the moment....

[Jim Garfield]

Jim , I always knew I can count on you. be it "correct" roads or checking my resident status

Well, that weekend was certainly a wild mix of great "correct" roads and a few very "incorrect" ones. The fact that we were just south of the Canadian border, and the road block was set up to find illegals trying to sneak across does not detract from the sheer terror and "oh $hit!" moment of rounding a bend at double the speed limit to find the road blocked by 15 NY state police, county sheriffs, border patrol, immigration, and local policemen and cars! It looked at first sight to be the opening chapter to a night in jail. Fortunately for us the cops had a good sense of humor, were nice guys, and the chance to check out our cars broke up what was probably a boring day on a desolate back road for them. I remember we drove a couple miles down the road, stopped, and got out laughing hysterically about our good fortune. The same reaction people have after a near death experience I imagine.

[Mr9146]

The "moment" for me happened when I was 16 years old and I was delivering pizza for Maria's Italian Kitchen. I was driving my hotrod 914/6 (close ratio gearbox with a high comp 2.4S MFI motor) and was on my last delivery of the night...it was about 10pm on a Friday. I'm in some super hoity-toity gated community - for those in the know it's called Hidden Hills - and I'd just dropped off the food and was heading back to the store to count out. The road in and out of Hidden Hills was, like, stop sign after stop sign after stop sign ... seemed like there were a dozen in a row. It was end of shift so I said, "Screw it," and whacked the throttle open, stuck the car in 3rd gear, and made for the front gate at probably 65mph down this residential street.

Next thing I know I'm being lit up by the police. Frankly, I was shocked. I mean, it's a gated community and I didn't think the cops patrolled INSIDE the gate.

So I pull over, turn the car off, and the single angriest LA County Sheriff I've ever seen comes up to the window and start hollering at me. I mean this guy is FURIOUS, and he is reading me the riot act and threatening to take me to jail. I'm only 16 and my shorts are packing up with the thought of not just being strung up by my parents, but having my car towed. Do you know what happens in impound yards?

Anyway, I'm not exactly sure what the cop said, but at the end of his tirade he asks for my license and registration. Thankfully everything is in order and he asks me where the hell I'm off to in such a hurry that would cause me to blow every stop sign on the street at double the posted limit. I told him, "I just made my last delivery for Maria's Kitchen and I'm heading back to the restaurant to clock out and go home." What happened next will stick with me for the rest of my life...

The cop looked at me, looked at my license, looked at my car, looked back at me and then literally threw my license through the window back in my face.

"You work for Maria's?" he yelled at me. "Dammit! I'm sick and tired of telling you guys to slow the F**K down! You take good care of us and we TRY to take good care of you. Don't EVER let me see you driving like that in here again! Now get the F**K out of here and slow the F**K down!"

Then he was gone.

No ticket. No tow truck. Nothing. The dude just threw my license in my face and left.

Back at the restaurant I told a few of the other drivers what happened and they laughed. Apparently it was a thing - Maria's fed the local cops for free whenever they came by to eat, and in exchange the cops would catch and release the Maria's drivers as a courtesy.

And today I started wiring the ignition for the motor that will put that very same 914/6 hotrod back on the road. Watch out Hidden Hills ... I'm coming for ya.

[70tangerine]

Marco....great story.

[Jens]

Great stories, youse guys.

Here's one for me. Not really a pucker moment, more of an "Oh Crap!" moment and instant feeling of profound dread of what's to come. I was blasting along the highway and came up on a lowered and winged and giant exhaust-canned Honda Civic fan boy car. As I passed him he sped up to stay side by side, so I gave it more loud pedal and so did he. We were on a long three mile long descent so he had gravity working for him and the screaming squirrel cage under the hood. Just as I had given the RatBastid all the beans, I'm hit with full radar lock from a State Cop going the other way on the divided highway. He can't get me, so I just kept it planted as the Civic pedalled as fast as he could and getting smaller in my mirrors.

This is where the highway has huge rock cliffs on both sides and in the median, with a cop turn-around carved out in the middle and another State Cop hiding there with his lights already on! AAAARGG, full lock on the Valentine, and full stomp on the Brembos. I slowed quickly to the speed limit from about a buck twenty and the Honda sailed right past the cop clueless. Cop picks up the Honda and they both come after me and we all pull off to the side. "License and registration". Then he goes back to the kid and puts him in the cop's Passenger seat. For a good fifteen minutes he scolds the kid on the sins of his ways, arms flailing and pointing, the kid's face buried in his hands. Clearly he had been racing me. Finally he sets the kid free (all red faced and teary eyed), and comes up and hands me my papers. "I wrote you up at eighty" was the only thing he said.

