Andy Gaunt
Melbourne, Australia
Late Sunday afternoon, sitting in my hotel, I watch as the ferry from Tasmania to Melbourne, Spirit of Tasmania, travels north on the Mersey River, heading for the waves of Bass Strait. All my driving mates are aboard along with their cars. I look across at my wife, Kath, knowing we’ve got another four days of exploring Tasmania in the 964 ahead of us. I think that deserves a cheers so I raise my G&T.
Monday dawns and the trip takes on a completely different tone. On day one of the rally (see last month’s instalment), breakfast was had at a roadside bakery. This morning we enjoy a lavish breakfast at the Novotel buffet. I collect the 964 from the secure, offsite parking and, by 9am, with a three-and-a-half hour drive ahead, we’re back on the road.
The first 45 minutes of the journey, on highways surrounded by trucks travelling at high speed, aren’t all that pleasant.
But as soon as we’re off the highway, Tasmania feeds up yet more amazing roads. After coffee in the small town of Deloraine, we’re met with a road that opens up into kilometres of undulating turns on smooth asphalt, climbing everhigher towards the central highlands.
The road and surrounding forest has me thinking of Henry Catchpole’s video review of the 991.2 GT3 RS.
Having spent three days with the frantic fun of chasing other Porsche, it’s nice to be doing a spirited drive at a slightly more subdued pace and, as we carve sweepers, Kath looks at me with a laugh and shake of the head. I’m clearly enjoying myself! The 964 continues to perform flawlessly and we put on some tunes and shift into touring mode as the forest gives way to open plains. It’s effortless – the 964 is a comfortable grand tourer with reasonable cabin noise and comfortable ride quality, which makes the final hour’s drive into Hobart go by quickly. We arrive in the capital and the car looks perfect, parked in front of the historic buildings of Salamanca Place.
The next day we drive north, headed for the historic Port Arthur. After half a day spent walking around the former convict jail, we set off with another twoand-a-half hours of driving ahead. By 90 minutes into the trip, I’ve had enough of driving. It’s my fifth day behind the wheel and combining the driving with sightseeing on foot has me wanting to just stop. For the last hour, the road is largely deserted, with wide open sweepers but a poor surface. I gun it anyway and the 964 responds with an eagerness I’m thankful for. The Airbnb in the sand dunes south of Swansea is a welcome sight as we arrive.
We take a day to explore on foot, eat and nurse a hangover, before our final day: a sprint back to Devonport. I’m glad to be back behind the wheel and, as we turn west and inland, Tasmania again provides a spectacular road. The heavens open 60 seconds into our drive along the 61km Lake Leake Highway, but I’ve driven in these sorts of conditions so many times. “Classic C4 conditions,” my friend, Gerard, would say. In spite of the weather, we slice through third-gear turns, the flat six howling behind us. Kath’s a little unsure in the rain so I’m not pushing too hard, but I’m quietly marvelling at the grip this car has. There’s little traffic, but the odd slow car we come upon is easily dispatched with an overtake. As we pull into Campbell Town for fuel I know that the really fun stuff is behind us.
The final leg is mostly highway and the car sits in fifth gear, achieving impressive fuel economy and again making a great touring companion. By 4:30pm we’re at Devonport airport – Kath’s jumping on a flight to get home to the kids – before I head for the ferry terminal. Onboard the ferry, as I take my bag from the frunk, a fellow passenger points at the 964 and lets out a whistle. “That’s a stunner,” he says. “Bet you’ve had some fun in that the past few days.”
He has no idea just how right he is.
The year is well underway and there’s fresh motivation to get the 911T ready for the upcoming rally season. I’m steadily drawing up a list of parts that I need to order. I’ve also recently found some time to get out to the garage and install some of the parts that have been lying around for months.
I went out with the intention to clean up the garage a bit and ended up disconnecting both of the batteries from the longhood. Doing this enabled me to change out the ceramic fuse holder located in the engine bay with an updated, blade-type fuse holder.
The “ceramic”-type fuses that you commonly find today are plastic and have a reputation for not being the most reliable option. I opted for the blade style, which can be found at any gas station if one were in need while on the road. Completing that, I cleaned up my plug wires and taped up some of the wiring from the ignition coil with some 3M electrical tape, just to make the area more aesthetically pleasing.
I still had some daylight and decided that since I was on a roll, I would go to the front of the car and work on replacing the ceramic fuse holders up there with the newer style. The procedure is straightforward, but be warned: it takes time. It’s important to mark all the wires and take plenty of pictures and videos to make sure all the wires get landed back in the same position as they were removed. I ended up finishing the top holder before I had to call it a night. I didn’t take the time to lift the car up so I was on my knees bent over the front, reinstalling the wires into the new fuse holder. I started feeling it in my back and figured that it’ll be an excuse to go back out tomorrow and get some more work done.
My aim is tackle any items on the car that could make it more reliable. I’m planning on driving it to at least two if not three rallies this year. Indeed, I’m probably looking at adding around 6,000 miles to the car throughout the year, just with planned rallies. I’m buzzing with excitement – and a tinge of back pain – as I write this. I can’t wait for warmer weather and to start racking up the miles on drives with friends. What are you excited about for the new year? Do you have any drives planned? I’d love to hear about them.