Your Porsche Story?

[Dave Colangelo]

So its a bit late, and I decided to watch LeMans this evening which got me thinking about my first Porsche. Every one here had a story about how they got into Porsche and Im curious as to what they are. Ill start with mine, please add yours and I am very curious.

It all began junior year of high school. A family friend of mine had an old 924S that had fallen into disrepair. I remember the car well, as he always used to drive it to my house. One day he shows up in a different car and I casually ask him what happened to the Porsche. He goes on to tell me that car had broken down and it would cost him almost 4K to fix it, more than the car was worth. He was about ready to get rid of it at this point. As a kind of joke, I ask him if I can have it, and to my surprise he says yes. A month or two later the car was towed from the garage to my house and now sat not running in my garage.
To be honest I think my parents never expected me to get it running and thus entertained the idea of a project to keep me busy. It took only 3 months and a lot of forum posts to get the car to even start. Turned out the ECU was toast and needed to be replaced. From there some simple little things had to be tended to and I had a working car. At the time I though I was the coolest kid ever, I had a running Porsche in high school.
Any way, time passed and the car grew on me, I learned to drive better and learned about all the quirks of the car. It truly was a blast. I eventually went off to college and the car was driven only on breaks and summers. In the back of my mind I always wanted another Porsche, the 924S had served its purpose and was on its last legs. Then late sophomore year a 78SC Targa came to my possession. It had its issues but they were quickly taken care of.
To be honest there is nothing like a 911. I drove that car every where and still do. It is the best road going machine I have ever used and is truly a work of art. That car taught me how to drive, how to deal with a rear engine, and what it means to put the petal to the metal. That car in many ways defined who I am, taught me where the edge was and how to push it.
I always wanted to being the 911 to school but was afraid of it getting stolen so I bought a 944 as a DD. What a car it is. Handles great, great on gas, and always gets great looks. Over the years I have hunted though antique shows to collect old Porsche memorabilia as well. I have enough art work at this point to fill a house. I have always driven a Porsche and never intend on changing that. I have no idea what the future brings but I hope its a 356 Speedster.

Regards
Dave

[OsoMoore]

I have a couple of pictures that tell the story. I first started loving Porsches in high school. In this picture, I was about 17 and met a guy at a campground. He and his son had an SC and maintained it and drove it. That was in the summer of 2000. I got to ride along and was forever hooked. (That's my little sister next to me).


This second picture is me 12 years later. I now have an SC!

[mattC2993]

Cool story. My Dad had a subscription to Road and Track in the 70's. My brother and I read them too. My Dad never did own a hobby car (5 kids will do that to you) although his DD was an old MB 190 sedan. In high school all the guys had muscle cars so I became a Mopar guy because my best friend had introduced me to them. I couldn't afford any toys until my mid 30's when I got into restoring Mopars. Eventually prices got so crazy I could sell my '73 Cuda 408/4 speed and buy my first Porsche, a '95 993, at age 45. I then bought a '58 356A coupe 2 years ago and a '70 911E last week!

[Dave Colangelo]

I guess a photo is overdue for my story, here is my family of cars as it sits now. Esthetically its not much to write home about but they are mechanically in tip top shape.



Regards
Dave

[BE911SC]

Dad was a British sports car guy in the '60s. Had his '67 Healey from new until 1980. Drove all over the San Francisco Bay Area in those days seeing other sports cars and having dad educate me on the various makes. Remember seeing Porsches at one of the foreign car shops my dad took the Healey to and thinking they looked cool. IROC on Wide World of Sports really jazzed me up on 911s and I had a few RS die-casts I played with. Then started seeing SCs when they came on the scene, in high school, and thought one day I'll have one of those. Played with musclecars for years, then two 5.0 LX Mustangs bought new. Loved those cars. Finally focused on the 911 dream a few years ago and now have an '84 Cab that has been great fun. My son goes with me on drives and it is evocative of my youth, driving around with my dad in his Healey.

[Nico911]

It all started when I was about 10. My older brother has always been a car maniac and I guess he is the one who introduced me to car in general. We had that 1985 car guide at home in which the author was comparing a Ferrari 328, a DeTomaso Pantera and a grand prix white 930. I was hooked !

Then my father bought, in 1998 I believe, a 1972 E Targa, and sold it a few years ago. The car was very nice.

Now I own mine, a 1985 Targa and I'm loving it.

[kyalami]

When I was about 10 or so my Dad bought an Austin Healy 3000. Many years later after college I bought and sold two 3000s in the early 70's...but I always had my eyes on the 911. Finally got the first one (74 Targa) in '84 and 28 years later acquired an '87 Targa....not anticipating any other make....

[porwolf]

My first Porsche. And I made good use of it, not a garage queen! 1969:

[ClickClickBoom]

My brother came back from his tour in the service with a 912, his room mate was going to Viet Nam and was convinced that he wasn't coming back, he sold my brother that car real cheap. My brother used to come over to the house and ask me if I wanted to go for a drive, I always said yes. He then traded up to a 911T, and we drove about as well in it. His ex wife is still driving that car today.

