Ski Roundtop Swap Meet 2016

If you listen to the haters they will tell you the swap meet is dead.  EBAY reigns supreme!  Well, I really wish those guys would have been in Lewisberry, PA yesterday for Ski Roundtop because after they ate their crow, they could have shopped for parts and hung out with friends.  Roundtop was huge this year with people setting up in every corner of the venue.  There were people in the parking lot, people in the grass, basically there were people everywhere, oh and parts, there were parts for days.  The variety of parts was what was most astounding, there were 356 parts, 911 parts, 914 parts, and VW parts, but it was all air-cooled, so even the stuff you might not be interested in buying is interesting to look at.  There were lots of familiar faces but tons of new ones too.  We also had some really cool cars like Tim’s 904-0014.  You don’t often get to see a car like at an event less than something like Rennsport.  The ski slopes as always provided a very relaxing backdrop, it’s one of the things that makes Roundtop my favorite swap, it’s just a relaxing day out enjoying air-cooled cars.  Can’t wait for next year!

http://www.vintagegermanswapmeet.com

—Adam

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2016 Porsche 356 Registry East Coast Holiday

I haven’t been to a holiday in a couple of years and my wife hasn’t come with me in more years than that.  The kids have finally gotten to an age we can leave them with my mother for days at a time so off to Akron we went.  The weather was not looking good for the event so we decided to trailer the car and am glad we did.  The rain hit us hard on the way to Ohio, the 356 was soaked inside and out, luckily we weren’t in it.

Friday started out great, saw lots of friends at the Lit Meet and that was followed by a great talk from Chuck Stoddard.  Hearing him tell Max Hoffman stories is truly priceless!  Saturday was the concour at the wonderful Glenmoor Country Club, there was a threat of rain, which was worrying everyone but the Porsche God’s smiled upon us and the sun was shining throughout the day.  The rain finally did come late in the afternoon but by then everyone was back at the hotel and their cars were safe and sound.  Also lucky for me, George Kehler had his camera out and took a bunch of pics, because I forgot to take many, thanks George!  Sunday was the swap meet and the sun was still shining .  The swap was great but we try to make all the ECH Unobtanium Swap Meets a good time for people.  The ride back was initially un-eventful until I got about 100 miles from home and the ABS light starting flashing on and off, whatever, I kept driving.  Then the noises started and got worse and worse.  I decided it was getting too scary to keep going so I called AAA for a tow, which is complicated because I have the 356 on the trailer.  But fear not, I have AAA RV+ which was sold to me as covering my car trailer but when I called once I was broken down I was told the car trailer was not covered and while they could tow the truck I would have to figure something out for the trailer.  Sure, I’ll just leave the 356 on the trailer, it will be there when I come back….

Since I was so close to home but still North of Albany I realized I was not far from Big John’s house in the Adirondack’s so I called him to pick up my wife and take her home so she could go to work in the morning.  She has the real job in the family at a major hospital so while I can cool my heels in Rome, NY she needed to get to work.  Now on my own I limped the truck into a hotel room and then onto to Midas to get both wheel bearings done.  The guy at Midas was very surprised I was still driving, the only thing holding the driver’s side front wheel on was the axle nut.  Lucky me!

So an eventful ECH but a really good one also, seeing old friends and making new ones always reminds me of the great 356 brotherhood.

Keep the Faith!

 

—Adam

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Unobtanium Open House 2016

The weather this year was better then we could have paid for, sunny and in the 70s.  Having an outside event is always a little nerve-wracking because if it rains, the event will be a sure dud.  But luckily the weather was perfect, so everyone brought out their cars!

We had a wide variety of cars but the 911’s ruled, they lined up like soldiers and it was very impressive.  Brian’s Frankfurt Flyer, built by Chris Runge, was the star of the show, with quite a group steadily gathered around it.  I like most people have seen pictures of these cool hand built cars, but seeing FF #5 in the metal was truly breath-taking!

We went with a different caterer this year and based on the amount of people getting 2nd and 3rd’s, me included, I think we made the right choice to go with Yanni’s, the food was beyond good.

