TIPEC All Torque 71

L AL E U Q R TO UGU ISSUE 71 A

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ST 2008

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ALWAYS ORIGINAL

The last of the great 911s?

November 2006

May 2007

Special Collectors’ Edition

Special Collectors’ Edition January 2007

911 & PORSCHE WORLD SUBSCRIBERS RECEIVE SPECIAL COLLECTORS’ EDITION FRONT COVERS www.chpltd.com

020 8655 6400

TIPEC (0845 602 0052) www.tipec.net All Torque is published bi-monthly by The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club (TIPEC). All text & images are © their authors & photographers. Front cover image: Paul Harrison’s 944 Turbo on the Prescott hill climb.

All Torque is based entirely on submissions from TIPEC members.

This is your magazine and we need your involvement!

Send in running reports, Porsche-related stories, how-to articles … anything you think might interest other TIPEC members.

Please send text and images via email, or on CD/DVD (or paper!) to the address below.

Submissions for issue 72 (October) must be in before 8th September 2008.

All Torque editor & designer Tony Blow tony@typescape.com Flat 1/1, 47 Greendyke Street, Glasgow G1 5PX Printed by The Lavenham Press Ltd, Suffolk (01787 247 436) Advertising in All Torque is managed by TIPEC club office 10 Whitecroft Gdns, Woodford Halse NN11 3PY (0845 602 0052) TIPEC Chairman Sean Smallman (07789 657 522) sean.smallman@tipec.net Vice Chairman Jim Hearnden (07930 353 232) tr7v8@phaetonconsulting.co.uk Treasurer Rich Simpson (07711 581 443) rich.simpson@tipec.net Advertising & Club Liason Clive Gosling (07791 480 999) clive.gosling@tipec.net Membership Secretary Dave Doherty (01423 501 988) membership@tipec.net TIPEC Membership, Alexa House 26 Ripon Road, Harrogate HG1 2JJ Gruppe North Director John Oakes (01132 827 512) john.oakes3@btinternet.com Gruppe Central Director Eric Finley (07971 594 211) eric.finley@tipec.net Gruppe South Director Derek Flanagan (07767 254 820) derek.flanagan@varian.com All Torque & TIPEC are entirely independent of Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, Porsche Cars GB Ltd and its dealers. All registered Trade Marks owned by Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, including the word ‘Porsche’, the Porsche Crest and Porsche Script are acknowledged as such and are their property. Whilst all due care is taken in the production of All Torque; neither TIPEC, its officers or the editor can accept responsibility for the advice, information or opinions expressed herein. Opinions contained in any article published herein are of the author or editor and do not reflect the official position of TIPEC, its management or membership, unless clearly stated by a club official.

Chairman’s Chat When I bought my Speedster in 2002, I had no idea how infectious the Porsche experience would be. Like many people in the club one led to another and who knows where the love affair with Germany’s finest will finish up?

It is not difficult to understand why Porsche have been so successful and have just celebrated 60 years of production. I am curious to see what innovations they come up with for the future, a supermini or even a family hatchback perhaps? You won’t have to wait long to see the latest model, OPC Silverstone will be bringing two of the recently launched 997 facelift models to the show in August. There will also be other new models for us to drool over on their display as well as Robin’s 968.

I type this on the eve of our first trip to Classic Le Mans. Having attended my first Le Mans in 2006 I wanted to try the Classic this year and compare the two. I will shortly be working out how you make a pint fit in a half pint pot, when Haley’s wardrobe has to somehow fit in the boot of the cabby. I’m sure a heated debate will ensue when the question of “why do you need 15 pairs of shoes?” is asked.

Being able to get up close to the GT racers of old and seeing what Porsche has put together for their 60th anniversary is going to make this a fantastic weekend. A large contingent of club members will be making the biannual pilgrimage over the channel and they will be enjoying what has become a huge event. We will take lots of pictures to share with you all in the next issue of All Torque.

TIPEC ’08 is just a few days away and we are looking forward to welcoming club members and Porsche owners to our new venue.

The Heritage Motor Centre has gone down very well with our sponsors and we have booked a record number of trade stands. Please pull the car out of the garage and be part of your club’s special day. This is the only dedicated all model Porsche show this year. At the time of putting this note together we still had some tickets for the Saturday night party and barbeque—please check the HMC website, you may not be too late to join us. The last day to buy your discounted advance tickets for the track and show is Tuesday 29th July.

Enjoy the summer.

All Torque 71 page 3

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New TIPEC web gallery Online gallery of TIPEC members’ Porsche photography now online at www.album.tipec.net

Porsche: Engineering for Excellence Tony Dron, Haynes Classic Makes Series, £19.99, ISBN 978 1 84425 822 1 This book gets you into the cockpit of some of Porsche’s finest. It will take you into a GT2 and tell you what happens on a track when the fuel tank’s nearly empty, it’ll take you on a drive with 911 works driver Vic Elford, who’ll tell you exactly how a 911 behaves when driven hard, and why. You can go for a ride in a GT1 with Tony, try out a 930 Turbo—or maybe a 924 Carrera GT? Tony Dron brings his wealth of experience as a Porsche racing driver, journalist and salesman to this enjoyable book. He’s driven an estimated 1,000 or so Porsches, won races in cars from the 934 to the 924, and driven at Le Mans.

When this man talks Porsche, it’s time to listen.

As well as his comments on driving the cars, the book’s full of entertaining stories, hard facts and advice. Why are the spoilers on 80s cars important? He’ll tell you why. How good is a standard 3.2 Carrera? Read what Tony thought about Porsche engineer Roland Kussmaul’s car on the famous Nordschleife.

After a couple of questions raised on the TIPEC web forum, Jim Tarrant quickly put together a simple, slick gallery online and Richard Harris set about filling it up with members’ photographs that had already been posted around the web forum.

Highly recommended—clearly written, well illustrated and probably the best £19.99 (RRP) you’ll spend for quite a while!

Review by Eric Kwiatkowski

It’s a great shop window for the world to see the variety of Porsches and events linked to TIPEC and a handy place for members to store their favourite Porsche photos and access them from anywhere in the world.

This is where you come in: There’s around 150 photos online so far, but there is plenty of space for more. Email your favourite Porsche photos to Richard on richardHarris68@yahoo.co.uk and he will resize them and upload them to the gallery on your behalf. It couldn’t be easier.

The gallery is accessible form www.tipec.net and from the TIPEC forum, but if you add the new gallery address (www.album.tipec.net) to your favourites/bookmarks, then you will be able to get straight to it anytime you like.

Thanks to Jim and Richard for their entirely voluntary work on the Gallery—now let’s all bury Richard under a mountain of emailed photographs and see how many Porsches we can get up there!

Insurance Quotes A lot of us use online search engines when looking for the best insurance prices, to compare lots of competitive quotations at the same time. We have set one up on our own website at www.tipec.net Every time someone requests a quote the club receives a small commission. Just click on the QuoteZone advertisment at the bottom of the TIPEC homepage. You might find a great price and you will be helping out the club just by giving it a try.

All Torque 71 page 5

The (almost) Cape to Cape 2008 Unlike the fourth Grand Tour in 2007 that started ‘with a bang’, the fifth started with more of a whimper for Brod & Carolyn Purdy.

On the the way to Cornwall and the start of the 2008 Cape to Cape Tour, Leicester Forest East Service Station became the final resting place of my 1966 Porsche 912. She expired fairly comprehensively after a superb run down the A46 from Lincolnshire. She just would not re-start and had to be unceremoniously returned home and secured in our garage, so we completed the Tour in our 2002 KIA Rio SE, although we had to miss the opening day in Cornwall. However, the Porsche marque was well represented by Roger and Heather Brewer in their 911 Cabriolet (pictured), on the Tour for their first time.

28 cars started from Cape Cornwall to head for the Plymouth to Roscoff ferry the long and hard way. To start by heading away from Plymouth and towards Lands End was a standard quirk of the organizers. The route enabled crews to drive along the northern Cornish Coast via such delightful spots as Redruth, Hayle and Perranporth before a slow descent down Blue Hills Mine, a former trials location, followed by a photographic stop in front of the Spitfire near the former Coastal Command base at RAF St Mawgan. For the first time on a Cape to Cape Tour, off road ‘tests’ had been organized and took place at the Royal Cornwall Showground and at Pencarrow House. These were straightforward, untimed tests of a driver’s skill in reversing, driving round a cone and stopping across designated lines. Then a straight run to Plymouth over the Tamar where all crews were fined £1.00 for the temerity of having been in Cornwall. This is where we joined the Tour in our Kia. Thence to the ferry, where all the Tour cars were herded together for the crossing to Roscoff. All cars were mustered in the lorry park just before the ferry exit; the first Cape to Cape Tour to venture onto French soil restarted under threatening clouds and ever-present drizzle. All crews now headed south from Roscoff along the Penzé River and into the Parc Naturel d’Armorique via the Col de Tredudon and across the River Aulne to a much-needed coffee break. Crews then crossed the River Nantes and a tricky little section in the Forêt de Lanouée. Then towards Rennes via the Forêt de Paimpoint and the River Chèze before arriving at the Mercure Hotel and a very good dinner … for those of us who found the hotel. Not the easiest of tasks!

The first part of the third day’s route took take all crews from the hotel in Rennes to the Motor Museum at the Le Mans 24 Hours Circuit. All instructions were handed out as the crew drove away. With care, the whole route could be plotted directly onto the map and then followed throughout, using the Road Book instructions as ‘back up’. Crews were soon off the major roads again, following local ‘routes département’ through small villages and across a number of small rivers starting with the River Vilaine just outside Rennes. Scenery on this section was pretty flat but through some forests and by lakes, all of which would have been pretty spectacular had the rain stopped!

Before reaching Le Mans, crews crossed the Sarthe and headed directly to the Museum, via the N23 and Arnage, where a complementary tour had been organized. After the visit the route took crews along the part of the Le Mans circuit that is actually part of the local road network. It was very obvious with the Armco barriers all along the road! That was not to last, however, and crews were soon back on the more familiar minor roads again.

Crews now started to head south towards the Loire, across the Aune and the Loir towards the very short, and very accurate, tulip section through a small wood.

After the tulip section, crews crossed the Loire before visiting a wine cave for a refreshing wine tasting halt at La Cave des Moines, just outside Saumur. Then a long drive along the Loire Levée to the Mercure Hotel in Tours, another hard to find hotel that ensured crews spent a great deal of time driving around the zone industrielle.

