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der VorgängerThe magazine of the Founders’ Region • Potomac, Porsche Club of America • April 2010

2• der Vorgänger • April 2010 www.pcapotomac.org Founder’s Region, Potomac: Celebrating 55 years

der VorgängerThe monthly magazine of the Founders’ Region, Potomac, Porsche Club of America.

April 2010, Volume 56, No. 3

FeaturesA primer on helmets for the track. 8Solving wet carpets in a Boxster. 10–11Say hello to autocross. 14A Philadelphia car museum. 15–18An exclusive Reno Porsche museum. 20-21What is Drive ’n Dine? 22What is Concours? 24Why I enjoy my Porsche. 12, 26, 28, 29

EventsHershey Porsche swap meet. 62010 Potomac schedules. 23

Photo on this page of John Hill’s 2010 GT3at Virginia International Raceway in 2009.Photo by Sideline Sports Photography, LLC

Cover photo of Eric Stratton’s 1993 911 RSAby Richard Curtis.

der Vorgänger • April 2010 • 3


Potomac is getting into high gear for the up-coming year. One of the real milestones for theRegion is we are 55 years old, same as PCA.

You’ll want to mark Saturday, Sept. 18 onyour calendar because Potomac is planning a realcelebration. We hope to have a wash and shineevent with Porsches from as many years past aswe canmuster. We’ll combine the car show witha social event. If you have information about ourhistory that you want to share, or some infor-mation relevant to our anniversary,please let me know. We’ll providemore information as we move for-ward in the planning process.

We’ll also have an article for fu-ture publication about the history ofPotomac. It’s worth noting that PCAwas founded by people from thisarea, and Potomac was the first Re-gion. The first Parade was held in thisarea, and we now have the longestrunning, consecutive Club Race. So,for all of you who have been in Po-tomac for a long time, please share your experi-ences with us.

More user-friendly web site is now activeHave you been on the Potomac website re-

cently?We wanted to make it more user friendly,and we are moving in that direction. MichaelJohnson, the web master who implemented thenew look has changed jobs and is moving toNorth Carolina. Johnson and Past President TonyKelly did a lot of work, and we owe them a debtof gratitude. In the interim, another Past Presi-dent, Pete Kauffman stepped up and started toimplement the changes.

Michael Handelman has agreed to help Petewith the transition and also serve as web master.They have some ideas for the future that willbuild on the changes made by Michael Johnsonand Kelly. And thanks to Handelman for postingthe club’s events on the Potomac calendar. Hewill also play a direct role in posting our eventson the PCA website and in Panorama.

A plug for ParadeA reminder that the PCA Parade is scheduled

for July 3 -9, 2010 at the all-inclusive PheasantRun Resort in St. Charles, Ill. Registration openedMarch 9. If you have not attended a Parade, thisis a great chance to experience PCA’s premierevent. For more information and to get a flavor ofthe many events, go tohttp://parade2010.pca.org. Hope to see youthere.

As of February, Zone 2 is now formally incor-porated. Thanks to Dave Novak at National fortaking the lead and getting this done. Incorpo-ration means that now the Zone can establish a

Zone checking account and ensures much betterfinancial management for Zone funds. Our nextZone presidents meeting is April 17, so if youhave any issues you want raised at that meeting,please let me know. One of the main Zone issuesfrom our last open board meeting was the mo-tion passed requiring me to notify the Zone 2representative and the Zone 2 presidents that Po-tomac was in favor of the incorporation butwanted the Zone to be much more proactive in

de-conflicting Zone and regionevents.

The example was scheduling theZone 2 Club Race on the sameweekend as our Watkins Glen Dri-ver’s Education event. This has beendone, and I will raise it again at themeeting on April 17.

I’ve met with Jens Scott at BillScott Racing at Summit Point(W.Va.) Motorsports Park. Jens hastaken over the motorsports side ofBSR after the recent death of founder

Bill Scott, Jens’ father. One of the things that im-pressed me about Jens was his willingness to so-licit new ideas from those who regularly go toSummit Point. Jens has some interesting ideasabout using new technology to make SummitPoint a better place to race or drive.

Jens confirmed that repaving of Summit Pointmain should be finished by the time you readthis, and that BSR had contracted with a pavingspecialist with extensive experience in racetrackresurfacing. The downside is that our normalApril DE at Summit Point Main will not be heldthis year. Our first event at Summit Point will beour High Performance Driving Clinic scheduledfor early April at the Jefferson Circuit. Our firstDE will be at Shenandoah in early June.

Another positive thing that came from thismeeting was a visit to the BSR karting facility.BSR has initiated a karting operation that lookspretty nifty. In our efforts to develop new types ofevents for the membership, we are working onsetting up a karting day at Summit Point. Co-Chief Instructor Bob Mulligan, who has exten-sive karting experience, is working out the detailswith a few of his karting associates. By the timeyou read this article, we hope to have the eventscheduled and on the calendar. It will be runsimilar to a DE. If we can work out the detailsand the event is successful, we plan on makingit a regular addition to our lineup. The greatthing about karting is everyone in the family canenjoy it, and BSR can accommodate everyonefrom experienced racers to families.

Again, please let us hear what you think, pos-itive or negative. Email me at [email protected] .

The president’s page

Happy 55th birthday to us!

Tuffy von Briesen

der Vorgänger is the official magazine of the FoundersRegion, Potomac, Porsche Club of America, Inc.http://www.pcapotomac.org. Contributions for derVorgänger should be sent to editor Richard Curtis atleast six weeks preceding the month of publication,preferably via e-mail to [email protected].

Publisher: Tony Kelly6726 Lucy LaneMcLean, Va. [email protected]

Editor, designer: Richard Curtis6032 Makely DriveFairfax Station, Va. [email protected]

Contributing photographers: John Bailey, MichaelMadrid, Sunny Reynolds, Willy Straubhaar.

Contributing writers: Tuffy von Briesen, GaryBrindle, Sydney Butler, Andy Clements, John Eber-hardt, Rich Franco, Kristin Brickley Hilleary, MargaretKauffman, Tony Kelly, John Magistro, Tony Pagonis,Starla Phelps and Steve Vetter.

Proofreaders: Jim Hood, George Soodoo

Questions about display advertising rates and place-ment in der Vorgänger, please contact (do not call)Tony Kelly at [email protected]

der Vorgänger (ISSN 0199-0667) is publishedmonthlyexcept in January by the Founders’ Region, Potomac,Porsche Club of America at 11712 Blue Smoke Trail,Reston. Va. 20101-3702. Subscription is limited tomembers of the Founders’ Region, Potomac, PorscheClub of America. Annual dues are $42 ($18 for der-Vorgänger subscription alone). Periodicals postage paidat Baltimore, Md. and at additional mailing offices.Postmaster: Send address changes to der Vorgänger,11712 Blue Smoke Trail, Reston. Va. 20101-3702.Statements appearing in der Vorgänger are those of thecontributing authors and do not constitute the opin-ions or policy of the Founders’ Region, Potomac,Porsche Club of America, its board of directors or theeditors of the magazine. The Founders’ Region, Po-tomac, Porsche Club of America neither endorses anyadvertisement nor warrants any product or servicesthey may provide. Potomac Region reserves the rightto cancel advertisements at any time, for any reason,in its sole discretion. For information regarding com-mercial advertising and rates, contact the publisherlisted above.

