Newsletter (April)
This morning I was full of intensions to get into work nice and early to draft the newsletter, the sun was shining and all was well, unfortunately it slipped my mind that Monday was a Bank Holiday and have spent most of the day catching up with customers orders and queries as they have had far too much time on their hands over the long weekend, its much quieter on a Monday morning when folks are at work and not bothering me, still it pays the wages. I must be turning into an old fart, some say I have already arrived
Last month I did not circulate a newsletter, as I was very light of pocket and could not bring myself to draft anything, it would seem that I have not been the only one as the green pig has had some major surgery as well (keep an eye out for an article in All Torque soon) if you happen to follow the pig please wear ear defenders and keep and eye out for anything which might drop off, Izzy is paying a reward for any parts which fall off, he has also promised to clean your windscreen of any chip fat oil coming out of his exhaust :0. My 996 was in the workshop for a little preventative maintenance for the impending trip over to the Ring in August, for the Old Timer Grand Prix. This will my first trip over to the Ring, the Old Timers meeting is run yearly for those who are interested the following link will point you in the right direction
http://www.nuerburgring.de/en/events-ti ... -prix.html. Anyway, my Postmortem started out quite innocently with a suspension refresh I thought it would be a nice idea to poly bush the back end as things were getting a little saggy, anyone following close behind would also agree
, I was advised it would be a good idea to also replace the lower suspension ball joints as these can be a pig to remove and may get damaged in the process, this was agreed. We then started discussing the water pump and yes this was also added to the list along with a low temp thermostat, and as we were looking at the water cooling, one of the rads had a little leak, so this was added to the list. As the front PU was being taken off we decided to have a little look at the AC condensers as well, and yes you’ve guessed it it was decided these had seen better days as well and they were added to the list. The piggy bank was getting a little lighter now, and the tea towel holder was nipping up a little with talk of other things, such as, auto transmission fluid service, brake fluid change, yes these were added to the list as well. As the brake fluid was being changed I foolishly suggested the brakes were a little on the soft side and at the time it would not be a bad idea to bleed the entire system to firm up the brakes. By know I think you get the drift and can anticipate there were a few extras that needed sorting and it would be shame not to do these bits as well, idler pulleys on the serpentine belt were worn and needed replacement, all works were agreed and arranged to be carried out, then we found out bleeding the brakes would not produce the expected pedal quality, scratching of head and a few more attempts at bleeding the brakes using vacuum bleeders etc were used to no avail, then the servo was removed oh yes it had some water in the unit and had collapsed, so new servo as well. I can’t divulge the final bill as I would have to kill you after wards and the wife would be seeking a settlement, but what I can say is the car is totally different to drive the steering geometry was set up for the car and it goes round corners very nicely. Can’t thank Chris at Pie Performance enough for doing the work, excellent work guys, I shall be writing up a more detailed review with photos at a later date. Hot news off the press I now also need two new ignition key fobs Ahhhhhhh!!!!!, now living on bread and water for the rest of the month. Well the car is now sorted for a trip to the ring, me thinks the drive over will be as eventful, some cars will be weighed before they leave the UK and on their return just to determine the weight loss as a result of the trip
With everything that has been going on and with the age of some of our cars, we should have a new section to the newsletter comparing repair bills, me thinks the hair dryers will top the list of big bills
Well whats happened over the last couple of months and whats on the cards for things to do, for those who missed out on our impromptu Facebook (FB) gathering(s) we have been out for a Sunday lunch over to The Swan at Little Henny just outside Sudbury, we all rolled up just after 12 noon, filled the car park with pork the sun was shining, no sun tan cream was used and we all went home a little lobster but full of food and beer/wine/pop, if you’ve never been to the Swan it's a worthwhile trip (on a nice day) but get there early for a seat etc. Weekend before last we popped over to Maldon Museum for a Cars & Coffee Morning, Porsche 996 group & Porsche owners UK invited us via FB, we were all parked up in our own little section together with about 20-30 Porsches not all 996’s but a nice selection of 911’s and the odd Boxster & 944 etc. For those who have not attended there were about 100 or so cars on site ranging from european classics to american hot rods and Japanese metal as well, afterwards we found a nice pub for a bite to eat afterwards. It seems that with all of our trips out, if a pub is not featured at some time it's not a day out, so mental note if you are organising an event make sure you list all the local pubs and the quality of the grub as otherwise no bugger will turn up
. One of our members has also taken to rating the pubs toilets on a scale of 1-10, if any ones interested in the top ten Sh*t list of pub toilets it maybe published in a future Newsletter, oh dear.
