I looked in my diary and saw that the last time I took the 911E out from its cosy (rented) garage was 20 October, after which I changed all the wheels so it could sit on ancient P6000 tyres pumped up to 30 psig ( 2 bar) over the winter rather than flat spot the Avon CRZ 'stickies'. I suppose I should invest in axle stands but I like to be able to get the car out on a whim without too much jacking around....left the batteries on trickle charge...
So , as Monday 31 January was a bright and cold but dry day and there did not appear to be any residual salt around in W14 or on the A4 , I decided to start it up and go for a trip past Heston services on the M4 before heading back into Central London.....
Checked all tyre pressures - still at 29/30 , turned on the ignition , let the fuel pump whir while counting to 30 to be sure the MFI had something to work with , pulled the hand throttle full on , turned the key....after 3 seconds cranking gave the pedal a push to help the hand throttle out and hey presto it was running. There was a cloud which looked like a combo of oil and steam but nothing too dramatic. Left it idling on hand throttle for what must have been a couple of minutes and when it started to speed up I climbed back in and eased away down the cobbled street. Tyres made some odd noises as the suspension settled back into place from the jacking / wheel changing that had been done back on 20 October.
Everything worked , nothing fell off , put some fresh fuel in at first opportunity , got the revs up to 4500 when the temp had climbed to a reasonable number like 120 , tested the brakes , got up into 4th on the M4 , noticed there was evidence of salt ( white dust ) still around on the motorway stretch , so did not go further than planned junction.
I dont think I blew all the cobwebs away but it was a start , next time will try the 'Italian Tune-up' on a road thats a bit more accommodating than the A4 / M4 [
]
So , as Monday 31 January was a bright and cold but dry day and there did not appear to be any residual salt around in W14 or on the A4 , I decided to start it up and go for a trip past Heston services on the M4 before heading back into Central London.....
Checked all tyre pressures - still at 29/30 , turned on the ignition , let the fuel pump whir while counting to 30 to be sure the MFI had something to work with , pulled the hand throttle full on , turned the key....after 3 seconds cranking gave the pedal a push to help the hand throttle out and hey presto it was running. There was a cloud which looked like a combo of oil and steam but nothing too dramatic. Left it idling on hand throttle for what must have been a couple of minutes and when it started to speed up I climbed back in and eased away down the cobbled street. Tyres made some odd noises as the suspension settled back into place from the jacking / wheel changing that had been done back on 20 October.
Everything worked , nothing fell off , put some fresh fuel in at first opportunity , got the revs up to 4500 when the temp had climbed to a reasonable number like 120 , tested the brakes , got up into 4th on the M4 , noticed there was evidence of salt ( white dust ) still around on the motorway stretch , so did not go further than planned junction.
I dont think I blew all the cobwebs away but it was a start , next time will try the 'Italian Tune-up' on a road thats a bit more accommodating than the A4 / M4 [
]
