I've been a member here for a very long time, I've watched many people come and go due to political or social conflicts or just a change in priorities or missions. I've taken a break for a while, but was able to get my ducks in a row, and reestablish some things that are important to me.
Over the past 20 years, maybe longer, I've owned a variety of european sports cars, and for the past 15 years, I've been lucky enough to enjoy the hobby with my wife....she's an enthusiast, too, and one who encourages me to spend time doing the things I enjoy. She's a skip barber trained driver, and a huge supporter of my 911 hobby. She has shed many tears as we've mutually decided it was time to part with a car or two over the years to pay the tax man or help cover the cost of living where and how we are accustomed to live. I think it's easy to say we all have priorities and outside forces that affect our ability to enjoy this hobby.....well, I could take a step farther back.....when our son was born, 10 years ago, I had a high-stress, constant travel sales position, I had time to enjoy the hobby to some extent, but as junior got older, I re-prioritized and went to work for myself. The pay wasn't as good but time home with junior during his formative years was an important aspect to the decision. As time went on, and the tax-man called, I realized I needed to sell some iron to cover some costs of running my own business....a very sad decision, but as we can all relate to, it was time to move on.
I was lucky enough to be able to buy some less expensive toys, eventually finding a good mix, but, then again, needing to clear some out again.
We can skip all the gory details, but I can say that somehow throughout the whole process I've gained some great friends and it seems for reasons unknown, I've lost some guys that I thought were friends. I'm ready to turn around and start fresh, new cars, new approach, new friends, whatever it takes. I've enjoyed being an active member of the registry, often planning driving events, hosting summer family BBQ's at my home, welcoming members near and far to join in, or gathering up a few friends from here and there just to go for a drive.
I started out this year with a new position, our son is 10, the work is tough and pulls me away from home more than I like, but the regular paychecks, and the ability to show my son the value and importance of working hard to earn the things a family needs and the things a person wants is important.
As an accommodation for selling my former 911's last year, I treated myself to a great, original paint, west coast '83 911 SC with freshly rebuilt 964 3.6 motor, it was the right balance for me of a car with enough modern amenities and safety features to allow family outings for ice cream or cars and coffee events, and enough of a hot rod to allow me some fun. I knew I was just biding my time until the right long hood came along.
Many hours were spent seeking out a variety of cars, but I eventually determined what I really wanted...it had to be in its original color, I was leaning towards a '72...and was hoping for a shade of blue...
I put out a lot of feelers, considered buying an expensive roller, looked at a great car that a friend purchased from another friend, but it needed a bunch of rust repairs, and I didn't want to go down that road.
Then, it happened. I was away on business, had a little time online and found a '72 in Gemini blue for sale near Chicago. It had 56,000 miles from new, and had been owned by the same guy since 1981. Just before his purchase, it had been involved in a minor parking lot impact that required paint work, and the owner at the time sold it to his mechanic at the local porsche dealer. The wrench spent tons of money on new parts, including new doors, SC rocker panels, flares, he installed a hot 3.0L motor out of an early '78 with big ports, high compression P&C's, and dyno'd it at 225 when he was done. He upgraded the suspension and brakes to the latest bits available in the sports purpose catalog. The car had all the goodies.
I called the seller, told him it would have to be a full week before I could complete the purchase, but I could send a good friend over to see the car right away, and I would complete the purchase. My friend Jim visited and confirmed the car to be exactly as described. Jim and the seller became buddies, exchanging stories of their season tickets to the Hawks, Jim visited with the seller's wife to hear stories of how she used to drive the car to visit the kids in college, and how the boys on campus would refer to her as 'mrs robinson' for her youthful, sexy appearance and the cool car she was driving. No doubt the seller's kids had wild stories across campus. but that's a story for another day. Jim called and told me the car was the real deal, he sent detailed photos of the imperfections of a 30 year old bare-metal repaint. I called the seller and told him the payment was on its way, and I would fly out and drive the car home.
Booked flights. Waited. Woke up for an 8am flight to the news that BB King, the King of the Blues had just passed away, at age 89, the same age as the seller. No doubt, this Gemini Blue little wonder should be named for BB, so she is now called Lucille, in honor of BB's guitar. Jim picked me up and we went to go gather up the car. Pulling into the driveway, I realized the car was so much more than advertised, so much more than Jim or the seller told me it would be. This car was a hangar find, it had been stored with a variety of other motorized toys of the seller. He was the CEO of a construction company. When I asked him about his organization, he simply said 'you know those large skyscrapers downtown?...I build them'....I asked if he would be without a porsche now, he said no, he still had a 1996 993 C4s that he has had since new, and a 944, both are easier for him to get in and out of, and easier for him to drive.....his daily driver is a Dinan modified BMW 3 series, his wife (likely 25 years younger than he) is still tooling around in cool cars, a current Mini Cooper S. His airplane is still in the hangar for now. When asked why he is selling the car instead of passing it down to one of his boys now running his construction company, or his nephews who have been dying to own it for the past 35 years, he said 'I don't trust any of them with it, to them it is just a car, this car needs to go to someone who will appreciate it as much as I have all these years. My other cars are different, this one is very special to me.'
After a long visit, the title was signed over, the key was finally handed over, I was able to hear it run for the very first time, and it was glorious.
As I backed out of the garage, I saw both the seller and his wife, tears in their eyes, waving goodbye. The car had only racked up 23,000 miles in almost 35 years since his purchase. I suspect the past 5 or 10 years could measure the miles in the hundreds, maybe. The seller was kind enough to do a very thorough service including the much needed attention to fuel system and brakes, new tires and struts and much more.
Despite a lack of use in recent years, the car drives more like a new car than any other 911 I've owned. I've owned 30,000 miles SC's, 70,000 mile long hoods, all maintained with the greatest attention to detail, but this car still has the feeling of a very well cared for slightly-used car. I had some trepidation of putting it through 1000 miles of highway travels, yet the car did the journey flawlessly, it didn't miss a beat, not once. 3 tanks of gas, it was an easy ride.
I've got some plans for Lucille, primarily to remove some of the SC updates, but my goal is to preserve the 'sports purpose' theme that this car received in the late 70's. My point of all of this is a way to give back to the community, to pay homage to the previous owner and to document the process of returning the car to its previous sport purposes look and feel. I'll update this thread as I work thru the list of projects, I'm hoping I can persuade the previous owner to check in from time to time and share some stories with us.
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