Another wet and cloudy day dawned as crews began to load cars and check engines before the fourth day’s onslaught. The previous day’s short exercise on the tulip section was going to be of great use as most of this day’s route was to be defined by those notorious ‘tulip diagrams’. All junctions were marked without distances but were easily followed off the road. The early part of the route followed the River Indre until just beyond Azay sur Indre where crews headed for the start of the tulip section just before the Forêt de Loches, in which was

routed most of this section as well as the obligatory manned control. Then towards the River Indre again to head south to cross the River Creuse and head for the Auberge de Thenay for a magnificent buffet in excellent surroundings. After lunch, cars headed towards St Benoit sur Sault, under two Autoroutes, over numerous small rivers, all of which seemed to be minor tributaries of the R. Creuse, and on to the start of yet another Tulip section, but with a difference: all tulip diagrams were marked with the distances between them. Hidden along the route was one of those sneaky ‘handbrake testing’ hill starts.

Not quite so difficult to find the hotel as it was in the middle of Limoges, although a number of crews tried to gain access to the underground car park, used by the hotel and members of the public, through the pedestrian entrance. As the following day (1 May) was a public holiday in France, and nothing was expected to be open, crews took the opportunity to top up their tanks ready for the morning start.

The following day, the route headed from Limoges to Cognac in as straight a line as the organizers could produce with the early section running alongside the River Vienne. Into St Junian where we were to cross the River Gane and a direct transit down a Route National before turning back onto the smaller roads where a manned check had been sited to catch the unwary who may not have heeded navigators’ requests to “Stay on the D11 for a hairpin left.” Crews then continued in a Southwesterly direction, crossing the Rivers Tardoire and Charente before arriving in Cognac and the Martel Cognac distillery in the centre of town. Most crews took the opportunity to join a conducted tour around the distillery and spend some of their hard earned euro in the shop. Others took the opportunity for a spot of lunch in the sunshine, and one lady driver took the opportunity to take a short power nap.

Next a good run towards Bordeaux, again using all kinds of roads, but finishing on the Autoroute into Bordeaux. Crews were taken in a southerly direction crossing the Rivers Palais and Lary before arriving at Guitres where the Dron was crossed for a direct route to the Autoroute and eventually the hotel.

On the final day the run out north took crews to a tulip section in the Lande de Ludée, a well thought out 18 mile section with distances marked beside each diagram, with the eventual destination the Chateaux Loudenne for a complementary wine tasting of a Rosé and a Rouge. And another well-earned rest where, again, some took the opportunity of a light repast before heading southwards and the finish at Cap Ferret and Le Mirador at La Pointe. All crews gathered at Le Mirador to earn well-deserved congratulations on finishing what had been a fairly rigorous Cape to Cape, especially the early days. The local population were very interested in all these old cars that had suddenly disgorged ‘les Anglais’ and no doubt a few of the latter were prevailed upon to explain, in their best French, what we’d all been doing. Tables in Le Mirador were at a premium, but everyone managed to sit somewhere and partake of some form of both solid and liquid refreshments.

At the Gala Dinner that night, we were all presented with mementos of the Tour and the announcement that together we had raised over £30,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Not only did Roger and Heather pick up an award for driving skills on the tests in Cornwall, but (Porsche-less) Carolyn and myself picked up an award for collecting the third highest amount of donations: £4,500, for which total a great many donors, friends and well wishers had dug deep into their pockets.

My thanks must go to: Ric Cannell of Highgate House, who again supplied the excellent decals that adorned the flanks, front and back of the 912, A&J Halliday of Ashby-cum-Fenby who carried out the final servicing, Max Lively of Revival Cars for donations and advice, Nigel of ‘Regal Contracts’ who did his utmost at Leicester Forest East to get the 912 going —and was almost in tears when he had to admit defeat, having stripped and rebuilt the fuel pump twice in the car park.

Finally, of course, thanks to all those magnificent supporters: from shoppers at TESCO in Cleethorpes to friends, family and colleagues who helped us raise the fantastic sum of £4,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Writing & photography by Brod Purdy

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Book online or call the Ticket Hotline

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14 15 16 NOV Club Exclusive

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Offers applys to Sat15th/Sun16th November 2008 only. Adult ticket offer limited to 2 tickets per member. Family ticket admits

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2 adults1and up to 3 children (5-16yrs) and is limited to one family ticket per member. For comparison, the on-the-door prices Page for 15th/16th November 2008 are: Adults £17.00 and Family £45.00. Hand your special ticket stub in to your club on their stand at the show and your club can earn £1.00 commission! Classic Motor Show tickets allow FREE entry into the MPH Show (excludes live action theatre) All bookings are subject to a single transaction fee. All information is correct at time of publishing.

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Do you go to a car bodywork repairer or a restorer?

The SE Region were invited to PCGB Sussex Region’s open morning at our local Crawley based Porsche approved body and paint restorers, SL Restoration, on Saturday 10th May.

SL Restoration regard themselves as body restorers rather than body repairers, hence their company name and will ensure that they perform perfect repairs and restoration rather than the typical, budget, cost based insurance repairs.

Tom White gave an impressive 30 minute Powerpoint presentation on the history of their family owned business, now run by Tom and supported by his brothers who took the business over from his parents Colin and Pamela White.

Colin and Pamela established the company in an old brewery yard in Reigate over 30 years ago with the aim of providing prestige vehicle repairs concentrating on quality rather than quantity. They then moved to the Holmethorpe Industrial estate in Redhill and onto Smallfield before settling in their current impressive facilities in the Manor Royal Business Park.

SL became Mercedes approved body restorers in 1996 and then gained the prestige Porsche approved body restorers accreditation in 2004 from Porsche Centre Mid Sussex. Their facility is equipped with all the latest Porsche approved Spies Hecker paint and equipment with stringent environmental controls. SL also have all the latest Porsche approved ‘cool’ welding equipment which records all the parameters used on every weld. Extensive jigs and fixtures ensure accurate repairs so that all bodywork is accurately fitted and welded to eliminate twisting or distortion during the repair work.

SL have access to all Porsche databases. They are audited annually by Porsche to ensure that they meet the stringent standards for both body repairs and paintwork. SL are trained in all aspects of repairing Porsche cars including equipment specifications, technical information, paint and material usage, financial and performance reporting. Tom explained all the Porsche body design characteristics throughout the car with a sectioned model on display mounted on the jigs and fixtures showing all the various grades of colour coded steels from boron steel, super high strength steel, high strength steel, sheet steel and tailored blanks. Tom stated that a Porsche car is one of the safest on the road car due to its intelligent crash technology with respect to frontal, side, diagonal and rear impact protection. In Tom’s experience, most drivers walk away from a crash unhurt.

The SL guys gave us impressive demonstrations of their paint spraying capabilities with full size environmentally controlled car spray booths, state of the art welding equipment and extensive dismantling and rebuild capabilities. We had free access to roam around their workshop and showroom and talking to their staff and see under the skin of Porsche cars in need of some TLC. At the end SL kindly gave everyone a free goody bag as well as providing breakfast. Special thanks to Tom White and his family for their fantastic hospitality and to John Jones (R23 PCGB RO) for this invitation.

Writing & photography by Derek Flanagan

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944 & 928

Brothers in Arms or Chalk & Cheese?

Simple isn’t it? They’re chalk and cheese. The 944 is a practical, useable sports car and the 928 is a grand tourer.

Nothing in common except for the badge. Or is there?

They seem an age apart in many ways. The 928 was the first front engined design from Porsche and started life as a concept way back in 1971. The oil crisis of 1973 and escalating fuel prices overtook the 928 project and it was put on the back burner. Porsche moved the 924 project forward instead and the GT car finally made its debut in 1977.

The 944 didn’t come along for another five years and was an instant hit with the yuppie high-flyers of the day. Here was a sports car with real badge appeal and the added practicality of a useable hatchback.

The fact that the two cars appealed to very different buyers seems to sum up the differences between them but now both have become easily affordable for the classic enthusiast looking for an entry level Porsche, if there really is such a thing.

My ownership of a 928 started in December 2003 when I acquired a Guards Red S2 with half leather interior as my first Porsche. I had spent over a year looking for the right car to come along and I had decided a late S2 was the best option, combining the improved four pot calliper brakes of the S4 but without some of the complexity of the later model car. My intention from the outset was to use the car on weekends and holidays on restricted mileage insurance and so it has been ever since.

The old girl covers between 3,000 and 5,000 miles a year (mostly in the dry) and rarely does she sit for more than two weeks between runs. At this point it’s worth pointing out that 928s don’t seem to enjoy sitting still! Being parked up for protracted periods of time doesn’t suit any car but the 928 seems particularly prone to problems as a result.

Regular runs allowing the oil to get nice and hot are the order of the day and this regularity seems to keep at bay most of the gremlins that form the basis of all the horror stories that beset the model.

Driving a 928 is a real pleasure. Around town at low speeds the automatic gearbox and power steering make the car easy to handle, much like driving a big Jaguar. The seating position is very good, although low slung, and offers very comfortable accommodation even on long trips.

The instrumentation is dated by modern standards; the big barrel type switches are very much of their time and remind you that you are in a 1980s cockpit, although for me that is part of the appeal.

Out on the open road the 928 has real touring credibility. Built to cover large distances at speed the car is at its best on big sweeping A-roads and motorways where the miles can whistle past the window all day and the big V8 just eats them up.

A trip to Germany in 2006 allowed me to push the car that bit harder than is safe (or legal) in the UK and 1,250 miles were lapped up in three days without any incident or drama, mostly at speeds that would have lost me my licence very quickly had I been at home.

The 928 is at its best at high speed. Kick down at 80mph and the roar from the engine and torque tube remind you that you are driving Stuttgart’s finest as you are hauled back into the seat and the scenery starts to fly past at alarming speed.

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After some deliberation I purchased a 944 S2 in June 2007 as a daily driver to replace the ‘repmobile’ and to enjoy the daily commute a bit more. There was also an element of experiment involved as I wanted to find out if a 17-year old car with 126,000 miles on the clock would stand up to the rigours of 20,000 miles per annum.

The 944 feels more like a sports car that the 928. It’s perfectly balanced like its big brother but the steering is even more precise and the manual gearbox allows you to be more involved in the driving experience. The cockpit feels much more modern than the 928, although there are only four years between my cars, and entry/exit from the ’44 is more difficult because of the sports seats. The deep bolsters hold you firmly in place when driving but getting in and out is tricky.

The 944 is not the fastest car on the roads by any stretch of the imagination but the drive is spirited enough to be intoxicating. Find yourself a nice, bendy country road with no traffic and you will quickly find out why the 944 has such an appeal to its owners!

