bigbossman 

FRONT engine Porsche?!?!?!? >ACK<

Seriously though - all my experience with driving and owning has been with 911's. And all of that has been with the bullet-proof SC incarnation, up until I bought the 996. All I ever do is drive it and tune it up per schedule. Now and again tires, brakes, etc. The Toyota Supra I used to have was a POS maintenance hog in comparison.

Didn't consider the front engine ones - mea culpa.

bikenut2011

Re: miamijim

I thought about those clear lenses... they were 70 only on chevys... but you know, sometimes the amber ones loose all their color over the years. The amber lenses that were original on my 71 Nova turned clear by the time it got to me. Still, awesome looking vette... I almost bought a 72 a few years ago (even gave the guy a $100 deposit), but on a whim the next day i test drove a 98 6spd convertible 'vette and after that it was all over, I was hooked. Its "my wife's car"...wink wink

andy





'68-'72 have F&R chrome bumpers '71-'72 have amber front lenses with clear bulbs. 'Corvette Bronze' is the color.[/QUOTE]

thirdgenbird

correct. every time i do a repair i modify and improve.

my car is no longer a comfortable tourer however. 450lb springs, lowered over two inches, 17in wheels, manual steering, no air conditioning, no back seat, roll bar, loud brake pads, louder exhaust, and an aluminum flywheel that begs for heal-toe shifting...



edit:
but she still sees 5 hour trips

Grand Bois

She actually had two of them. I totalled the yellow one when it was 2 weeks old and she ordered a teal one to replace it. The teal one didn't run as strong as the yellow one even though it was equipped identically.

I always liked the looks of the '64 better than the '65.

nikkorod

My father is an avid Porsche enthusiast. He always said "if it isn't air cooled, it's not a real Porsche.

thirdgenbird

no offense to your father, but a man by the name of ferry porsche was in favor of replacing air cooled porsches with a front engined car with a water pump. i tend to hold this opinion of a "true" porsche higher.

porsche management has also made public statements of disappointment that their "enthusiasts" try and define porsche just because their first two models were air cooled rear engined cars (which ironically were this way because they used a vw floorplan)

m750rider

Interesting comments and experience everyone has had with cars, especially British and Porsche. They do inspire a lot of emotion don't they, some good, some bad.

Actually both of these have been very reliable cars for me. I've owned the Lotus since 1972; the 928 is a more recent purchase.

Each car was designed for a specific purpose, and in their day were pretty special. I like the story of Colin Chapman who is reported to have said his Lotus design philosophy was "simplify, then add lightness".

The Porsche on the other hand is the anti-Lotus and is highly engineered, and anything but simple.

iab

I don't own any sports cars, I really don't have much interest. In a previous life though, I used to wrench and do body work on vintage cars. The list includes several Cobras, 427, 289 and even a little work on a Daytona coupe. Jaguars - 1949 alloy body 120, a few steel 120s and a series 1 E-type. Some Porsche RSRs. And quite a few GT40s. This being my favorite. (sorry for the grainy scan, they didn't have digital cameras 20 years ago)




This is me working on the fuel pump (I think). Check out the sweet vintage Stussy hat.

bikamper

Been enjoying this thread immensely. Many of the vehicles are ones I've lusted over in my youth but could never attain. All the old iron I've owned in the past were during the Kodak Instamatic era so any pics are in my parents attic. However, the bike that predates all of them is my 1970 Robin Hood that I've owned since May 1970.

It came before, and has outlasted, what I consider some of my cooler vehicles;
1937 John Deere 'A'(first set of wheels),
1948 Mercury Convertible(if I knew then what I know now),
1965 Mercury Marauder(ditto),
1967 Ambassador DPL(my Dad worked for AMC),
1967 Comet Caliente HO(ya had to be there),
1964 MG Midget(first experience with Lucas, the Prince of Darkness),
1974 Opel Manta(Teutonic fun),
1952 Chevy 3100(the only GM product I've ever liked),
1954 Nash Rambler(the only vehicle that could transport my kids stand up bass),
and 1952 Ford F2(was a heck of a workhorse).
Still have the F2 but it's been a basket case the last 7 years.

DavidW56

No, I never owned one -- steered clear on the advice of friends and neighbors who did own one, and knew better. I understand that your experience was different (for the better) than most, and I'm happy for you; I'm saying it's not the norm.

Also, your experience might differ if you perform all maintenance and repair yourself, thus reducing costs; even more so if you consider it your hobby. Most owners don't have the interest, time, skill, tools or facilities, and so pay top dollar for foreign car repair.

