Porsche 924 - My First Car 10 months on
Discussion
Great read; like your style dude. Wish I'd done something similar with my first car but this also made me realise exactly how defining things like first cars can be and why getting the one you want is worth a thousand compromises! Respect for keeping it real with the tapes, too. Shame I've got rid of them now as I had tonnes of fitting 80s rock & metal cheese that would have been totally appropriate I'd have been happy to throw in the post.
Thanks everyone!
I had another little adventure this past weekend. My preparation was a bit lacking though and there's more chivalrous tales than photographs! Went out on Friday night, then tried to get up early. Didn't work. Used all my willpower at 10am instead.
First up was a tank of petrol:
Then onto Caldicot for the Castle Retro Show. It was a weekend event and I was only there for an hour or so thanks to my late start.
Onwards to England! First time I've used the old bridge, it's a bit crap.
A few hours later I was in London to meet up with some mates from Uni, Dutch girl included. I slept on couch. Awful experience. What with my limbs stemming from my torso, I didn't fit. At 6:30am my alarm awoke me, or rather told me just to stop trying to sleep, get up and battle the worst pins & needles ever. Sadly, an old Corsa parked rather close to me overnight and left some of itself behind on my car:
There's plenty of other marks and parking dents though, so I'm not too fussed. And it should buff out, right?
Next up was coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Infact, I didn't once stem the flow on Sunday. By 9am I was at Prodrive in Banbury. They were very friendly and I got to sit in lots of cars, making the appropriate engine noises in my head. A personal favourite was the Ferrari 550, which is undoubtedly better than the Aston. And I don't even like Ferrari's much.
I set up my camera bits too and made some photos of the other cars there, which were more shiny than mine!
After this, I went to Oxford to meet a German girl I knew at Uni, thus concluding my taste of Europe. It will go down as one of my greatest drives I'm sure, the A40 was empty heading back and I dodged the bridge by going the Ross-On-Wye way. Feeling a bit fatigued, my Def Leppard Hysteria casette came out for a bit of a cheeky sing along session. 480 miles later I arrived home at 12.
My road tax is due at the end of the month, so I think that concludes this months car activities. I haven't got anything planned for June at the moment but I'm sure I'll end up doing something!
I had another little adventure this past weekend. My preparation was a bit lacking though and there's more chivalrous tales than photographs! Went out on Friday night, then tried to get up early. Didn't work. Used all my willpower at 10am instead.
First up was a tank of petrol:
Then onto Caldicot for the Castle Retro Show. It was a weekend event and I was only there for an hour or so thanks to my late start.
Onwards to England! First time I've used the old bridge, it's a bit crap.
A few hours later I was in London to meet up with some mates from Uni, Dutch girl included. I slept on couch. Awful experience. What with my limbs stemming from my torso, I didn't fit. At 6:30am my alarm awoke me, or rather told me just to stop trying to sleep, get up and battle the worst pins & needles ever. Sadly, an old Corsa parked rather close to me overnight and left some of itself behind on my car:
There's plenty of other marks and parking dents though, so I'm not too fussed. And it should buff out, right?
Next up was coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Infact, I didn't once stem the flow on Sunday. By 9am I was at Prodrive in Banbury. They were very friendly and I got to sit in lots of cars, making the appropriate engine noises in my head. A personal favourite was the Ferrari 550, which is undoubtedly better than the Aston. And I don't even like Ferrari's much.
I set up my camera bits too and made some photos of the other cars there, which were more shiny than mine!
After this, I went to Oxford to meet a German girl I knew at Uni, thus concluding my taste of Europe. It will go down as one of my greatest drives I'm sure, the A40 was empty heading back and I dodged the bridge by going the Ross-On-Wye way. Feeling a bit fatigued, my Def Leppard Hysteria casette came out for a bit of a cheeky sing along session. 480 miles later I arrived home at 12.
My road tax is due at the end of the month, so I think that concludes this months car activities. I haven't got anything planned for June at the moment but I'm sure I'll end up doing something!
Cracking thread Felix, just spent 20 minutes reading from start to finish. You have a great writing style. You intending to go to the breakfast meet on Sunday, would be good to see the car again. The Corsa inflicted damage should buff out, if you go on Sunday I can take a look for you. May even do it for you if I take the van.
Great Thread! Just goes to prove how good the old frontrunner Porsches are!