Letters to the editor are welcome but should bebrief and may be edited for length. Please note ifthe letter or e-mail is submitted as a letter to theeditor, and include a contact phone number forverification.

der Vorgänger


Editor’s column

This is the 55th anniversary year for Potomac.We’ll be covering sev-eral anniversary events leading up to a full-blown celebration on Sept.18 (see club President Tuffy von Briesen’s column on the oppositepage). In the pages of dV, we hope to showcase several members whowere around in the early years of the club, which eventually led to thefounding of PCA. Surely, you’ll agree that stories from that era will beengaging and enlightening..

To that end, if you know any of the club’s founders or even mem-bers who have been around since the 1950s or 1960s whomight agreeto being the focus of a short article about them and their recollectionsof the early days, please contact me at [email protected]

• • •As always, dV continues to look for enterprising writers, photogra-

phers and artists. If you’d like to join our merry little band, we’d loveto hear from you. While those roles don’t make much money (doeszero have any meaning?), the fame is enduring and the hours manage-able. Please contact me at [email protected]

• • •We’ll all agree that there are more Porsches being driven around the

Northern Virginia-D.C.-Maryland area than there are members be-longing to Potomac. You can help your club grow by carrying photo-copies of Page 9 of dV to slip beneath windshield wipers on Porschesyou see parked; even better, walk up to the driver and introduce your-self and give them the photocopy while inviting them to join. Weshouldn’t be keeping all this fun to ourselves.

Richard Curtis

Our 55th anniversary

6• der Vorgänger • February 2010 www.pcapotomac.org Founder’s Region, Potomac: Celebrating 55 years

The Central Pennsylvania Region of the Porsche Clubof America is once again holding its Porsche-Only SwapMeet in Hershey, Pa., on Saturday, April 24.

This swap meet typically brings nearly 650 vendors,around 1,000 Porsches and over 6,000 visitors togetherin Hershey every year. (In 2003 the long-distance awardwent to a 968 driver from Albuquerque, N.M.)

If you’re seeking an obscure Porsche or an obscurepart for your Porsche, this is a good chance to find it.

You’ll see exotic Porsches found nowhere this side ofStuttgart and Porsche personalities ranging from PCAmuckety-mucks to (sometimes) celebrities such as JerrySeinfeld. The meet features a People’s Choice Concourson Saturday and a Sunday autocross on the same site.

People’s Choice concoursThis charity event is designed as a People’s Choice.

Voting ballots for swap attendees will be available at thePeople’s Choice headquarters at the head of the concoursparking area. The ballot instructs voters to select their fa-vorite participating Porsche—in each of eight award cat-egories—from those vehicles registering for the event. AllPorsches driven to the swapmeet and parked in the con-cours parking area are eligible for this event. Winners re-ceive trophies and an assortment of swag.

Swap autocrossThat’s right, motorheads. The hottest autocross

course east of the Mississippi is open for business. Thisis your chance to quit telling everyone how good you areand prove it, on the largest single paved area in the stateof Pennsylvania. Assuming you aren’t driving your mom’sHyundai, you can build up a respectable head of steamon our long straightaways—but the real test comes whenit’s time to turn the wheel.

Porsche caravans welcomeYou say your Porsche model is the coolest ever made?

You’ve gone so far as to find a whole bunch of other own-ers of the samemodel? And now you all run together likewolves in a pack? You’re our kind of Porsche driver. Itdoesn’t matter if your group is based on a Porschemodel,a PCA Region, a bunch of friends or however you defineit. Just let us know you’re coming and how many are inyour group.

We’ll arrange a parking area just for you and yourparty! (Minimum 10 cars, please.) The 968 Club typi-cally brings 30 or so cars.

Sell a Porsche, buy a PorscheGot a Porsche for sale? For only $20 you can park your

Porsche in the Porsche Corral. Even when it rains at theswap meet, the Porsche Corral is full of customers. It’sopen to dealers and individuals. No pre-registration nec-essary—just ask when you arrive.

Annual Porsche swap meet scheduled for April 24 in Hershey, Pa.Swap meet details

• Where: Hershey Park (fol-low the signs)

• Largest gathering ofPorsches in U.S.

• Reserved Porsche-onlyparking for over 900 cars,$10/car

• Other parking, $10/car• Gates open 7:30 a.m. &

close 4 p.m.• Event held rain or shine• Free admission• On site food, beverage

and clean bathrooms• ATM within 10 min. drive• Peoples Choice Concours• Porsche (for sale) Corral

$20/car, no pre-registration nec-essary

• Reserved parking forPorsche caravans

• Porsche-only autocross,Sunday, April 26

• No pets/animals allowed• • •

Vendor pre-registration $40,but that endedMarch 10. Vendorspaces available day of event$50 plus $25 township fee.

April 2010anniversaries

35 yearsGary Hess & Shane DorseyHarris B. Sibener

25 yearsRobert O. Williams &

KimWilliams

20 yearsPatti Mascone & Peter Mascone

15 yearsMichael C. Goodman &

Marlene H. GoodmanDwayne Moses &

Shanna L. MosesAnita Sangi & Dennis PontonDaniel K. Sellers &

Richard D. Sellers

10 yearsCarl J. Beisel & Kathryn BeiselRichard Cook & Anne CookEd Duncan & Audrey ShayDonald E. Fleming &

Pamela FlemingLindy MilnerMichael F. Schnittker &

Christina T. SchnittkerMark Wemple &

Rebecca Holdredge

5 yearsJoseph P. Angelone &

Claudia AngeloneEric S. Aulabaugh &

Tammy AulabaughGeorge M. Baird & Kay BairdBuck BucknerDavid W. Jackson &

Twyla JacksonVarel G. Jackson &

Donna JacksonRobert E. Snieckus &

Mary SnieckusJacquis-Paul Speyer &

Michel SpeyerBill Wrobel & Heather Wrobel

March 2010new members

Nelson L. Goodwin &Glenda Goodwin

Max GrantAlan Himes & Elizabeth LangalisJulie K. KarmazinTroy Macias & Jennifer MaciasMichael Menke & Regis MenkeKirt MeyerWayne Newton &

Susan NewtonBill PerryFred E. PhillipsMiguel A. RoqueHarris B. SibenerJ. P. Thal-Larsen & John HarrellPernell L. ThomasJosh TurnerSeth Turner

New members, anniversaries


Monthly breakfast meetingscontinue in Northern Virginiaand Maryland. Members cancome and go as they please, join-ing in at communal tables. Noregistration. If members decideto go for rides together afterbreakfast, so much the better!

Virginia’s breakfast is thefirst Saturday of each month atChutzpah Deli & Restaurant,

Tysons Corner from 9-11:00 a.m.Chutzpah is located at 8100Boone Blvd., Tysons Corner, Va.22182 behind McDonald’s on Rt7 across from Tysons Mall.

The Maryland breakfast isthe third Saturday of eachmonth from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.upstairs (private room) at the IrishInn, 6119 Tulane Ave., Glen Echo,Md.

