When did your interest peak in cars? Was it porsches?

[dimeified]

I've had my 84 carrera for about 2 years. Before owning this car i never considered myself a car guy. I was always into music. My father always was, building motors in his parents house when he grew up, building huge v8 muscle cars. Only the past year now that i have my own car to work on that isnt a boring daily driver has the bug hit me. I went from knowing nothing, to reading everything i could on these boards. I changed my exhaust, put on fg bumpers, changed the fan and alternator, from my too few shims mistake, did my first oil change, fixed the ac, installed a steve wong chip, upgraded the dme to accomodate it... Even while i'm having a yellowbird bumper put on all i can ever think about is what to do to it next. Clean the ICV, drench the o2 sensor in contact cleaner, check intake for leaks to fix my hunting idle. Refinish the wiper blades. Readjust the windows to seal properly, install new window motors, bring the car to an upholstry shop to fix the stitching that came loose in one of the seats. I go to work, log into pelican. Run to the bathroom, close the window after i think i've had enough, only to open another window and log in again when i get back to my desk. I go home, log onto this board. Im huge into playing guitar, but even that is suffering now that im obsessed with porsches. I carry a laptop from room to room reading up on what i can, i take it to the bathroom and sit down and read more. I write down checklist after checklist for what to do next. When i watch tv, i dont even watch tv. I just listen to it while i read the boards. I am waiting for my car to come back from the body shop after the rear bumper swap and i feel like its the day before christmas.

My father laughs and said it was only a matter of time, and he was prepared. Last week he gave me an electric impact gun, a set of metric and standard sockets, he's always giving me tools for the car. When i was born, he even went out and bought a real small socket wrench for me, hehe. American muscle never intrigued me, and neither did japanese imports.

I think with my father being a big gear head on the v8s, i was always indimitated to work on cars. But since ive owned this car and realized how easy it is to work on and that i'm capable, i'm obsessed. 24 years old. Granted i havn't done anything crazy engine work or anything, but i have a feeling its only a matter of time after the engine gets tired.

When did the bug hit you guys? Was it when you got your porsche? Or was it another car that did it to you. How old were you? I can't wait to leave my wothless expensive apartment, and move back home so i can save money for a condo, and also have more money to work on my car. Theres just sooooo much i want to do! Right now since i had the car 2 years, im about to look up at how to change the trans fluid. Except the inherent 1-2 shift, the gearbox is real smooth and i want to keep it that way.

FYI I never knew how to drive stick shift nor did i care too... Until my uncle's friend was selling the car and i told him, "I gatta have it. I dont care if i cant drive stick, i'll learn for THIS baby!"

[Noah930]

I think it's fair to say I've been a car guy for my entire life. From even before I can remember. Apparently, when I was 2, my sister was born. When she was brought home from the hospital, to 'ease the shock' of my losing sole-child status in the family, my mother bought a couple toy cars for me. I was playing with them when my father came home. So I naturally got up to show them off. Unfortunately, I was playing underneath a glass-edged coffee table. So my right eyebrow came into contact with the table edge, and blood wound up everywhere. Back to the hospital my parents went, for me to get 4 stitches in the ER. So, if you look hard enough at my right eyebrow, you can just barely make out my first automotive-related injury, sustained at an age of 2. I've been obsessed ever since then. Growing up in Southern California hasn't hurt, either.

[72doug2,2S]

1) Sean Connery on film in 007's Aston Martin DB-5, age 10, 1979
2) Dukes of Hazard, the General Lee (round the same time)
3) Magnum PI, 308 (round the same time)

[legion]

I got a copy of Boy's Life (Boy Scout Magazine) when I was a kid that had a run-down on the 959, Testarossa, and Diablo. I coveted the 959.

I took an auto shop class in high school. I attempted most of my own maintenance on my Plymouth Turismo.

