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Parking Lots Revisited

It has been such a mild winter in New England that the Cars and Coffee program has been off to a slow start. Last year it seemed that there were gatherings any weekend that the weather would permit. This year winter seemed to be absent except for a couple of cold weekends, the roads stayed clear and that let people get their P cars out more than most years. The need, the need for speed, was satisfied almost every weekend. It wasn’t necessary to call a Cars and Coffee to get our toys out of the garage.

We finally had the first PCA C & C in Rhode Island last Sunday, put together by Roger and Rosemary Slocum at the Longplex Sports Complex in Tiverton. We had over 50 cars show up on a cold and windy day. That tells me that people like to drive their cars around but they also like to meet with other members.

Where else can you show off a new ride (Larry) to folks that would understand? There was talk of new tires and computer chips, paint treatment and rear spoilers. All in all a good time to be a car club member. We met in a large paved parking lot because the grass area at Sweet Berry Farm is still too soft to walk on, let alone drive 50 cars onto but that’s coming soon.

Cars and Coffee gatherings are quick and easy to do compared to all day events like an autocross. Let’s hope that they grow and continue for years to come. That reminded me of all the places that we have gathered over the years that are no longer available for a variety of reasons.

When I first arrived in New England back in the ‘70’s autocrosses were set up and run in shopping center parking lots. The Blue Laws were in effect and stores were always closed on Sunday. Shoppers World on Rt 9 in Natick was very popular with the SCCA crowd and PCA ran there too. Opened in 1951 as the 7th Wonder of New England it was the largest outdoor Mall anywhere.  Closed in 1994 it was transformed into an indoor Mall.

 Another large parking lot was at the Burlington Mall. We even ran a autocross there on a Sat night under the lights in a lot next to Rt3A that we could block off with pylons to keep shoppers out. A couple did get in anyway and that was exciting.

There was better security at the Auburn Mall and we ran there with SCCA for a number of years but relaxing the Blue Laws in 1983 put an end to that lot too.  

 Another very large lot was the Bayside Expo Center in South Boston. The only problem there was drainage. If it rained hard, what looked like lakes formed in the middle. I once took FTD in my 914 in a rainstorm that saw 4” of water in the middle of the course. A win is a win.  The same drainage problem plagued the Seabrook Greyhound Racetrack in NH but we’d just take a break for a few minutes and the water would drain off. But then they started racing the dogs on Sunday (Live free ?) and that lot was off limits.

There were two sites that were a distance away but always great fun with the SCCA crowd. Both were public parking lots, one in Provincetown, the other was at Nauset Beach, MA. Both were run early in the year before the tourist arrived but it was always cold and windy. The problem with the wind near the beach was sand. Tire traction is always better on clean pavement and sand doesn’t help traction. One year I had a business meeting in Washington DC the evening before the event so I drove all night to Provincetown to run the next day. Ed Sanborn drove my 356 out the day before so it was ready when I got there. I arrived with no sleep, a sandy course, spun three times and finished last.  Very embarrassing. I don’t know if the towns or SCCA took it off the list but we certainly didn’t miss the sandy pavement .

The Mitre Corp parking lot in Bedford MA saw lots of Porsches making noise over the years, as did Nike sites (as in Nike missiles, not sneakers)  in Needham (there are houses there now) and Dighton (taken over by the town playing fields).

A small parking lot at Hanscom Field in Concord was used for a number of years as was the Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere. Bose Corp in Framingham let us run in their lot for a while but I guess the noise was too much for them on a Sunday morning. Noise didn’t bother Smith and Wesson in Springfield, MA and they opened their parking lot gates for PCA in the ‘80’s.

The locations began to dwindle over the years due to development, general attitudes about cars and our own mistakes. Autocrosses were run at SNHU until a Sprite driver spun at the finish line and injured a spectator. That was the end of that lot.

 A Zone 1 autocross at Six Flags in Springfield was stopped when they discovered that driver education in one of their parking lots included timing race cars. The Police were called and after a lot of discussion we were asked to leave. Not our best day. 

As soon as the Blue Laws were repealed the Malls and retail shopping center parking lots were off limit. The first airport that the Northeast Region used was at Orange, MA.

