More pics from France

We also took a trip down to Reims with our friends M&M in their '86 3.2. Stickered up of course because we're so childish I guess! We visited the old Reims F1 track which ends in a field these days. There's a load of enthusiasts who come and restore the grandstands - it's amazing to visit, then race each other round the remaining sections of track.

 Here are some pics...

A triumphant return from Le Mans Classic 2008

We took the RSR down to Le Mans to watch the Classic racing last weekend. JZM gave her a complete clean bill of health, and she performed perfectly over the 800 odd miles. We convoyed with a group of really nice blokes in another classic 911 and a 1970's Bristol with a monster Chevy block in it. Tim, the owner of the 911, is a professional automotive photographer and he got this pic of us while heading back to up to London village. Le Mans was great fun - I'll post more pics from the event soon.

Latest update

In the run up to the Cannonball in Sept, and a couple of longish trips in July (Classic Le Mans and then a run over to Reims), I decided to get the car thoroughly checked over by JZ Machtech. They've sorted a few niggly things out and given her a clean bill of health - woohoo! The latest good news is that the exhaust inserts actually work well, reducing the volume level considerably (but still VERY loud with the foot down). The wheels still need polishing up though.. I think I need some professional help. This weekend I'll give wheel polishing one more go, along with installing the last door speaker

Had to try the car with the exhaust off!

Exhaust overhaul

My exhaust is a) WAY too noisy b) made of mild steel and rusting already c) not mounted with straps because it doesn't fit quite right. I decided to take it off, get rid of the rust, spray with VHT (Very High Temperature) paint, stick some decibel reducing inserts in, and strap it up to the body properly. Mark at RS911 said he'll modify it to reduce the volume, but I thought I'd give this a try first. So far it's painted and fits a bit better, but I'll have to wait a couple of weeks before getting the inserts in and strapping it in place - just don't have enough time, you know?


These are the tail pipe inserts. I'm having to grind a bit off to fit them, so all they'll do is restric the flow slightly. To be honest, I'm not too hopeful!!

Look at this.. The silencer is more or less straight through - no wonder it's loud!

Wheely annoying

As you can see from the pics here, my shiny 'n bling wheels have gone all tarnished from lack of care over the last year or so. I'm determined to get them uber shiny for summer. I've tried these three polishes, but they just don't bring the wheels up to their original splendour. I went to a wheel specialist, and I can either have them painted, laser-cut, or put some elbow grease into it. The first two aren't really an option, so I'm going to have to take the wheels off and go for it... Maybe next week.

God, I really must grow up!!

Busted!

Oh dear.. There goes another 3 points. 35mph in a 30 zone is a bit tight though isn't it?!

Latest news

This weather's killing me. I want to go for long drives, but with no heater in the car, it's not going to happen. A few things have happened recently though:
a) WHEELS. My shiny alloys are all dull and have this whitish surface corrosion. I've got 3 different brands of polish to try, so I'll try them all and get the results up on the blog. Everyone needs a bit of bling.
b) SPEEDING. We got done for speeding it turns out about 10 miles away from the garage we had just picked the RSR up from Grrrrr!!
c) PHOTOS. I got contacted by a photographer about the possibility of doing some shots for one of the Porsche mags (not until point 'a' is resolved) - how cool is that!
d) EXHAUST. My exhaust is way too loud... It sets off car alarms and makes children cry (both true). Mark said he's going to build me a new exhaust that has a hidden 'quiet' output and two normal 'racing' outputs that I can cap off when I don't want to scare kids. Can't wait.. It means my neighbours may start speaking to me again!

Tearing up West London

It was great weather today so I got some stickers on the beast and tried to clean the alloys. After about an hour I'd managed to clean a small patch on one of the rear wheels. I don't know what I'm going to do to get them clean.. At the moment they're very dirty and have got this whitish oxidisation on them that just won't come off. Anyway, we had a tootle round town. The car is so loud, I set off two car alarms - oops. We got a load of grins and thumbs up off guys, but mostly foul stares off women. I guess some people were hoping for a nice quiet Sunday - not near my house!

