Parade is over. What a week!

[WolfeMacleod]

Well, Parade is over and I'm now home. The drive there and back was brutal, thanks to taking 6-7 hours to get from Seattle to Portland on the Thursday I left. Accidents galore. Just passign through Portland took about two hours.
Upon getting down there, the 80 mile or so backup from Encino to Palm Springs was horrendous. Never got out of second gear.
On the way back, I made great time till I hit about Eugene, Oregon. Where the backup all the way to Portland started, thanks to multiple accidents. One of them being a giant bro-truck lifted about 3 feet, big ballon tires, snagged up on the median fence. That was kinda funny to see...
Once I passed Portland and got into WA, it took about an hour and a half to go just 12 miles into WA...
Then I hit Olympia, WA. Where the backup all the way to Tacoma started.

Some of the worst traffic I'd ever seen. Seatle-Portland should be a 3 hour drive. If that....

Parade though? Was great. Mostly.

There were zero water provisions for Concourse prep. Griots provided prep-stations, but didn't provide many of the things that they were supposed to. Like multiple vacuum stations (there was just one, and it was only there briefly, and powered by a generator, since the venue didn't provide the elecricity they were supposed to. And Griots was horribly late on getting stations set up. Like...days late. Nor the low profile jacks, or jack stands they were going to. Just some liquids and sprays. Most of which didn't work like they normally do because the insane temperatures made everything flash off immediately. (y'know, don't use on hot surface, direct sunlight, etc?)
Much of my washing consisted of repeatedly filling a garden sprayer from the bathtub, then going back to the prep area, several blocks away.
Despite all this, and the 100+ degree heat (it was 107 the day I did my main prep)....
Casper managed to take second in class.

Not too shabby, for 1200 miles worth of bugs and no adequate washing facilities, and the first time I've entered a concours. Missed 1st by just 1/10th of a point. Paint chip, scratch on wheel, minor debris in seat cushions... because, y'know, VACUUM STATION ISSUES.
And glass surface streaking because of instant flashing of cleaners.





Then there were tours. We got bumped off of our first tour on Tuesday, Big Bear Lake. But I'm OK with that, because apparently, the caterer's didn't show up. And when they finally did arrive, AFTER the tours was complete they brought a sandwich in a bag.
Then some free time.

Then autocross. Which was probably to most difficult course I've ever driven. Lots of DNF's.
I wound up taking a time-lapse video of the course walk and reviewing it about 100 times.
And took second in class against a much more modified 911. I've got a strut brace, that's it.
Again, not too shabby for a car I haven't autocrossed since 2010.



Banquets were pretty good.

Met with GH85Carrera Glenn, and Slodave, who made the horrendous drive through traffic since we hadn't met since a NAMM show many years ago.



Overall though, it was a great week.


The laughable Concours prep area.

[Anjizkit]

oh wow.. its was a pretty hectic party!

congrats on your win!!!

[r_towle]

Sounds like a good time, even with the lack of water in a desert….but who would have thunk that? Maybe PCA should consider slightly more hospitable locations in the future???

[gled49]

Your my hero, the only G body car, at least at the concourse, I saw without a sunroof, it’s a great car, keep it. Gordon

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by gled49

Your my hero, the only G body car, at least at the concourse, I saw without a sunroof, it’s a great car, keep it. Gordon

Glad you got to see it. That's what the judges said.
Took me a long time to find one without a sunroof.

It will never leave me.

[Jeff Higgins]

Congratulations on your concours and autocross finishes, Wolfe! Very well done. I'm glad to hear you made it home in one piece, without any issues. Having John go through your car prior to departure certainly helped. Especially recalling you sitting there wiping "what used to be your clutch" off of things after he dropped the motor...

[914Ravi911]

It was great to meet and talk to you Wolfe while you were trying clean your car.
Congrats on taking 2nd in the Concours and auto-cross

[ard]

Interesting to read about your experience Wolfe. I wonder what the writeup about the Parade in the official PCA rag will look like. They tend to skew heavily toward the "unicorns and rainbows" narrative; starry-eyed "1st timers" vowing to "come back forever", grizzled "veterans" accepting adulation with fake modesty; owners of endless budget resto-mods name-dropping everyone they wrote a check to "but hey, I kept the patina on the chrome trim ...". I wonder whether these "oopsies" will make it through the curation and editing process.

