Are we really the poor relations...?
- Thread starter Ex Skyline
- Start date
Went for a mooch around PH Sportscars today and they had a 996 tiptronic in, in need of a head gasket and about 130k miles that they paid £5k and a bit for. Not the ideal spec but once the head gasket is fixed that's still a lot of car for the money. Maybe they are the poor relation??!!!
Hilux
New member
A standard boxster is a very very underrated car. Tweak it a little (it doesnt need much) and they are absolutely superb especially in the wet.
Problem is Boxsters are capable, seen as a Porsche albeit not a 911 by Joe public and are seriously cheap to buy with few issues regarding reliability.
Dont get me wrong - I loved my 944 but simply moved on as my philosiphy is...................
"drive what you like and not just what you have or have to"
...................life`s too short not to experiment a little [
]Neil Haughey
New member
100% agreed. The only Porsche I have now is the race car and its pretty much a certainty that it will be sold this year. Just crazy not to try a few different things and some of those desires are at pretty extreme ends of the spectrum. As examples my last 2 desires have been either for a Caterham R300 and bespoke trailer combo for track days and occasional road use (one of the very few cars which can fit on a trailer in a standard garage which would save me over £900 a year), and at the other end I walked past a dealer the other week that had a Bentley Continental in the window for £25K, I keep telling myself its crazy nonsense but being able to actually buy a Bentley luxobarge that does 200 Mph, wow.
You'll find the R300 very engaging after a 944 Neil, the 944 is much better behaved. I raced Caterhams for nearly 20 years my last a R400. They are outrageously quick and I loved it but I have also lost friends and seen some horrific accidents.
When Tom started racing with me we campaigned the R400 for two seasons but after yet another life threatening accident to one of my friends decided me to sell the car on the way home from the circuit.
I bought the 944 two weeks later and now I am enjoying my racing again....
When Tom started racing with me we campaigned the R400 for two seasons but after yet another life threatening accident to one of my friends decided me to sell the car on the way home from the circuit.
I bought the 944 two weeks later and now I am enjoying my racing again....
Hilux
New member
I had a Westfield and completely rebuilt it with a view to racing it. Great fun but if T-boned you are dead and if the flywheel loses contact with itself it`ll rip yer legs off so I sold it and got a Ginetta G27 with a John Eales V8 and T-boned a street light snapping the post in half and rolling the car and survived, then got the 944 KW`d and Weltmeistered it, sold that and got a Golf Mk1 and converted it into a track day car (wont ever sell it - its too much fun so still got that) I was going to race it but we got into motorhoming and now have quite a posh one so the racing went out the window so my hobby cars are now budget items but still marvellous fun for I also have an MX5 1.6 Eunos which the wife loves and wont let me track prep it.
Drive what you like and don't stuff them away simply to be polished - I did that too with a Rover P5B Coupe I fully restored (got third in the country in a classic car magazine concourse) and was terrified of rain and mud [&o]
Still miss the booooost though [8|] and also the meets and trips to Europe we attended with our region having made many friends and still love the banter and technical stuff on here so still listen in even after all this time
pauljmcnulty
Active member
Whilst I'd love one, the Caterhams etc. are just not safe enough these days. Maybe that's a bloke fast approaching middle-age, but I'd put them one step above motorbikes on the "you will have an accident someday, it's how badly you're hurt that matters" scale. [&o]
The Bentley is the opposite end of the scale, and I was a bit tempted when a client sold his for about £25K. It can't fall much further, as a low-miles example in perfect condition, and newer ones are so common that age makes a huge price difference for the early cars. But, he said it was the most boring car he's ever owned (he came in to it from an R8, and replaced it with an XJ). Supremely competant, but soul-less at UK speeds.
Personally, I've never "got" BMWs. I spent some time in a new 325i in about 1984, but along with Audis they've just not appealed to me in any incarnation. Reading the M3 special in Car this month, under £10K for a good one does grab the attention. Is there a better combination of performance (I don't mean power, but useable, and fun, performance without losing my license), comfort and practicality? For the price of a decent S2, or a ropey 996 or Cayman??
Never thought I'd hear myself say that! [&o]
The Bentley is the opposite end of the scale, and I was a bit tempted when a client sold his for about £25K. It can't fall much further, as a low-miles example in perfect condition, and newer ones are so common that age makes a huge price difference for the early cars. But, he said it was the most boring car he's ever owned (he came in to it from an R8, and replaced it with an XJ). Supremely competant, but soul-less at UK speeds.
