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Anyone here thinking about attending the Helen, GA 944 Meet? I have an extra room secured at the Quality Inn if somebody wants it. PM me and I'll transfer the room to your name. The cost for two nights = $376.73, about half of what the room rates are now (I booked this room back in February).
Here at 924S944.com we have been members of the Porsche Club of America since 1998 – twenty-three years. We have never been too excited about attending the annual Porsche Parade – PCA’s version of an annual convention. Owning 944’s and 924S’s, we felt that we would be a bit “out of place” with our cars at such a prestigious event such as Parade. But with the resurgence of the popularity of our cars, we decided to take the plunge and register for the annual Porsche Parade in the Poconos coming in June 2022.
Some will say that Porsche Parade is the ultimate in Porsche Snobbery, and that might be true to some extent. However, we have found that by putting ourselves in the middle of the “punkin’ patch,” we get a great reception with a lot of respect. So now it’s time to test this theory.
We have four major events in the first half of the year. We will be on the judged field for thePorsche Werks Reunion at the Amelia Island Concours on Friday, March 4, and then on the concours field for Cars and Community (formerly Cars and Coffee) on Saturday, March 5.
Next we will take a trailer full of parts and pieces to the Porsche-Only Swap Meet at Carlisle, Pennsylvania on April 30. Should be fun, and maybe get rid of some extra stuff we have lying around. How many intake manifolds and passenger seats do you really need?
Later in the year is 944Fest – date to be announced, and the Appalachian Adventure in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. This event is always quite fun with some great people from the Porsche Club, Appalachian Region.
The best part of these trips and events is the comments from those attending with their 911’s, Boxsters and Caymans…and the admiration and memories that our cars bring to the table. Many talk of their 944 or 924S, how much fun they had with them, and how they wish that they had never sold them.
Don’t fret, though…we will do our best to put our car in the middle of all the “real Porsches” and ruin their photos!
I'm unaware of the Poconos Meet but a few of us will meet in Helen, GA on Friday, June 3rd, followed by a nice run in the Blue Ridge Mtns on Saturday, and end up at 944 Barn (Elliott Grafton) to discuss cars, pick at some used parts and have lunch. It's a really great time - worth the 16 hour road trip from up here in Massachusetts.
So, I have an extra hotel room (Quality Inn) in Helen if someone wants it. Otherwise, I will be canceling that reservation by this weekend. Please PM me if interested.
Well was not able to make that event or others until I get a few things in order. Ill say this it did happen not unless someone provides pic and proves it to me!!
It did happen! I left @2:30am last Thursday in order to meet a couple of guys in Danbury, CT at 6am.
Unfortunately, only one of the cars (Red 86) could make the trip that day.
The drive to Charlotte, NC took around 11 hours, followed by some great seafood for dinner. I think there were 6 944's that converged Friday for the drive down to Helen; we met at a Love's Truck Stop and left @ noon(ish). Sorry that I didn't take too many pictures during the event but I was busy meeting/greeting with other 944 folks...
A few of us stayed at the Quality Inn, located in the center of town.
Saturday morning after breakfast, we all met at a downtown lot; there were 35 cars of all varieties that showed up!
I volunteered to be the "Sweep" vehicle so I managed to only get one shot during/of the run. Hopefully others who participated can post some pics here...
Several (I think eight) vehicles had some sort of issue during the run; a couple required a tow to 944 Barn, where Elliott took the time to help out those in need. Some left the event that evening, others took off Sunday after breakfast. Unfortunately, the Beastie suffered a small, but significant driveline issue on the way back North that put me back a day - I'll post the details later... I would like to thank Brent and Elliott (our hosts) for facilitating this fantastic event. We were all amazed of the turnout, which exceeded everyone's expectations.
So the issue I had during the return trip occurred while down-shifting from 5th to 4th. I'm not sure if I didn't engage the clutch pedal enough but I heard the proverbial grind followed by the shift level going limp (I could actually move the shift level in a circle). After coasting to a stop, I crawled underneath and discovered that the shift rod would slide back and forth on the linkage tube. It appeared that the snap ring popped off its groove and needed to be re-set. I also noticed that one of the CV axle boots was torn to shreds with grease splashed everywhere.
I realized that I could have pushed the snap ring in place and attempted to limp home (almost 900 miles), however; the radio forecasted rain and the last thing I needed was to have an axle seize during the trip. The decision was made to drive the car to the nearest hotel and call AAA; I manually shifted the linkage into 4th (at the transaxle) and limped approximately 17 miles to the hotel.
Brent Burnett (prolific YouTube Channel: EDREDAS) owns a 944 repair shop outside Charlotte, NC and graciously offered to help with the emergency repair. Thank goodness I have AAA Premier as the tow was 230 miles; I just had to cover 30 miles... Once the car was off the tow truck, we wasted no time removing the shift assembly, which revealed a bent snap ring and slightly damaged groove. The ring would not fully seat into the groove so we replaced the entire linkage assembly. We also ended up replacing the shredded rubber boot, which required disassembling that axle end.
I was back on the road around 5:30pm (Monday) and essentially drove straight home; 21 hours plus a 2hr snooze at a truck stop in PA. All in all, it was a great trip. Remember, it's not an adventure unless something breaks... The beastie did, otherwise, perform admirably with no other issues during the 2,600 mile journey. I've already ordered a spare shift assembly this morning, as part of my spares kit, for September's 944Fest/Arctic Ocean Run.
Here's a picture of a spare shift linkage assembly for context - this unit is garbage.
Glad you made it down and back w/o much problem. Pretty cool that Edredas was able to get you back on the road. That must have been cool visiting his shop with your car.
I was there! I was in the white 1980 924. My CV joint blew at the very end of the drive, but thanks to Brent and Elliot I was able to get back on the road. I made the mistake of not bringing tools or spare parts myself, so they really saved me a lot of money and headache! It was an amazing cruise with a great group of people.
I saw you on the side of the road; you were just wrapping up the repair. Glad that you got her rolling again! As for spare parts, I did bring a complement of typical failure-prone items but never thought my shifter linkage would crap out. I purchased a couple from Elliott this week so this won't strand me on the road...
I luck out and made it home that evening and park the car. Following Saturday wife and I had plans to head up North towards Deals Gap but the car did t make it out the drive way.
Clutch pedal lost all pressure glad didnt happen during the meet.
New master and Slave cylinders ordered.
05-14-2022, 07:48 PM
Helen, GA Meet
