Welcome to the 911 Carrera 3.2 Register online
Porsche Post Magazine repository for 2021

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If you would like to forward something to be included in the 911 Carrera 3.2 magazine column, or online here, email us at: 911carrera32@porscheclubgb.com

Register Magazine archive 2020: here
Register Magazine archive 2021: here

January 2021 --- back to Top
Register Secretaries
Steve and Sue Edwards
020 8366 7770
911carrera32@porscheclubgb.com
Technical Advisor
Charles Marsland
01732 848323

Back in November, AKA 'Lockdown 2' for most of us, I sent out individual email invites to join our November Zoom. We had a good response, more joined than when I sent out a MailChimp invite in 'Lockdown 1'. We enjoyed a great Zoom, including international members, Charles added his invaluable support too, and it was nice to get a number of ‘thank you’ messages afterwards. If you received an email but don’t have a 3.2, your details are on the wrong Register, so please visit the Club website and update your vehicle details in 'My Profile' on the home page. Conversely, if you didn't receive an email, please check your 3.2 is in 'My Profile' otherwise you won’t appear on our Register. If your email address for a password reset is out of date, please contact Clubhouse (cluboffice@porscheclubgb.com or 01608 652911).
     Damien sent me a photo of his 3.2, asking about joining the Register. Here are a few words to accompany his photo: ‘It was my first Porsche, I have wanted one for a long time and tested both new and older cars in the end I decided that the older car was what I wanted, that driving experience, I also bought a Panamera GTS for a daily driver as well so I guess I am double dipping. I bought the car about half way through Lockdown (social distancing of course) and have done about 1500 miles in it so far, I am itching to get it out on a longer run, but weather, work commitments and of course regional lockdowns are preventing that at the moment. Everywhere I go I get complementary comments. I will go and register my car as directed’ [see above].
     John wrote this, hoping it helps 3.2 owners perhaps avoid MOT failure: 'I am passing on my MOT experience in respect of maximum CO (3.50%) and HC (1200ppm) emissions. Ten years ago the CO figure was 2.15% and HC 100ppm. Each year the figures varied with a CO reading of 2.63% and 142ppm in 2018 and 3.28% and 169ppm in 2019 respectively. Three years ago I spoke to the garage and they indicated the importance of having a good run before being tested. For 2018 I took the car to Charles who carried out some maintenance and took it for testing after a good run, hence very good figures. In 2019 the garage only took the car a couple of miles so it was barely warm hence the result above. This year Charles changed the exhaust, without any stud breakages I would add and then MOT. The excellent results are 1.91% and 136ppm. He always maintains the correct oil level, hot engine, good exhaust system and accurate MOT testing equipment all help. As a rule, expect an average CO of 2.50/2.75% bearing in mind the ages of these cars this should be considered a good average.’

Thanks to the Club offering Registers and Regions Zoom licences, we have been holding Register Zooms for over a year now. It has been an excellent opportunity for Register members to meet when it's been impossible otherwise, all enjoying discussing aspects of 3.2 ownership, with 'so much character’ seeming to be a running theme. From a personal perspective, it is good to see and hear so many new Club members, re-acquaint ourselves with long standing members, and put faces/voices to previous email correspondents. Our thanks go to ALL those who have joined us over the year, March's Zoom included members from Austria, Saudi Arabia and southern France (please remember forthcoming Zooms will be in British Summer Time). If you are our members in Canada or New Zealand, please let me know what UK time would better suit so we can include you too! If you didn't receive our 'PCGB Register Spring Zoom Invite' email, and it isn't in your Spam/Junk folder, then your email is out of date on Club records, it was rejected due to your Inbox being full, or you have not added your 3.2 on our Register. Check your Profile online, or contact Clubhouse if there is a problem.
     For those with long memories, I think I mentioned it here, I've finally bought a Lithium-Ion Jump Start battery. I searched reviews online and compiled a short list. On checking availability, though, my choice was rather limited to one easily available in the UK (possibly due to curtailed COVID-19 production). Thankfully, the Clarke Micro 300 was number two on my list! It seems to offer lots of other applications, but was bought for flat battery backup because both our daily driver and the Porsche have ageing batteries, although currently performing well for their years. It's for insurance against sudden failure, but I hope I don't have to use it.
     The Pre98 meet (mentioned in February’s column) has been confirmed as being held at Castle Combe, please see Track Day details in Porsche Post or online for details. If you are taking your 3.2, please let us know!
     Part 2 from Martin: ‘Project Targa’.
     My wife Chris and I purchased privately our 1988 Targa in July 2018. I had always planned to get and air-cooled Porsche to “tinker” with when time allowed. Little did I know that COVID would give me that time!
     In 2020 COVID struck. I decided to start my “Targa Project”. Phase one was the front suspension, replace all bushes, bearings, shocks and wear components including Turbo track rod ends, (great upgrade). All parts were blasted, powder coated or plated. After reassembly I had Precision Porsche check the tracking and geometry, I’m pleased to say only very minor tracking adjustment was required. This work was all done using axel stands. Overall, it took 3 months, longer than planned due mainly to COVID powder coating delays.
     As you saw last month, Martin now has a great Axle stand upgrade.
     Reconditioning continues at the other end next month!

