by John Glynn | Nov 3, 2011 | Project Cars, Porsche Cayenne
Every now and then, I get a hankering to sell every car I own bar the 911 and look at buying a used Porsche Cayenne. Yes, I know hardly a classic and to some people not even a Porsche, but I like the cut of the Cayenne’s jib (edit: I now own one and here is my proper Porsche Cayenne buyers’ guide).
Admittedly there are many reasons NOT to buy a Cayenne. Maybe not enough ‘many’s there.
- It’s not the prettiest thing in the world
- Only the Space Shuttle has worse mpg
- Colours available mostly more boring than housepaint
- Eats tyres like a thirsty, boring-coloured, tyre-eating thing
- Volkswagen V6 or cylinder-scoring V8
- Manual transmission is only available with the VW engine
- Precious little space for LPG, especially in the Turbo and even on gas only 15mpg (albeit at a lower fuel price)
On the plus side:
- Huge
- Fast
- Sexy V8 noise
- Deserves its Porsche badge
- Decent 4×4 system, not joke setup
- Air suspension rocks
- Replaces everything I own except the 911
So, if it has rubbish MPG and is either slow-ish and not that great on MPG compared to the faster one (V6) or prone to chucking pistons through the cylinder walls (V8), why the desire to own one? I don’t know – it’s a regular thing with me. If I could find a nice non-silver/black colour, circa 55-plate with under 90k miles for £10K*, I think I might pull the trigger. That despite the fact that it would probably be an exceptionally bad idea turning up at home with a ten grand Cayenne, when I already have five cars and am in the middle of building a cash-sapping house extension. Not that that ever stopped me…
The plan would be to sell the other cars, though. Newly-restored E36 M3 saloon, classic Landcruiser 80 series, Subaru Outback on new LPG kit and Mk 2 Golf GTi would all go, replaced by just one Cayenne S. Alternatively, can you say “V6 diesel conversion”? Aaargh, that is full-on man maths talking: *la la la I’m not listening*
Cayenne drivers – share your experiences!
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by John Glynn | Jun 22, 2011 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices, Project Cars
Not been out in a Porsche since I got back from the USA, so thought I’d better fix that. I grabbed some keys and got out in the fresh air.
Finally got the Tangerine 1972 Porsche 911 T I have for sale booked into Tuthills for a service and a suspension set up: ride heights and alignment. On new suspension bushes and new Dunlop tyres, this car is a delight to drive, but a little lower than is right, so worth sending it to Tuthills to be sorted.
While it’s there, they are going to check a few other bits and change the oil and filter, just to freshen it up. Should be absolutely brilliant when it comes back next week. Then it’s out for a photo shoot and we are thinking of entering it for the Goodwood auction in July. Will keep you posted. Email me if you want to know anything about this remarkable low mileage car. I would love to see it go to a good home.
The T is no slouch on its wicked TwinSpark Weber carbs, but the Carrera 3.0 is even perkier. Once back from Tuthills, I pulled the C3 out and took it for a run.
That car is – literally – a tonne of fun. The tax is up in July, so it’ll head off to Racing Restorations in Pershore for a little bit of body and paint, mainly repairing damage inflicted by moi, breaking into it in Monaco last year. Rob Campbell is also going to strip and clean the wheel arches, repaint and waxoyl the lot.
We’ll change all the window rubbers, install the carpet I’ve had sitting here for a few months, and maybe bolt in the mint 1975 Recaro sports seats. Either that or get the centres of my Recaro A8s retrimmed in some orange corduroy or similar. They are light weight, comfy seats: sweeter than the pukka early ones. But then the early ones are more ‘correct’…
While Robert is fettling the bodywork, wiring the heated screen, changing the fuel pump for an uprated modern unit etc, I’m going to send the engine off for a top end rebuild. No idea who is going to do it yet but am working on that.
