Living with a Porsche 944

I didn't love the Teledials at first but admittedly I've really come to adore them since the first photoshoot I did with my 944. They do look gorgeous especially when waxed. However, my one desire was for larger diameter wheels though (my son kept encouraging me to go for eighteens LOL), and after months of searching I've managed to nab some 16" Teledials from an '86 Turbo. The bonus being that the tyres on my fifteens were needing replacement and the sixteens came with some great Nankangs, albeit with some refurb work required on the fronts. The biggest difference between the wheels is that the lovely deep dish of the Teledials is, well, slightly less deep dish on the sixteens surprisingly - as you can see below. The sixteens are on the right in the second shot. It's a compromise I think I can live with though. The new wheels are shod with 225/55 tyres which are a little bigger than the 195/65's they replace, but tyrebible show them as only bein

Well I popped the bonnet and fitted the new relay for the fan, then took the 944 for a good countryside drive - which included a guiness for St. Patricks day. Arriving home I left the car on idle with the bonnet open so I could see the fan running. And thankfully after a couple minutes off it went. Relief. If I'd just accepted the quote on the assumption that the fan was dead then I'd be almost £250 out of pocket. As it is this relay cost a paltry £37 delivered overnight from the guys at German Sports Cars. Incidently it's important to note that some 944s have only a single fan such as mine. The relay for the dual fan cars is about £125.

One of the items that Jon's Garage pointed out in their extensive check was that the engine fan was not engaging. That's a serious problem if I get stuck in traffic. Now that the sun is out and temps are in the mid-teens, it's easier to get stuck into this issue. James, the chap who did my inspection, suspected that the fan was seized. I've been spraying GT85 of the motor for the last week or so in the hopes it would free up. While it's certainly stiff I hadn't been convinced it was kaput. New ones are a couple hundred quid, and used ones far less off eBay. I'm far more concerned with overheating on the school run. Firstly, I noticed that a fuse had gone in position 15, thankfully I had a replacement to hand. The next test was to see if the relay was in fact switching the fan on. Connecting a test bulb to the wiring harness and running the engine didn't yield any results. Which meant I was going to have to pull the fan out and power it directly to t

It's not often that I'm down Christchurch way. But seeing as though Jon Mitchell's famed garage is here it seemed like a good enough reason to visit. Jon offers a comprehensive inspection of your Porsche. So while they're giving my 944 a thorough going over I've taken the short walk into town. I must say that Christchurch, Dorset that is, is quite an amazing place to spend a couple of hours. If you've not been to Jon's or this quaint, characterful old town then now's the time to book in. Especially on a glorious late winters day such as this. The stroll around the canal in the shadow of the cathedral has posed a few photo ops, and I hope to return more aptly armed in future. So while I enjoy my freshly brewed coffee my feet ready themselves for the walk back to JMG and a useful list of things to guide the next moves on my beloved 944.