I have just sold my 24 year old 944 Turbo after 3 years and 36,000 miles, and had a fine selection of '80s CDs in there too! (Duran Duran, The Cult, The Cure, Human League, etc)
I agree that having a car like that becomes part of your persona, at a previous company I became known as 'The SAAB Guy' as I had a series of old, but chipped/quick 9000s
In this company everyone looks out for an old Red Porsche when turning up for meetings to make sure they are at the right place as I am usually first!
When changing mine my Wife put pressure on me to have a normal/cheap car...so i pointed out the total cost of ownership per mile was less than half of her BMW diesel..she then tried to steer me down the route of a Jag XK8...which I considered...but then decided that what my persona needed was another old, Red Porsche!
Hence I bought a 1994 968 Sport in .....Red! Just need to sort out a selection of '90s listening...
I have just sold my 24 year old 944 Turbo after 3 years and 36,000 miles, and had a fine selection of '80s CDs in there too! (Duran Duran, The Cult, The Cure, Human League, etc)
I agree that having a car like that becomes part of your persona, at a previous company I became known as 'The SAAB Guy' as I had a series of old, but chipped/quick 9000s
In this company everyone looks out for an old Red Porsche when turning up for meetings to make sure they are at the right place as I am usually first!
When changing mine my Wife put pressure on me to have a normal/cheap car...so i pointed out the total cost of ownership per mile was less than half of her BMW diesel..she then tried to steer me down the route of a Jag XK8...which I considered...but then decided that what my persona needed was another old, Red Porsche!
Hence I bought a 1994 968 Sport in .....Red! Just need to sort out a selection of '90s listening...
Thanks again everyone!
How is the 968 treating you Albert? I do quite fancy one of them with some big BBS LM's. Of course, I'd like a 944 Turbo as well! Admittedly, I have days when the grass appears greener on the side of an early 944 or a 924 Turbo, but I'm not ready to take that gamble yet. And there's the realisation that if I get rid of the 924, I'll feel a pang in my heart and spend all my time trying to find it again.
A few weeks ago something broke my light, which was frustrating since to my surprise, there aren't any 924's being broken nearby. Thankfully someone in the 924 Owners Club posted a replacement to me the next day, and I now owe them a cup of coffee! The assembly was held in place by 3 easily accessible screws and took minutes to change. I lauded this over my Dad, who has recently purchased a Renault Megane only for a bulb to blow.
Excuse the terrible exposure.
Roll on more trouble free motoring and I was almost neglecting the car thanks to such familiarity. The British summer finally broke me however, and I ordered a new, genuine sunroof seal for £60. It's so plush I can hardly fit the roof panel in the aperture, but at last, the car doesn't leak! In the last few weeks it had worsened to the point I didn't want to take any passengers. Annoyingly, the terrible “respray” came off with the old sunroof seal. One day I'll get it properly painted.
I made two other frivolous purchases which I'd been holding off, a new gear gaiter and a fancy panel filter. My old gear gaitor was badly torn and just slumped around the bottom of the stick, leaving you to change gear with a handful of plastic. The new one was challenging to put on. My battle was worsened since the girl next door was stood outside on her phone and I made eye contact just as I got the leather over the stick. Most awkward moment of my life? Certainly.
Fortunately, a panel filter is less phallic and I was spared any embarrassment. I copied a few other 924 owners and racers by removing the snout that comes out of the airbox. This has made a huge difference to the car, previously I'd describe it as fussy over 5k rpm but now it builds smoothly to the red line, a place I'd never been before. Oh and there's the noise, which continues to amuse me as others pass judgement. It's not that inline 4 farty noise either, quite how I'm not sure! I've driven with the most enthusiasm ever this past week, on fairly short journeys, yet still I get 32mpg. Even if I break it, someone from the 924 owners club will probably arrive with a spare engine and swap it over for me in exchange for tea & biscuits!
The car still comes up nicely after a quick clean, most of the flaws in the paint indistinguishable until I point them out.
The car will be returning to GT duties shortly, with a trip to Cornwall at the end of the month. And Silverstone a few days after that. Then come August, it shall take me to Edinburgh Fringe. Some friends are putting on a show and are keen for me to come, I feel guilty that the lure of driving and cycling is stronger than that of musicals. Has anyone got some good routes to Edinburgh from Cardiff? I was thinking I'll probably go up the A470 to start with.
