Porsche 911 Carrera (996.2) & Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9
As progress stalls on his pair of performance classics, Adam Towler ponders what the future may hold for them
YOU HAVEN’T HEARD MUCH ABOUT THE Towler personal fleet in recent months. Years even, to my eternal shame, in the case of the little red French one. But we had a chat in the evo office recently where it was decided that, in the spirit of ‘keeping it real’, it was just as relevant to talk about what hasn’t happened to our own cars as it was to discuss what actually has. And in the case of the former I am certainly not short of material…
First, the 911. Recently my 996.2 Carrera has done little more than hide from the frost and salt in a garage, but I can’t blame the inactivity on the weather alone. Firstly, I finally traced the knock from the front suspension to the Eibach adjustable coffin arms slightly fouling the front reaction/trailing arms when the components heated up with repetitive load, thanks to the latter being pattern parts and not genuine Porsche items (fitted at some point before my ownership). There’s nothing wrong with them per se, but they don’t work properly with the Eibachs because both parts appear to be slightly thicker than the
originals. So, do I go for Eibach’s own reaction arms, or fit genuine Porsche ones? I haven’t decided.
Moreover, while the set-up on the car is infinitely better than when I first overhauled the suspension with modified parts, I have to admit I’m really not a fan of the polybushing. It’s a humiliating admission, isn’t it? I’m supposed to know about this stuff, yet I let myself be seduced by the act of meddling. The only thing making me feel better about it is that I recently had dinner with the head engineer of a very well known sports car brand (no names here) where he admitted he’d lunged down the same path with his own classic sports car and was now making the walk of shame back to OE parts. If he can’t get it right then what hope the rest of us!
The biggest culprit is the poly gearbox mount, which for me is just far too much in NVH terms, but it’s not an easy job to actually replace. I also wonder if this is making the aftermarket exhaust a little too loud inside the cabin for my tastes, because the poly mount certainly affected the standard exhaust’s NVH. And talking of the Kline Innovation exhaust, while I’ve enjoyed the extra power, I miss that creamy mid-range torque delivery that seems to have been slightly stifled in the pursuit of said additional power. The bottom line is that I feel I’m at a bit of an impasse: I find owning the Porsche at the moment brings as much stress as it does joy, with the frustration of not having the funds available to spend yet more money on it. What, therefore, I am asked frequently, is the point? But then I imagine life without owning a 911…
Talking of selling up, you’ve no idea how many times the 205 GTI has come close to being moved on. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that potential buyers have changed their mind while I’ve dithered over letting it go, I reckon it would have been gone long ago. As it is, it continues to snooze at the back of the garage, and the sum total of my rather pathetic interaction with it is emptying the tank to the Meaco dehumidifier that at least keeps it in dry slumber. The trouble is, every time I go in there, I slightly fall in love with it again: its gleaming 15-inch Speedlines, its cheeky, pert stance, that 1.9 badge on the C-pillar… See, it’s doing it again, damn it. And if it’s sold, with prices as they are I doubt I’ll be getting another one. So maybe I’ll sneakily add a new battery, oil and filter onto the weekly shop. From petit acorns, mon brave…
PORSCHE 911 CARRERA (996.2) Date acquired May 2016 Total mileage 86,245 Mileage this month 0 Costs this month £0 mpg this month n/a
PEUGEOT 205 GTI 1.9
Date acquired October 2013 Total mileage 117,500 Mileage this month 0 Costs this month £0 mpg this month n/a
‘I’m supposed to know about this stuff, yet I let myself be seduced by the act of meddling’