TIPEC All Torque 143

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L AL E U Q R TO MBER 2020 E V O N / R E B C TO ISSUE 143 O

‘THE FEAR’ Andy Radford abandons the Porsche Centre safety net.

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN Martin Broadribb investigates Porsche’s hill climb lightweights.

TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED Richard Sholl on restoring an inhereted classic.

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All Torque is published bi-monthly by TIPEC (The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club) Text & images are © their creators. Front cover: Freshly restored Targa’s debut at Hever Castle, photographed by Craig Campion. All Torque is based entirely on submissions from TIPEC members. This is your magazine! Submissions for issue 144 (December/January) must be in before Sunday 1st November 2020.

ALL TORQUE 143 OCT/NOV 2020 CHAIRMAN’S CHAT

Editor & designer: Tony Blow tony@typescape.com Flat 2, 2 Bowmont Terrace, Glasgow G12 9LP Printed by: The Lavenham Press Ltd, Suffolk (01787 247 436) Advertising in All Torque is managed by: Sean Smallman, Walnut Tree Farm, Grain Road, Lower Stoke, Rochester ME3 9RE (07500 332 790) Website: www.tipec.net Twitter: @Porsche_TIPEC Search for us on Facebook TIPEC Chairman: Sean Smallman (07500 332 790) sean.smallman@tipec.net Treasurer: Paul Bird (01922 428 409) paulpsb928@yahoo.co.uk Advertising & sponsorhip: Sean Smallman (07500 332 790) sean.smallman@tipec.net Media Director: Paul Ffelan (07391 510 054) paul.ffelan@tipec.net Membership Director: Sue Simmons (07530 312 700) sue.simmons@tipec.net TIPEC Membership: Lavenham Group (01787 249 295) membership@tipec.lpl-uk.com TIPEC Valuations: valuations@tipec.net

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.

HERE WE GO AGAIN! This chat will definitely be my last, I wrote everything I needed to say in the April issue. It has not always been easy being Chairman, it was especially challenging at the beginning with limited funds and the need to overhaul how we were administered to ensure our survival. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself, lots of highs and very few lows over the fifteen or so years. It is impossible to run a club on your own and to everyone that has contributed during my time on the committee, thank you. We will host the AGM on Sunday 1st November and this will probably be virtual. If guidance changes between now and then we may find a venue. We have waited long enough for things to settle down, we need to agree the way for ward and discuss how we adapt around the impact of Covid. Details for the meeting are in the news section, we will follow the usual agenda and will comply with our rules and regulations. I am pleased to report that the club is in really good shape. You would be forgiven for expecting membership to be in decline, with so many cancelled events and lockdown affecting livelihoods. Far from it, our member numbers are healthy and have remained stable through 2020. A very warm welcome to all of our newbies, we hope that you enjoy being part of the gang and we look forward to meeting you and seeing your Porsches.

It has been nice to see events taking place again and I have made the most of the last few months. I am missing my late summer European road trip I usually write my column for this issue from a hotel in the Alps or the Dolomites. It would appear that most landlords are comfortable with hosting club nights as long as we comply with social distancing and sit at tables of no more than six. I have advised the regional organisers to temporarily switch venues if local issues cannot be resolved. Communication for any organisation is important and reaching out to everyone is challenging, especially with all the different formats that need updating. I have recently rejoined Facebook and the new privacy/security protocols they have in place seem to work very well (you do need to turn them all on). The format is great for instant communication and over the last few months it has been useful for organising last minute events. Most regions are using Facebook to great effect and based on my own experiences I urge everyone to join their regional group. There have been a few questions asked about the Club’s main page with regards to format and accessibility. We will set up a working party to agree the layout, access and content protocols. Please keep articles flowing into Tony. There may be little happening by way of major events and European road trips, but running reports and maintenance projects are always well received by our readers. A couple of hundred words and a few high resolution images make an article, Tony and I are happy to edit. What is your Porsche story/history? Have you recently switched marques? Maybe changed from classic to modern, or gone the other way? Thanks, Sean 3


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SUBMISSIONS FOR THE magazine are always very welcome – All Torque is your magazine and we rely on your articles, reports and photographs to keep it full of varied, interesting, Porscherelated stuff.

YOU CAN USE the club website to register or renew your TIPEC membership, advertise cars and parts for free, view old issues of All Torque, and keep up with local or national events.

They offer all the usual regalia produc ts, including T-shir ts, hoodies, jackets and polo shirts. These will be offered with your region and your choice of 911, front-engined, or Boxster logo. If there is anything that you would like that you cannot see on the club page, please give them a call.

The contact details for any TIPEC membership renewals, changes of address, queries, etc. are detailed below. Please make sure you mention that you are contacting them about TIPEC, as they deal with multiple car clubs:

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CLUB AGM 2020 NOVEMBER 1ST (SUNDAY)

Given the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and unpredictable lockdown restrictions, our 2020 annual general meeting will be a virtual one, held online. Email cluboffice@tipec.net by October 25th (titled ‘AGM’) if you wish to attend. This meeting will follow the usual format and complies with our rules and regulations. I will send out the meeting link and joining instructions along with a copy of last years minutes to those that confirm their participation. The only significant difference is that AOB questions* must be submitted in advance and must be received by 16th October to be included. We have vacancies** for Chairman, Advertising Manager and Website Manager. If you would like to be considered for any of those roles, please contact Sean ahead of the meeting. Please confirm your attendance by sending an email titled AGM to cluboffice@tipec.net by 25th October 2020. Agenda • 10:00 Annual general meeting • Apologies • Approval of minutes • Chairman’s report • Finance Director’s report • Determination of subs • **Election of officials • Amendments to rules/constitution • *Any other business AT 143

Anyone can contribute – we only ask that it is all your own work (both writing and photography).

Sometimes there simply isn’t room for everything, so please bear with us if your piece hasn’t been printed in this issue – we’ll hold some over for the quieter months when less events are on. We really do appreciate the effort made by our club members and contributors, and value ever y individual submission.

At the top-left of the homepage, you will find a link to TIPEC’s online discussion forum. This is the place to trade banter with fellow club members on a day-to-day basis, ask questions and share knowledge with your fellow club members, up and down the UK (and worldwide!)


SPEEDSTER TOURS SCOTLAND The Chesil Speedster is probably the most well known, and well respected, Porsche replica on the market. Around this time last year, the Chesil company was bought - lock, stock and barrel - by Westfield Sports Cars. The two companies are well integrated now, and by all accounts going great guns. Not so many people know that Westfield also make the electric transport ‘pods’ that ferry people around Heathrow … giving them experience which will have come in very handy in the development of their latest product, the Chesil E Speedster. This marriage of old and new is the first electric car available in the UK as a ‘home build’ kit, as well as being available as a factory build.

HE’S BEEN AT IT AGAIN! AUTHOR MARTIN BROADRIBB PHOTOGRAPHY MADMAX AUTOSPORT BACK IN All Torque 137 we looked at the record-breaking exploits of Zef Eisenberg and his highly modified but still road legal 911 Turbo.

Back to the traditional Beetle-based Speedster though. This gorgeous silver model, pictured at Edinburgh Castle, is the current Chesil demonstrator, and it recently visited Scotland for an extended tour. During lockdown, the mountain comes to Mohammed and the car comes to potential customers. So David Henry of HJD Cars (licensed seller for Westfield & Chesil in Scotland) was the lucky man who got to tour the length and breadth of Scotland showing the Speedster off to select enthusiasts (your Editor included).

Never one to rest on his laurels, Eisenberg - who has taken more than 70 speed records in this and other vehicles - was back on the straight if not narrow in July at the latest Vmax200 event, one of a number of activities promoted by the Auto Vivendi supercar club. These Vmax days are held at an operational RAF base in Leicestershire, where the airstrip allows accurately-timed standing start runs in a number of categories by some of the fastest production and modified cars around. On this particular occasion Eisenberg’s 911 Turbo, which is said to be the fastest Porsche in the UK, was the quickest wheel-powered car in the One Way Quarter Mile and One Way Half Mile categories and also recorded the top speed of the event: 239.68mph! The car is still in street condition right down to the air-conditioning and leather interior but has the necessary additions of roll cage, race seats and harnesses. Weighing just over 1,800kg and with more than 1,000bhp at the wheels the 911 was driven to and from the event and boasts the unlikely combination of a cupholder and a parachute!

WE’LL MISS YOU, DAVID AUTHOR SUE SIMMONS It was with great sadness that the Bristol & Southwest Region received news of the death of David Hodges at the end of July after a short illness. David leaves a wife, Elise, and two sons and their families, including his grandchildren and his brother who lives in Australia. David and his wife Elise have been long term members of TIPEC due to David’s passion for his 928 which I believe he had bought brand new. He had also recently added a second 928 to his collection. David & Elise have been an integral part of many of the trips and drives we have done over the last eight years - Scotland, Ireland,

Wales and the Isle of Wight to name but a few and some of the grandchildren have come along to our days out too. David was renowned for making homemade chutneys, jams and his speciality horseradish sauce - truly the best. David will be greatly missed and his sense of humour, shoulder slung jumper (and meal accompaniments wherever we went) will remain legendary in the Bristol & Southwest region. Despite the Covid restrictions a small group of us were able to travel to Somerset and line up our Porsches to pay our respects at David’s funeral - we’ll miss you, David! 5


The South Central Region broke their Porsches out of lockdown for a taste of freedom and a drive through Cheddar Gorge.

