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Southern Roads and Museums: Pt 3

 

Our plan for day 2 is to spend as much time as possible at the Air & Space Museum.  In case you might not know this, the MAIN Air & Space Museum on the Washington Mall has been closed for a couple of years.  They are renovating the building and have plans to re-open it sometime in late 2022. 

Until a couple of years ago we did not know that there is an Annex to the main downtown A&S museum.  The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located in Chantilly, Virginia, right next to Dulles Airport.  This building has been open during Covid times and a mask was required.  But the mask mandate was dropped in early April… so our mid-April arrival was fortuitious.  No mask and a full day to explore.  Doors open at 10 and close at 5:30…so we hopped to spend all day exploring this wonderful museum.

Linda and I hit the road by 8:30 AM after a FREE full breakfast at Embassy Suites in Wilmington, DE.  Traffic is moderate as we negotiate the roads through Baltimore and around Washington DC.  The Porsche Navigation system does its usual flawless guidance and we cover the 120-mile drive in just about 2 hours, arriving at the museum building right on schedule just past 10:30 AM. 

Not wanting to receive any “door dings” from other cars we park Miss P way off from everyone else and begin to head in.  But before that we take a quick walk through a few rows of the parking lot.  You see Linda and I like to play the License Plate game.   As we drive, we keep an eye out for license plates from all the other states.  Linda makes up a master list before we leave (Linda loves lists), and when we see a plate either she or I sing out “hey, there is Tennessee … do we need Tennessee??”.                                                              

Linda consults the list and gives the answer.  “No, we saw Tennessee yesterday on Route 95 near New Haven”.   For Linda, a completed detailed list is much better than just a plain old list.

We have some simple rules for this game.  We cannot count large tractor trailers or U-Haul vehicles of any kind.  However, if a U-Haul is pulling a trailer with car on it… we CAN count that plate on the car.  If we are in a particular state (say Vermont) we cannot count a Vermont plate… as that seems as if we are cheating.  RVs are OK and so are small vans.

BOTH of us do not have to see the plate to confirm an ID. Many times, Linda is looking down at her map or consulting her I-phone… or sometimes (God forbid) sleeping.  So, if I call out “Hey, there is Wisconsin, do we need Wisconsin ??”  it will be counted even though she may not be able to confirm the “hit”.  It takes her a couple of seconds to come back to consciousness… you understand … and by that time Wisconsin is well down the road.  “I’m sorry Linda, I didn’t know you were sleeping.”  Her return smirk conveys the fact that she does not really believe me. 

Thus, before we head in to the Air & Space we take a quick tour of the adjacent parking lot, just to see if there are any “victims” we can nail.  Sure enough we find a good one, Alaska. That is always a tough plate to snag.  So today is looking good and we have not even entered the building!

Since this is a National Museum, the admission is FREE.  The only cost is a modest $15 to park for the day.  Considering what it now costs to park in downtown Boston, $15 is a steal for sure.  

This museum is really a case of sensory overload for anyone who has even a passing interest in the history of flying and the advance of aviation technology since the early 1900’s.  

The building is actually 3 HUGE hangers connected together and housing a vast array of every kind of flying machine you can imagine. There are lots of military planes including an SR 71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane, the Enola Gay – a B-29 bomber that dropped the first atom bomb, plus many civilian aircraft like the Supersonic Concord.   Add in other sections dedicated to Sport, Business, Commercial and General Aviation, plus World War II planes from both the Allied and the German side of the struggle and one could easily spend several days just gawking at all the hardware.   

The section that really caught our attention was the hanger dedicated to Space Flight.   Here was housed the massive Space Shuttle Discovery.  Everyone wants a picture in front of the Shuttle.   (see attached Jpeg… a smiling Linda). 

Both my wife and I, and we would guess at least a few who are reading this narration, grew up during the “space race” of the mid 60’s to late 70’s.  This was a time of rapidly advancing space flight technology and much of it is displayed here in the James S. McDonnell Space Hanger.  We spent at least 90 minutes here and still must have missed at least 50% of what was on display.

Time was marching on and one section I really wanted to see was the Restoration Hanger.  You cannot actually go into this area, but from the second-floor balcony you can look down and see several different vintage aircraft being refurbished.   It reminded me of what it must be like to be at a Porsche restoration facility and watch the technicians working on an old 356 or perhaps a 917 racer.  The only difference was the SIZE of the items the people below were working on and the overall complexity of the task.  A mid 70’s 917 race car is SIMPLE compared to a 2-engine bomber from WW II.  But the passion to see the project finished to perfection must be the same for both groups of restorers. 