Finally, I need a small amount of persuasion to purchase a complete Pascha interior in excellent condition to replace mine, the black & white should go with the rest of the car and be wonderfully 80's. If anyone wants my brown pinstripe tombstone seats that'll further convince me...
How is the 968 treating you Albert? I do quite fancy one of them with some big BBS LM's. Of course, I'd like a 944 Turbo as well! Admittedly, I have days when the grass appears greener on the side of an early 944 or a 924 Turbo, but I'm not ready to take that gamble yet. And there's the realisation that if I get rid of the 924, I'll feel a pang in my heart and spend all my time trying to find it again.
A few weeks ago something broke my light, which was frustrating since to my surprise, there aren't any 924's being broken nearby. Thankfully someone in the 924 Owners Club posted a replacement to me the next day, and I now owe them a cup of coffee! The assembly was held in place by 3 easily accessible screws and took minutes to change. I lauded this over my Dad, who has recently purchased a Renault Megane only for a bulb to blow.
Excuse the terrible exposure.
Roll on more trouble free motoring and I was almost neglecting the car thanks to such familiarity. The British summer finally broke me however, and I ordered a new, genuine sunroof seal for £60. It's so plush I can hardly fit the roof panel in the aperture, but at last, the car doesn't leak! In the last few weeks it had worsened to the point I didn't want to take any passengers. Annoyingly, the terrible “respray” came off with the old sunroof seal. One day I'll get it properly painted.
I made two other frivolous purchases which I'd been holding off, a new gear gaiter and a fancy panel filter. My old gear gaitor was badly torn and just slumped around the bottom of the stick, leaving you to change gear with a handful of plastic. The new one was challenging to put on. My battle was worsened since the girl next door was stood outside on her phone and I made eye contact just as I got the leather over the stick. Most awkward moment of my life? Certainly.
Fortunately, a panel filter is less phallic and I was spared any embarrassment. I copied a few other 924 owners and racers by removing the snout that comes out of the airbox. This has made a huge difference to the car, previously I'd describe it as fussy over 5k rpm but now it builds smoothly to the red line, a place I'd never been before. Oh and there's the noise, which continues to amuse me as others pass judgement. It's not that inline 4 farty noise either, quite how I'm not sure! I've driven with the most enthusiasm ever this past week, on fairly short journeys, yet still I get 32mpg. Even if I break it, someone from the 924 owners club will probably arrive with a spare engine and swap it over for me in exchange for tea & biscuits!
The car still comes up nicely after a quick clean, most of the flaws in the paint indistinguishable until I point them out.
The car will be returning to GT duties shortly, with a trip to Cornwall at the end of the month. And Silverstone a few days after that. Then come August, it shall take me to Edinburgh Fringe. Some friends are putting on a show and are keen for me to come, I feel guilty that the lure of driving and cycling is stronger than that of musicals. Has anyone got some good routes to Edinburgh from Cardiff? I was thinking I'll probably go up the A470 to start with.
Finally, I need a small amount of persuasion to purchase a complete Pascha interior in excellent condition to replace mine, the black & white should go with the rest of the car and be wonderfully 80's. If anyone wants my brown pinstripe tombstone seats that'll further convince me...
Lovely looking 924 you have there. And yes you would most definitely regret getting rid of it for something else, even a newer model. When i had my 924 in the late 90's i swapped the head unit for a then modern but basic CD player, which didn't look out of place IMO. I kept the 3 speaker set up and it sounded awesome even with the old original speakers.
I've put these examples up to show what upgrades you could do for minimal outlay and vastly improve the sound, plus still look retro.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLAUPUNKT-BOSTON-RCC45-I...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KENWOOD-KRC-651-L-CAR-RA...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/pioneer-KEH-1830-car-ste...
This was the CD player i had, but i don't remember the silver accents.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pioneer-DEH-Car-Stereo-D...
I've put these examples up to show what upgrades you could do for minimal outlay and vastly improve the sound, plus still look retro.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLAUPUNKT-BOSTON-RCC45-I...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KENWOOD-KRC-651-L-CAR-RA...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/pioneer-KEH-1830-car-ste...
This was the CD player i had, but i don't remember the silver accents.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pioneer-DEH-Car-Stereo-D...
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