Baghorn

My Dad had a Triumph TR3 in college when he met my Mom in the early 1960's. One of his best friends in college had a Porsche 356 Speedster. Porsche was a pretty unknown brand in Texas back at that time and my Dad used to tease his buddy about his German sports car. However, my first Porsche memories started around 1974 with the initial introduction of the Porsche Turbo Carrera. That car got my and my friends 11 year old attention big time as the coolest car around. The era was an interesting time as the American muscle cars was rapidly coming to an end and would be completely over in 1975 with the introduction of mandatory use of unleaded gasoline and catalytic converters. The transition put smaller displacement (especially turbo) european (or european influenced) sports cars into their ascendency. There were not many options during those years...the 930 Turbo Carrera ruled the roost in the mid-later 1970's, the 928 came along as well during that time, and Nissan (then Datsun) scored a huge hit with their 280ZX and then again when they introduced the 280ZX Turbo.

In High School (during the late 1970's and very early 1980's) most of my friends drove older American muscle cars....Hemis, GTO's, Camaros, etc. My school was pretty interesting. One guy had a 1969 GTO Judge and another had a 1960's Jaguar E-Type....very sweet car. There were a bunch of Camaros, Trans Am's, and Z-28's as well. The older models of those cars were quite cheap and affordable then.

I saved up and almost had enough money to buy a 1974 454 Vette...the last year of the big block....but I needed some help from my Dad to put it over the top. In the end, he didn't do it..which possibly allowed me to live beyond my late teens. After my Junior year of college I got him to co-sign for a 1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo....and with 180hp was one of the faster cars of the era...an era where 200hp was seen as big time (sad, right).

A couple of years after graduating from college and getting a little money in my pocket I decided to pick-up my very first Porsche....a 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo. This car was incredible and after having one of the legendary Houston Porsche shops in Houston (Pro-Technik....Sam Shalala) do a chip upgrade on it was a rocket...at least for the late 1980's anyway. While it didn't have much off the line...a Buick Grand National would smoke it at the stop light...it was pretty much world class once running at 50mph or faster. In other words, it was a bad *** on the highway and handled impeccably. In those days the 944 Turbo infringed pretty heavily on the 911's performance turf. They basically represented 2 very different ways to skin a cat but the end result was the cars were very similar in their ultimate performance.

A number of years later I picked up my dream car....a 1995 993 911 Cabriolet Carrera 2. This was the most fun car I had ever owned and was such a pleasure in every respect. The only thing it didn't have was massive torque/stoplight launching speed. It was a fantastic car in every other respect and an almost perfect blend of practical/fun. I decided to give it that one piece it was missing and began the process of having it converted into a RUF BTR Turbo Cab. I had suspension/handling/wheels/tires/brake upgrade half of the conversion done and was awaiting my date with RUF's mechanics who would fly in from Germany to personally do the engine conversion. Tragically, while waiting for that date a massive Tropical Storm parked itself over Houston called Allison. I lived in a high rise and had underground parking. Allison rolled into Houston late on a Friday night and dropped about 39" of rain overnight. The flooding was unreal all over town...there were freeways that were 20' (not inches...but feet) under water the next morning. Sadly, my underground parking garage was also completely underwater as was my beloved 993. This was a heartbreaker.

After recovering from that heartbreaking tragedy....which was a huge kick to the gut...I decided to go in a completely different direction and go after my other childhood dream car....a 427 AC Cobra. So, after doing some serious research I decided to pull the trigger on a Superformance Cobra. I had the big block engine completely custom built and it was a monster. This car was the complete opposite of my 993.....torque for days, mind bending (and axle bending) acceleration, and utterly impractical for anything other than Sunday drives on pretty days. This car had so much power you couldn't really get on it until you were in 3rd gear unless you wanted it to spin on you. Even in 4th gear at 85mph on the highway it could light up the tires. It was an absolute e-ticket ride when you took it out for a drive. However, the problem was that ended up not being very often.

So, after then getting married and having kids and another 10+ years slipping by I decided to get back into a Porsche. That 993 was still on my mind and was still the most fun car I had ever owned. It was fun on the weekend, it was fun going to grocery store, it was even fun when just driving to meetings. It simply had the best balance of performance, practicality, and fun of any car I had experienced.

