by John Glynn | Oct 13, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
A Porsche friend has entered this matching numbers 1979 Porsche 930 (911 Turbo) for the classic car auctions at the NEC Classic Motor Show next month. Normally my advice is to take care when buying at auction (i.e. what most auction buyers fail to do) but I have seen this car more than once, and it has always struck me as a decent example, so am happy to share it on Ferdinand. That said, buyers should still do their homework.
The car was found in California by Tuthill’s US buyer around the same time I bought my 912E. At the time, Tuthills were rallying that white 930 on Midnight Sun and I did think this might end up as a rally car. As quite a unique colour and spec – Bamboo Beige with dark brown Recaro sports trim – it was one of the first impact bumper 911s I was hoping would not be modified! Not my usual approach, but this was low mileage and really quite nice. Happily, it found a fine home as a road car.
On arrival in the UK, it was given a thorough inspection and much work was done to recommission the Bosch CIS K-Jet fuel injection system, including fitting a brand new fuel tank. Earlier this year, Paragon Porsche fitted new suspension, before it came back to Tuthills for a diff rebuild and new clutch. The car has only done 46,000 miles or so, but the owner has never shied away from spending money on it. He tells me he is selling to buy a horsebox for his daughter: how the other half lives!
The estimate for this car is £40-46k. As a left-hand drive, low mileage 930 in a rare colour, it may find the interested parties it needs to get some competition going on bidding. My only real bugbear is the polished Fuchs, but it would be easy to repaint the centres in proper satin black, as above. Then the car would look like quite a special impact-bumper 911, in my opinion.
by John Glynn | Oct 10, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
Porsche Cars North America has announced that Rennsport Reunion V (RR5) will be held at Laguna Seca from September 25-27, 2015, four years after Rennsport Reunion was first hosted on west coast USA. Note that this is an amended date from the original 9-11 Oct 2015, as that clashed with 919s running in WEC at Fuji.
Previous Rennsports were run out east: once at Lime Rock and twice at Daytona. The feedback from my trusted sources was that Daytona topped Laguna for spectacle, and of course Daytona has heavy links with Porsche history, so was perhaps a more appropriate location for a Porsche racing heritage event.
However, with the heaviest concentration of Porsche collections anywhere in the USA, a high proportion of American Porsche owners living within reach of the circuit and the corporate side of Rennsport requiring the dry and sunny Monterey climate, California was deemed to be a better location.
There’s little doubt that Rennsport Reunion V will outsell previous events, and this will satisfy US sales and marketing. I don’t keep up with new Porsche cars so not sure where it fits with model releases, but no doubt a new car will slot in somewhere. Meanwhile, many European enthusiasts will be asking if Rennsport is worth the effort. The faithful will journey to Monterey, but would the average UK or European enthusiast gain enough from a trip to California to justify the considerable expense?
September 25-27 does not tally with any half-term private or public school dates that I can see in the UK, so taking the kids away for a couple of weeks is unlikely to work. European holidays are not much different, so it looks like a grown-up deal only. This is probably no bad idea, as only the most Porsche-obsessed wife and kids would enjoy it for more than an hour or two.
Flights and Accommodation: Rennsport Reunion V
Flying to Monterey is best done direct into San Francisco, but Los Angeles often offers better prices, and then you have the PCH rent-a-car drive to enjoy. Hotels around Laguna are good, and the R Gruppe Porsche crowd normally stay at the Hyatt Resort on the outskirts of town: there will be a block booking going on there. However, there is a PGA tournament going on during the same weekend, and room rates are now sky high.
Having previously stayed all around the region, Pacific Grove is my choice of overnight halts: great prices and the sound of the ocean within earshot. If standing beer-in-hand with Porsche freaks in the car park late into the night is your choice of bedtime, then grab a room at the Hyatt. I will do the standing around of course, just without many beers in hand and with a short drive back to my digs.
If your visit is only going to be about hardcore track action featuring rare and historic Porsche racing machinery, remember that this is largely an exhibition event with rare cars coming out of collections. Do not forget all the real Porsche racing we enjoy here in Europe. Whether it’s the 917 in the hands of Gary Pearson at Silverstone Classic, 962s racing at the Spa Classic, or 935s and RSRs at Oldtimer GP or Classic Le Mans, there is great historic racing on this side of the pond. Don’t feel bad if you can’t make it to Rennsport.
by John Glynn | Sep 24, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Essex legend and friend of Ferdinand, Dave Dennett, recently debuted his 935 K3 replica at the Porsche Club national event. The 935 was on track at Brands Hatch amongst a plethora of Porsche Rennsport machinery, where Gary Hand Motorsport Photography got some excellent photos.
