by John Glynn | Jun 4, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Just had these preview pictures through from EB Motorsport of their all-new Deep 6 and 7R Fuchs reproduction wheels in polished finish.
The polished look has always seemed best to me on these rare rims, and EB wheels are designed and manufactured with exceptional attention to detail. Note how these wheels feature the safety bead missing from original Fuchs, and the correct detail around the valve stems, not seen on lesser reproductions.
The wheel centre and front face are machined from a single aluminium billet, with the forged rear barrel CNC-welded to the front section. I had a close look at these wheels in person last week. The finish is top notch and the curve of the spoke and rim edge is just perfect: these are really lovely products. Why risk your original wheels? Get a set of these on and mothball the originals.
EB has so far won two Masters Historic Series championships using their strong and lightweight reproduction Fuchs wheels without incident: this is despite some heavy impacts, including a direct hit from a spinning GT40 at last year’s Silverstone Classic! Suffice to say that the design and manufacture is excellent, as we have come to expect from this perfectionist Porsche parts manufacturer.
Price for either Deep 6 or 7R reproductions is £1850 per pair. That is ex-works from Yorkshire HQ, so plus VAT and carriage where applicable. Contact EB Motorsport for more details and to discuss options on finishing etc. Remember, these are proper, high-end reproductions: not cast to keep cost down. Cast wheels are much heavier and raise too many questions on strength and quality/porosity.
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by John Glynn | Apr 9, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News, Project Cars
Had some nice feedback on my latest 924 Turbo maintenance piece: thanks for that. I finally heard back from Porsche GB on getting a build date for the car, so I sent off my £65 for a Letter of Origin. Should be enough to register it here once it’s MOTed.
While writing the cheque for Porsche Cars GB, it occurred to me that Italy must have a HPI system for its cars, so I googled that and found the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) website. It’s the only source of info for Italian cars, and looked great. If you speak Italian and have a Codice Fiscale (Social Security number), you can find out anything you want about a car for a modest fee.
Much as I love Italia, I have neither the language nor the residency to go all the way with ACI, but Google Translate helped me find a section of the site to check tax status on a car registered in Italy. My 1980 924 Turbo carries the reg prefix RA, which is Emilia-Ravenna district, but the tax site showed it as last registered in Sardinia. The ragu thickens.
Amongst the nondescript paper shrapnel pulled from the car, I did find a stack of business cards from a bodyshop in Cagliari, capital of Sardinia. I emailed them a few months back but heard nothing in return. It’s obvious that they painted it, many moons ago.
The paint is now shot to pieces, but at some stage it probably looked OK. This led me to searching 924 Turbos in Cagliari and finding more Italian 924s with these Fisher-Price indicators on the front wings. I’m probably taking them off mine when we paint it: wonder who at Porsche Italy thought they were the right way to go.
Anyway, Sardinia Car Tax Online says this car was registered 1/1/1980, so I am guessing there was no official production date put forward when it was registered there. I could try to register it using the paperwork I gleaned from the ACI site, but I’ll wait to see what £65 buys me from Porsche: I’ll be cross if they also say 1/1/1980.
At least I’m now sure that rust-free chassis is because it lived in the sun for ages. I know it’s nothing special to most people, but I really like this car.
by John Glynn | Mar 25, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
The Porsche Museum has a new exhibition open until May 26, 2013. For the first time since the museum opened in 2009, the building will stage an exhibition of itself: detailing the design and architectural challenges that were overcome to bring this amazing structure into being.
The structural geek facts around the museum are impressive. There is more steel in this building than in the Eiffel Tower. The 35,000-ton structure rests on three v-shaped columns, and rises 45 metres above the outside ground level.
Visitors will get a chance to understand various techniques through material samples, and by perusing plans and models submitted as part of the original competition to win the design commission.
The “Built in Zuffenhausen” exhibition supplements the one-hour architectural tour. At 1500 hrs on Wednesdays and Sundays, visitors can take advantage of an extended themed tour, covering both the museum itself and the special exhibition at a price of €4 per person, on top of the normal cost.
The Porsche Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays to Sundays. Admission is €8 for adults, €4 for children and concessions. Children up to the age of 14 are entitled to free admission when accompanied by an adult. It’s a great place that I cannot recommend enough.
by John Glynn | Mar 15, 2013 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
An exciting design exhibition will grace North Carolina’s Museum of Art this Autumn. Twenty-plus Porsche cars will make up the museum’s first design exhibition, celebrating the “consistency of the Porsche esthetic over decades of engineering innovations”.
“Porsche has had a very distinctive look and way of building its cars,” says NCMA curator and former Petersen Museum director, Ken Gross. “The line of its first car – the 1938/39 Type 64 Berlin-Rom Racer which will be shown at the museum – can be seen sweeping through whole history of Porsche.”
The concept of a Porsche line comes up at every cars and coffee meeting I’ve ever been to. Accepted as the key to Porsche identity, kudos to North Carolina for stamping it with art approval. Porsche will support the event by shipping four cars from Stuttgart, with other cars coming from famous US collectors, including Chip Connor and Ralph Lauren. Chad McQueen will lend his dad’s 1600 Speedster, with a 904, 908 and 917 also on the list.
Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed opens on October 12 and runs to January 20, 2014. Pics courtesy of the NCMA.
by John Glynn | Mar 4, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Following my brief daydream of 928 ownership after watching the Wheeler Dealers’ Porsche 928 episodes last night, I couldn’t resist a quick eBay search of what was available.
I kept my search under £1000 and found two: a 1981 example which was utterly falling apart on a £1500 Buy It Now, and a D reg model with no wheels, horrid rear spoiler, no interior trim and a dead engine for £800. Forgive me for not sharing links to either.
A quick check on Twitter before bed showed my mate Nick Appleton had found something rather more impressive: this 1993 5.4-litre GTS Auto in Amethyst.
The seller’s text is as follows: 1993 L registration finished in Amethyst metallic with contrasting silk grey leather/rubystone trim with small wood pack, spec includes eight way electric seats, air conditioning, electric sunroof, cup 1 17″ alloys, cup mirrors, 84,000 miles with full service history, stunning colour combination, very rare car in today’s market, very clean throughout, £15,995
It’s not the sort of Porsche I’m interested in spending sixteen grand on, but what a peach if it’s your kind of thing. The sale is here on eBay.