INDEPENDENCE DAY AUTHOR JASON CARTER PHOTOGRAPHY JASON CARTER THE FOURTH OF JULY, Independence Day, and whilst most Americans were celebrating their freedom from the clutches of the British, there were 21 of Stuttgart’s finest also rejoicing at their release from garage captivity. Okay, maybe only a few had been in garage lockdown, but from the enthusiasm of the drivers and their trusty steeds for our 4th July run out you would have thought these cars had been given their own independence from a foreign ruling. The day started for most at the Super Sausage Café on the A5 near Towcester, always a popular meeting point with great breakfasts - now socially distanced of course! However, for one lone Cayman this was a journey in itself, having already driven from Norfolk to join the group, a stellar effort from Simon Bonfield. Suitably refreshed with salads and pressed juices (ahem), the procession started its way across Buckinghamshire and over towards Oxfordshire. The route masters Ben, James, Gary and Stewart had been busy with their planning and ensured that the journey took the drivers through some of the most picturesque areas whilst giving all levels of driving ability the chance to move through the gears up to 60 and at a sensible pace. On through Banbury, we moved up into the Cotswolds where an additional small gathering of Porsches joined the convoy just before the beautiful town of Moreton in the Marsh. A quick pit stop was followed by a fantastic trip through a number of little villages towards our destination – Cheddar Gorge. AT 143

Amazingly, the group managed to stay as one (The traffic light gods were with us), until we reached Cirencester where some of the group took an ‘alternative’ route. Further down into the historic city of Bath we stopped for our second meeting point in North Widcombe. By now everyone had regrouped and we took on some more additions for our last leg before starting the return journey. All members of the drive both familiar and unfamiliar chatted and chewed the fat about their cars and the journey so far. We now had a huge variety of Porsches from 991s, 996s and 997s to Caymans and Boxsters too. Old and young (Some in baby seats), ladies and gents all with a love of Porsche and our community in common.

On down to Cheddar Gorge where, af ter completing a small circuit of the town we made our way back up the hill and found a suitable parking area where we all lined up and took advantage of the photo opportunity. Caffeine infusion complete, it was time to start the journey home, but not straight home for everyone! A few stories were shared on the WhatsApp group once they were home … I’ll leave it at that. Thank you to ever yone who c ame out, observed social distancing and made the day such a pleasure, we hope to see you all again soon on our next adventure! Keep an eye out on the Facebook pages and the WhatsApp group for more information.


STARTING FROM ZERO AUTHOR MARTIN BROADRIBB PHOTOGRAPHY MARTIN BROADRIBB

000 MAGAZINE is a Porsche journal like no other. In fact, even referring to it as a magazine perhaps undersells what the team behind this unique and ambitious publication have attempted and achieved. 000’s in-depth articles studiously avoid the those well-trodden paths of Porsche journalism and it boasts a visual appeal that is second to none. Triple Zero has little in common with its newsstand siblings. Its coverage of the Porsche world is wideranging and often unexpected, with articles as long as they need to be to tell the whole story and backed up by historical and specially commissioned photographs. Presenting this using imaginative design, heavyweight paper and a 9x12" format means that each issue is something to be revisited time and time again, making this an item for the bookshelf rather than the usual magazine destinations. Of course, all this comes at a price - a not inconsiderable $250 for four quarterly issues. However, that adds up to over 1,000 pages with just 5–7% of them occupied by advertising, e ac h is sue be in g s hr in k-w r a p p e d a nd delivered in a stout cardboard protector. Given that 12 months-wor th of a regular magazine usually amounts to well over a quarter of this sum and may contain 50% or more adverts, when the quality of 000’s content is also taken into account the relationship between its cost and its value becomes clear. Why that somewhat cryptic title? Its inspiration came from the plaque found inside a 916, but starting from zero also means that you can go anywhere. This is certainly not a publication for everyone, but then again the same can be said of Porsche ownership. 7


INFECTIOUS ENTHUSIASM Workshop Seventy7 are a classic resto/mod specialist in Northamptonshire. The Peterborough Region took a visit … AUTHOR STEWART THUMWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY SUNNY HOYLE & DAVE HORTON

AS USUAL FOR the Peterborough Region, we started off with breakfast at the Super Sausage Café. I’ve never had so many cooked breakfasts. With full stomachs, we set off for the short drive to WorkshopSeventy7. The building itself is steeped in history. Used in both World Wars, the split building still has a canal running down the middle. Dave Lane, owner of the business, was waiting to meet us outside. After the now-familiar talk about coronavirus safety measures, we got to take a look at Dave’s own stunning white/cream 911e, a car that just made you go ‘wow’. Going by the name Oshe (pronounced osher) after the African god of thunder, Dave’s car has had a full bare metal rebuild and has been featured in 911 & Porsche World magazine. Moving indoors, we were wowed again by a purple 911 - again the owner’s own car, this one has been featured in Classic Car magazine. Dave says he has been made offers, but the purple

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911 is not for sale - apparently because his threeyear old son likes it! So you know it’s all about the cars for Dave, not the money. Workshop Seventy7 design and build their restorations in-house. The work Dave and his team do is second to none and their passion shines through in the way they talk about their project cars - and not just the Porsches. The next car that stopped us dead was a bright red Alfa. Further along the workshop line was another 911, orange this time, being built as a race car. Roll cage inside. Spotlights on the front. Built in fuel tank, which requires you to open the boot to put fuel in (no fuel cap to spoil the line of the bonnet).


A short walk from the main workshop is a separate welding shop - kept apart so as not to transfer dust into the main space. Beside that is a trim workshop, where they can design from scratch or just retire your existing seats and roof lining from a wide choice of nicely coloured leathers. Dave’s enthusiasm as he talks about each car is infectious. You can feel his passion and it gives you confidence that these cars are in the best possible hands. Even Dave’s office is all about the cars - an old desk and a green leather sofa, open to the workshop. Imagine looking up from your computer to this workshop full of stunners …

Workshop Seventy7 are only at the start of their journey and are already designing and building some fantastic cars. It’s great to see a new company like this on the classic car scene, and I’m sure they will be around for years to come. You can find Dave Lane and the workshop on YouTube and Facebook, with videos that are well worth a watch. A big thank you to Dave for inviting down and showing us around. Thanks also to Sunny Hoyle and Dave Horton for their photos, and to everybody who got up early on a Saturday morning to join us.

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Below: Enjoying the open road in the Cayman R.

Right: Putting on the mileage - and reaching 41,000.

‘THE F AUTHOR ANDY RADFORD PHOTOGRAPHY ANDY RADFORD

MANY A PORSCHE owner has concerns and worries about maintaining the value of their pride and joy. I am a prime example with my 2011 Cayman R. This stress manifests as ‘The Fear’ with owners reluctant to place miles on the odometer, terrified by the damage that a non-Porsche Centre service stamp in the history may bring.

Since purchasing my Cayman R as a Porsche Approved Used car from Porsche Centre Tonbridge in 2016 I have fastidiously maintained a Porsche Centre service history – MOT, servicing, fluids, wheel alignment, tyre fitting, parts, the blessed MOL battery, 111 check and the Porsche Approved Warranty! Despite my best efforts, I can’t keep from driving it. The mileage has crept up from the 29,882 to the 41,000 that was glaring at me on the odometer as I collected it today from its first ever trip to an independent garage! AT 143

Let me explain myself and my actions. I have felt somewhat trapped by the extended Porsche warranty which locks the car into the Porsche Centre network for service works and parts. I felt as if the Porsche network had me committed to an exclusive, long-term relationship through my acceptance of their proposal of marriage via the Porsche Approved Warranty. Before long I realized that negotiating pricing was difficult (not impossible), and the service lacked the personal touch and quality that this ‘newly-betrothed’ customer was expecting, given the premium applied to the bottom line.

Now, this may be down to the particular Porsche Centre (not Tonbridge) or just bad luck. Either way it has helped me with my decisions on our future partnership, as has the mileage on my car, the fact that I use it, and the realization that it is never going to be destined for a collection or a museum (is any Cayman R?)


Left: Up on the lifts at an independent Porsche garage.

Below: Out with the club on a drive across Yorkshire.

FEAR’ This all crept up on me following a recent bout of spirited driving. The little warning message dutifully popped up to inform me that new brake pads were required. Having checked the pads myself and the amount of metal remaining on the discs, it was clear that time had indeed come for renewal of said parts. Needless to say, this isn’t cheap via the Porsche Centre. The damage to my wallet could be limited if I were brave enough to venture outside of the network. Getting the car booked in anywhere ahead of my long planned road trip to North Yorkshire in just a few days was impossible, and since Euro Car Parts and GSF Car Parts were both having a competition on delivery to my inbox of the largest discount code, I decided to complete the work myself with OEM spec parts at a cost of £256.

Job done, ‘The Fear’ set in immediately. What had I done? Had I gone mad? Was my 39,000-mile Cayman R now worth more broken for parts? And worst of all, was my warranty now void? After much consolation from friends in the local

and very hospitable counselling rooms (aka The Red Lion), I got a grip of the situation and determined that a quick call to the Porsche Centre would lay my warranty fears to rest.

“If it can be shown that the issues being claimed for are not in any way linked to the use of non-Porsche Genuine parts, then a warranty claim is unlikely to be refused” was the less than committed response. There was also a reminder that the warranty renewal was due in a little under two months, and that this in turn would require a 111-point check, nongenuine parts to be replaced, and a significant sum of money to exchange hands just in case something were to go wrong. The decision was swift and final – no more shall my car be under Porsche Approved Warranty and Porsche Centre constraints! The feeling of freedom has been akin to running through the Austrian hills, singing aloud with arms aloft and gay abandon … ish. 11


Below: The sweet, sweet taste of freedom.

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Not pictured: Austrian hills, gay abandon.

I had since completed a further 2,000 miles and much Internet research when my car was booked into Reason Porsche, near Ipswich, a newly established local independent Porsche specialist. I nervously asked for a MOT, a full pre-end-ofwarranty inspection and for a slight rattle to be checked. Having been delayed in dropping the car off on the afternoon prior to my appointment, the garage made arrangements for me to deliver the car much later than planned (well into the evening) with them in person. Throughout the work, I was updated on the completed inspection (nothing bad found), MOT (pass, no advisories), and accommodated for a full wheel alignment (that I had not pre-booked) to center the steering wheel that the Porsche Centre had left off-center a year or so previous. On collection, ‘my’ technician walked me through all of the work, discussed the diagnosis on the reported rattle (barely anything at all), and explained the wheel alignment. I was greeted by the owners, and the facilities that they have invested in were fully explained to me – a truly personal touch. Even the paperwork was presented to me as it would at a Porsche Centre, in a folder for the history file. The technicians and Adam Reason himself were clearly experienced and very knowledgeable on the car and all things Porsche. It’s obvious that this independent specialist has set out with a mission to alleviate the concerns that I and others express with leaving the offical network. They recognize ‘The Fear’ and like all the best independent Porsche specialists, they have invested the sums required in the equipment, the diagnostics, and experienced Porsche trained technicians. I take comfort from the fact that a successful independent needs to build and maintain a fantastic reputation for quality work - much more so than a Porsche Centre working under the official branding. Their business lives and dies on that reputation and it was refreshing to see first-hand that the knowledge, experience, professionalism and care that I expect from a specialist for such a premium brand was very much in evidence.