That led me to pick up a 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet in perfect condition with low mileage. I was impressed with the improvements made since my 1995 993 Cab. The top folded completely away in its own stowage space, it had about 83 more HP, it came standard with the big red brakes that had been so expensive to add to my 993, and it had traction control, PASM, and Sport mode....a whole bunch of cool technology my 993 did not have. All in all a big step forward. It's a couple of hundred pounds heavier...that was to be expected....but otherwise better in every respect.

Living in Houston my 993 would start running very hot in traffic...fine on the highways but needed to be moving to stay cool....the 997.1 (especially after having an upgraded thermometer put on it by my local) runs dead steady at optimal operating temp. The most cool thing is how my little girls (ages 7 & 10) love riding in it. They think it is every bit as much fun as I do....those back seats do actually serve a purpose!

Now, I'm working on trying to talk my Dad (after selling his company for a lot of money) to break down and spend some of it on a new 911 Turbo S. I remember back when he turned 40 in 1982 he took a long look at getting a 911SC....so, I told him it's now or never so why hold back....just do it. In the end there are cars that get you from A to B....then there are cars that get you excited to just jump in them and drive anywhere/anytime. That's why I love my Porsche.

Baghorn

ttt

sclemmons

After 25 years in the BMWCCA, I became dissatisfied with BMW and needed a new car. I found my 997 on Rennlist, and then recently found the Cayenne Diesel. M5 retired happily to California. I hope Porsche can keep the flame alive and not lose it as BMW has.

malahhaor

Bump!!!!

Kineticdg

Great thread to bring back!

I was born with the car bug, the 'book' I 'wrote' in second grade was about drag racers. I fell in love with Lotus after my dad's boss brought his Elan to our house one day, I still remember the Gold Leaf Team Lotus sticker on the window (this was in rural Michigan, I'm not sure a UFO would have been more exotic). But around fourth grade I read a book about the 917, and Porsche became my thing. There was a story in the book about the classic 'little old lady with a 911' who brought her car to the factory every six months or so as it was running rough. The Stuttgart crew would do an Autobahn version of the Italian tuneup and hand the keys back to her - I was hooked. Watching a Porsche track day at Lime Rock (after we moved to Connecticut) and later 935s at the same track just accelerated my passion.

After I graduated from Art Center (car design / product design) I went straight for a Miata as that was what I could stretch to (and I love them, I'm on my fourth 1st Gen car). But after my brother got a '67 911S about twenty five years ago, I started thinking "maybe"... I got a gently modified '73 911T a few years later, but it needed a lot of work and the arrival of my second child forced me to make a decision- back to Miatas.

Finances finally enabled a return, I got my Covid Leap Year car on Feb 29, 2020 - a 2009 997.2 C2S. Hopefully, I'll never have to sell it (or my Miata, they compliment each other beautifully). It's perfection, a guaranteed mood changer.

Dragon997

Started in 1973 while I was an assistant in parts department at Cortez VW in Bradenton, FL. My friend’s father owned the VW store and he was opening a Porsche+Audi store in Sarasota the following year. Arranged to buy a new 914-1.7 through him in spring of ‘73. Eventually promoted to parts manager (when I was 21) at his Porsche+Audi store. Most fun job I ever had being around the Porsche brand and attending Daytona and Sebring races in those years. Even went to LeMans in ‘73 to watch Peter Gregg drive the BP 911RS #48. Left the dealership a couple of years later to finish my education full time. After graduating I bought a used ‘74 914-1.8 as my daily driver. Fast forward to early 2000s bought a ‘99 Boxster, then a ‘85.5 944 for my son who wanted something “sporty”. Finally fulfilled my 911 dream in 2015 with my ‘07 997.1.

Nate R

Grew up reading road and track and remember all the glowing Porsche reviews and how it used to beat the Ferraris but have less power and cost less. Definitely a cool factor. Also iconic that the 911 has been around forever. Had this add up in my room. The 996 turbo was my dream car, and the 997.2 4S approached the performance of that car - also looked at 996 turbos but like the NA motor and the design of the 997 much better. Also rode in a few as a teenager and it left an impression (964 / 993).