[gprsh924]

My parents brought me home from the hospital in the back of the 924. I had a porsche pedal car when I was 2 or 3 and then an electric Jeep that I am told I used to drive full speed down the driveway in and then slam on the brakes and do powerslides. It was pretty much pre-determined.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by 72doug2,2S

2) Dukes of Hazard, the General Lee (round the same time)
3) Magnum PI, 308 (round the same time)

+1, Although I had a thing for my dad's Vw beetles prior to that age (original Herbie movies also).

[Jims5543]

I have been a motorhead my whole life. My Grandfather owned a British Leyland Repair shop in NYC after being a mechanic in WWII.

My uncle was repairing all the neighborhood cars for money when he was 14 and opened up his own shop when he was 18. He has always owned a Vette of some sort since the 60's.

My dad was a drag racer in the early 70's getting local Ford Dealership sponsorship for his Mustangs.

My cousin was the sports car guy always driving something cool, from Alpha's to Porsche's to Ferrari's. He let me drive his track prepped 1973 911 for a say when I was 20. I was in love with 911's after that.

I never felt I could afford one so I dismissed ownership for a long time. I was a motorhead since I was a kid, I was building mini bikes and go karts when I was a teen and had my 1st car when I was 14 too young to drive it. I worked on it for a year getting it ready for the road.

Then I got into Mustangs I had a 67 and a 68 and I was always under the hood changing this changing that adding headers, carbs cams.

I discovered RX7's when I was 20 and fell in love the the rotating triangles. I have owned 5 RX7's over the last 20 years. It was not until the last one that I started modifying them .

All along I was messing with other cars, a 300ZX, a Ford Probe, a Mustang GT, I decided to sell the GT and buy a Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works and loved it but then it hit me, if I sold it to buy my 911.

Sadly I am now trying to sell my 911 because 2 sports cars right now are too much for me. I am keeping the RX7 because I have owned it for almost 8 years now and have too much into it to just let it go.

I have been a motorhead my whole life and I am always interested in neat cars that come out. I have always been more drawn to Japanese Sports cars much like many here prefer German cars I cannot explain why. I just do.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by legion

I took an auto shop class in high school. I attempted most of my own maintenance on my Plymouth Turismo.

I'm impressed... take a real man to admit to owning a Plymouth Turismo!

I remember playing with matchbox cars as a kid... somewhere around Jr high school I began to covet Mustangs and Cameros... in high school drove mom's Impala and dad's Oldsmobile. My best friend's first car was an 1966 Opel Kadet, I liked it so much I bought a 1968 Opel Kadet station wagon. My first notice of Porsche was how they kept beating my beloved corvettes on the race track. Then I lusted after a 944 after reading all the reviews they got in the hot rod magazines but thought to myself "Ha... I will never be able to afford a Porsche!"

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally Posted by legion

I got a copy of Boy's Life (Boy Scout Magazine) when I was a kid that had a run-down on the 959, Testarossa, and Diablo. I coveted the 959.

I had that one too. I think it also had the Subaru SVX and Acura NSX in there too

[masraum]

I've been playing with toy cars since I was 2 or 3. Actually, most of my toys were transportation related. I suspect it's because my dad was a gearhead at heart. I think I lost that focus some from the time that I was 12-15. I rode my 20" bikes a lot then, but wasn't really big into cars. I picked up my car interest full force when I was 15/16 and have had it since. I've always liked sports cars and remember a few Porsche toys that I had when I was 8 (actually I still have one of them). In my high school years I loved Porsches and sports cars in general, but my main focus was muscle cars.

[livi]

Been peaking for at least three decades. Keeps maturing (vintage 911 ?) but no sign of diminishing. On the contrary.

[72doug2,2S]

So, no one will admit to watching Night Rider?

[Superman]

I have always liked cars. But I remember the day that my love for them became an unescapable lifetime obsession. I was tuning my motorcycle. It redlined at 11 grand (12 grand was possible), and the idle spec was 1200 rpm. I did some quick math and noticed that this means 20 revolutions per second at idle, and 200 revolutions PER SECOND at WOT. Since that day, I have rebuilt motors and learned a fair bit about cars and engines, but it seems to me there must be Magical Powers that hold engines together at those speeds.

