by John Glynn | Nov 29, 2009 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
My project this month is to sell some cars, so I’ve got to MOT my LJ70 Landcruiser, the 2.0 8v Volkswagen Corrado (not due but I just sold it subject to a fresh test), LandCruiser 80-series, Orange 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 and the blue 1983 Porsche 911 SC.
The Landcruisers will hopefully pass their MOTs easily enough. The Corrado is going to need at least an exhaust repair, the Varmint (my Porsche 911 SC that has just arrived at Tilbury Docks) is unlikely to need much sorting for its first registration MOT as is early 1980 so predates fog lamps, and the rest is fairly good. That just leaves the Carrera 3.0.
The list of work to do on the juicy little 911 is getting longer by the day. For the test it needs tyres, a new steering rack and alignment afterwards. For use now it needs the window seals doing (all need changing as they are all leaking – see leaky front screen below after rush job to fit something), I want to wire up my heated front windscreen and am hoping to get some additional lights set up on the front. No idea quite what I am doing there yet but I will figure it out.
I have a very nice Stebel compact air horn to replace the Noddy horn I was left with, when the ally bracket holding one tone of the twin tone set up went crash, bang, wallop, and threw itself onto the M40 a year or so ago. I am also thinking about swapping the original gauges back into Orange until I sort this new airbox arrangement to run the twin front face vents. No good having freezing cold air coming through from the luggage compartment.Then I have some carpets to fit in the rear, and a list of maybe 30 mini-projects that I’d like to crack in to sometime this winter.
So while this week is all about chasing the stuff I am getting out of, I will also spend a day getting some bits ready for the orange car and reminding myself why I bought it. I’m going to hold off taxing it for a while yet, until we see what the weather looks like for the first part of December: no point paying out for tax, MOT and insurance when the roads are too salty to go anywhere. But it will definitely be legal for the IB “Avoid the Family” Christmas weekend drive on December 27th.
It’s hard not to look at this picture above, think about how few miles I have covered in that car this year and wonder two things: why I am hanging on to it if it’s not being used and why we don’t all move to California and take it with us. It is the perfect California car!
by John Glynn | Nov 12, 2009 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
I’m currently shipping my third Porsche 911 to the UK from the USA (West Coast/California). The first leg of the Porsche’s voyage is aboard the container ship Valencia Express, which is taking it from LA to Caucedo in the Dominican Republic. After unloading the Porsche 911’s shipping container and who knows what else, Valencia Express will then head across the Atlantic and down towards Spain, while another ship, the Sormiou, currently en route from Valparaiso, will pick up the UK shipping freight, including my classic Porsche 911 SC. Once loaded, it will set sail for London, via Rotterdam.
Shipping a Porsche 911 from California to UK: Vessel Tracking
Knowing the ships that are bringing Varmint home is pretty cool. You can track them using Hapag Lloyd’s site, which I had been doing in the evenings since it left LA.
According to the Hapag site, Valencia Express was due in Manzanillo, Panama yesterday, which Google Maps told me was on the Pacific, like Manzanillo in Mexico. Finding out that the ship was late, I had a little search and learned that Manzanillo port is actually on the Atlantic: it is the port just by the mouth of the canal. Google Maps is properly sketchy about Panama but this seems a bit of an obvious mistake.
Anyway, as it hadn’t arrived, I surmised that it might still be in the canal. I googled for some real-time Panama Canal update sites and found the live webcams at the Canal Authority’s website late this afternoon.
There are two cameras at Gatun Locks: the locks where the canal meets the Atlantic. I couldn’t see much from the seaward one, as it was covered in rainwater, which eventually knocked it off line. Judging by the other camera, facing back up towards the lakes, there didn’t seem to be much going on in any case, so I gave up and got back to work. After dinner, I logged in again and immediately spotted a Hapag Lloyd vessel queuing up to get into the locks behind something else. Turns out it was the Valencia Express – what a fluke!
If I need to tell you how toe-curlingly geekish and outrageously brilliant this is, then you’re not one of us! Very cool to be watching the ship carrying your little sweetheart 911 back from the USA live via the Internet – especially as it was so totally random.
Keeping my inner nerd in motion, I’m considering getting in touch with Hapag and Tilbury docks, to see if I can blag my way in to the harbour and watch the thing arrive in London. I’ve taken all that week off, so I have the time. You never know, they might just let me do it.
As for those who wonder “where is she now?”, the Valencia got to Manzanillo at 6.30 their time on Wednesday: a day late!
by John Glynn | Oct 25, 2009 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Our recent features trip to the US was the out-and-out scene on many levels, but one huge plus was the success of my first US-bought 911: the Varmint SC.
Buying a Porsche 911 in the USA
Varmint is an 1980 911 SC Coupe that I spotted on Craigslist in Berkeley, California. The same guy had owned it 20 years, commuted in it for a long time, so cranked up some huge miles (2ooK or so) and rebuilt the engine with euro pistons and cylinders a few years back but then not used it much afterwards. We’d eventually come to an agreement on price, I’d sent the cash and he’d dropped the 911 down to a buddy’s place near where he was.