The museum closes at 5:30 and true to form Linda and I are being ushered out the door promptly at 5:29. We hop into Miss P (no dings on the doors thankfully) and head out southwest for a 60-mile drive to Front Royal, VA.  This small town is at the Northern end of Skyline drive.  We check into our Hampton Inn (another Hilton chain) and find a nice local restaurant for a fine meal.   

Tomorrow is a day we have been waiting for.  Let’s hope it’s sunny so we can enjoy the ride.

-Ray Boyer

 

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South of Boston (SoBo) Porsches and Coffee, 24 April 2022

photo: Larry Levin
photo: Larry Levin
photo: Larry Levin

 

Our first of this season’s Porsches and Coffee was held in the parking lot of the Newport Car Museum located in Portsmouth RI.  It was a breezy morning in the chilly 40s.  I had a difficult time working my fingers writing down info about the cars and drivers. Considering the weather, we had a good turn-out, about 60 Porsches.

Early on, the car that attracted my eye was Brett Sroczinski”s 83 930.  Newly painted by Carl’s Collison of Fall River, the color is a stunning Audi Quantum Grey.  All the rubber was replaced (correctly), including doors, and the rear red plastic bar was treated then painted the same color with PORSCHE lettering in flat black.  Brett laughed when I asked, “was the paint job more than 5k?” It cost 4 times that, but I deemed the level of detail to be worth it.  He also had extensive work on the engine provided by Jerry Pellegrino. Brett purchased the car in 2007 with about 90 k.  Previously he owned an 86 944 Turbo.  Brett enjoys driving this Porsche hard.

Steven Howitt, a frequent SoBo participant, came in with his 84 928 S, which he purchased three years ago. With just 53k miles, he is just the third owner of this automatic, Gemini Metallic Gray gem. It has a limited slip differential, 8 speaker stereo, option side molding and factory optioned rims. This car is a highway cruiser and was popular in it’s day, especially in Texas.

Another 928 that caught my eye was Rich Doucette’s 84 928 S, also with an auto transmission.   Purchased last year in Atlanta, the car originally spent much of the time in Arizona and had just 69k miles. Rich is currently restoring much of the mechanicals, such as completing brakes, tires, air condition, cruise control, fuel pump, and gas tank. Being an Arizona car, the paint is all original; I saw no corrosion around any windows. Because of the slope of the rear window, it is often a problem for these models that are driven in New England weather.

Before the chill shut me down I saw what seemed to be a 944 with a different look. It was Michel Grossman’s 87 944. He purchased it about four years ago with 138k.  The previous owner was having another child and had to sell it.  The 944 had been modified for street/track, lowered two inches, larger rear tires and with a 924 Turbo front lid (louvers) for additional air flow. Also, the rear window was from a 968. Mike said that the car runs great and the only thing he had to do was replace the battery.  He has owned numerous sport cars; he drove a Porsche (I think a 912) in high school.

The next SoBo is scheduled for 22 May (10-Noon) at Sweet Berry Farm, 915 Mitchell’s Ln, Middletown, RI. The event as always is FREE, and no pre-registration is necessary. The only requirement to park on the grass is your Porsche. A Porsche logo sign should be in place directing you to the parking area.  Sweet Berry Farm is child friendly, encouraging small children to enjoy a working farm, so when entering and exiting, drive carefully. And, as always, for any SoBo related questions, please email me at:  [email protected]

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

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Newcomers Meeting – Member Recap

Although it has been a few weeks since Porsche Norwell hosted a fun and informative gathering for PCA members on a sunny Sunday morning, I can’t help but think about how nice it was to get together again at an in-person event and hear about all of the opportunities the region has to offer its members in 2022.

The morning started off with snacks, coffee, and juice while everyone was arriving. Those that arrived before the formal presentation began had an opportunity to check out a few new cars in the showroom, catch a glimpse of the F1 race that was playing on the TV, and watch/listen to the many Porsches pulling into the lot and onto the adjacent side street. A stunning 2022 GT3 is etched into my memory after staring at it for far too long.
 
Once everyone arrived and got situated, the formal meeting got underway as we learned about the many exciting things happening in 2022. The presenters offered insights into their areas of focus within the club: Social Events, Communication, Driver Education, Autocross, Spring Ramble, the Gala, Porsches and Coffee, Concours D’Elegance, SIM racing, etc. One lucky attendee walked away with a pair of tickets to the Audrain Automobile Museum, and there was a SIM racing rig available in the lobby for attendees to experience first hand.
 