[CountD]

Dave, 924s are sweet. I won't go into all the details, but 924s are very well balanced and really a joy to drive. They are special cars in their own right and it's great you still have yours.

[Helios59]

Great stories.

My father had a '72 Beetle and had it serviced at a VW dealership in Reno which also sold Porsches...this was the mid-70s. I used to sit in the 911s and think how they were similar, but also very different. They seemed very cool and exotic to me.

I pretty much totally got away from car culture in my 20s and 30s...then suddenly developed an overwhelming desire to own a sports car at age 41. I cycled through a Honda S2000 and an E46 M3 before finding my 911 in 2009. I'm now totally subservient to that air-cooled mystique.

[Mike80911]

Here is my story as written by my son and published in an on line magizine. I did not know he even did this until after it was published. Dave you will recognize some of the pictures. We need to do a run real soon itching to get back in the drivers seat.
Forza Motorsport - Heavy Metal Affliction Porsche 911 Turbo

[tirwin]

When I was a kid in the late 70s and early 80s we were into cars. We collected and traded hot wheels and matchbox cars. Our dads had subscriptions to Road & Track and Car and Driver and others. We would get the mags after our dads were done and read them at school and compare the ft lb's of torque like we really had any idea what that meant.

My friend John came back from a trip to visit relatives in Spokane, WA with a poster of a black 930. He proudly hung it on the wall of his room and I was hooked. His uncle had a 928 if I remember correctly. Growing up in Alabama in those days a poster was the closest thing I could get to a real one. The 911 was just the iconic sports car of the day. We of course talked about Jags, Ferraris and later Lambos but we never saw those either until we went to car shows. You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a Camaro or a Mustang so to us there was really nothing special about them. The first Porsche I saw in person was an IROC car at Talladega.

My other car influence was my uncle who restored cars as a hobby and then later professionally for a time. He mainly did it for the fun of it but his work quickly earned him a reputation and he became highly sought-after. He did many projects for money - I remember the old Ford milk delivery truck he painstakingly rebuilt the woodwork on. Doing the work for money took the pleasure out of it for him and he quit doing that for profit and went back to only doing what made him happy. He had a Model A, Model T, '27 Dodge "Al Capone" roadster, a '31 Buick, a '57 Chevy Bel Air (national champ). Those are the ones I remember. He also had an '82 Alfa Romeo spyder that he bought from some guy who didn't know what an Alfa was (he apparently thought he was buying a British car and was shocked to learn it was Italian after he bought it) and sold it to him for next to nothing because he couldn't get it to run and all it needed was a new fuel pump. From my uncle I learned that anything could be fixed if you had patience and discipline.

Back to Porsches... The 911 was always the iconic car to me. On my bucket list was "fix up and restore old 911". I only had a book knowledge of Porsche when I bought my SC two years ago. One of the best decisions I've ever made. The sense of personal enjoyment and accomplishment in working on this old car is terrific. Driving it is even better.

Look, if someone gave me a 991 I'm sure I'd drive it and enjoy it but it's just not the same. I stopped at the grocery store the other day and a guy in a '68 Rolls Royce RHD saw me and parked next to me. We stood in the parking lot and talked cars for 20 minutes. I feel like I am part of a secret society of people who "get it". That's why I love stuff like the Singers and Magnus' documentary. I realize this isn't for everybody. And I like it that way.

[ben parrish]

Never remember not loving Porsches. Had the posters of all the models on my wall when I was a kid.
In 1984, when I was 16, I saw a 914 at a local FORD dealer, behind shop.I asked about it and told it was a local docs car that was going through a divorce...his wife had traded it on a T-bird or something. Did a little research and found it was a 74 "Bumble Bee" special edition...the yellow had been removed from the rockers and wheels.
Well, long story short, I bought the car and have been hooked since. I sold that car when I wad 19 or so; had a Vette??, and still miss it today.
Have had a 356..fun car. Had the 86 Carrera now for 15 years and still get a kick out of it.

[ckissick]

It started before I was born. My father was stationed in Heidelberg in 1952-53. He bought a '53 356 and brought it home to San Francisco. He and my mom drove the 356 to Yellowstone for their honeymoon.

He got to know the SF Porsche dealer, who offered him a sales job in 1955 at the VW-Porsche dealership. So I grew up with VWs and Porsches. MY father eventually owned his own VW dealership (sadly, not Porsche) and still goes their almost daily at the age of 85. In 2 years he'll have been with VW for 60 years.

[Dave Colangelo]

Great stories guys keep them coming.

Mike, I am moving to Philly at the end of may (after graduation) but I think I will be home in early June so I will try to plan a run for then. I will keep the thanksgiving run alive as it has become a tradition and Im sure my parents will want me home for the holidays. One of my brothers friends recently bought an 86 924 so ill pass the reins off to him and my brother for planing NY area runs.