The 944 is practical for everyday use and with the rear seats folded down there is a surprising amount of luggage space in both cars, certainly enough for that long weekend on the continent or club WOTY. Provided you drive sensibly you should manage 22–24 mpg on mixed driving. The 928 by comparison returns 18–20 mpg but both cars see those figures drop significantly if you drive hard. It’s important to remember that high performance engines use oil and both cars are no exception. The 944 has got through far more but I’m covering a lot of miles so that was to be expected. Other service costs, like brake pads and discs, are about the same for both cars and are not much more than the ‘repmobile’ I was driving before. As an alternative to

Writing & photography by Paul Bird

All Torque 71 page 12

driving a Mondeo or similar, I would argue that the increased fuel and service costs are far outweighed by the fact that you have paid much less to buy the car and you will lose far less in depreciation. Over four and a half years of ownership I have covered about 18,000 miles in the 928 and in my first year I have managed 25,000+ miles in the 944, so I think that’s enough miles to make a reasoned comparison between the two.

So back to the original question: brothers in arms or chalk and cheese? I think it’s both. Driven casually around town the 928 feels like a boulevard cruiser and the auto configuration means you can be lazy whilst the 944 in the same environment feels more taut and ‘reigned in’.

Get them on an open road (or track) and they are Porsche through and through with superb handling and performance to match. Shifting the auto manually and keeping the revs up means the 928 becomes a sports car ever bit as driveable as the ’44 but with a V8 engine note to die for! For overall usability taking into account running costs, fuel economy, servicing etc. the 944 is a more practical purchase but the 928 has the ability to turn more heads and is a better touring car.

Personally I love them both and would recommend them to anyone—but each for different reasons!

Out with the old, in with the new It is with much sadness that Martin Whitelaw recalls the events of 30th March 2008. His beloved Speed Yellow 993 Cabriolet is no longer with us, gone to a salvage yard as a total insurance write-off.

A burst of exuberance exiting a roundabout on a wet road (with a suspicion of diesel) and I was instantly a passenger as Cabby and I went for a road sign felling operation. The impact, on the off-side sill, was sufficient to require a re-shell and a repair estimate of £33,000. I could not convince my insurers to commit to this, so it was goodbye to Cabby and hello to weeks of sparring with my insurance company!

In my defence, Cabby was a Tiptronic and that morning I was being lazy using the box in full auto mode. Exiting the roundabout the box decided third was enough but I knew better and gave the loud pedal an extra prod. Good as gold she responded and now with a low gear engaged ‘we’ immediately snapped left and removed two substantial road sign poles. I remember thinking that this was going to be more that a T-cut and polish—and so it proved to be!

If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in a similar situation then please do argue your case with your insurers for a fair market value settlement. My insurers raised their offer twice due to my persuasive skills and documented evidence, eventually agreeing to a figure £5,000 higher than their first offer. Now that the dust has settled, I have nothing but praise for the polite and professional approach adopted by my insurers, Esure, and their eventual recognition of the full replacement value I attached to my vehicle.

It is now two months later and nightmare of that morning is fading as Cabby’s replacement is finally in my garage. After a bit of an overkill from the contributory auto box and two wheel drive, Cabby’s replacement is another Cabby, this time a Carrera 4 with six-speed manual—and I love it.

First registered in August 1996 ‘Arena’ is a low mileage vehicle that, whilst not having been pampered, will I think turn out to be a good example of the breed. Purchased in Leeds, Arena was priced to reflect the imminent need for a clutch, four tyres and bundle of TLC. The good points were the low mileage at 46,500 miles, good hood and interior, straight-ish bodywork and the bonus that both door check brackets were still attached to their respective ‘A’ posts! (see my last article in All Torque on the 993 door fixes).

Unfortunately the almost obligatory alloy corrosion of at least one quarter light frame was present and after replacing the tyres this was the next area I attacked. I’ll not bore you with the details as this was covered in my last article. Suffice it to say that it is possible to remove the quarter light frame without having to remove the door glass or operating mechanism.

As with my last Cabby, I checked at the local OPC for any factory recalls (early engine wiring looms and hood locking motors mainly) and sure enough Arena required replacement of the hood locking motors to prevent inadvertent hood opening due to possible failure of the motor spindles. The clutch replacement mentioned earlier is scheduled for June ’08 and in the meantime I have been playing around with some HID headlights, bits and bobs and minor paintwork issues. I’m looking forward to the new season with Arena. Watch this space, as they say.

Writing by Martin Whitelaw. Photography by James McLauchlan & Martin Whitelaw

All Torque 71 page 13

Buying report: Gary Adams’ 944 Gary and his Dad put a lot of work into his 944, only for disaster to strike in the shape of an errant MPV. Thanks to the insurance company, they learned just how affordable a Porsche can be!

I have always been a car enthusiast, which I think we can safely blame on my father. He’s always been tinkering but after spending a lot of time around his garage whilst he built his kit car when I was about 12, it was inevitable that I’d always want a car that was a little special.

I walked round the display cars four or five times, but not one 924 or 944 arrived. I had all but given up when a bright red glimmer in the car park caught my eye. I wandered over and it was an oval dash ’87 944 in Guards red with cream interior. Oh yes, this was the car for me.

Whether it be via modifications, limited editions, or simply rare breeds, I have always owned a car that stood out from the endless parade of silver hatchbacks on the roads today. That came to end when I decided to be sensible and bought a 1998 Renault Megane in 2004.

I got no thrill from driving it, it was unreliable and, due to all the electronic gizmos, servicing and maintenance proved very difficult. It was off the road after a cam belt failure when my Dad made an off the cuff comment that started me down the Porsche road.

I enlisted the help of my Dad/mechanic and the 944 hunt began. We saw an advert for an ’86 2.5 944 in black going for £2,200 (just above my budgeted £2,000) about an hour’s drive away and decided to go and see what we could get for the money. I had no intention of buying it, my mind was set on a red or white one.

He had seen an advert for a 924 going for £800. He said; “look at this, no silly electrics just a shell and an engine.”

This got me thinking and the following month there was a 10-page article in Classic & Sports Car magazine about how affordable Porsches were becoming. It seemed that a 924 or 944 were viable options so I set about finding one. I saw a number of ads for 924s but I kept being drawn to the 944. As I go to the Knebworth Classic Car Show every year, I decided to wait until August and see some in the flesh.

We arrived a bit early. The car had obviously not moved for quite some time and had been sat under a tree. It was covered in leaves, dust and various other bits of debris. The owner came out and had to quickly wash it down. This was the first pleasant surprise as after a quick wipe down, a very clean car emerged.

Next, the car needed a jump. The battery was flat as it had not been started in a while. This was pleasant surprise number two, as it fired up smoothly straight away.

Next came an interior inspection. We were gobsmacked at how clean and tidy the interior was. It was spotless.

No worn bolsters on the buckets, no marks on the dash/trim and no stains anywhere.

The car was structurally very good, no signs of major rust or accident damage, the engine bay was very clean and after a test run the car ran very smoothly.

I was beginning to consider not only buying a colour I didn’t want but commit the cardinal sin of second-hand cars: buying the first one I saw. Even my Dad, who was there to keep my feet on the ground, could not believe how much car we could get for the money.

There was however one rather large problem. I still had the Megane and hence no funding. Help was at hand, Dad bought the car and held it to ransom on his drive until my Megane was sold. The advert went in straight away and all I had to do was wait.

I had a call very early on and sold the car within the week, but alas things were not going to be easy. Two days prior to my buyer coming I seriously injured my ankle playing football and was thus on crutches.

I now owned a 944, but I still couldn’t walk so I was no nearer to getting behind the wheel! As soon as I was walking (well, limping) I was ready to go.

I spent the next six to seven months covering the few things that needed sorting on the car. Cambelt change, new steering rack, servicing, replacement motor for the rear wiper … the only time the car went into a garage was for the cam belt—far too early in my Porsche ownership to attempt that one.

I was able to acquire parts from my local store for less than the price I was paying for previous cars and with the help of a manual I got from eBay for less than a fiver, Dad and I found working on the car quite straight forward. So far everything thing we have needed to work on has been accessible, with no nasty surprises.

Although the exterior was tidy there were a few minor dents. 150,000 miles had taken their toll in stonechips on bonnet, the alloys were not in the best of states, and I wanted to put a stamp o the car that made it ‘mine’. The car had also started to show signs of rust on the sills and the clear stone guards around the arches had taken so much punishment they were in a terrible state and needed to be removed. This was when we decided it was time for a facelift.

The plan of attack was fairly simple.

Refurb the alloys, respray the stone chipped areas, repair and respray the sills, replace the side repeaters, and add some ‘Porsche’ decals to the sides. The total cost of parts and paint was around £350 and with Dad and I doing the work we were looking for a big reward for a small outlay.

We both took a long weekend from work to attack the car, which was useful because it took six hours with a heat gun just to remove the stone guards. It was then a case of putting back together with some fibreglass and, on the drivers

side where the damage was a bit more severe, fashioning a new drainage hole. Rather than replacing the original stoneguards like-for-like we actually sprayed on a few coats of Hammerite stone guard and then sprayed Porsche Schwarz over the top. Plenty of time and care went into the rubbing down and filling of imperfections in the bonnet, badge panel and wings.

Much the same sort of preparation work went into the alloys. This is a fairly simple process, which took a day from start to finish. Rub down with wet and dry paper, prime, paint and laquer.

Rather than spending £50 per wheel from a professional company I actually did all four for less than £30. I have to confess I did a lot of the donkey work and the skilled work of the spraying was done by my Dad, however when it came to fitting the slotted rear valance I had got through eBay a few months earlier I was given the nod and had some lessons in spraying. This is where I could learn just how good preparation work can make all the difference.

So April 2007 came, my 944 was looking great, and I was really looking forward to the Knebworth Classic in August. The place where I decided I wanted a 944, and after attending the show for around 15 years, the first time I get to put a proper car of my own on show (not counting the year I cheekily got my 1979 British Leyland Mini 100

in). Unfortunately, two weeks before, on my way to see my parents, my 944 was viciously attacked by an MPV in a country lane.

Off my car went to be inspected by a garage on behalf of the insurance company. I had a few discussions with a very helpful inspector who could see the amount of work that had gone into the car and eventually valued it at £4,000, but despite no structural damage was going to economically write it off.

After a few fleeting moments of being excited at the prospect of buying an S2 with the proceeds, I decided that too much work had gone into my baby to say goodbye. I asked the question and was given the car plus £2,500 towards repairs. Having the know how and technology to do this ourselves we decided to go for it as we knew it would not cost us that much. After finding someone in Windsor breaking a 944, we went down and for £200 got a new wing, door, arch protector, sunroof bag and few odd bits of trim. With that, plus £100 in paint/sundries we got the car back on the road as it was before.

After tallying it up, give or take £50, the rest of the money paid for the facelift, servicing and all other repairs … so I have a FREE PORSCHE. So, for all those wondering if owning a Porsche can be affordable, with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work (plus a great Dad), it really is!

Writing & photgraphy by Gary Adams

All Torque 71 page 15

Restoration report: Stewart Gordon’s 944

Having mistakenly sold my 1984 944 (JEM) last year, two months later I was having ‘lack of Porsche’ withdrawal symptoms.