A little used public airport, we shared the runways with small planes and a Skydiving school. The planes were directed to the other runway on Autocross days but the skydiving students  just tried to jump between runs it seemed. We did have a few land on the course but they were easy to spot and pylon pickers had red flags to stop a run when necessary. There was one student that landed between runways on a large pile of dirt and broke a few bones and so we had to wait while they were taken by ambulance to a local hospital. We wouldn’t do anything that dangerous, we were just racing cars. The 1 ½ hour drive from the Boston metro area was a bit of a hike so when a closer venue became available we signed up. That was Ft Devens

The pavement at Ft Devens has been our home for the last 37 years and many other clubs also run there. It is the last site anywhere to be found. Here’s hoping that, until electric cars take over the roads or they pull our drivers license, we can continue to test the limits of old ICE cars  in Ayer, MA. The season is about to start so come join us before the only Porsche test course left is an on ramp on the Mass pike. Your place on the pavement is waiting.

Author: Tom Tate

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DE Crier Update: The Pitt Race

Hey!  Remember me?  It’s been 14 months since I last wrote an article for the NOR’EASTER and I figured that my reader might want to know what the Jamaican Bakin’ Team has been up to lately. This is the tenth year that our group of 5 PCA DE instructors (Dave Berman, Dennis Mascetta, Nick Shanny, Chip Wood and me) has been doing endurance racing  – or in the case of the last few years, it’s been more “trying to do” endurance racing. We started in 24 Hours of Lemons racing with a $500 Miata, upgraded to ChampCar (originally ChumpCar) and American Endurance Racing with an E30 BMW, switched to a Boss 302S Mustang and have now settled on an E36 BMW M3.

And oh boy, the Mustang!  What a disaster!  Our first race was at Mid-Ohio in 2021 where the clutch failed on the first race day.  Next year we went to Watkins Glen where the engine blew up on day two.  The replacement engine (don’t ask how much) then blew up on the dyno.  Then we learned that AER changed their rules so that the car was effectively outlawed.  We gave up and purchased the E36 and the Mustang finally left our hands via a sale on Bring A Trailer earlier this year. During the auction one of the commenters, who had seen the car at a race, questioned why it had Jamaican Bakin’ signage when it was owned by “a bunch of old white dudes.”  Ouch.

We raced the E36 once last year in a ChampCar race at Thompson where it ran perfectly and we were first in Class (albeit in a weak field).  For 2023 we plan to do three or four races, the first of which was over the April 1st weekend at Pitt Race. Nick was racing elsewhere (see below) and since you really need at least 4 members to do pit stops efficiently, Bill was allowed to participate despite being just barely legal after a bout of covid.

None of us had driven at Pitt Race before but we had heard good things and it lived up to expectations:  2.78 miles of rolling terrain with 17 corners, quite a bit of safe runoff (in all but one notable spot), some blind turns, grippy pavement and excellent facilities.  It was opened in 2002 and is located in Wampum PA (apparently the woke patrol has not made it there yet) not far from Pittsburgh – a 10 hour drive for us.  We stayed in a perfectly acceptable hotel for $100 a night in Beaver Falls PA (yes, the birthplace of Joe Namath!). We found three more-than-adequate places to eat and were astonished at the low prices:  dinner for 4 at the El Paso Mexican restaurant including top shelf margaritas was $79!  (Bill recommends the enchiladas verde.)

OK, maybe you’d rather hear about the racing.  AER changed their format this year and the assignment to classes was done based on lap times during a two hour race on Friday, rather than open track driving. With three mandatory pit stops the plan was for each of us do a 30 minute session. But of course it poured rain. Our “rain tires” are actually just all-season Michelin Pilot Sports in a slightly narrower width.  We softened the rear sway bar and the car had remarkable grip with nice predictable understeer.  As we were all just learning the track we were not too fast and were surprised to be placed in Class 3 (with 5 being fastest, 1 being slowest).

The 8 hour race on Saturday started in beautiful weather but a severe thunderstorm followed by rain was predicted so we left the rear sway bar soft and ran Falken Azenis tires (about the stickiest 200 treadwear tires available in our size).  Pitt Race was reputed to be tough on tires but with some rain we thought they would last. As it turned out the thunderstorm was a doozy – 60 mph gusts of wind that shut the track down for an hour, killed power for 24 hours (pop up tents flying everywhere!) – so the tires were fine to the end.  The car ran great and our lap times came down as we got familiar with the track but we were not competitive in Class 3 and also didn’t do a great job with pit stops. But no car problems or offs let us finish in the middle of our class.