• • •For more information, contact

John Magistro at [email protected]

New members invitedto monthly breakfasts

If you have joined or trans-ferred to the Potomac Regionsince January 2009 or have neverbeen to a Potomac event, pleasejoin us for some great food andfun at our Orientation Party. Youwill learn what this club is allabout and why people have re-mained members for decades.

Please join us at:Tischer Porsche3211 Automobile Blvd.Silver Spring, Md. 20904on Saturday, April 17, 2010

from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.Bring a guest or the whole fam-

ily.Refreshments and hors d’oeu-

vres will be served.Club Board members and

event chairpersons representingour Rally, Driver’s Education,High Performance Driving Clinic,Concours, Autocross, Dine andDrive, Public Service and ClubRace Programs will be on hand toanswer your questions.

For directions and informationabout Tischer Porsche, check outtheir web site at www.tischer-porsche.net

While it is not necessary toRSVP it will help us in planning.You may RSVP by e-mail to [email protected] you.

Welcome party for new Potomac members


By Pete Kauffmanfor der Vorgänger

Ever wonder why helmets are required tobe certified as Snell 2005?

Many years ago when I first was autocross-ing, we did not use helmets. I had an old JaguarXK120 that could barely stop. It had drumbrakes and 16-inch bias-ply tires. The seatbelts(lapbelts only) were bolted into the wood floorsand thru the frame. One day Itook it to the drag strip to seewhat it would do.

As they called my number,the car would not start so wesquirted ether into the carbs andpushed it down the paddockuntil it started. My friends closedthe hood, and I rushed to theline. A small-block Corvette wasnext to me. When the flagdropped, I gave it the gas.

By the time I shifted to third,I was going around 60 mph butthe Corvette was far ahead. Then the hood thatmy friends had latched, lifted up, folded backand flipped over, breaking the windshield, strik-ing me on the head (why is no one surprised),putting a huge dent into the back of the carand then ripped off its hinges.

I shifted into third and finished the race adistant second. I was dazed and unhurt, butprobably had a minor concussion. There wereno medical personnel at the track. I had aheadache for a few days but was okay, or so Ithought. I never told my dad how close I cameto serious injury that day, but I have worn ahelmet ever since.

When I first started autocrossing with PCA,we were using Snell 90s. Now we have a Snell2005 standard. Are they getting better or justselling helmets? Who is Snell? Why are theredifferent standards for motorcycles and cars.Here are some questions and answers fromwww.smf.org.

Who/what is Snell?William “Pete” Snell was an amateur auto

racer. He died in a racing event in 1956 whenhis then state-of- the-art helmet failed to protecthim. In memory of Pete, the Snell MemorialFoundation was formed to influence helmetdesign and capabilities, and to encourage thedevelopment and use of protective helmets.What are the differencesbetween SA, M and K standards?

The SA standard was designed for compet-itive auto racing while M standard was for mo-torcycling and other motorsports. The Kstandard was released to accommodate hel-mets used in karting. There are three major dif-ferences between them:

1. The SA standard requires a flammabilitytest while the M and K standards do not.

2. The SA and K standards allow for a nar-rower visual field than M standard (some SA

and K certified helmets may notbe street legal).

3. The SA and K standards in-clude a rollbar multi-impact testwhile M standard does not.

Parts of the helmetHelmets are normally com-

prised of four elements:A rigid outer shell, a crushable

liner, chin straps or a retainingsystem, and padding for fit orcomfort.

The rigid outer shell whenpresent adds a load-spreading capability, andprevents objects from penetrating the helmet.It’s kind of like an additional skull.

The liner, usually made of EPS (expandedpolystyrene) or similar types of materials, ab-sorbs the energy of an impact by crushing.

The chin strap, when properly buckled andadjusted along with the fit padding, helps thehelmet remain in position during a crash.

How do helmets work?Helmets work kind of like a brake or shock

absorber. During a fall or crash a head is travel-ing at a certain speed. Since the head hasweight there is a certain amount of energy as-sociated with the moving head.

When the helmet impacts an unyieldingobject—a rock, a wall, a curb or the ground—the hard shell starts by taking the energy gen-erated by the falling helmet (head) and spreadsit over a larger portion of the helmet, specifi-cally the foam liner. The liner then starts tocrush and break which uses up a lot of the en-ergy, keeping it from reaching the head inside.

Depending on how fast the head is travelingand how big, heavy and immovable the objectis, the faster the head slows down, and themore energy is present. In short everythingslows down really quickly.

A helmet will effectively reduce the speedof the head by breaking and crushing, whichreduces the amount of energy transferred to thebrain. The whole process takes only millisec-

onds to turn a potentially lethal blow into asurvivable one.

Why should you replace your helmet?

The five-year replacement recommendationis based on a consensus by both the helmetmanufacturers and the Snell Foundation.Glues, resins and other materials used in hel-met production can affect liner materials. Hairoils, body fluids and cosmetics, as well as nor-mal “wear and tear” all contribute to helmetdegradation.

Additionally, experience indicates there willbe a noticeable improvement in the protectivecharacteristic of helmets over a five-year perioddue to advances in materials, designs, produc-tionmethods and the standards. Thus, the rec-ommendation for five-year helmet replacementis a judgment call stemming from a prudentsafety philosophy.

Where is the Snell label located?There are two forms of the Snell serialized

label; most common is the adhesive label af-fixed to the inside of the shell. There is also acloth type for theM, SA and RS standards, gen-erally sewn onto the chin strap. If a search failsto turn up a decal then your helmet is not partof the Snell certification program.

What does PCA Potomac Require?The helmet standard for PCA is that the hel-

met be SA rated and no more than 10 yearsold. SA helmets are designed for multiple hitsand are fire resistant. However, we will acceptM-rated helmets, but not for cars with roll bars,roll cages or cars that are race prepared. The2010 standard is now in effect. Technically, asof Jan. 1, 2010, the 2000 standard helmets areobsolete. As the 2010 helmets become avail-able, we will phase out the 2000 helmets. So,you may have to budget for a new helmetsometime this year. If you are buying one now,you may want to rent one for a few monthsuntil the 2010 helmets are available. Helmetsare inspected at the beginning of each year anda sticker is placed on the helmet.

There is much more on the Snell website.www.smf.org

Bottom line, it is a good idea to try to avoidtesting the limits of your helmet, but, if youneed to, it is your best friend. Better to have ahelmet on thanplan to go thru life wonderingwhat you might have accomplished if you hadnot been hit on the head when you wereyoung.

Got a $5 head? Wear a $5 helmet.Snell ratings for helmets explained

Approved helmets:Snell SA2000SA2005SA2010The PCA Po-

tomac region alsoallows:

M2000M2005K2005

Help Potomac build membershipYou can help our region

grow. Photocopy this pageto include the PCA appli-cation below. Make a fewcopies and keep them in

each of your cars. Whenyou see a Porsche ownerhand them a flyer and in-vite them to join, or leavethe flyer on the wind-

shield. We are currentlythe second largest regionin PCA. Help your club tobecome Number One.

Member perksWhen you become a

PCAmember, you becomea member of the largest in-dependent, single-marque

club in the world. It’s onlyfitting that you get a fewperks, right? For starters,you will receive subscrip-tions to Panorama, PCA’smonthly magazine and toder Vorgänger, Potomac re-gion’s monthly magazine.You will also have access tothese additional benefits:

Discounts from manylocal and national mer-chants, including fiveD.C.-area Porsche dealers,for Porsche related prod-ucts, parts and services.(This is worth the cost ofmembership alone.)

