Clubs and mechs in Italy (Sicily)

[P3C_Pilot]

Newbie to Pelican. What a great resource this place has been since my joining the wonderful world of p-car ownership/p-car tearing apart-rebuilding. It helps explain the extra parts laying around when I am cleaning up after reassembling something .

Anyhow, my job (Navy Pilot) is moving me overseas, to Italy, Sicily specifically. I have deployed there but didn't look into these things while I was there. Anyone been, lived, driven or be able to suggest a good local (within a couple hundred miles) mech they've dealt with? Any kind of overseas PCA in Europe for ex-pats or military over there? Local clubs?

I know my car was named for the mighty "TARGA" Florio there in Palermo (Sicily), It. Can't wait to go cruise the autostrada! Grazie for any help or assistance!
--Andy
(Here's a picture of my '77 circa last year)

[Milu]

Can't help with info on Sicily.
If you read Italian checkout the Porschemania website. The forums are like an Italian Pelican or Rennlist. NB A lot of the posters are obsessed with originality.

[K-Jetronic]

http://www3.porsche.com/isapi/english/int/clubs/worldwide/adresses/ergebnis.asp?clubs=599%5EPorsche+Club+Sicilia

There you go...

Sicily is wonderful been there once, you'll probably be going to Napels as well is guess!! Watch out for Etna (active every now and then)!

regards,

Gerko
1978sc
2004 737NG

[rexav8r]

P3C-Pilot

Hey welcome aboard!

I'm a C-141 guy and have been to Sigonella / Sicily many times...
Beautiful little island.
Lots of neat, fun and picturesque roads to play on !

BE CAREFUL!!!!

Not only different driving rules, DIFFERENT DRIVING MENTALITY !!!

From what I've seen, there are a lot of roads not marked with a center (or edge) lines. Not that it would matter though, because even on those that are marked, it's pretty much a free-for-all.

People will start passing you (apparently even in a no passing zone) EVEN WITH ON-COMING TRAFFIC !!

I've seen it. The people in the on-coming traffic are not phased by this either, because they are doing the same thing, just in the opposite direction!!!!

I'm not necessarily criticizing it, lord knows that I don't know the driving rules there. I would love to play around there in my car.

Only advice, if you're heading into a blind corner and wonder if somebody is coming the other way hauling a$$, he probably is.

I've also seen lots of cars with dents!!!

We don't get down there much anymore, or I'd say I'll stop by sometime!

Richard

[jpnovak]

My Brother-in-Law just got back from 3 years at Sigonela (sp?). Loved it. He and his wife travelled all over Europe.

I think your first task would be to retrace the Targa cource. Take lots of pictures and report back. What a fantastic opportunity.

I don't know if you will find a mechanic over there. When I visited Italy I never saw a single P-car. Lots of Fiats (Fix it again Tony) and motor scooters galore!

Richard is correct, The driving rules are... There are none. I saw some very dangerous things happening but this was normal. Keep your eyes open!

[DohertyCM]

There is a mechanic at the top of motta road right beside the pizza place, who speaks english. He mainly works on Fords but was was pretty good. If you get it painted there is a nice paint shop that has painted porsches before on the lower part of Motta. Sorry I dont remember the names. For working on them ...I would learn how to work on the car myself. Do me a favor and do a really hard drive down dump road...it was my favorite drive..I could do it with my eyes closed.

Chris

[Peterfrans]

I love driving in Italy. At first it might seem somewhat chaotic as the Italians seem to interpret regulations in their own way. Just go with the flow and then driving over there becomes very enjoyable. A two lane road is easily transformed in a three lane road. I am always surprised at the fact that people make room for faster traffic, something I am not accustomed to in the Netherlands where people do the opposite.

A very nice country and my favourite place to spend the summer vacation.

[RickM]

You may want to PM "Isabo" or "Milu". They frequent the board and are from Italy. Perhaps they have some advice.

[RichMink76]

I have not been to Italy, but I have spent some time in Europe.
I would recomend buying a beater car; Fiat, Lacia, Ferrari (just kidding) or what ever is cheap for a daily driver to get used to the new surroundings. Then take the Targa out on weekends and such. Try and take advantage of this great opportunity, lots of great places to see and a hole new continent to explore.