Sunday started out with ice on the windshield but gradually warmed to be a pleasant, sunny 50 degree day.  We ran Hankooks (longer lasting but slightly slower) and stiffened the rear bar (one of us discovered a little more oversteer than expected but the spin managed to stay on the track).  We all took a bit more off our lap times but the results were similar to Saturday – reliability leading to another mid-pack finish.

So we are off to a decent start to the season with what seems to be a very reliable car – but one that needs a little fine tuning in the set-up.  Our next race is May at Watkins Glen so we will see.  And hopefully everyone will be over the covid that Bill seemed to have passed along by then.

Oh, yeh!  Back to Nick!  As you know this is his second year competing in the SRO GT4 America series in the Am class with teammate Terry Borcheller.  The second event of the season (same time as our Pitt Race) was at Sonoma and Nick’s team came in second in class on Saturday and first in class (and FIRST OVERALL against the pro drivers!) on Sunday.  Way to go Nick!  Bakin’ rocks!

Author: Bill Seymour

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Never Too Many Porsches

Some months ago, Paul Soares shared with me his excitement of winning a concours Porsche trophy.  Self employed and modest in manner, Paul and his wife Jackie are Porsche enthusiasts.   Jackie drives a Macan, and Paul has a 911, 944, and a Spyder.  So, the stable contains front engine, rear engine ,as well as water and air-cooled Porsches.

The following is Paul’s narration regarding his Porsche collection.

Some bullet points on my Porsche History: I thought I always wanted to own a corvette as I was a longtime fan having a friend who owned a few over the past years. I actually went as far as putting a deposit on a 2003 model but I could not get the color I wanted. In the interim my neighbor Jay worked for Herb Chambers Motor Cars in Boston and told me I should look at the Boxster from Porsche. I had no clue what a Boxster was at the time. Needless to say, I test drove one and that was all I needed in a sports car. 

1.) October 2002 I put a deposit on my first Porsche, a 2003 Boxster S in Basalt Black and took delivery on February 1, 2003. The same day the Space Shuttle Columbia tragically disintegrated on re-entry into the atmosphere as my wife and I were watching  TV at the dealership. 

2.) June 2008 I purchased a 1987 Porsche 944 2.5-liter base model and picked it up in Waterbury, CT for $5,000, what a bargain at that time. I’ve always loved the 944 styling and dreamed of owning the Turbo at some point. Now my son and I both could attend Cars and Coffee’s while driving the Porsche brand. 

3.) I believe in sometime 2015 I heard rumors that the Boxster was dropping the Flat 6 and going to the Flat 4 motor similar to the Subaru motor;  I was not thrilled upon hearing this news. So, I had to act fast and convince Jackie about putting an order in for the 2016 Boxster Spyder in Agate Grey Metallic. The Spyder was a big step up as it came with the Flat 6 motor from the same year of the 911 S with the 3.8-liter motor producing 375-385 HP. She said yes so in May 0f 2016 we took delivery of the Spyder and we were blown away with the build package we put together. The following year we sold the 2003 Boxster S which was very pristine with only 29K miles for a 13 Year old Boxster. “Can’t keep them All”.

4.) In June of 2018 I purchased a 1985 Porsche Carrera 3.2 in triple black on the “Bring-A-Trailer” website. A friend who is familiar with these air / oil cooled models went to see the car prior to the auction closing the following day. The owner was nice enough to let us take the car for a spin. I took a friend’s advice of not telling my better half of winning the bidding on the 911. Not a good move on my part as she was not a happy camper for a couple of weeks. So much for asking for forgiveness as a friend suggested prior to the purchase. Now she gets my logic as the car has increased in value significantly. Happy Wife – Happy Life.

Jackie and I attended the National Porsche Parades starting in Charlotte, NC in 2008, then Savannah, GA in 2011 both without bringing our Porsche.. Not until the parade in Jay Peak, VT in 2016 did we bring the 2003 Boxster S as it was the closest to home Porsche Parade we were interested in attending

Then came this year’s (2022) Parade at the Kalahari Resort at the Poconos in PA. A local PCA friend was planning on attending so we decided it would be a great drive and great company so we registered for the event. Also seeing that it was not too long of a drive, roughly 5 hours I decided to enter the Spyder in the Concours Event. I entered it in the Preparation Group 2 which takes into account cleaning of the exterior and the interior cabin, fairly easy preparation in my opinion.  So no under carriage, front or rear trunks , and not the engine compartment as that would have been a nightmare on a Boxster. 