I thanked him.

[LongRanger]

After pedaling around in my poverty Plymouth wagon, a beater Corvair, and a coupla less-than-concourse/semi-interiorless air-cooled Volkswagens, I'd managed to schwing my first 'modern' car --- a '91 BMW 318iS. Red-on-tan, sunroof, LSD --- a real little cherry! Notta lotta power, but --- between the chassis, wide radials, and slippy 'diff . . . just ALL kindza good ol' mechanical traction

Classic 'momentum car'

Anyway, this was my Every Day, so, as the miles went by and I spent more + more time in it, my confidence in pushing the car was growing . . . = higher speeds, deeper into the corners, harder on the brakes, and/well . . . harder on everything. The sheer grip + utility of this car still impresses --- and I've owned two more of the M42'd E30s, since

So. One day I'm cannon-balling down one of the local highways --- 60 Westbound . . . and I'm making the transition to the 605 South. The ramp is long, so --- since I was very comfortable/proficient/stupid in my little car . . . I stand on it --- so 's to tear through the wide left hand curve that's waiting for us there, to savor that feeling of the car hunkering-down + zooming through, blah-blah-blah, etc, etc

Not too fast --- maybe touching a 100? . . . 'cause I've got ALL KINDS of braking area before the curve

Now, this transition lane is straight right up to the curve . . . but it isn't all flat. So, even though I can see the curve clearly, there's this sliiiight rise that hides the brake area. And --- on this particular occasion? . . . all concealed from view . . .

. . . a broken sprinkler head . . .

. . . that 's been leaking for --- like, kiiiiiiiindova while . . .



. . . and has deposited what-looks-like-about a foot of water . . .




. . . ALL ACROSS MY BRAKING ZONE!



I'm all over the brakes. And my 1st flight in a BMW (back when I was 19) was already coming back to me --- as my front tires hit the water . . . spray going-up over the open 'roof. There was a row of eucalyptus trees along the outside of the corner . . . and I was trying to decide which one of them I was gonna be hanging upside-down from, when my forward progress (if not my stupid life) terminated --- provided, of course, that I didn't go through them . . . and penetrate into any of the real estate/traffic/humanity beyond

I still get queasy . . . remembering that moment when --- at a speed I would only contemplate in the dry . . .


. . . I burned into that corner, and stood oh-so-HARD on my brakes ------------------------ in several inches of wet


And then came the shuddering --- like I was a washboard road . . . or more/like some low step stairs



Du-du-du-du-du-du-du . . . . = ABS kicking-in



Never felt it before



Apart from the shuddering, d@mn car slowed like there wasn't even any water there

Lifted off the brake + turned in, held the wheel + throttle steady . . .


. . . and just drove on . . .


. . .

[Xavier PJB]

ok, had few. The one I will never forget is in 2016 while doing the Pink Panther tour, kind of cannonball.
A bunch of friends with other P cars (A 997.2 C2S+ A 997.2 GT3), me and my 981 Spyder.

We were in Serbia (EU), end of afternoon, very very very long straight, 2 lanes. We were cruising gently, I had the GT3 on my left, the C2S behind. And at some point, we looked at each other and something happened : 2 gears down shift and full throttle - 291 km/h GPS reading - open roof on the Spyder

The GT3 continue to accelerate and soon got hard on the brakes, so we did...Speed control...

And boys, those guys in Serbia do not joke at all, close the highway and re route to a resting area - they were a dozen with riffles, guns all kinda weapons...and the most terrible of all weapon on earth: no smile.

Only the GT3 got stopped and we (C2S and me) could go (of course we've been waiting for the GT3)

It was surreal atmosphere for us. The GT3 retained speed was 254 km/h (speed limit is 120) - and he got a sever speech from the police, and a ...25$ (equivalent) fine...
Wonder how much it could be for 300 km/h.

Got another cool story in Serbia, where I stopped to a gas station and was surrounded by Serbian going to a wedding ceremony...

[ejboyd5]

Mid-1960s, transitioning from N.3rd Street to College Avenue in Easton, PA on a rainy afternoon when I thought I might be going a bit too fast and lifted the throttle. Next view ahead was of a large iron fence and a many feet drop into Bushkill Creek. Back on the accelerator and control returned. That's when I learned you don't lift during a turn in a 300 SL Coupe - go in slow and accelerate out of the turn. Strangely enough, despite all that has been written about this handling quirk this was the only time I actually experienced it in the 54 years I've owned the car. Lesson well and truly learned and etched in memory with no harm to me, the car or anyone else.