After the PCA presenters wrapped up we had a chance to hear from Andrew Dunn, General Sales Manager of Porsche Norwell. He filled us in on updates to a few Porsche models and talked about the various supply chain issues and how those are affecting overall production numbers and price increases across the various model platforms. He also introduced the service manager and highlighted an air-cooled 911 project that was recently completed at the dealership, which was on display for attendees to see: a 1983 911SC Targa painted slate gray with a red interior. It looked fantastic!
 
One common theme that kept getting repeated – “it’s on the website”.
 
If you want to see what events are available to participate in, or volunteer at, rest assured they are listed on the website.
 
I definitely left the meeting feeling inspired to get to more events in 2022 than I have in years past. Hopefully you will too.
 
Mark McCormack
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2022 Ramble Registration Ends April 8

Despite the morning chill, the calendar says that Spring has arrived. Kick-off your driving season in style, and don’t miss out on experiencing NER’s largest single event – The New England Ramble. This year we’ll be leaving from Gurney’s Newport Resort, and exploring most of the Ocean State, from April 29 – May 1. We already have 297 people registered, and our attractively priced room block is nearly full. We’re all feeling more than a little cabin fever these days, so treat yourself and your favorite navigator to a weekend of good food, friendly people, and Porsche-worthy roads.

Learn more and sign up here! 2022 NER Ramble

  • Dennis Friedman
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2022 AUTOCROSS SEASON UPDATE

The AUTOCROSS Schedule for 2022 is set – mark your calendars! If you are new to the Club or your Porsche, Autocross is a great way to get introduced to Motorsport activities and meet new friends. We hope to see you at Devens in Ayer for one or more AX Events this year.

Our first event is an Autocross School which is highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn about the sport in a friendly, instructional setting.

For event dates and other information, click here: NER AutoX Info

If you have questions, contact Chris Ryan, Autocross Chair, at [email protected]

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2022 DE Season Updates

Whether it’s your first season on the track or you are a seasoned track veteran our 2022 DE Schedule is ready and we hope to see you there!

If you are a first timer or want a refresher, we suggest your attending Ground School :

2022 Ground School

General Info and DE Days are found here:

2022 DE General Info and Updates

For more info and questions please contact: Stan Corbett, NER Track Chair at [email protected]

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Winter Beaters: Season 2 Vol. 1

What’s your name and where do you reside?

Maddox Kay, I live in Cambridge, Mass.

What’s your first Porsche experience ?

Growing up in LA, Porsches were everywhere – in movies, on TV, and on the road. In 2006, when Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson (a known Porsche hater) aired a gushing  review of the 997 Turbo, it stuck in my mind. A few  years later, my uncle bought a used 997 Turbo, and when I graduated high school, before heading off to college, he let me drive it through the SoCal canyons. Besides getting pulled over (see my article on that in the May Nor’Easter, page 24) that car pretty much ruined me for all other sports cars. I knew I had to have a Porsche. 

What’s your history with PCA and New England?

After four years of college in Boston, I settled in the area and bought a $3000 1985.5 944 to fix up and play around with. I had a daily driver, so it wasn’t my only car, and it smoked like Don Draper. I learned how to fix a lot of things myself, and joined PCA for technical support as well as to become part of the community. Nine months later, the pandemic hit and I wasn’t very active in PCA for a while.

As COVID dragged on and I fixed my 944 up, Luis (VP – Communications) asked me if I’d want to be more involved with the club by helping out with social media. I said yes, and that’s when I really began to get to know the membership

A few months after that, we were at a bitterly cold season-opener Cars and Coffee at South Shore Autowerks, and spotted a ‘99 911 Carrera 4 that needed some love but looked promising and had all the right maintenance items done. (See May Nor’Easter story linked above for details.) Of course, I bought it (what fun would this story be if I hadn’t?!) and began my dream journey of owning a Porsche 911. 

I immediately replaced tires and brakes (the previous owner ran Michelins, which was a good sign, but they were nearly toast – and the brakes felt like the Red Line screeching to a halt.) An exhaust leak and an oil change later, we were on the road!

Winter driving:

I drive the C4 in the winter – after all, it’s a C4! I do have a daily (ten year old Audi A4 6-speed), so for commuting and extreme conditions I take that, but bringing the Porsche out on freshly coated backroads is so fun. You get to experience the car’s handling dynamics at much lower, safer speeds, and as Joe Cracco said, life is too damn short not to. 

