I’m lucky , here in San Diego county we have some of the best air cooled shops in the world. But so expensive !!

I hadn't been following this thread and just popped in to find that it wasn't about what I was expecting.

Five years or so ago I experienced a seized caliper when I was driving through Nashville on my way to Atlanta and needed an emergency rebuild done ASAP. Someone recommended Lawrie Wicky to me and he was great. I'm glad there are still Porsche guys like that around, even if there may not be as many as there used to be.

The name is actually Wickie Lawrie. He serviced my SC several years ago prior to my out of state purchase. He is the best!

Fascinating thread. Like the turn it took.

“The mechanic situation is a bit of a bummer” is generally the sentence that follows “love this car, the hobby and the community”. Been mostly had by the old guys for one reason or another but I’m sure a young’n would have gotten me too as I had puddles behind my ears.

Little better at spotting the wolves (and sheep) in sheep’s clothing now, but the good old timer I found my way to has his OG crew of customers that he lavishes on, and who keep his air cooled flame burning. The rest of us keep the lights on. That said, it’s probably healthy to pull up in one of these cool old cars, and have to leave your pride at the door.

Did have the pleasure of having Tyson Schmidt look over a few things a couple of years ago when I was mid road-trip and that was an enjoyable time. Did great work, and did it so quickly that he’d crack a couple of beers with a total stranger and shoot the breeze. Loved that.

Ps. I resent the assertion that SCs are lead sleds. Only way to definitively settle it is to get an F-body car and move to CA where someone can work on the MFI

Air cooled Porsche values changing? Next thing you know, someone will claim that the global average temperature is changing!!
Over the past 10 (or more) years, I have had Porsche "flippers" tell me that the vintage Porsche value "bubble" is way overdue to break. They want to buy my old Porsches before the bottom falls out of the market. What nice, generous strangers. Altruism at it's finest!
Buy the best car your budget will allow. DRIVE it. ENJOY it. SHARE it with a younger enthusiast. Pass along personal stories and the lore that make the marque special to you. Do as much "hands on" as you can, even if it's just washing and detailing. The more you involve yourself, the more you will enjoy the hobby.
Nuff said.

Wise words.

THIS!!!
Especially the part about resenting SCs being called "lead sleds". I've owned a 997, 993 and a 964. I much prefer my current SC to all these!

Same here. Values for most of my cars are up 500-1000% since I purchased them and have no interest in selling. I have full access to a local dealership my son works for but I do all my work myself as it is half the fun of ownership. I won't sell and one day my son will be their caretaker. I am teaching him what I know. The last disciple I had is now working at Ryan Friedman I hope it is going well for him.

There are young 20 somethings getting heavily into these older cars. The question is money and some of them are doing quite well for themselves at an early age. This is now more a rich mans hobby than the DIYer shade tree mechanics like myself. Although they are learning first hand what a downturn economy can do and how bad things can be after living most of their lives with a strong economy. I guess we will see what tomorrow brings but I don't see this being any less a thing than it has been these last 20 years of growing into what it has become.

Our bigger concern is fuel and if some have their way we will be seeing stupid high pricing for gasoline and that in itself can keep people away. I guess we will see and if Porsche's Bio-gas will bring us some relief for the future.

SC over a 3.2 myself I owned a few and they can be quite quick but can never come close to well setup 964. Sorry. My 71E ate SC's for breakfast but not a stable car at speed.

More millionaires have been made in the last hundred years coming out of a bottom than are made as it approaches the top. It’s the boomers on fixed incomes who were hurt most by the recent price gouging inflation of what happened as Covid ended.

If Porsche did nothing else today, I think the brand equity would carry desirability of these cars for decades and generations to come. Young cool people will want to own old cool Porsches. It's a little more posy / sceney in that way, and I must admit that it grinds on me a little. Remarked to my wife after Checked it Out here in Chicago that I walk away from that feeling a little less in love. I think that says more about me and some personality flaws (e.g. being in a foreign city and hating on tourists as a tourist is a good analog).

The fuel situation will change the hobby for sure. I know that's trite to say but I think impact won't be binary. Those that can afford the rare birds, will pay $20+ a gallon to give them wings. There will be rallies and track clubs. I don't think an SC will ever justify the expense or get the invite, and so they will probably go by the way side.

Tell me about it. I am retired for over 10 years now on a fixed income. At 62 I have a long way to go if my health allows. Housing prices by me are through the roof over double pre covid pricing all being purchased by cash buyers. I am most worried if my taxes will go up. Some of the homes purchased torn down and rebuilt by me are carrying $60k or more in property taxes a year vs their prior $16k. That is insane and I suspect they will reevaluate everyone soon enough as they can't pass a budget due to poor planning decade's ago.

Food and paper products have gotten out of control as well. What was $600 a month in basic supplies is nearly double that today. Everything cuts into the Porsche habit.:eek:

I would venture that quite a few of the Fixed income Boomers also benefited from the Market run up as well as the increase of fixed assets.