My car is now no longer in an exclusive relationship with the Porsche Centre network. They may meet from time to time but, as with most long-term relationships that come to an end, I suspect that will now just wither and fade. Fear? What fear? 13


AUTHOR MARTIN BROADRIBB PHOTOGRAPHY MARTIN BROADRIBB & PORSCHE PRESS ARCHIVE

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN

European hill climbs in the 1950s and ’60s led Porsche to ever more extreme lengths in the quest for weight loss. AT 143


Below: Gerhard Mitter’s 910 has not been brought back into running order and retains the battle scars that are part of its history. Even small details like the peeling Porsche crest have been reattached rather than renewed.

AS THE ROAR of unsilenced exhausts echoes around the scenery, this particular sound of music is all about timing traps rather the von Trapps. While in Britain hill climbs are measured in yards, on continental Europe they are more usually counted in kilometres and sometimes in double figures too. Abroad there is also a fiercely contested European Hill Climb Championship and while today it is the realm of private entrants, once factory-backed competitors battled for its crown. Despite companies such as Pilbeam and Gould making cars in Britain specifically for speed events, this aspect of motor sport has never quite captured public imagination here in the same way that the European events have always done. It was their keenness to succeed in this sphere that led Porsche to produce a number of cars specifically targeted at delivering results on these hills, among them the 910 and 909 Bergspyders featured here.

‘Horses for courses’ was definitely the key phrase when it came to success in this sphere of motorsport and this is still true today, when many flame-breathing and sophisticated cars can be found dashing up these often tortuous ascents at many times the speeds of their usual traffic. The courses are demanding even in the dry and it takes a certain type of driver to get the best from a powerful car being driven as fast as possible in an environment that presents many more hazards than would be encountered in the more controlled situation of a race circuit. Hill climbing on public roads had shifted to the use of closed locations quite early in British motorsport but there was a long history of such events in the more mountainous areas of Europe and these crystallised into the revived European Hill Climb Championship in 1957. Right from the start Porsche began entering 550s with special engines and as competition intensified so a more focused approach evolved.

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Left: Gerhard Mitter with his Championship-winning 910 in 1968. Regrettably he was to die in practice for the German GP the following year when still only 33.

Below: During 2019 the factory carried out an extensive programme of preservation on the car. This avoided any restoration, its aim being to keep it in its as-raced condition while checking any deterioration.

Using the same drivers as were to be found racing their cars on the great circuits - such as Barth, Maglioli, von Trips and Behra - and supplemented by many successful private entrants, numerous titles were secured in the main classes during the 1950s and ’60s and after some opposition from Maserati a definite Porsche-v-Ferrari contest developed during the latter decade.

The agile 904 also brought some success but in 1965 the company chose to combine their GP-derived eight cylinder engine and a 906 chassis to create a purpose-built hill climb special, even if it was clothed in a body that looked to be only one step removed from something home-built. These 904-8 models still turned out to be no match for those other cars that use a prancing horse on their badge though, not even after Porsche produced a radically redesigned version mid-season that incorporated Lotus wheels, brakes and suspension parts. Utilising the 906 for 1966 perhaps surprisingly led to their first trying out their new endurance racer, the 910, on the hills and this in turn led to two special ‘Mountain Spyder’ models being created that were used in the final two years that Porsche contested the Championship. Both of these cars deserve a closer look, particularly as they are not as widely-known as their circuit racing contemporaries.

The 718 in its various forms quickly supplanted the previous model but the use of the special eight cylinder 718WRS in 1962 indicated that a more specialised approach was acknowledged as being required to counter the Modena menace in the shape of ace Ferrari driver Ludovico Scarfiotti. In parallel with its circuit career this car was still being used by Porsche in 1963 (when it took the EHC sports car award) and 1964, when in response to an additional threat from the works Abarths a Porsche flat eight-engined British Elva was briefly tried but found wanting.

Evolving from the 906 in the same way in which that model had progressed from the 904, the usual list of desirable improvements were made for the 910 and then ticked off. Less weight, improved rigidity, more efficient suspension, smoother bodywork - no aspect of the car was overlooked in the search for performance gains. Even small touches such as using centre lock mountings and magnesium for the wheels all helped and while a six cylinder engine would initially be employed for endurance events a version of the faithful 2.0L flat eight was the weapon of choice on the hills. Regulation changes allowed the factory to produce specific Bergspyder variants of the 910 for the 1967 EHC. Having previously had to build their cars up to the minimum weight, with these considerations now discarded for the ultimate sports car class the engineers were able to give full rein to their inventiveness. As well as dispensing with the roof other changes were made to produce an exceptionally lightweight body and attention was paid to weight-saving elsewhere too. Whereas the 910 coupe had easily achieved the 575kg minimum required by the rules, the Bergspyder was down to 500kg coupled with its fuel injected eight cylinders producing 260bhp.

AT 143


Left: The construction of the 909 is highly visible and the instruments are all that any driver would need: An oil pressure gauge and a big rev counter.

Below: The rear flaps of the 909 are adjustable via a simple but wellmade mechanism.

Development did not stop there though and even working within a budget that set a maximum cost per kilo saved the racing department were able to get their ultimate version down to 420kg. Spurred on by the opposition - and not only from old rivals Ferrari - this was achieved by the widespread use of the latest, lightest and sometimes rather costly materials for as many components as possible and the reward was an EHC one-two for the 910s that year. For their final year of contesting the Championship Porsche built three new 910 Bergspyders for regular factory drivers Mitter and Stommelen, who were now joined by long-time rival Scarfiotti. By incorporating further improvements and shaving yet more weight the cars were now down to 410kg, which coupled with an increase to 275bhp gave them a onetwo-three at the opening event, although tragedy struck at the next race when Stommelen and Scarfiotti crashed, the latter fatally. Even with these improved cars there were still some formidable rivals to be overcome, but Porsche had one more card to play in the form of the 909.

Bottom: Everything about the 909 says ‘function’ through its ruthless simplicity.

Introduced for the final two rounds of the 1968 series, the two 909s were built specifically for the hills and helped Mitter to take his third successive championship, Stommelen becoming runner-up. Although using the same engine as the preceding car, further thought had been given to weight distribution in the pursuit of neutral handling with the driver and engine moved forward and this model embodied some of the thinking that would also make the 908 such a success on the circuits. Shorter than the special 910s and with an astonishing dry weight of only 375kg, the designers came up with a car that offered significantly better driving characteristics than the previous model and its very brief career was a fitting swansong to the factory involvement in the series. In many respects Porsche’s EHC success had been an uphill struggle - literally and otherwise - but the effort devoted to achieving this certainly paid off.

17


AT 143


Below: Just how small and consequently light the 909 is can be seen when it is parked adjacent to the one-off Boxster Bergspyder that Porsche constructed in 2019.

19


LOCKDOWN RESTORATION Using the time under Covid-19 restrictions to get some work done on our cars has been a popular decision. Here’s George Campion’s story …

Top: Rot and rust uncovered when I got carried away.

Above and right: New wing patches welded in.

AT 143

AUTHOR GEORGE CAMPION PHOTOGRAPHY GEORGE CAMPION I PURCHASED MY 911 Targa in 2007, without much prior knowledge of Porsches. The car was inspected by a local mechanic who said she was in a good condition for the price. I enjoyed a summer of open top motoring, then I started to tinker. I found both door shuts and inner and outer sills needed replacing, so off she went to the bodyshop. I then replaced all the brake lines, discs, callipers and steering rack. I then also fettled the engine and gearbox. I joined TIPEC to meet likeminded people and learn more about Porsches. Over the years I have made some good friends and had lots of laughs. I’ve had some great days out, some memorable foreign trips and I definitely know more now about the Porsche and the cars than I did when I started.


Left and below: The Targa’s wellreceived debut at Hever Castle.

We were booked into Bromley Pageant and I decided the Targa wasn’t looking her best. So, on the Saturday evening I decided to give her a quick facelift. I still had some paint left over from doing the sills. She was the only Porsche on show with whitewall tyres … which caused amusement for all, whilst the bacon was cooking for our breakfasts. The most useful thing I’ve found in my tool box is gaffa tape. When we were on our way to Gaydon the Targa top kept lifting and the wind noise was tremendous. I pulled into the next services and ran gaffa tape across the roof. Great! But only a few miles down the motorway it started lifting and flapping about again. Those behind us had a laugh at our expense once more!

2020 was going to be her year for a complete restoration. Prices had been quoted and decisions made. Then came Covid-19. In March 2020, a few days into lockdown, I went out to the garage to tinker. I only intended to remove some parts ready for the restoration. I got a bit over zealous. I removed the whole front of the car, wings included. Doing this exposed the rot beneath. I slowly started removing every nut and bolt. I found severe rust all along the inner wing and floor pan. I had attended evening classes 20+ years ago, so I thought I would have a go. I welded new repair panels to the front corners and bumper mounts. I even did a bit of recycling by using the old wings to make repair patches. The old steel was a lot thicker than the new panels I had purchased.

Once I had done all that I could, I put her back together again with her new wings intact. I was going to drive around a couple of places recommended by the club to get quotes, but my neighbour - who is a retired body technician - got in touch with a colleague from Works Renovations in Kent. They came to my house and gave me a quote, which was reasonable. He then threw a spanner in the works by saying that if I was willing to strip her back to bare shell, it would considerably lower the cost. Well, that was a done deal. After stripping her out to a bare shell she was picked up on a low loader. They stripped her back further to bare metal, sending pictures along the way.

Resprayed and returned, I now had the task of putting her back together again! I had ordered new interior panels, so in they went, new rubbers, and a new windscreen. I found it a challenging project but at the same time feel massively rewarded for my efforts. And I also came out a few thousand pounds cheaper than expected. Her first trip out was to Hever Castle in Kent in August - socially distanced, of course!

