What's in a name? Part II

In a recent study from the UK, guess which name topped the list for "naughtiest girls names"?

Yep, "Ella" took the gold.  On the boys side, "William" scored the bronze medal.  I guess we make quite a pair ;-).

Ella to get a top-end rebuild

Ella's oil consumption has increased to burning about 1 quart every 400 miles.  Unfortunately the symptoms suggest valve guide wear as the culprit which means Ella needs a top-end rebuild.

After reviewing the excellent documentation available online and getting spousal approval, I have decided to tackle it myself.

Stay tuned for the adventures (and mishaps!).  First step: remove the engine.

Porsche Hood Crest

A quick and simple little project - replacing the hood crest with a custom colored one from "intrepidagent" on rennlist.

The Original Crest.
  It's in good shape, but it's the only gold color on the entire car.

Porsche Photography Class

Our local PCA chapter hosted a fun and educational photography class last month.  A big thanks to Charlie for running the class and to Park Place Porsche for hosting the event.

For me, the highlight of the class was the live photo contest.  Here were the contest constraints:

• 45 min to shoot in the Park Place Porsche parking garage
• Photos must the interaction of people and cars (in keeping with PCA goals)
• 15 min to choose your single favorite photo

The contest presented a number of challenges.  We were shooting mid-day on a Texas summer day -- harsh sunlight!  Inside the parking deck, this meant very bright light at the periphery with low light on the cars.  It was also a bit challenging trying to figure out how to work people into the photos as we were all busy trying to shoot.  The photos entered in the "contest" can been seen on the Maverick PCA website here:  http://mavpca.org/photos/MRPhotoGallery/Technical%20Events/Tech%20Seminars/2014/index.html

Thanks to a generous interpretation of "people", my photo won second place!  Click past the break for the prize winning photo.

FD Motorsport SSK and Goldenrod Install

FDM Goldenrod

Over the Easter weekend, a friend and I installed the FD Motorsports Goldenrod and SSK.  Despite having read many glowing reviews, I was somewhat skeptical that the setup would live-up to the hype.

Wheel Refinishing

Wheels have been Ella's weakest link ever since I purchased her.  The original equipment 17" wheels were, in my opinion, too small for the 993's wheel arches and their finish was also in poor shape.  Almost immediately, I began searching for replacements.  In January 2013, I bought a used set off eBay.  While the size and style were perfect, the wheels were beat-up.

Click past the break to see the before and after photos.

Bilstein HD + H&R Spring Install Revisited

Over a year after installing the H&R springs with my existing Bilstein HD struts, I finally measured the car's ride height (original install thread here).  The numbers confirmed what I had always suspected (and ignored) since the car came off the jack stands:  the front of the car was very low.  How low?  Way below RS low...