Confession and Revelation

[spencejm]

As a practicing Catholic I believe that confession is good for the soul. I have owned my 82 Targa for 3 years now and put less than 1000 miles on the odometer. I have a bit of a paranoid and obsessive personality and every time I thought about driving the car I would start to get a churning stomach while thinking about everything that could wrong. Add to that a real issue with being in control of every situation I get into and you can see the problem. The idea of being stranded on the side of the road and not knowing what to do basically paralyzed me.

I had ppi done but it was done by a local independent shop about which I have heard mixed reviews. (I just finished the 8 pages of the Playa thread so I'm trying to use proper grammer!) The Porsche mechanic at the shop told me it looked fine and I was getting a good deal so I bought the thing. I then proceed to find little things like a rusted out battery mount, since changed to a high dollar cutting board, and a partially crushed oil line. The car runs great and has not given a lick of trouble but still I was worried. I met KurtV from this board and he told me I stole the car ($8500) and should just enjoy it and I really, really tried. I just got really nervous whenever I took it out. I have had the car up for sale twice but every time I would take it out to make sure it was running okay the fun overpowered the nervousness and I just couldn't sell it. I was a mess. I couldn't sell the beautiful little thing but I was afraid to drive it. I partially blame this board. I spend a lot of time reading this board and the majority of the posts are about someone that is having trouble. It was the same when I had a BMW motorcycle. No one posted on the Airheads board when they had a great, unevenful ride. It was always about the time the bike broke down.

I was contacted here in Columbia about a group of Porshe guys that was trying to get a little club started. I went to a couple of small get together and really enjoyed seeing all the other cars and talking to the guys. The idea of a group run came about it was finally scheduled for yesterday. I was excited but, believe it or not, nervous.

We met at a gas station and then headed up about 10 miles of boring highway. The car seemed to be running well and I started to settle in. I figured if something happened there would be others there to help me. We had 7 cars. There was a nice Cayman S, 2 boxters, 3 911s and a 924s. A pretty nice group. The Cayman was leading and when we turned off the slab onto the first of the curvy roads, he took off. I've drive the car fairly quickly but this was a notch higher than I had gone before. We ran at a good clip along back roads for quite a while, stopped for lunch at a nice place and then drove the best of the roads on the way back home. That's when I had the revelation.

I have found that I have a very nasty little girl sitting in my garage. She loves it hard and fast. The harder I gave it to her the more she liked it. By the time I got home I was beat from the wind and sun but I was grinning from ear to ear. I think even the exhaust note had changed a bit. She had a bit more a growl and seemed to have a smoother idle as well.

I'll probably still be nervous from time to time until I feel more confident in my abilities to get myself out of trouble but I certainly will be DRIVING the car a lot more. I have finally seen the light!

Thank you for letting me get this off my chest. I will now go and try to sin no more.

Joe

[aminter0]

Great story.. my father has his '83 that just sits... and sits. It has 44k miles. He has had the car for about 2 years now and has put maybe 1k miles on it. I can tell it drives him nuts, but he gets nervous to take it out. Then when he does take it out, he gets back to the house and says how much he loves that car and how it loves to be driven...

Drive it man!!

[motorcop]

Keep giving it "hard and fast" to that nasty little girl, you both will be better off in the end. Now go outside and have a smoke.

[sc_rufctr]

Great post. You're brave for facing your "Demons"...

I could relate to most of it... but especially the "control thing" I have for my car.

Originally Posted by spencejm

I then proceed to find little things like a rusted out battery mount, since changed to a high dollar cutting board,
Joe

Do you have a picture of this fix? I have the same issue in my car.

Thanks in advance.

[Tsunamiboy]

Joe,
Get a AAA membership with the gold level towing policy. Pack a toothbrush, cell phone and a clean pair of underwear and take a weekend excursion. Plan your trip armed with the knowledge of the Porsche shops near your destination. With a $8,500 investment drive the love out of that thing! Make Ferry Porsche proud of you!

Build some good memories with your mistress, you may need those moments in your old age .

I have 204,000 miles on my 79 SC and I don't think twice about cranking out an excursion. I drive about 190 miles over the Oregon Coast range and back every Saturday (if its not raining)to visit my father, and part of that is screaming around with my 83 year old father with me. He loves the twisties

[jonbot]

Three letters for you my friend, AAA

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by Tsunamiboy

I drive about 190 miles over the Oregon Coast range and back every Saturday (if its not raining)to visit my father, and part of that is screaming around with my 83 year old father with me. He loves the twisties

Good on you for spending real time with your dad.
I hope you have a Scotch with him on the porch after... (Help calm those 84 year old nerves after the twisties)

I lost my dad 11 years ago and I still miss him. He loved Scotch...

[JoeyD911]

If you're not going to drive it...take a picture and put it on the wall. Then sell your car to me!

You just found out she was a nasty girl? You should've known that right from the start. You spend lots of money on her, you're afraid to take her in public and the time you do spend with her makes you smile uncontrolably. It's like driving a one night stand over and over again! I call it vehicular sex.

