Part of the reason why I sold the Ragamuffin

Zeke · 03-10-2006, 07:54 AM

No place to drive.

SoCal is such a bottleneck unless one wants to leave at dawn (even on the weekends). If you can get out of town to the hiways, the cops are too much with thier laser and airplanes. Screw them.

Every time I got in the car and warmed it up, it was like I was in the paddock moving slowly to the hot pit, except I wasn't. The sound and feel of the car are nothing short of expecting the next turn to be onto the front straight.

However, the tracks I can run at are 2.5 to 6 hours away excluding CA Speedway (1 hr.) which is too big for a little ol' 2.2 and is located by and accessable by only ...um.... a freeway. Which is a crawl all the way home if you leave in the afternoon. Hence, I always had to leave there at noon. What fun is all this? It's not.

NorCal isn't much better, if any, on the cops, but man do they have some roads. It's really about the roads and driving. That's what this post is about. You guys that have some open space ought to bow down and face East, or something.

The Boxster is not my favorite car, my wife chose it and she drives it mostly, giving fodder to all you Boxster Bashers that constantly pine that it's a girly car. Well, it's tractable, got good AC, and is nice and quiet. Oh, did I mention, it will run circles around the early 911 in any corner, out brake into any turn and the 3.2 (don't have that) will keep up with anything short of, well, a 3.2.

So I guess if I can stand to get out in the traffic mess, risk a 2-3 hour drive home from even the local canyons, and be called a girl, I can get in the Boxster to satisfy my jones. At least I won't always think the next turn has a number.

Meanwhile, after a rest period, and a little catching up on unrelated projects, I might fall into a mid-year or Carrera and do the big restyle I've mentioned before blending the best of the GT3 and GT1 into the earlier 911.

But, it won't have MFI and I hope it has AC. Can you say "like Jack Olsen?"

Adios, Raggy. Keep one front wheel light.

84porsche · 84porsche's Garage

Milt,

Sorry to hear. I remember when I first saw your car out on the Glendora Mountain Run. That was quite a good time. Hopefully you will have another toy soon.

Chris

}{arlequin · }{arlequin's Garage

yeah, too bad... i remember seeing your post about your fight with the fenders' profile...

somebody got a nice car

Drago · Drago's Garage

I guess I must have missed the thread where you annouced she was for sale?!?!

Jack Olsen · 03-10-2006, 08:16 AM

I'm sad to see the Raggamuffin go. That was a great car and -- because of what you did with it -- a great transformation story.

I agree with you about the roads, though. On the one hand, we have great year-round driving weather and fantastic canyon and mountain twisties. But unless you live close to those mountains or canyons, it can be tremendously frustrating just to get to them. And without working AC in the summer, bumper-to-bumper traffic in the desert heat can be pretty hard to take.

I recently bought the three Uli Upietz GT1 books. As wild as that car's styling was, there's a part of me that would love to build a car in that vein.

Brillo · Brillo's Garage

Milt, I can sure understand your frustration. It wasn't that long ago you could get around metro LA in 15 to 20 minutes on most freeways, except of course during commute time. These days I plan out my times when I am going somewhere and I don't drive if I don't have to because of the traffic.

With the smog debacle with your 986 I was worried you were throwing in the Porsche towel. Glad to read you are still here.

I got the "Jack Olsen A/C" from TRE in the SC, my wife and I ran the PCA rallies in it and it really made a difference. But we now run the 986 for most of the rallies.

I look forward to reading about your next 911 project

Edit: I look forward to seeing you out on a run with our girlie cars.

Zeke · 03-10-2006, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Drago
I guess I must have missed the thread where you annouced she was for sale?!?!

Over on the Cars For Sale bbs. Day before yesterday and it sold in one day. Yes, someone got a good car. That someone is here and I suppose will tell his side when he feels like it. The car will still be in CA, at least for the time being.

But, it's not about me and the car except to say I couldn't really enjoy what I had. I built a great hod rod. I guess a great hot rod is not what I need.

You know, I always thought these guys in their '32 and '34 Ford coupes and roadsters with the big V8's just had no place to use them and they were stupid for that reason. Well, I had a stupid car, by that reasoning, at least in SoCal.

There's another thread right now about early longhood values and the posters are saying drive it, don't cover it.