We were pleasantly surprised about four hours later after the judging that we had won First Place in our category. So not bad for entering a Porsche in the Parade for the first time and winning first class. Unbelievable and Jackie and I could not have been happier!

Intro by Roger Slocum & Article by Paul Soares

 

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Four Speeds and Drum Brakes: Back to Basics

 It is amazing how ones perspective changes when everything slows down. With high powered cars in the garage it is easy to get caught up in horsepower figures and 0-60 times. Jeff Leeds and I ran the last PCA Rally in the Turbo S and half the job was keeping the speed down so that we could find the answers to the questions along the route. It was done with a lot of second gear and we tied with two other teams for the most right answers and won the drawing for first place and a free detail from Craft Detailing in Dedham. While the 356’s are slow, they can easily keep up with modern traffic and provide a different driving experience than a modern Porsche. You don’t spend any time looking at other cars that may want to “play” and slower speeds give you more time to enjoy the scenery especially in the Fall in New England.   

If you really want to investigate the world around you I suggest a bicycle. Let me explain how I got on that path.

Last Fall, the Boston MBTA shut down one of the subway lines (Orange Line) for 30 days so that repairs, that would normally take 3 years, could be done in just a month. Buses were used and they also offered free Blue Bikes to help folks get around. Blue Bikes have been available for a few years and there are 4000 bikes at 400 sites in 11 communities in the Boston area. With an App on a cell phone (of course) bikes can be rolled out of a docking station and a low speed tour of the city can begin or, a 14 minute walk to work can be done in 4 minutes. I had been looking at those bikes for a while but at what looked like $3.75 per ride it seemed that walking the ¾ mile each way to my office was a better choice. Needless to say the word free caught my attention so I signed up to try it.

The bikes are very heavy duty touring bikes that are designed for people who don’t ride bikes. If the bike isn’t put back in a Docking station when you’re done the bill could be as high as $1200, so it’s not a cheap bike.  The seat is easy to adjust and there are front and rear handbrakes but the best feature is the transmission. I’m not sure how it works but without any derailleurs showing or gear sets exposed, the right side handgrip makes instant gear changes when turned.  Turn it one way and it feels like three foot cranks for a bike length of travel like a cartoon character. Turned the other way and one rotation give what seems like a 100 ft of travel. Most important, its immediate, with no clanking of gears or jerking of the pedals. There are LED lights front and rear that flash when the bike is in motion, a great safety feature and the fenders are enclosed to reduce splashing.

After a few days of use, I was hooked. It was Fall and the very best time to be on a bike in New England when leaves were changing on the Rose Kennedy Greenway and the boats were still in the harbor sailing about.

As the free ride was coming to an end I looked into the costs to continue and it was very reasonable. A one year membership brought the cost down to less than $10 per month. By then it wasn’t just back and forth to the office,  but also lunch rides to the North End and Chinatown. I began to look at where the docking stations were so I could expand the range since membership gives you 45 minute rides at no cost, and   $2.00 for every 30 minutes there after. They don’t want you to take the bikes out for the day so the answer is to just find a Docking Station, park in under 45 minutes and take another one to restart the clock. The fact that there is a Docking Station just out the door at South Station and another across the street from the office on State St makes every trip very easy.

 

 

Street level on a bicycle is a lot different than street level in a car. First of all you’re invisible, nobody sees you and nobody hears you. Not pedestrians, not cars and certainly not trucks or buses.  That just reinforces the bumper sticker that I have on my cars that says: “Loud Cars Save Lives”. I have determined that sidewalks are safer than bike lanes,  but pedestrians are not at all accommodating and really don’t want to share the space. There are Bike lanes but they seem to be the perfect spot for delivery trucks, Uber drivers and Post Office trucks. The trouble is that to get around those stationary objects there are only two choices, get on the sidewalk or swing out into the travel lane to clear fenders and any doors that may suddenly open.  Cars in the travel lane blow the horn at people on bikes because they know you don’t belong there and besides you’re moving too slow.

Riding a bike on city streets gives the rider plenty of time to inspect the pavement for potholes, cracks and even frost heaves this time of year. Bumps that a car wouldn’t feel become a jarring hit on a bike that has zero suspension travel. There are a few holes on State street where the bottom can’t be seen. They’re not big holes, maybe 4” across, so a car tire would roll over easily but a bike tire would actually fall in  while the rider would keep going. I have not been bitten by any obstacles yet, but I am prepared. When my kids found out that I was riding a bicycle in Boston they insisted that I buy a helmet to wear. There is a sign on every Dock that says, according to Mass law, riders 16 and under must wear a helmet and it is recommended for grown ups.  I guess when we get older our heads don’t need protection? What?