As long as you've got the proper upgrades and you've checked the head studs, drive the heck out of it, it loves to do what it was built to do. Don't be so afraid. I bought an 82SC garage queen. 48K miles, never saw the rain. Trust me, it's not YOUR car until you put the first scratch in it. Starts out traumatic and then becomes very liberating. Next thing you know, you're changing brake lines, adjusting cis and doing all kinds of things you thought you wanted to pay to have done......just for fun!

You're halfway there...follow the dream!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

As a practicing Catholic, you should know that Jesus prefers Carrera's. CIS and WUR's are the work of the devil.

just sayin'.

[VroomGrrl]

Joe, thanks for your great post. I can so relate! When I first got my car, I got butterflies in my stomach every time I got into it. More often than not, I totally avoided driving it for a variety of reasons which boiled down to fear - of the unknown I guess. What if what if what if what if whatsthatsoundwhatifwhatifetcetcetc.

I remembered from getting used to my last "new" car that the trick back then was basically JUST DO IT. I knew I wouldn't feel comfortable in the car until I really got to know it. So I made it my daily driver for 2-3 weeks straight. And boy did that do it. I was still kind of chicken to really rev it up, though, until I got out with a driving coach who said, "OK put on some power, get it up to 5000RPM on this straight." For me, this was just a matter of never having driven a car that hard. All that racket! It felt totally wrong at first and I was sure I was going to blow the thing up, or at a minimum, break something really badly!

Then I learned what you did - nasty girl, the harder & faster, the better she seems to like it It has taken me nearly a year of getting to know the car to really understand the most basic things about how to drive it. NOW I feel ready to start learning the finer points. I'm eager to get back out on the track & autocross course with some new confidence in my own (car's) power.

Keep at it with the car - and keep us posted about how much fun you're having!

[porschefool]

As a practicing Catholic, you should know that Jesus prefers Carrera's. CIS and WUR's are the work of the devil.



just sayin'.

What Would Jesus Drive?
73 RS or a GT3, I suspect...
Good on ya, brutha!

[sc_rufctr]

This is my "very nasty little girl" at the moment...

She a very bad girl ;-) but at least she's faithful and loyal... (I wish I could say the same for my ex wife...lol)



And this is her rusted battery tray... Not pretty but nothing a bit of "cosmetic" surgery would fix... (cutting board fix needed)

[sig_a]

Learning to drive a Porsche well, especially a 911, takes lots of patience and practice. Signing up to drive in an auto cross, driver education or road rally event sponsored by your PCA region is the best way to shake off the angst and be safe at the same time. Performing some of the easier maintenance is also a plus.

[sig_a]

Originally Posted by porschefool

What Would Jesus Drive?
73 RS or a GT3, I suspect...
Good on ya, brutha!

A Targa.

[dw1]

If you are going to indulge in this unholy behavior, please learn the proper way to pleasure each other.

And for His sake, do it with appropriate supervision, and with proper protection. It may be fun to be rough, but someone with more experience can show you that being smooth makes the pleasure last longer, and truly shows what a "fast girl" she can be.

DE's my friend, DE's. Seek and thou shall receive.

[Talewinds]

My Carrera showed up from Ca back in February, I put more than 1000 miles on it in the FIRST TWO WEEKS! My only regret? That I didn't put MORE miles on it.
I've already owned a car that did nothing but hold down the garage floor, and when I finally sold it I thought "what a waste!" I vowed to never let that happen again. You might consider the same....
Besides, for God's sake, you've got one of the BEST state roads in the country in your backyard! Hwy 50 from Jefferson City to STL is AWESOME!
Why.... it would be a sin to let such prime pavement go to waste.

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

As a practicing Catholic, you should know that Jesus prefers Carrera's. CIS and WUR's are the work of the devil.
just sayin'.

That's great!

Take it to the track and do a DE, try running it around a skid track, it's very, very enlightening! The instructor will have you going around and around feeling the backend starting to slip and get you to give the ***** more of the whip till she bites into your .... you keep giving it to her and she takes it and bits in harder to the pavement. Then you get to feather the loud pedal between the slipping and biting into the pavement. Then as you're driving her into delirium, he'll say "lift" and you spin out like you can't believe.

I'm NOT an expert driver of a 911, but what I can tell you, is that until you've figured out where it brakes and spins out, you're not competent to drive the car. And I don't mean that in a bad way.

[dailyATX82sc]

DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!!!!!

i drive my 82 about 50 miles A DAY!!!! and love every second of it.....while i work on what she needs i enjoy her.(very much so, as does my girlfriend( i just taught her to drive a stick with this car) and father) and hey, if i break down, get some tools out(or just a fuse) and fix her......if not then hey im broken down in a porsche oh well....

dust that thing off, walm her up and enjoy IT

jon

[jh225]

I took mine out for the first time this season on Sunday. Absolutely beautiful day and a great ride. 100+ miles, a sunburned forehead (and top of my head due to becoming follically challenged), a few mile blast with another 911 I happened upon and a grin from ear to ear at days end.

I would get in my car and drive cross country in a hearbeat.

If I get stranded, I would call up Haggerty and they would send a tow. No worries.

Drive it and enjoy it.

[ClickClickBoom]

Hey,
I put 3000 miles the first 6 weeks, drove 20 miles to take a dump. I wish it had a roof rack for lumber and steel! Started driving like I stole it and it runs smoother and idles even smoother. Get jiggy wif da girl, cheapest fun you ever will have!
eric