Personally, I've never "got" BMWs. I spent some time in a new 325i in about 1984, but along with Audis they've just not appealed to me in any incarnation. Reading the M3 special in Car this month, under £10K for a good one does grab the attention. Is there a better combination of performance (I don't mean power, but useable, and fun, performance without losing my license), comfort and practicality? For the price of a decent S2, or a ropey 996 or Cayman??
Never thought I'd hear myself say that! [&o]
MB W123 estate
Neil Haughey
New member
Guys I agree on the safety aspects of the Caterham, my old boss was tragically killed in one not long after retiring. Kicked the back end out exiting a junction and got swiped by a truck. If I bought one it would be for track day use, no racing and only very very occasional road driving. The 944 makes for a very safe race car due to its large structures of deformable metal work, I would always recommend one as a race car.
944 man
Active member
Sevens? *shudder*
Gerry knows my uncle, who's a well-known racer. He might not have seen this before though:
The whole horrific accident is here:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?fid=21&tid=149086&action=printable
I only found these a year or so ago, as all of the professional photographers had deleted their pictures because they thought that he was dead!
Gerry knows my uncle, who's a well-known racer. He might not have seen this before though:
The whole horrific accident is here:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?fid=21&tid=149086&action=printable
I only found these a year or so ago, as all of the professional photographers had deleted their pictures because they thought that he was dead!
MarkK
Active member
My dad and brother were heavily into Caterhams,In the 90s my dad was on a trackday at Mallory ,leaving Gerrards bend at Mallory it went sideways in snap fashion and he ended up hitting tyres on the inside of the track down the bank near the lake/pond,2 nights in hospital and very lucky that a couple of days before the track day he invested in an expensive helmet...without it he would have been dead or massively injured.
They are not as safe as other cars you could choose,my old teammate had a big off at Oulton in Mag 7s in 2011 aswell ....shudder.....
Like has been said ,one step above Motorbikes.....
They are not as safe as other cars you could choose,my old teammate had a big off at Oulton in Mag 7s in 2011 aswell ....shudder.....
Like has been said ,one step above Motorbikes.....
I continued to race Caterhams even when a close friend was killed at Mallory in my race.
I guess I knew the risks but choose to ignore them.
I have had two quite big ones, once at Cadwell I got T-boned by a novice who left the track and tried to rejoin without slowing down... 5 broken ribs, and one at Brands when it snapped sideways and hit the armco at about 90 mph, no injury but the car was scrap.
It gets bit different when your son starts racing with you, Tom is a great driver, but there are 40 other drivers on the track with him!
I'm much happier in the 944, Motorsport is dangerous but a 944 is very solid car before you put a cage in it.
It's all about minimizing the risks.
I guess I knew the risks but choose to ignore them.
I have had two quite big ones, once at Cadwell I got T-boned by a novice who left the track and tried to rejoin without slowing down... 5 broken ribs, and one at Brands when it snapped sideways and hit the armco at about 90 mph, no injury but the car was scrap.
It gets bit different when your son starts racing with you, Tom is a great driver, but there are 40 other drivers on the track with him!
I'm much happier in the 944, Motorsport is dangerous but a 944 is very solid car before you put a cage in it.
It's all about minimizing the risks.
Neil Haughey
New member
Simon I have seen as bad as that in MX-5s. There is a definite safety issue with all the open cars that have a cage around the cockpit, in the one MX-5 case I remember the guy rolled it, his arm flung out above the cage and you can guess the rest as the car rolled over onto his flailing arm. I think you have to be pretty crazy to race sevens, I discounted that idea long ago but track days is a different kettle of fish as the probabilities should always be much lower. There are guys out there for example who refuse to race at certain circuits even in our cars due to safety concerns, a very well known organiser has told me as much about Mallory after he had a huge crash there years ago himself.
Nothing though is as insane as long track superkarts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKpF1Mfq9ZM
...you have to laugh when you see the rundown to shell oils, insane.
Nothing though is as insane as long track superkarts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKpF1Mfq9ZM
...you have to laugh when you see the rundown to shell oils, insane.
pauljmcnulty
Active member
Blimey! How fast are they going on the straights??
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