A huge thank you to everyone who helped with replacing the propeller shaft (cardan shaft, in Porsche lingo) on my tow vehicle this weekend at the PCA Zone 1 48 Hours at Watkins Glen. Special thanks, cannot thank him enough, to Aaron Murphy of European Auto Service (www.easmaine.com) for getting the new shaft, providing brain power, and sharing the grunt work of its replacement -- and yeah, he was right about needing the air chisel!

Thanks also to Dave Maynard for finding the air chisel (I always wanted to own one, whether I knew it or not), moral support, and hot chocolate!

You know you are blessed when friends help like this. And when the truck breaks only at the tail end of a six-hour drive, close enough to limp safely to the destination.

 

Sal and I had a great time at the 48 hours at the Glen. Our instructors were great and we learned a lot. Sal had the experience of her life when the throttle stuck wide open in turn 10 (she found the clutch pretty quickly, and we know the rev limiter works!) but we want to send our thanks out to a fellow unnamed Rennlister (you know who you are!) who nicely offered his throttle cable so I could finish my last session after his turbo decided it wanted to disintegrate. I hope the place that rebuilt the turbo offers to make things right. Aaron Murphy had it installed in a flash and I had a great last session.
I hope I can repay the favors we owe these two guys in the future. We are lucky to have others share their expertise and parts and can only hope karma favors them in the future!
Thanks!
Buzz and Sally

 

Buzz, glad you were able to get the throttle cable situation corrected. I carry a spare for my 944S, which Aaron checked out for your car, but we didn't see how it could be made to fit.

I had not previously run across the failure mode you experienced -- pretty scary! Probably worth getting back to whoever tech'ed your car, let him or her know to keep an eye on this sort of fraying in the future.

Someone else got back in the action with an alternator turnbuckle from my spares. The 944 parts black market is alive and thriving at these events! Cheers,