I don’t drive the 944 much in the winter because it’s 36 years old and I’m not sure how the factory galvanization and rustproofing are holding up. It has one small rust spot by the driver’s rear wheel arch and I don’t want to make it any worse. However with the newer car and frequent washes, that isn’t as much of a concern.

Did you ever have a moment that wasn’t so fun?

You have to be careful driving in the winter. My main concerns are hitting black ice, or a texting driver on bald tires sliding into me. It hasn’t happened yet in the Porsche, but I have been rear ended during the winter in my daily, so I try to drive the fun cars outside of main commuting times. Get winter tires!

On a lighter note, my first car was a ‘97 Miata that I parked outside at college and would routinely get plowed in. One time, it took me, a friend, and a bag of kitty litter an hour to rock it out of a parking space! Looking back, that hour was quite fun and time well spent, but there were some other sketchy moments on the road in that car which taught me a lot about car control.

Most fun driving moments (winter/non-winter)?

Most fun – last year at DE Preview day doing parade laps of Palmer (a GT3’s 5/10 parade lap is my 9/10) in the 944. My New Year’s resolution is to get on the track with the 911 this year!

Most fun Winter – Probably Snow AutoX at Lime Rock with the Audi. Highly recommend. Their AutoX course is an actual mini-track with elevation changes and curbing. And then it gets covered in snow and is even better.

How are you keeping busy beyond cars this winter?

Learning how to ski! I never learned as a kid so finally ripped off the band-aid.

Other than that, spending time with friends and family and taking weekend trips around the region (ok I guess that involves cars 🙂 .)

Favorite and least favorite parts of winter?

I grew up in LA so this is still foreign to me. There’s something magical about the way snow transforms the landscape and makes everything quiet. So – favorites: walking around the city in a fresh snow, parking lot shenanigans, ski culture, walking on an empty beach on a warm-enough day in January. Least favorite: Shoveling, slipping on ice, shorter days (I’m an outdoors guy.)

This winter, I’m also working on several projects with the 996 to get it ready for the spring. New bucket seats to get out on track next season, fixing some electrical gremlins, maybe a couple performance upgrades…

What are the best and worst cars you’ve driven in the snow?

Worst: Miata (shudders.)

Best: My A4 has never gotten stuck *knock on wood.* Quattro (mechanical Torsen, 40:60 front:rear) paired with decent snow tires is the real deal! Remember, AWD helps you go, tires help you stop and turn. Even with that, nothing stops or turns on ice. But I’ve been so impressed with the A4 even in deep snow. You can get the tail out but it’s really controllable. I’m excited to play with the C4 some more, though.


Are you enjoying your winter? Write to us at [email protected] and let us know what you’ve been up to, and what you’re looking forward to most during the freeze, and as we thaw out.

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Four Speeds and Drum Brakes

On the Road Again:

 I love road trips, road trips to anywhere, driving anything. Of course, my idea of driving anything is on the upper part of the scale. Sunny days and dry roads are certainly best, but I do like racing in the rain, and so wet pavement is fun too. I will even drive when I don’t have to, which brings me to this month’s column.

 A good friend recently had a water leak in the sunroof of his 2013 911 C4S, and so he asked his insurance company to cover the damage and cost of repair, which was going to run into four figures. They said it was covered and sent an appraiser out to take a look. To his surprise (and mine), they totaled the car and sent him a check for more than he’d paid just a few months before. He loved the car, so he quickly found another at a dealer in Indianapolis, IN, and bought it. The trouble was that delivery looked like a month away due to shipping schedules, COVID, Holidays, etc. I told him that he should just hop a plane to Indy and drive it back. The new owner said that he falls asleep on a drive to the Cape and didn’t want to go that route. I still have Rob’s C4S in my garage, so I know where all the buttons are and love driving it, so I volunteered to go get it. It was a PDK car with less than 10k on the clock and looked brand new.

The nice part about long trips alone is that you can drive any way you want at any speed that’s safe. There’s nobody to stomp on the floor or grab the chicken bar when a high-speed inside pass is a little close. I’ve had a lot of experience passing cars on two-lane roads in underpowered cars. While in college, my brother and I delivered Tupperware to dealers in a 50 hp VW bus in the Frederick/ Hagerstown MD area from DC. In the hills of western Maryland, the trick was to drive foot to the floor approaching a passing zone and a slower car. If the way was clear, the pass was easy; if it wasn’t clear, you hit the drum brakes hard. Modern cars are rockets compared to that old bus, but it’s still best to take a run at a car rather than just pull out and pull the trigger. Most people aren’t good at estimating closing speeds of oncoming traffic, so they just stay in line and follow the bumper in front of them. Not me; I love the challenge. Passengers tend to have a little different view. No passenger, no drama.