     Keep the Passion

It may not be your cup of tea but for many members and the Club, the Silverstone Classic weekend is a major event. We were looking forward to the three days and seeing so many Porsche cars/owners in one location. Friday morning arrived and the car was polished and waxed ready for the show, so out to the garage, turn the key and… click. That came right out of the blue, the battery had given perfect service right up to this point. Thank goodness for our new ‘jump pack’, mentioned here previously. Now came the moment of truth; success! Was it the fault of the 5-year-old battery, the trickle charger, or something else? Leaving Silverstone, we needed the backup again, so the 70 miles there hadn’t improved the state of the battery. This didn’t spoil our day as the jump pack saved all the hassle, and we had enjoyed ourselves. Once home, I tried our other, older charger overnight and crossed fingers. Saturday morning, same story but this time the jump pack flashed ‘Error’, warning the battery was in worse condition. There needs to be some charge in the battery or, I understand, the power will be diverted there instead of to the starter motor. The backup only cost us a couple of minutes to use so the issue didn’t spoil things, however, there was one other drama before we left on Saturday morning; hopefully, a dent removal specialist can get the ding out that I accidently put in the door!  When checking in to the PCGB area upon arrival, we were asked if we would like to take part in the Classic Parade on track at 5pm. We signed up immediately! But what about starting the car to get on track, what complications would having to use the jump pack bring? I made my way to the RAC stand and the helpful attendant took me to a waiting patrol van. Mark drove me back to our car under flashing orange beacons and tested the battery. Approximately seven hundred amps capacity had gone missing with only a paltry 60ish left in residence. Thankfully, the RAC carries spare batteries so I opted for a 5-year warranty direct replacement. I now had no anxiety about getting the car on track later, or the return trip to Silverstone the following day. We were very grateful for the RAC’s presence, and to Mark for his professionalism and support in getting us out of trouble. The Parade experience was fantastic, putting huge smiles on participants’ faces, and made our day. Our thanks go to the Clubhouse team and volunteers for putting on a great weekend in difficult circumstances.
      Last month, I mentioned halogen headlight bulb upgrades. It’s worth investigating if a complete LED headlamp unit change-out is MOT compliant, but they would alter the look of the car.

     Keep the Passion

November 2021 --- back to Top
Register Secretaries
Steve and Sue Edwards
020 8366 7770
911carrera32@porscheclubgb.com
Technical Advisor
Charles Marsland
01732 848323
 
