Ucube

Great pics, thanks for sharing. Dan, is that a Ruf CTR3 I see in your group?

Edgy01

That is a RUF 3400K (Cayman S with blower). Joe is old friends with Alois so his was one of the first kits.

mickfluff

First thought when I saw this pic was the same........thought it was a Ct3 as well but saw the reply below after.... still rare RUF car....very cool to have seen that car in person IMO as quite rare.

Nice shots and great group of cars.... thanks for sharing....

997, esq

Great pics. It was an awesome skiing season this year in Mammoth -- I haven't been up in a couple of weeks. Crazy that there is still so much snow around. There is a pretty huge CHP presence, however, at least during the winter months. Imagine everyone had to watch their speed.

1BlinkGone

HWY 395 is indeed HEAVILY patrolled by the CHP. Be very careful, especially say, Big Pine up through Mammoth and Bridgeport. (Even as far south as Independence) They don't give any ANY wiggle room for speeding on that hwy, and they WILL write you up, or at least pull you over, for 56 in a 55 zone, and I don't care if you're driving a Porsche or a Ford Taurus.

They are very, VERY strict on that stretch of HWY. Usually LE will give you a 10-15 buffer on hwys.... not on this stretch.

Edgy01

Yes, I'm very careful on 395. Know it well from many skiing trips to Mammoth. Unfortunately, a group of our party didn't understand that sage advice and they 'tripped the light fantastic' and managed to get themselves pulled over enmass by the local CHP near the Sonora Pass.

Here's a couple shots of that Ruf car when it finally arrived in the USA. Joe and I picked up our cars a day apart in Zuffenhausen--and it was months before he got it back here to use

OldGuy

Nice pics Dan. The pic of the Snow all the way to the top of the Run sign says ALOT about snow pack.

As far as 395 goes it is heavily patrolled on weekends and there are lots of cops. But youre not going to be pulled over for 56 since the speed limit is 65. AND most of the time if you are running 72-75 you will be running with traffic and have no problems. IF you stick OUT and you are passing a bunch, and going in and out of traffic or speeding through Olancha, Lone Pine, Independence, Big Pine Or Bishop you are asking for it. Typically I see people passing me in the 45 mile stretch between the 14-395 interchange I will see them pulled over by CHP before Lone Pine. But its alot EASIER to be patient now because its 4 lanes from 14-395 to just before Olancha. Then its 2 lanes till outside Cartago but then 4 lanes all the way to Lone pine. Then 4 lanes from there to the 203 exit at Mammoth. So you just have to be patient. I could see led footing it before when it was 2 lanes from Olancha to just outside Big Pine. But thats all changed. No reason to hot rod unless you WANT a ticket.
Nice drive though, its 180 miles from my house to my condo.

1BlinkGone

Old Guy-

Have they indeed raised the SpeedLimit on HWY 395? For years it's been 55 mph (and quite a pain in the backside to drive it...). Now, I have not been over there in 10 years ( my folks used to live in the Bishop/Big Pine area); but at that time it was 55, and YES, they would pull you over for 56 MPH in a 55 zone... without fail. You could expect it. Just ruthless CHP enforcement with ZERO wiggle room. I drove that route many many times and the 55mph limit was excruciating considering the drive and the road quality....

997, esq

Old Guy is right. I think 75 is a pretty safe speed in terms of not getting a ticket. The CHP enforcement is absurd. The State needs revenue and the cops know that almost no one they pull over will come up to Bishop or Independence to challenge tickets. If you go 80 (which really isn't that fast considering the road) you will get a ticket.

todd.

What color is the Ruf?

Edgy01

Here's what we found out. The CHP will pretty much leave you alone if going 75--it is marked for 65mph for the most part. The improvements to 395 can't be stressed enough. It was really bad in the 1960s and 70s when it was often one lane in each direction and you had to sit and sit behind big rigs heading for Nevada. Most of the route is divided highway.

Joe's 3400K Ruf was a white body Cayman S that went to Pfaffenhausen within a day or two of it's Zuffenhausen delivery--Alois Ruf painted it to Joe's direction--he and his wife arrived at the mix and it is called "Azzurro Santa Barbara!" (He decided to have Ruf paint it when he saw what a time I had getting Porsche AG to paint my P.T.S. color.)

todd.

Joe has a good eye, that a gorgeous color, as is yours.

DMoore

CHP will cut you some slack on 395 - up to a point. On my last trip to Mammoth a couple of weeks ago I saw a cruiser just north of the Coso Junction turnoff. I saw him a ways off, so had slowed to 75 by the time I went by him. He lit me up, but when I stopped he said I was going "a little fast" but he did NOT stop me for speed, he stopped me for no front plate on my S4 Avant. No ticket was written, he just told me to take care of it and "back off a little." He must have been having a slow day.

I have met a fair number of CHP officers on 395 in the last 40 years and since the 55 mph national speed limit was repealed years ago, I've NEVER been stopped if I was doing 75 or less. Above that enforcement tightens up a bit, although my sister talked her way out of a ticket for 80+ south of Lone Pine. She convinced the officer that her speed in an Audi Avant, with good tires, was SO much safer than the typical SUV with bald and underinflated tires doing 70... She's right, of course, but I'm surprised she pulled it off.

From my experience, as long as you're not doing it in a town you can do 70-75 all day long on 395. But my cars seem to idle faster than that!

DMoore
'09 C2S
'10 P4S (it just replaced the S4 Avant)

1BlinkGone

Like I said, up until about 1995 it was still 55MPH, and it was excruciating to drive 395 because the road was so well done for faster, more conventional hwy speeds. Yes, the CHP did enforce ultra-strictly then, and I know of many locals (including my dad) who got pulled over for 1mph over. I kid you not. 60+ yr old guy (at the time) gets pulled over in a corporate car for doing 56 in a 55. Every time I was over there visiting (which was quite often during '87-'95) I was ultra-careful; and back then I was using a RD that kept me from being the victim of more than one speed trap on that HWY, one they usually setup just south of Bishop. So 55mph must have been repealed what, 10-15 years ago or more now?

Man the color on that RUF is just amazing. Great color.

Edgy01

I endured 395 for many years while under the silly 55 mph rule. It was a CAREER driving to ski from Santa Barbara--nearly 7 hours to go about 380 miles. Now, I do it in about 5.5 hrs and I don't really push it. Usually leave it around 70 mph. Many of those communities built some nice court houses based upon the 55 mph speed law!