The 935 came to Dave’s DSD Motorwerks a while back, in a part exchange deal against a 964 race car. Then painted black, the shell had started life as a left-hand drive 1986 3.2 Carrera with 45k miles on the clock, imported to the UK from Japan in 2011.
With a single turbo flat six making 650 bhp and a dog box G50 with 80% LSD, it’s an obviously complex machine. The body uses mostly DP Motorsport parts but, under that skin, the rust free shell has been comprehensively modified.
935 running gear needs a lot of space, so the rear panel was cut and replaced with an engine brace and rear frame, allowing room for the giant turbo. The front end lost all of its roadgoing parts, to be replaced by a single-piece 935 K3 clamshell. A custom rollcage makes it stiffer: much needed when you stick 650 horsepower through a production 911 bodyshell almost thirty years old.
The engine spec is interesting. 930 crankcases were gas flowed and shuffle pinned. The 930 std/std crankshaft was fitted with Carrillo rods with 22mm little ends for Omega 935 CTR pistons. Capricorn barrels mate to 930 heads, ported and twin plugged. Schrick cams run Motorsport rockers, as Dave tells Jürgen Barth here:
The inlet is modified 3.2 Carrera with ‘big’ injectors. Turbo is a Garrett ball race GT45, with a Turbosmart wastegate and bespoke intercooler. An Omex 710 ECU controls the motor, which breathes out through a custom exhaust. “You can’t buy these pipes from Kwikfit, Derek,” says David.
Originally built by Ninemeister, the engine was subsequently rebuilt by CTR and tested at 600bhp on the Judd engine dyno. Dave has since made a few more modifications and the latest dyno run produced 650bhp. I’m hoping to attend some test sessions with the car in the near future: should be a lot of fun, as there is never a dull moment with Dave in the house!
by John Glynn | Sep 21, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog
Porsche has announced a concentrated programme of dealer recruitment for its Porsche Classic brand of parts and restoration services. The company plans to increase the current handful of Classic-approved service partners to a total of more than 100 over an unspecified period of time.
Joining current Porsche Classic franchisees in France, Germany and Thailand will be branches in Japan, USA, South Africa, Australia, Colombia, Great Britain Italy, the Netherlands and more. Customers can look forward to “the complete range of services of Porsche Classic” including access to over 52,000 original spare parts, servicing and repairs as well as complete and partial restorations.
How many classic Porsche owners will switch to Classic-badged dealers to have their old Porsches attended to? Your guess is as good as mine. Adding one hundred old Porsche specialists to an already well-stocked specialist landscape will certainly cause some excitement.
I can’t imagine that many grass roots guys will be tempted away from their current providers, with the best established doing a consistently excellent job of keeping old Porsches together. What little I heard about the recent programme of dealer restorations for the 911’s 50th anniversary won’t have too many UK restoration specialists worried about the future.
The 356 Roadster and Porsche 912 Coupe seen here are both currently undergoing full restoration at Tuthill Porsche by a team of guys who share hundreds of years of restoration experience between them. That sort of experience takes more than a few training courses to pick up, so the planned expansion of Porsche Classic past one hundred specialist partners, all producing work of a consistently high standard, and at a price to compete with the established specialist network should be interesting to follow.
That is not to say that Porsche Classic in Stuttgart does not have a team of highly committed craftspeople working on site. I have seen some of their work and it is fully up to scratch. But, as many of my restoration friends know only too well, the highest quality does not easily scale. Hence five-year waiting lists for the best restorers.
by John Glynn | Sep 19, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog
On the day where we learn that a Scottish majority has rejected independence from England, we remember the birthday of Ferry Porsche: inspirational founder of the independent Porsche company and great champion of creative freedom.
“Committees are timid,” said Ferry. “Based on the premise of safety in numbers, they tend to survive rather than take risks, and move independently ahead.
“Independence has always been the attitude at Porsche. To do not what is expected, but what feels right. In the beginning, I looked around and could not find quite the car I dreamed of: the small, lightweight sports car which used power efficiently. So I decided to build it myself.
“So many creations today are just like all the rest. This is why Porsche must remain small and independent. Without independence – without the freedom to try new ideas – the world will not move ahead, but live in fear of its own potential.
“Committees lead to creations that have no soul, no clear identity. This is why no Porsche will ever be created by a committee, but by a handful of people inside these walls who know what a Porsche is.”
RIP, Ferry. Your ideals of independence live on within some of us.