One of our region’s members phoned to tell me that there was a 944 for sale with my name on it. This was a car definitely in need of attention and TLC. The price was not bad. Having had a good look, it was certainly worth saving but would need time and money. The car was solid, with a full and comprehensive history and had spent most of its life in Taunton in Somerset, hence the faded paint and cracked dash.

I did some much needed haggling and agreed a deal. I collected it the following day. Too many things were needing to be done to list here, it took two days just to fix all the silly bits that weren’t fitted properly.

Starter and alternator both needed reconditioned. In October I mistakenly (senior moment) put diesel in it and had to replace the engine and ECU. That gave me the opportunity to replace the starter and alternator to battery wiring that was getting a bit past it. I had the engine bay cleaned and repainted, fitted a full stainless steel exhaust system and after giving the replacement engine a good clean, polish and lacquered finish, it was gleaming.

The paint work had oxidized from red to pink and both doors had been resprayed three years previously with base coat and lacquer which was starting to peel off due to poor preparation. This car needed a full respray to get it looking presentable for the road. By chance I met a chap called Craig at the burger van in a B&Q car park, whose work van advertised panel beating, spraying and repairs. I got chatting to him and explained that I was doing all the prepping myself and that all I was looking for was someone to spray the car. We haggled for a time and eventually shook hands on a very reasonable price.

I bought a sander and polisher from Halfords with a box of 50 Velcrobacked sanding discs in 360 grade and by the end of the first day had sanded down nearly all the flat surfaces. I had about six small repairs

to do on some areas. By the time it was ready for painting, after being quite fussy in the preparation (after all it is the prepping that makes for a good finished job), I contacted Craig from C.A.L.C. (Car and Light Commercial). When I arrived I was given a space to get all the masking off done, bonnet removed and tailgate off. The next day it was moved into the spray booth ready for its new paint (after Craig finished off the fiddly masking jobs: wheels, door openings, etc.)

After it was painted it had a good flattening down by Craig’s assistant Graham who buffed and polished it.

When I went back to see the car I could not believe how it looked, it was gleaming! It really did give me a lift and made all the hard work feel worthwhile.

A full respray with all the parts removed and painted for under a grand. Brilliant, now to have my insurance cover revalued by +£2K. This just goes to show that a Porsche can be repainted for not too much money and still done properly. If you need a respray I can thoroughly recommend C.A.L.C. Lanarkshire.

I also had the chance to replace the roof lining as the car had all the seals removed and it meant just a few more screws to get the old lining out. I bought a vinyl material (£10 +VAT) from Beltane Products who also took my old roof lining as a template and cut the material to shape. The same company had done a replacement bolster and side panel on my driver’s side a few weeks before, using original Porsche material bought from Southbound Trimmers.

Writing & photography by Stewart Gordon

All Torque 71 page 16

Gruppe North Yorkshire RO John Oakes 01132 827 512 john.oakes3@btinternet.com ARO Dave Doherty TIPEC Membership office 01423 501 988 (12noon–9pm) enquires@alexa-house.co.uk York area meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 7:00–7:30pm at The Windmill, Hull Road, Dunnington, York, YO19 5LP. Leeds are meetings are held third Sunday of every month 7.00–7.30pm at The White Rose pub, Wide Lane, Dewsbury Road, Morley, Leeds LS27 8PL. Many thanks to Dave Doherty for helping me out while I’ve been away on my jollies, but now it’s back to reality and work. I hope Dave is enjoying his new role as membership secretary!

We had a few cars turn up for June’s club night but the weather did not help. With all the rain, I left my 928 in the garage.

It’s nice to see a few new people turning up for the meetings every month. Please, if possible, it would be good for members to come along to one or more meetings each year. The Club is here for you to use and it makes my job easier to get to know you and find out what you would like the Club to organise. I will be stopping overnight at Gaydon for the TIPEC party night and National Day to enjoy the Back to School Party and to help out with setting the show up. Please come along and enjoy this major event with us. Email if possible to let me know that you are coming down for the day or weekend, so I can look out for you.

A quick word from Dave: Thanks John, yes I am enjoying my role as membership secretary. Glad to hear that you survived your trip to Oz without picking up a speeding ticket.

The weekend of the 25th May saw me out in the 3.2 again to meet up with Simon and Andy from the North East Region at the North East American Car Clubs annual ‘Fins and Chrome’ show. Unfortunately I could not leave Alexa (that’s our hotel, not my wife by

the way) ’til after 1pm, so I could not fight my way through the crowds at the show to park up next to them. Still, the 3.2 looked great parked in a line of PT Cruisers. It must have done wonders for their street cred.

We had a good turn out for the July club night with eight cars, including new member Edward Pierce and his 944.

Must have been a nice dry day as even John arrived in his 928. The weather was kind so we spent most of the night out in the car park talking Porsche and pulling each other’s legs, as usual. The rain held off until I was halfway home, not sure if John managed to get back before the 928 got wet.

Finally, congratulations to Mr & Mrs Ian Garner on their recent wedding!

New Venue for Monthly Meeting We have found a new venue to hold a second monthly meeting. The meeting will be held on the third Sunday of every month for the next four months or until further notice. The venue is the White Rose Pub (Harvester Pub & Grill) which is on the A653 heading towards the White Rose Shopping Centre from the M62. Their address is Wide Lane, Dewsbury Road, Morley, Leeds, LS27 8PL. Meetings to start at 7:00–7:30pm.

Their website is www.harvester.co.uk The plan is to have two meetings per month and keep the meeting at the Windmill for all those in the York area with this second meeting for those in Leeds and the surrounding area. The dates for the Leeds area meetings are: 17th August, 20th September, 19th October & 16th November Trip to Coal Mining Museum We are planning a trip to The National Coal Mining Museum for England. This is a great day out with a unique opportunity to travel 140 metres underground down one of Britain’s oldest working mines. It is situated in a rural setting and offers an unusual combination of exciting experiences, which provides a genuine insight into the hard working lives of miners through the ages. The Museum is near Wakefield with free entry (www.ncm.org.uk) Dates proposed are Saturday 9th August or Saturday 27th September, Please let me know which date you would prefer.

A Day’s Drive Around the Dales This is a gentle tour, leaving Skipton at 10.30am and ending up at the Black Sheep Brewery for lunch at 1:30pm. The route is via Settle, Hawes, Leyburn and then on to Masham and will take approximately two hours. Finishing with a tour around the brewery or just a meal in the Bistro, followed by a pint of Black Sheep and a chance to chat. www.blacksheepbrewery.com August 2nd–3rd TIPEC party night and National event at Gaydon Heritage Motor Centre 12th Drive to Sledmere House and picnic October 4–5th Donington Park Collection meeting and ex-Group C racing November 14–17th Roger Albert Clark Rally www.rogeralbertclarkrally.co.uk

Lincolnshire ARO Mike Daniels 07770 968 159 (mobile) mike@jwhartonagriculture.co.uk Meetings are held second Wednesday of every month 7:30–8pm at The King’s Head Inn, Kingsway, Tealby, LN8 3YA. RO required, to host monthly meetings at a local pub/hotel with support from the members and attend/organise local events with the assistance of the ARO.

Cheshire & Staffs RO Steve Taylor 07774 912 069 (mobile) stephen_taylor@datascope.com ARO Dave Watson 07901 928 356 (mobile) watson1970@aol.com Meetings are held third Tuesday of every month 8pm at The Whipping Stocks, Stocks Lane, Over Peover, Knutsford, WA16 9EX.

North East RO Simon Poole 07759 694 059 audisi@btinternet.com ARO Andy Blythe 01642 809 031 ac.blythe@mbro.ac.uk Meetings are held first Sunday of every month 7:30pm at The Sporting Lodge, Low Lane, Stainton Village, Cleveland, TS17 9LW, just off the A19.

We were invited to have a display of cars at the North East American Car Club Fins and Chrome Show at Preston Park in May. In previous years we have managed up to 14 cars, but this year we managed three, for both days. Thanks to Ian for bringing his lesser-spotted Super Sport on Saturday and Andy for bringing his 944S and Beetle along to stand alongside mine. Saturday was pretty quiet, probably not helped by the weather, which felt more like February than the end of May! Thanks also to Frank for popping along on Saturday for a visit whilst we were huddled in the car trying to keep warm, Thank goodness for 968 heaters. Sunday was the better day as there were more cars to see and the sun actually came out too!

TIPEC North East at Fins and Chrome The June Club night saw a good turn out. Welcome to one of the region’s new members, Mike, with his wife and 944 in attendance, and also to another potential new member with his white 944 Turbo.

A few weeks later we had a run out to the Fathers Day Classic Car Show at Harewood House. Unfortunately, the starter motor on my car gave up the night before and I had one of those ‘Hamlet moments’ as I pushed it away from the petrol pumps to wait for the AA. So we had a convoy of one Skoda (courtesy of my wife Alison) and one 944 S2, (thanks David for attending) to Harewood.

There were plenty of nicely prepared classics at the show, and entertainment in the form of motorcycle stunt riders and club displays in the central parade ring. Unfortunately the heavens opened up yet again!

Finally a request to the North East members. I send out email updates at least once a month. Please drop me an email at audisi@btinternet.com so that I can confirm that I have valid addresses for you all.

Apparently I won because the car (Babe) was original even down to the tyres and because it is obviously used (with mileage which now stands at 132,673) and looks not mint but in good condition.

Stop Press: As our August club night falls on the same day as the TIPEC National Day we have decided to move it to the Monday night from 7:30pm at the Sporting Lodge for one month only.

We also attended the Tatton Show. Contrary to our last news item in All Torque the organiser relented and let us have one day (the Saturday) as another club wasn’t using the stand. We had a reasonable turn out and surprisingly came third in the club stand competition—a nice surprise since we were not supposed to be attending. All had a good day and thanks to everyone for turning up.

North West RO John Pye 01706 712 491 07957 818 636 (mobile) tipecnw@sky.com ARO Brenda Marginson 0125 483 1766 brenda.marginson944@virgin.net Meetings are held first Monday of every month 8pm at The Thatch & Thistle, Chorley Road, Blackrod BL6 5LA. When this falls on a Bank Holiday, we meet on the second Monday instead.

We have had a very interesting couple of months. We attended a car show at the Thatch and Thistle Pub which the landlord organised on the 18th May. A small show but some very interesting cars showed up, plus classic tractors and a particularly nice recently purchased 911 in mint condition.

We particularly liked the fact that on arrival free bacon butties (Northern slang for a sandwich, for those who don’t know!) and coffee were serve— something of a rarity at shows. It was a thankyou gesture for bringing the cars to the show, a nice thought these days when most car shows expect payment for attending even though we are the stars of the day. They were exceptionally good and for those who arrived late perhaps next year you will have more incentive to get up early.