At 300 rpm, engines turn at 50 revolutions per second. All day long. Day after day. Year after year. Reliably. We replace hoses and belts and alternators and water pumps.......and the engines just keep doing their thing. Unbelievable.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 72doug2,2S

So, no one will admit to watching Night Rider?

Speed buggy, Knight Rider, Dukes of Hazzard, Starsky and Hutch, Spencer for Hire, Hardcastle and McCormick, Magnum PI, Miami Vice

All mostly for the cars.

[jtfreels]

My parents bought me a slot car set when I was 8, 1963
Its been cars ever since, I still have my Weekly Reader book club addition of the making of the Grand Prix movie. Some 1968 issue of Road & Track had a Mark Donohue comparison of the 911S, T and E. PORSCHE! I've been hooked..... only took me 38 years to actually get my first 911.

Jay

[masraum]

[rammstein]

Pretty much Dukes of Hazzard for me.

It made me see cars as getaway vehicles, weapons, temporary flying machines, chick-magnets, and trouble making machines.

Now I am all grown up, and I see cars as getaway vehicles, weapons, temporary flying machines, chick-magnets, and trouble making machines.

When I was maybe 5, I asked my mom if she used super unleaded it would make the car fly? She said yes, and put it in. About 30 seconds out of the gas station, I opened my door to act as a wing. She was less than happy.

[t951]

1977 On the way to Smuggler's Notch in Vermont. A brown 911 Targa blows buy us (we were in the Family Truckster Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon). I remember hearing it and seeing it zip by.

I saw it eventually in the parking lot when we caught up. I was 7yrs old and hooked, still to this day.

In the parking lot there was also a Jag, black XJ, and I thought the fuel filler doors were right off an airplane and I loved it. But the 911 had me won.

So, since 1977 I have literally had an almost unhealthy obsession with these cars....

[Tishabet]

Flipped my go-kart when I was about 12, cracked the carb and the gas pouring onto the exhaust caused the whole thing to torch.

My dad and I rebuilt the engine and replaced the parts that needed replacing (it was a Briggs 5hp, so lots of rubber bits, a magneto, etc). Would have been far simpler to just buy a new engine, but what's the fun in that?

After that experience, told my dad I thought it was awesome how he knew how to fix things... he did virtually all of the work on our family cars, which was not at all the norm in my area. We lived in a large house in a ritzy town, he was a corporate executive with a PhD in Physics, etc. Dads who knew this stuff were not common in Concord, MA in the early 90s.

So he offered to show me how to work on "real" engines and suggested we buy a car to work on together. We narrowed it down to a 60's Mustang or a Beetle. One summer weekend when I was about 14, I came home from a week of backpacking to find a '73 VW standard beetle in the garage. Bright yellow.

Over the next 4 years my dad and I performed a full frame-off, tore it down to the chassis, replaced the floor pans, heater channels, rear quarters, front apron, stripped and primed the whole thing and I painted it in catalyzed acrylic enamel... my (and his) first painting job, in the original yellow. Redid all the mechanicals including an engine rebuild. Had an absolute blast, drove that little volksy to my Senior prom and to all four years of college. That car was a part of my persona, and it got me intersted in other cars. I started helping others tinker on cars that interested me... Ford Model A, MG TD, Austin Healey Sprite, etc. Started to really get an "eye" for cars that did it for me.

Eventually sold the VW in 2003 to get a more practical car (the 944... ha!), a move I still regret.

Have since restored a 1938 Buick... the interest is still strong. Trying to figure out what to get after I part ways with the 944, considering a 911SC or a 968.

[p911dad]

I was about the same age as Tshabet when I also flipped my bright orange AlaKart Slingshot, with dual MC-8's, made in good ol' Azuza, CA. That is about (oh my God) 45 years ago! Still at it, had my 84 Carrera for 15 years now. No current projects planned, but hey, you never know.. Glenn