have run better. I was seventh before Wallonie, so it’s fantastic to leave with a championship lead.
“My goal is to be champion this year. We can drop the results from two events out of six so, if I was to drop my second event, I have actually finished first and second so far. I’ve got some big competitors, but if I keep going like this then my chances are good.”
The fourth round of the Belgian Historic Rally Championship – the Sezoens Rally – will take place on May 19, where Janssens will be joined by his regular co-driver, Stephane Prevot.
Richard Tuthill: “It’s been a very successful weekend for Tuthill Porsche; both at home and abroad. On the Pirelli International Rally, Dessie Nutt (above) and Edmund Peel finished second and fifth in class. It was also a fantastic performance from Glenn over the weekend in Belgium.
“With 90 percent of the Belgian championship run on Tarmac, the Sezoens Rally coming up next is unique, because it will challenge the competitors with mostly gravel roads. Glenn is feeling confident: we have a superb suspension set-up on the car now, with good gravel tyres. Last year we finished second with Glenn, so our sights are set on a repeat podium as a minimum.”
My growing car collection just went up a notch, as new Ferdinand Magazine bought its first Porsche project.
The new addition is a 924 Turbo: a Series One car from the late 1970s, in Silver. It’s LHD (of course) and has a non-sunroof shell. Condition is reportedly very solid, but I’ve not seen it yet so will advise when it arrives with me, later today. The seller knows his Turbos and says this is the fastest one he’s ever had. Count on some test drive video! I’ve been looking for a good 924 Turbo for ages, so I really hope this is as sweet as it sounds.
The odometer is showing very low kilometres, which may or may not be genuine. There is absolutely no paperwork with the car, so a detective hunt lies ahead. It still carries its Italian registration: tracing that back should be interesting. Completely unconnected, I just started Italian lessons but have enough Italian Porsche friends to help me with the digging.
Plans for the car: it is seriously tempting to make this a Carrera GT replica. I’ve always loved 924 Carrera GTs and a silver one would sit well in the garage with the Orange 911 and my M3 saloon. I’m having the car delivered to Racing Restorations UK in Pershore, where Rob Campbell will give it a good going over. Rob has just finished tidying up the M3 – chopping out some rot in the sills and overhauling the suspension and underside – so the 924 will drop into that space.
Whatever about the Carrera GT plan, I know I have a gearbox fault to fix on this 924 first, so the spare transmission I bought with the car will be stripped later this week to check it out before swapping it into the newbie. Once the car is MOT’d, we’ll decide what to do for the future.
I know you will now ask me: what’s happening with the 944 Kombi/Estate project? The donor car we bought and paid for turned into a bit of a nightmare, with the seller initially agreeing to store it for a while, but then moving it and refusing to tell us where we could pick it up! Buying through eBay with Amex was a sensible move. We are back on the hunt for a donor: I still have my 86k-mile 1983 944 Lux stashed away, but I think that’s a bit too nice to chop up.
I’ve always had a thing for estate cars – they look better than most saloons. The problem with being a Porsche fan is that there is no estate to choose from.
Recently, I’ve been looking at Cayennes to buy, but the majority of aftermarket specialists I spoke to said keep away. I was tempted to ignore them and go for it, but it’s spending £10-12k on a big car that costs thousands a year to run, plus the fuel, and whatever else goes wrong. I like my Subaru Outback and could better spend Cayenne money on my garage build and loft conversion projects. I needed a Plan B.
Ever since I saw the pictures here, I’ve had deep lust for the 924 Break/Kombi/Shooting Brake. There isn’t much about them on the Interweb – just some snippets of magazine articles, repeated ad nauseum – but I know it’s a conversion by Artz of Belgium from back in the day. Having seen the DP Motorsport ‘Cargo’ version at Essen one year, I thought the earlier 924 base was better looking, but for sure the 944 is a nicer platform. No one does these anymore, so I needed help.
Before I sold my last Mk 2 Golf GTi, my best mate and expert metalworker started talking about doing an estate conversion and I said I’d rather do an estate conversion on that Grand Prix White 944 I own. Ideas began to fire and that was it. The more I thought, the less I wanted to chop up a (quite rare) non-sunroof early 944 with relatively low miles and nice history; I’d rather restore that as-was. What I needed was a donor car to play with.
eBay has just thrown up a likely candidate: unloved but running 944 with some rust in the floors and a personal plate we can sell to cover some costs. The rusty floors are handy, as I want to size up an Impreza Turbo running gear install. Anyway, I’ve bought it.
*Edit* The eBay car was seriously misdescribed, so I went through eBay and got my money back. Now looking at S2s and low mile 924s. In the meantime, I have bought a Porsche Cayenne.
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