Now when I catch the commuter rail into town there is a lightweight helmet hanging off my briefcase . Some of my “train buddies” know that I have been taking a Spin Class every week for the last few years and wanted to know if I was so old that I needed a helmet to be able to ride a stationary bike. Very funny. There is an Allstate ad TV that shows ‘Mayhem’ getting launched off a stationary bike so I guess it could happen but I am careful on both.

Since most of the tourists have left town the streets are not as crowded and there is more space on the sidewalks, but there is still another challenge, Boston weather. The cold can be ignored at least so far but the rain and snow will be another matter. I know that, unlike our winter cars, Blue Bikes will not be switching over to snow tires any time soon so snow covered streets are still an unknown. I have come to some conclusions about riding in the rain however. It turns out that the trip from South Station to my office across from the Aquarium is a 16 minute walk or a 4 minute bike ride. I can hold an umbrella while I am walking (I’ve done it for years) but not while I’m riding a bike. I’m no Mary Poppins. So is it better to walk with an umbrella for 16 minutes or ride a bike without an umbrella for 4 minutes? That depends upon how hard it is raining. The few rainy days so far have been light and the bike has been selected. The one real downpour prompted me to wait a few minutes (that’s how long it takes for Boston weather to change) as the weather App showed the storm passing by soon.  I’ve gotten damp but not really that wet, yet. Snow might be a different matter.  

I do have a couple of those thin plastic rain coverings that I got in a car show goodie bag years ago that I could try. They look like one time use bags folded into a clear plastic envelope about the size of a pack of cigarettes. I know that I could never get them folded back up to the same small envelope so it would be easier to just toss it out. Anyone remember Harry Morgan on Dragnet trying to convince Joe Friday that he could fold up his new plastic raincoat to fit back into the plastic bag it came in?  Send me an email if you do, I’d like to know if anyone my age is still reading this column.

I will be reporting this winter as the snow begins to fall and test my riding skills. Wish me luck, it will be fun.

KTF            

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Triple Action

Sometimes the stars align and things just work out fine, sometimes they don’t. This is one of the times that the alignment was right on track. Actually three tracks.

 Porsche owners seem to always be looking for places to exercise their cars whether it’s running errands, going to a Cars and Coffee gathering or a real Road Trip, the key to enjoyment is doing it with other owners. I found a few events that were fun and  bunched together in late Sept before the days started getting short and put the word out.

 I haven’t been up to the Drag races in Epping NH for years and had thought about trying the Launch Control on the, new to me, Turbo S along with one of Rob’s friends who had the same car. Bill Sweeney was sure that he had the faster car and this would be a good way to find out. It was mid week in the evening.

 The following day was SCCA Track Night at the Thompson CT track and PCA NCR had an Autocross at Ft Devens two days later. A perfect week. Perfect enough to convince Rob that he should fly in from Arizona and join us.

 New England Dragway allowed anyone to run a car down the ¼ mile strip as long as it looked like it could make it. Helmets were required but nobody checked to see who’s car you were driving. There were some cars there that looked like their owners might be away on vacation and the keys were left on the kitchen counter. The Track opened at 3 pm, closed at 8pm and for $30 you could make all the passes you wanted to by just getting back in line.

I haven’t run a drag race since I beat a pickup truck with my 356SC with a 17.8 second pass at 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia, MD in 1969. My first and only ¼ mile test. They didn’t know what to do with a small foreign car so I got put in with 6 cylinder pickups. I still have the trophy. I have certainly watched them on cable but it never seemed to me that it took a lot of skill to go straight with the pedal down. Boy, was I wrong.

              Going straight with the Turbo S was easy enough although there was some wiggle when 533hp hit the pavement even with four wheel drive. It was the launch that made all the difference and that was tough to get right even with the PDK transmission assisting. Bill outran me every time with better starts but both cars were under 11 seconds, which is what they call a 10 second car. That means that the elapsed time was less than 11 sec. Mine seemed to be faster at the end, 136 mph vs 132 mph but he still got there first. I red lighted twice, meaning I released the Launch Control before that bottom light went green. Like I said, it isn’t as easy as it looked on TV.