Once the refreshed motor is returned, we’ll fit my SSIs and a custom exhaust that RaceResto will manufacture and then see what it goes like. I’m also thinking of redoing suspension bushes: need to get in touch with the polybush people and see who has the best deals on.
Driving it today was as much fun as it was when I first got it. This car never ever gets old.
by John Glynn | Feb 28, 2011 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Just had nice pics through of paint correction and detailing on a classic Porsche 964 from good Porsche buddy and Guild of Motoring Writers Photographer of the Year, Alisdair Cusick. Having worked together on many photoshoots for Total 911 magazine, Ali (@SnapperAli on Twitter) recently pulled the classic Porsche buyer’s move: getting his first 911 within a few months of the birth of his first child. We’ve all been there!
Ali’s 911 is a tidy 964 that’s been enjoying some quality airtime in the magazine. The latest job was to send it off for paint correction and detailing throughout: obsessive valeting with the highest quality products, to bring the bodywork back to as pristine a condition as possible. The results are amazing.
Elite Detailing Porsche 911
Alisdair used Elite Detailing to overhaul his car – the boys reckon they have refurbed more Porsche paint than any other specialist detailing company in the UK. Prices start from £399; Ali’s job took a finger-melting 40 hours.
The products used will be listed in a future issue of the magazine. Contact Elite Detailing via their website and watch out for Ali’s forthcoming feature on the job!
About Paint Correction
Paint correction is the process of machining vehicle paint with rotary polishers and varying grades of specific polishes and compounds. This is a highly specialised process that requires specialist experience and knowledge, as well as expert measuring and lighting equipment. Car manufacturers use different paint types, all of which need to be recognised and treated in their own unique way for best results.
![Classic Porsche Tyres: 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0]()
by John Glynn | Feb 15, 2011 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Just whizzed my 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 down to the local tyre shop, to fit some all-weather tyres in place of the well-worn Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres I had been using. Or not using as is a better way of putting it: the classic Porsche has not turned a wheel since July of last year.
As ever, the Porsche fired up straight away. I just reconnected the battery isolator and the miniature Odyssey battery cranked it into life on the first turn. I crammed four Continental Sport Contact tyres into the cabin and off we went.
The damp weather today gave me some interesting new-tyre moments on the greasy roads. A massive powerslide out of the tyre depot T-junction make a few people laugh, including me.
Off to the UK launch of the new 911 Carrera GTS down in Bournemouth now. Will try to post some pics and details later.
About the 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0
This model is uniquely important in the history of the 911 series, as it was produced for two years only (1976-77).
The Carrera 3.0 used standard impact-bumper bodywork (with Carrera RS-width rear arches) and offered much improved performance over its 2.7-litre 911 and 911S contempararies. In magazine road tests of the time, the Carrera 3.0 set quicker 0-60mph times than the 911 Turbo or 930 model.
Key to the appeal of the Carerra 3.0 is its 2993cc engine, using the same cast aluminium crankcase as the 930, with the lightweight six-bolt crankshaft from the legendary 1973 Carrera RS.
The Carrera 3.0 engine was developed from the very rare Carrera 3.0RS, which formed the basis for the 3.0 RSR cars: highly successful racers in the 1974 and 1975 seasons, winning both the FIA GT Championship and the IMSA Championship each year.
by John Glynn | Oct 25, 2010 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
I just got back from California: my third trip in two years. Before my last visit, I bought a sweet little 1980 Porsche 911 SC Coupe on Craiglist. The car had been owned by the same guy since 1989 and was an honest, rust-free 911.
Sure, the paint had weathered a few storms and the trim had seen better days. But, riding on Fuchs, with an engine rebuilt to Euro specs – new pistons and cylinders and SSIs too – it pulled like a train with a Tornado strapped on top.
I used the SC (christened The Varmint) for ten days and over 2,000 miles. Let me tell you: there is nothing like ripping around sunny California in your very own 911. I went everywhere: across the Golden Gate, along Mulholland Drive and down the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, at sunrise and sunset.