The only bit of drama we had came courteous of the United States Customs and Border Patrol.  Mike from Restoration Design made the trip down from Canada and brought a Pre-A chassis with the individual pieces marked like a prized cow.

All was good with the body, but the US Border guys thought that the motor that went with it was a problem.  Apparently he needed additional paperwork for the motor, which seems simple but it’s the government, so he was detained for five hours and I got a call from Homeland Security to check his story.  It was pretty crazy, another reason I hate the border.  It ended ok with Mike making it in time for the open house, tired but there.  He was not the only out of towner to make it, we had people from PA, RI, MA, CT, NJ, NH, FL, VT, and probably a few more states that I missed, not bad for an open house.  Every year gets better, can’t wait for next year!

—Adam

 

 

 

 

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PCA Autocross 2016

Today was my first ever autocross.  I was hoping my 904 project would be far enough along by now that I could take it, but alas projects always take twice as long as we plan.  But luckily, there are more choices in the Wright stable, so I took the 60 Roadster.  I was fully prepared to have damage, my motto has always been to drive the car, and not be afraid of what might happen.  The damage I did get probably isn’t permanent and ironically it wasn’t even my fault.  My first lap out one of the instructors offered to ride with me, I figured that was probably a good idea.  Once we started really going through it he grabbed for the grab handle, except I don’t think he knew 356’s very well (there were only two at the event) and he grabbed the inner door handle.  The result was the door flying open with a guy leaning on it, which tweaked, and now it doesn’t want to close.  Hopefully the magic hands of Big John can massage the door back into place on Monday, he’s hung enough doors to be pretty good at it.

Back to the autocross, I came in 2nd, but did I mention there were only two 356s?  It was a lot of fun, but I wasn’t very good, I missed the same spot on the course three times!  But my times did get better as the day wore on and they weren’t the worst times on the field, there is always comfort to be found in not being on the bottom.  All in all a great day, with many more in the future.  Race on!

—Adam

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Unobtanium Open House 2015

First let me say we could not have paid for better weather.  It was sunny in the low 80s, with a slight breeze.  Turnout was very good with Porsches as far as the eye could see.

The food truck this year received lots of compliments and no one went home hungry.

One cool thing about this year was we saw a lot of new faces, which is why we do it after all.  A lot of the old faces were there, but the new ones make it interesting.

And talk about interesting, we even had a celebrity make a cameo, Frank Serpico!  He confided in me something I had always heard, that Al Pacino played Frank better in the movie than Frank plays Frank in real life.  He was a very interesting guy and a real joy to have at the party.

We also had some folks come from as far away as Canada, Virginia, and Ohio, and we thanked those guys for putting in the miles.   Also of note, we had Porsches from every stripe present, we are used to seeing 356 and early 9 Series stuff, but this year we had 914’s, 924’s, even a few Cayenne’s!

The goal of the event is to open our doors to Porsche people to showcase what we do and what we have found.

Our latest in house project of the 914/6 becoming a 904 was on display and received a lot of attention.

Also, Matt’s 87 Carrera was ready for the party this year so we had that front and center.

We had our normal assortment of 356’s and 911/912’s needing restoration, and a lot of those were interesting to people.  Porsche sent us some great promo items this year so the Factory Racing banners and cool gift bag items were a big hit, who doesn’t want FREE Porsche stuff?

In the end, after the last car had left, it was just crew, we watched the tail lights and thought, what a great day, can’t wait for next year!

—Adam

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Unobtanium Open House

There is always an element of risk when you plan an event, but no risk, no reward.  We had never done an open house before so we decided to go all in.  We hired a well regarded but not cheap caterer, Slidin Dirty http://slidindirty.com/ and starting doing stuff around the shop that we had always wanted to do but never found the time, like hang an A Coupe on the wall.  Hanging the coupe wasn’t easy but Big John did his usual over-build and it came out great.

