In the proud tradition of TCL, I thought I'd start a thread about my recent car purchase. I'll also update every now and then with mods and repair work.
So . . . Here we go!
I've wanted a 911 for the last few years. I had my heart set on a long-hood (pre '73) but I live about 3 hours from the nearest major city. The classic 911 market is really hot at the moment so I found it really hard to jump on any deals. In retrospect I was a little too picky at the start and I should have jumped before the prices went up.
My second preference was a 993. I set up email alerts and eventually found this - a 1994 911 Carrera in Amaranth Violet. Unfortunately it's a UK delivered car and it was 1500 km from home. Normally I wouldn't have been too swayed but I instantly loved the colour. It's also got the Recaro softback seats which were an expensive option.
I phoned the seller and got a good vibe. They emailed through the service history on the car. A few more phone calls (workshops / negotiation) and I booked a flight to pick it up.
About to board a dash 8 for my third flight - ever.
Short stop over in Sydney before flying to Brisbane.
I landed in Brisbane and caught a train into the city. I've never been to Queensland before so it was interesting to see the city. I went to my bank and got a cheque and then caught up with a friend who took the afternoon off to chauffeur me around in his caddy. We went to lunch and then headed to meet the seller.
I swooned at the colour but noticed a fair few scratches and dings on the paint. The seller showed me through the interior and I found it to be in great condition.
The car was calling me so I went ahead with the purchase.
Within 15 minutes I'd already had a guy in a ute try and race me. :sly:
So here it is getting its first refuel. Walking back to the car I was struck by just how small the 911 really is.
The route
I told my work mates about the trip. The overwhelming opinion was that I should go inland rather than via the pacific highway. I ran a comparison of the traffic on the Roads and Maritime website. There were 33 traffic incidents within a kilometre of the Pacific vs 3 on the inland route. I was told that the inland route the smart choice but boring. So I decided to risk it and go via the pacific.
I left QLD at about 5pm. I lost an hour when I arrived in New South Wales (daylight savings) and stopped at Byron bay for dinner.
As I was parking the car I reached down to close the sunroof. I hit the wrong switch and activated the rear wiper. It let out a loud scratching noise.
:banghead: Seller didn't mention that.
I still felt pretty good so I booked a hotel and pushed on to Coffs Harbour - another 240 km.
The headlights work pretty well but I still took the opportunity to tail a Land-cruiser which had Nuclear fusion headlights. It really helped as I was worried about animals. I probably was a touch ambitious and I got to Coffs at about 2330 and went straight to bed. I woke up pretty early and looked at the maps - almost 1100 km to home which was do-able in a day.
It turns out that Pacific Highway was a mistake. I'd imagined it would be like a diet version of the Great Ocean Road. Quaint small towns and nice scenery. It so wasn't. Limited overtaking and a tonne of roadwork. Nothing interesting to look at. I mean, the highlights were the big banana, a car dealership shaped like a clam and a daycare centre shaped like a bee hive. I should have listened to literally everyone and gone inland.
I packed the car in the morning and took a quick look around the resort. It's probably not a big deal for the coastal folks but it was pretty cool to have a beach to myself - for a few minutes.
I jumped in the car and stopped for an early McLunch and refuel in Taree.
Back on the road and I hit Sydney around 1500. I thought I might miss the worst of the traffic, but it was still pretty bad. It was good to be off the Pacific highway.
Traffic on the Hume Highway was light and I stopped at Yass for McDinner and fuel. It was about here that I realised I had only about 3-4 hours left and smiled. A moment later I realised I STILL had 3-4 hours. I then remembered I'd bought an audio book to listen to. About 12 hours too late. It helped break the boredom.
I caught up to a truck passing another on a hill. I rolled off the power early and dropped down to 3rd. The trucked finished the overtake and moved back into the left lane. I floored the accelerator. The engine screamed but there was no acceleration. I looked at the tacho and it was on ~6000 RPM. I took my foot off the accelerator for a moment and then reapplied it slowly and completed the overtake. For the last 250 km I was panicking that I needed a new clutch.
I got into my town and put the car into 6th at about 40km/h. Floored it and the same thing happened again.
FML.
I arrived home a little after 9pm. Overall trip average - 8.69 L per 100km over the 1478km. Not much worse than my Golf.
I slept really badly due to the clutch problem. The next morning I noticed that the clutch pedal was sitting much lower than the brake or accelerator. I stepped on the pedal and it returned to half height. I reached down and pulled it and it sprang to the normal position. Luckily the problem turned out to be a sticky clutch pedal rather than something more serious. A clean and lube and it's working normally.
My thoughts on the car?
When I drive my GF's fiesta or my golf, they feel like this in comparison. So light and easy to drive!
Rides MUCH better than my golf. It's quite comfortable except for the seat belts which cut into my neck.
The seats are awesome.
The golf feels faster around town. You need at least 4000 RPM on the 911 before it wakes up.
Ergonomics aren't great.
All of the controls are heavy and you have to think about everything more than a new car. It's loud, grumpy and graceless at low speed.
Most of the panels have small dents or scratches. The clear on the spoiler is peeling. I've polished out a couple of the scratches with minor success. I've attempted to remove the spoiler but it looks like I'll need to remove the entire OEM wing to get the spoiler off.
The rear reflector is UV damaged. I've started to wet-sand it I think it should turn out ok.
Rear speakers are toast. The cones have been baked in the sun. It's got crossovers and splits in the front and they sound pretty ordinary.
Anyway, here it is a couple of weeks later with new number plates.
I'll update with pics and comments as I fix it up.