If you think you have been missed from the late Summer Zoom invite, and have checked your 911 Carrera 3.2 details and email address are up to date on the Club website, please get in touch with Clubhouse to get this rectified. On contacting Register members I see a number of failed emails due to incorrect email addresses, or a full inbox bounce back etc. From an admin point of view, in a number of cases, this appears to progress to members leaving the Club. I would like to understand if this due to a loss of interest or, feeling ignored by the Club as email contact has been lost? Is this happening to you? Please keep your details up to date and enjoy your Club. Let me know if you have resolved an email issue and I’ll reintroduce your email to my Register list.
      I was speaking to a ‘becapped mechanic’ on the Goodwood Revival Porsche Cars GB stand. He said he has the responsibility for their cars and had prepared the red liveried 50-year celebration 1970 917K inspired 911. It was Richard Attwood’s Fordwater Trophy entry at the 2019 Goodwood Revival, Richard was campaigning a 904 Carrera GTS this year. Great job to have! Also, he had responsibility for the 50/50 bodyshell we currently have for display and resident at Clubhouse. It was taken from a scrapyard and only half the shell was restored, the other half remains original demonstrating our typical early cars rust sites. When you get the chance it’s a good example to study.
      Concerns over the introduction of 10% Ethanol E10 Petrol
I’ve received emails and noticed 911Carrera3.2 threads on the Club Forum discussing pre-emptive updates to combat Ethanol in fuel. Yes, our cars were not designed to withstand the degrading effects of this ‘new’ renewable component. However, the good news is there is no planned change to the 5% Ethanol E5 ‘super’ suitable for our non-catalytic car. Therefore, I would say, if everything is regularly inspected there isn’t an immediate requirement to replace anything. From memory… ever since the introduction of UK unleaded petrol it has fallen short of the specified octane level for the 3.2 advised by Porsche, and it lost the leaded element Porsche may have factored in too. Our engine management system has limited sensors so I recommend taking care if you use less than 98 octane. Porsche Cars UK are happy that we use E5 in our Classic cars and remember a majority of us in the UK can use Esso Synergy Supreme⁺ 99 E5 that remains Ethanol free. In September the Esso.co.uk FAQ site confirms exceptions are Scotland, North Wales, North England and Cornwall, everywhere else is Ethanol free!
For all the items I’ve written that are UK centric I apologise to our international readers but I hope they are of some use or interest wherever you are.

     Keep the Passion

December 2021 --- back to Top
Register Secretaries
Steve and Sue Edwards
020 8366 7770
911carrera32@porscheclubgb.com
Technical Advisor
Charles Marsland
01732 848323

In the Workshop
     Preparing for our local Region 21 summer concours, I had the wheels off to clean the calipers and wheel arches etc. That was the plan! I hadn’t realised before but the rear wheel nuts are always harder to undo than the front. This time, one wheel nut wouldn’t budge and concerns of excess leverage on a breaker bar and shearing it off at its base were starting to worry me. I turned to heat to release it, having refitted and tightened the other four nuts to help take the tension off the ‘stuck’ nut. Using boiling water on a cloth over the nut and even preheating the socket in a cup of boiling water didn’t fix it (the nut wouldn’t retain heat as the Fuchs rim would dissipate the temperature so quickly), so I called Charles. He suggested using more heat. Having discussed what may be happening with him, it occurred to me the heat may be expanding the nut into its mating surface in the cooler rim, securing the nut even more tightly. So, perhaps doing the opposite and cooling the nut would be the answer, thoughts of putting the socket into the freezer and applying ice to the nut came to mind. I thought I’d have one more try before resorting to cooling, and the nut relinquished its grip with a creak, what a relief! It didn’t seem to take as much force as previously applied, so perhaps the earlier cycle of heating with hot water had in fact made a difference once everything had cooled again. Charles recommended replacing the old nuts and cleaning up the nut mating surfaces in the rim. With the wheel finally off the car, I used a little aluminium polish on the base of an old spare nut and elbow grease to clean up a light score in the wheel mating surface. We assumed a previous owner may have driven with a loose wheel, causing scoring and leading to this problem. New nuts required I think. If you have seen this before, or are an engineer, and can offer a reason why this may have happened, or if cooling would be useful, please let me know and I’ll share it here. The good news is that at the concours, the car was awarded a second-place prize.
      I’ve since cleaned the wheel stud threads and lubricated with Optimoly TA (aluminium anti-seize grease). I’ve changed over to it for many car maintenance applications often finding it better than copper grease, and believe its use is preferred by Porsche.
      During our Zoom call I mentioned the European requirement for UK vehicles to once again display the ubiquitous large GB sticker. However, from 28 September the gov.uk site (search Driving in the EU on gov.uk) confirmed we were to use UK with our Union flag applied on the number plate where the EU flag was previously, or clearly display a large UK sticker if the number plate shows anything else. Exceptions: Spain, Cyprus and Malta always require a large UK sticker, and Ireland doesn’t require any signage.
 
Merry Christmas
Steve and Sue

     Keep the Passion