In Memory of Paul Weir

[bike2ride95]

I don't know you Paul but I understand why you chose this path.
Rest in Peace my brother...heaven needs a good mechanic..

[Walter_Middie]

When I purchased my car there was no internet to get information and help from. You relied on books, friends, and local independent shops. Paul Weir was where I took my car - they would sell parts from the service counter and would offer assistance and advice over the phone or in person. They never complained about my old car amounst all the high dollar newer cars.

I was very impressed with their engine rebuilding shop - I still have the brochure somewhere - I'll have to post pictures from it. Those of you who did not see it won't believe the lengths Paul went to.

I still have a Paul Weir license plate frame on my car for nostalgia - remembering the good times before it all went wrong.

[ratpiper71T]

I didn't know him but, I do recall a year or few ago when someone mentioned his name, some jumped on board to toss in some negatives- Paul posted under his own name a response explaining his business was no more and include a painfully honest explanation about how things had gone downhill and he had gotten in over his head. He struck me as a sincere person at least at that moment. I've lost at least one friend in the past year to the same type of circumstances. It's a good reminder to reach out to friends in need. You really never know how much someone is hurting inside. May he rest in peace.

[Charles Freeborn]

Very sorry to hear about this. When I first got my '74 in '98 I got his brochure and seriously considered crating my engine and trans and shipping them from Oakland where I lived at the time. I chose to go with a local shop, which turned out to be much more expensive, and questionable quality. In hindsight I could have dropped the engine and trans, rented a truck and made a road trip out of it for the same cost and certainly more adventure...
I am always sorry to hear about a person losing the battle with demons, either real or imagined.
-C

[ajserrano]

I never had the opportunity to meet Paul in person, but over the last decade we spoke on the phone many times and exchanged lots of emails. It seemed as Paul was always involved in some interesting projects, that rare Porsche stuff that most of us really enjoy. We will miss him, RIP.

Paul's website will eventually go away, and with that in mind, it was suggested that I repost the following here as well.

For the momories...





About Paul Weir...





Parts...





The Value of a 911...





Contact...





...and more photos!

[ajserrano]

...next set...

[ajserrano]

[Hayabusa]

I believe this engine is currently complete and available.

[creaturecat]

Some great old pics.
rip Paul Weir.

[WOLVERINE]

RIP Paul.

[LauraWeirTemple]

Thanks to all of you who wrote such positive memories about my brother, Paul Weir. I always thought that my brother was a genius, and I'm sure if he had ever been tested, his IQ would have been waaaaayyyy up there! His passion for Porsche began when he was quite young (just 16) and was an apprentice to another mechanic in Seattle. It is all he ever really wanted to do---work on Porsches. I remember when we were only 11 or 12 years old, and he used to hang around the Fat City Repair shop when they were on top of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, just around the corner from where we lived. He watched them repair Volkwagens and the occasional Porsche. He was a daredevil from an early age, too. It started with a Stingray bicycle, then progressed to skateboards (he and a friend once hired a helicopter to fly them over the Seattle area to look for empty swimming pools to skate in) and then when he was old enough to drive, it was cars, cars, cars. He had an old Ford Fairlane that he worked on for years and a purple Harley Davidson bike (which my younger brother is now looking to sell). But Porsches were his love affair. While he was arguably one of the best Porche engine mechanics in the country, he struggled with running a business. He built an amazing engine assembly line in his shop on Stewart St. in Seattle (thanks to ajserrano for posting pics), but ended up losing it because he went bankrupt. He kept struggling to rebuild his business and had various iterations of his business after the engine shop, but what really brought him down wasn't lack of business skills, it was being unlucky with his genetics.
Our father and paternal grandmother had Huntington's Disease. My two brothers and I each had a 50% chance of having the gene. If you have the gene, you get the disease: if you don't have it, you don't get it. Paul was the unlucky one. Both my younger brother, Mark Weir, and I were tested and do not have Huntington's. Paul had it. If you are not familiar with Huntington's Disease, it is a slowly progressive, dominant gene that eventually renders the victim completely helpless. The most famous person who suffered from it was Woody Guthrie. If you had seen our father in a nursing home the last ten years of his life before he died at 62, completely helpless, a ward of the state, and sometimes abused by his "caregivers" (I once had to file a police report) you would understand why Paul didn't want to go down that same road. He was likely less than a few years away from the nursing home himself. I, for one, do not blame him for taking his own life. If it were my fate, I would have done the same thing, while I was still capable, without having to involve anyone else to help. While it was a shock to hear of his passing, in some ways, I had been expecting the call for years. Although, I frankly thought he would drive a 911 off a cliff. Being the thoughtful person Paul was, he did it in a way that wouldn't endanger anyone else. Thank you for letting me tell the story of why Paul isn't with us anymore. As sad as I am, I am so grateful he won't have to suffer any longer. In recent months, he had been in much pain and truly losing control of his mind and body. I am so grateful he is at peace now. Thank you all for caring and remembering the good man he was. - Laura (Weir) Temple

[Roby466]

RIP Paul.
My thoughts are with his family and Loved ones.
Thank you Laura, my sincere condolences
David

[LuftWaffle]

Laura, thank you for sharing the memories of your brother with us. He lived a life many of us can only aspire to. Our thoughts are with you and your family. -John

[drcoastline]

Laura, My condolences to you and your family. May your brother rest in peace.

[racer_X]

Thank you Laura for sharing.
My condolences to you and your family.

John

[m110]

Condolences

Huntington's is a terrible disease with a well known high rate of suicide.

[ajserrano]

Hello Laura, my deepest condolences to you and your entire family. I cannot even begin to imagine the despair you and your family are feeling. Paul rests now, no more worrying for him, or thinking about how he may have to inconvenience others. God bless his soul.

Laura, if you would like and have time, do you have a couple of good photos of Paul that we can post in this thread, maybe from when he was younger and a more recent one? If you don't know how to post the photos, please feel free to email them to me at ajserrano at msn dot com and I will gladly do it for you.

Armando

[LakeCleElum]

Laura - Thank you for the heart wrenching story. We are very sorry to hear of the loss of your brother. I used to live a few blocks from his shop on Yale Ave and knew he had a great reputation.....R.I.P. Paul

[wp935]

Well done Armando, thank you for your time and effort on this. I owe you dinner the next time I'm in town ......................

[Dantilla]

I've had some "Paul Weir- Expert Porsche Service" license plate frames sitting on a shelf in the garage.

I put a set of them on the car when I heard about this.

Thank you, Laura.