Took me a while to get there. No regrets. Mine is also black.

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IrishWhiskey

I love reading how others grew into a Porsche, seems most of us were car guys early on, and enjoyed a lot of different type cars before arriving at a Porsche.

My story starts with the family cars, to earn my allowance, I had to wash the 2 family cars in 1966, which I was 7. My father was very much into cars, for that era. He always got a new Cadillac every 3 years, usually a Eldorado, or a two door version of something. My mother, well having six children was not going to keep her from looking sexy, she loved a sporty car, she had just traded a Ford Galaxy 500 Convertible, Forest Green with a Beige top, on a 1967 Camaro R/S, Silver with white buckets and houndstooth checked seats. My brother blew the motor on the R/S driving it from St Louis to Woodstock NY. In 70, same older brother got a Triumph TR4-A, British Racing Green with the white stripe across the hood, black top and black interior. I helped him wrench on that often, and on weekends, he took me to the local track outside St Louis, in St Charles, call M.A.R. for Mid America Raceway. The racing was so exciting, mainly Triumphs, MG's, Healeys, Datsuns, Toyotas and a few French or Italian cars...but that got me into cars in a big way, and into performance, even driving home from the races, my brother would let me sit on his lap and steer and shift...(Dont tell Mom)...

When I was 16, the youngest of 6, I drove a forklift for the summer in a warehouse to make money to buy a car (1976) and bought a 1968 VW Cabriolet, Yellow with a black interior. That next summer, I pulled the motor as it leaked oil by the gallon, and rebuilt it to 1800CC, dual carbs, and new straight exhaust, pulled the body work off and added fiberglass Baha body kit, lifted the suspension, added huge wheels in back, and a roll bar, as well a Pioneer 8 Track Stereo and Jensen Speakers, man Marshall Tucker, Allman Brothers, Boston, Eagles sounded sooo good. My mothers when I was 16 for prom, was a 1978 Ford Elite, with 400 Cu 4 Barrel, Silver with a Blue top and blue interior. That car was a blast to flip the air cleaner and floor it....lol

At that time, my sister, who was somewhat of a aspiring model and a very social young lady, stated dating a guy with a 78 911, Chocolate Brown with a Tan Interior. He would take me for a ride, and also let me drive it around the sub division with him in the passenger seat. That is when I wanted a 911.

The first new car I bought was just out of college, a 1982 Honda Accord Coupe (Hatch) (5MT) in a light sand metallic. I put on Gold BBS wheels, Koni front and rear spoiler, driving lights, and tinted with windows. That was a great car. Solid, fun, spirited, handles great. Then in 1983, I traded it on a Mazda RX-7, Black on Black, and put on Silver BBS wheels, tinted the windows, and that car was a blast. That was stolen, and bought a 1984 Mazda RX7, which has a new interior upgrade, it was White with a Brown Leather Interior, put on Gold BBS wheels, and tinted the windows.

Then I had a 1987 Audi 5000 Sedan, Zermat Silver with a Black Interior, that was a really nice car, just tinted the windows and rolled. Then I moved to Chicago downtown, and didnt have a car for nearly 10 years. Just had motorcycle, a Triumph Bonneville. in 2002 I bought a Jeep Wrangler Soft Top, Black with a Tan interior, as I like to go to Michigan and Wisconsin a lot fishing and outdoors.

Then I bought a 2005 Mercedes SLK 350 AMG, Black with a Red Interior, that was a fun car, for a automatic. Then I bought 2007 BMW 335i Coupe 6MT, Space Gray, and tracked that out at Autobahn in Chicago, that was a lot of fun! Now I was married at the ripe age of 48. I also always had motorcycles too, Triumph Sprint 1050, Bonneville. In 2012 we moved to Shanghai China for work, and I sold the BMW, and when we returned in 2013 and just bought a dual sport Triumph Tiger 800 for the city. My wife did not need a car in the city, and I travelled for work a lot and just rented from local Enterprise/Hertz.

