notfarnow gets his 911 thrills

[notfarnow]

Background: As a car crazy kid, the Porsche 911 was always perfect to me. The look, the sound… the whole package. I can remember being 6-7 years old and just staring at pictures of 911s, and spending hours making models of them when I was in my early teens.

It wasn’t until I was 24 that I got a drive in one, hitch-hiking from Montreal to New Brunswick. I’ve often wondered if the owner of that silver 964 is a member here.

A few years ago I was on the cusp of buying a local 76 911s. I did some google searches, landed here and started reading. I read enough to avoid buying that particular car, and bought a small sailboat instead. I stuck around here nontheless, trolling in the 911 technical side and posting in OT.

This past January, my father started emailing me about buying a convertible. He and his wife were going to buy a Toyota Solara convertible. Madness! Considering the sticker price and the depreciation, I explained that a Carrera cab was a far more *cough* sensible purchase. Somehow, I convinced them. I found an 86 Cab with 67k here on the Pelican classifieds, got a PPI and they bought it.

They love the car, and in the past 4 months they have put on more miles (10k) than the previous 2 owners over 5 years.

Even their dog loves it.


Anyway, I’ve had a few opportunities to drive it. I’ve been up to Montreal a few times to address a couple niggly issues… electric cab top, shifter bushings, etc. and have earned a the priveledge of taking the car out on my own.

A couple months ago, dad suggested I take the car for a roadtrip with my wife. He offered to drive down (600 miles) and watch the dogs while we took a few days off. I was actually a bit hesitant, for a split second anyway.

Anyway, we just got back from our 5 day jaunt around Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Some of you may remember b.hilliard’s recent thread about the same drive:
Carrera Camping in the Cdn. Maritimes

Great trip.

Upsides:
-one of North America's best scenic drives. I had to resist the urge to stop at every single scenic lookout. Years ago I drove the California coast down to San Fransisco... this drive is right up there. Even though it was a long weekend, there wasn't much traffic and we were able to maintaing a "sporting" pace.
-An iconic car. The 3.2 provided the soundtrack for a lot of the drive. When the roads were good, it was pretty amazing in the the 2nd gear turns & faster sweepers.
-some great weather for driving

Downsides:
-Some really bad roads. I was shocked by some of them. Some sections needed to be mowed.
-Some really bad weather for tenting. I generally enjoy camping in the rain… it sounds pretty, and we have a good tent. But Friday night was nuts. It was torrential. Even under a cover of trees, it POUNDED so hard it woke us up several times. We had standing water in the tent, and I was soaked. Luckily, it was sunny when we woke up, so we were able to cook up a nice breakfast and hang our stuff out to dry.

But the drive... it's almost hard to describe the experience. As a car nut and driving freak, it was easily the TOP driving experience I've ever had. Who knows if I'll ever get an opportunity to top it.

We actually did the Cabot trail twice. Once in the rain, then the next day we turned around and did it again in the sun. In the other thread, someone said that the Cabot Trail is more scenic if done clockwise. They were 100% correct, it's surprising how different it is. Furthermore, the "inside" of the road is better, and I didn't find myself wincing as much when we did the "clockwise" tour.













I have some more pics that I'll post tonight. The pictures of our campsite on Saturday morning are pretty funny. It was a washed-out mud bog.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Looks like a blast.

[Joeaksa]

Glad you had a good time. Now get one for yourself!

[Gogar]

That silhouette fist/camera in the air pic is great. Looks like you had a great time!

[Dave L]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

-Some really bad weather for tenting. I generally enjoy camping in the rain… it sounds pretty, and we have a good tent. But Friday night was nuts. It was torrential. Even under a cover of trees, it POUNDED so hard it woke us up several times. We had standing water in the tent, and I was soaked. Luckily, it was sunny when we woke up, so we were able to cook up a nice breakfast and hang our stuff out to dry.

Sounds like you had a good time, despite the rain. Part of the issues with your tent flooding is the way the tarp was used under the tent. The tarp shouldnt extend past the bottom of the tent. When it pokes out from the bottom the rain will flow down the roof of your tent, onto the tarp, then under the tent.

At least thats what they told me when I was a boy scout

[Zeke]

Outstanding trip!

[livi]

Must have been fantastic, Jake! I need to try that some time.

[azasadny]

Very cool!

[Christien]

Hey Jake, sounds like an awesome trip! Well, all except waking up in standing water - that would've been enough for me to be checking into a hotel the next night

I was really hoping we'd be able to drop by your place on our drive out east this summer to Halifax, but we ended up flying. We didn't think our 1-year old would really appreciate 3 straight days in a car seat.

