Running Report 1 - May '93 to Nov '01

The Purchase

For this first running report I am cheating and copying my  964's Personal Page - C4 PSH

This is my 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4.  Known as my Menoporsche as it was a 40th birthday present to myself.

Purchased for £26,500 in '93 from a superbike dealer in Hampshire who claims to have part-ex'd it for some bikes.

A pretty good buy as with patience could sell if for £20,000 today.

Had 26,000 genuine miles on the clock with full OPC service history.  Accident history showed a ding on nearside front that required a fair bit of wheel/suspension/steering repair.

Over the last eight years, I have put on 30,000 miles.

More photos in the Images section.

Modifications

I decided early on not to add the usual teardrop mirrors or cup wheels.  Wanted the car to look as original 911 ads in the early 90s.  Added some minor embellishments.

Airbox Cover Mod

Under the covers I went for the fabulous sound improvement gained by drilling holes in the airbox cover.  You must do this to your 964.

 Click for instructions.

Chip

I plan to have the car chipped to gain around 20-25 bhp

Repairs/Service

The car has an annual service every year from Northway Porsche, Nr. Reading.  Every 3 years I treat it to a full alignment from my local OPC, AFN Reading.  Been on Pirelli P-Zeros for most of my life.  Get them from Micheldever tyres in Hampshire.

Full Details are in my service/repair log here.  

Options

Sound System

In March '01 I replaced the original factory-fitted sound system with a much more powerful and full-featured system comprising:

System was installed by Andy at Technical Solutions in Thatcham, Berks, 01635 860691.  Andy is a specialist Car audio/alarn/multi-media installer.  Total cost came to £950.  Totally worth it!

GPS Speed Trap Detector

In May 2001 I bought a BEL 980 Laser/Radar detector.  My research led me to decide that this was the best value for money/performance detector available in the UK.  I installed the detector using its suckers on the lower half of the windscreen and plugged it into the cigarette lighter socket.  I intended to hard wire its power once I was happy with performance.  The detector seemed to work fine in that it detected UK GATSOs in plenty of time.  The downside is that it gave plenty of false alarms on passing petrol stations, supermarkets etc. etc.  I then heard from folks that most devices do not give you a warning in enough time to avoid Laser guns and in addition, if you are really moving, overhead gantry cameras are detected too late (Ben told me he was still clocked at 83mph having hit the anchors at 100mph when his detector went off.  Gantry cameras are forward facing with little reflection).  There are also more and more non-radar tripped detectors appearing in the UK (road sensors and SPECS/SVDD number plate recognition systems) and there are still moves to outlaw detectors next Parliament.  Finally, I was not happy with the obtrusive location of the device on my 964s dash.

I therefore decided to sell the Radar Detector and try the new GPS Speed Trap Notification systems.  These devices are GPS receivers with the co-ordinates of every fixed  speed trap device in the UK stored in them.  I bought the Geodesy system from Morpheus Ltd.   You update the device every now and then via its modem interface.  Works very well, pin-point accuracy and plenty of warning.  Not just for radar-based Gatsos but for all fixed speed-traps (including temporary road-works traps).  Only downside is of course that it alerts you for all GATSO locations, even those without a camera fitted.  Makes you realise though how many GATSOs are around. Very pleased with this purchase.  Would recommend over a traditional radar/laser detector.

I purchased the re-radiating antenna, mounting this on the parcel shelf and installed the Geodesy under the ash-tray with double sided tape, wiring the whole system into ignition-switched power.  Click the thumbnails for detailed views.  For another review see Ben Lovejoy's report and a full www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk review can be found here.

'Car' Magazine Feature

My car featured in the May 2001 issue of UK 'CAR' magazine.  I heard on the Titanic site that they were looking for a 964 for a cover feature - 'Never Buy A Boring Car Again'.  The write-up was excellent.  Details here.

Running Report 2 - November 2002

This report covers a year in the life of my 964.  A year that started with me being unemployed, getting a job in April 2002 and then ending the year unemployed again a couple of days ago.  When not working, I can find more time for this site and more time for the 964. However, the work enables the track days -  so here's to another job.

Le Mans

Le Mans was the highlight of the year for me.  I thoroughly enjoy the planning, the trip there and back and the 24 hour action.  This year was special due to the gathering organised by Bob Lovelace for PCGB.  Click the placard below for a full trip report.

Track Days

Three track days this year.  The first at Castle Combe in April, then Donnington Park  in June and a revisit to Castle Combe in September.  I am getting to know Castle Combe quite well now and enjoy throwing the 964 through the chicanes and have almost mastered the line up to Quarry.

Photos from the September track day and Castle Combe Porsche Anniversary meeting on the my events page.  Click the Elliott's 964 below.

Service and Repairs

A fairly expensive year.  My Repair and Service log for the year totals £2,790.  Firstly, I had a major service with around £500 of extras including a replacement oil pipe.

I was pleased with the price I paid for four Bridgestone S02s.  This was my first set after a many years on Pirelli PZeros and I am impressed.  There seem to be a fair number of 16 inch S02s around in the UK so will stay with them for a while.

Over the summer my 964 developed hesitancy on acceleration.  This was only slightly improved by the replacement of dizzy caps and rotors.  Check out my Technical pages for instructions on how to change.  Northway's Hammer reported an O2 sensor failure and sure enough this solved the problem.

Finally, my engine bay fan kept cycling on and off.  A swap with a working Climate Control Unit confirmed a faulty unit.  I obtained a new replacement from Simon Butterworth at Porsche Apart and all is now wall again.

The PCGB Thames Valley Annual Concours was my annual incentive to get out the Zymol and give my car its summer treat.  For more photos, click my car above parked in the driveway on Basildon Park.