I'm a 3.2L man (motronic)..... 964s I find too refined for my taste.... I do like the Euro RS variety.

I don't like the term "boomers" because it's too charged and angry. There's no question that the 50-60+ have been the greatest beneficiary of the wealth effect of low/no rates and prior to that, the longest bull run in history. It's the capital class that does well there, and those individuals are the largest capital class. If you bought a house in Paddington in Sydney, Australia for 200k in 1990 and sold if for $14mm in 2023 you can buy a lot of Porsches. That dynamic exists in a lot of major cities around the world. Those on fixed income retirements are in a similar boat to those on salaries (both are earning a cash return on their capital, both actual and human). Not a good situation for anyone. Young folks will need to work out their housing before they can buy a porsche or pay $25 a gallon for fuel.

Interesting discussion.

I don’t charge the term “boomer” with anything when I use it. Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Zs are just terms to describe the currently living generations.

All good Matt. Didn’t think you did and I’m with you on that. More of a general comment about how those words are being weaponized and didn’t want someone to pop up and start bashing boomers, millennials and wokeness etc.

I hear this argument from my kids. How hard they and their friends have it now in comparison to us boomers, then.

I don't remember having it easy after I was on my own. I remember the Viet Nam War and having #52 in the Draft lottery. I remember food stamps when I was an idiot hippie in Florida. I remember putting 3 engines in my rusty VW Beetle because I couldn't afford another car.

I vividly remember being broke with 3 young kids and unemployed. I remember not being able to afford a house, so I concocted a plan to buy some cheap land and build it myself. I remember buying used cars from 'friends', who overcharged me.

My wife and I have come a long way over the last 40 years, as have our assets. That house I built is about to be sold. We'll make some good money on it, but I built it in 1978. We also saved, lived below our means and invested regularly. We had some good and bad luck along the way. ***** happens.

We pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps.

I tell my kids I'm here for them, always, but not surprisingly, they're figuring it out on their own. Wonder where they got that from? ;)

No worries. I didn’t take it the wrong way (thus why I didn’t quote you) and was trying to make an affirmative comment about the term. As a Gen Xer, I don’t think I’ve ever made the derogatory “ok boomer “ dig. I’m easing into middle age gracefully, while watching my father get downright old.

Inspirational…. My kids are also out on their own…. My son is a young teacher so he is still wobbling a bit… as a parent it is a great feeling.

The world is still in the turbulence of a pandemic. IMO, it will take two more years for stability to reappear.

My kids come to my shop and work and have for years. I started working at age 9 and never stopped. I tell them there will always be someone smarter, better looking, friends with the boss, better school, etc at a job, but if you know how to work you are already ahead of them all. Knowing how to show up and work is invaluable.

---Adam


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Some of the kids got started really young:

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Absolutely. I would bring my boys into the bathroom when I was fixing or replacing a toilet. Have them "help" me change the oil or repair the deck. My father never did that stuff.

Son #1 installed a Bilco door last week and rebuilt his back deck. Son #2 installed a new dishwasher himself a month ago.

My daughter brings out her NY 'tude when she needs it and is happy to have it, even though she's pretty chill living out in CO near Matt. Living in my house growing up had other advantages too!;)

My kid, at 11, is in the third year of running an egg business. We’ve got 32 hens and at this point I’ve transitioned her to doing everything. Feed, water, clean up, egg gathering, etc. we’ve recently reached the point where she can also be primary caregiver when one gets sick. We sell eggs for $5/dozen. I split it with her evenly to cover feed and “rents”. Revenues are about $60/week.

This is awesome! So many valuable lessons. Responsibilty, budgeting, care and feeding, reward.

Personal responsibilty is taught. Good job. This will last her a lifetime.

Yep, all the life lessons. She has hatched and hand raised animals. And today we are having a funeral for her favorite. She was only 5, but she was bred and raised here. I didn’t learn about death until I was 18 and lost my grandfather. She has already experienced a dog, 2 cats and a few birds. She understands death to be part of the cycle of life, a lesson I didn’t learn until well into life.

Kids understand money, when they earn it.

My son wanted to buy one of those 1 wheel things, they are about $750. When he figured out how much work it would take added to his savings he said it wasn't a good buy and spent his money on other stuff. He also buys junk gaming consoles at flea markets and yard sales, gets them working and re-sells them, he is 13 and already hustling!

---Adam

Nice. :cool:

I love a young entrepreneur!

I wasn't born with a silver spoon up my bum, and don't want to say like some here. There was no money given to me from day one, even though the Jewish father had money. That is how it happens and not by choice. When there's no money, a young person will find a way to get some at all odds. That is the entreprenurial spirit, but it isn't taught by a father necessarily. In my experience it came only by a deficit of help, advice or money -- only hunger and ambition. Maybe that was the lesson I learned from my father i.e. I give you nothing period.

Not many on Pelican are silver spooned…. Most here have done it on their own or from meager beginnings.

Sorry to hear your father was so disappointing.

That sucks.