Technical publications:Up-Fixin der Porsche (11volumes reprinting alltechnical articles to appearin Panorama).

Tech Committee avail-able to answer your ques-tions.

Valuation committee tohelp you establish thevalue of your Porsche forinsurance purposes.

Access to specializedinsurance for Porsches thatare second autos/ pleasureonly/ limited use.

Nationwide PCA Clubracing program; modeledon vintage racing rules.

Annual national con-vention (Porsche Paradegathers in a different loca-tion each year. Over 600Porsches and 1,500 folks.)

Group tours (PCA Tref-fen®) to Europe and thePorsche factory.

Membership eligibilityMembership is open to

all Porsche owners, co-owners or lessees, who are18 years of age or older.



How to fix a Boxster’s wet carpetsBy Rich Francofor der Vorgänger

Three times during the late summer and early fall of2009, I noticed a stale smell upon entering the car in themorning for the daily slog to work. I know most peoplewill be thinking that a dose of Beanomight be a quick fix,but one morning I connected the dots and realized thatthe odor was coming from wetness, a fairly easy conclu-sion in any car with a convertible top.

The driver’s side footwell carpet was wet along thearea where the footwell meets the kick wall in front of thedriver’s seat. The floor carpet and the removable carpetboth were wet.

I searched several pop-ular Boxster web forumslooking for forum mem-bers posting questionsabout similar wet carpet is-sues and immediately wentinto panic mode. Boxstershave a central computerbrain located under the dri-ver’s seat and many post-ings indicated thatdampness under the dri-ver’s seat can have a ten-dency to ruin thisexpensive part. Most postings seemed to indicate thatclogged front and rear drains cause the wetness. Thesedrains can clog with debris from trees, causing water toseep into the passenger compartment and collect in thefoam rubber padding that exists in the floor carpeting.

The websites I searched:• Porsche Pete’s Boxster Board

(http://www.ppbb.com/phorum/index.php)• Renntech

(http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?)• Mike Focke’s Boxster pages

(http://sites.google. com/site/mikefocke2/mikesporscheboxsterwebpages)

• 986 Forum (www986forum.com)The Boxster has several drainage points in both the

front and rear of the car. It’s simple enough to check theseby pouring water down the drains while watching to seeif they drain properly from the bottom of the car. Mydrains were clear and definitely not the issue.

A single posting on Renntech said to check for wet-ness along the bottomedge of the door carpetingand this was my exact situ-ation. It seems that thewater will seep down pasta vapor barrier that existsbetween the door frameand the interior door panel,soaking the door carpeting,which then drips over therocker panel into the pas-senger compartment floor.After a quick review of mycopy of the Boxster BentleyManual, I followed the di-

rections for removal of the door panel for deeper investi-gation. In the event you don’t have a Bentley Manual,here’s a link to illustrated on-line instructions on how toremove the door panel: http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/window/. It tookme about 30min-utes to remove the door panel; however, I could proba-bly remove the panel now in about 10 minutes.

Above: The red arrowsnote the wet areas.Sharp-eyed readers willnote that I had already re-moved two plastic trimareas on the door panelbefore I realized that Ineeded to snap a picture.Hint: look at the doorgrab and airbag cover.Also note the checkeredflag emblem, a personalembellishment leftoverfrom our previous owner.

Right: A Boxster diagramshowing water drainagefrom:

1. the water tray.2. leakage channel atfront top rear-side panel.3. tank tray4. evaporator of heatingand air-conditioning sys-tem.


Once removed, I found that the seal along the loweredge of the vapor barrier had separated from the doorskin letting in the water. I placed a thick bead of RTV sil-icone sealant (available in home improvement stores)along the lower edge of the vapor barrier. So far, it’s beenfour months and the problem seems to be solved.

As a final note, the carpeting beneath the seats has a

thick foam rubber backingthat can hold a ton of wet-ness. The padding is sothick that the surface of thecarpet can feel dry to thetouch while the foampadding underneath canhold wetness for weeks. It’seasy to feel for dampnesshere by reaching behindthe passenger seat and in-serting your fingers downinto the space where thefloor carpet meets the car-pet covering the rear fire-wall. In my case, there wasenough wetness to com-pletely soak a medium sizechamois I jammed underthe carpet. I propped upthe carpet in this area witha short piece of scrap woodto allow the remainingdampness to air dry overthe course of a week.

• • •About the author: Rich, a long time PCA Potomac

member, currently owns the 2000 Boxster S pictured as well as1980 911SC. He previously owned a ’67 912 and a ’73 911TTarga. In addition to being a do-it-yourselfer, Rich has beenbitten by the PCA Potomac Driver’s Education Program andlooks forward to participating in the 2010 DE season.

Left: In this picture, youcan see the vapor barrierthat goes between thedoor frame and the inte-rior panel, the driver’sside air bag at the uppermid part of the doorframe and the door sub-woofer module in lowerright of the picture (notall Boxsters have this op-tion). This vapor barriershould keep the wetnessfrom getting into the pas-senger compartment.

I removed the sub-woofer module and foundthat the sealant for thefoam membrane along theentire bottom edge of thedoor had separated, allow-ing water from behind theseal to leak into the pas-senger compartment. Athick bead of RTV siliconsealant re-sealed this areaand solved the problem.


Name: Denise ElliottOccupation: VP, Sales and Marketing at Kiplinger,

publishers of The Kiplinger Letter and Kiplinger’s PersonalFinancemagazine.

Lives in: Falls Church, Va.

I guess I’m not your typical Porsche person. I can’tsay I ever loved cars and that’s mostly because they neverloved me. Don’t get me wrong. I love todrive. OK, really I love to drive fast and Iunfortunately have plenty of tickets built upover the years to prove it.

I learned to jump start a car, add oil andchange tires out of sheer necessity because I was chron-ically broke and the quality of the cars I owned left a lotto be desired.

One car that I remember fondly (in a sort of thankGod it’s gone sort of way) was a green Dodge Omni withserious alternator problems. I always rode with jumpercables in the passenger seat (didn’t even bother to putthem in the trunk). I could run any two items at a time,but nomore. If it was raining, and dark I was OK becauseit could handle the wipers and lights, but I couldn’t eventhink about turning on the radio or defrost. No way …I’d be stuck on the side of the road in minutes. I thenhad a Chevy Cavalier whose body was so rusted, I had to

keep a piece of plywood on the passenger side floor-boards so you couldn’t see through to the road. I hadnicknamed it the Flintstone mobile.

When I was able to buy a new car, I went all out ... yes,a 1992 Pontiac Grand Am in, of all colors…wait for it…Metallic Aqua Blue. It lasted memany years thanks to anextended warranty that I put to REALLY good use (a newtransmission, four or five water pumps, chronic but in-

termittent stalling problems … you get thepicture). When the extended warranty ranout, I junked her. Yes, junked her. She wasthat far gone.

