Almost burned up B Coupe 212104

I woke up one morning a few years ago to my phone ringing. It was my brother telling me that there was a big fire going on right next to our offices in Brooklyn. My apartment was only a few blocks away so I look out the window, all I see if smoke, lots of smoke. I get dressed and run over to the office, the fire dept. guys let me by when I tell them my place is right in the middle of it all.

If you look in the pictures, the first one is out my apartment window. The 2nd and 3rd show how close the Porsche was to the fire, out building is the one in the front of the shot.
Here is what is really scary, not that my computers and other office stuff will burn up, but that my 356 is in there! The building that was on fire took up one whole city block. There was a lot between out building and the fire but it was being used as a lumber storage lot, which was not really making me feel better. I am standing out there with my shady landlord, he owns both buildings, mine and the one that is on fire. He says he got the call about 5AM that morning that his building was on fire. I blurt out, “What, you got the call that the deed is done?” Somehow, this guy had about 1 bad fire a year, and collected the insurance. This building was really sketchy because he wanted to build condos on the water front but a group was trying to get Historical standing attached to the building, which means no condos. So somehow in the middle of that it burned to the ground.
I back my truck up to the garage door of our building and get a tow rope ready. If the fire jumps all of NY was going to see one crazy guy dragging a vintage Porsche down the street through a lake of fire!!!!!!! But luckily, while our building did get very hot and smoky, the fire never jumped. Since we were right no the East river the wind stayed towards the river, not inland. All was safe on the Porsche front!

—Adam

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Back in the day Porsche photos

This was my first Porsche, a 1975 911S Targa. I bought it my 2nd year in college, around 1994. Actually, Matt bought it but I got the loan, then he decided he didn’t want it, so I kept it. My parents were so pissed. When I told them I needed to put the Porsche on the family insurance they screamed and screamed. I ended up having to get my own insurance, which was a fun call to make. Calling insurance companies saying I am 19 and have a Porsche and need insurance, I actually got laughed at.

It was a cool car but like all Porsches it needed regular maintenance, which my broke ass could do for about 6 months, then I sold the car. But the Porsche bug had caught me.
I planned on buying another one when I got out of school and was making a little money, but another marque intervened, a 1956 Mercedes-Benz 190SL. An old friend of the family came to Thanksgiving dinner, I asked her is she still had that old Benz. She said yes, it was in her back yard, under a tarp.
We went and got the car, paid her $7000, took it back to the house, and in a few hours work had it running. From there I drove it for a few years, sold it when I found a Speedster kit, sold that and pick up a 63 Coupe 212104, my first 356, which I worked on in an alley in Brooklyn. The rest is history….

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