[Hi_Fi_Guy]

This was my first parade and likely my last. Kudos to all who participated in concours, it certainly had challenges.

My week started off with PCA losing my Phase II registration even though I had a confirmation and proof of payment. That meant my car sat parked at the resort as I was not allowed to take it on the rally and tours I signed up and paid for. Ended up leaving Wednesday morning instead of staying until Saturday. Still waiting on the phone call from PCA I was promised on check-in day. Not holding my breath. So many people had issues similar or worse than mine and were qued up looking for solutions. By the time I was allowed to speak to the poor PCA registrar (2 days after arriving and discovering the problem), he was so frazzled he looked like he might quit.

I now think the best way to enjoy Porsche Parade is from afar. Instagram photos from the comfort of my air conditioned home will work just fine from now on.

[jrosenberger]

Hey Hi_Fi, I've attended several parades and been satisfied except for Miissouri due to the poor choice of venue. Don't allow your frustration to prevent you from attending a parade in the future. As far as receiving a response from PCA, good luck with that. I sent a registered letter, return receipt request to the PCA Executive Council and NO RESPONSE. This happened several years ago. Remember the organization is about the people and making new friends. Embrace the commraderie....

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by 914Ravi911

It was great to meet and talk to you Wolfe while you were trying clean your car.
Congrats on taking 2nd in the Concours and auto-cross

Likewise! I wonder if you have any clues as to which one of the many you were. Silver 930?

Originally Posted by Hi_Fi_Guy

This was my first parade and likely my last. Kudos to all who participated in concours, it certainly had challenges.

My week started off with PCA losing my Phase II registration

I think we might have seen you in the Registrar's office on Sunday when we were trying to sort out our Big Bear Lake issue.

[GH85Carrera]

Wolfe, you just came in from the wrong direction!

Across New Mexico on Route 60 we drove in a group of five cars from OKC. We drove for long stretches and saw no other traffic at all.

The Tail of the Dragon claims 318 curves in 11 miles. Route 60 has 11 curves in 318 miles.

It was great meeting you and Dave there.

I turned 191,200 miles as I pulled into my garage. My Griffith's AC upgrade was unbelievably wonderful. As I was coming across I-10 towards La Quinta, it was 107 outside, the sun was shining right on me. The dash and passenger seat got so hot I could not hold my hand on them. The AC was blowing 38 degree air!

I had it at MAX, for sure, but I was cool and comfortable until I turned the car off and opened the door and 107 air hit me.





My car looks like a toy next to the trees in the center of town of Idyllwild.


Funny looking trees in California!


In Alamogordo, NM at the NM Museum of Space History and International Space hall of Fame. (Long name)

Roswell, NM of course.

Next year is Birmingham, AL and that is an easy 800 mile drive for me. 2025 will be a long 6 or 7 miles to Downtown, OKC.

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

[img]The AC was blowing 38 degree air!

I had it at MAX, for sure, but I was cool and comfortable until I turned the car off and opened the door and 107 air hit me.

I remember we spoke briefly about having additional AC condensers. Tell me about them please.

Roswell sure is a trip, isn't it?

[GH85Carrera]

I have the Charlie Griffith's full 4 condenser system.

Of course, replace all the hoses, add the two condensers in the left rear fender, new improved evaporator, hurricane blower, totally variable speed fan control, and new temp control with the LEDs to tell me if the compressor is on or off, knee vents, and the much improved center vent to replace the butterfly.




Even the little wimpy side vents blow sub 40 degree air when it is 107 and the fan speed is at hurricane speed. When the outside air temps drop to below 90 the temp control is turned way down, and I sometimes had to open the fresh air to mix some outside air in to keep it from getting too cold inside the car.

The real test was at the NM Museum of Space history. My car was just in an open lot, in full sun, for 45 minutes after having being driven several hundred miles. It was HOT in the car when I got back in.



About 120 degrees. It took it 5 minutes to be blowing nice cold 40 degree air again.

It does not match GM air conditioning of the 80s like my 86 El Camino, and certainly not like my wife's 2017 Macan, but is is a few orders of magnitude better than factory stock.

It was expensive, but wort every penny in the insane heat of the desert SW of California, Arizona and New Mexico.