So leading up to the big event we had the shop they way we wanted it, the food lined up, and had gotten the word out to everyone we could possibly think of, and then disaster looked like it might strike, rain.  Four days out from the event the weather said rain and more rain, and while some of the hardcore Porsche guys would show up if it rained, many wouldn’t.  Since we are quickly approaching the end of the driving season in the Northeast I know several guys who were going to use the open house to exercise their cars for one last long haul before going to bed for the winter.  We had a large group from the Boston area, lots of guys from NY and PA, even a few as far as VA.  As a special international treat, we had some Canadians come down, that was a surprise, but a nice one.  Luckily, the weather shifted until Sunday so the day of the event we had sun and more sun, with even a nice breeze.  I didn’t take a head count but we allocated enough food to feed 100 people and the food truck guys said we went through about 2/3’s of that, so we probably had about 75 people altogether.  Wray Schelin from Pro Shaper http://www.proshaper.com/ came out and showed off the fender from the aluminum 550 Spyder he is building for us, it garnered a lot of interest, which is good because I know Wray plans to start building them for people, so if you liked it, call Wray and get your order in. 

It was a laid back affair with old friends and new, sharing stories about our cars and telling the stories of ones we had in inventory and on display.  Like the 58 Coupe shell that won Daytona in 66,

or the 64 SC with street sign floors reading “Speed Limit 50”, it was hard to miss the droptop red trifecta you saw upon arrival, two 60 Roadsters and a C Cab. 

But I think what got the most attention was the C Sunroof clip sporting the Rudge wheels. 

Another one that alot of guys were looking over was the 53 Coupe that I’m pretty sure was used for ice racing, because it had crazy flares and studded tires. 

If you came to see Porsches, you got your fill, and then some, because if we didn’t have it, someone probably brought it, like Tom Tates black Speedster, or Judy’s blue 911, even Rick from Bavarian Rocket Science brought out his 911 race car.  It was good to have Rick there because a number of people were asking me if they could bring their car in for service, I politely told them all that we don’t do outside work and then sent them in Rick’s direction, his company http://www.bavarianrocketscience.com/ services my own personal cars, so I can recommend them with full confidence. 

The open house was everything we hoped it would be, fun, festive, and lots of Porsches!

—Adam

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Anatomy of a Porsche Barn Find

One of the best parts of my job is finding a large stash of Porsche parts and cars, but can also be one of the worst parts of my job too. The hardest part is finding those long lost stashes, they normally aren’t advertised. We finished up a two truckload deal over the weekend and while everything was fresh on my mind I wanted to write up a breakdown of what a large deal entails.
1. Finding the stuff. Like I said, these stashes are not easy to find, they are normally Porsche hoarders or shops, not someone who has ever really sold parts or cars.

2. Once found, the stuff has to be bought. This can be very challenging because if someone has been holding onto these parts for 30-50 years they aren’t quick to let them go. It can almost be described as a suicide mission, there is usually a long line of guys who have tried and failed to get him to sell, and you have to make the impossible actually possible. The trick is buying everything with enough margin to still make money after you have to deal with all of it.
3. The logistics of a large deal, transporting large quantities of cars and parts. This recent deal was 3 cars and enough parts to fit into a full size pickup and trailer, as well as a full size box truck, that was packed up to the last inch of space. It was so weighted down I was in the PA mountains with the pedal to the metal, pushing 40 MPH! But before you can even get going you have to get all the parts from wherever they have been hiding for 30+ years, and it is rarely clean, normally a dirty barn but in this case a dark and wet warehouse, the leaky roof had knocked out all lights. To add to the misery the standing water mixed with 90 degree heat made for a fungus like sauna, and it was very very dark. Once you get a crew together, in this case, me, Big John and my friend Scott was who nice enough to help out, you have to touch every little part, pack it into bins and get it onto truck and trailer. From there you transport normally long distances, in this case it was 1000 miles round trip.

4. Then the real fun starts, you have to un-load, meaning you have enough room to unload and sort, and then warehouse a large stash.