If you’re not a 911 guy, then there is nothing special about this car. Even if you are a 911 guy, you might still look at it and think I’m nuts for buying it. Most of my buddies did, and maybe still do. But, when you see what you’d pay for a rusty, right hand-drive 180bhp SC in this country, versus what the Varmint will owe me landed and registered in the UK, you have to ask: who is the bigger nutter? Me buying the well-worn but comfortable old bus that goes like stink but hasn’t an inch of rot on board, or the guy who buys his supposedly cheap UK car and then is landed with at least the same again in bodywork bills? I think I’ve done OK.
Using Varmint in the States was brilliant. Before we got there, I spent $900 with John Holleran Porsche in Pinole, having it fitted with new turbo tie rods and then 4 wheel-aligned, some clutch cable/arm clearance issues addressed and an attempt made to seal the weepy nose bearing (was successful for 100 miles or so but then failed), as well as a few leaking exhaust gaskets and oil seals (crank seal & inter shaft seal).
The clutch action is still jerky with a high bite point, first gear synchro is a little worn and the shift could be smother (just needs stripping and sorting) but you are used to all this after a few miles so no big deal, though that clutch does kill any chance of spinning the wheels on take-off. It also has a sticky brake caliper on the right rear.
As the miles went on, it did start to suffer from what felt like a timing problem but I eventually traced it to blocked fuel tank breathers and sorted it temporarily – I’ll fix it properly when it gets home. I’ll also have to do some wiring, as there was a lot of melted stuff headed to the clock and elsewhere behind the dash too. Pulled it all out but I need to look in more detail. I tidied up what I could get to and also rewired some of the fusebox while we were there. The fuel pump wiring was hilarious – NOT.
The interior has had its day: ain’t no beauty contest prizes coming here. It’s all still perfectly functional; the thick-rimmed wheel feels great, still has the proper shift knob and the dash is in great condition, sunroof and windows work, radio works and so on. It’s just worn: sand-blasted windscreen, missing door pocket on driver’s side (just missed one on eBay – grrrr), no rear seat backs, oddball centre console stuff and slightly mangy carpets. Neither did it come with a jack, toolkit or any service history at all. The backdated heat is disconnected, few bulbs out, old-ish tyres, no front compartment carpet either. Plus – I forgot about the bodywork – the paint is shot. But I’m not bothered by any of this.
What mattered to me from a buying point of view is that it was reliable, ran hard and was rot free. As far as those criteria go, I reckon I scored three out of three. At the price I paid, with the fun I have already had out of this car, and with the happiness it has yet to offer, you can’t say fairer than that.
Varmint’s ETA in the UK is at the end of November. More news as it happens!
by John Glynn | Oct 12, 2009 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars, Road Trips
It was Saturday. We were headed back to Sears Point for the CSRG races and perhaps a feature shoot if we found the right car. First things first: coffee. We followed John Gray up 680 to Peets in Pleasant Hill, and met up with Mr Bob Tilton.
Suitably re-caffeined, we fuelled up around the corner (my first time sticking fuel in the SC) and headed north. Our three-car convoy to the track was good fun. There we said hello to Cary Noel, a fellow Grupper who owns a super Silver and Blue Carrera RS rep. The weather was glorious but that is one unmercifully hot sun, so sunscreen was the order of the day. I use factor 50+: translucent-skinned Irish people are always better off playing it very safe! 40 degree heat certainly takes it out of a body.
We had our wristband press photo passes so could go wherever. We did some paddock shots just in case we decided to sell an events piece to Classic Cars magazine (decided not to bother in the end) and I ended up at the pit lane exit, about 6 feet away from Can Am cars doing 150mph+ on the entry to turn 1. Never been so dumbstruck by fear and excitement in my life; I couldn’t quite believe they had let me take pics from there. But then the camera couldn’t cope and I was only slightly better! Here’s a pic (imagine insane amounts of noise and speed):
Back in the paddock, things were really hotting up, with temps soaring way past 40 degrees. We took a load off at John Thornton’s racebox, chatted with John, Fuchs-meister Harvey Weidman and Gray for a while before he and Tilton could stand it no more and shot off for lunch at an air-conditioned pizza shack.
Sears Point Porsche
We stayed for the wicked BBQ, before deciding to try and nail some pics of John T’s very groovy Emory-built 912 racer. We gave it our best, but had left some gear in the Martimobile from the day before, and John had to go get ready to race, so we left it for another day. It’s a great car though, and was worth the effort to get the few shots Jamie did.
Lesson learnt number three: Empty all gear into the works van once back at base camp.
While Jamie went to get some tracking shots up at the top of the circuit, I headed for the grandstand to watched some racing. I came down after the Jags had finished – just before I started to melt. Sadly, one of J’s lenses had not been so lucky.
