MMoarrgtaynn- Jones Contributor
Martyn has been passionate about classics ever since he joined the Imp Club back in 1981 and has owned around 15 Imps over the years. If money were no object he’d love to own a 1972 Porsche 911S, an Austin-Healey 3000, a Renault 8 Gordini – and another Stiletto!
I placed an order with Porsche specialist Frazerparts for an exchange, refurbished airflow meter. The replacement, a completely overhauled unit that had been returned to its original operating specifications, arrived within 48 hours.
Less than an hour after it had been delivered, the meter was fitted and functioning. Functioning perfectly in fact, and so much better than the original had. A few days later, a decent length test drive to a socially- distanced get-together of the Usk Valley Classic Car Club was a revelation. The idle was now spot- on, the engine was much happier on the overrun, it pulled more strongly and from lower down in the rev range, and was much smoother overall. It’s more economical too. To say that I’m delighted is an understatement. In fact, I think that this is the first time the engine has run properly ever since I bought the car. Thanks Darren!
I mentioned earlier the fact that I had changed the 944’s transaxle oil. It’s actually quite a straightforward process. The job involves accessing two 17mm plugs on the lefthand side of the transaxle. Good advice is to always open the fill plug first – if you open the drain plug first and then find that for any reason you can’t undo the fill plug, you’ll be left with a car that has no transmission oil and can’t be driven.
To loosen/ tighten the two plugs, I bought a 17mm Allen-headed socket. Luckily both plugs were quite easy to remove, although the oil that came out of the drain hole looked quite dirty. Mercifully though, it didn’t appear to contain any metal swarf or feel gritty. To aid the refilling process, I stood the plastic oil bottles in very hot water for a time. This meant that the oil became less viscous and I was able to squeeze it into the transaxle much more easily. After about 2.2 litres had found its way in, oil began to dribble out of the fill hole. In went the filler plug, then the filler and drain plugs were tightened, and it was good to go.
Having changed the transaxle oil, my next task will be to change the engine oil and filter, and also to improve the dipped/ main beams. I also have to do some tweaks to the Davrian’s driver’s seat. In fact, the Davrian has been buddying up to the Stiletto, which I’ve dragged out from its resting place in the corner of the barn. The plan is to get the Stiletto inspected by a restorer so that I can get some idea of the potential restoration costs. He’s due to visit in a few weeks, so I’ll be reporting on his findings.