Regards
Dave

[ColinH]

I have been fascinated with Porsche since I was a little kid. My favorite toy cars were a black 911 and a grey 917. I also had a remote control 944. I didn't see any of these cool cars in rural Manitoba but saw them occasional 911 in Winnipeg (not the 917!). On a family vacation to Niagra Falls I saw a red 930 which blew me away. Later in university I would read any Porsche article I could find. In 2001 my fiance and I were looking at a 1972 911S. It was gorgeous - silver, perfect trim, mint condition and an asking price of $18k. I was a graduate student at the time and could afford one car and unfortunately a classic 911 wouldn't fit the bill. My wife said that we should buy a 911 when we could do so comfortably. A couple years later I had the chance to drive an '86 911 that belonged to an acquaintance. I *loved* it. Fast forward to this spring and I am now the proud owner of an '86 911 (not the same one even though both are RoW and dunkel blau). So really this is the beginning of a long new chapter. So far it has been fantastic! I have enjoyed reading the various journeys many of you have had with your cars. Maybe I'll have something to contribute one day.

[lrodri64]

I remember the first day that I saw a 911 when I was about 9 or 10. Years later when I was in junior high I walk down the school street just to look to the town dentist 911. When I was 22, I bought that same 911 from that same dentist. Then I sold it. 25 years later I found that same car again and of course.... I bought it again. It is really rusty but it is mine again.

[ruwoodbury]

It must have started before I was really conscious of Porsches. I lived in Germany from the age of 3-6 when my father was stationed there. The family car was a M-B 170 sedan (I vaguely remember) and my dad had a 180SL (I don't remember). I think the German car thing seeped into my subconscious.
When I was 10 a guy in our neighborhood had an XKE coupe--I used to go to the park and stare at it sitting in front of his place next to the park. And anytime I heard it I would stop and listen. A few years later he got a 911 and I was captivated by the shape and sound even more than the Jag (I know, XKEs are the most beautiful cars of all time and I'm awestruck as the next guy by their shape).
Fast forward a few years and I'm 14. I go with my older brother to a used car lot with a brown 911 parked in front. We're there to just look at it but after a few minutes the salesman asks if we want to go for a little ride. Well, duh... Next thing I know I'm stuffed into the backseat where I can not only hear and smell the wonderful air-cooled six--I can feel it! He tears around the backstreets of Ogden, UT for 10 or 15 minutes and I am virtually vibrating with excitement back there and am intoxicated by the experience. It's like my brain has been reprogrammed for cars. And though I remain a Mopar fan and NASCAR devotee for some time after, I begin the transition to Euro cars, German cars, but Porsche in particular from that point forward.
Four years later and I own my first sports car--a Fiat 850 Spyder (stop the laughing)-- when one of my dad's old Army buddies shows up at the house in his silver 911S. My eyes are as big as salad plates and I'm pretty sure I'm drooling. Cecil takes a look at me and asks, "Do you have your driver's license?" I somehow get out a strangled, "Yes." He tosses me the keys and says, "Don't come back too soon" then turns and walks into the house to BS with my dad. I'm astonished beyond measure to be holding the keys to this shiny, silver, beautiful sports car of my dreams. I take a lap around the car before giggling and hopping behind the wheel. It's not until I'm backing out of the driveway that I notice my little brother is in the passenger seat and strapping his belt on. I don't care I just want to drive. After a few miles warming up (me not the car) I head to my favorite s-curve on Mountain Road where I've got numerous high speed (relatively) runs back and forth with the Fiat. I approach the curves at Fiat speeds and the 911 goes through like it's a walk in the park. Okay, turn around a crank it up a bit. After a half-dozen passes, each at increasingly higher speeds, I stir up my courage to push even harder. That's when I discover the over steer P-cars are famous for. I can't say it was skill that saved the day, more like dumb luck, but somehow I gather it up and get the car heading pointy-end first without balling up Cecil's 911. Aside from the memory of looking past my brother's profile down the road through the side window, I've never forgotten the feel, sound and responses of that car. That ride clinched it for me. I was a Porsche guy, inside, outside and all around. Ferrari's are positively charismatic, BMWs nice and all the other sports cars of the time interesting--but it was Porsche for me.
It took me a lot of years to finally own one starting with a Cayman S (that I did ball up and utterly destroy in an accident) but once it was time to get my second one I new it had to be a classic air-cooled 911. And after nearly two years with my '89 Carrera, I don't see myself ever being without one.
I'm infected.

[cjannelli]

I started w/ a 1961 1600 Super 356 coupe. A complete rust bucket purchased from my brother's college pal. I was 18 years old and couldn't be convinced not to buy it. It was parked next to our driveway after an engine failure. I was 14 at the time and I sat in it daily and enjoyed the smell of gasoline, oil and mold. Very intoxicating. Thereafter I bought and sold a 1966 912(same car twice), a 1983 SC Targa, then the last five in chronological order(no digital photos of the first 3).





Forty years of Porsche ownership. Always looking for the next one!!
Chris