 I had looked at the Waze route, and based upon the morning flight out and the departure time from the dealership, I figured that Erie, PA was a good place to stop for the night. That was about half way of the 1000 mile drive. I’d never been to Erie, PA, and was surprised to see that it was on Lake Erie. I could be a tourist.

There was a day when that would have been a one-day drive in a VW Beetle. While at Univ of MD, I had a classmate that lived in Miami. I was invited to visit (OK, meet her parents) one summer, so I got in my 36 hp Beetle and drove down Rt 95 before the Interstate was completed. With a top speed of 72 mph and a speed limit of 25 mph in every little town in between, it was a 20-hour trip. Didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. I made that run twice before she transferred back to Florida State. I don’t remember whatever happened to her, but I sure remember those rides.

 Indiana and Ohio turned out to be a lot flatter with a lot more open space than I expected. It was late Fall, and all the fields lay empty after harvest, which made it look somewhat abandoned.

   

 The sightline was very good, and between Waze pointing out the Highway Patrol cars and the Valentine One whistling a warning from time to time, I was almost invisible. Except for the cars around me.

As anyone knows, driving a modern Porsche at anything close to their cruising speed attracts drivers in other cars that think they can keep up.  Speed limits in the Midwest tend to be higher than the back east, and packs of cars travel at 80-85 or about ten mph over the posted limit.

 My travel method tends to be to pass groups of cars slowly, like 5-10 mph faster than they’re going. So nobody picks up the phone. I then pull back in the right lane and promptly disappear. Triple digits are just a couple of upshifts away, and I don’t have to lift until I approach the next group. Of course, there are always a few that pull out as I’m going away and try to keep up. They can catch me when I slow up, but usually, the distance is too great, and they give up.

There were two guys in Ohio that thought they would just follow me, so they just put their foot down and held it there. Bad move. A 20-year-old Mustang and a ratty minivan were easily doing 100 mph together when they crested a slight rise in the road trying to make up the space between us. I had already lifted, dropped down two gears (no brake lights) because Mr. Valentine was singing my song. They went by me with about a 30 mph speed difference as one of Ohio’s finest pulled out of the median strip to say hello. He got his quota that day, I’m sure. I just motored on down the road.

The trip was very smooth, the C4S got almost 27 mpg, even with my driving, and I got to see part of the US that I hadn’t seen before. At home, I introduced the new kid to Rob’s C4S, and they got along great, but it was a short meeting because the new owner came right over and scooped it up. I barely had time to clean the brake pad dust off the rims.

Another road trip just a few weeks later was just as much fun as I decided to rent a Porsche instead of a Camry for my December trip to FL. Because of COVID, the car rental companies started selling their fleets back in 2020 when rentals dropped like a stone. Now that the vaccine is widely available and people are beginning to travel again, there is a shortage of rental cars from the big names. That means higher rental prices as orders for replacement cars are not being filled due to a shortage of chips in the assembly process. With Corollas up to almost $200/day, I started looking elsewhere. There is an APP (of course) that can be used to rent cars from their owners. I was looking at a half-priced Nissan when a side banner suggested I might want to look at exotic cars for my trip. As I scrolled down, what popped up among the Lambos and Ferraris but listings for Porsches. There were Boxsters and Macans but what caught my eye was a white 2013 911. The cost was only about 30% more than a grocery grabber from Hertz and with more than enough miles allowed to get to Sebring and back. I spoke with the owner, who is a PCA guy, and he left the car at the airport in a parking garage with a lockbox holding the key and a SunPass in the window. I had emailed the photo of my 991, and I think he knew I would be a good customer. It couldn’t have been better.

The 911 was a PDK car with the same expresso interior as my Turbo S, and while it wasn’t nearly as fast, it was every bit as much fun. It even had the 20″ rims that I like. The Valentine One had passed through the TSA scanners without a problem, and with WAZE on the phone, I was invisible while driving again. I stayed a couple of days at my daughter’s new house in Orlando, and it really improved the neighborhood. The SunPass saved me the $50/day that rental companies charge, and the total tolls for the week that hit my credit card were only $38. The drop-off was easy as the owner met me at the airport before my flight, and after a short chat, we seemed like longtime friends. Car guys are car guys. Until the rental car shortage is over, I will be looking at TURO for interesting rides. They are all over the US.    

I just love road trips.  

-Tom Tate

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