Porsche sound upgrade
I’ve been using the Porsche 944 quite a lot of late and the car seems to be getting better and better. Even the suspension seems to have become more compliant and I’ve also been taking the 944 to a few classic car shows. The most recent was the Monmouthshire Classic and Vintage Show at the Hog’s Head Pub. It was a superb event, very well organised and with a great atmosphere and hundreds of fabulous cars, tractors, motorbikes, etc., on display.
Additionally, I entered the 944 in the Porsche Club GB R14 (South Wales Region) concours. Again, this was a really well organised event, kindly and expertly hosted by Porsche Centre Cardiff (who also provided a terrific buffet). As my car isn’t concours, I entered it in the ‘Show & Shine category. Would you believe, it won! To say I was chuffed is an understatement. Thanks must also go to the judges and R14 organiser Huw Jones for their hard work.
Because of my ‘success’, I’ve been looking very closely at the 944 with a view to making it even better and importantly ensuring that it’s as sound as it can be. I’ve been chatting with a local bodyshop about some areas on the bodywork that could do with a little attention, but more on this subject soon.
Listening to music is another passion of mine and I really dislike poor sound reproduction, be it from my TV, home hi-fi, or the systems in any of my cars. The 944 has its original Panasonic radio/ cassette and the sound quality (not helped by the fact that all four speakers have blown) is well below par. So, for starters I’ve replaced the front speakers with Alpine units purchased from JMG Porsche and wound the balance away from the rear speakers.
The sound quality has improved significantly and I’ll probably get around to replacing the rear speakers, but I don’t want to swap out the Panasonic head unit, as it’s the original fitment. For the
For starters I’ve replaced the front speakers with Alpine units purchased from JMG Porsche and wound the balance away from the rear speakers
time being, I’ve downloaded lots of music to my ‘phone and this is connected to the Panasonic via the CD mini jack port. A bit of a fiddle, but it works well.
The Jeep is still soldiering on but on petrol not LPG, as the regulator is failing. So to find out what’s wrong we recently took the Jeep to Mint LPG to have the regulator changed. In the process, it was discovered that the solenoid on the LPG tank isn’t functioning, meaning that we can’t run the engine on LPG. A new tank solenoid is due to be installed and this should helpfully cure the problem.
Because LPG is harder on the spark plugs etc., it was suggested that we fit new plugs in readiness for the return to gas power, which we did. In fact, the NGK plugs my son David fitted have transformed the engine response and driveability. It’s even a tad more economical. Not as good as it would be on LPG though.
The Jeep is a great workhouse and I really, really enjoy the 944, but I’m still an Imp (and Imp derivative) man at heart. So I drove up to Leicester on Sunday, August 5, to spend a day at the Imp Club National. It was brilliant, seamlessly and professionally organised event and with a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. I came back fired up to do some work on the Davrian.
Talking of which, I bought a reconditioned steering rack from Bob Allan, the Imp Club Spares Co- ordinator. This should solve my rack issues. As for quietening the Davrian, a subject I touched upon last month, there were many and varied exhaust setups on show and I took lots of photos. Just need to decide which route to take. It’s so exhausting!