Bill and I had been to SCCA Track Night back in July and were familiar with the program. Three classes, novice, intermediate and advanced with each given three 20 minute sessions. Like a PCA driver education but no instructors and no passengers. Cars were self teched (take all the loose stuff out), put on your helmet and no passing without a point by. That event was run after a day of heavy rain and while we were cautioned about water running across the track it still caught a few by surprise. Including a novice at the end of the front straight  in a Mustang. He found a tire wall that was protecting the flag station with a NJ barrier behind it. He cleared the tires, going end over end, but not the concrete barrier. He must’ve ducked because he wasn’t hurt.

 Rob had spun off in the same spot in my car too but missed anything stationary. We looked at the video later (I have a forward looking camera in the Turbo that runs all the time) and he was surprised how close he was to the path the Mustang took. Rob, with wiggles at almost every turn, struggled to stay ahead of Bills car but I was in Pearl, the  Audi RS4, with new turbos installed, Bridgestone R-71’s and outran them both. We snagged garage space which made the conditions easier to take but boy did it rain.

 I always contend that everyone learns more in the rain and that was certainly the case on this day at Thompson.

  Two days later we were at Ft Devens with all three cars again for a PCA North Country Region Autocross. Clear, sunny day, the very best conditions for standing on a runway all day. A quick course with a decent straight that both Turbos enjoyed. The four door sedan I was driving, not so much due to a lot of  body roll, but it was fun.

Rob complained about the tires on my car (they were 7 years old), but I wasn’t going to replace them until next Spring. Since Bill was on new tires he tossed Rob the keys to his blue bomb (big mistake) and promptly got beat by 2 seconds. Good thing they’re friends.

All in all a terrific week where everyone won, we should do it again next year. If anyone wants to join us just give me a shout at [email protected].

KTF

 

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Fifth Annual Charlie and Martha Dow Fall Rally

 

OK, sharpeyes, you are right – it was a Tour at first but it is a rally now and, once again, it was a great time.  We started at Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown RI, sharing the parking lot with the usual Sunday SoBo event.  A total of 41 rallyers were dispatched at 90 second intervals to follow a lovely course that wound back and forth between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, finally ending at Rachel’s Lakeside in Dartmouth MA. Along the route participants were required to spot the answers to 22 questions (some were “trick questions”) based on sights that they encountered.  Teams turned in their answer sheet with the total mileage driven (as per their car’s odometer) acting as the tie breaker.

This year’s rallyers were darned observant and four cars answered 20 of the 22 questions correctly (or at least correctly as per the judges – there was some controversy):  Tom Tate/Jeff Leeds, the Haynes, the Walkers and the Laws.  And the first three of these had the correct distance.  Clearly the organizers had not anticipated this as there was no “second tiebreaker” and the winner was chosen by drawing names from a hat by Spiderman (young Mr. Beaver).  Based on this Tom (darn it) and Jeff were declared the winner and took home a $250 gift certificate donated by Craft Detailing.

There was a second contest as well. Participants were asked to tell their best car joke to the judges (well, OK, one judge – me) as they awaited departure. It was very evident that the internet had been heavily interrogated in the search of jokes so there was considerable duplication. The most original was, unfortunately, a little too risque to be a winner. The winner was the previously mentioned Law team with runner up trophies to the Hebners and the Mattsons. (Here’s the internet version of the joke:  Three men were waiting in line to enter Heaven. The angel at the gate asks the first man “how many times did you cheat on your wife?” “10 times” the man answers. The angel gives him the keys to a 2010 Toyota Camry “this is what you will drive around heaven”. The second man says he cheated on his wife 5 times, the angel gives him a 2018 Lexus and lets him in. The third man says he never cheated on his wife, he gets a 2022 Porsche GT3RS. A few days later the 3 men meet and the man in the Porsche is very sad, the men ask him what’s wrong, he replies “I just saw my wife riding around on a scooter.”)

And, after the fact, we’ll declare a third contest.  The winner of the best “Fun Team Name” is the Kricks for “RhodeShow.”

Thanks to our sponsors Craft Detailing and Griot’s Garage, our host Sweet Berry Farm and our hard working team of Roger Slocum, Paul Soares, Anker Berg-Sonne, Lisa Burke, Larry Levin and Rosemary Driscoll.  And special thanks to the Dow family for their lifetime commitment to PCA and for sending 6 representatives (and bringing Charlie’s yellow 911) to this year’s event!

