Thanks, Pelicans!

[VroomGrrl]

My car tonight, in a Santa hat

Hello Everybody,

Well I've been on here for six months, and in that time, I've shopped for, bought, driven home and gotten to know my wonderful 1988 911. I wanted to take a moment to let you know how thankful I am to all of you in this forum, shade-tree mechanics and professionals and drivers and racers and lurkers and comedians and the Pelican Parts folks and everybody in between, who have kindly entertained my newbie questions every step of the way. Even you, Milt

I will be so glad to say goodbye to 2008 - horrible year in most ways EXCEPT my car-related endeavors. I am so grateful for the wonderful all-consuming madness that is air-cooled Porsche ownership as it is celebrated here. I've not gotten as far as I'd hoped to in terms of doing my own work, but with your help, I've tackled a few little jobs and enjoyed the satisfaction of doing it myself (remember my power window switches?).

Getting started in high performance driving has been way more than I expected - in a good way. I really had no clue what it was I'd always said I wanted to do. Now that I know, I'm excited about what seems an endless world of exciting challenges ahead. I am truly starting from zero here, and I have received nothing but encouragement and generous assistance from everybody I've met in the motorsports world. Much of that help has come through these messageboards, so again, I thank you.

Here's wishing everybody a fantastic holiday, and a 2009 that's chock-full of VROOM!

Kathy

(not my car, but...VROOM!)

[pozee]

I've been meaning to write this for a while......"You're having too much fun, Vroomgrrl! Stop it!"

Seriously though, I echo your sentiments. Great forum, great members.

Happy Holidays to all!

[Wayne 962]

Great post!

-Wayne

[Ole Petter]

Wroolgirl, I couldn't agree more with you!
Great forum, much help and a world of knowledge... Just the best!
Ole

[azasadny]

Have fun!!

[4flyboy]

We definitely need a feminine touch around here.

I'm just sayin..........

Well done VG.

Merry Christmas!!

Scott

[crustychief]

Vroom indeed. Happy holidays to you and everyone else.

[JeremyD]

Woo Woo - good for you. To most of the folks that I have encouraged to try DE - I'd say 98% of the people ask themselves why they didn't start doing it earlier. The other 2% think their car is too pristine and start looking for a "track car" THEN come back...

Happy Holidays - we have a good group of folks on this board, many who I consider good friends...

[cgarr]

Isn't is amazing how quickly you relieve all that life's stress as soon as you hop in one of these cars??

Merry Christmas!

[cl8ton]

Wow I wish some of VroomGrrl’s P-Car enthusiasm would rub off on my wife!

Kathy can you send some positive Porsche female thought waves westward in hopes my wife
picks them up. She just cannot chum up to the idea of baking Wurth paint onto valve covers in the her oven

Good luck with DE’s! I too start my first next spring.

Merry Christmas All!

[motorcop]

Congrats Kathy! I too am kicking 2008 to the curb as a horrible year. Started in January with an expensive septic system repair, followed by the death of my 14 year old labrodor, and finally the loss of my mom at the age of 69 in October. The only "up" for the year was getting my Porsche. A 1984 Cabrio that I turned to during tough times to lift my spirits, and so far has not let me down. Consider me hooked also. Hope 2009 is better to both of us.

[dshepp806]

This "Pelican University" coursework seems to be perpetual,....never-ending. Don't think I'll ever "graduate".....great place to be with good professors and eager students.

Class is always in session, no?

I, too, am thankful.

Best to all,

Doyle

[VroomGrrl]

Originally Posted by cl8ton

Wow I wish some of VroomGrrl’s P-Car enthusiasm would rub off on my wife!

Kathy can you send some positive Porsche female thought waves westward in hopes my wife
picks them up. She just cannot chum up to the idea of baking Wurth paint onto valve covers in the her oven

Good luck with DE’s! I too start my first next spring.

Merry Christmas All!

Your wife, my husband.....I feel your pain.

Um now wait a minute. I wouldn't use MY oven to bake valve covers, either. I have an awesome 1946 GE Liberator and EVERYTHING works on it. Except the clock. Don't you want to see a picture? I knew you did! Same color as my car!



But I would definitely use my dishwasher to clean my engine.

[KarlCarrera]

Merry Christmas from Colorado!

Karl
88 Targa

[VroomGrrl]

Originally Posted by motorcop

Congrats Kathy! I too am kicking 2008 to the curb as a horrible year. Started in January with an expensive septic system repair, followed by the death of my 14 year old labrodor, and finally the loss of my mom at the age of 69 in October. The only "up" for the year was getting my Porsche. A 1984 Cabrio that I turned to during tough times to lift my spirits, and so far has not let me down. Consider me hooked also. Hope 2009 is better to both of us.

Well I've just gotten through my first Christmas since my father died this past June - after an illness that began the day after Christmas last year. This was definitely the worst of what 2008 brought me. My father grew up a car guy in a family of car guys, and in his last days, our talk often came back to...cars!



As a boy in his father's car - At work at the family-owned car parts distributorship in his 20s - and with his pride & joy Alfa Romeo (all in Beirut, Lebanon)

In fact it was all this car talk during the months at the hospital that compelled me to pull off the interstate and follow the signs to Barber Motorsports Park on one of my many trips between Tuscaloosa AL and Atlanta GA. I had looked into taking a class at Porsche Sport Driving School, and I thought I might be able to at least get myself into the passenger seat of a 911. I hoped for a ride that would be thrilling enough to buoy me through these difficult times. "Porsche Therapy" if you will. It worked!

Coming from such an idealized perspective, I was literally SHOCKED at how intense an experience it was to move around a race track at speed. And also? HOOKED. From there, as played out before you here, I threw myself into the dream of my own sports car - and learning to drive it (REALLY drive it!). Getting my first Porsche in July was definitely the best of what 2008 brought me!

Sadly, my father gave up his "car guy" wrenching ways when he got married, moved to the US with my American mom, and had us kids. So I didn't grow up around lots of car tinkering - none at all, really. But he always loved and admired cars - and talked cars. I soaked up a lot about driving from him. He was a great driver in his day, and constantly invoked certain themes from behind the wheel (find your "line" which may be different from what the shape/direction of the road suggests - "look where you want to go and the car will go there" etc).

He wasn't wild about the idea of his little girl getting behind the wheel of a sports car on a race track. But boy did his face light up when I played him some footage I shot at the track - all kinds of great engine sounds.

All the great people I've met, and all you folks here, are covering the gap in what I missed for car tinkering growing up. I am determined to change my own (rear) brake pads. I have the pads, and Santa brought me a floor jack. I'll soon have my jack stands, and then I'll be back with LOTS of questions (and yes, I have used the search function ). I thank you in advance for your patience!

[verdeboyo]

hi Kathy
Just watched your video. It made me smile - knowing I have my old lady sitting out on the drive.
Only 'old model' owners know how great it feels being behind the wheel of an 'old' 911.
I can go for up to two weeks without driving my 'old white lady' and every time feels like the first time I drove it away from the vendor. There has never been a time in my 6years of ownership, that I have just got in, turned the key and drove it like as if I was getting into a Ford Fiesta 1.1L. And 6 years on and I still love the thing as much as ever.
Thanks for welcoming me onboard. And you are right, the guys on here are great.

Happy motoring, and happy new year to you.