On a personal note I actually won the best car of show—something of a surprise as there were some very special cars there.

Third prize for the TIPEC club stand July and August are very busy with our symphony and fireworks night in aid of St. Catherines Hospice, then the Hoghton Show, then Woodvale, Southport. If anybody would like to attend any of the shows please let us know so we can arrange tickets. We are also going to Ripley Castle which is another new venue and we are looking forward to that.

Finally, clay pigeon shooting. I know, not the usual outing—but Steve Draper, one of our more loyal members, has arranged a shoot for us some time in September. If anyone would like to come to this please let us know. I would just like to thank Steve and Caroline for organising the event.

We continue to have good attendance at the monthly meetings but more would be welcome. There is plenty of room and the food’s good as well.

August 2–3rd Woodvale & Camping Car Show 3rd TIPEC national event at Gaydon 17th Ripley Castle Show September Clay pigeon shooting, date TBC November 3rd Regional quiz night

Brenda receiving her Best in Show trophy

December 5th Christmas do at The Viking, Blackpool

All Torque 71 page 19

again so soon after her illness—take it easy Steph. Great day, great company!

Regional meeting venue A vote was taken at the June regional meeting and we have agreed to change our monthly meeting venue from the King Robert Hotel in Bannockburn to the Bo’Ness Motor Museum. The King Robert has served us very well but we felt that the hotel’s current success was putting pressure on the amount of available parking space. Our final meeting at the King Robert Hotel, Bannockburn, will be on 6th August.

Pete Weston and his prizewinning 944 Lux

Scotland RO Stewart Gordon 01698 841 692 (evenings) 07974 808 342 (mobile) flashgordon944@blueyonder.co.uk ARO Alan Neilson 01324 871 543 07793 234 096 (mobile) alz1933@alanneilson.fsnet.co.uk ARO Neil Fraser 0131 660 0143 07946 616 782 (mobile) neil@fraser72.freeserve.co.uk From September 3rd, meetings are held first Wednesday of every month 8pm at Bo’Ness Motor Museum, Bridgeness Road, Bo’Ness EH51 9JR. www.motor-museum.bo-ness.org.uk The region has had a fairly active first few months this year. We started with a trip round Isle of Skye in April for three days, then the East Kilbride Classic show in May along with the Bridge of Allan Classic show.

8th June Knockhill Classic Speedfair After a lengthy discussion with the organizers, it was agreed that we would be allowed to increase our allocated 10 spaces to 15. As it turned out on the day we ended up with 18 cars attending. Brilliant support from our members! We had a great time with most of the day being sunshine from wall to wall—dry for the full day. All the members’ cars were gleaming from end to end, the location we were given would not have been our first choice though, in the path of all the dust thrown up from the racetrack, and we would suggest that Knockhill consider the effort put in by exhibitors to show their cars at their best.

We were however treated to a great day of racing from classic sports cars through

to Formula Fords and Legend hot rods, finishing up with a world record breaking 98 Lotus cars on the track at once for parade laps. Special congratulations to our very own Pete Weston who picked up the award from the Knockhill organizers for the best eighties decade car in the show.

29th June Moffat Rally & Autojumble We started off the day with two meeting points, one for the East and one for the West, set off around the intended time and by the time the two groups arrived they were only minutes apart (amazing luck!)

They day started off with sunny spells, then showers, and continued that way for the rest of the day, although some of the showers were better described as deluges.

Our East convoy had 12 cars while the West convoy had three. By the time we arrived at the show and in place we had grown to 18 in cars total, all looking fabulous. The show was well attended by the public despite the weather, the amount of interest we had for membership was good, with two new members joining on the day: Robert Howat with a nice white 944 and Bill Main with lovely Guards Red 964. Welcome to TIPEC Robert & Bill, we hope you enjoy your time with us and we’ll see you out and about. I also picked up a great tip from Bill; to leave the gazebo roof section on when packing it away. It works brilliantly, thanks for the tip. Not such a good day for one unlucky woman, who was struck on the head by a flagpole from the Ford Capri Owners Club stand. Ambulance and mountain rescue arrived at the show ground with blue lights flashing. Whoever she was, we wish her well. The bacon rolls and the burgers went down well courtesy of Spud Mitchell, Hazel & Steph. Thanks to Brian Wood for his donation of soft drinks, you’ve all done a grand job looking after the catering. It was great to see Steph out and about with us

The Bo’Ness Motor Museum is run by Colin, a real petrol head, who just loves cars and is delighted to welcome TIPEC Scotland to hold our monthly meetings there. We are still going to be meeting on the first Wednesday of each month at 8pm. The museum has plenty of parking space, CCTV camera coverage over the car park and Colin is opening the bar for us as well. Directions: Take the Grangemouth turn-off from the A9 (Junction eight from the West and Junction three from the East), on to the A905 and follow signs to Bo’Ness Railway. Bo’Ness Motor Museum is one mile East of the town.

August 1st sees us heading South for the big show of the year, the TIPEC National at Gaydon, should be a brilliant weekend and hopefully a hot one as well.

August 1st–4th Gaydon TIPEC National Show 23rd–24th Culzean Autoclassica Show including TIPEC Scotland Regional Concours September 12–15th Northern Ireland Trip (can go for all dates or pick your own to suit) 21st Selkirk Classic Show A big thank you to all those members who have come along in good numbers to make all our outings so far this year such great fun. If you haven’t been out with your car this year at a show yet, go on—give it a try!

TIPEC Scotland at Moffat Rally & Autojumble

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Gruppe Central South Yorkshire & North Notts.

ARO Dean Lancashire 07860 198 627 (mobile) dean@tachart.com Meetings are held first Sunday of every month 5–5:30pm (meeting proper begins 7pm) at Ye Olde Bell Hotel, Barnby Moor, Retford, Notts, DN22 8QS. The second weekend in May was our SYNN WOTY to the Cotswolds. Our 3rd annual weekend away and what a weekend it was! The weather all weekend was glorious, well organised by Chris & Kathy Belfield. We all made our way to our hotel, The Holiday Inn. A very nice, comfortable place. We met, had a drink or two and organised our meal out. We agreed on venturing into Cheltenham. A good meal was had by all and the wine flowed freely, much to Kathy Belfield’s surprise, as she got a little tipsy and fell asleep at the table! We then went into a couple of bars to top up with some Guinness and more wine.

The next morning we were booked onto the ‘Cheltenham & Gloucester Rotary Club’ drive around the Cotswolds. This was very well arranged by them, with notes given to all participants on where to go and, of course, what pubs to call at! The event was very popular with many classic cars, including some good examples of AC Cobras. After a good days driving, back to the hotel to arrange our next feed. We decided to split up a little and most had a meal in the hotel, whilst a few of us drove into Gloucester for an Indian and a few beers. We had to be up early the next morning, for the highlight of the weekend, the Prescott Hill Climb.

Taking part in the Cotswold Tour

We drove to the area of the show, which is the home of the UK Bugatti owners club, complete with the mile hill climb. I had pre-booked two runs up the hill and was anxious to get up there, so when I arrived I ventured out for a little walk up the hill. It sure is steep in places but what good fun! The event was well attended by lots of shiny classic vehicles and also one or two southern Tipec members, including Sean Smallman. The weather must have been good as he had pulled his immaculate 911 Speedster out for the run, but not up the hill (chicken!) It was very hot, excellent for the rubber to stick to the tarmac on the hill climb.

After lunch, it was announced that anyone could buy tickets for the hill climb at £5 a go! This gave people a chance who had not pre-booked another chance for a stab at the hill. Dave Warren couldn’t wait as he’d passengered a ride with me on the first blast up. So he then tried to scare me co-piloting in his 944 on his first run up. Most TIPEC members opted for the relaxing run up in the cavalcade, convoying a range of classic motors. Then sadly back home, but this is an event we will probably be repeating next year.

John Middleton visited the Porsche Poole Quay display on May 23rd and won £50.00 for being the furthest visiting TIPEC member. John has kindly donated his winnings to the charity of the Paul and Judy Trophy Fund. Thanks to John.

The following weekend was Party in the Park at Cusworth Hall. The day dawned bright but very breezy, however there was a good turn out for the show with seven cars and fourteen members in attendance.

Nice to see Phil back with his shiny black Targa and also a warm welcome back to Pete (Ray was delighted to see you for the BBQ). Keith and Sue are also

The SYNNers, somewhere in the Cotswolds

becoming outing regulars (nice to see new faces). Cusworth Hall was organised by the Traditional Car Club of Doncaster. We attend several of their events during the season and they always make us welcome and allow plenty of room for our cars and gazebo (even though only Dennis Smith’s 356 qualifies for membership).

Cusworth Hall is on a hill overlooking Doncaster and what was a small breeze elsewhere turned out to be a howling gale where we had our allocated display area.

We had to work hard to keep the gazebo anchored to the floor, but there was a diverse display of automobiles on show which prompted quite a bit of nostalgia as we remembered our past drives. We are setting a tradition of our own at shows as once the gazebo is erected Ray and Phil seek out the bacon butty stall, this time being joined by Chris. The Museum of South Yorkshire Life located in the Hall provided an interesting refuge from the weather. Although reasonably well attended by members of the public, the show unfortunately coincided with the Division One play-off final between Doncaster Rovers and Leeds United, so most of the population of Doncaster was at Wembley. After the Show it was back to Katharine & Ray Waite’s for their aftershow barbecue, after plenty of food and drink and a rather haphazard Boules tournament (won by Edith Adams the day drew to a close – oh and Donny beat Leeds 1-0.)

On the weekend of the 31st of May John Murray and Jeff Adams visited the VSCC at Donnington Park for what was a well recommended race weekend apart from the weather. The 1st of June was the Nottingham Autokarna were some members met up with the East Midlands region. Unfortunately I could not make it to either and had to swot up for a our regional meeting quiz and few other jobs Joanne had given me.

The following weekend was a stay over in Lincoln for a few of us and meeting up the next Morning at Kexby House, where Edith Adams had organised a look round the fabulous gardens. Their kind hospitality even included an unexpected

North London & Herts RO Gary Adams 07849 222 511 (mobile) garyadams_1980@hotmail.com ARO Neil Pargiter 01920 872 365 07515 337 073 (mobile) ncp.944@hotmail.co.uk Our August meeting will be held Thursday 21st at The Red Lion, Digswell Hill, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, AL6 9AJ.

Part of Peter Bradley’s Porsche tractor collection. Which one shall I take for that trackday? lunch on the Patio, washed down with a glass of wine or two. We then ventured into Lincoln for a look at Edith’s wonderful artwork at a local gallery. We then split up for a look around this fabulous city.