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9 October, 2022 SoBo Porsches and Coffee

photo: Larry Levin

Rosemary and I left our house shortly after 8:30 AM for our short drive to Sweet Berry Farm, arriving shortly before 9AM. Organizers for the Charlie and Martha Dow Memorial Drive were already separating the Porsches that were participating in the drive from those attending the coffee. The temperature was a bit brisk, but sunny and clear.

We had 40 Porsches for the drive and at least 30 additional cars for the coffee. Because my wife and I signed on for the drive, we were parked in the third of about six rows. For those going on the drive, egress from the lot was staggered by roughly 30 seconds. Launch time was 10 AM.

photo:Larry Levin

Because (weeks prior) we initially verified the first half of the of the route; we were confidant with the drive beginning on Aquidneck Island. However, we became dependent on following someone when we crossed over the bridge and entered Little Compton.

Little Compton, for the most part, has minimal street signs, and we lost our GPS signal for much of the area during our initial map verification. Therefore, we successfully followed a silver 911 that must have loaded the drive app because they never got lost.

photo: Larry Levin

Rachel’s Lakeside banquet room was bright, sunny and roomy. A buffet of mixed vegetables, stuffed chicken, fish, pasta, mashed potatoes, and rolls were offered. Certainly, no complaints about the food.

Because we went on the drive I had a brief opportunity to interview Porsche people. In the first row behind the wheel of his son’s 2015 Turbo S. was Tom Tate, “getting into the 21st century”. Driving his son’s Porsche, Tom has recently been doing auto cross and participating in track nights. Tom says that the car did great.

Tom Tate and “his son’s” turbo S

Also in line were Fred and Judy Michel with their red 914. As a youth Fred raced go carts and later, his seemingly fondness for 914s and Porsches. He has owned seven; his first was a 71 914. He was attracted by the Porsche’s mechanicals, style and performance. He has had this 914 for three years. Found on-line in Maryland, the car doesn’t seem to have any major issue. Initially Fred had to do some restoration to the passenger side of the pan because of corrosion, saying that the inside of the fenders are solid. It appears to be a great driver and that’s what it is all about.

Fred and Judy Michel

The next car was the flying yellow 2012 Carrera previously driven by Charlie Dow. Pictured is Charlie and Martha’s son Eric and children (Daryn and Hannah) and daughter Kristen (Allen) with Eric and Drew. The Dow’s first Porsche was a 98 Boxster purchased in 2003.

The Dow Family

Across the field was a glimmering white 928 that caught my eye. Matthew Boday is the owner of this 1981, with manual transmission, showing just 81k miles, and it is his first Porsche. Looking for a Porsche for a long time, he drove by a dealer in Massachusetts and ended up purchasing the 928 this past June. Commenting that the dealer didn’t know what he had, Matthew implied that it was selling at a good price. Other than performing service components (seals and gaskets), no major parts needed to be repaired or replacd. Although not up to show standards, the resprayed 928 shows no dents or blemishes and the interior appears very good. I am looking forward to seeing this car again next Spring.

Matthew Boday

Once again Larry Levin was one of the first to arrive but this time in his new red Cayman GTS, and unfortunately I was not aware of his new purchase until we left. PCA Northeast Region is so lucky to have such an enthusiastic volunteer photographer who seems to be at every event. Larry will be the first one selected to be interviewed in April.

Rosemary and I are looking forward to seeing you all in April 2023.

photo: Larry Levin

Rog Slocum
127 Center Ave.
Middletown, RI 02842
e-mail: [email protected]

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Four Speeds and Drum Brakes

 Catskill Mountain Tour

 Perfect weekend weather, a German resort in the New York Catskill mountains, a group of friends and a Porsche 356, what could be better? The event was set up to run every other year in the same manner as the Helen GA event down south. It was ready to go in 2020 but put on hold as Covid 19 blanked out our schedule. We finally got the all clear this year and 68 people with 38 Porsches (including a 968, 914, Cayenne) arrived on a Thurs afternoon. We had many of our southern Tub owners attend, one from Sebring FL in a Speedster (1400 miles) and 6 others from FL and GA.

Riedlbauer’s Resort has been in the town of Round Top, NY since the 1930’s, with the current family running the program since 1978. The rooms are basic (there is a TV but no Fridge) and the buildings are well kept (think Dirty Dancing ), and there is a terrific bar with a huge German Mug collection.