So whats coming up:
• May 19th - 22nd Spa Classic, Izzy and his long suffering wife Mandy have organised this event, we have a number of members going and staying the lap of luxury in a Belgian Spa Hotel, Izzy will be having the odd facial and I understand waxing is on the agenda as well, Back S$%^ and Cr*@& are the main areas of interest. The ladies are working on their shopping agenda, chocolates and husbands credit cards are part of the plan :-0
• June 3th - 4th Simply Porsche Beaulieu, so far we have a booked out a local B&B for our members, Lorna has been working hard to make this a great event Steve has been assisting, the accommodation looks great and so does the bar/ restaurant, looking forward to this event.
• July 7th - 10th Wales. Another Izzy and Mandy event, some time ago Izzy and Mandy took a break in the sheep worrying country and discovered some great driving roads and B&B’s oh and some Brains Beers as well as the odd Purple Moose. I’m sorry not to be attending this one as the itinerary looks great.
• August 10th - 14th Avd Old (Farts) Timer Grand Prix Nurburgring, and this is where all us old farts are gathering in the “Fatherland” Germany. Once again Izzy has been leading the way we have 7 cars and 14 members going over in August, this is Manly a jolly boys outing, as camping is the order of the day & promises to be an eventful few days. We are gathering in the early hours of the morning, sustained by coffee and bacon rolls for the trip over to Mrs Merkels Germany anything we can do to help the Brexit negotiations for good old Blighty will be order of the day, showing our German pork around the Ring and taking it back home to good old Blighty where most of the German car industry is parked, opps too political! Oops reset, hope nobody noticed that slip.
If anyone is interested in joining us our Chunnel train crossing times plus how to book the weekend Old Timer tickets. (you`ll need to book these yourselves)
Our Chunnel (Eurotunnel) crossing time are
10/08/2017 07:20 Thursday Outward
Returning 14:20 Monday 14/08/2017
Get your AVD Oldtimers weekend tickets here:
http://www.nuerburgring-shop.de/events- ... tions=cartCamping is per head per day
Pay as you arrive
Ps we're travelling via Reims old Grand Prix track as a point of interest & photo opportunities also the Nordschleife is normally open Saturday & Sunday plus the Tourists trophy race is run Friday “Epic”
If you have anymore questions:
Message me
The following are events that have been agreed and we shall attend:
• May 14th Kayaking, Upware Cambs, Lorna has her life saving certificate so if anyone falls in they will get wet, budgie smugglers are not permitted, wet suits are welcome if you want to be harpooned as an escaped whale.
• June 11th Suffolk Motor Show Lakenheath, our new members have organised this event, they are working diligently in setting up this event, postings on FB should have made everyone aware of it by now we need to confirm numbers as we have reserved a plot and need to fill it up.
• July 2nd Peterborough Speedway, joint event with Peterborough group, this event is still in its infancy but interest is gathering, please let us know if you want to attend
• BBQ, the dates are yet to be finalised, its looking like a Sept BBQ, the weather has been ordered.
THE ACE CAFE SPRING BANK HOLIDAY 29th MAY 2017, PORSCHE NIGHT !!!
For those in the know Magnus Walker has posted on FB he will attend as he's in the UK and promises something special.
Several from our region are going, there is also interest from the Peterborough group who may join us, it is suggested we meet up at a Stansted Services (Birchanger) and drive down, the meeting will be rammed so its important to get and early start and to get on site well before 6pm start on the 29th. More info to follow. (4:30 to 5pm)
For those who have no idea who Magus may be follow the link,
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/interv ... s-walker#1 Well thats more than enough for this months newsletter, keep an eye out for impromptu FB meetings, if the weather is good and theres a local pub in the agenda it will be supported.
Kind Regards
John Briggs
&
Avd Oldtimers
Ian Jones