The cathedral is well worth a look, but a word of warning if you don’t like hills: Beware of a lane called Steep Hill because it really is!

There was various car events going off that day. An MG Club meeting at Brayford pool and a classic car show at the castle where some members met an early 911 owner from the Lincoln TIPEC region. Thanks to Jeff and Edith Adams for organising a different and brilliant weekend.

The 15th of June was our visit to Harewood house for the Yorkshire Post Classic Car show. A good show with various classic and modern cars, even brand new cars shown by local dealerships. On the Porsche side of things we had Gmund cars that fetched a good selection of 993’s and his Koenigsegggggg which we had seen at a previous visit to their showroom. A bit steep at £350,000!

What did attract a lot of attention were the Red Kite birds of prey they have introduced to the area. They seemed very interested in the cars below, but were probably really looking at the spare grub left about.

The Following weekend was a trip to see Fellow Porsche Enthusiast, Peter Bradley, a well-respected member of Porsche Club GB. At first I was not sure about this event expecting to see few old Porsche tractors in an old barn but it turned out

to be a gem of a find. Peter is a very interesting guy who bought his first Porsche 356 in 1956 and had hill climbed it very successfully.

The workshop were he keeps his Porsche collection is immaculate, you could eat your dinner off the floor or even the walls! The condition of his 10 Porsche tractors is what I could only describe as ‘showroom’, and lets not forget his mint 993. One of the tractors was a rare find from a brazilian coffe plantation. He also has a Porsche helicopter motor and even a Porsche fire water pump.

We then drove into the Derbyshire dales and parked at Monsal Head were we ventured on foot down to the Horseshoe Waterfalls and back up the disused viaduct to prepare us for a feast at the Monsal Head Hotel. Luckily we only had one casualty who had to be resuscitated at the top of the hill with a stiff drink.

After we had all stuffed our faces and put back on the calories we had just walked off, we all jumped back in our cars. The final drive took us through Bakewell, Ashbourne and onto Carsington Water were some of us had an ice-cream and continued to be blown about by the Galeforce winds that had followed us all day.

Don’t forget our trip to the Nurburgring and surrounding area in September, see regional website for more details or contact Dean L on the above number (places still free on ferry and hotels.)

See our regional website at www.synn.org.uk for future events

We have decided to move from the old Venue in Enfield so we are trialling three different venues in the region before deciding on a new home and would really love our members to come along and help us choose. The Three Horseshoes on the outskirts of Stevenage proved to be a success with more Porsches turning up than usual, plenty of parking with an excellent backdrop (great for photos) and the food served was very good. By the time you read this, we will have also tried out The Fish & Eels in Hoddeston. Our last potential venue is the Red Lion in Welwyn which we’ll visit on August 21st, as detailed above.

On Monday 2nd June we attended the new, monthly, Bennington Classic. The Lordship Arms in Benington is home to a number of locals who share the same passion as its landlord, classic cars, and so they have decided to share this passion over the summer months by holding a local classic Car Show of an evening.

June 2nd was the date for the first and having connections in the village (my Dad lives opposite the pub) TIPEC were invited along as the only real club presence.

Despite the weather being poor a number of cars turned out and gave everyone in the village something to talk about. We will be attending again in July.

Sunday 24–Sunday 5th August Knebworth Classic Car Show. Always an enjoyable event for all the family with lots of cars, stalls and things to see and do. We need to get an idea of numbers to book our pitch, so please give us a ring/email if you’re interested. www.classicmotorshow.com /knebworth-classic-motor-show.htm For more details or to let us know if you can make any of our events, feel free to give us a shout, contact details above.

Bristol RO Paul Harrison 07884 116 971 (mobile) paul@harrison167.freeserve.co.uk Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 8pm at The Fox, Easter Compton, B35 5RA, one mile West of M5 J17 (Cribbs Causeway).

Summer has got off steadily down here in the South West. The trip to Prescott was a great start to the season, with glorious weather. A great entry list, both hill-runners and static displays, meant that there was lots to see for the spectators. Slick organisation led to everyone having the opportunity of extra runs up the hill. On top of all that, over £14k was raised for charity, very satisfying for organisers and participants alike.

Regretably, Peter Mack was unable to attend despite being entrant number two on the list. It seems that a family christening took priority. Never mind Pete, there’s always next year! The dates have already been published (10th May 2009) and the entry list is now open so make sure that you don’t miss it!

August is of course the TIPEC Porsche Show at Gaydon. Make sure that you don’t miss that one; all the details are on the website and elsewhere in the mag. In September, I am putting together a visit to the OPC in Bristol and am hoping to organise a dyno day later on in the year. Details to follow.

As I said in the last mag, let me have your email address if you want to get news from me electronically, but do remember that the best way to find out what’s going on is to come along to the monthly meets, first Tuesday of the month at the Fox.

South Central RO Geoff Cox 01235 815 880 07740 452 586 (mobile) geoff.b.cox@btinternet.com ARO Mark Saving 07976 749 344 (mobile) mark@msaving.freeserve.co.uk Meetings are held fourth Monday of every month at The Chequers Inn at Weston on The Green, which is just off the A34, south of Junction 9 of the M40.

Our change of venue and dates has been well received with lots of members coming along and enjoying excellent food and chat. We had an very good turnout for the Supercar Sunday event at Gaydon, with around 30 cars—an excellent display of Porkers.

Paul Harrison’s 944 Turbo on the hill climb Our June event was the Sunday drive-out with the ACE Classic Vehicle Tour, however regretably the turnout was low so I won’t dwell on that one. The July monthly meeting saw the healthiest turn-out of the year so far, with 14 people present; that’s just about 50% of the region’s numbers! And I recieved some apologies … We welcomed Les and Wayne to their first meeting (welcome, guys) along with their very tidy 930 and 944 respectively. Of course, there was much talk of the forthcoming trip to Le Mans, with some members even deciding to come along on the night (hope you made it, Colin!)

Report to follow in the next edition. A nice light evening, lots of Porsches in the car park (shame on you Gareth in your Citroen, no excuse) led to lots of tyre kicking and advice giving. Shame it rained cats and dogs on the way home! Anyway, a great evening out which the partners that came along enjoyed as well. If you haven’t made it along yet, look out for the next meet.

Sunday 13th July Bletchley Park Classic Car Day Simply turn up with your picnic and enjoy the classic vehicles and look around this most fascinating of World War Two sites, where the German cipher codes were intercepted and de-coded.

Sunday 17th August Northampton Balloon Festival A very large and colourful event with something to offer all members of the family and TIPEC will have their own dedicated parking area in the centre of the event. We will be joined by a number of other regions, which should mean at least 30 Porsches on display. The finale of the day is at 6pm when all the balloons are released into the evening sky. Bring the family, a picnic and don’t forget your camera. Lots more details of this event can be found on their website at www.northamptonballoonfestival.com Sunday 14th September Treasure Hunt—Details to follow

Central RO Paul Bird 01922 428 409 07831 877 983 (mobile) paulpsb928@yahoo.co.uk ARO Brian Rowledge MyMerak@aol.com Meetings are held fourth Monday of every month 7:30pm onwards at The Red Lion, Lady Lane, Earlswood, B94 6AQ. Where is the year going? Shelsley Walsh, Bruntingthorpe and Trentham are all behind us! The club trip to the Le Mans Classic will have come and gone by the time you read this and we shall all be geared up for Gaydon on 3rd August!

The WOTY is now booking up quite well and the good news is that the deadline for holding room reservations is now August 4th. We can guarantee you a room up until this date. After the 4th August you may still be able to get a room at the hotel for the WOTY but this cannot be guaranteed.

After Classic Le Mans Brian and I will finalise the events for the weekend and then cancel rooms held in reservation on the date agreed with Weetwood Hall.

Guests at the WOTY can register at the hotel from 14:00 hours on the Friday and need to book out on the Sunday by 10:00 hours. Nothing is planned for the Friday except for a club dinner on the evening.

Saturday will be a choice of drives into the Yorkshire Dales, or if you wish just do your own thing. One of the drives has already been designed and covers many famous places of interest. We have free use of a David Lloyd’s Centre, or discounted rates at two golf clubs nearby for those interested in a little exercise.

On the Sunday we have a visit to Specialist Cars of Malton which has been arranged

by Paul Keeling. This is a great event and fabulous deal at £62.50 per person per night, including breakfast and evening meal in a luxury hotel. In other words £250 per couple inclusive. For Central members you should have had full details by e-mail. If not please contact Paul or Brian.

Sunday 17th August we will support South Central at the Northampton Balloon Festival.

Details of the event can be found at www.northamptonballoonfestival.com

Our visit to Curborough for our second Sprint Day is now fixed for 4th September and the full circuit will be in use as last year. Cost is only £50 for the full day and those that attended last year will vouch for how much fun was had! Contact Paul for booking details, spaces are strictly limited due to circuit safety rules.

Porscheshop have an open day scheduled for Saturday 6th September and we have been invited to go along and nose around the facilities, as well as all the cars that will be there on the day. Turn up at Porscheshop from 11am.

Central club nights at the Red Lion are always well attended but June was exceptional with almost 30 cars on the car park and a good many friends to while away the summer evening. Cars including 924, 944, 928, 964 were represented and we had a Ducktail RS which drew more than a few admirers.

Three 993 Turbo’s and Richard’s immaculate SC were also worth the drive out for the evening. Rob Mugglestone from Total 911 joined us in his GT3 and enjoyed a bite to eat and a beer. Thanks to everyone for attending.

August Sunday 3rd National Event at Gaydon Sunday 17th August we are supporting the Northampton Balloon Festival September Thursday 4th Curborough Sprint Day Saturday 13th Trip to Coventry Motor Museum October Friday 3rd–Sunday 5th Weekend of the Year (WOTY).

Book now. Hotel rooms are reserved but if not taken by 4th August they will be cancelled. If you have not received details by e-mail then contact Paul or Brian ASAP. November Friday 14th–Sunday 16th Classic Car Show at the NEC Sunday 22nd Curry Night December Monday 8th Christmas dinner at the Red Lion.

East Midlands

Club night is the cornerstone of the region and many members attend on a regular basis. Newcomers are always given a warm welcome and the cars are stunning. Come and take a look for yourself next month.

August and September we will try and enjoy outside as we always do through the summer but we shall then be forced indoors through the winter months, so do come along whilst we still have a chance of evening sunshine!

RO Chris Belfield 01530 413 527 07720 471 150 (mobile) kathy.belfield@virgin.net ARO Graham Waller graham.waller@polypipe.com

Don’t forget, if you are not receiving regional email updates from me its because I don’t have your email address. Please drop me a line so I can add you to my list, as it’s the easiest way to keep you all informed.

