New family member

notfarnow · 03-06-2007, 04:46 AM

After almost 3 years of lurking, and carefully saving money...

I still don't have a Porsche.

However, I talked my dad & his wife into buying this 86 cab from the PP classifieds. It arrived at the Monteal customs compound yesterday, all the way from Virginia:

This is almost as good as getting one myself. They got a far better example than I would have managed, and I'll trade upkeep & maintenance for roadtrips. It's 600 miles away, but I'm up there a fair bit, and they come down a lot.

I've already got it booked for a roadtrip this summer; I think I'll do the Cabot Trail around Cape Breton, NS. I know a couple of you have done that drive.

Next step is getting dad signed on to the forums. There are a couple small projects he wants to take on, I think he'll enjoy the camaraderie and enthusiasm here. I'm also ordering 101 projects for him.

Christien · Christien's Garage

Hey Jake, that's awesome! A vicarious congrats to you!

My folks bought a Porsche while I was still a dirt-poor university student. I'd always lusted after them since I was a kid, and they more or less bought a boxster on a whim. Nice. I think I got to drive it once. Glad to see you're more or less sharing this car!

I might be out your way this summer to visit my sister in Halifax - maybe I'll stop by and check it out!

notfarnow · 03-06-2007, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Christien

I might be out your way this summer to visit my sister in Halifax - maybe I'll stop by and check it out!

Yes please drop a line if you're headed this way. Even if I don't have the car then, there are a few other enthusiasts nearby.

Looks like I'll get it for a couple weeks in the summer, then again in the fall. Plus, they're down for 3 weeks every august. Really looking forward to it.

The to-do list so far includes installing a kill switch, fixing or replacing the heater controls, and removing the tail. AC condenser is in there, so I'll have to look that up to see what's involved.

Just spoke to dad, and Hansen's is delivering it to his driveway this afternoon. He is VERY excited.

Christien · Christien's Garage

Will do. Too bad we can't fit the baby seat in the boxster - that'd be a great car for the trip! I don't think the old 911 would make it, and I wouldn't want to sit in it for that long anyway.

I'll bet they're pretty damn excited! I would be! (even though it's February and they won't be able to appreciate it for a few months!)

notfarnow · 03-06-2007, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Christien

I'll bet they're pretty damn excited! I would be! (even though it's February and they won't be able to appreciate it for a few months!)

They are VERY excited. It will be insured as of April 1, so my wife & I are headed up for Easter. We'll take it out of storage, change the oil and install the kill switch then.

I'd hate for the PO to see that picture... the car never saw rain, let alone sat overnight in the snow.

The car has only 67k miles, and was VERY pampered. It's going to see a lot more use now.

notfarnow · 03-06-2007, 08:56 AM

Safe and sound in the garage now! Dad sounds like a kid... he called me at work to tell me to check my email.

Here it is:

Its german stablemate is an '81 300SD I converted to vegetable oil 3 years ago.

Z-man · Z-man's Garage

Is that a 944 two cars over in the first pic? What, there's a special buy 1 get 1 free deal going on at the Montreal custom yards these days?!?

-Z-man.

notfarnow · 03-06-2007, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Z-man
Is that a 944 two cars over in the first pic? What, there's a special buy 1 get 1 free deal going on at the Montreal custom yards these days?!?

-Z-man.

Yeah it is, but I doubt dad would've taken note. Same with the VW cabrio.

Any of these cars are ideal "flippers" up here. They are comparatively inexpensive in the US.

For example, when I found the 86 Cab in the classifieds here, dad went to look at an 83 cab in Montreal. It had 167K miles, bad paint and interior wear & tear, for roughly the same price.

Quite a few people make a living buying these cars in the US and selling them up here.

Christien · Christien's Garage

Don't get me started on that - I had a look into doing that, and uncovered a ton of BS at PCNA and the Canadian dealerships. If you're curious, there's a long thread about it (and US warranties) in the Canada forum over at rennlist. In short, CDN dealers are pissed off because of the price differential, and rather than compete through better pricing and service are using questionable (possibly even illegal) means to stop commercial imports into Canada.

Enough about that, though - that's a beauty!! Congratulations!! I hope on the "to-do list" is the H4 headlight upgrade.

notfarnow · 03-06-2007, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Christien
Don't get me started on that - I had a look into doing that, and uncovered a ton of BS at PCNA and the Canadian dealerships. If you're curious, there's a long thread about it (and US warranties) in the Canada forum over at rennlist. In short, CDN dealers are pissed off because of the price differential, and rather than compete through better pricing and service are using questionable (possibly even illegal) means to stop commercial imports into Canada.

Yes I saw that, and was really surprised by the way PCNA & dealerships were handling it. In contrast, I called Mercedes Canada about importing, and they couldn't have been more helpful. Mind you, no 300 series are on the RIV list, and E300Ds are 4-5K more expensive up here

However, it's still pretty loose & easy when it comes to cars older than 15 years. Dad did all the paperwork in about 15 minutes.

Quote:

Originally posted by Christien
I hope on the "to-do list" is the H4 headlight upgrade.

Yeah that would be on my list, but getting the tail off will be a high priority. Dad's wife is not a fan of the tail.

Setting up a trailer hitch(ducking) is another "top of list" item. They will be driving to NB every summer for a 3 week stay, and will want to tow a small trailer for all their loot. I know Mikez had one, I'll have to dig up some of the old threads.

Christien · Christien's Garage

I looked into the trailer issue, because I wanted to bring an extra set of wheels/tires to the track. Apparently it's fine for all you fancy-shmancy modern impact bumper folks, but for us longhood folks it's more or less impossible. I saw some pics where the hitch hole hides under the rear license plate, so you take the plate off and put it on the trailer when using the trailer, and when the plate's on the bumper, there's no trace of the hitch.

When you pull the tail off, you do realize you'll have to do some bodywork, right? There will be holes in the decklid for the tail to mount. Of course, if you sell the tail it should pay for the bodywork. I much prefer the tail look for coupes, but I agree that cabrios definitely look best without the tail.

notfarnow · 03-06-2007, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Christien
I saw some pics where the hitch hole hides under the rear license plate, so you take the plate off and put it on the trailer when using the trailer, and when the plate's on the bumper, there's no trace of the hitch.

Great idea!

Quote:

Originally posted by Christien
When you pull the tail off, you do realize you'll have to do some bodywork, right? There will be holes in the decklid for the tail to mount. Of course, if you sell the tail it should pay for the bodywork. I much prefer the tail look for coupes, but I agree that cabrios definitely look best without the tail.

Yeah, we'll probably just get a new lid. Only issue is what to do with the AC condenser. It's under the tail right now, and would need to be moved. Not sure what's involved there. May just yank the AC... the roof will be down on any day hot enough for AC

Christien · Christien's Garage

Oh, but you could go so decadent and drive around on 30 degree days with the top down AND the AC on!!!!