Oh - it's been nicknamed Barney.
So . . . Here we go!
I've wanted a 911 for the last few years. I had my heart set on a long-hood (pre '73) but I live about 3 hours from the nearest major city. The classic 911 market is really hot at the moment so I found it really hard to jump on any deals. In retrospect I was a little too picky at the start and I should have jumped before the prices went up.
My second preference was a 993. I set up email alerts and eventually found this - a 1994 911 Carrera in Amaranth Violet. Unfortunately it's a UK delivered car and it was 1500 km from home. Normally I wouldn't have been too swayed but I instantly loved the colour. It's also got the Recaro softback seats which were an expensive option.
I phoned the seller and got a good vibe. They emailed through the service history on the car. A few more phone calls (workshops / negotiation) and I booked a flight to pick it up.
About to board a dash 8 for my third flight - ever.
Short stop over in Sydney before flying to Brisbane.
I landed in Brisbane and caught a train into the city. I've never been to Queensland before so it was interesting to see the city. I went to my bank and got a cheque and then caught up with a friend who took the afternoon off to chauffeur me around in his caddy. We went to lunch and then headed to meet the seller.
I swooned at the colour but noticed a fair few scratches and dings on the paint. The seller showed me through the interior and I found it to be in great condition.
The car was calling me so I went ahead with the purchase.
Within 15 minutes I'd already had a guy in a ute try and race me. :sly:
So here it is getting its first refuel. Walking back to the car I was struck by just how small the 911 really is.
The route
I told my work mates about the trip. The overwhelming opinion was that I should go inland rather than via the pacific highway. I ran a comparison of the traffic on the Roads and Maritime website. There were 33 traffic incidents within a kilometre of the Pacific vs 3 on the inland route. I was told that the inland route the smart choice but boring. So I decided to risk it and go via the pacific.
I left QLD at about 5pm. I lost an hour when I arrived in New South Wales (daylight savings) and stopped at Byron bay for dinner.
As I was parking the car I reached down to close the sunroof. I hit the wrong switch and activated the rear wiper. It let out a loud scratching noise.
:banghead: Seller didn't mention that.
I still felt pretty good so I booked a hotel and pushed on to Coffs Harbour - another 240 km.
The headlights work pretty well but I still took the opportunity to tail a Land-cruiser which had Nuclear fusion headlights. It really helped as I was worried about animals. I probably was a touch ambitious and I got to Coffs at about 2330 and went straight to bed. I woke up pretty early and looked at the maps - almost 1100 km to home which was do-able in a day.
It turns out that Pacific Highway was a mistake. I'd imagined it would be like a diet version of the Great Ocean Road. Quaint small towns and nice scenery. It so wasn't. Limited overtaking and a tonne of roadwork. Nothing interesting to look at. I mean, the highlights were the big banana, a car dealership shaped like a clam and a daycare centre shaped like a bee hive. I should have listened to literally everyone and gone inland.
I packed the car in the morning and took a quick look around the resort. It's probably not a big deal for the coastal folks but it was pretty cool to have a beach to myself - for a few minutes.
I jumped in the car and stopped for an early McLunch and refuel in Taree.
Back on the road and I hit Sydney around 1500. I thought I might miss the worst of the traffic, but it was still pretty bad. It was good to be off the Pacific highway.
Traffic on the Hume Highway was light and I stopped at Yass for McDinner and fuel. It was about here that I realised I had only about 3-4 hours left and smiled. A moment later I realised I STILL had 3-4 hours. I then remembered I'd bought an audio book to listen to. About 12 hours too late. It helped break the boredom.
I caught up to a truck passing another on a hill. I rolled off the power early and dropped down to 3rd. The trucked finished the overtake and moved back into the left lane. I floored the accelerator. The engine screamed but there was no acceleration. I looked at the tacho and it was on ~6000 RPM. I took my foot off the accelerator for a moment and then reapplied it slowly and completed the overtake. For the last 250 km I was panicking that I needed a new clutch.
I got into my town and put the car into 6th at about 40km/h. Floored it and the same thing happened again.
FML.
I arrived home a little after 9pm. Overall trip average - 8.69 L per 100km over the 1478km. Not much worse than my Golf.
I slept really badly due to the clutch problem. The next morning I noticed that the clutch pedal was sitting much lower than the brake or accelerator. I stepped on the pedal and it returned to half height. I reached down and pulled it and it sprang to the normal position. Luckily the problem turned out to be a sticky clutch pedal rather than something more serious. A clean and lube and it's working normally.
My thoughts on the car?
When I drive my GF's fiesta or my golf, they feel like this in comparison. So light and easy to drive!
Rides MUCH better than my golf. It's quite comfortable except for the seat belts which cut into my neck.
The seats are awesome.
The golf feels faster around town. You need at least 4000 RPM on the 911 before it wakes up.
Ergonomics aren't great.
All of the controls are heavy and you have to think about everything more than a new car. It's loud, grumpy and graceless at low speed.
Most of the panels have small dents or scratches. The clear on the spoiler is peeling. I've polished out a couple of the scratches with minor success. I've attempted to remove the spoiler but it looks like I'll need to remove the entire OEM wing to get the spoiler off.
The rear reflector is UV damaged. I've started to wet-sand it I think it should turn out ok.
Rear speakers are toast. The cones have been baked in the sun. It's got crossovers and splits in the front and they sound pretty ordinary.
Anyway, here it is a couple of weeks later with new number plates.
I'll update with pics and comments as I fix it up.
Oh - it's been nicknamed Barney.