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 | Classic Porsche Blog, Art and Books
Ulf Poschardt, full-time Deputy Editor of Die Welt and Welt am Sonntag and long-time 911 driver has written a new book on the Porsche 911. Titled simply ‘911’, it sounds rather fascinating. I swapped some Facebook messages on the Ferdinand page with Ulf yesterday, and he shared the purpose of this work.
“It’s a cultural & social history of the Porsche 911,” says Ulf. “I have driven a 911 every day since the age of 23 – now more than 23 years. That time has allowed me to reflect on how and why this sports car became a symbol of German modernism after World War II, as well as a manifesto for individualism and a masterpiece in engineering culture.
“I talked to a variety of owners and drivers of Porsche 911 and tried to squeeze out their personal philosophy on the car. Everyone from artists and architects to engineers and politicans – and to Jerry Seinfeld, of course. The Ferdinand blog has many friends in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and they can find 911 in bookshops from July 24.”
Renowned Stuttgart publishing house, Klett-Cotta, is initially publishing the book in German only. Ulf hopes that an English version will follow, and I would certainly be interested in reading it. Of all the 911 books released to coincide with the car’s 50th anniversary, this one piques most interest.
I once took the EB Motorsport Porsche 911 ST built by Tuthills to the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, to consider the question “was the 911 part of Germany’s peace offering after the war?” It led to great discussion with citizens who endured concentrated bombing through the Coventry Blitz, which wiped out the ancient cathedral.
We left with an exceptional view of the people of Coventry: it was an incredible day. When I later mused upon Britain’s equivalent cultural offering, I struggled a bit. It’s something I still wonder about – my current favourite answer is ‘The Beatles’.
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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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by John Glynn | Jun 29, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Love this photo of current Belgian Historic Champion, Glenn Janssens, back in action this weekend in his Almeras-style Tuthill Porsche. Glenn returns to action following his super scary crash at over 100 mph in Haspengouw.
Car and driver are running in this weekend’s Ypres Historic, Belgium’s most storied event and an unmissable part of the European classic rally calendar. Anyone who has been to Ypres will know the town, the atmosphere and the territory around this unique part of Europe. It’s a proper setting to rally through, and we wish Glenn all the best for the weekend.
The car has had quite a bit done to it over the months it’s been at Tuthill Porsche in Wardington, Oxfordshire. The Tuthill boys have repaired the damage suffered in the mega-shunt and added a few chassis tweaks here and there. The transmission is all new – an evolution of the Tuthill Porsche dog ‘box – and the engine has been refreshed.
Belgian driver, Mats Myrsell, was recently asked for his best memory of the Ypres Historic by an interviewer. His reply was “that gorgeous waitress I met in a cafe off the square”. Hopefully this year, a few people will leave with the best memory of Glenn Janssens’ fire-breathing 911, en route to victory in 2013.
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