Expanded by the unmerciful heat, it had taken a minor bump while mounted to the camera body and pulled the screws out of the mount, breaking its electrical contact ring. Hard to believe, but there we were: down one lens and fading fast. We decide to say our goodbyes, head for the ranch and try a few things to re-equip ourselves for our Mopar shoot the following day. Varmint had been sitting in the sun all day so was nicely warmed up…
by John Glynn | Oct 8, 2009 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
I’ve now been back from the USA for 36 hours. Our trip took us to lots of really great locations, so there are some fascinating features to write up over the next few weeks. Not everything will make it into a magazine though, so I thought I’d tell the story of the trip via a few blog installments.
My flight over on Virgin Atlantic was great. Arriving at my buddy John Gray’s house late at night meant I didn’t get to see much of my new 911 until the next day. In daylight, there was a bit more sun damage to the paint than I had been expecting, but I wasn’t that bothered: it still looked like good value for money. Driving it was initially a little weird, as the clutch had a slight on/off action that I think has since calmed down. We soon got the hang of it, and it was an entertaining daily driver while out there.
Buying a ride rather than renting is definitely something I will do again. There were a few minor jobs we had to do to the SC while in CA, but I’ll detail that stuff in a later post.
Our first full day was a mix of settling-in stuff. After picking up some coffee at Peets, we took a spin out to Sears Point raceway, where the CSRG race weekend was taking place. Jamie and I got some press wristbands and bought our tickets (it’s a charity do, after all). The weather was properly hot – about 110 degrees – so we came back in the early afternoon and played with the Lipmobile: a Honda Cub which had just been ridden 3,800 miles from Chicago to California, by my erstwhile photographer friend and colleague. Here’s a pic:
Later on, we took a trip to the unit our host rents with a couple of other petrolhead buddies. They have some very impressive stuff there! Roommate Alex is restoring a pair of Road Runners, and was working on a ’63 Dodge Polara owned by a drummer with a successful local rockabilly band. The Polara was originally a 440, but it now had the 426 Hemi motor fitted. Talk about sweet! I could just imagine the shoot, so I pitched it via email to a UK magazine who never came back to me, which was a bit disappointing.
Here’s a pic of the Polara in the workshop. It is inch-perfect sixties drag nostalgia, with slicks on the back and a Hemi in front, all wrapped up in black with hot red trim – pretty cool! An evening in the company of big block hot rods could only be followed by dinner at Max’s Diner, with a pint of Coke float, curly fries and a world-class burger. Heaven!
That was day one, and there’s plenty more to share. I’m keeping clear of jet lag so, as it’s 1 am here, I’m hitting the sack – will continue this tomorrow.
by John Glynn | Sep 20, 2009 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
I collected my ‘new’ classic Porsche 911T project this weekend. Worked out quite well as the seller (good friend and superhero, Mr Bosman) was coming over for the Goodwood Revival, and offered to trailer it across on the ferry for me. Here was a kindness I could not refuse.
We met early today and I borrowed Bos’s trailer to bring the car to a buddy’s secret storage yard, where some nice project cars are stashed in sea containers. I wanted the T out of the way for a few months, while I get finished with the projects I have on the go, pay for this new one and get my garage building moving on apace. Once I have a better grip on my to do list, I’ll drag this out again and get properly stuck into it as a spare-time R Gruppe build.
The easiest thing for me to do (to get this back up to speed fast) would be to buy a bodily ruined SC, break it and put all the mechanical bits into this after a refurb, and I’m pretty sure that’s how I’m going to go. Rusty SCs are getting ever more common in the ‘States now, so it should be easy enough to find something mechanically sound that would otherwise be on its way to a breaker. I will put my hot rod 3 litre motor into this one – not the tired original from a scrapper.
This T is in good condition to look at, but it’s not perfect. It has serious paint issues in the luggage compartment for example, where the painter has simply painted the whole thing rather than taking stuff out. It’s not a big deal for me, as I am ripping out all this early stuff anyway (hate fiddly twin batteries and that messy-looking fusebox) and reworking the loom to run an in-dash fusebox. I will also bin the early dash column switches and run IB stuff. Same with engine bay wiring etc. Also same with suspension and brakes, though I will not run a servo. Oil system will be bespoke: a front nose cooler with a relocated tank – things like that. The oil tank that came with this is one step from scrap anyway so that has to go somewhere else.
None of this is said against my buddy, as it comes to me almost exactly as it arrived at Bos’s place from Canada. He started doing stuff, saw the work involved in getting it nice and it was just not a project he fancied finishing, so it has come to me instead. I have wanted to try early car ownership since driving one of Tuthills early rally cars many moons ago, so this should be fun to play with. I don’t want to build anything remotely factory original: it is hot rod all the way, with no “bolting back to standard” in this car’s future.