Left: Ready for fresh paint at Works Renovations. 21


PERFORMANCE DELIVERED AUTHOR MARTIN BROADRIBB

Austria, 1975: Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Dr Porsche’s birth.

Ajman (UAE), 1971: A set of prestige cars – and a Toyota!

THE BUSINESS OF delivering a communication from one person to another may be as old as the invention of writing and the first known instance of a system of sending written messages dates to Egypt in around 2400BC. This was only used for the carriage of official material and it was some time after this anywhere between 1700 and 500BC - that Persia established something more egalitarian for those of its citizens in a position to access it and even tentatively began communicating with its adjacent countries. While national and international postal systems continued to develop over successive centuries there have been a number of challenges to physical written communications since the establishment of telegraph systems in the 1840s including telephone, telex, fax and more recently text and the postal services’ biggest threat, email.

Togo, 2012: One of their two Porsche issues that year. Malawi, 2006: Britain-4, Germany-2.

The advent of the Internet also allowed many things that would once have needed to be sent to a recipient to simply be accessed by them, so with all of these challenges you might think that postage stamps would by now have been reduced to very minor importance. However, there are still things that need to be mailed and as well as the practicalities of producing something that can be bought and affixed to the item to allow this there is a longstanding and world-wide enthusiasm for all things philatelic. While stamp collecting began as early as the latter part of the 18th Century, by the middle of the 19th Century interest in the hobby was exploding and this enthusiasm has continued to the present.

Union, 1986: From a 1983-87 British Commonwealth Islands Auto 100 series, this 550 even includes its chassis number!

Producing stamps aimed as much at collectors as for commercial use was an established practice well before the advent of electronic communications, but it has turned out to be a very useful source of income for postal services the world over in an age when their traditional source of revenue is under threat. While the list of subjects used on postage stamps contains a mixture of the recurring and the original a surprising number of stamps have been produced featuring Porsches, often from the most unlikely countries. Some have just been made for normal use while others are more squarely aimed at collectors and sometimes come in single or multiple minisheet formats. Porsches also crop up as par t of mixed automotive sets and so illustrated here is a somewhat random selection of Porschethemed philately. AT 143

Chad, 2020: Rare Porsches but major spelling and perforation errors so possibly a forgery.

Lebanon, 2007: Billy Karam (featured) also owns the world’s largest collection of car-themed stamps. Paraguay, 1972: A decent depiction of a 917.


Hungary, 1986: The 959 looks OK, but the Beetle …

Mali, 1972: The winning Matra is identifiable, less so the 907 or 910 in pursuit.

Madagascar, 1996: Apparently genuine, but from a small country with a HUGE fake stamp problem.

Guinea, 2011: Ferry makes a rare appearance.

Grenada, 1986: Part of a 100 Years of the Automobile set.

Holland, 2014: De Beaufort’s 718/2 from a set depicting cars in the Louwman Museum.

Solomon Islands, 2014: One of their two 911 50th issues. Niger, 2018: Fifty-five years is an odd anniversary to celebrate.

Somalia, 2000: A Classic Automobiles set.

Central African Republic, 1983: Strangely depicting a famous British 356, UU14. Congo, 2012: The one-off Tapiro would have made a nice inclusion but despite the caption the illustration is a 1970 Vauxhall SRV!

Mongolia, 1978: A 936 from a series of six oddly-proportioned racing cars.

23


Above: Photographed on the cobbles in Manchester by Luke Dulski. AT 143


TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED AUTHOR RICHARD SHOLL PHOTOGRAPHY LUKE DULSKI & RICHARD SHOLL

To their surprise, Richard and Diane Sholl inherited a 964. Never having owned a classic before, it took some getting used to. THIS 911 LIVED on the Isle of Man for the first 10 years of her life, moving to Lancashire in 2000 to spend 17 years with the inimitable Mr Fred Hindle. Sadly, Fred fell ill during 2014 and the car spent three or so years stationary on the Fylde coast whilst its owner fought a battle he couldn’t win. By September ’17, Fred’s will had been read and his ‘beloved 911’ was, to our huge surprise, bequeathed to Diane and I. Under sad circumstances we became a two-911 household.

Right: Leaving Cleveleys to go to Blackburn after three years stationary.

With help from club friends the car was trailered to her new home in Blackburn and the recommissioning process started. She refused to turn over when connected via jump leads to the big battery on my friend Colin’s diesel Passat (the infamous Colin Hammerton, Regional Organiser of the North West Region). So, new battery fitted, DME relay removed, and she decided to spin over on the key and show a bit of oil pressure. DME relay refitted, a couple of litres of fresh fuel sloshed into the petrol tank, and she fired up on what sounded like three cylinders after a few seconds. After a few seconds more, the other cylinders joined in and we had a running 964 and a garage full of fumes. We also had a severely leaking fuel line under the car, but that didn’t stop me, Colin and Diane each having a drive up and down our road. You know, for celebratory reasons. 25


Below: Making progress in the Yorkshire Dales.

“Bl##dy hell the steering’s heavy … why is it misting up so much in here?”

Since we’ve had the 964 a lot of work has gone into her. I could list everything but that’d be very boring. Suffice to say, she’s had some areas of rust removed and some fresh paint applied. The Design 90 wheels have been refreshed and the tyres are now Uniroyal RainSport 3s. The ride height when received was far too low to be practical, so the aftermarket coil-overs of unknown origin have been titivated with new ride height adjusters so that the car doesn’t scrape on every traffic-calming measure on the road that leads to Belvedere Speed Shop.*

Yeah, there is power steering but you’d hardly know. Yeah, there is a heating and ventilation system with added air-conditioning, but you’d hardly know. Yeah, there are headlights, but you’d hardly know. Yeah, there are windscreen wipers, but you’d hardly know … and so on. Of course, any Porsche owner coming from, say, a 356 would perhaps consider a 964 to be the epitome of luxury and modern conveniences. For a couple of Porsche people who’ve known only a 986S and the aforementioned 997S, our 964 represents a window into the past.

Diane and I were very much ‘air-cooled virgins’ before this 964 came into our lives. After its first MOT with us, and on Diane’s first ‘proper’ drive on a dark and damp December ’17 evening she was heard to say “Bl##dy hell the steering’s heavy” promptly followed by “why is it misting up so much in here?” The only sage and slightly apologetic answer I could muster was “It’s an old 911 ...” and, being an old 911 it has a certain rustic charm.

But (and there’s always a but) for all the cash she’s consumed, the oil she’s leaked, the rust she’s bubbled and the ‘will she/won’t she start’ moments, this little 911 has managed to worm her way into our hearts. Affectionately known as ‘Fred’ by many of our Porsche friends this car has changed some of our motoring habits. When out and about with ‘Fred’, we no longer head home via the closest motorway, instead we choose a route via an A or B road route where 40–60mph makes more sense than a steady 70mph.

*My pet name for our domestic garage, where lurks this 964, our 997 and an antisocial Harley Davidson chopper. AT 143


Below: With club cars on a post-lockdown Sunday drive.

A family anniversary bash in South Wales last year saw us take all day to reach Raglan. By design we avoided motorway driving once past Chester and instead drove the old Welsh roads through villages and towns using a map to guide us: there’s a certain romanticism to be found in an old 911 on a country road. And yet, for all her old-school charm, when opportunity knocks our 964 has a turn of speed that still surprises me. She’ll squat on her haunches as the tacho needle rises, the original exhaust system reminding me that noise regs were less punitive back in 1990, and make remarkable progress as the long-travel accelerator pedal gets mashed into the carpet.

The weight of that rear mounted 3.6 flat six engine is definitely detectable, as is the front end’s willingness to understeer if the driver is not prepared to think about his or her actions when the road gets a twist on. But, with planning and enthusiasm, progress can be made - and rewarding it is, too!

964 handling, of course, needs consideration. Again, as an air-cooled virgin, I’d read all the cliché-riddled articles about the engine ‘hanging out the back’ and the ‘pendulum effect’ that was near-guaranteed to throw the car and all conspirators present off the road and into the nearest ditch at the first fast corner. A driving god I am not, and I have learned over the years that precaution is better than unwanted emergency: the age-old mantra of ‘slow in, fast out’ has perhaps been the best advice to follow.

Future plans for this pretty coupé are simple: to continue to improve her general reliability and continence (at the time of writing, the oil level sender unit on the oil tank is dribbling more than it should and there’s a new unit and gasket awaiting fitment) and to use and enjoy her as much as possible.

Bottom: Rust repair not as bad as first expected.

Top: Fresh from Performance Porsche’s Brighouse paint booth.

We’re ver y fond of her, and apparently so are many members of the general motoring public: youngsters in their Vauxhall Corsas will offer a thumbs-up at the traffic lights, late model BMW drivers will offer a knowing nod on petrol station forecourts and even the lady in the office at our local timber merchant called the car ‘beautiful’.

Diane has an uncanny ability to sum things up succinctly and after a recent spirited tour of the Yorkshire Dales in her mk 3.5 Mazda MX5 she remarked “I used to think this was a good sports car. But it’s not a 911, is it?” Her words were all the evidence required to prove that 964 custodianship has gotten to us.

27


Steve Finniss took DIY steps to revise the exhaust on his Cayman, replacing the single exit with properly separated twin pipes.

RE-PLUMBING THE PORSCHE AUTHOR STEVE FINNISS PHOTOGRAPHY STEVE FINNISS I HAVE OWNED my 2014 981 Cayman for two years now and I love it, using it as my daily transport. When I bought it, I was not too keen on the single oval exhaust tail pipe. I could not believe Porsche seem to have used a plumber to design it! The two silencer outlets go to a ‘T’ piece then exit the rear of the car. I started to look into replacing it with twin pipes. I liked many of the aftermarket ones but I did not like the cost! So I thought I would fabricate my own and incorporate a small modification to improve (depending on your option) the exhaust sound. As the car is a daily and I started doing this before the Covid-19 lockdown kicked in, I could not take my exhaust of f quickly (more on this later) to fabricate the tail pipes and do the exhaust modification.

