More stories from the madhouse…

Hi to each and everyone of you

Just thought I would have a catch up and keep peeps up to date with goings on at the madhouse. We had a slow start to the year but it has picked up nicely now, so now we are running around like headless chickens trying to keep up….sometimes failing badly but generally all good on the madness scales.

Our bubble wrap, scotch tap, cellotape etc are bought in from the internet in bulk so we always have plenty in to get orders out on time and in a safe manner. But our boxes are the bane of my life at times, we have all manner of sizes and shapes which just take up soooooooo much room…..plus rolls of bubble wrap everywhere just puts a top hat on things!! We get given packing boxes from everywhere and anywhere as we are always in constant need and I never check what is on the external packaging labels. I should do because one time there were hazardous chemical symbols all over the box and the courier had to be persuaded that it wasn’t nuclear waste he would be carrying from Chernobyl but a brake caliper. I was even close to opening the package to convince him!!

Anyway to cut a long story short, this particular day we had boxed different orders up as we always do, booked them for collection etc. I didn’t think anymore about it till a few days later an irate customer contacted me demanding answers. Perplexed I tried to get to the bottom of the matter as I knew the part was a good one. It turned out it was the packaging that was the problem as we had dispatched his order in a ‘Rampant Rabbit’ vibrator box that had been left on his door step by the courier due to nobody being home. He wasn’t best pleased….I mean what would his neighbours think of him/his wife in leafy suburbia Chalfont St Giles? I shudder to think…. shudder probably not the best choice of word there 🙂

Hopefully he understood that it was a genuine mistake and we promised that we would be more careful with our packaging next time….I have a sneaky suspicion that the courier knew all about it all along and left it in plain view for chuckle purposes.

Anyways, will write again soonest.

All the best

Mac McGovern

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Stories from the inside….

Hi to each and everyone of you

Just thought I would share some of the stuff we have had over the years which have made us chuckle. The red 986 Boxster we were dismantling in the photo above had outer over sills fitted, so as we removed them we were met with these words of wisdom. I would like to think of this moment as not only being informative but also showed the ‘naughty’ boys had a sense of humour too. How their sides must have ached with all the belly laughs and guffaws they endured with this little wheeze of ingenuity.

I would also like to take this opportunity to mention Andy’s ability to destroy things which should be bullet proof on paper….but obviously nothing on Earth has been created to my knowledge that can stop the unstoppable force that is Andy. This phenomena first came to my notice early on in his employment with us. The engine hoist which had previously been a stalwart of modern machinery soon began to ‘lose’ locating pins and other key items, which were then mysteriously replaced by all manner of odd tools and screwdrivers to replicate the missing locating pins. I am not sure to this day whether he thought I hadn’t noticed these oddments or he was just using his ‘special’ talent to improvise the vanishing mystery. It seems to be an unspoken rule not to mention these things, so we both skirt around the subject to this very day. I have now grown rather fond of our hedgehog looking engine hoist but not too sure about the health and safety aspect of things. I actually believe it is now Andy proof and should be certified to that effect.

Only this week, I noticed the indestructible dust pan made out of Krupp steel was now in 2 parts lying on the workshop floor. I felt like it was my duty to mention this to him only to be met with some mumbled story of how it had just fallen apart!!! This thing was quite possibly from the pre-Jurassic period and had been forged by molten lava from Middle Earth eons previously, so had stood up to some serious stuff in its long and glorious career but had obviously met its match when Andy appeared on the scene!! It had witnessed the demise of the dinosaurs, countless wars fought in many lands, seismic activity and tsunamis around the world, flower power and the 60’s, The Berlin Wall coming down but had no answer to Andy and his destructive ways. Things will never be quite the same with this ending of an era.

And then there is Andy and his ‘improv’ way of how to remove parts or do a task. Not bothering with a standard by the book methodology or logical way to do things, Andy likes to do it his way….which ultimately means nine times out of ten will always end in disaster. A familiar theme of starting with the very best of intentions generally ends in abject failure and back to the drawing board but on the very rare occasions that he is successful then boy do we all know about it with his constant re-runs of each particular moment during the task that were so blatantly obvious to him (and to no one else) that this ‘mechanicing’ lark is a doddle and is as easy as shelling peas. There is no working with him in these Eureka moments and we have all learned to make ourselves scarce. It gives Andy more time to work on his stories even more and the final embellished stories take on saga like proportions by the next telling of the story. Please Lord, take me now….

Anyways, more stories from the madhouse coming soon

All the best

Mac McGovern

991.2 Turbo S

Hi all

To say I am a little giddy with this lump is an understatement. It has been a real pleasure working on this monster & we are learning quite a bit on the way too….especially Andy, who can now manage to make a semi decent brew after all these years of trying!! And yes, he can be trying. I am soooo proud of him though, it is like witnessing a toddlers first foot steps. You really do have to cherish these moments as they don’t last long. As long as we avoid getting botulism over the next few weeks then I think we are on the home run and our immune system will cover the rest 🙂 If only he could work the microwave though……it looks like Chernobyl sometimes when he has been heating his pie up!!