Well, I would have liked to, but I guess I'm just tired of all the cars on the road. And some who know me well, know I love to work on cars. Driving is only part of it for me. When driving gets to be too much, I can leave that part out.

pwd72s · 03-10-2006, 08:41 AM

Milt, it's happened to Oregon as well. Perhaps not as bad as there, but it's happened. I drove to Portland & back recently, just to visit with Tom W. and Tom C. Going up & back on I-5? Might as well have been in the cheapest sub-compact 4 cyl. car sold. No place at all to use the performance ability of even an old 911S. Nothing to do but just go with the flow, and hope some idiot didn't prang me.
I often wonder why I don't come to my senses, sell the 911, and join the majority of sensible folks...those who look at cars as just another appliance to buy.
Much of this is the result of huge gains in population. Alas, as long as sex is more popular than death, population numbers will continue to get bigger.

billyboy · 03-10-2006, 08:49 AM

You could move to central california rural area. We still have hundreds of miles of great roads with little cop issues. Buttonwillow is 1.5 hrs on a fantastic twisty road, Laguna Seca 2 hrs. on freeway, willowsprings, mostly rural and desert roads to get there. Big issue here is deer, they don't mix well with cars. I've seen your posts about the work that you do, you could make a living here doing that. I know that you are no spring chicken, like myself, someday it might be good to decide if it's worth living in a hell hole like LA for the money.

jluetjen · jluetjen's Garage

oldE · 03-10-2006, 09:16 AM

Milt,

Sorry to read you let her go, after all the work you put into building her. About a year ago you posted a pic of 6 P-cars parked on a mountain road, with The Ragamuffin at the end of the line. I have been using that as my wallpaper. I really liked the look of her in the pics you posted this week.
I must admit there are times when I am less than impressed with the condition of the side roads around here, but with fewer than 1 million people in the whole province, the roads are never crowded.
I guess there's a trade-off in everything.
Have fun planning the next project.

Les

RickM · RickM's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Zeke
Oh, did I mention, it will run circles around the early 911 in any corner, out brake into any turn and the 3.2 (don't have that) will keep up with anything short of, well, a 3.2.

.... I can hear the SC defenders galloping in .......

A bittersweet end. Can't wait to see you're next project.

03-10-2006, 10:23 AM

I love Texas.

rlane · 03-10-2006, 10:54 AM

Sorry to hear of the sale Zeke...my guess is you will not be without a "project" for long. I still remember that first look at I had at the S...maybe I should have said "Zeke..it is a rusty piece of sh@t ! Don't bother coming across country...I'll just pack 'er off to the recycler"

Right! You loved every frustrating, knuckle scraping second of it....

jluetjen · jluetjen's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by oldE
but with fewer than 1 million people in the whole province, the roads are never crowded.

I still think back fondly to my wife's and my last vacation before kids up to NS. I agree, with less then 1M people in the whole place (including Halifax), crowds were never a problem. We really appreciate how nice it is there since we travelled from there to my in-laws in NY, and then in to Chinatown in Manhatten. The difference was jarring:

From a province about the size of Pennsylvania with less then 1M people in the whole place...

...to a place where there were most likely 1M people within the sound of my voice (if it were only quiet!).

It was obvious to us that NS was the nicer place of the two!!!

defcon65 · 03-10-2006, 12:36 PM

Man, I feel for you. Kind of like all dressed up and no place to go.
Politicians here in the Midwest are always wringing their hands about the flat population growth rate and lack of development in rural areas.
When I get on one of our smooth and recently repaved two-lane secondary roads, I have to wonder - what's the fuss all about? I like being able to drive miles and miles and not see another car. Having spent about two-thirds of my last Left-Coast vacation on the freakin' freeway trying to get somewhere just drives the point home more.
Bukowski said it well: "It's not that I dislike people, I just prefer it when they're not around."

DW SD · 03-10-2006, 12:50 PM

Sorry to see this car go - though the rationale does make sense! These cars are a labor of love and anyone thinking they can make a bunch of money by restoring, flipping, etc, is out of their mind or doesn't do quality work. Someone got a great deal of blood, sweat and tears with this transaction!

I hope you remain a part of this community! If you choose not to, even for a little while, I'll try to remain in personal contact.

As always, I have no doubt your advice would be spot-on and based upon real-life experience, rather than speculation.

Best wishes,

Doug

RRico · 03-10-2006, 05:26 PM

south florida is getting just like that....not to mention the real estate prices also!

MOMO3.2 · 03-10-2006, 05:50 PM

Milt:

I have lived in the San Gabriel Valley my whole life. Brother, things sure have changed. I thought we had seen the worst of traffic in about the 1980's. Was I ever wrong. Over the past 5-7 years, traffic has increased exponentially.

Your comment about driving "in the paddock moving slowly to the hot pit" describes my mind set exactly. Except, sometimes I'm just under yellow conditions.

I will not portend to give you any advice on things Porsche despite the fact that I am an old man too, but your notion about possibly getting a 3.2 and tweeking it to meet your needs sounds pretty damn solid to me. I am in the process of doing just that as funds allow (read, how brave I get with my credit cards...). I intend to take advantage of every green flag condition I can!

Here's to your next chapter of Porsche ownership. May it start soon!

Sincerely,

Mike

Zeke · 03-10-2006, 06:08 PM

Man, you guys are great. No post partum gonna happen with your postive comments.