We didn't get to see any of the areas you drove, and it's too bad. I really want to do that area of the country some day. The farthest we got from Halifax was Lunenburg, which was still great.

Looking forward to more of the pics of your trip!

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Glad you had a good time. Now get one for yourself!

Ya well this trip was part of the Master Plan. I had to get Mrs Notfarnow hooked. She is not in the least bit interested in cars, but even she was captivated by it. The look, the sound, the feel... an original 911 with make a car nut out of a non-believer.

By the end of the trip, she was asking when we could get one.

Originally Posted by Dave L

Sounds like you had a good time, despite the rain. Part of the issues with your tent flooding is the way the tarp was used under the tent. The tarp shouldnt extend past the bottom of the tent. When it pokes out from the bottom the rain will flow down the roof of your tent, onto the tarp, then under the tent.

At least thats what they told me when I was a boy scout

Yes you are right, we figured that out AFTER the first night. Mind you, I don't think there was any way we could have avoided getting wet. Eveb the cab, which has been 100% leak proof, had almost an inch of water on the passenger side floor. The rain was torrential for 8-9 hrs.

Originally Posted by livi

Must have been fantastic, Jake! I need to try that some time.

If you do, make sure you post here first. Lost of great tips on camping sites & cabins, as well as good/bad roads.

FWIW, considering Nova Scotia toursim heavily promotes these scenic drives, their literature really needs to be more forethright about the road conditions. On two occasions, we had to turn around because the road was unpaved and very rough. (Mind you, neither of those were on the Cabot Trail iteslf… one was the “Fleur de lis” trial, which has no place being promoted as a tourist drive, and the other was the drive to Meat Cove at the tip of the island)

[Christien]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

Eveb the cab, which has been 100% leak proof, had almost an inch of water on the passenger side floor.

Man, I hope your dad doesn't lurk here!!!

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Christien

Hey Jake, sounds like an awesome trip! Well, all except waking up in standing water - that would've been enough for me to be checking into a hotel the next night

Well we woke up in teh sun, so it gave us a chance to have a nice hot breakfast & dry off. We intended to camp that night, but it started to rain again. No way was I going to tent in the rain a second night.

Originally Posted by Christien

I was really hoping we'd be able to drop by your place on our drive out east this summer to Halifax, but we ended up flying. We didn't think our 1-year old would really appreciate 3 straight days in a car seat.

Next time! Door's always open!

Originally Posted by Christien

We didn't get to see any of the areas you drove, and it's too bad. I really want to do that area of the country some day. The farthest we got from Halifax was Lunenburg, which was still great.

Lunenburg, Chester and Mahone Bay are beautiful spots. When I was a kid, we used to rent a cottage on the water in Chester. Also, my brother in law has a 1758 farmhouse in Lunenburg, one of the original Hugenot settler homes. Beautiful area.

[Christien]

Wow, that's really cool! Wish I'd known that before we went, we could've dropped by!

Mahone Bay was really beautiful. Reminded me of northern Ontario, just with less Torontonians My folks love it out there so much they're looking at buying a place in Head of St. Margaret's Bay.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Christien

Man, I hope your dad doesn't lurk here!!!

He does! I already reported all my findings, and have made recommendations. The passenger side power window needs to be adjusted. If you raise it all the way with the door open, when you close the door the window won't seat properly on the seal. Needs to be 1/4" lower to seat properly.

That's why it's so handy to loan the car to me, I can help find these things & rattle out any issues. I'd extend that service to anyone with a 911.

More pics:

Soaking wet campground after 8-9 hrs of pounding rain:


911 holds a remarkeable amount of gear:





More road pictures:




This particular stretch was just astounding. Roads were good and traffic was light. The stuff of dreams:

(dirty window, sorry)

[notfarnow]

Apparently I'm going bald, and no one had the decency to point it out to me.



Another "shadow" shot:

[Seahawk]

Thanks for the info...looked up the Cabot Trail, now on the list!

[Zef]

Jake...these pics are superb...looking fwd to meet you in Montral before the winter time...

[Jims5543]

RoninLB and Brorag use a large tarp and make a canopy OVER the tent with it using ropes and trees.

I thought this was a brilliant idea. It keeps the dew from setting in on the tent and making you damp and in situations as yours it keeps the rain off of your tent.

[speedracer]

Looks like a great trip. Nice of your dad to lend you his car too!

[gassy]

Cool pics and write up--looks great!