Meals are part of the package so you don’t have to chase food every day. With all the driving and exploring we did we missed a few meals but breakfast was waiting every morning and one of the dinners we had was a terrific of German dish called Jagerschnitzel). The last night had a BBQ outside under cover with fire pits all around.

 The first group tour was to one of the original round barns left in NY. Tour books made sure that we saw as much of the countryside as possible and that was lovely. Some of these roads look like they came from the north GA mountains.

We had lunch as a group at a local Grange Hall (remember those?) put together by Paul and Sybil Margaritis. Terrific food under a tent by a small stream. A great time.

On Sat after breakfast, we drove over to Unobtainium Inc in Ravena NY  a company owned by Adam and Matt  Wright who supply used parts to our little band of drivers that we can’t get anywhere else. Hence, the company name. They supplied the standard coffee and donuts/bagels that were definitely not German.

 

Then on to Reinbeck for lunch and a quick drive over to the Aerodrome for an airshow featuring some planes that were over 100 years old. With a skit that involved throwing a dummy out of an open cockpit and chased by old time Cops (no guns).

 

Dinner the last night was on the property at Nussy’s Bier Garten which was all you could eat with free beer & wine. Well, at least until dark, they didn’t want to have any of the old people get lost in the woods. Fire pits were taking the chill out of the air  and added to long tales of previous Porsche gatherings. We all parked in the field together as the Bier Garten was open to the community and they were there too.

All in all a terrific Porsche weekend.  

The story above was written for publication in the National 356 Registry magazine but the real story (back story?) is below.

I actually had two of these Tubs at the event, the Speedster that I drove out and the Puddle Jumper that I loaned to a friend from Seattle who wanted to attend but didn’t want to drive 3000 miles to get there.

I had spent a couple of weeks going over the sunroof coupe and in the process had replaced the oil cooler and adjusted the clutch cable twice. I drove the car to Logan Airport and tossed Tom the keys. He seemed pleased with his ride for the week and met a group on the Mass Pike the next day for the trip to the Catskills. I followed the day after, meeting another Speedster owner at the same westbound rest area. It was a perfect day for a Speedster ride until mile number 146 when the car began to lose power and the temperature gauge headed to the red area. I was only a mile from the Lee rest area so I just let it roll in and got out to take a look. The movement on the generator pulley told me that something serious had broken inside the engine and that drive was over.

The Mass Pike has some strange rules about towing a car on the roadway so instead of calling AAA I phoned a friend who was just a ½ hour off the end of the Pike. Adam Wright is in Ravena NY and with his brother, Matt, owns a company called Unobtainium, who we were going to visit on Sat. See above. He dropped everything, jumped in his truck, brought a flatbed trailer and loaded up Blackie for the trip to his shop. He said that he thought he could sell the car pretty quick even with a bad engine. Ha Ha. Adam wouldn’t take any money for the help, said he just wanted the help credited to his Karma account. Another member had his 356 fail on the Pike the day before and it cost him almost $800 to get it back to West Newbury, MA. Ouch !  

                       I called friends who had already checked into the Resort and they came and picked me up and I gave Tom the bad news that I was going to need that coupe back. We had other backup choices so that worked out just fine as he was happy to trade the coupe for a little more luxury in a Porsche Cayenne.  

                          That arrangement was looking just fine for a couple of days until the clutch began to adjust itself on Saturday and not in the right way. As I pulled into the Reinbeck municipal parking lot on the way to lunch the clutch cable snapped and I was looking for another tow. Boy, these cars are fun.  

                          AAA was there in less than ½ hour for a trip back to the Resort. My friend Jeff had a spare clutch cable (he carries everything and never needs anything) and the job began as soon I could get it jacked up. I was pretty deep into the job when the troops returned from the air show and then I had lots of help. Only one member, Chris, actually got his hands dirty but I couldn’t have done it without him as it is a two man job. Everyone else stood around holding their beer and giving advice that wasn’t needed but all in good fun. Everything got buttoned up before the BBQ started and when the Puddle Jumper drove up to the parking area it got a big round of applause.

 The only other glitch was a short one on the ride home. I didn’t seem to have enough power to keep up with the 4 car caravan on ride back to Boston on Sunday and though I might have another engine going away. 45 minutes was enough time to over think the problem and I concluded that I had not put the bolt under the gas pedal in far enough and I was only getting ½ throttle. A quick turn with a 10mm wrench and it was back to full power and easy to keep up.

As any reader can see there is always more to the story with these old cars, we just remember the good part.

KTF

 

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