1: Getting the new twin pipes fixed in place. AT 143

2: Cutting the inlet pipe out from inside the silencer.

Instead I purchased a good second-hand exhaust and a g e n ui n e e x h a us t c l a m p i n g sleeve so that I could assemble my exhaust and simulate how it would be on the car. After much thinking, Internetting and lots more pondering, I decided to make two tail pipes that remain separate from one another, instead of blending them together like most of the aftermarket ones. I bought the following: • Two 90º 57mm OD tight (1D) Mandrel T304 stainless bends, • One 57mm ID T304 stainless exhaust clamp, • 250mm of 57mm OD T304 stainless tube, • Two Arkrapovic Carbon exhaust tips, • Two T304 stainless steel exhaust tips, • Four T304 stainless tube clamps.

I bought two different types of tips because I could not make my mind up which would look better. With the two exhaust silencers clamped together, I made a template to hold the exhaust tips in the correct place. I cut the exhaust clamp in half and then down to the shortest length it could be. I cut some length off the end of the 90º bend and shortened the pipes that exit the silencers, to allow them to meet up with the exhaust tips. I kept cutting/modif ying until I was happy with the result. I had to add a short length of tube to the 90º bend to make sure the tips would be level with the rear bumper. I used four stainless steel tube clamps to secure the pipes. I tacked a weld on the joints and asked a friend to TIG them together (as I don’t own a TIG) he apologised for the finish not being as neat as he would have liked, but it does the job.

3: Closing the silencer, welding and painting.


I then moved on to modifying the exhaust itself, hopefully the photos are self-explanatory. I marked out an area on the top side of the silencer above the inlet pipe and used a cutting disc to cut the whole piece out. Then I completely cut through the inlet pipe and took it out of the silencer. I welded the cut piece of silencer back on to make an airtight repair, gave it a coat of high temperature paint, then repeated the process on the other silencer. By the time I had done all of this work lockdown was in force, so that gave me the time to swap exhaust and fit my exhaust tips. As some of you will know, removing the manifold to silencer fixings is not straightforward! I could not believe how badly the fixing nuts had corroded on a car that was only six years old. I used a combination of a Dremel and cold chisel to remove what was left of the nuts. Luckily the 981 only has a total of four …

4: The challenge of corroded nuts and studs.

Then what I thought were bolts are not - they are studs pushed into spigots on the back of the flange! I tried to hammer them out but they were not moving and I did not want to shock the cats or cause more damage. I did more Internetting to find the best way to remove these studs. Heating them seemed the most popular method, but I don’t have access to a controlled heat source. But I then found out about someone who had made a little stud extracting tool. I made myself one and it worked a treat, no chance of setting the car on fire or damaging the cats. The old studs were a sight for sore eyes! I could then remove the old exhaust and replace it with my new modified one. This went on well. I then fitted brand new exhaust flange gaskets and replaced the corroded studs with stainless steel nuts and bolts. I installed my two single exhaust tail pipes and exhaust tips.

5: The essential home-made stud extraction tool.

I tried both the plain stainless steel exhaust tips and the carbon Arkrapovic ones. In the end, as the car is black, I preferred the Arkrapovic ones. Total cost was £208, plus lots of thinking time and many hours fabricating the tail pipes. The modification to the silencer took me about a morning to complete.

There is a nice crisp sound low down in the rev range and a gunshot sound when changing up on maximum throttle. There’s no droning noise when cruising on the motorway. Plus I can easily revert to the standard setup, as I still have the original exhaust and tail pipe.

Removing the rust y exhaust fixings took about a day, which included making the little stud ex trac tor and sourcing new stainless nuts and bolts. I might have a go at making another exhaust tail pipe more like the aftermarket ones that blend together as they leave the silencers … but if I do decide to do that, it can be looked at during the winter months. I like the result both cosmetically and acoustically. Whether it has made any dif ference to performance, I doubt it.

6: Finally extracting the corroded studs from the flange. 29


REGIONAL ROUND UP R2

Scotland

R20

South Central

R3

North East

R8

Anglia & North Essex

R5

North West

R11

North London, Herts & South Essex

R4

Yorkshire

R13

Thames Valley

R18

Cheshire & Staffs

R12

Kent & South East London

R6

South Yorkshire & North Notts

R9

Surrey & Sussex

R26

Shropshire & Mid Wales

R21

Hampshire

R7

Central

R22

Bristol, South West & South Wales

R19

East Midlands

R23

Southern

R24

Peterborough

R2

R3 R4 R5

R18

R26 R7

R22 R23

R2

R6 R24

R19

R20 R13

R11

R21

R9

R12

SCOTLAND

scotland@tipec.net RO David Clelland • 07794 600 808 ARO (West) Neil Baird ARO (East) Tim Price Facebook: TIPEC Scotland Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month 7:30pm for an 8pm start in the 007 bar, upstairs at Bo’Ness Motor Museum, Bridgeness Road, Bo’Ness EH51 9JR. www.motor-museum.bo-ness.org.uk Regional sponsors: McLean and Stewart, Solicitors & ClipperTrek Motorhome Hire

An impressive lineup at Archerfield House

As always, I hope that everyone is still well and coping during these strange times. Restrictions hampering our daily life are still with us due to Covid-19 and as a result we haven’t had a monthly meeting at Bo’Ness Motor Museum since the beginning of March. I don’t know when this will change. However, some of us had a virtual meeting online during July and while there weren’t as many members as we usually see at our AT 143

R8

regular meetings there were enough to catch up with what everyone had been getting up to during lockdown. One of the things that came out of the above virtual meeting was the proposal to have a get together somewhere (in the open air and maintaining social distancing) and a short run, followed by lunch. Thanks to the organisational skills of Brian Hutchison, this took place on Sunday 16th August. Two 911s, four Boxsters, three Caymans and two 944 Turbos met at Sheriffhall park and ride just outside Edinburgh and wound their way along the coast to Archerfield House near North Berwick, where we stopped for some photographs. From there we continued to St Abbs and stopped for a cup of tea at The Old School Café before heading inland to Duns and then over the moor to Haddington for lunch at the Tyneside Tavern. Believe it or not this was only the second lunch run of 2020. Our Annual General Meeting is due to take place at the start of December. Apart from the usual roundup of what has happened during the year and a report of the Scottish Region’s finances, the management team stands down and a new one is voted in. To be honest I don’t know in what form this meeting will take place.

R3

NORTH EAST

RO Derek Ellison • 07862 794 149 derekdse123@aol.com ARO John Tomlinson • 07595 166 187 Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month from 7pm at The Old Farmhouse, Darlington DL2 1JZ.

R5

NORTH WEST

RO Colin Hammerton • 07500 908 091 col.hamm@hotmail.co.uk ARO Richard Sholl • 07970 147 779 n22rks@googlemail.com ARO Dave Gort • 07800 825 241 davegort@icloud.com ARO Joe Turner • 07599 100 151 joe@joesshineshop.uk ARO Cumbria Dean Mason • 07599 015 694 deanthediver@gmail.com Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month from 7pm (with club business dealt with at 8pm) at The Bowling Green, Preston Road, Charnock Richard PR7 5LA.

The current committee has been in office for two years now and some of the members have indicated they don’t intend to stand for a third year. There is therefore an opportunity for other club members to get involved. With this in mind, I ask anyone who is interested in becoming a TIPEC Scotland management team member to nominate themselves by sending an email to scotland@tipec.net

North West members’ Porsches lined up


I’ll start my report with the news that NW membership is at an all time high with just under 260 members! I look forward to seeing you all when the current restrictions are lifted fully.

socially distanced sit down breakfast, the first proper one since the start of lockdown. It was a great morning catching up with club friends after what has been a very strange six months!

Please accept my apologies for the lack of events over the last few months but rules are rules and the safety of our members is paramount! With the continued easing of restrictions we are beginning to kickstart activity. We have a few runs and breakfast meets up our sleeves. Keep an eye out for updates on your email, our busy Facebook group and our web page.

A last minute Facebook post by myself at the end of August saw seven NW cars enjoy an early morning blast. We met at our not so secret muster point, McDonalds Clitheroe. From there we enjoyed a cross country run around the country lanes of Lancashire, North Yorkshire and Cumbria stopping at Ribblehead Viaduct for the now-obligator y socially distanced photo opportunity.

Several NW members enjoyed a socially distanced track day at Blyton Park in early July, organised by Jim Stevens of the East Midlands Region. It was a wet and windy one but a great day was had by all. In mid-July we held a run organised via Facebook by David Courtney & Douglas Ogden. What was supposed to be a small run with 12 cars in two groups proved very popular! We ended up with six totally separate groups of six cars enjoying a gentle drive over hill and dale at TIPEC NW pace! Two groups left Burnley at 15 minute intervals. A further three groups left Preston at 10 minute intervals and one Cumbrian group left from Porsche Centre Kendal. We took two totally different routes around the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbrian moors before all meeting up at the Tan Hill Inn for a preordered, socially distanced bacon butty and a brew. From here most of us made our way home via the famous water splash used in the opening sequence of All Creatures Great and Small, Buttertubs Pass, Hawes and Ribblehead viaduct. David Courtney organised a breakfast run in early August via our Facebook group, with numbers limited to comply with social distancing rules. The day started off near Manchester, taking in the Peak District and finishing near Burnley. A great success and everyone enjoyed themselves. We held a late-August breakfast meet organised Gmund qs 30/6/08 Page 1 Sholl. via Facebook again by16:49 our ARO Richard

18 Porsches and their occupants enjoyed a

We then made our way via Hawes to our breakfast stop at NW Club member Julie Beagles’ cafe in Kirkby Stephens where we enjoyed a brew and a bacon and egg butty. We made our way home via Sedburgh & Kirkby Lonsdale.

R4

YORKSHIRE

yorkshire@tipec.net RO Laurence Parkin ARO Tony Hartley • 07714 822 808 Facebook: The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club Yorkshire Meetings are held third Monday of every month 7:30pm at The Red Lion, Main St, Burley in Wharfedale, Ilkley LS29 7BT.