When the trip was finished, I shipped The Varmint home. A friend made me an offer I could have refused, but chose not to. I put the money away for next time.
A few weeks before we were due to leave this time around, I started looking for Varmint Mk 2: something that wouldn’t break the bank, but could transport us in SC comfort for a week, before we sold it on or shipped it home. Shergar would have been easier to find.
In the year or so since buying Varmint, the exchange rate had shifted, the economy had lifted and the number of affordable 911s on offer had drifted away. Between the breakers and the other European speculators, California had been drained of sub-$10k 911s.
My regular trip to Essen earlier in the year had showed there was no letup in the number of 911s finding their way back to Germany from the USA, but California is Porsche nirvana: these cars are everywhere! I couldn’t believe how fast the tap had dried up.
Markets shift and money follows. Economies ebb and flow, and cars like the 911 move around the world. My first 911 lived in 5 countries before I bought it. Of the three I have now, one has been registered in three European countries, another has been though four states and three countries and the third has just left its fifth state/country, en route to the sixth. Pretty busy stuff.
When I first got into 911s, left hand-drive was the cheap option. UK dealers were buying in Stuttgart and selling in Stoke on Trent. I prefer left hand-drive, so it suited me fine, but it wasn’t long before Germany woke up to the UK bargains and took the left-hookers home. The same thing has happened in west coast USA.
Now however, the Euro has slumped to a four-year low against the Dollar, so might the USA begin buying cars back? Ebb and flow is how it goes. In the middle of it all are the shippers: making a living, whichever way the cars sail.
by John Glynn | Aug 22, 2010 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Life is pretty good at the minute. Freelance has got off to a great start: my online promotion and social media/PR company Mighty Motor Media Ltd is doing a good job for a growing band of clients, and earning this blogger a bit more than I was making as a salaried employee. It’s also giving me a life back! As spare time is on the increase, so the spanners are flying on some long overdue projects.
Orange 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0
One of them is reworking my Carrera 3.0 into lightweight touring guise. It’s a look I’ve had in mind for a while, as the bare paint interior is not quite classy enough for the outside of the car, and a period-trimmed interior would probably widen the Orange’s appeal should I advertise it for sale, as I’ve been considering. I’m not using it as much as I’d like, and the proceeds of a sale would come in handy to finish the studio and garage I’ve been waiting to get started on for over a year. Carrera 3.0s are making good money in Europe and mine has been gone through from a bare-metal shell to be a really great driver’s car. It might be just what someone (besides me) is looking for.
I’d still have my Carrera-arched 911T, a likely candidate for that spare 3 litre motor I’ve got, and the low-mile 944 Lux I have which is waiting to come back to life – that’ll be a great car when it is up and together. Plus I can buy another Porsche in the USA and potentially take it coast to coast. That’s a box I’ve got to tick one day.
The parts for the interior refit are starting to come together. I bought these seats from London-based Porsche mate back in October last year, but have only just got ’round to picking them up. They’re Impact Bumper Carrera Recaro sports seats from 1977, in what looks like black and grey in these pics, but is actually a charcoal with a lighter centre. They are stop-the-traffic gorgeous.
I’ve got a set of plush carpet that I bought from my buddy Scott at Pelican Parts over a year ago, and some new genuine Porsche window seals that came from Jeremy at MBS Car Parts to install, plus a top tint front screen to go in, replacing the plain heated front glass I put in a while back. I’m not sure quite what to do about the cage, as I might have the T caged in steel. I’m considering adding some lightweight central door locking just for convenience, and some rear pop out windows to refurb and fit, as well a bunch of other bits and pieces – can’t remember some of them. A passenger door mirror for one.
I’m ploughing through some of my other project stuff at the mo, but the C3 will soon be up on stands in the back garden getting the full treatment. Looking forward to starting this job as, whether it goes or stays, it’s going to give me another flavour to try.