Back in action!!

Picked up the RSR rep on Friday - woohoo! Just a few small things to sort out now.. The rear tyre rubs now and then when going over bumps, and there are some odd rattles at various RPM speeds. I'll take her to JZM in a couple of weeks to work on it. She drives like a dream! Much faster, louder and exciting than I remember.. Roll on Summer.

Fernando's Replica Porsche RSR

I've been talking to a very nice chap on the other side of the pond who has a lot of experience restoring cars, and has done an AWESOME job of building up an RSR replica. It's beautiful, and now what I aspire to one day with my RSR! See his site here:
http://www.readynet.com/myproject/

Cannonball 8000 2008 - we're on!!

We're definitely on the 2008 Cannonball run! Woohoo! Thanks to my sponsors 'Intel' without whom, I'd just be watching the cars leave at the start line. This year we're going from London to Brussels, then down to Cannes, then over to Italy to Rome! Brilliant!! The even better news is that our good friends Flembo and Rani are also in the rally in their Ferrari 360 CS. You can see their site at http://www.team79.co.uk/

Latest work

It's been a long time since I've updated the blog, so here's what's been going on.. The RSR has spent the cold and rainy winter up with Mark at RS911. He's doing a few things such as putting a new alarm system in, putting a steel bonnet on (with Spot lights), putting the correct exhaust header on, and installing a new roll cage. Hopefully I'll pick her up some time in March, but I need to arrange that with Mark.

JZM Gearbox rebuild pics

So here are some of the pics from the gearbox rebuild. Dave at JZ Machtech knows 915's like the back of his hand. He completely broke it down, replaced everything that needed replacing and fabricated a few small parts you can't even buy any more. He even took pics of the whole process for me. It feels like a new box - I'm really pleased with it. I'm going to take off the Wevo short shift and put the regular shifter back on though, as the 915 just isn't designed for a fast shift. Dave also installed my lightweight Sachs clutch kit so no more jumpy starts off the lights.

Headers have come in..

Andy has sourced the correct headers for my exhaust system - thanks Andy!! We drive up to Wales and dropped the old girl off with Mark for the final work to be done over the next few months. We've had a change of heart and decided not to bother with changing the window surrounds to chrome. It just looks too damn goo with black and orange! There's still a long list of things to sort out - for instance one of the front tyres rubs on the arch slightly when under stress.. alarm to fit, final detailing, exhaust, oh and of course a steel bonnet with quad spotlights!!

Out with the dodgy alarm x3

Got the car back from JZM on Friday after a gearbox rebuild, new clutch, new fuel pump, and various other things. Dave is their gearbox expert (he's brilliant) and did a fantastic job.. He took pictures of the whole process so I'll post some pics soon. He also stripped out my three rubbish alarm systems - look at the picture!! It's about three Kilos of crap!

Back in the garage

Well JZ Machtech are having her back for a while now. She needs the gearbox checking, and loads of new suspension parts.. The fuel pump replacing, new clutch, oil seals replaced, the list is never ending! After a stint at JZM, we'll drive her back up to Mark at RS911 to finish the conversion job off. He's going to fit the correct exhaust, the chrome around the windows, chrome door handles, and I'm having a steel bonnet (the fibre glass bonnet doesn't fit) with four spotlights fitted! I popped in the Steve Wong performance chip at the weekend, so I'll see what it's done to decrease my 0-60 at 7:30am on the North Circular tomorrow!

Vid at start line

This is a vid I took from the start line. The original Mustang next to the Lambo was probably the most valuable car there... Notice on the other side the SCREEM guys being served Champagne by a midget - class!

Long trip back through Germany

After all the hoo-ha about going through Germany, we decided to cut through there to quicken the journey back. Some people had been held up at the German and Italian borders (Rani got held up by gun point! Har har!!) even though it was a day or two since the end of the rally. We had no problems at all though (other than mechanical issues), and surprisingly the Germans loved it! They were taking pictures of it and giving us thumbs up all the way to France.