After becoming more financially secureand years of driving reliable, but mostly pedestrian cars,I decide to sell the ex’s Mercedes and buy something Iwanted. I start test driving all types of cars. I try out theBMWZ3,Mercedes SLK, a C4 Corvette and a 1968Mus-tang (which wasn’t as much fun as I remembered whenI was in college driving one belonging to a friend. I reallydo like the niceties of power steering and power brakesand the safety of anti-locks and airbags).

I didn’t like any of them. They just weren’t “right.”In April of 2007, a friend of mine bought a very glitchy

928. Since I was dropping my friend and his car off atthe shop often, I became good friends with Taylor Chap-man, now at German Auto Group, who one day pointed

Why I enjoymy Porsche

Denise Elliott with herblack 911 model 993 C4cabriolet. The car camewith a TPC supercharger.

Atypical owner but Porsche results

How about your story ofwhy you enjoy yourPorsche(s)? Share them withdV readers [email protected] high-resolution photo ofyou with your car wouldalso be appreciated.


out a client’s car that was for sale.There she was… a 911… 1995 triple black

6-speed C4 convertible with 67,000ish milesand 18” turbo twists … Taylor explains the ba-sics of the car to me and seems to be making abig fuss about the TPC Supercharger. A what? Iwonder … feeling like such a chick. So I ask …and am told “you’ll go really fast.” I like thesound of that even though all of my visits to traf-fic court come flashing back.

With permission, I take her for a test drive. Iimmediately love the tight steering, the sound ofthe supercharger, the go-cart feel… all so muchbetter than what I had been test driving. I gethome and call a buddy of mine who is a car nutto give him the details on the car and to get hisopinion.

He tells me “You should be able to pick upany guy you want in that ride.”

That’s all I needed to know.The seller was in a hurry, so I was able to get

a good price and with the stroke of a pen, I hadmy “new” 993 and an entrée into the Porschefanatic world.

I immediately had a lot of questions. I maynot know much about the technical details ofcars, but if someone is willing to explain, I’m in-terested. I immediately hopped online, joined acouple boards and asked a lot of questions.

Am I the only one who can’t read the freakin’dipstick? Am I the only one whose oil gaugecan’t be trusted? Answer: No and no. Whereshould I put the antifreeze? (Just kidding, I was-

n’t THAT bad off.)Thanks to all of the ideas I got frommy forum

buddies, my checkbook was soon burning rub-ber. I traded the knock-off turbo twists for 18”OEM 5-spokes, added a strut brace and protec-tion bar under the nose. I had the clutch re-placed and had some other goodies done whilethe engine was dropped.

I’m not much of a social networking type, soI was surprised at how truly helpful and forgiv-ing of novice questions my new online Porschefriends were. I’ve been fortunate enough tomeeta few in person also and that’s been very enjoy-able to put a face to a name (and/or user name).

Over the past three years, I’ve met manyfriendly, down-to-earth Porsche owners at thevarious PCA events, non-sponsored fun runsand get-togethers. I look forward to meetingmany more.

Before I bought my 993, if someone had toldme that I’d be a “Porsche” person and would besaving up for mods, be on a first name basis withmy mechanic’s wife and children and would beattending Porsche events and contributing to on-line forums on an almost daily basis, I wouldhave said you were crazy.

My beau, Tom, (yes, my friend was right) andI can be seen riding with the top down as oftenas possible, listening to the growl of the engineand the whine of the supercharger. Well, maybeyou won’t see me, but you may see a black blurand my tail lights through your windshield!

The TPC supercharger adds loads of torque to the 993.


By Tony Pagonisfor der Vorgänger

Most of you receiving this and other Porschepublications are doing so because you happento own one of the most enthusiast-oriented carbrands out there: Porsche.While these cars aresuperbly capable of mundane daily drivingchores, Porsches have a much deeper soul andheritage and are designed to be driven. Whenit comes to accelerating, braking and corner-ing, few others can keep up.

Driving safely and remembering to share theroad with others is an important mindset.There are limits on all public roads, legal andotherwise, which require us to keep a levelhead at all times when behind the wheel. Driv-ing a vehicle weighing a ton, and sometimesmuch more, is a tremendous responsibilitywhen among other vehicles, pedestrians,homes, businesses, light poles, signs, etc.

You might ask then, “How can we havesome fun with our thoroughbred cars, withoutendangering other people, vehicles or prop-erty?” Fortunately, PCA recognizes these desiresand through the various Regions, eventsabound that allow us to explore the limits ofour car’s capabilities safely and legally.

Track events, under the guidance and tute-lage of qualified instructors, allow us to explorethe upper limits of speeds, braking and cor-nering.

In all honesty, though, track events requirea substantial commitment in time and prepa-ration, and for some, the on-track speeds maybe a bit intimidating. That’s where autocross(which I’ll refer to as AX) comes in and helpsbridge the gap between responsible street driv-ing and competent track driving.

So what exactly is an AX event?Autocross events are low-to-medium speed

auto driving events; they are often run on park-ing lots and airport runways.

Generally a course will be defined using traf-fic cones. One driver at a time negotiates thecourse testing their skill against the clock. Timepenalties are charged for disturbing cones, andthe penalty is two seconds per cone. A driver isawarded the best time of all runs taken.

Another event similar to AX is a gymkhana,which is typically run on a parking lot with alayout designated by cones. But in a gymkhana,an added challenge of specific maneuvers, suchas pulling in and out of a box, going thru por-tions in reverse or making multiple tight loopsaround a single cone.

At a typical AX event, you will find yourselfnavigating through a course of cones, which es-

sentially replicate a miniature race course. Em-phasis will be onmaintaining car control as youaccelerate, brake and negotiate each turn inorder to finish in the lowest possible time.

Because most AX courses are confined to alimited amount of parking lot pavement, thevast majority of time your car will never goabove second gear, or maybe 50 mph tops.One of the appeals to many that autocross, isthat speeds are lower than you would experi-ence on a full track. As such, consequenceswhen a mistake is made are greatly reduced.

If you spin out on an AX course, you willtypically not go far before your car comes to acomplete stop. Plus, as cars are spaced out fortiming purposes on an AX course, you will alsonot have any nearby traffic to worry about.

With any motorsport activity, there will al-ways be inherent risks, both in driver and ve-hicle. Generally speaking, AX events have a safetrack record. In fact, our course design crite-rion provides clearance from impediments, likecurbs and poles, in order to provide a safe zoneto accommodate the occasional “whoops.”

In a nutshell, AX is a relatively benign andsafe way to experience performance driving.You will be driving on a course with only onecar at a time and racing against the clock; elec-tronic timing equipment will display your timeat the end of your run as well as recording it ona laptop for final publishing of results.

Hitting cones will result in a time penaltybeing added to your run. An AX helps you dis-cover your car’s capabilities and limitations, aswell as your own, ultimately making you a bet-ter and safer driver on the road.

Probably the greatest thrill of autocross isthe challenge of beating your own time. It’sfun! As your driving ability and skills develop,you’ll find yourself experiencing the thrill of di-rectly competing with others’ times.

Most AXers are driving enthusiasts whoenjoy motorsports competition. In fact, a largepercentage of participants do not even own a“race car.” They participate in the car they reg-ularly drive on the street.

Some autocrossers are serious road racedrivers who want to practice technique. Manywould-be race drivers use AX as a jumpingpoint into the sport of road racing. But mostare like you and me: enthusiasts with an itchfor speed who enjoy a fun challenge.

