by John Glynn | Mar 17, 2014 | Porsche Cayenne, Project Cars
I’ve bowed to defeat in the Porsche Cayenne transmission failure saga and am sending the car for a gearbox rebuild. What should have been a simple Cayenne valve body rebuild and refit is now a transmission-out overhaul costing thousands of pounds.
The last straw came on Saturday, when I spent all day checking through the metres of copper linking my Cayenne ECUs with the gearbox internals. All I found was a soaking wet floor, courtesy of the leaky rear washer jet pipe that pours screenwash into the car when it works its way loose. The leaking water then floods wiring looms and everything else it can find, including the Cayenne’s main ECU. Some of the damage it does:
Pulling all the transmission wiring back into the Cayenne, I could find no broken cables and no obvious problems. I’ve already double checked everything the boys have done on installing a genuine Porsche valve body/valve block costing over £1,000. The automatic transmission shop will run a diagnostic on the transmission when it gets to them tomorrow, but there is some form for these Porsche Cayenne Aisin gearboxes to jam their clutch packs, so I’m not mega optimistic.
As an experiment in running a Porche Cayenne daily driver, the last six months have taught me not to recommend these cars. I enjoy driving my Cayenne V8 and it is just about affordable on LPG, so I will stick with it as a means to recoup some of the money I’ve poured into it, but I would not advise others to follow my lead. I’m not saying don’t buy a Cayenne, just don’t ask me to tell you it makes sense.
I almost bought a Volvo XC90, but ended up in the Cayenne. Even as a Porsche enthusiast, it’s a difficult decision to defend when you look at the full cost of ownership over my six months to date compared to something more reliable. The recent bills are a bit raw at the minute: some fresh V8 burble will ease that pain.
by John Glynn | Mar 12, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Had a very quick stopoff to check some Porsche 911 restorations at Rob Campbell’s Racing Restorations in Pershore yesterday evening. I also looked at a Mercedes E55 estate he is selling (nice) and to drop off some carpets for my 924 Turbo, which is still there waiting for me to screw it back together.
Rob and the guys have three Porsche 911 restorations in progress at the minute, and a Fiat 500 Abarth replica build. Loads of other stuff moving from fabrication to finishing workshop next door, so the fab shop is pretty tight until two classic Mercedes rust repair projects get finished and go to the paint shop.
Here’s how he solved the floorspace drought. I want a Fiat 500 Lampshade!
by John Glynn | Mar 10, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Nice surprise in the mail this morning, when a package of Porsche 911 backdate parts I was expecting from EB Motorsport turned out to be a pair of lightweight Porsche 911 rear lights instead.
I’ve been keen to check these light weight parts out for a while, and they do not disappoint. Finished to the usual excellent EB standards, the bodies feature brass inserts for the standard lens screws, and come with bulb holders, and bulbs.
Moulded in highly resilient composite materials, the units are a direct swap for the rust-prone originals. A set saves over three kilograms versus the factory parts. I think the boys use these on the race cars so they must be sturdy parts.
Most amazing was the closeness of each piece when weighed on the digital scales: within 10g of each other at 202g versus 212g. And that could well have been the bags.
When we think of fibreglass parts, we think of words like wobbly, flimsy and amateur. None of these words come to mind here: I might offer one up to the Orange and see how it fits (before they get ‘lost’ in my garage). The bodies are £280 a pair from EB direct, or similarly priced from European outlet, Twinspark Racing, or via EB Motorsport distributors Rothsport Racing in the USA.
by John Glynn | Mar 9, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Had a good email from friend of Ferdinand, Patrick, down in Christchurch, New Zealand. Patrick won a Jagermeister 934 print in one of our Porsche print giveaways a year or so ago and has kept in touch. Here’s his print hanging on the office wall:
He also sent some pics of a nice early car, recently unearthed close to home. It’s one of the last ’73 models, fitted with CIS: an efficient and economical set up that is easy to drive and maintain. WEVO Hayden has a similar car in San Francisco, cherished mainly for its fuel efficiency. I’ll let Patrick take up the story:
“Thought you might be interested in my latest acquisition which joins the 944 Turbo race car in my garage. This 1973 911T was sold new in California, USA and was brought into NZ in the mid 90’s. Done 120,000 miles but runs very strongly as it it is a 73.5 with CIS fuel injection.
“This car had been hiding undercover in a quiet street only a few blocks from my home. Having been without a 911 since I sold my 964 C4 two years ago, when my mate Charles phoned me to say the owner was thinking of selling, I didn’t hang around too long.
“The car is very sound & is a keeper. I intend making a few subtle mods, but will keep the narrow body look. It is LHD, but I prefer it that way (even though we drive on the same side of the road as you UKers) as there is no offset on the pedals. Photos are from Wanaka, about 350km from home, on a recent trip down to Central Otago to watch motor racing at the new Highlands Motorsport Park.”
Kudos Patrick: wishing you many happy miles in the new arrival. Great to see our photo hanging on the wall! Keep in touch with Ferdinand by email at mail@ferdinandmagazine.com.
by John Glynn | Feb 21, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Another fun email exchange this week was with Jim in Down Under, concerning his 1967 Porsche 911 Soft Window Targa.
“The Targa is almost complete: all very good gaps, road registered and all electrics work. Only real problem is bad rust in a difficult spot around the pedal box area, fiddly to fix but will happen. Interior is so good that I plan to detail it to within an inch of its life and leave as is.
“About the only thing missing is the ash tray and they are a bit hard to find unfortunately (email if you can help – JG). Even the Targa top which needs full restoration is absolutely complete. The early cars had a lot more thin metal detail trim than later cars and they would be impossible to find and a nightmare to make, so good that it’s all here on my car.”
The left-hand drive Porsche came to Australia from the US (left hand drive cars over thirty years old are OK in Australia) and sat in a barn for twelve years. Jim bought it from the importer and send it to Autohaus Hamilton for recommissioning, with instructions not to disturb the patina. Hamiltons flushed the fuel tank, cleaned the lines and rebuilt the carbs, sorted some failed bushes, a dud master cylinder and brakes, and it was ready to go.
Too many people would sand and repaint this car, without savouring it as it came. Kudos to Jim for sticking with his patina-rich classic 911 Targa: it snaps, crackles and pops!
Got a Porsche project you want to share with the world? You know what we like to feature: doesn’t have to be a 911. Send us some pics and a couple of words: mail@ferdinandmagazine.com.
