Amen....preach on Brother............ I'm in the pew.

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Here's the other conundrum. I won't park mine where I can't see it. Hotwired my Dad's 69 when I was 15. Fortunately we live on an Island and other than flat bedded to a shop it stays here. Island is big with plenty of tight turns and straights, fun enough. Portland International Raceway (PIR) is about 20 minutes. Auto Cross in August.

This thread was like therapy.

I keep reminding myself that to build my car as it sits would cost twice what I have into it (or more). Spherical bushings all around, larger torsion bars, turbo tie rods, the interior is all done (rear seat delete, GTS Classic Sebring seats, sourcing another ORIGINAL 380mm Abarth), 15x7 Fuchs, a hotter motor with EFI/coil-on-plug, and no meaningful rust.

I look what comps bring on BaT and realize that while I might make a profit, I'd be $40,000+ in the hole to recreate it again to start with whatever I would get.

Chris, I hope you come to a similar conclusion too! I love the look of your car.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1690384804.jpg

Pretty car! Mines about the same with 84 Chiffon White. Nicer shop than mine too.

I have been modifying cars since I bought my first car, a 57 chevrolet with a blown motor. I was 16. I never get tired of working on cars, ,but I also ensure I have a nice daily driver so I'm not stuck if my project isn't running. I finally got to where I have my cake and eat it. I special ordered my C2s and then added a tune, magnesium wheels, and drive it daily, even in the winter. over 20k so far. My 1970 gets driven when it's running and I love every minute of it. Never gets tired.



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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1690387263.JPG

Here's the funny thing, I know hijacking the thread. I've got blue and gold CA plates but I'm thinking about redoing it with OR farm plates. Title is clean and I can do it legally or leave it.

Keeping an old 911 alive keeps me from having to go to farmers markets and brunch on the weekends. Sure, these cars have needs, but we're too committed to stop now.

Double down. Double down again. Aircooled junkies chasing "the fix". The thing that will make a flawed but otherwise engaging experience even better. You're in the valley right now. The walls are steep and this trans issue has you doubting if you can (or want to) climb out. One step at a time, bro. If rebuilding an engine a month before Ruchlos didn't slow you down, a 915 ain't *****. You got this.

When?
When “The Thrill Is Gone” (B.B.King -1969)
or
When the sciatica doesn’t go away like it used to.

Another thing that's great about owning a classic Porsche is the people in the community. Obviously you could continue to participate after selling the car, but it wouldn't be the same. I've been a part of other car communities, and while plenty have great people, the people with classic Porsches are different. Somehow the vast majority are cool, literate, smart, and reasonable, without being douches. I don't know of another community that compares.

This is why we'd hang out if we didn't live 1000 miles apart. :D

Meh. I don't even roll up the windows, much less lock mine half the time I park it. It's insured for a boatload and I don't live in the worst part of Indiana. I'm probably jinxing myself and it won't be where I left it when I leave work in an hour, but I don't typically worry about someone taking it.
Granted, I don't leave valuables in it and I hide/take the steering wheel. I also don't park next to other cars if I can avoid it...more so for door dings than disappearing Porsches.

This thread is definitely helping me remember how bad I really don't have it.
And I'm glad we're all able to do some good for the community, and not just me.

Man, I'd spill blood for a Chalk 992 to daily. (Presently Kelly is resolutely against me spilling blood to achieve my goals, so I'm just saving and generally trying to get my life in order.)
In all honesty, a modern Porsche to complement the SC is the ideal situation. One gets boring, or insolent, just drive the other.

Dang it, Tony. That damned 33 day engine build has made me more of a legend than I deserve.
If I double down, and then again, this car will be wholly ridiculous and I won't be able to sell it for fear of Kelly killing me in my sleep.

I've aged into a heaping helping of tendinitis, but no sciatica yet. I'll take the ol' bucket for a rip after work and see if it can still get my pulse up and pull at a smile.

AMEN.
The at-large aircooled community is far and away the best car-community I've ever been apart of. Absolutely unmatched.

I'll suggest a slightly different route:

1. Keep it AND buy a Miata. A Miata is about as fun to drive as any car out there, and they are cheap to keep and brick-reliable. After year, if you still can't sell the 911, then sell the Miata. Or vice versa.

2. Lower your expectations for what the car should be. I hit stopping points in my 1973T 30-year project too. Like you, there's not a part on my car that my hands haven't touched. That makes it MINE. I finally decided not to make it perfect, just to get it reasonably reliable and drive the snot out of it. That's where I am. I fix or improve things when I want to, not because I feel I have to. That makes it more enjoyable.

Reminds me of a riposte to the the "glass half full or half empty" argument: Neither. The glass is twice as big as it needs to be!

I have owned five NA Miatas. Best bang for the buck sports car out there. The early ones are actually starting to creep up in value now especially with low miles. There are not many with low miles because they rarely break and are so fun to drive. Best shifter Ive ever used, I prefer it to the 997 and thats saying something. As Pete says parts are cheap and you can do it all yourself. Tons of aftermarket support so you can mod to your hearts content. I did Spec Miata racing for a couple of years so there’s that if you want it. Taught all three of my kids to shift in them.

Also owned Corvettes. For me the 911 is the sweet spot between Miatas (no horsepower) and Corvettes (plenty).

I like Petes idea. Buy an old Miata with 100,000 miles on it and thrash that thing around for a year. You might decide you like driving more and fixing less.

Miata's handle pretty good and they are (or were) cheap. They're easy to work on and the parts are cheap. That's about it. No comparison to an old 911 (car or community). I owned both a street NA and a built NB racecar. Despite spending a bunch of time building and optimizing them I don't think I kept either for more than a year, and I keep my cars forever.

This thread inspired me to finally do my plugs and now my car is idling/running rough. However, it's my fault messing with a winning combination and switching to a hotter plug with a smaller gap.

Old car *****.

That's funny. We have one about 7 miles away and it's actually really good. Problem is weekends get us Tourists and Cyclists thinking it's the Tour de France. I only hit 4th here once.

When it is no longer driven enough.

There is a ubiquity to this gas station conversation:

Stranger: Hey I like your car. What year is it?
Me: It's an '82.
Stranger: Launches into his life story about the day he sold his (911 of some vintage) and always wishes he would have kept it.

^^ don't be that guy :D

I love this thread.

Can't beat experience. I know there are so many of you here that have been into the Porsche game for decades and it's so helpful to hear your thoughts on this matter.

Chris, there's probably a reason why you hem and haw over selling the LBDC far more than any other car you've owned. It is/was the pinnacle of car ownership for us at some point in our lives but at some point, we've also realized that old ass cars have limitations. They can't/won't be the same as something newer and that's part of the charm.

I'll 100% support whatever decision you come to. I do think we should get your trans fixed first though since that's a major pain point. The Cayman/997.2 will always be there as a fallback if/when you decide to take that plunge.

Damn skippy we would !!!! And I totally agree regarding the aircooled community...I've been a part of several groups, over the years, and THIS group, by and large, are a great group to be a part of..........