Take care and come back well.

[italcarguy]

Call "Centro Per Le Auto", the repair and sell cars. They are in Palermo. The owner is a friend of my family's (we still have a house in Sicily and go every year in August). Ask for Enrico, the owner. He is pretty active in vintage racing out there and may be able to fix the car or at least send you to someone. If you do speak with him, mention Santo and Anthony Rimicci in California.

You can still do the route of the original Targa Florio, it's all public roads. In Cerda, you can stop at the original pit/start finish, everything is still there. My dads town, Collesano is one of the towns the Targa Florio went through. If you are happen to go there, stop by Valentino's sports bar, the make some awesome Gelato. Again mention us and he'll hook you up.

What part of Sicily are you going to be stationed it. Let me know, I can tell you of some good restaurants in certain areas.

[P3C_Pilot]

Wow....huge response. Thank you all and keep it coming!

Like I've said, I've been there, and driven there. Yeah I remember the mentality of the average driver and the "add-one lane to however many you think are actually there"

good times...

[P3C_Pilot]

italcarguy--
Great local knowledge, grazie. I'm going to live and fly ~15 minutes West of Catania, (NAS Sigonella) I believe Motta and Palagonia are the closest towns.

DohertyCM--
thanks for the motta gouge. specific enough that i can figure it out, i know the town a little. i'll figure it out over there.

[Nickshu]

I spent 2 years in LaMaddalena up in Sardegna (Sardinia). I put my Porsche in storage while I was there, though. I was glad I did, since the road quality and Sard drivers are pretty insane there. Sicily is a little more civilized than Sardegna (where there is only one short Autostrada on the whole island, and horses/buggys are common on the roads). Went to Sigonella several times, beautiful area for sure. Enjoy your time there, we sure miss 80 cent cappuccinos ($3.50 at Starbucks for a so-so cappuch is really depressing).

[Nickshu]

I did join the PCA Europe region while I was in Italy. Mostly Army guys and it's based in Germany. I never did anything with them, since all their functions were up in Germany, but I did get all their email newsletters. Never found anything in Italy, but I didn't look too hard since I left my Pcar in storage in the States.

Italy does have lots of car thefts and car break-ins, so be careful. The "bump and feel" parking method is accepted as normal there, so be careful there too. I had scrapes on all 4 corners of my Saab and it was keyed down one side within 6 months of normal driving there. You will turn lots of heads in Sicily, where most people drive scooters or beat up Fiats at best.

But I'm sure you could just fly your P3 up to Germany for a PCA meeting or two when you need too.

Maybe if you throw enough Sonobuoys and Mk46's off your P3 you can fit your Porsche in there too.

[divezic]

I brought my 944 with me when I was stationed in Naples, Italy. Initially nervous about smashing the heck out of my baby, I quickly learned that the Neapolitans had a respect for the Porsche and didn't come as close as they would to a Fiat or such. I guess they thought they couldn't afford to fix it if they hit it or they thought I was "connected." After 2 years, the only damage was when some jacka$$ rolled a shopping cart into the fender in the Navy Exchange parking lot.

Brace yourself. You will pay a lot for insurance. I pay $350 per year in the states and I paid $1300 in Naples. My guess, the 911 will be twice that. USAA and Geico have offices in Italy.

PCA used to have a Germany region that encompassed all of Europe, but they closed that region due to lack of adequate insurance.

As for parts I found that most of the local shops carried, or could get Bosch parts. Anything I couldn't find locally I ordered from Pelican Parts to my FPO address and it was quick: a new radiator (that's the big aluminum heat exchanger thing in the front, for you 911 guys) in a week and clutch master/slave cylinders in 6 days.

I had no problems with maintenance. I did most of it myself, but I'm not sure if they have an auto hobby shop in Sig. Just make sure you get a house with a garage and buy yourself a good floor jack and jack stands.