R18

CHESHIRE & STAFFS

If you are not already a member of our very busy Facebook group, then you can find us at www.facebook.com/groups/TIPEC.NW

RO Chris Hulme • 07775 794 291 chris@claytonhulme.co.uk ARO Stefanie Mahan • 07776 132 389 ARO Gareth Aldridge • 07881 228 944 gj.aldridge@yahoo.co.uk ARO Ian Highfield ianhighfield@talktalk.net facebook.com/groups/TIPEC.CS

October 11th (Sunday) Run out to be organised by David Courtney, details TBC

Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month at 8pm at The Kilton Inn, Warrington Rd, Knutsford, WA16 0PZ.

October 12 (Monday) Club night at the Bowling Green TBC, will confirm as restrictions change October 25th (Sunday) Breakfast meet, details TBC November 9th (Monday) Club night at the Bowling Green TBC, will confirm as restrictions change November 29th (Sunday) End of season run, details TBC nearer the time December TBC (Saturday) Christmas meal – we are looking into what we can achieve within Government guidelines December 14th (Monday) Chrstmas quiz on our usual club night at the Bowling Green TBC, will confirm as restrictions change

Getting some track time in the wet …

August is usually when we see some great cars out at Tatton Park and picnic drives out, but we are finding new ways to get out and enjoy our cars. Our latest events across the Peak District and again on the Bomber County Run across Lincolnshire with friends in the 924 Owners Club show that we can enjoy days out safely and with regulations in mind.

www.gmundcollection.com The internet's largest collection of Porsche memorabilia.

DVD’S & CD’S C’était un rendevous - £14.99 The new RUF DVD - £55.00 Best Motoring - The Porsche 996 Turbo - The King? - £19.99 Porsche model info CDs - £10.00

PHONE FOR LATEST MODELS WORKSHOP MANUALS Original Porsche workshop manuals available for all models, most ex-stock

BOOKS

SALES BROCHURES Porsche Sales Brochures from the 1960’s/70’s/80’s to present day are now available. From £10

ORIGINAL DRIVERS HANDBOOKS These handbooks are what would have been supplied with every new car that left the dealership. They contain lots of very useful information - almost every model is still available with prices starting from £25.00

w w w.g m u n d co lle c t i o n .co m email: info@gmundcollection.com tel: 0870 20 20 911 fax: 0870 20 20 959

33


For those of us that were able to get to Oulton Park in August, it felt like some normality had returned and it was great to stand in a field chatting about cars once again! The racing also helped make it thoroughly enjoyable.

R6

S OUTH YORKSHIRE & NORTH NOTTS.

RO & ARO wanted urgently More normality has returned to club nights, seeing around 14 or so attending the July and August meetings and the opportunity for more places is expected as lockdown pressures ease. We’ve also seen a huge amount of work being done on our cars across the region whether on our drives, in our garages or with specialists, the Facebook group and club forum proving invaluable sources of info, experience and solutions to various issues. By the time many of your read this, some of us will already have taken on the track (and weather) at Anglesey Circuit and others will be planning their day out at the Weaver Wander on the 12th. With the NEC Classic Car Show, and Simply Porsche at Beaulieu, this could be a very busy last quarter of 2020 – lockdown pending! Organisation of events and meetings is enabling more of you to join in the fun but we do still need to book places to make sure we stay safe. More on events, club nights and trackdays will follow. Keep an eye on your emails for the regional newsletter. Circumstances are very changeable at present so please bear with us over the coming months as we all adjust to the new normal. See you all soon (safely)!

Meetings are held first Sunday of every month at 7pm for 7:30pm start at Ye Olde Bell Hotel, Barnby Moor, Retford, Notts, DN22 8QS Keep up to date at www.synn.org.uk or look for us on Facebook as ‘Porsche Enthusiasts Club - South Yorkshire & North Notts (TIPEC)’ R26

S HROPSHIRE & MID WALES

RO Richard Simmons • 07972 811 221 richardjjs@yahoo.co.uk ARO Mick Duckworth • 01952 411 697 mickduckworth156@hotmail.com ARO Neil Thomas ARO North Wales Vinny Jones vinnyckjones@hotmail.com Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 8pm at the Fox and Hounds, Wytheford Road, Shawbury, Shrewsbury SY4 4JG.

October 30th or 31st (Friday or Saturday) Halloween drive in the Peaks

November 17th (Tuesday) Club night at The Kilton Inn Future events TBC: • WeissachUK (Byley, Middlewich) for breakfast, workshop tour and chat. • Classic and Sports (Warrington) for club night. • Anglesey Transport Museum (Tacla Taid). • Autobrite (Stoke on Trent) for general meet and chat on cleaning and detailing. • Cosford Air Museum, where we are usually able to arrange a photoshoot with all the cars lined up under the wings of the planes. • Yorkshire Air Museum and Eden Camp: some of the finest air and military hardware on show! • Frost Restoration (Glazebury, Warrington) for a meet up and chat on restoration. • Portmeirion - a little Italian village in Wales to be part of an overnight trip. • Sleap Airfield (nr Shrewesbury) for a hearty breakfast on a Sunday prior to a full day’s drive. AT 143

Blow the doors off, Abergynolwyn, organised by Brian Saunders In the end it was just two cars, but a really well organised drive-in set up at Magic Lantern Cinema in stunning surroundings. Good to meet Anthony Garrod in his Targa with his son and daughter. This was an outdoor cinema trip to watch The Italian Job. 4th October 4th (Sunday) Breakfast Meeting at Weston Park, 9:30am The venue ask is that we don’t mingle in groups of more than six and observe social distancing. October 15th (Thursday) Breakfast at Welshpool Airport, 9:30am November 1st (Sunday) Mach loop run, leave from Welshpool 9:30am November 29th (Sunday) Mr Scarlet’s magical mystery tour 9:30am Please check our Facebook page to confirm events and send Richard your email address if you want to be added to our email list.

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CENTRAL

tipeccentral@outlook.com RO Lindsay Brown • 07768 442 050 ARO Steve Jones • 07775 581 044 ARO Neil Smith • 07899 961 429

October 20th (Tuesday) Club night at The Kilton Inn

November 13–15th (Friday–Sunday) NEC Classic Motor Show

Mach narrow mountain road. After a short stop we will go along the coast road to Twywn. From there we will pick up the Abergynolwyn road and then onto the Mach loop.

Meetings are held second Monday of every month 7:30pm onwards at The Bull’s Head, Birmingham Road, Shenstone WS14 0JR. www.vintageinn.co.uk/thebullsheadshenstone At the drive-in!

Firstly can we please welcome Neil Thomas as our new ARO. Neil will be planning the monthly runs. We have added questions to the request to join our Facebook groups (up until now we have concentrated on getting new members). Meetings are cancelled for the time being and we are concentrating on driving around our beautiful region and enjoying breakfast and fish and chip meetings. North Wales drive, organised by Neil Thomas We met at Mile End Oswestry, from where nine cars drove up into North Wales to Bala Transwynth, and joined the A5 for the run back down to Oswestry. A great time was had and we decided to organise some really early starts to miss the traffic. We will let you know if this worked out on 20th September. Mach loop trial, Llanbrynmair, organised by Terry Allen This will be part of a route organised for Nov 1st - The Mach loop. The plan is to do the Staylittle to

2020 has certainly been a strange year. As I write this report car shows are just starting to start up again, albeit slowly, and some events have still been postponed until 2021. We have had one club night in August where we were limited to numbers due to The Bull’s Head only allowing six per table. With the £10 off meal deal running we were capped at three tables as they were fully booked. I have to confess to this being my first visit to a pub since lockdown, it was certainly great to see everyone who contacted me to secure a place on the night. Middleton Hall restarted their Sunday morning meets back in July, capping the number of cars to 50 using a ticket only entry. We managed seven cars on the day, which under the circumstances was a great turnout. August’s meet only saw five club cars due to it being a sell out early on. This is a lovely show in picturesque settings and we will put this back onto next year’s events listing. Another event that I couldn’t attend last year was Boxengasse, but this year we met up at Warwick Services and had a convoy down to Bicester.


The weather was kind and there were 911s as far as the eye could see - from the earliest air cooled to the latest 992, with quite a few RSes and a beautiful late ’60s 911R basking in the sun. Those that know me know of my love of the 964 Turbo 3.6 and there were two stunning examples on show. There were also a couple of early ’70s 911 RSRs - I wasn’t quite sure if they were genuine or not, but they were very good if they were replicas. I have started the breakfast meets again although we are still a bit limited to venues so we may just have to use pubs for now. Numbers will be limited by the pub. I still have to get conformation from The Bull’s Head for on the numbers allowed at club night. We will use Facebook and email to contact you with details of club night and any events. I have now started a WhatsApp group as well. If you would like to be added to the group just message me with your phone number. This will make contacting people at short notice a lot easier.

At last – it feels like we’re back up and running! We’ve had a great couple of months in the East Midlands, kicking off with a joint trackday with our North West chums at Blyton Park on July 3rd. For many of us this was the first chance to get out in our cars since the start of lockdown and we weren’t going to let a bit of rain dampen our spirits!

Both Shash Mistry and James Baker also joined the Spinderella club with no unpleasant damage, although James did suffer an alternator failure later on which brought his day to a premature end – the only casualty of the day. The North West gang had a long journey home and drifted off during the afternoon which left the track getting emptier, just as it was really drying up.

October 12th (Monday) Club night at The Bull’s Head

The last 45 minutes was fantastic, with just myself, James Mackenzie-Scott and Phil Sterne left circulating.

October 25th (Sunday) Breakfast meet, venue TBC November 9th (Monday) Club night at The Bull’s Head November 13–15th (Friday–Sunday) Classic and Sportscar Show at the NEC November 22nd (Sunday) Breakfast meet, venue TBC

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EAST MIDLANDS

east.mids@tipec.net RO Jim Stevens • 07879 885 260 ARO Mark Frearson Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month 7pm at The Packe Arms, Rempstone Road, Hoton, Loughborough LE12 5SJ.

