I got a ride in Black Beauty.

[old_skul]

First off, thanks Jack! It was pretty cool to see her in the flesh, let alone hear the exhaust or feel what felt like 2 G's pressing me into the RS clone seats.

In a word, wow.

Jack did something right with his car. It's one thing to read about it on the Pelican forums, and another thing entirely to experience the one-of-a-kindness that comes with this very special 911.

I flew out to LA this past week for a training class (yay, Novell :P) and managed to hook up with Jack Olsen for a quick beer on Thursday evening. He picked me up in his 911 and took me for a little ride. Might I say, I've ridden in practically every era of 911 (except for the 996), and this is purely unique. It's raw, visceral sound, scent, visual and tactile assault on the senses. I've *never* been in a 911 that fast off the line. I've ridden in Turbos, driven SCs and Carreras (like mine) and been in early cars.

Wow. Sick! 2250lbs and 250+ horsepower. Sick. There's a 3.6l engine back there!

Okay, enough fawning about the car. Jack is as cool of a guy in the flesh as he is online, albeit a little less reserved once he gets a beer in him. As a bonus, Tyson Schmidt (his co-driver in the 7 tracks in 7 days event) joined us and we talked Porsches for a while. They're both a couple of great guys and I'm really glad I hooked up with them instead of driving to San Diego like I was planning.

Oh, and all you midwestern and east coast guys - LA has some fine roads to drive within minutes of downtown. The day I got there I wound up driving one of the canyon roads in the Santa Monica mountains and it pretty well ruled, even in a crappy Chrysler convertible rental. If you ever get the chance, drive around the back roads of LA sometime, like up in the hills. Sweet.

Again, thanks Jack!

[Jack Olsen]

You're welcome, Mark. It was great to meet you, too.

The car is actually 2470 pounds (since I like all the 'pimpy' touches like AC, power windows and sunroof). And I'm sure most Turbos would smoke me in a straight line.

I appreciate the kind words, though... in spite of the fact that now I'll never win any sucker bets in street races with anyone who's read your post.

[Wayne 962]

You guys should have dropped me a line... of course, I would have coughed all over you (sick from Europe), but it would have been fun.

Oh well, next time...

-Wayne

[Jack Olsen]

Yeah, in retrospect, we should have gotten a handful of guys together and done a quick drive down Mulholland and then gotten a beer.

Next time.

[emcon5]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
You guys should have dropped me a line...

Good thing they didn't, all three moderators in one place, an nobody watching the board.

Without adult supervision, It would be anarchy, with all the OT posts, links to competitors and porn sites

Tom

[nostatic]

Originally posted by emcon5
links to competitors and porn sites

Wayne's competitors have porn sites? What the heck are we wasting our time here for?!?!?

[widebody911]

Yeah, it's a well-done car; driving it on a track was even more fun!