The Gold-Plated Porsche - Now in Stock...

[Wayne 962]

Hi folks. Steve Wilkinson's new book (he's a current board member) has just arrived:

I took to explaining that I was simply spending two years and $70,000 to make a brand-new 1983 Porsche that would never in my lifetime be worth more than twenty grand, tops. It was like the MasterCard commercials: “Car, $10,500. Parts, $59,500. Experience, priceless.” A few people got it, most didn’t. This book is for the people who Get It.
—from the preface

Stephan Wilkinson was looking for something to do. So he bought an old, rundown Porsche and over the next two years tore it apart and rebuilt it in a garage behind his house. The project cost a small fortune, and it started him thinking about many other things.
Quirky, cool, entertaining, and opinionated, The Gold-Plated Porsche captures Wilkinson’s inspired digressions on his various other careers and misadventures. As a less-than-inspired Harvard student he had spent more time working on cars than on the books. During various Harvard sabbaticals he sweated out the lowest scut work available to tour the world as a merchant seaman. He built an airplane in his garage and flew it cross-country. He drove an ambulance. There was a short and unproductive association with a certain marijuana smuggler from Newfoundland, and the former Israeli intelligence officer who sought to entice Wilkinson into a lucrative but illicit career as a pilot. Wilkinson’s flying skills did lead him, eventually, to become the chief, and only, pilot for Dennis Banks - one of the leaders of the controversial American Indian Movement. For a week or so, anyway. And there’s his long and eventful writing career, which included an unfulfilling stint as editor in chief of the prestigious Car and Driver.
As he recounts his own personal history, Wilkinson also waxes eloquent on the history of Porsche, American engineering and culture, status, and his love of flying and of all things mechanical, not to mention the integrity of wedding dress silk for engine repair.
In The Gold-Plated Porsche, Stephan Wilkinson proves himself as adept at crafting a sentence as he is at rebuilding an exquisitely complicated engine.

Click here to order, I currently have 20 in stock:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/ksearch/pel_search.cgi?command=DWsearch&description=PEL-WILK1&I1.x=15&I1.y=12

-Wayne

[Schuey]

I just read his article in Popular Science last night on this...good read...although I about choked when I saw he spent $70,000 on a SC...

so Steve, how in the world did you soend $59,500 in parts?!

[Rot 911]

No Wayne, you now have 19 books in stock.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

18

[Zeke]

You think Wilkinson is one lug nut short of a set? He spends an enormous amount of money on a car, establishes the fact as practically a high water mark (except for race cars) and then writes a book. What do you think his eventual return will be on that money?

I think if he kept the car, it would have been even better. "Look at this gold plated Porsche that this gold plated book paid for over and over and over............"

[1980 911 sc]

I would have just painted it gold and saved the rest of the cash....besides we all know white is the fastest color....

[epbrown]

Originally posted by Zeke
I think if he kept the car, it would have been even better. "Look at this gold plated Porsche that this gold plated book paid for over and over and over............"

Seriously, this book won't turn things around much on the car. Steve won't be pushing JK Rowling off the best seller lists or anything. It's nice that it's published and I loook forward to reading it, but this won't make him a millionaire, which I'm sure he already knows - writing is a tough game to get rich at. I'm impressed by the folks that live comfortably doing it!

Emanuel

[GrindingGears]

Cool! I just read the Pop. Science article. What are the specs on Steve's '83 engine? Does anyone have pics? 276 at the crank! Wow.

[aigel]

I am sure there wasn't a project plan and a budget totalling $70k. I sure would hate to sum up what I have drowned into my car since I have owned it, even if it is much short of 70k. We all have a few lugs loose!

The book won't be on the best seller list, but I am sure that that wasn't the author's intention. Writing a book isn't about profit - unless you are famous and know that you will make millions with your next work.

Go ask Wayne how much money he has made on his books! While those books are there to promote PP and that benefit isn't easily measured, I am positive that net, it probably paid for a couple of tires for the Ferrarri and maybe a 14 carat gold chain.

Cheers, George

[Zeke]

I realize that writing a book is not instant riches. Writing articles for mags pays a few hundred dollars at most. But the book continues to provide a few cents per sale and that's for each printing.

Let's hope he sells a 1/4 million copies and then Jack makes a screen play out of it and Tom Hanks plays the part. Sort of ala "The Money Pit." Jack will just have to throw in a plot or two and it's a done deal. Filming will include Pelicans and their cars as extras. Wayne plays hisself at the parts counter. Jack gets a cameo as a parking valet. Or trunk monkey.

I get to be co-producer. Send my checks directly to the house.

[Schuey]

hopefully the book isn't just full of copies of his receipts

[Eugene at Pelican Parts]

Morning bump for the new link and the "other misadventures".



Click!

[Kurt B]

Hard to say what it's worth until someone's read it. The next Zen and the Art high-school-mandatory? Who knows.

It's better to have your novel required for a literature class at university than to be JK Rowling, at least as I stand, and if it's life in microcosm via an SC or a meandering Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for Porschephiles, it could fall into that category.

If there's tons of drugs, sex, and boobs via an SC restoration project, then I can dig it.

Unfortunately, the last book I read cover to cover was the emporer's new mind by roger penrose, and that was a few years back...

Post your reviews folks....

[Steve@Rennsport]

Originally posted by GrindingGears
Cool! I just read the Pop. Science article. What are the specs on Steve's '83 engine? Does anyone have pics? 276 at the crank! Wow.

Phillip:

After some dyno work and rejetting, it went up to 290 or so,....

Its a short-stroke, twin-plug, 3.4 with PMO's, really good heads and "S" cams.

[RickM]

Originally posted by Kurt B
Hard to say what it's worth until someone's read it.
Post your reviews folks....

Well, here are some quick ones...... The Gold-Plated Porsche-PLEASE BOYCOTT!

[sundaypunch]

My local Barnes & Noble had about 10 on the shelf prominently displayed in the Automotive section. That can't be a bad thing.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

I just received my copy in 24 hours.
What a well oiled machine Pelican is

[David]

I bought the dam^ book yesterday and it ruined my day's progress on my engine rebuild. I thought I'd read a chapter or two and then get back to working on my heads. A few hours later I finished the book and got no work done. Oh well, it's fun reading and I certainly recommend it.

[Jcon]

Ordering a copy now! My wife just saw all the receipts from the 3.6 conversion - Steve will make me look good.

I'm always amazed at peoples response on this board about the $$$ put into our cars. I agree $70 K is a large number, but most of us just haven't done the math on what we've spent. I think most would be very surprised if you sat and added it all up.

Anyway ..hope this book makes it here this week. I've got tons airline time in the next two weeks.

[K. Roman]

I'm sure the writer wasn't expecting to be on the best-sellers list. He wrote a book, good for him. How many of us write books? OK, I'm sure some of you do, my point is...I don't really remember.