It was great to catch up with members old and new after such a long time stuck at home. A great day, great cars and great company – sums up the TIPEC spirit pretty well! We’ve also got the monthly meets up and running again, despite our usual venue being unavailable. Many thanks to Danny Williams for using his industry contacts to sort out a replacement venue at short notice. We’ve managed to get together in both July and August with September currently ‘TBC’ but hopefully going ahead as planned. Finally, on August the 22nd, we had a run-out to Lincolnshire to meet up with some of our more Easterly members. Many thanks to Mark Frearson for taking the reins for the day. It was a great trip and very well supported with the weather just about holding up. As ever, keep an eye on Facebook and the regional emails for details of future events. October 7th (Wednesday) Club meeting, venue TBC - look out for more information in advance November 4th (Wednesday) Club meeting, venue TBC - look out for more information in advance

Danny Williams lining up for another quick lap at Blyton

PETERBOROUGH

peterborough@tipec.net RO Stuart Wand • 07725 328 183 ARO Sunny Hoyle • 07976 931 621 ARO Neil Kenefec • 07709 932 627 facebook.com/groups/PeterboroughTipec Monthly meets are held second Wednesday of every month from 7pm at The Bertie Arms, Bertie Lane, Uffington, Stamford PE9 4SZ.

24 cars lined up at Blyton – 12 from each region. The first few laps were wet, wet, wet but conditions improved steadily during the day. There were plenty of spinners, including yours truly, but the beauty of Blyton is that there is absolutely nothing to hit.

I’m hoping to organise a curry night in October as long as we are allowed to meet in sufficient numbers by then. It would be great to see you at one of our events or at club night.

October 17th (Saturday) Curry night, venue TBC

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December 2nd (Wednesday) Club meeting, venue TBC - look out for more information in advance

Flip paint at the Greetham Gathering

Due to the restrictions on travel to France we have had to postpone our trip to Circuit des Remparts d’Angoulême. So, like a number of events we will have to wait till next year. However, we have had a few mini club meets in the meantime as we have come slowly out of isolation. We had a very successful barbeque held at a remote site courtesy of Paul. Big thanks to Paul for setting up and hosting a great event. Shame the RO didn’t get enough food in. The popular evening Greetham Gathering has also restarted. We enjoyed a nice evening chatting and perusing some fine-looking cars from times gone by. There was even a colour changing 911 SC. We were invited to join our friends from the East Midlands region to a meet up in Lincoln. We had a spirited drive once we left the A17 and after a bit of a detour we joined everyone near Lincoln. It was good to meet old friends and also meet some lovely Porsche people from Lincoln. There were some amazing cars too! We ended the day with an impromptu photoshoot on a quiet drive in Lincoln. Quite memorable. We also continue to use Zoom to have informal banter-led virtual meetings. After a ver y successful meet, we’re glad to announce the location of our new club meet venue, The Bertie Arms at Uffington. We were made very welcome by our new hosts and look forward to many happy club meets there. Please keep safe. October 4th (Sunday) Bicester Scramble October 14th (Wednesday) Club night, venue TBC November 11th (Wednesday) Club night, venue TBC


R20

SOUTH CENTRAL

south.central@tipec.net RO Gary Tipping • 07875 468 503 ARO Ben Wood • 07912 745 692 ARO James Tayler • 07836 579 190 ARO Stewart Thumwood • 07957 225 282 Instagram: @tipecsouthcentral Facebook.com/groups/southcentraltipec Meetings are held first Thursday of the month from 7:30pm at The Green Man, Lavendon MK46 4HA.

On August 12th, 16 members met up at the Betsey Wynne pub for a meal and interesting conversation. A very good turnout considering we had heavy rain shortly before start time!

early enough - turned up, resulting in a rather smaller gathering than expected. Members were understandably reluctant to travel any distance to be given the ‘No, no off you go now’.

On the 16th, again something different. A drive out to Stonor Park for the classic car meet. This time we had vlogger Max along. Here’s a link to his film of the day: https://youtu.be/Q6aEwF6UzAc

Hopefully, normal ser vice will resume shortly. Our hosts were both apologetic and accommodating under the circumstances. For anyone wanting to venture there another month, the food was very good.

We have loads more planned, including another socially distanced club night, a drive out to the sea side town of Southwold (with fish and chips promised), and a good TIPEC South Central presence at both Simply Porsche on 27th September and Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble on October 4th. November 1st is Rennsport Collective at Stowe House. Details of all our events can be found on the South Central Facebook page and in our very active WhatsApp groups.

R8

One of Merek’s great photos taken beneath the A1

We now have a new team at the helm of the region. Many thanks to the outgoing duo of Nick Papé and Gary Howard, they did a wonderful job establishing the region and giving us a great foundation to build our fast growing region on. Organising events and meets will be very much a team operation, in fact the team have already been very busy applying their talents to some great drives and meets.

A NGLIA & NORTH ESSEX

RO Ian Jones • izzy.spyder@sky.com ARO Adam Jiggins • adamjiggins69@gmail.com Treasurer Yvonne King • yvonneking@hotmail.com facebook.com/groups/618348854957396 Meetings are normally held fourth Tuesday of each month from 7pm at The Beagle, Hadleigh Road, Sproughton, Ipswich IP8 3AR. www.vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/ east/thebeagleipswich 01473 730607.

Our first tentative post-stric t-lockdown event of July 4th was met with great enthusiasm by both long standing and new members. This was followed by several drives and meets that were all well attended and thoroughly enjoyed.

For August 2nd, something very different. We again started at the Super Sausage but our route saw us heading towards St Neots in Cambridgeshire, our final destination a tunnel under the A1 with some fine graffiti. We had with us top car photographer Merek Jedrzejewski, who James had contacted after seeing his work at Turweston. We were all delighted with the results of both static and rolling pictures. AT 143

Some of our members have been out and about for socially-distanced drives in small numbers, which seems to be working well. Others have been occupied with their continuous fettling and tinkering. Our virtual meetings have now been put on hold with the reopening of the pubs. There will, no doubt, be some compromises and restrictions in place so time will tell. Now that regional and national events are slowly returning, planning can resume, fingers crossed, for 2021. Best wishes and stay safe.

R11

N ORTH LONDON, HERTS & SOUTH ESSEX

NLHSE@tipec.net RO Vince Dallimore • 07798 630 649 ARO Peter Musk • 07734 769 953 facebook.com/groups/1217447545000223

Stewart arranged a visit to the brilliant Worshop Seventy7 in July. On July 26th James and Ben devised a drive out, starting at our favourite meeting and eating place The Super Sausage Cafe, near Towcester, and f inishing at Tur weston Aerodrome for the Silverstone Social Car Meet. The usual fine breakfast followed by some great Nor thants, Bucks and Ox fordshire roads and topped off with around 500 cars of all sorts at Turweston.

At the time of writing, we are a couple of weeks away from our first real show of the year which we are doubling up as our regional event Classics at Glemham Hall, where we now have 20 confirmed members on our pre-booked pitch and more coming as associate TIPEC members (our Facebook friends). Fingers crossed for the weather, and everything going as planned. More to report next time.

Our new meeting spot, The Beagle

With a little normality resumed, it felt a little strange to be back for our July club night. We met up at our new location of The Beagle. Some great weather drew our members out from their lockdown (or was it ‘locked up’?) hidey-holes. Great turnout and very proactive, with some new faces on board. We also caught up with some of our regulars in person rather than on the virtual stage. This was only to be pushed back into mayhem again in August with the very popular £10 off deal interfering with our members’ club night plans - accompanied by Storm Francis to boot. The outcome was frustrating as we had to inform our members (both paid up and Facebook) of the possibility of being turned away at the door if they had not booked a table in advance! A few of our members threw caution to the wind and carried on regardless and a few others - having the foresight to book

My optimism regarding events returning to normality has proven to be wrong, but our North London Facebook group provides an easy way to keep in touch in the meantime. First Sunday 10am at Foxholes Farm Shop, Foxholes Farm Drive, London Rd, Hertford SG13 7NT (overflow car park). Second Saturday Pistonheads breakfast 8:30am at White Elm Garden Centre, White Elm Rd, Bicknacre CM3 4LR. Last Monday Porsches only 6pm at The Ace Café, Ace Corner, Stonebridge NW10 7UD (Nb. The Ace is shut to car events until further notice).

August at The Goat


My enquiry regarding a Zoom club meet seemed to fall on stony ground, so that moment has passed. Our North London Herts & South Essex Facebook group now has 74 members registered; future events are posted here for your convenience, as well as being noted in All Torque. Find and ask to join the Facebook group for our region at: facebook.com/groups/1217447545000223 Peter and I can be contacted via our club email address: NLHSE@tipec.net - but due to the lack of feedback from members over the years, email is no longer used by us for general communication. Laura at the Goat has found it impossible to open the pub for the usual gatherings; selfish behaviour by some has meant she will only open at 3pm on the usual first Sunday. Such has been the attitude of some classic owners (not TIPEC) that I feel it is inappropriate for NLHSE to attend as a club, until the publican feels she has the support of the car fraternity; sadly this looks like being a way off. The Facebook group ‘Classics at the Goat’ remains active, and some interesting reminiscences have been posted recently. Pistonheads Essex have worked with the operator of the garden centre to find an accommodation for the second Saturday breakfasts, which have restarted; attendance means complying with the sanitising and social distancing rules, but the group met successfully in July. The Ace Café are keeping in touch with customers via their Facebook group, take a look if you’ve any time on your hands. The venue is opening for daytime dining and meeting only, so sadly the monthly Porsche night gathering is off until further notice. More troubling is the behaviour of some of the pop and bang fraternity who seem determined to get the Ace shut down by their irresponsible behaviour on the nearby roads; the venue is again under threat of closure!

R13

THAMES VALLEY

thames.valley@tipec.net RO Andrew Harris • 07812 146 999 ARO Graham Driver • 07799 625 279 ARO Jason Gibson • 07958 459 725 Meetings are held second Tuesday of every month 7:00pm at The Bell & Bottle, Bath Rd, Littlewick Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3RX.