DavidW56

To be fair, IIRC, the neighbor's problem Porsche was a 944 from the late 1980's.

thirdgenbird

if a 944 is not properly maintained it can be a major issue. like you stated, they are best as hobby cars. i spent about $750 putting a clutch (pressure plate and disc) in mine with all new parts including every nut, bolt, and bearing. a shop would easy charge around $3000 for this repair.

sykerocker 

Regarding Porsche ownership (aimed at those who have considered owning one and have chickened out):

Back in 1993, when I came into my inheritance, I seriously looked at a very nice 928. The guy selling it let me have it for six hours, so I got to know the car pretty well. Like most people, however, I backed down, for two reasons. One, it was an automatic (finding a mt 928 isn't the easiest job in the world, I seriously think, like Corvettes, anyone who owns a manual is real serious about the car and won't sell). The second is that a guy (on the Internet, of course) got on me with the statement, "If you're going to pay Ferrari prices for maintenance, at least have the joy of owning a real Ferrari."

That sent me running, the car was sold to someone else. A bit later, thinking it over I realized I'd been incredibly stupid. Yeah, major repairs on a 928 probably rival a Ferrari . . . . . . . . . . when you have to get them done. Which is about 1/10th as often as a Ferrari. And I'd consider that example a lemon.

While I don't do my own work on the 924S (mechanical ability? I'm an incredible bicycle mechanic, anything more complex than a British twin motorcycle will cause me serious problems) I do have a local Euro garage that's very good, and has a lot of experience with the cars. And if something starts to act up (so far, once per year), it gets fixed immediately and properly - no cheap, quick fudges. So far, the car has paid me back in equal measure. And I still want a 928 (manual). I consider them one of the four or five most beautiful cars ever made.

3speed

Would you guys stop it! I'm going to end up with a Porche, and you've cost me enough in bicycles already!

Velognome 

I've always wanted a 912, the older ones with the 356 engine. Should do it while they can still be had at a reasonable price.

thirdgenbird

912s are pretty classy cars.

leaping_gnome

Wow! Seeing that GT6+ really takes me back, about 25 years or so... Here's mine. Sadly, I sold it before going to college.


I've had a few good ones, including a couple of Spitfires, a TR-4, and an SVO Mustang. But this is my other toy:


and this is from work at our own employees parking lot show

Thanks for letting me share - Jim

hiltonhead

Having recently retired after 40 years as a Porsche technician and shop foreman at a Porsche dealership I can attest to Porsche being an expensive car to operate. You would not believe what people will sink money into even when advised not to! Not complaining, though...it put my kids through college, paid for my house, etc. I'm thankful for the Porsche lovers!

rekmeyata

I had friends who had Porsche's and they were always taking them in for repair, remember the magnesium engine? I had friends with Ferrari's too and they were even worst...but the Ferrari owners only drove their cars about 10% of the time a Porsche owner would, most Porsche owners I knew drove the car darn near everyday, while the Ferrari made it out on occasional weekend excursions (the same can be said about other expensive Italian cars). I've never been a fan of of Euro supercars; I like older American stuff, stuff that I can work on, stuff I can get parts for fast and cheap...maybe I'm fast and cheap? well maybe just the cheap part!

My car collection consist of cars that I admire the looks of more then buying as an investment. Even though a couple of the cars I have are worth some money, I wouldn't care if the bottom dropped out of classic cars because their not for funding my childrens college or my retirement.

gomango

One of the largest con jobs in our family history came when my gearhead father hauled home a pretty red 1967 Porsche 912.

This would have been about 1975, a year before I graduated from high school.

My mom took one look at the little beast, and said she would refuse to drive it, or even ride in it.

Dad tried the line about the car's great fuel economy, but she didn't buy it for a second.

He would constantly come home and tell her about all the admiring glances and comments the car received.

Then, one Saturday, when she went to the grocery store, she had no other choice but to drive the 912, as the other cars were torn apart during a weekly maintenance session.

Well, she ended up driving that beauty every Saturday after that, and my speculation is she was eating up the attention from the carry out boys!

By the way, the car was utterly the most reliable car we ever owned.

kroozer 

I love the look of old classic automobiles, but at the end of the day they're still just noisy, stinky cars. I used to have a 1967 Buick GS340, my only foray into what might be considered a classic car. I loved the way it looked, loved to drive it, but it just felt too ecocidal after a while and I sold it. I miss it a little bit, but only a little. Cars are alright-- until you compare them to bicycles!

jimmuller 

I owned a 912 for a year, about 1973-1974 time frame. Sorry, I don't have a picture right now. I forget what model year it was. It was a decent car, efficient, quick, comfortable on the road. It was also boring compared to what it replaced.

It replaced this 1969 Fiat 124 Spyder.


More adventure came in the following. My brother and two friends and I did a 10,000 mile tour of the country in this, summer 1971.


This picture is approaching the Sierra Nevada from the east.

hiltonhead

Great story, Gomango. It's like the old Porsche ad says "there's no substitute"!

bikenut2011

Wholeheartedly agree !!

andy

gomango

Thanks. I'll post some pics when I visit my folks in February.

FWIW I moved on to Triumph TR-6s from that 912, as I ended up owning the 912 for a year.

Let's just say the TR-6s were pretty cars, and leave it at that.

The 912 is still running by the way, and lives a mile from us in St. Paul.

Drives me nuts when I see the guy driving her on Sundays!