I took the 944 to the Naples Porsche dealership to have the timing belt adjusted. They took a day and they charged me nothing. Great bunch of guys.

My last bit of advice: get a good little yap yap dog. Better yet, adopt one off the street. They are abundant. The more attitude the better. They are the best to ward off the thieves, and you can be sure that the burglars will be eyeing your car, especially after they figure out that you are an American. No offense to our Italian brothers out there. Just a fact of life we dealt with for 2 years. ALL of our American neighbors were broken into. Our mutt and Labrador with their annoying barks kept us safe.

See you in Sig this summer and if you have any questions, just shoot me a PM.

[Hurricane]

I am currently stationed in Aviano Italy (right at the base of the Italian Alps) and I have been here for two years now. As a word of caution you will be ordering a lot of stuff on line right now because on the Italian economy the Euro rate has driven prices through the roof. I will also warn you that you will have a hard time finding good oil here. The Air Force lets us buy oil cupons but it is for low grade oil (I would not recommend it to any Porsche owner). The good news is that the SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) is different in Germany so you can go to any PX there and buy quality oil right off the shelf. The quality of work in Italy is usually very good, but expect it to take 4 times longer than it would in the States.

One thing that you should definately look into is the Mille Miglia. You may recognize the name from the wheels used on many Porsches now. It is actually a race in Italy that was done in the 50s and they have a re-enactment every year with only cars from that era. It is definately something to see. They have a web site for the race that you can read about in english. Here is the link: http://www.millemiglia.it/

One of the problems with getting another car here is that we (Militay members) are only allowed to register one car on base for free, we must pay the Italian road tax on any other vehicles we have. This road tax costs me $500/yr for my extra car. Just something to be aware of.

I have a ton more info if you would like to shoot me an e-mail with specifics. I have fully restored my 82 Targa here so I can fill you in with all I have learned.

[divezic]

I looked around Naples and used Mobil Super S in a 10W40 weight. http://www.mantaracing.com.au/mobil/Mobil%201%20supersnyth15w50.htm
It's the semi synthetic version of Mobil 1 and I think I paid about $6 per liter...not much more expensive than the Agip stuff with the cupons.

[911teo]

Sicily is beautiful, people are generous and the roads are twisty and fun.
I love driving in Italy. We are aggressive drivers but also have respect for others. Usually people are aware of other cars around them, even if it does not look that way.
Overtaking ("il sorpasso") is an art, especially on the little twisty mountain roads. An erly 911 is a perfect machine ("macchina") over there. Flashing is common if you don't move quick enough from the left lane. Sometimes, on the "autostrada" (highway) you'll have people tailgating you at 100mph. You either show them you can/will go faster or you have to let them through... it is not seen as a form of overly agggressive driving by the average driver.
Do not exceed 200km/h. La Polizia is ok with speeding but 200km/h (123mph) is considered a big deal.
As previously mentioned insurance will be a surprise, plus if you want ful coverage (collision etc) the premium will go sky high.
I lived in Italy the first 20 years of my life... I'll add comments as anything useful comes to mind. You can email me or PM me if you need anything specific.
Good luck and have fun!!

Ciao
Matteo

[Joeaksa]

Another thing to put on the list is that you have to get up to Nice/Monte Carlo for the Formula One race. Whole different world and well worth the trip. If you have a few days off then take a drive up though the Alps.

Not like when I was based there with a good exchange rate but its still a good posting. Also, try the Sambuca... keeps you warm at night, hopefully with a lady by your side!

Check Six!

JoeA

[911teo]

Well Montecarlo - Sicily is a cool 1,000 miles drive. Italians love Imola, where the "tifosi delle rosse" (Ferrari supporters) go wild. Imola is usually around the 1st week of April and is half way compared to Montecarlo.
Monza (in September) is another cool track with a lot of history. Montecarlo is unique as Joe mentioned. It's really expensive for tickets and for a place to stay. Also you'll pay close to $20 for a beer during the race.
The Alps are beautiful but again roughly 1,200 miles away from where you are. Go and visit the Etna (the biggest active Volcano in Europe) and Taormina. Nice trip and you can do it in 2 days.