July. Meeting at Oxford services on the M40 for 7:45am, time enough to have a good natter, before heading off for a ‘safe but spirited’ drive into the Cotswolds. With 12 cars leaving the services, we had a lovely drive to Stow-on-the Wold and, as the roads were practically empty, we managed to stay in convoy for the entire hour or so! Stow-on-the Wold is a beautiful little market town and happened to be fairly quiet, so we were able to park together within the main square of the town. We found a little coffee shop which gave us our caffeine fix for the morning and spent nearly an hour here, in keeping with the social distancing guidelines, before heading back to Oxford Services, with some of us taking slightly different routes to the one Graham had planned for us! This was a very successful and fun first drive out since the lockdown, with all of us enjoying our Porsches - something we have not been able to do for quite a while! I can see us doing a couple more of these drive outs to the Cotswolds - lovely roads, stunning scenery and great company … Keep an eye out for our emails.

kent.sel@tipec.net RO Sean Smallman • 07500 332 790 ARO Stuart Watson Meetings are held first Wednesday of the month from 7:30pm at The Moody Mare, 501 Seven Mile Lane, Maidstone, Kent ME18 5QY (On the B2016 road nr. Mereworth)

A colourful lineup of Porsches at Hastings

It has been a busy few weeks for the region with lots going on. My apologies for any confusion over diary dates in August. I am pleased to report that club nights will resume in October, we will meet on the first Wednesday of the month for the rest of the year, as the pub is closed on Mondays.

As the Bell & Bottle also reopened its doors we were able to hold an ‘actual’ meeting during both July and August. Keeping to Government guidelines, the Bell & Bottle laid out their function room for us of which worked very well, with a good number in attendance for our first post lockdown gatherings. However, this didn’t stop us from having another well put together Zoom meeting on Thursday 23rd July with a good number of you enjoying one of Jason’s fun filled evenings … these will be ongoing I am sure!

The feedback for future events was really helpful, it is agreed that driving our cars will be at the heart of everything we do. The drive down to Hastings was good fun (I love the Military Road) - the 14 Porsches lined up created a lot of interest. A very colourful display with a varied selection of models from an early 2.0 911 to the latest GT3 with a 928 representing the transaxles.

October 13th (Tuesday) Club night at the Bell & Bottle

December 8th (Tuesday) Club night at the Bell & Bottle Please keep an eye on our diary page of the website at: www.tipec.net/regions/thames-valley

As it’s been a while, we decided to have a little gathering and drive out with a few of our regional members on a Sunday morning at the start of

K ENT & SOUTH EAST LONDON

One of our favourite venues is the Blackbushe Café and, as they have reopened, we planned a little breakfast run for Sunday 2nd August with nine Porsches meeting at the Bell & Bottle in readiness for a prompt 8am departure, all having a safe and fun 40-minute or so drive out. We were then met with a number of our Porsche Enthusiasts Club friends making 17 Porsches in total and around 20 or so people enjoying a good breakfast and socially-distanced chinwag. Great to see so many of you.

November 10th (Tuesday) Club night at the Bell & Bottle

Thames Valley’s drive out to the Cotswolds

R12

We have lots of events coming up and it would be great to see you. Don’t forget about our Facebook page too: Thames Valley Region – Porsche Enthusiasts Club. If you are unable to attend any of the events, please feel free to pop along to our monthly meeting at the Bell & Bottle, it is always an enjoyable evening with lots of friendly people, the food is good too!

Very well done to all, you have raised £1,000 for charity - cheques for £500 have been sent to McMillan and Air Ambulance. Many thanks to Paul & Rachel for organising the raffles.

Hever Castle was a very pleasant day in the sunshine with another great lineup of models, that the visitors to the castle enjoyed. It was the big reveal for the lockdown Targa restoration George, the car looked fantastic. Very well done mate. The roads from the A25 to Edenbridge were great fun and they will feature on a future drive and dine. Another good turnout for the midweek fish & chip run to Dungeness, we will do more of this type of event next year and take advantage of the lighter evenings. The Historic Festival at Brands Hatch was good, the old F1 cars of the ’70s and ’80s made me smile like a little boy. The Minis drifting around the bends were great value and loads of fun to watch. Keep an eye out for the Winter Stages Rally in January, always bloody freezing but it’s nice to see the old Escorts sliding around the paddock stages. 37


A few of us made it to the Not The Headcorn Classic Car Show. These were all cancelled for 2020, but the desire of people wanting to do something over the Bank Holiday weekend sparked a few posts on Facebook and around 150 or so cars and bikes turned out. There’s always plenty to see at the aerodrome and despite the unseasonably chilly weather, lots of people had paid £400(!) for the wing walking experience on the Steadman biplane. Watch out for updates via our newsletters and on Facebook. A full up to date list of events is on the regional page of the club website. October 3rd (Saturday) Road trip October 7th (Wednesday) Club night at The Moody Mare

December 2nd (Wednesday) Club night at The Moody Mare December 13th (Sunday) Christmas curry lunch R9

SURREY & SUSSEX

surrey.sussex@tipec.net RO urgently wanted ARO Michael Bowden • 07724 016 592 ARO Chris Cook • 07840 984 196 facebook.com/groups/tipecsurreyandsussex Meetings are held second Wednesday of every month from 7:00pm at The Bolney Stage, London Road, Bolney RH17 5RL, 10 miles south of Crawley off the A23.

We returned to The Bolney Stage in August for our first club night since lockdown. Thanks to all those that were able to attend our open-air meeting. There was a good selection of cars, though some regular members, understandably, chose not to come along. We are discussing options with Bolney and by the time you read this we will hopefully have been able to hold our September club night as near normal as possible. Along with all other regions we have been respecting the current lockdown and all events listed below are subject to change or cancellation. Hope to see everyone out and about as soon as it is safe to do so. October 2nd–11th (Friday–Sunday) CANCELLED TIPEC Surrey & Sussex tour of Dordogne

October 10th (Saturday) Tyre kicking at Bodiwork by Devey (TBC)

October 14th (Wednesday) Club night at The Bolney Stage

October 25th (Sunday) Drive and dine, East Kent

November 11th (Wednesday) Club night at The Bolney Stage

November 4th (Wednesday) Club night at The Moody Mare

November 13–15th (Friday–Sunday) NEC Classic Car Show

November 14th (Saturday) Drive and dine, West Sussex

AT 143

Classics for Carers plaques proudly in windscreens

December 9th (Wednesday) Club night at The Bolney Stage


R21

HAMPSHIRE

members this year - I’d like to welcome you to the region and look forward to meeting you all soon.

hampshire@tipec.net RO Members collective ARO Andrew Morle • 07450 435 347 Facebook.com/groups/361024217594761

We have been able to restart some limited activities which have included socially distanced Sunday coffee meets and smaller outdoor club nights at our very well organised club pubs.

Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month from 7pm at The Hinton Arms, Petersfield Road, Hinton Ampner, Alresford, Hampshire SO24 0NH.

A small group of us were also able to attend the funeral of our dear friend David in Somerset, creating a Porsche lineup as a tribute and hearing the service over speakers outside.

Updates can be viewed online through our region’s page on the club website at www.tipec.net/regions/Hampshire

For our get togethers I’d like to thank members for their consideration in co-operating with plans that enabled several nights of smaller groups, in order to meet guidelines. The problem of a successful well supported region is that we have so many lovely members and unfortunately we need to consider this with plans whilst we are in the Covid period (You may be interested to know that there are around 200 in the region now.)

R22

B RISTOL, SOUTH WEST & SOUTH WALES

RO Sue Simmons • 07530 312 700 sue.simmons1@gmail.com ARO Debs Bradshaw • 07423 436 503 debbradshaw@sytner.co.uk ARO Sarah Hughes (South Wales) ARO Ian Marsh (new meeting area) Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 6:30pm at The Plough, Pilning, Nr Bristol BS35 4JJ. www.theploughpilning.co.uk And second Wednesday of every month from 6:30pm at The Keepers Cottage Inn, Cullompton EX15 2EB.

As RO it is quite frustrating to want to put things on under such scrutiny - like driving a 911 at 140mph with your hands tied behind your back (and wearing a mask)! Car groups have also been tainted by the idiots that decided ‘Donuts on the Downs’ was an acceptable activity in Bristol recently. See www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristolnews/anger-over-damage-caused-clifton-4452731 In September we are having a ‘new members night’ as well as our ‘regulars’ nights – not ideal as of course I want everyone to meet everyone else, but it is a way of getting together in safety. The end of September (27th) sees the Simply Porsche event at Beaulieu – they obviously have made all the necessary arrangements for this ticket-only and Porsche-only show. I hope everyone that attends has a great time.

A solemn lineup to say goodbye to David Hodges

I am writing this at the end of August with the wind howling and the rain lashing down. ‘Summer’ is almost over and this strange year ploughs on. Amazingly we’ve had lots of new

For my region the first weekend in October is the Autumn Classic at Castle Combe and I will be supplying details of tickets and parking in due course – that should give another chance to meet where someone else is doing the organising. We hope to have drives out on a more local basis to keep numbers down and are looking forward to our pre-Christmas weekend in Wales – really hope the weather is kind for the drive there and so we can do a scenic drive out on the Saturday.

Emails will be sent to all members indicating dates for drives, meets and club nights as they arise for the remainder of 2020. If you have any questions about anything club or region related please get in touch on sue.simmons1@gmail.com or 07530 312 700. R23

SOUTHERN

RO urgently wanted ARO Jim Tarrant • 0120 260 1886 jim.tarrant@consequia.com Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 7:30pm at The Old Thatch, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7NW.

No BBQ this year - so here’s a pic from last year!

I'm currently looking forward to Simply Porsche at Beaulieu at the end of September and hope to catch up with everyone there. My car’s a mess though - I’ve got some serious polishing to do! If anyone has any words and/or pictures of what what they've been up to with their cars, please do email them to me for publication. October 6th (Tuesday) *TBC* Club Night at The Old Thatch, Wimborne November 3rd (Tuesday) *TBC* Club Night at The Old Thatch, Wimborne December 1st (Tuesday) *TBC* Christmas dinner at The Old Thatch, Wimborne - contact us if you would like to join in Please visit our website at www.tipec.net/regions/ southern as we are continuously updating our events page. Members will also receive email notifications of upcoming items.

JOIN THE CLUB www.tipec.net Membership is £40 for one year or £60 for two * £45 per year in Europe and £50 per year Rest of World

39


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