Also if you change your email address don’t forget to let me know! The events list for the year is below. Contact Brian Rowledge or myself for any more information

Again, praise is not enough for the new venue. We have ample space for cars, meetings, the food is excellent and we had another fantastic meet. New cars are always welcome, and this time it was Keith and Susan’s 944 Turbo S. Sean did turn up in his VW Golf VR32, but hey-ho … not quite the Speedster, is it now? This is a busy time of year, and members have attended a number of recent events including the Autojumble at Husborne Crawley, Autokarna at Wollaton Park and the Midlands Breakfast Club at RAF Cosford.

Keith & Susan’s 944 Turbo S

Meetings are held third Tuesday of every month 7pm for food (meeting proper begins 7:30pm) at The Field Head Hotel, Markfield Lane, Markfield, Leicestershire LE67 9PS.

Tuesday 8th July Ashby Folville monthly classic car meet. This is a must for July, as good weather ensures an excellent turn-out of some classic cars.

Meet outside the pub at 7pm and 8pm.

Sunday 20th July Beaumanor Hall, Nr. Loughborough.

This is a centrally located car show organised by Transtar, and entry forms can be downloaded from www.transtarpromotions.co.uk (select General Vehicle Entry Form.)

Sunday 27th July Silverstone Classic. There will be a big TIPEC presence on all three days (Fri–Sun).

Central region are primarily organising, but many regions will be in attendance.

Tickets must be purchased direct from www.silverstone.co.uk/php/rm_classical.html For a fantastic opportunity to get on the in-field of a major motor racing event, show your car, browse round many spectacular marques and see the a race event from the inside, this cannot be missed.

Saturday 2nd August Gaydon. TIPEC ‘back to school’ party.

This is a BBQ event to celebrate 15 years of TIPEC, and is very well attended. Tickets must be purchased direct from Gaydon at http://events.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/ events_2008_tipec.html Discounted hotels are available. There is a lot of information on the TIPEC website for this event.

Sunday 3rd August Gaydon. TIPEC National show. Tickets from Gaydon (as above). This is our national show and is HUGE! Sunday 17th August 18th Northampton Balloon Festival. A fun day out with lots of balloons.

Friday 3rd–Sunday 5th October WOTY. This is a combined Central and EMR weekend. More details, again, can be found at www.tipec.net Hotel rooms reserved by Central, but if not taken by 4th August will be released.

If you still want to go, get in touch with Chris/Graham or Paul/Brian (Central region) ASAP. Bookings after 4th August cannot be guaranteed, but may still be available.

International RO Dave Warren Dave will be the new point of contact for members in Wales, Ireland and overseas.

Gruppe South Anglia RO Mark Flintham 01473 735 497 mark.flintham@tecnisis.co.uk ARO Keith Strudwick 07803 462 522 keith@hitcham.info Meetings are held fourth Tuesday of every month 7:30pm at The Flying Fortress, Rougham, Bury St Edmunds, IP31 2QU. www.theflyingfortress.co.uk Our first meeting at our new venue, The Flying Fortress, was everything we had hoped for. Eighteen Porsche cars containing some of the nicest people you could wish to meet gathered to kick-start the rejuvenated Anglia region. We were pleased to have our Chairman, Sean Smallman and Eric Finley the Gruppe Central Director in attendance, as they were able to help us meet-and-greet existing members and interested visitors. At about 7.30 we all crowded into the room provided by Keith Allchin, our host, and the ‘formal’ bit of the evening got underway.

Agreeing wholeheartedly with our Chairman that we don’t do ‘Parish Council’, the chat was kept to a minimum. Introductions were made and a quick questionnaire, concerning the wishes of those present for our future direction, was completed. Two new membership application forms were filled in and sent to Dave for his attention.

(Welcome Trevor and son Matthew, also Tim & Ali Foddy). Then we all dived back to the car park for one of the things we do best. Yes that’s right, plenty of chat and still more ‘tyre-kicking’.

We had picked-up on a suggestion from NORLON region that they would like to have a run to the Norfolk Coast sometime in July, and to meet up with other regions on their way. A few emails and phone calls later

Patrick & Claire Wigg’s 928 S4

and plans were formed to put to our second meeting on 24th June. We had learnt from two or three members at our May meeting that they would be unable to join us in June, due to other commitments, so with fingers crossed we waited.

other TIPEC regions for what promises to be quite a spectacular day out.

We shouldn’t have worried, the day was bright and dry and by 7.30pm we had twelve excellent examples of the best that Stuttgart has to offer gracing the car park.

Bryan Parsons brought his immaculate 1987 911 Targa Turbo with less than 30k on the clock. Patrick & Claire Wigg came in their very tidy (if thirsty!) 1989 928S4. We hope you liked what you saw and will join us again next month. Shaun Crosby came in his concours yellow GT3 and at the end of the evening left us with the wonderful noise of his exhaust note ringing in our ears!

Our first two meetings have been full of very nice people and great cars. We’re learning to ‘walk’, please come along and help us to ‘run’. Your ideas and input is vital.

Your next opportunity to contribute is on the 26th August, at The Flying Fortress. Looking forward to seeing YOU!

During our ‘group discussion’ bit of the evening, Norlon’s plan was talked about and at least six of our members will be waiting at ‘The Fortress’ at 10am on Sunday 13th to join them in their run to Great Yarmouth.

More on that in the next issue of All Torque.

We also agreed to start a ‘windfall’ club similar in style to that run by South-east region. All Anglia members’ names will go into the hat each month, but you can only win if you are at the meeting!

From the response during the evening it would seem that our National Event at Gaydon on August 3rd is going to have a very sizeable contingent of Anglia members present. We’re hoping to make a mass entrance as Sean has promised us ‘regional parking’ just as long as we all arrive together!

Our future plans include a trip to the Northampton Balloon Festival on 17th August. When we hope to meet up with

Sean Crosby’s concours GT3

The August Bank Holiday has a local show at Lavenham pencilled in. Email or phone either of us for further details.

Cornwall & Devon RO Steve Switzer 01208 816 397 07867 556 869 (mobile) steve_switzer@mac.com Meetings are held third Sunday of every month 12:00–2:30pm at The Winds of Change, South Petherwin, Near Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 7LP. Please contact Steve in advance so that he can advise the pub of probable attendee numbers.

The May meeting was one of our best for some time. Good weather, excellent food, good company and plenty of time to go out and kick the tyres—sorry, look over each others cars, afterwards. It was also nice to be able to welcome (back?) Dan Jones.

Dan was our little-seen member who never managed to be able to get to a meeting (less gigs in the diary now Dan?) Only joking. He then had a 924 turbo, but feeling like a change has sold that to another enthusiast and is now driving a 1979 928 (4.5 litre) auto. I’ve no idea of actual mileage covered. There are no mechanical modifications. The interior is cream coloured leather, fitted from an S4 by a previous owner. It has also been resprayed at some point in the last ten years in the original black. The chassis and engine numbers tally up for a RHD 1979 model. Superb it looks too—picture to prove it below. Five Porsches in the line-up with six members and three spouses made for a great day.

Wessex RO Pete Blackler 07779 203 278 (mobile) pete.blackler@freenet.uk.com

The SELNK region noses

SE London & North Kent RO Jim Hearnden 01634 308 062 07930 353 232 (mobile) tr7v8@phaetonconsulting.co.uk ARO Paul Greer 07799 412 870 (mobile) prgreer@blueyonder.co.uk Meetings are held first Friday of every month 8:00pm at The Bull Hotel, Bull Lane, Wrotham, Kent, TN15 7RF. Meetings at the The Bull seem to be getting better attendance. We had a good turn-out for May and June, we’re now up to around 30+ members. Now all we have to do is get more of them along to meetings! Paul and I have spent some time investigating alternate venues in the area and still have not found anywhere suitable. Any suggestions gratefully accepted.

The latest calendar is out for all of those with a valid email address. It is in Excel format and I know some have a problem viewing it. You can download a free viewer from the Microsoft site. Please advise if you are interested in any events so Paul and I can advise you on the venues.

There are still some members that I don’t have email addresses for. If you have an email address and don’t regularly see mails from me, then please send me a mail to tr7v8@phaetonconsulting.co.uk and I’ll add you to the list. That applies to people in adjacent areas who would like a copy of our calendar.

There was a good turn out for the meeting in May. The day after saw a good turn out for the visit to OPC Tonbridge, yet again a great welcome from Aaron & John. The cakes and coffee were awaiting our arrival.

We were shown all around the premises, including the workshops, which contained a 928 and a few other exotic Porkers, with the car pound outside containing a Cayenne

SELNK members’ cars in glorious sunshine GTS, a lovely white Cayman (which I had to be forcibly plucked off of and desperately wanted to take away with me.)

Malcolm Greer and myself test drove a Midnight Blue Cayman 2.7 and were both pleasantly surprised. Not sure a new car is a sensible buy with me doing 22k miles a year. Malcolm had to be removed from the Cayman in the showroom so that Paul could go home, so I think he was as smitten as I was!

The 15th saw a bunch of us assemble at Maidstone services for a run down to Dungeness. It was a lovely day and we had a good run down with some quick bits as well as some gentle runs. The views are stunning.

This year for a change we had decided on a change of venue to the Pilot rather than the Britannia where we had been for the previous two years. Unfortunately the Pilot doesn’t take bookings, which is a bit of a pain if you are arriving with 16 hungry people.

The way we got around this problem was to send Paul & Rachel and the rest of Greer family down ahead to hold the seats.

Unfortunately they weren’t allowed to do that either, but as luck would have it we were there for 11:40 so could take our pick. Very soon drinks and plates of large fish and chips were coming out. Everyone enjoyed the food and the subsequent walk on the beach (shingle!) afterwards to help it down.

2nd–3rd August TIPEC 2008 at Gaydon Tickets & hotels now being booked, details in All Torque.

Sunday 10th August Leeds Castle Classic Car Show Pre-booking essential, names to Paul Sunday 17th August BBQ at Paul & Rachel’s Names to Paul ASAP.

Meetings are held fourth Tuesday of every month 8pm at The Wheatsheaf Inn, Braishfield Road, Braishfield, Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 0QE. August Saturday 2nd–Sunday 3rd TIPEC national weekend at Gaydon Sunday 24th Broadlands Show, Romsey September Sunday 14th Drive and lunch TBA November Possible visit to VSF Classic Restorations Company TBA December Friday 5th Wessex Region Christmas meal at the Hunters Inn, Swanmore with TR drivers club 7.30pm

Thames Valley RO Nick Ramsay 07973 183 220 (mobile) tipec@witzendcs.co.uk ARO Jason Gibson 07958 459 725 (mobile) jasongibson@blueyonder.co.uk Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 7:00pm at The Novello, Bath Rd, Littlewick Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3RX. We have just held a very well-received and well-attended first meeting at our new venue where we had around 20 Porsches arrive to virtually take over the car park.

