David in LA

Aww man...if you've never been to Vegas you have to go for at least 24-36 hours! Even if you aren't a gambler, great restaurants, golf and shows.

For instruction on how to DIY the belts, check out p-car.com and print the write-up, plus whatever one you may think useful. I second the suggestion of getting the triple square as most non-porsche dealers/repair shops will not have one of these...get it from your local Porsche dealer although it might have to be a special order. I also agree that now would be a good time to invest in some decent tools (say Craftsman) and bring some along...Jeff 993TT has previously posted his suggestion for a toolkit...I think it is also posted on P-car.com.

Have a safe trip and good luck (if you decide to go to Vegas)

Agro1

I would highly suggest you install Invinca-Shield to the front end before the trip. 3000 highway miles is like a shotgun blast to the nose of your car. The seller of my car had the front bumper sprayed so it is in perfect condition and I wanted to make sure it stays that way. I had the Invinca-Shield kit waiting in the garage when I brought it home. The install was very easy and took about an hour. You just have to be very patient and go slow when putting it on. After 10 days on the road you will be happy you spent the hour putting it on...

Derrick B.

Cool girlfriend! Hope you have a great trip.

lexpilot

Ten days is adequate time, especially because you are using the freeways. As i mentioned prior I highly recommend you get the book "Road Trip USA" by Jamie Jensen. Your copilot will really appreciate it because you will be able to do some side trips using Road Trip as your guide and time allows.
In a 993 you might consider something to reduce the drone/noise for the extended freeway time you have. If you have a portable cd player you can hook up conventional over-the-ear headphones using an adaptor. Radio Shack has the power cord splitter so you can run a radar detector at the same time. Cumbersome, but you've got about 75+ hours of seat time and the drone at the end of each day will be tiresome.

nman413

Good call on the Invinca-shield thing. I would be happy to help install it if you want. Just buy it off the invinca-shield site and use the discount coupon.

ed devinney

Looks like you have most of the bases covered by now. With any luck you could meet up with Rennlisters, or at least get some names and phone #s in case you run into a spot of trouble on the road.

Depending on how serious a gf and if you want even more memorable, consider getting married while you're in Reno - I've done it a couple of times at this point, always great fun :-)

(ok, marriage in LV, vows renewal in Reno...)

Sachin Misra

Awesome. I've been wanting to the same in my supercharged Arena Red C4S. I'll live vicariously through you. Let me know when you are Chicago and hopefully some of us Chicago guys can meet up with you.

Pete in DC

Pack the new Prince cd, Musicology!

I'm jealous; just shipped my new wheels from near-SF. But it's a lumbering G-Wagen, so it would've taken me 20 days.

hatchy

Consider getting XM radio; maybe have the current owner get it and just pay him back. I always bring my laptop on my trips, with a wireless GRPS card and a GPS receiver. It allows me to get online to look up stuff, book hotels, find restaurants, and also works as a GPS incase I get lost. Yeah, I'm a geek

Sweat pants for the long drives.

adsc4s

Make sure you have the wheel lock key and you will probably want to torque the nuts and getting an alignment prior to leaving might help. Have fun!

lexpilot

changed our route so we could see some national parks and national monuments. I can fly to SFO and Chicago anytime and actually have a better time because I don't have to worry about parking my car. We've had more fun in the big cities flying with another couple and using Grayline, taxis, limos, light rail, etc., anyway.
I think you are missing an opportunity by not planning to go to a couple of sights that are driving destinations. I would cut back SFO to one night only and Chicago to one night only. Then add in Mesa Verde, Arches, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, maybe a raft trip near Vail, etc. because you may never get another chance to do a driving trip like this.
Sorry, but my conscience was bothering me enough that I had to try to get you out of the cities and off the interstate.
Have a great time no matter what you decide.

kkim

Arrwin-

Congrats on finding your car! I've kept an eye on your posts to hopefully see one like this from you. I too had never done anything like this by flying out to pick up a car and driving it back. Leave it to this forum to broaden one's horizons and shrink their wallets at the same time.

I think others have given you some very good advice so far, but I would like to pass on what I learned from my relatively short 500 mile trip from Phoenix to Long Beach when I bought mine.

You are indeed lucky to have your GF along, believe it or not, to share and enrichen the experience. I was indeed excited about buying my car and driving it home, but I learned that the greater gift was the time shared with someone who you love. Make sure that in planning your trip you include places and things she would like to see and do as well.

Prepare well, take lots of pictures and have the best trip you can. Hope to see reports along the way, if you can find the time, but if not we'll all be waiting to see pics once you get your car back home.

Enjoy... and change your signature!

Arrwin

Thank you everyone for their best wishes. I am really looking forward to this great adventure and experience. Getting a Porsche has not entirely hit me yet and everyone has been suprised how I can keep my excitement in check. I'm sure once I land i'll be jumping off the walls!

All your suggestions have been great and they are truly appreciated. I hope to meet some of the great people here along our journey and put a face to the car. The seller has assured me that the spare, the air compressor, wheel lock were all in place. He even included a bottle of Mobil 1 in the trunk! I owe you one P.

I think we will look into cutting down the days for Chicago (the rooms in SF have already been booked) and you're right, we should be spending some more time @ driving destination sights. Where exactly is Mesa Verde, Arches, Black Canyon of the Gunnison?

Arrwin

Thanks Kelly! This definitely tops the list of one of the "craziest" things i've done. Driving cross-country that is! See...i'm Chinese and my parents (being pretty traditional and well...Chinese) and friends (those who don't understand our passion) think i'm nuts. I'm glad we're in a "safe haven" here.

'Aint that the truth!!

You are absolutely right....I am very lucky. She understands my (our) addiction to these wonderful cars and she is completely supportive of it. I definitely want her to be a part of this and make it special for her as well.

Arrwin

Hi Jauder,

Thanks for the gracious offer! I was browsing the Invinca-shield site and was looking at the 993 C4S kit. Which kit would you recommend? Would the hood be adequate enough?

Would you have any pics I can see?

Thanks again!!