5. Once all this is done, then and only then can you begin to sell and start to make your large investment back.

So if you think it’s easy to do a large buy out, it isn’t, it’s feeding and housing a crew far from home, driving long distances, after dealing with what is probably a wacky Porsche hoarder who probably wants a large pile of cash so he can bury it in his backyard. Then getting all the stuff back and sorting it, which takes forever and all the while it’s greasy, heavy, old parts and cars that don’t want to be moved, just think about wheels that don’t turn or engines that are falling through the floor of a rotting barn. But would I trade this job for any other job on the planet, the answer is hell no!
—Adam Wright

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Magnus Walker gets Factory nod

Porsche Factory Press Release 18/03/2014
Porsche Classic demonstrates its range of capabilities

Large Porsche product line at Techno Classica 2014
Stuttgart. Porsche Classic will be showing an impressive sampling of its comprehensive selection of Classic original parts at the world’s largest classic car trade show in Essen, which runs from March 26 through March 30. The centrepiece of the over 600 square metre exhibit area at Techno Classica will be the “40 years of the 911 Turbo” anniversary exhibit, which is graced by vehicles provided by Porsche Exclusive & Tequipment and the Porsche Museum.

The Porsche Classic family continues to grow. Since the beginning of the year, Porsche Classic has committed to supplying parts for the Porsche 911, Type 996 and the Porsche Boxster, Type 986. Ultimately, Porsche Classic has always handled parts for all vehicle model series whose production was phased out at least ten years ago, in order to continue to guarantee smooth service and assure long life and value preservation for the Porsche classic cars. Classic experts will be available at the Porsche exhibit area 7.1-604 in Hall 7 to field all inquiries about the current selection of 52,000 original Classic parts.

Also making its debut is the new Porsche Classic motor oil in 20W-50 and 10W-60 versions; together with the Porsche Development Centre, it was specially developed for air-cooled flat engines, and it offers optimal protection against wear and corrosion. Naturally, it is “Made in Germany.” Starting in mid-April, Porsche Classic motor oil will be available at all global Porsche Centres.

Porsche Classic is also showing a Porsche 356 A Speedster, which is currently being restored at the Classic shop on behalf of a customer, and interested parties can obtain information on repairs and restorations to classic Porsche vehicles.

Magnus Walker at Porsche Classic

As special guest Porsche Classic presents the Porsche enthusiast and Urban Outlaw Magnus Walker. The Brite now living in LA is one of the most colorful figures amongst Porsche collectors and drivers. The fashion designer will give autograph hours on Thursday, March 27 and on Friday, March 28 at 11 am and 3 pm at the Porsche stand. Magnus Walker, who became known designing fashion for stars like Madonna and Alice Cooper, owns an impressive collection of more than 30 Porsche classic cars. His preference is for early 911 up to the mid 1970s as well as the 911 Turbo models from the first production in 1974.

For him, that is reason enough to visit Porsche Classic as well. On the occasion of its anniversary “40 years of the 911 Turbo”, Porsche is presenting a 911 Turbo 3.0 Coupé from 1976 and a sectional model of the 911 Turbo Cabriolet (Type 996). Motorsport fans can also look forward to a Turbo. The Porsche Museum is bringing the Porsche 917/30 Spyder, model year 1973, to Essen. Porsche Exclusive & Tequipment rounds out the showing of turbocharged 911 cars with a customised 911 Turbo Cabriolet (Type 991) in Slate Grey. The many extras include such features as bi-xenon headlights in Black including Dynamic Light System (PDLS), a special leather interior in Carrera Red, sport seats with leather-upholstered backrests as well as many carbon parts in the interior.

Porsche Driver’s Selection is also at the Porsche exhibit area in Essen once again, and it is offering a large selection of the latest Porsche accessories.

*Fuel consumption/emissions 911: urban 18.9-11.2 l/100 km; extra-urban 8.9-6.5 l/100 km; combined 12.4-8.2 l/100 km; CO2 emissions 289-194 g/km
GO
Communication Porsche AG
Product Communication
Elena Marciniak
Phone: +49 (0) 711 / 911 29975
E-mail: Elena.Marciniak@porsche.de

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Sad Speedster Day, but they are worthless, right?

Remember back in the day when Speedsters were cheap and disposable? I don’t, but some of you guys might. That is the story I am about to tell here, of a cheap and disposable Speedster that met it’s end one afternoon. The car was being used for what seems now to be an odd purpose but at the time it was just a car, though in this case it was acting as more of a pickup truck.

