93 GTS Road Trip to Maine (long)
12-05-2005 | 08:59 PM
#1
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Racer
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 389
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From: Baxter Tennessee
93 GTS Road Trip to Maine (long)
I just completed a 1700 mile 4 day road trip bringing my 93 home. I flew out to Columbia MO on Thursday of last week to test drive and buy it on Friday morning.
Here's what it looked like when Jason drove up to my hotel.
It had me right there!
I stopped by THE Tire Rack in South Bend IN on Saturday morning and had them install a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S so the Shark would have new shoes.
Got a cool picture from the hotel window Friday night in South Bend:
Later in the day Saturday, 600 miles into my trip:
Klipsch speakers have been a passion of mine since I was a teenager, so since I was passing through Indianapolis, where the Klipsch headquarters are located, I decided to take a few pictures that combine two of my passions.
Got into Pittsburgh late Saturday afternoon with a small vibration that felt like a wheel weight had come off, driving like hell through the hills around Pittsburgh, on the phone with Tire Rack and every shop within 20 miles that was open, had the Road Force balancing system, and had time to do the job! Finally found one and pulled my car into this little hole in the wall joint whose primary business is renting 24" wheel/tire packages to people and then sends a big guy with lots of jewelry out collecting the money each week. They were very accommodating and we found one wheel out of balance, ran smooth as silk after that.
Stayed in a ritzy hotel that night, The Renaissance Hotel Pittsburgh. I had arranged ahead of time with the valet for a special place for the car to be parked. Of course I found a car wash before driving up to the hotel!
Another passion of mine is NFL Football, and my team is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They ended up losing the game to the Bengals, but I had a very good time at the game Sunday anyway. Got on the road at about 6 p.m. and headed out on the worst part of my journey. Night driving on I-80 all the way across PA is no fun, especially when it's a windy night on almost-slick roads. 10 tractor-trailer trucks to every 1 car and no more than 1/2 mile between trucks the whole way. NOT FUN. Pulled into Port Jervis at 12:30, cheap hotel, back on the road at 6:30 a.m., home in Maine at 1:30.
We used 93 gallons of gas to go @1700 miles for 18.25 MPG, and a total cost of $220 for fuel. No warning lights, no mechanical breakdowns.
Only two idiot drivers along the way, AND BOTH WERE IN MAINE!
A few other thoughts and observations: The roughest highways were I-80 in PA and I-84 in PA and NY. The best highways were in NH and ME. Why do some truckers insist on passing other truckers at a rate .0034 miles per hour faster than the other truckers thus taking 16 miles to pass the other trucker? Kokomo is not a tropical retreat. What is the purpose of the arch in St. Louis anyway? . . I don't get it. Little pink houses for you and me . . . and this is a great country, the U.S.A., and there's nothing like a good road trip to really appreciate it.
So I'm very happy to have my new-to-me 93 GTS home. Guards Red, Cashmere, auto, 45K miles.
Some of you may remember that my 89 S4 has been with me for 9 years, and that I had an extensive list of things that I wanted to do to it. Faced with time constraints, tool constraints, space constraints, and a lack of resources here in Maine, I really felt that finding a low-mileage GTS was going to be the better option to restoration. So far, I think I'm right. This GTS is the answer to so many of the things on my list for my 89, and at the same time, it is so much like my 89 that I feel right at home with it. We've only spent 4 days and 1700 miles together, but I feel like it's a good fit.
Here's what it looked like when Jason drove up to my hotel.
It had me right there!
I stopped by THE Tire Rack in South Bend IN on Saturday morning and had them install a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S so the Shark would have new shoes.
Got a cool picture from the hotel window Friday night in South Bend:
Later in the day Saturday, 600 miles into my trip:
Klipsch speakers have been a passion of mine since I was a teenager, so since I was passing through Indianapolis, where the Klipsch headquarters are located, I decided to take a few pictures that combine two of my passions.
Got into Pittsburgh late Saturday afternoon with a small vibration that felt like a wheel weight had come off, driving like hell through the hills around Pittsburgh, on the phone with Tire Rack and every shop within 20 miles that was open, had the Road Force balancing system, and had time to do the job! Finally found one and pulled my car into this little hole in the wall joint whose primary business is renting 24" wheel/tire packages to people and then sends a big guy with lots of jewelry out collecting the money each week. They were very accommodating and we found one wheel out of balance, ran smooth as silk after that.
Stayed in a ritzy hotel that night, The Renaissance Hotel Pittsburgh. I had arranged ahead of time with the valet for a special place for the car to be parked. Of course I found a car wash before driving up to the hotel!
