It’s hard work keeping up with a blog when you are writing elsewhere non stop! A lot has changed since I scrapped that 924.

I have sold my bike for a start. I just wasn’t using it more than twice a month (if that), and it was going to endure a winter in the cramped garage and a year of book drops, so I put it on eBay and it went to a very nice guy who is taking it back to uni with him - look out for it in the Bristol area. Did think about getting a Gilera to replace it but have gone cold on that for the time being - when the garage is up maybe.

I bought a Golf GTi which is a beautiul little thing. 90K miles from new in 1986 and only a few rust spots on the bottoms of the doors to show for it. It goes well enough though I do need to double check the timing on it as they have usually been retarded to run on 95 RON. I bought a Jetex SS exhaust and G60 manifold for it also, that should be getting picked up sometime soon. Plus I have a PAS setup coming for it - they are so heavy without that parking is a real chore for Mrs G. Then it is top mounts and suspension, bit of a tidyup on the body and job done.

Just been offered a Corrado by a buddy however which is a very pretty car; 1996 2.0 litre 8 Valve in Blackberry, so the lovely little Golf may have to go to make room for that. Not sure what to do yet, driving the Corrado tomorrow. Sarah will probably like it, but is it worth spending another grand on top to have something that essentially does the same job of spare car? Maybe not. Pic:

Lots of car stuff up in the air at the minute. We are waiting to hear back from the council regarding our loft extension planning permission, so the bank acounts are locked down pretty much (doesn’t sound like it though does it LOL). That will be great when it kicks off, as the house will then be huge and the kids will all have their own rooms. After that it is garage all the way, which should be great when done. So lots of hard work ahead, but will all pay off.

Next event for the IB Porsche boys is Classic Le Mans, and we are away from the 10th to the 18th of July - bring it on!

Classic Porsche enthusiasts are often derided as anoraks, but so what, asks John Glynn, who urges 911 fans to embrace their detail-loving tendencies.

The recent Techno Classica at Essen in Germany was the usual mecca for Porsche fanatics. Though there was a stunning selection of Stuttgart’s finest on show, there was a noticeable shortfall of pukka 911 racing product present, leading me to wonder whether there is perhaps an opportunity for some bright spark to come up with an off season, access-all-areas, indoor historic race car show on the mainland.

What about the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Classic Le Mans you say? Yes, thrilling celebrations of amazing racing cars, but not necessarily fully open to all and sundry. The Rennsport Reunion comes close in concept, apart from being held in a thunderstorm three thousand miles away. Personally speaking, I would like to see a similar event to Essen: indoors, with the world’s greatest motorsport machinery organised by manufacturer, and where enthusiasts like myself would get a chance to examine the engineering details in depth. Is this a workable concept, or just me being sad?

Sad is a word often used to describe men of a certain age who are consumed by the intricacies of their hobby. This use of the word is utterly incorrect in my opinion, as I see nothing remiss in an awareness of the minutiae of one’s chosen subject. Ponder this example. Driving down a local road the other day, I spotted a remote-controlled aeroplane flying up from behind a hedge on my left. As we drew nearer and slowed down, my travelling companion and I saw two men about the same age as ourselves, using this field as a airstrip for flying their planes in and out of. “Cool!” I exclaimed. “Sad!” my friend insisted. (more…)