under the doghouse

[qikcpa]

Today is my birthday. My wife asked me “what do you want to do for your birthday?” I replied I would like to get the tach working on the Porsche”. She’s a 76/3.0 convertible conversion. OOPS, . In retrospect that was apparently/obviously the wrong answer. I wont go into the details. I’m wondering if any of you guys who are married can give me some feedback on how to balance the car/family thing. Sound like a lot of you spend a lot of time with your cars.

I guess I always have the option of getting rid of her. She’s been around for a while though. I’ve spent a lot of time with her as well as a good bit of money. She’s great but does require a lot of maintenance. Sometimes in the mornings or when its cold she really gives me a difficult time. Its tough to get her motivated (If I really push…she coughs an wheezes, blows smoke at me and threatens a breakdown). Recently I’ve been noticing some sags and some spots. As well, her rear end isn’t quite as tight as it used to be, especially when driven hard. I think a little service could take care of that. She’s a little rough around the edges but the body is fine. No major work needed here, especially with her top off (if you know what I mean). Yesterday I gave her a little goose and she fired back at me. I’m learning that with her timing is everything. You can tell she has some years on her, by all the noises she makes. They seem to come from the strangest places, I've noticed that they usually come from behind when she’s being stressed. I hate to spend less time with her but I don’t want too much friction in my life. I would also hate to loose her, after all this time I’ve started to understand how she works. There’s still a lot I don’t understand, however.

If I did get rid of her what would I try to get?… I’ve been reading a lot of posts and I have found that some of you have an infatuation with a wide-body. I’ve only seen pictures in magazines but boy do they look good. Mines currently got a slightly oversized rear (I don’t think its original, you can look at the underside and tell). Boy, I bet you get a lot of grip on that body. I can only imagine the excitement of throwing around one of those great big rear ends. I’m sure when you go out in public, inevitably, some kid or guy comes around and says “wow, that’s really cool, I wish I had one, I bet it’s a lot of fun, I’m gonna get one too one day” All you can do is nod knowingly, wave and smile with a big cheesy grin. I also bet its kind of a pain. All your buddies asking “can I just take her out once, just for a little while, I promise I’ll bring her back, I’ll be very gentle…If you want, you can watch the whole time”. I think given time and effort I could get mine to be a wide body. Does anyone know if its tough to go back to original if you don’t like the big rearend.

I’ve also seen that those of you with many dollars to spare can afford ones that are unused, with extra work done to them. To me they appear to be barely legal. I’ve heard them up close and I think the whining might get on my nerves. I guess I could get used to it. Being that they are barely legal, I don’t see you with them out in public though. I guess those of you in this special group have to take yours, with you Winebagos, out to some secluded area to have your fun. I’m sure you and your buddies all get together on the weekends to just run around and go crazy with wacky suits on. I’m sure you even sometimes swap too see what the others’ will do. Swapping would make me nervous, cause you never know what kind of transmission you might get. I would not want to cross the line between barely legal and illegal. Could you imagine getting caught out in public. What would you tell the cops. “I thought it was legal in this state”

Those of you who have been around for awhile apparently have more than one. How does that work out. Isn’t that really expensive. I have found that having one almost breaks the bank. I’m sure the maintenance on the newer ones is really high, as well as the polishing and other exterior treatments. Do you have them on a schedule, like for different days of the week. Or do you have one that you abuse and one that you pamper. Is one for a quickie around the block on a sunny day and the other for safety and comfort when the going gets tough. I don’t think a new one is for me. I would never be able to figure out what gets her moving. Others have two of about the same vintage. Is it easier to understand one if you understand the other. Some of you guys even have a secondary one that is really old. Do you expect one day you’ll get a lot of money from her. I would think the really old ones are a big headache. I would be nervous with an old one. If you push her too hard parts might start falling off. Keeping the exterior beautiful on the older ones must require a lot of money. But I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some of you really affluent fellows have three, four, even more. Wow, that would wear me out. Do you share with you buddies or keep them all to yourself. Doesn’t it get difficult coordinating their various schedules. I’m sure just putting a roof over them cost a bundle. And I just cant imagine if I ran into one while I was on my way back into the garage with one of the others. Bet that would get really expensive. I’m sure they would both get a trip to the body shop for all new trim probably even some body upgrades.

Maybe we need a little something to get the spark back. A lot of threads are dedicated to aftermarket devices. Do these work. Is it true that bigger and more powerful is better. I’ve also seen various chemicals and additives discussed. I don’t know what would happen if I introduced something so radical. Does it make sense to spend the extra time and money for something which might only give me a little better performance. I guess longevity is a good thing.

Sorry for the nontechnical post. I’ve rambled enough. I guess ill go spend some quality time with her. Would love some advice from veterans or even newbies like myself.

[bell]

it's the little things you give attention to that keeps the overall picture happy.......this applies to porsches and women

[onewhippedpuppy]

I find experience is key. As a novice, I often find myself over my head. Hopefully someday I will learn how to keep her under control, as I often feel like she's the one steering me.

[Moses]

Originally posted by qikcpa

If I did get rid of her what would I try to get?…

A young blonde who likes cars?

[qikcpa]

so what does the "moved" next to the post mean, (have seen it before)?

[cowtown]

Sounds like you need a major tuneup.

[Milu]

WOW!

Seven paragraphs on what is wrong with your wife! Of course she got upset when you said you wanted the tach working on the 911!

Sorry, I couldn't resist the jape but when I read your initial post it read like they were all things wrong with your good lady especially as it is in off-topic!

Perhaps, you should try and take time to share in your wife's interests and get her to take sometime to share in yours.

[ronin]

just park her in the garage for the winter

now for your Porsche.......

[tabs]

I've named my old Porsche "Mrs Robinson."

[Isabo]

Call me a cynical old tart and I'll apologise to qikcpa immediately but qikcpa's opening post reads like a wind-up! It's the sort of thing my husband would post about me.

[emcon5]

Originally posted by qikcpa
Today is my birthday. My wife asked me “what do you want to do for your birthday?” I replied I would like to get the tach working on the Porsche”. She’s a 76/3.0 convertible conversion. OOPS, . In retrospect that was apparently/obviously the wrong answer. I wont go into the details. I’m wondering if any of you guys who are married can give me some feedback on how to balance the car/family thing. Sound like a lot of you spend a lot of time with your cars.

So are you going to wait and ask on her birthday what she wants to do?

No darling, you only think you want to have a bubblebath and a candlelight dinner. You really want to go see the new John Woo movie, then go to a strip club and buy me a lapdance.

Tom