A typical AX event will cost around $40.Participation can vary greatly; PCA Regionalevents usually will be around 50 cars, whereasa Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) eventwhere points are earned towards national titlescan draw upwards of 300 cars. Cars are classedtogether in groups of similar capability.

In the morning of an event (PCA Potomacevents start around 7 a.m.) you’ll register yourcar. Then after removing all loose items in thecar, you’ll take your car through a Tech Inspec-tion, where the car will be visually inspectedfor any safety potential problems.

Once the course is laid out, it will beopened for a period of time for a “walkthrough.” For competitors, this is an importantpart of the day. A competitive element of AX isthat drivers will get a limited number of runs(typically 3-5 runs) in order to try and get theirquickest time. The only practice they are al-lowed to have is the walk through. This iswhere they can walk through the entire courseand try and develop their driving strategy fornavigating a quick time. At all PCA Potomacevents, we offer a guided walk through whereone of our AX veterans will describe the sorts ofthings you need to observe and consider.

Usually right after the walk through period,we will have a brief drivers meeting to go overany important points, provide some safety re-minders, and answer any questions. After-wards, the drivers will divide into theirrespective heats, typically two.

The drivers of the first heat will grid theircars and prepare to take their runs on thecourse. Concurrently, drivers of the other heatwill work the course, including start line, finishline, timing and resetting any hit cones.

AX events are a great way tomeet other driv-ing enthusiasts. Andmost participants are veryhappy to lend a hand or provide some insightto help others improve.

If you haven’t tried one yet, add an AX eventto one of your open weekends. I guarantee thatit will not take much to get you hooked.

Lots of good information about AXing isavailable online, includingmany PCAwebsites.Our national website has some very good info(www.pca.org), as does PCA Potomac’s web-site (www.pcapotomac.org). Our sister Region,Chesapeake, also has an avid AX program(www.pcachs.org). For 2010, Potomac andChesapeake Regions will be jointly conductingan AX School on April 10, and have coordi-nated their AX events schedule to avoid dateconflicts. Whereas an AX school is a great wayfor newcomers to get started, it is not a pre-requisite for events. At most PCA events, vet-erans are always available to ride with you onyour first attempts, and help get you comfort-able with the sea of cones.

If the only thing you’ve ever done with yourPorsche is driven it to work or the local stores,consider kicking it up a notch and attend anAX. You will not regret it.

You can direct questions [email protected]. I hope to see youout there challenging the cones with us.

• Complete Potomac autocross scheduleis on Page 23.

Say hello to autocross


Photos and story by Tony Pagonisfor der Vorgänger

Simply driving all the way to Philadelphia to pick upsome parts I’d found on the Internet and save some largeshipping costs seemed a bit wasteful timewise. That’swhen I remembered that the Simeone Collection was inPhiladelphia.

In 2008, Dr. Fred Simeone opened the doors to a newmuseum to display and share his amazing collection ofrace cars from around the world and time. For over 40years, Dr. Simeone has been acquiring cars of diverse vin-tage and history. But the binding theme was always rac-ing. Each of his cars had competed in somemanner, andmany held a special place in history by doing so. As hiscollection gradually grew over the years, he enjoyed shar-ing it with friends and admirers. In fact, I first heard abouthis collection in 2006 on a Boxster owner forum. Some-one near the Philadelphia area who knew of the collec-tion, arranged a driving tour of motorsport enthusiasts tovisit the cars, then stored in a nondescript warehousebuilding. Eventually Dr. Simeone fulfilled his dream tohouse his growing collection, now approximately 60

strong, in a proper display facility, which he could opento the public. Thus was born the Simeone FoundationMuseum.

On that cold and rainy Saturday morning, myyoungest two sons and I ventured towards Philadelphia.After completing the business transaction that broughtus to Philadelphia, we programmed the GPS with the ad-dress of the museum, and made our way towards an in-dustrial area in southern Philly. Hidden among thebusinesses, car dealers and warehouses was themuseum.We made our way inside, and were greeted by a helpfuland enthusiastic volunteer at the lobby desk. We pur-chased our tickets, were told where the restrooms couldbe found and upon seeing my camera bag, the volunteereven encouraged me to take as many pictures as I wouldlike. I began to sense this was going to be a nice visit in-deed.

Once past the lobby area, we found ourselves in along and rectangular building, with dozens of cars taste-fully displayed along the perimeter of the building. Theywere clustered in life-sized dioramas heralding varioustime periods and venues. There were displays of Pre- andPost-War race cars. LeMans, Mille Miglia and Targa Floria

Visit to Philly auto museumThe ferocious MartiniRacing blue and green"psychedelic" livery on a1970 Porsche 917K, alsoknow by many as the“Hippie Car.”


autos were displayed in backdrops where you could closeyour eyes and imagine the sounds and smells of the carsroaring past while the crowds cheered. Competitors fromhistoric events such as time trials, hill climbs, and rallieswere portrayed in their challenging and sometimes gru-eling environments. In the museum annex, we walkedpast beautiful machines that were defining moments ofthe term sports car, as well as a nice tribute to NASCARand its roots. Seeing so many wonderful cars with racingprovenance and their hard fought patinas was inspiring.

The visit through the museum culminated with a

small gift shop where we purchased a couple of memen-tos to remember our visit.

The pinnacle of our purchases was a book prepared byDr. Simeone where many of the wonderful cars are cap-tured in stunning photographs as the text describes theirracing histories and, in many instances, how Dr. Sime-one was able to add them to his collection. As I was con-templating buying the book, the clerk said that hebelieved Dr. Simeone was in his office upstairs, and wouldprobably be able to sign the book for us. Sold! What Ididn’t expect was that the clerk returned to the gift shop,

Above: Some of the spec-tacular coachwork of Le-Mans racers, coveringnearly 40 years of the his-toric 24 hour challenge.

Right: A rare factoryCorvette Grand Sport,one of only six built andreportedly the most origi-nal one remaining.


followed by Dr. Simeone. He spent a fewminutes talkingto us but made it abundantly clear in that short time howpassionate he was about his cars.

I could spend pages and pages trying to describe thevarious cars on display at themuseum, but I wouldmuchrather you visit for yourself. I promise, if you have evenjust a little bit of high octane fuel running through yourveins, it will be well worth the trip. You can get informa-tion about the museum at their website:

www.simeonefoundation.orgNote that on the last Saturday of each month, they

have something called a Demonstration Day, where sev-eral cars are taken outside onto the large parking lot be-hind the building and driven so that the attendingmotorheads can hear the sounds and smell the aromas ofcars that usually never see the light of day.

I’m planning my next visit to coincide with one ofthose Saturdays.

Directions to theSimeone museum

The Simeone Foun-dation Museum is lo-cated just minutes offInterstate 95 inPhiladelphia, close toCenter City and thePhiladelphia Interna-tional Airport.

Museum HoursTues.–Fri. 10– 6Sat.–Sun. 10–4Closed MondaysAdmission: $12Seniors: $10Students: $8Children under 8

free when accompa-nied by parent

Please call theevent coordinator forgroup rates

Above: Chris Pagonis, left, and Brian Pagonis admiring the pre-World War I vintagerace car display.