Then we moved to Michigan in 2017, and I needed a car, I had a New Triumph Tiger 900 XtX, and to teach my wife to drive (Beijing China, we met while she was getting her MBA in Chicago- I was driving the Jeep Wrangler at the time, which she loved as it was very "American" car. on our first date).. So for Michigan, I took over a lease on Swapalease on a Lincoln MKC SUV AWD, so if she wrecked it, I would not have a cow, even though I wanted BMW 3 or 5, or maybe a Audi Q or S5. So Michigan was great place to learn to drive for her, compared to Chicago, but then we moved to Sarasota FL 1 year later, for her work, and I was promoted to take over the Southeast region too...I sold the motorcycle in Michigan, as I didnt see myself enjoying riding in Florida flat straight roads and old folks.

So when we got to Florida in 2018, I rolled the Lincoln lease into a new MKC/Corsair, a really nice one in Mocha Ceramic with cream leather, and I leased a VW Golf AllTrack DSG wagon, so I could get my surfboard, paddleboard and Bike on tope easily instead of a taller SUV. We used the Lincoln for the road trips to mountians and vacations, very comfy I must say.

Then her work brought us to present, and we moved to Raleigh NC in Jan of 2022. In March the Lincoln 36 Mo Lease was up, so I bought if off lease, and sold it back to dealer, made a cool $8K. Then I bought a 74 Triumph TR6 in Charleston SC off a business account I managed. Last month the VW AllTrack I bought off the lease, and kept it, as it has a 6 year Bumper to Bumper, and there is nothing I want or can find at present. I could of sold it back to dealer made $6K. In meantime, in May, I bought a 1960 MG MGA 1600 Roadster, as as it was 90% finished from restoration.

Which brings me to today- I had been looking for a 997.1/2 for about 6 months, Now, I have a 2006 Carrera S Cabriolet, full leather, Chrono, Bose/Nav, I found it on BAT on west coast, and the wife and I flew out to Seattle, and drive it back via the Oregon Coast, Cascades, Park City, MoAB, Colorado over 10 days, then wife flew home from Denver, and I drive to St Louis (10 hours straight in a 911 is the way to go) and stayed a few nights with family, then drive to Knoxville a night, then Tail of the Dragon early morning when nobody was on it, and then home to Raleigh.

I have had the car 3 weeks now, had the oil changed, detailed it, had some dings removed Thursday, and added the Rennlist Phone mount, the front Lip, and have some new exhaust tips for the muffler delete next week. Might replace the struts/HR springs this fall (PASM). It had 5MM spacers from and 15MM Spacers rear which I like.

The moment I drove this away from the seller, I said to myself, why in the hell did I wait so long to buy a 911? It felts super tight, I felt very at home with the car quickly, and its just a great car on every level.

Already looking for a 2015 ish Targa now, once I sell the Triumph and MG next spring...

Luckily I can put all 4 cars in my 28ft deep garage...

alfetta

I starting reading Competition Press and R&T in 1967 and those magazines inspired me to sell my 59 Corvette and buy a TR-4A. I knew Porsches were somehow special but a the time seemed unobtainable for a grad student. In 1971 I found a 63 Super 90 that the owner had backed into a telephone pole and not repaired so I managed to get it for $1200---it was my 19th car. About a year in I was driving to LA and the crank broke right next to the flywheel. I rebuilt the motor on my kitchen counter in an apartment in Pacific Beach. I foolishly sold it for $1600 in 1972 and bought a 66 912 for $2700.

In the years since there were sprinklings of Porsches amongst M3s, FIat 124s and other nice drivers. I came back to the fold in 2018 with a Cayman GTS and added Porsches number 7 and 8 last year. Here is my answer to the question; each day I have to take some time to think about choosing between my two 911s, what fits my mood. I sometimes stand frozen in the garage for ten minutes before choosing---that explains it all. My really nice 335is sits ignored, like a wallflower at the prom.


Taken in Solana Beach, CA in 1971

The Porsche gods will be angry. I repainted it a 240Z color when a runaway Jeep Grand Cherokee crawled up the hood as I waited at a stoplight.

