Model 996.1 Carrera 4 Year 1999 Acquired February 2014

The road trip to the Yorkshire Dales nearly didn’t happen for me as it was unclear if my car was going to run, but as you would have read last month, with a week to go my car had the all clear.

I figured I would get my 18-inch rims on the car, but as ever the simple things never go as smooth as you expect.

This time one of my wheel crests fell off, but some gorilla glue epoxy fixed that. Fellow Legend Joe sent through a comprehensive set of instructions

recommending full tanks at the start. I followed this advice and set a course for a petrol station near our rendezvous point. A 207-mile uneventful journey and I had a full tank of fuel.

I was first to arrive at our rendezvous point in Collingham. Ten minutes later Joe arrived, another few minutes and both Chris and Sean arrived. After a general catch up both Chris and Sean announced they had failed to fuel their cars, but luckily the first stretch went past a fuel stop.

For me the first day had two key points to take away. Firstly, on day one I did feel I was at a power and gearbox disadvantage. The roads on day one were not as wide as you’d desire and were lined with vegetation. For me this meant that I was not on the power until I was clear of the corner and could see my exit, and this is when the others could effortlessly pull away.

Second take away is to check your car; in my case check your aftermarket induction pipe! We had pulled into a lane to regroup and my dash lit up like a Christmas tree and the engine died. My heart sank. All I could think was maybe it wasn’t my expansion tank but my head gasket. I turned her over, nothing. Tried

again, nothing. On throttle she sputtered into life, but had a massive misfire. As soon as I lifted off the throttle she died. I checked for coolant and leaks. It all looked fine! I looked further and found that the induction pipe was loose. Ten minutes later it was back on and the car started. Result!

Day two, for me, was a far better driving day as the roads were more open. With better visibility I could equalise my car’s (Tiptronic) gearbox and power deficit by driving smarter! With clear visibility through the corners I could afford to brake earlier, change down and get on to the power sooner so I was on the tail of my faster colleagues, so much so that Sean even commented on how surprised he was of how quick the ‘wrong’ 996 was!

In fact, I surprised myself when I was hanging on to the back of Chris’ Carrera S. We ended the trip in Settle with fish and chips and then started the journey home. For me this was about 260 miles, so cruise control went on and I pointed the car back to Bristol. This is what makes ownership great; you meet people with a common passion and you enjoy this passion together. Hopefully we will do this again soon.