Hi Everyone,
I have been meaning to join TIPEC for a while and have just joined. I am already a member of various social media groups and PCGB and like to keep up with all things Porsche.
I've been a Porsche owner since I was in my twenty's and now on the wrong side of 50 and on my 4th Porsche as I had a ten year stretch without one while our son was growing up.
Previous cars were 3 x 964"s, Grand Prix white Carrera 4, Amazon Green Carrera 2 and Basalt Black Turbo 3.6. Selling the Turbo is the most stupid thing I have ever done but hey ho hindsight is a wonderful thing and I needed the dosh at the time.
I currently have a Carrara White 996 Carrera 4S, 2003, manual with colour coded sport techno's and a few other colour coded interior touches.
I work at sea so the car spends a large amount of time in storage though I do hope to rectify that this time home and get it back in our garage now that I have cleared out one side.
I bought the car from a rather dodgy dealer up in Sunderland who had bought it from the previous owner who needed some fast cash and I think probably knew the car needed lots of work.
I had the car inspected before even making an offer and knew what I was getting myself into even though I negotiated hard and got the car very cheaply at the time.
It drove faultlessly on the 300 mile return journey to Essex and went straight to Pie Performance for lots of TLC along with a new clutch, flywheel, IMS, RMS, Radiators, Condensers, Brake pipes and a front caliper, etc, etc, etc. My wallet certainly took a hammering. The guys at Pie were great though and I couldn't recommend them highly enough for their excellent service and attention to detail along with being very fair with the costs for all the work they did over and above what they actually charged me.
Since then I have had the wheels reconditioned by Exel Wheels ( excellent service and Chris is a diamond) along with 4 new Michelin PS2's and colour coded centre caps and new bolts. Chris even colour coded the balancing weights as he is a perfectionist.
New coffin arms, drop links, tuning forks and ARB on the front.
Made and fitted my own mesh grills to protect my new radiators.
Fitted a Bluetooth adaptor in place of the CD Changer. £110 well spent on Ebay.
Fitted Tech Equipment gear knob and handbrake. £200 bargain for a reconditioned pair from 911UK Forum.
Replaced the engine mounts with pattern 964 RS mounts from Type911 which made a great improvement.
Replaced the rotting PSE with a Top Gear switchable system along with 200 cell crossover cats and new O2 sensors which improved the throttle response and it sounds epic with the flaps open. I posted a short video on youtube on completion and my phone shakes when I rev the engine even though it was about 6 metres away
I have the original exhaust tips with me at work and have just finished fitting stainless steel nuts and bolts and machining new spacer rings from brass bar ready for re-fitting when I get home hopefully sometime in may as my company have just called a halt to all changes of personnel until end of April at the earliest.
Took the car back to Pie Performance last summer for a major service and brake fluid change along with the serpentine belt and pulley replacement even though it had only done a few thousand miles in the last 3 years.
Next on the agenda I plan on dying a set of hardbacked sports seats I picked up two years ago for £200. They are in great condition but are Savannah so going to get a dye kit from Furniture clinic and change them to Natural Grey (Graphite). The side controls panel and hardbacks will be painted in Carrara White with the coat hangers and rear pockets removed for a cleaner look. Still deciding whether or not to have an enamel bonnet badge inlaid into the backs in place of the coat hangers.
The seat belts will then be changed back to the original red as someone in the past has changed to black and I think red will certainly be an improvement. Funny what some owners do.
The passenger door mirror doesn't go up and down which I think is just a wiring fault possibly at the door where the wires go. I don't use it much but just want it fixed.
Lastly I hope to go to as many meets as possible when I'm home and fingers crossed will be home for Simply Porsche as it was a great event two years ago when I managed to attend.
Cheers for now.
Stu