Another passion of mine is NFL Football, and my team is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They ended up losing the game to the Bengals, but I had a very good time at the game Sunday anyway. Got on the road at about 6 p.m. and headed out on the worst part of my journey. Night driving on I-80 all the way across PA is no fun, especially when it's a windy night on almost-slick roads. 10 tractor-trailer trucks to every 1 car and no more than 1/2 mile between trucks the whole way. NOT FUN. Pulled into Port Jervis at 12:30, cheap hotel, back on the road at 6:30 a.m., home in Maine at 1:30.
We used 93 gallons of gas to go @1700 miles for 18.25 MPG, and a total cost of $220 for fuel. No warning lights, no mechanical breakdowns.
Only two idiot drivers along the way, AND BOTH WERE IN MAINE!
A few other thoughts and observations: The roughest highways were I-80 in PA and I-84 in PA and NY. The best highways were in NH and ME. Why do some truckers insist on passing other truckers at a rate .0034 miles per hour faster than the other truckers thus taking 16 miles to pass the other trucker? Kokomo is not a tropical retreat. What is the purpose of the arch in St. Louis anyway? . . I don't get it. Little pink houses for you and me . . . and this is a great country, the U.S.A., and there's nothing like a good road trip to really appreciate it.
So I'm very happy to have my new-to-me 93 GTS home. Guards Red, Cashmere, auto, 45K miles.
Some of you may remember that my 89 S4 has been with me for 9 years, and that I had an extensive list of things that I wanted to do to it. Faced with time constraints, tool constraints, space constraints, and a lack of resources here in Maine, I really felt that finding a low-mileage GTS was going to be the better option to restoration. So far, I think I'm right. This GTS is the answer to so many of the things on my list for my 89, and at the same time, it is so much like my 89 that I feel right at home with it. We've only spent 4 days and 1700 miles together, but I feel like it's a good fit.
12-05-2005 | 10:51 PM
#3
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From: Kihei, Hawaii
Greg, cool trip. There's nothing like a great road trip. I just got back from a 450 mile trip this weekend, new motor mounts and all. North Carolina roads are terrible, but as soon as I got back into Virginia, the secondary roads were just smooth as glass.
12-06-2005 | 12:13 AM
#5
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,350
Likes: 2
From: Middle Missouri
Glad the trip went fine!! You truely have one of the best GTS's I have ever seen, and it took me 6 months to find that one! I know you'll treat her right and I enjoy the fact that a fellow Rennlister now owns the Factory Exclusive Programme Multiple Car Show Winning Ex Stan Pedergraft 93 GTS. It might be a one of a kind.
Enjoy and feel free to call anytime, Thanks again.
Jason
(looking for the replacement)
Enjoy and feel free to call anytime, Thanks again.
Jason
(looking for the replacement)
12-06-2005 | 02:38 AM
#6
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 18,648
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From: Buckeye, AZ
"Why do some truckers insist on passing other truckers at a rate .0034 miles per hour faster than the other truckers thus taking 16 miles to pass the other trucker? Kokomo is not a tropical retreat. What is the purpose of the arch in St. Louis anyway? . . I don't get it. Little pink houses for you and me . . . and this is a great country, the U.S.A., and there's nothing like a good road trip to really appreciate it."
Nice buy. Great report. The quote above got me chuckling pretty good.
Congrats on the purchase and the fine getting acquainted trip.
Nice buy. Great report. The quote above got me chuckling pretty good.
Congrats on the purchase and the fine getting acquainted trip.
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(inside joke for all you non-Klipschers.)
12-06-2005 | 09:57 PM
#15
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 389
Likes: 2
From: Baxter Tennessee
Thanks everyone.
Yes, it was Stan Pendergraft's car up until May of this year when Jason bought it.
Stan always said it was Indischot sp? or Indian Red, but there's a sticker on the door stile that says it's Guards Red and it looks exactly like my 89 GR. He also said it was a special Porsche programme car, but have yet to see any documentation to that affect. The only thing I see that is a little unusual is the black piping and embossed Porsche logos on the cashmere seats. As I understand it, the piping and the embossed logos were options for anyone who wanted to pay for them.
It doesn't need to be a special color or a special programme car anyway, it's special to me because it's in my garage! This car is the most enjoyable car I've ever brought to a car wash. Awesome deep red paint and almost perfect condition. Truly amazing for the age. The entertainment value is worth a few extra quarters.
Yes, it was Stan Pendergraft's car up until May of this year when Jason bought it.
Stan always said it was Indischot sp? or Indian Red, but there's a sticker on the door stile that says it's Guards Red and it looks exactly like my 89 GR. He also said it was a special Porsche programme car, but have yet to see any documentation to that affect. The only thing I see that is a little unusual is the black piping and embossed Porsche logos on the cashmere seats. As I understand it, the piping and the embossed logos were options for anyone who wanted to pay for them.
It doesn't need to be a special color or a special programme car anyway, it's special to me because it's in my garage! This car is the most enjoyable car I've ever brought to a car wash. Awesome deep red paint and almost perfect condition. Truly amazing for the age. The entertainment value is worth a few extra quarters.