1991 Porsche 928 S4 Auto
It was a big month for the Shark. After a 2 year dry storage hibernation it was rudely awakened, thrown through an MOT and then shaken down, up and on occasion sideways to make sure it could ferry the 2 of us round the highlands with a bunch of much newer machinery.
Initial recommissioning consisted of a service, some new fuel (oh how it helps it go) and some fiddling with the lights. The rear passenger light unit was in a bit of a nick, the bulb holders seemingly rusting away to dust. ÂŁ230 and a trip to OPC Glasgow later and we were back in action. Throw in a few fuses and i had myself a shiny new MOT 6 days before we were due to leave. That was cutting it close for the run but not the closest (eh Mr Steele?) Tatty 4 spoke wheel also got replaced with a Eurocup GT item from Porsche Shop. Happy with how it feels and a big improvement over the original wheel.
The old girl performed faultlessly on the hoon, save for a small PSD freak out going over the Dukes Pass at a rate of knots, which, to be fair, the car isn’t exactly built for. 700 odd miles and a lot of fuel later (16mpg avg) the Shark is holding up just fine as my daily driver. Still have an issue with the headlights only raising half way. New relay and a full strip down next on the cards.
1986 Peugeot 205 GTi-6
I picked this up a couple of months ago to use as a daily driver and wet weather hoon car. Having owned an Mi16 version back in my 20s and the purchase price being super cheap, it would have been rude not to. The engine was nice and pokey but not quite pulling like it should. The XU10J has a history of bending valves and becoming “a tapper” and this one was displaying these very traits.
So, as you do, the day i was off on holiday for 2 weeks i’m sat in the airport on Ebay killing time before flights and i spot a 67k Xsara VTS engine and box for not too much money. The VTS gearbox has much better ratios and the engine is a lot newer than the one in the car so i contacted the seller, came to an arrangement and the whole lot was delivered to the garage while i was many, many miles away. Bit of R and R and i’d be back home with a long weekend to complete the swap and enjoy the new setup. That easy, right?
Wrong. Turns out the pr!#k who sold me the engine failed to mention that it had been run dry and the bottom end was knocking it’s pan in. The video of the engine and box running which he was only too happy to provide was carefully filmed so as not to hit enough revs to knock. Lesson learned, if you can’t hear it running in person, it’s a dud engine.
Thankfully, due to a quiet spell at work i was able to get stuck in and build a good engine out of the myriad of parts i was now in possession of. New headgasket, timing belt, tensioner, thermostat, oil and filter fitted and the car is running again. It was a stressful return from holiday i can tell you.
Future plans for the 205 include raising the rear beam a notch, some interior renovations and paintwork. It’s looking a little sorry for itself but nothing a little TLC can’t cure.
Impreza Thing hasn’t been looked at for months due to a lack of free time. May make way for another project soon.