I hope your weren't referring to me as silver spooned. The late great Dr. Wright made a tremendous amount of money, and managed to spend it all, down the last dollar. When he died I inherited his Craftsman Double Stack, still have it, far right of the picture.

---Adam
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Yes it does. Quick story to make the point, 24 years ago came home, jumped into his car to drive to Vegas see my HS best friend Dan MaHoney (car dealer). An hour out of Tonopah due to jet lag fell asleep, crossed the line and then woke up pulled out slowly but, took out the whole side of father's pontiac AND the suspension of a fully loaded 18 wheeler. Both went to the scrapyard. 6 inches to the left and I wouldn't be alive now.

I've posted pics of this accident years ago talking with M2 who had a similar accident in the Sierra Nevada Mountains so not to repeat it. My point about the father is this -- a few years later on a trip home he say -- you cost us 12K! I say bullsh-t you got 5-6K blue book pay out on insurance!! He say yeah but we didn't want to buy an older car with higher milage etc. Then he say AND you never replaced My Eddie Bauer Jeans!!

Those were the ones I borrowd from him on the trip to Vegas or OC CA where I never made it to. Those were the ones they cut off of me in the emergency room in a Tonapah hospital. He had the gall to say that to me years later. Yeah, no silver spoon, just born in the USA, me and Bruce the Boss.

Actually Adam, you inherited more than that tool box, but the drive to make it on your own, and to be able to say that "You built that" . Growing up, I had to fund my BMX bikes, skateboards, and surfboards . I learned how to wheel and deal at a very early age.
Kids today don't understand picking deposit bottles and cashing them in at 7/11, dragging a lawn mower and gallon of gas around the neighborhood to earn money.

Lovin' it. Still have my Craftsman tools I use everyday, but I have a penchant for S-K and USAG that goes into the mixture. Nice stacks though.

That's because they're busy building drop ship retail web stores, getting paid affiliate links, investing in tech stocks and crypto, and getting paid adverts on their social media platforms.

Ironically, that is why basic skills are falling off.

The Ferrari box is USAG. Came out of Ferrari of Manhattan. Far right of pic.

---Adam
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I spent three days two weeks ago at Watkins Glen with my son and his two friends all 25. His one friend works for a formula ford team and the other is just into cars. They have the drive to work on their cars and IMO spent way to much time working and not enough time enjoying t he social aspect. So I jumped in to give them some, as my son says life experience. It was nice to be appreciated and they later asked if they could pay me for my knowledge as they wanted to understand what I know. I thanked them and told them they are on the right path and that what I know takes a lifetime to learn.

They reminded me of myself at that age when all I had was a Chilton's manual and nobody to help. My father (RIP) couldn't screw a light bulb into a socket but at the age of 17 I was restoring 911's. They say it skips generations. My son is not as anxious to jump in and do the work like me he isn't my father but knows how to work the system to his behalf. Although when I am not around he helps his friends with their cars on my lift. I have no doubt he wants that feeling of doing it himself without me being "Judgemental". In reality my experience tells me when impending doom or mistakes are about to be made so I try to help but he is as stubborn as his old man and wants to learn for himself even if it costs him. At 25 he is making stupid money working for Porsche so it is easier for him to sub the work out but the best times are spent working with him on his car toys. I will be back at the Glen this next weekend with him and watching him drive is a thing of beauty. Fast smooth and safe.

Adam I think that most parents don't encourage or guide their children to learn simple tasks or trades. I guess in this disposable world not many know themselves, so the problem continues to grow. I tired to show my son what I could, he listened and I know he has the skillset but not as motivated to get dirty and break his back doing it like me. It is cool to see your daughters getting down and dirty working on cars. I see more and more young ladies and older ones driving and even working on cars. Funny my friends call me a hoarder. LOL

Maybe there is still hope for this world.

I guess this has something to do with future values of the air-cooled. :confused:

At least you inherited something nice! Is that the end of the list? My grandfolks fled the Ukraine 100 years ago on the last Russian invasion. They had a family milk farm in Herschel Saskatchewan Canada. I inherited nothing! either side. My first bicycle Shwinn 10 speed age 9 bought myself $100 from aluminum beer cans dumpster diving Saturday Sunday mornings for ages back alley of main street Nevada small town casinos. Are you saying you didn't have a head start? :)

Second thought, my grandpa Plett gave me a bone handled hunting knife and an old 22 calibar rifle as a young child on a visit to Canada with the family. Made it home USA with the knife, US customs confiscated the rifle, so I lost that.

Bernie,

I am curious as to why you feel the need to pursue this. Why can't you contribute w/o turning it into a negative?

Yes, I was given a spoon....

I am in a fifth-generation business bravely founded in an immigrant's grocery store. I can assure you in my forty years working here I have made contributions that have positively altered the organization and have certainly bettered my family. These accomplishments are recognized as mine. This does not diminish the foundation laid for me by both sacrifices and investments of my Father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather.

I have been here for a while and for the most part I have found it to be a humble community. A community that shares what it is proud of.... businesses, families and Porsche's.