We were fortunate that the fine weather held out to allow a rare alfresco talking, eating and drinking session in the garden and car park.

We had a very good selection of air-cooled Pork (including a much-admired blue 993 Turbo) in addition to MikeJ’s new Boxster S, a 996 TT and two GT3s.

A post announcing the meet on 911UK.com lead to a cross-post on Pistonheads.com and this swelled our ranks considerably.

Hopefully we’ll be welcoming some of them as new members in the near future.

South East RO Derek Flanagan 01342 717 754 07767 254 820 (mobile) derek.flanagan@varian.com Meetings are held second Wednesday of every month 8pm at The Shipley Bridge Inn, Antlands Lane, Burstow, RH6 9TE, on the B2037, off the A23, one mile North of Crawley M23 J10.

Our events calendar continues to expand and our Regional monthly meetings are becoming a real buzz of activity with details of our numerous regional and national events, general Porsche news and members stories as well as holding the monthly lotto which rolled over again to £35 in June with new member Tony Sweetsur’s name pulled out of the hat but sadly not in attendance and therefore not eligible for the prize.

With a record 44 attendees at the May meeting, followed by 36 in June, this founder region is also celebrating its 15th anniversary and is still growing. SE Region membership has crept up to 85 with recent newcomers Paul Warren (Martini 935), Enrico Lorenzo (944T), Roger Williams (Boxster), Tony Sweetsur (993 Cab), Graham Hart (911 Turbo), Bruce Glover & Liz Greenwood (911SC), and Daniel Engleton (911SC Targa).

May Club Night—Passenger rides We had the added attraction of a passenger swap, where members get the opportunity to be driven out in other Porsche models. Our local OPC Mid Sussex Porsche very kindly brought along three demo cars for the evening (Cayenne GTS, 997 Carrera 4S Cabriolet Tiptronic and Cayman S). Numerous members also joined in, such as Phil Shotton in his 928GTS and Rachel in her 993 C2S. Antlands Lane seemed like a test track with around 60 drives out during the evening!

On Saturday 10th May we were invited to join PCGB to a special Porsche open day at SL Restoration, our local official Porsche approved body repairer and paintshop in Crawley.

See separate visit report in this issue.

For this year’s SE Region WOTY from 30 May to second of June we decided to go to North Devon and tour Exmoor National Park. We booked the Sandy Cove Hotel at Berrynarbor, near Combe Martin and just four miles from Ilfracombe, with fantastic

TIPEC South East members on their WOTY views over the coast and Exmoor. We had 15 members and nine cars in our party.

We started our WOTY with the obligatory belly-busting full English breakfast at our meeting place, the Fleet Motorway Service area on the M3, before we turned onto the A303 and onwards towards the M5 in convoy. After leaving the M5 onto the A361 we decided that we were hungry and thirsty and looked for the first pub en route.

We turned off the A361 down a country lane signed posted to The White Stag pub. This was a thatched pub with great character and excellent food—an excellent choice.

When we reached the hotel mid-afternoon it was situated in acres of its own gardens, cliffs, coves and woods with stunning views of the sea and moorland summits of Great and Little Hangman (one of England’s highest cliffs) making for a breath-taking landscape.

Sandy Cove offered us the chance to swim in their covered heated pool (with retractable sides and roof). Alongside the pool there is a spa bath and a Swiss style chalet housing the changing rooms, a sauna, sunbed and gym equipment for both relaxation and exercise.

Nick & Jane Barnes (928) were unable to join us in our convoy due to business commitments and decided to make their own way to our hotel leaving a little later.

Steve Haylor also decided to take the coastal route and meet up with Nick & Jane.

Unfortunately Steve’s 944 Turbo is still garaged and he had to resort to his Astra, which developed an alternator failure en route. Nick was able to tow Steve towards our hotel, with at least 70 miles still to go.

During this tow Nick developed a puncture and had to fit the space saver spare, before continuing his journey towing Steve.

The next challenge was mastering a downpour with Steve having to hang his head out of the windows to over come his loss of windscreen wipers. Their final

challenges were the steep hills in North Devon, but thankfully they made it. Nick was able to get a new tyre in Barnstaple and Steve was able to get a new alternator fitted in Combe Martin on our last day.

Special thanks to Nick & Jane for coming to Steve’s rescue and becoming our ‘Knights of the Road’.

On Saturday we had our 70 mile circular cruise around Exmoor, stopping at Lynton and Lynmouth, Dunster and Tarr Steps.

We found a fantastic pub, The Blue Ball Inn, for lunch after driving up Porlock Hill with some amazing views enhanced by low hanging mist giving the impression of being above the clouds.

Hanging mist on Porlock Hill Lynton and Lynmouth are known as Little Switzerland with the steep walk from the beautiful harbour of Lynmouth to the picturesque cafes and shops of Lynton. The ingenious water powered cliff railway can take you up the 500ft cliff effortlessly, giving you a breathtaking view of the stunning surrounding countryside.

The stop at Dunster gave us the opportunity to visit Dunster castle and its impressive 17th Century interior. Relax in the subtropical gardens with breathtaking views over Exmoor and the Bristol Channel. In the evenings after a superb meal with varied menu, including fantastic carveries, we relaxed in the bar with some of us getting into the competitive spirit at the pool table.

On Sunday we travelled to Ilfracombe to wander along the seafront and harbour area, which is the oldest part of the town, with its aquarium and lifeboat station and of course refreshed ourselves at a pub overlooking the harbour.

We continued to travel north along the coastal road to Croyde village which is a world famous destination for surfing and water sports. The picturesque village dotted with thatched cottages and peaceful tea rooms and pubs with narrow lanes provided a back drop to one of the region’s best beaches (three miles long) and natural

beauty at Saunton used for many film, video and TV productions. This area was heaving with surfers and with parking problems and excessive parking charges we decided to continue on our circular journey exploring the area.

When we returned to the hotel Nick Barnes, Michael Bowden & Charlotte bravely performed a six mile walk upto the top of Great Hangman whilst the rest of us relaxed on the patio or had a swim in the pool.

This was another great WOTY enjoyed by all with great memories and plenty of photos, plus another 500 miles covered in our Porsches.

Another toast to the South East WOTY June Club Night—Best Car competition Following the success of a Best car Competition last year organized by Keith Funnell, he repeated this at June’s club Night which attracted another large attendance with some great porkers in the car park. The winners chosen by the members were: 1st Graham Hart’s 930 Turbo 2nd Rachel Barnard’s 993 C2S 3rd Dean Monnery’s 964 Photoshoot for 911 & Porsche World I took a phone call from Chris Horton (911 & PW) seeking a 944 (8V, 2.5 or 2.7) car for a water-cooled Porsche photo shoot. It was very short notice but a quick stroll out of the office to talk to Chris Cook who jumped at the opportunity. He recalls driving around the track at 60 mph, three cars abreast with the photographer hanging out of the boot of a lead car only 3ft away from the 944s. Look out for a 16 page pullout in the August issue of 911 & PW if you are water-cooled Porsche enthusiasts.

By the time you read this report we will have enjoyed another three events in our hectic programme which we will report on in the next issue. Miles Taylor held another Chips Away body surgery on 28 June using their new water based paint system that gives even better results. The following day 29th June, a dozen members

left their Porkers in the car park for our annual narrowboating day, which this year commenced at Pitstone Wharf on the Grand Union Canal .This event is always popular and is a great relaxing day with the obligatory stop at a canal side pub for lunch.

Special thanks to John Wallin for organising this event again, it’s now a permanent fixture in our calendar.

11—13th July Goodwood Festival of Speed The SE Region have a stand at this year’s Festival of Speed which is entitled ‘From Hawthorn to Hamilton’ I have over a dozen volunteers over the three days of the festival and we have a great line-up of members cars; firstly new member Paul Warren’s 935 in Martini livery plus Robin Pettifer’s Guards Red 964 and last but not least Rachel Barnard’s 993 Zenith Blue 993 C2S (which was also on the stand last year).

This years show had the F1 stars and celebrities including Lewis Hamilton (with his McLaren Mercedes), Sir Jackie Stewart, Martin Brundle, Ron Dennis, Murrey Walker, Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head to name a few.

This year’s central Display is Land Rover celebrating 60 years in the business including a special Defender SVX built to celebrate their anniversary. This year the cricket pitch is converted to a huge American drag strip with a dozen of the most famous dragsters firing up each day.

The Forrest Rally circuit on the hill will pay homage to the 40th anniversary of Ford Escort rally cars. The Cartier collection will include a gathering of some of the James Bond cars. Full details and photos in the next issue.

I am delighted to report that Porsche Centre Mid Sussex has generously offered to put all new members signed up at Goodwood Festival of Speed into a free prize draw to win a Cayenne or Cayman for a weekend of their choice.

Club nights and member stories The above is just a small selection of the forthcoming events. See the TIPEC web site for the full listing or come along to our club night where we will issue the calendar of events, provide full details and take bookings. For those of you who haven’t made it along to a monthly meet yet, we always welcome new and prospective members. Come and see if you like us,

we’re a friendly bunch no matter what model of Porker you own or desire and you will be guaranteed to receive a hearty welcome. You also have the opportunity of winning our own regional lotto with all SE Region members going into the hat each month, but you have to be at the meeting to win if your name is drawn out.

Phil Shotton’s 928GTS has had new leather seat coverings in the original purple colour with cream insets and piping which has rejuvenated the car. This work has been performed superbly by Car Trim, our local interior trimming specialist at Ansty, near Burgess Hill. Phil’s next task is some exterior enhancements that will require the services of Chips Away.

Peter Rowe gave us a story about a loyal customer of Porsche Centre Mid Sussex who makes a 600 mile round trip from France in his 911 Speedster to have it serviced and repaired and Tony Tedeschi reported on his track drive in the amazing new 997 GT2.

Southern RO Gordon Collins 07835 798 734 (mobile) gtsc.dkm@virgin.net ARO Jim Tarrant 01202 601 886 jim.tarrant@hotblack944.fsnet.co.uk Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 7:30pm at The True Lovers Knot Pub, Tarrant Keyneston, Nr Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 9JG. We will be holding our annual Funday on the 10th August. With a trophy for car of the day, barbeque, free bouncy castle, face painting and lots of cars to look at this popular event attracts Porsche owners from all over the South of England, both members and non-members alike.

This years main sponsor is Toyo Tyres who have generously donated a set of Proxes tyres to the value of £500 as the main raffle prize. Many other great raffle prizes are on offer, including a K&N air filter, 3x magazine subscriptions, and Parc Ferme detailing. Raffle proceeds support Julia’s House, a local children’s hospice.

All Porsche owners and enthusiasts are welcome, from 12 noon at The True Lovers Knot, same venue as our regular monthly club meetings (address as above).

All Torque 71 page 29

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