My friend recalls the day like this,
“This was probably a mile away from the house, on a local road. I took the trash to the dump and loaded up the back of the car with some tree branches to bring back to use for dune erosion control (it was a ritual that we’d always bring a few branches back and throw them on the dune between the house and the beach).”
It was on this dutiful trip that the car met another car, head on. Ironically, it was the cargo that cause the injuries.
“I would have escaped without injury if one of the branches hadn’t whacked me on the back of the head resulting in a concussion.”
There was a side benefit to the concussion, he got to meet all kinds of new friends, though the party didn’t last long.
“Spent that evening listening to invisible people out in the yard saying things I couldn’t quite make out. The next day they were gone so I’m not sure what the deal was with them.”

The car was hit very hard and wasn’t worth saving, so what was salvaged was saved, and the rest went to be made into washing machines. He remembers it like this,
“Parted out. Front half was recycled (crushed), back clip sold. Doors and deck lid were OK. The transmission and engine went into my coupe.  Neither were original to the Speedster (they were from a Convertible D).”


And before you say what everyone is thinking, he thought of that too.
“Everything that could have been saved was saved. I know; some people today would say “Tragic! It could have been saved! Blah blah blah!” But in 1970 there were no repro panels, no repro parts, no shops who would or could do the work, and when you were done you’d have a mutt Speedster with a very checkered history worth maybe $1500, not $150,000.”
Sad day for a cool car, but at least we have the memories…

—Adam Wright

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Maria Sharapova and Porsche

Factory Press Release
Maria Sharapova presents her Porsche Panamera GTS
Stuttgart/Moscow. During a visit to her hometown of Sochi, Russia, Porsche Brand Ambassador Maria Sharapova presents her interpretation of an exceptional sportscar in the luxury segment – the Porsche Panamera GTS “by Maria Sharapova”. This unique Panamera is an outstanding example of transforming a serial model with exclusive individual options into a truly unique and special masterpiece. The Panamera GTS “by Maria Sharapova” demonstrates the most personal touch in terms of design, custom tailoring and exclusiveness – attributes typical of the international tennis athlete.

“Creating and specifying a very personal Porsche Panamera was such an exciting undertaking. It opens the door to a whole new design sensibility and allowed me to bring my own personal aesthetic. I count myself not only as an athlete, but also as a designer – I’ve designed full collections of luxury accessories, apparel, and even candy for years,” said Sharapova. “I never thought I would have the opportunity to add a car – especially a Porsche – to that repertoire. It’s an ingenious melding of the design world with automotive personalization.”

The presented model is distinguished by a number of options from the Porsche Exclusive program, which enlarge the wide range of Porsche Panamera modifications by exclusive features and which fulfil customer wishes beyond the usual mindset. And naturally this is always fully in line with all the quality and safety requirements of Porsche AG. The exterior colour of the Panamera GTS is white; sporty, high-gloss touches on the exterior are provided by the black LED main headlights including the Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus (PDLS+), the tinted LED rear lights, the black tailpipe covers of the sports exhaust system and the 20-inch Panamera sports wheels in black. Among the Exclusive options, the Porsche Panamera “by Maria Sharapova” is equipped with an extended leather trim in the interior with decorative stitching in crème. The instrument dials are painted in the body colour white as well as the vehicle key. The front and rear headrests are embossed with the Porsche crest and the armrests are customised with the “Panamera GTS” model logo. The carbon door sill guards feature individual “Maria Sharapova” lettering.

The Porsche Panamera GTS is equipped with a 4.8-litre V8 naturally aspirated engine with 440 hp (324 kW) at 6,700 rpm. It accelerates from 0 – 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds and outbursts the top speed of 288 km/h.

Panamera GTS: Urban fuel consumption 15.7 litres/100 km; extra-urban fuel consumption 7.8 litres/100 km; combined fuel consumption 10.7 litres/100 km; CO2 emissions 249 g/km; efficiency class: F
GO
Corporate Communications
Viktoria Wohlrapp
Phone: +49 (0) 711 911 28099
E-mail: viktoria.wohlrapp@porsche.de

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