Edgy01

There is so much to learn from these threads, Perhaps someone at Ludwigsburg is reading this. (That’s where the marketing department is for Porsche). We moved to Germany in 1964. One of my best friends in fifth grade in Wiesbaden and nearby neighbor was lucky to have a father with the means to buy a new white over red 911 as soon as the 901 was announced. I think his was a 1966. But I wasn’t a big Porsche guy at all. I wanted a Rolls Royce since I was very small. (Didn’t even know they were British). In 1973 an older friend dropped by the house in Santa Barbara driving a Zambezi green 914-4. About the same time I saw our female school French teacher driving a 914-6 by the house, with Fuchs wheels. Suddenly, a year later my friend’s green 914 was up for sale. He had about 5,000 miles on it. I gathered up all my pennies and paid him $5,000 for it in 1974, as a one year old car. We had always been just a simple Chevy family. I learned about Porsches from that 914-4. Although under powered, I was only 19 years old when I bought it, so the last thing I needed at that age was too much power. The handling hooked me. My mother thought I was completely nuts spending $5,000 on a used car. But it was practical. With two trunks, and excellent handling in the snow, I was obsessed. By 1976 I had to go out and test drive about $80,000 worth of Porsches one day in El Paso. In those days that was about 4 cars! The 912E was simply underpowered, but the two 911S cars I drove felt about right. I had been obsessing on a 911 since the long nose 1973 cars. Imagine my disappointment when the short nose 911s came out with those ugly 5 mph bumpers and the loss of the Weber carbs. I moved to Germany in late 1976, and I sold my ‘73 914 to the second guy in my long list of buyers, and so I was ready to make the move to a 911. Within a couple of months a ordered a new 911S from an America used car dealer in Heilbronn, Germany. He took me over to the local “Autohaus Mauk” and began the ordering process for a US spec 911S. With 20-20 hindsight I would have waited until the MY78 cars as they then released the SC version of the 911. I wound up enjoying that 911S on the autobahn and in the alps for about a year. By mid 1978 I took it in a one way trip to Bremerhaven to ship to Port Elizabeth, NJ. For $400 you could ship a Porsche to America! In a few weeks I flew into the states, stayed with some friends in Union, NJ and took the PATH into the heart of NYC and went up in the middle of the World Trade Center to make the final arrangements to gather up the car at the NJ port. I drove it cross country, getting my first speeding ticket with it in Kansas in 1978 for 62 mph on the interstate’s mandated 55 speed limit! Such a felon I was! Earlier, driving it up to Bremerhaven, I covered 450 miles in 4 hours! Such a change! Sadly, the MY77 cars would prove to be one of the worst years for the 911 engines. The magnesium cases were not working in an enlightened world of thermal reactors and other pollution control measures. It took until 1983 when I spotted a nice 911SC on my mechanic and dealer’s showroom floor. As we all know, it’s all about power! The 77 power was not cutting it, and oil temperatures were nuts! The 1981 used 911SC that caught my eye was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Hidden under the 1977 turbo-style tail was an aftermarket turbo charger. No intercooler, just a modest 6 psi boost, delivering 270 HP, which in those days was a good 100 hp over a 1984 Carrera 3.2 motor! It was good for a fifth gear redline of 172 mph. I was making regular trips to Germany by now and hitting the race parts department at Porsche in Werk I. With favorable exchange rates against the DM I got deals on wider Fuchs wheels and all sorts of goodies for that car! I needed a Carrera RSR pressure plate to handle the added torque but the 915 tranny was more than up to the additional horsepower. Even the stock SC brakes were overkill, and handled a 172 mph car. The ‘77 turbo tail kept the car well planted. I kept that Porsche for many years, and finally moved it along due to concerns for getting it to ever pass emissions testing in California. The exhaust in that thing was just a turbocharger followed by a single bent exhaust pipe. I truly missed the blue flames that would come from that single port. It came time to order another Porsche. But it was now 2005. Porsche had since gone wet, for cooling, so I had to go with the flow. I had been seriously disappointed in 996 styling but the 997, especially inside, reminded me of the J cars. After a nine month wait, due to PTS and Euro Delivery, I was back in Germany agin, with a cabriolet, my first. Living in Santa Barbara, the S Cabriolet was a no brainer, but still got the hardtop just because! I also since acquired another coupe, a one owner ‘64 356C from a friend, discovering why Porsche has been such a successful car maker. And a Rolls Royce? I got one of those too.

Full Garage

Tenne997

Like many enthusiasts before me I gradually made my way over from BMW. It seems to be a fairly common transition.