Got loads of photos/parts to list from this beast so keep your peepers peeled in the coming days/weeks for some real gems to be had. We shall be populating the website soonest, so happy days on that score. Andy has worked like a little Trojan on this one and I as always have been fantastic too 🙂 Even bought a workshop manual on this one so I could swat up and sound learned on the subject matter. May need a bit more time on that though.

Anyhows, going to sign off for now and get reading

All the best

Mac McGovern

964 C2 Convertible

Hi everybody

Another giddy kipper moment!! 964 C2 parts aplenty and a solid rolling body shell too. All the panels/doors are in great condition & painted in Grand Prix White. The 3.6 engine runs well and the G50 gearbox is a doozer too. All to be listed on the website shortly so dig deep in your pockets folks as I need to retire soon and quite enjoy lazy afternoons in the sun lying on a beach being served cold beer by scantily clad busty girls!!!

The interior is in blue and in pretty good nick. I shall be listing all the parts soon’ish so keep your peepers peeled for them.

Will speak soon

Mac McGovern

It’s been a while….

Hi all (more than 3 now I believe)

Sorry it has been a while but been mega busy clearing out old stock to make way for new models & stock. Anyway, I think we are pretty close to where we want to be, so we are now back with a bang!!! Introducing a 2016 Porsche 991 Generation II Turbo S to our stock certainly puts a smile on my face. I thought I would include some of the specifications about this car :

Engine : 3.800 cc, flat 6 twin-turbocharged (18,574 miles)

Transmission : 7-speed PDK, four wheel drive

Top speed : 205mph with 0-60mph @ 2.9 seconds

Torque (lb ft) : 553 @ 2,250-4,000 rpm

With that mileage on the engine, the engine just sounds awesome. Stopping power is via PCCB ceramic brake calipers with monstrous sized brake discs/rotors. There are many gadgets on this model….we haven’t discovered them all yet!!!! I am trying to stop the guys drooling over the car but I am afraid that is a losing battle. It has sustained some heavy damage to the right hand side but the important bits are all in good shape.

I will be listing and photographing all the parts as they are removed, so keep your peepers peeled for some ace parts over the coming weeks.

All the best

Mac McGovern

Porsche 996 C4S in Meridian Silver

Hi to each & everyone

Introducing a good looking C4S in meridian silver that we recently got in. It has sustained front tub damage which can be easily fettled but apart from that it is in good nick. Many Goochie parts, good 3.6 engine, big Red Brembos and factory fitted Aero kit rear spoiler. All in all, a doozer….although somebody had decided to ‘liberate’ the PCM before I got the vehicle, the light fingered little tinkers.

We had done really well getting our stock levels down to a manageable level over the last year with the impending move to a new location but now I feel a bit swamped again. Oh well, best get busy selling parts again!!

On a personal note, I lost a good friend recently due to a motorcycle accident. Though we were countries apart, we spoke often and he visited whenever he was in the UK and I had also visited him in Poland too. He was an avid Porsche fanatic and an all round good guy and I will miss chatting to him & talking car bollocks. We had hit it off from day one and it truly saddens me that I won’t see him again. Plus, I am sure he owed me a pint so I will be claiming that back when we meet again, hopefully upstairs. RIP Oskar

Till next time

Mac McGovern

Cold Winter…need new premises pronto

Hi all (three of you now…result)

Well that was a cold Winter with all this Beast from the East palaver and the like. Andy is getting sooooo soft these days, he only left his cup of water out for a matter of a few short hours and it froze solid…and then had the cheek to moan about it?? My first thought was excellent jubbly just there pal…for those of you who don’t know what a jubbly is, well it’s normally a flavoured frozen ice lolly but we are very tight up North, so its a big ice cube in reality 🙂 Pfft…next he will be asking for gloves & heating or something else nesh (soft). Andy, shhhhh….no one cares 🙂

We have had a good clear out at the unit lately and hopefully will move a few more engines, gearboxes, body shells and other ‘big’ stuff soonish as we have decided to uplift ourselves to a brand new unit closer to home (for me…not him). We have enjoyed our stay at the old place but its well, old, so I reckon its time to move on to pastures new….might even take Andy with me but I will take advice on that one 🙂 Hopefully we will be taking on a new member or two to the team this coming year…one on the spanners and one helping with the admin stuff, so that I can take more time off to drink Merlot & eat canapes whilst considering the meaning of life and the pros & cons of quantum cryptography. I will keep you informed of any progress on this topic if I am sober enough to understand any of it.

I have still got my peepers open for new cars to work on but we are concentrating on selling parts off at the moment due to the imminent move to utopia. I would like to get my grubby mitts on a Panamera or Macan or similar ilk, just out of curiosity really but will buy anything of interest from the Porsche world. In my defence if I am left unsupervised for far too long then it could end in tears big time, as I have tried to explain to people in the past but nobody seems to listen to me. I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to them more than once.

Right think that is all for the time being.

 

All the best

Mac McGovern