Below: A breathtaking example of a 1958 Ferrari Testa Rossa, considered by many tobe one of Ferrari’s best designs ever.

Right: Several cars werein the Bonneville Speeddiorama. The rare Day-tona Cobra Coupe set 23landspeed records afterending its road racing ca-reer. The car later lay hid-den in a private garage fornearly 30 years.

Above: In the museumannex, sports cars andmuscle cars lined thewalls.

Left: The most elaboratediorama was the MilleMiglia, showcasing somebeautiful examples of rac-ers over the years.


der Vorgänger •November 2009 • 19

By Marvin Jenningsfor der Vorgänger

In preparation for the upcoming DE seasonand our scheduled tech sessions, here are a fewupdates. As we are aware, our club’s founda-tion and success are based on individuals vol-unteering their time, andmembers supportingthe various activities that our club sponsors.

As my first year in this capacity as TechChair, I thought the programwas a success andthat I could not have done it by myself. I espe-cially want to thank Dave DiQuollo and DaveRiley for their invaluable assistance and the restof the regular tech team members.

For the 2010 season, I’m seeking new, ad-ditional volunteers for the DE Tech Program.

What’s required? Typically one week priorto every DE event we have a tech session at alocal dealer or repair shop in the DC/Vir-ginia/Maryland area. Our shop tech sessionsrun from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Jobs are assisting with getting the driver reg-istered by signing up on the waiting list, help-ing get the car on a lift, or actually performingthe inspection on the vehicle. That’s it. The at-track inspections are similar but the sessionusually runs from 7 a.m. until 7:55 a.m. Also,

the at-track DE inspections do not require plac-ing the car on the lift.

The challenge of both these events is to per-form these tasks safely but expeditiously be-cause of the number of cars showing upneeding to be inspected.

As an inspector you’ll need a flashlight, apair of gloves, a pen and some inspectors liketo have a pair of knee pads for those occasionswhen you have to kneel. That’s it! So if youhave one free Saturday a month to come outand hang out with the Porschephiles please letus know how you can help out. Did I mentionthere are usually coffee and donuts in themorning and pizza and drinks for lunch?

So what’s new?If you arrive at one of our tech sessions after

the prescribed time, i.e., at the shop or thetrack, there will be a $20 charge. All proceedswill be contributed to one of the Potomac PCAcharities. If you are planning to come to a shopfor an inspection you must arrive no later than1:30, so we can vacate the shop by 2 p.m., andarrive at grid tech by 7:45 a.m. so we can bewrapped up and in meetings by 8 a.m.

HelmetsAll car occupants must wear a Snell ap-

proved helmet; see list below. Your helmetmust be a well-fitting, closed-face helmet thatmeets one of the following certifications and islabeled as such:

Snell SA2000, SA2005, SA2010. The PCAPotomac region also allows M2000, M2005,and K2005. See related article, Page 8.

Roll barsAny make of car delivered with factory-in-

stalled rollover protection meets the minimumstandards for PCA DE events. In these cars thesoft top must be in the up position or the hardtop installed.

If a car does not have factory-installed roll-over protection, a roll bar must be installed,which meets the “broomstick” rule (the dri-ver’s helmeted head is below a bar placed ontop of the roll bar and windshield). All targatops must be installed unless there is additionrollover protection. All sunroofs must be in theclosed position. The windshield alone is notconsidered to be factory rollover protection.

If you have further questions please feel freeto contact the tech team at [email protected].

2010 DE tech program update


Photos and story by Sydney Butlerfor der Vorgänger

Winter was getting on my nerves. Sure, snow is funfor a day or so, but toys on the floor and slush on thestreets are—asmy teenage daughter says—“harshing mymellow.” It was time for me to kick off the salt-stainedboots, dry my socks by the fire and dream a little Porschedream. Eyelids drooping, preferred drink in hand, I imag-ine a polished car, sunlight through green boughs andthat long back straight stretching forever in front of me.Like a winter-stored car, my battery needs a charge.

I was floating in that suspended state when a Califor-nia pal called with an invitation to aWest Coast wine tast-ing/car ogling event. Faster than ole St. Nick goes up thechimney, I was on a plane to San Francisco, then drivingwith my friend in a car to Reno, Nev., and finally stand-ing by an unmarked door in an unmarked industrial park.We stepped though that door into a Porsche dreamworldfar, far beyond my wintry imagination.

We were in a spotless, spacious room with a silverSuper 90 GT on a lift to our right, and Porsche treasuresadorning the walls. Backlit glass cases gleamed with pol-ished emblems, and the multi-winged rear section of arace car protruded from a wall like the prow of a StarWars

galaxy cruiser. My attention sharpened as our host, Ran-son Webster, greeted our small gathering with the smileof a magician with a surprise up his sleeve. The surprisewould be his magnificent Porsche collection, and we wereabout to be bedazzled. After introductions and wine sip-ping, we followed Webster pied-piper-like to marvelousdestinations.

First stop—immaculate display cases containingevery—yes, EVERY—Porsche badge for every modelsince the beginning of production. Carrera GTS, Super90, 912, Targa, Speedster, 914-6—you name it, it wasthere. Behind that glass were the unattainable dreams ofevery frustrated restorer. Above and around that glasswere dozens of Porsche posters, prompting Webster tocomment casually that he had a mere 426 of them. Our

The stuff of dreams livesin a Reno industril parkAbove: RandomWeb-ster’s extensive Porschecollection in Reno, Nev.,that features not onlydozens and dozens ofPorsches with racing her-itage but Porsche posters,models, tool kits andhundreds of Porschebadges.

Right: One of 49 built, a1964 Type 901, the earli-est model of the long-lived 911 line of Porsches.


group had entered the “gawking” stage.Webster then led us (me lagging reluctantly behind)

into the next room where, upon turning slightly to myright I stared, dropped-jawed, into the wave of a virtualPorsche tsunami. Hundreds of posters lined the walls,and dozens and dozens of cars shone in rows alignedwith military precision.

My eyes flicked about—a silver pre-A coupe, a white908, an Easter egg color array of Speedsters, a red 904GTS, a gold 911 R. It was a dizzying moment, so I wasgrateful to be brought into focus as Webster began de-scribing the outrageously configured Kremer-bodied1976 935 in front of us. This 740 hpmonster, describedby Webster as “my favorite car to race these days,” is ca-pable of over 900 hp at 28 lbs. of boost.

If one were to doubtWebster’s racing credentials, justpush the red button on a nearby video screen and watchhim—via in-car camera—confidently piloting his 956 at168 mph against professionals such as David Donahueduring the 2009 Laguna Seca historic races. No absenteecollector, this guy.

We wandered on, from years hence to the present: A1949 Gmund coupe; a lovely radium green 1950 pre-Acoupe; a series of 356A coupes, Speedsters (includingfive Carrera Speedsters for every year 1955 through1959!) and cabriolets.

I stood transfixed before a stone grey 356A 1600GSDeLuxe Carrera Cabriolet, abandoningmymotto that thesecret of life is to admire without desiring. I had movedbeyond the gawking stage to the LUST-CANNOT-DESCRIBE-HOW-MUCH-I-WANT- THIS-CAR stage.

Then to the 356Bs: a miraculous 1964 Carrera 2Cabriolet, the last one ever built; a 904GTS; a 906; a 908;a 956 long tail; a 356B Abarth Carrera GTL (one of twoAbarths in the collection); an Elva-Porsche; a Porsche-powered McLaren.

Next to the 911 series: a splendid red 901 (one of 49built); a white/blue 1983 Carrera SC RS 3.0; a Speed Yel-low Carrera Speedster; a black 1993 Carrera 3.8 RSR; a

rare sport model red 959.I lingered by the gold 1967 911R, admiring the engi-

neering (led by Ferdinand Piech at the time) that pro-pelled an example of this 210 hp racer to a world recordof over 125 mph for 96 hours straight at Monza.

On to another room and more surprises. A 993twin-turbo, an RSK, a RS 550 Spyder, an immaculate Car-rera GT. Finally, Dan Gurney’s winning Formula 1 804-3racer—not a replica now, but THE CAR he drove to winthe 1962 Austrian Grand Prix in front of 300,000 fans.The Formula One car boasted all of 180 hp (compared tothe 610 hp of its Carrera GT neighbor on the carpet),with its fuel tank cap six inches under Gurney’s disbe-lieving but courageous nose.

Toomany cars for you?Well, imagine original tool kits,hundreds of rare car models set in exact reproductions ofscenes (the Arc de Triomphe, for example), or life-sizedposters of racing events and Porsche celebrities (pose withJames Dean if you like). All splendidly restored, dis-played, historically documented and safely tucked way.

The dream evening was over far too suddenly, evenafter a long and boisterous dinner with the fascinatingand fascinated folks in our group. A restless (envious)night followed by a four-hour drive back to Napa the nextday for more wine with dear friends, then the flight home.

Back in our nation’s Snow Capital, I dreamed again,happy that blizzards can’t reach those protected treasuresin Reno. I dream with satisfaction and with gratitude forthe Porsche founders who dreamed of such cars over 60years ago and for folks like Ranson Webster who love,live, preserve and share those dreams. I will hold fast tomy dreams until I polish my car, start it (hopefully) anddrive it forth into a sparkling spring day, on snow clearcountry roads, alongside fellow and now deliriouslyhappy mid-winter dreamers.

• • •How to see the Webster collection: Sadly, it is by per-

sonal invitation only.

Dan Gurney’s 1962 Aus-trian Grand Prix winningFormula 1 model 804-3car boasting all of 180 hp.The Carrera GT sittingnext to it—40+ yearslater—has over 600 hp.


Founders’ Region officersPresident: Tuffy von Briesen [email protected] president: Dick Seltzer [email protected]: Evan Close [email protected]: Gary Brindle [email protected] president: Tony Kelly [email protected]

Drivers’ EducationDrivers’ Ed: Alan Herod [email protected]: Charlie Clark [email protected]: Skip Close [email protected] coordinators: Doug Nickel [email protected] instructors: Bob Mulligan, Dirk Dekker

[email protected] chair: Marvin Jennings [email protected]

ProgramsAutocross: Tony Pagonis [email protected] ‘n Dine: John Eberhardt [email protected] Race: Kevin Oyler, Starla Phelps: [email protected]: Ron Davis, Mike Sarli [email protected]: George Whitmore [email protected] officer: Todd Daubert [email protected]: Starla Phelps [email protected]: John Magistro [email protected]

Public relations: Scott Mayster [email protected] service: Scott Mayster [email protected]: Craig and Linda Davidson [email protected]: Pete Kauffman [email protected]: Jody Lagioia [email protected]: OPEN [email protected] 2 Rep: Tom Zaffarano [email protected]: Tony Kelly and Pete Kauffman webmaster@pcapo-

tomac.org

ddeerrVVoorrggäännggeerr Publisher: Tony Kelly [email protected]: Richard Curtis [email protected] Calendar: Kermit Kidwell [email protected] Advertising: Tony Kelly [email protected] Model Experts Cayenne: OPEN [email protected] Cayman: Chad Todd [email protected] & 912: Tim Berardelli [email protected] (older): George Whitmore [email protected] 930, C2 & C4: Roger Bratter [email protected] 993 (‘95-’98 911): OPEN [email protected] 986 (Boxster): John Eberhardt [email protected] 914 & 914/6: Ray Plewacki [email protected] 944 & 968: Ivan Arzola [email protected] 924: John Brown [email protected] 928: Kevin Lacy [email protected]: Jose Herceg [email protected]

Contact information for PCA Potomac,Founder’s Region officers and chairs

By John Eberhardtfor der Vorgänger

I am the PCA Potomac Drive and DineChair. Some of the other regions call this a TourChair or Tourmeister, but the point is the same.My job is to find great roads that lead to inter-esting places. Come join us, and you’ll goplaces you never expected.

From local history, to great out of the wayrestaurants, to that winding country roadthrough green leafy hills, Drive and Dine isabout enjoying your Porsche in an easy, low-cost, low-commitment and low-key way. Andthe best way to enjoy it is to drive it with otherenthusiasts.

We have a great calendar for 2010 (see nextpage), including overnight trips to Frank LloydWright’s Fallingwater, June 11–13 and TheHomstead, July 24–25.

How Drive and Dine works

Drive and Dine is an opportunity for PCAPotomac members to get to know each otherbetter and enjoy their cars in a social, non-com-petitive atmosphere. A Drive and Dine Eventconsists of a meeting place, an informal drivethrough the country, and lunch or dinner. Themeeting place is usually some place conven-

ient, the pace can vary from leisurely to brisk,and the meals can range from basic to lavish,based on the event. We also try to includesome point of interest (national park, historiclocation or fun activity) and we always, alwaystake the scenic route.

These events are open to anyone whowishes to attend them, with as many passen-gers as can legally and safely be held by the ve-hicle. There is no tech requirement or vehiclerestrictions (Porsches preferred), but we will bedriving on scenic, often twisty, country roadsso please make sure that your vehicle choice isappropriate for this driving. We also want torun a safe event, so passing is discouraged andwe try to keep the pace safe and comfortablefor everyone. Everyone has a set of directionsand we have group leaders who lead groups ofcars and will pull the group over to let folkscatch up—so no need to hurry to catch up ifyou get stuck behind a tractor.

What kind of commitment is required for aDrive and Dine event? Very little. Most eventstake place on a Saturday or Sunday and willconsist of a designated morning or afternoonmeeting point, followed by a one-to-two hourdrive, dining and social activity. This may thenbe followed by an additional drive. However,the itinerary is designed so that drivers withtime constraints can break off during the day

to reduce their time commitment. The registration fee for events varies from

free to $75 and covers the cost of organization,club insurance, printing directions and materi-als for participants, group meals, admissionsand any event souvenirs.

The easiest Drive and Dine events in whichto participate are the monthly club breakfasts inMaryland and Virginia.

The Virginia breakfast is the first Saturday ofevery month at 9 a.m. at Chutzpah’s Deli inTysons Corner, and the Maryland breakfast isthe third Saturday of every month at 11 a.m.atthe Irish Inn in Glen Echo. These breakfasts areusually followed by impromptu and informaldrives through the countryside.

I personally invite you to get involved. Wealready have some great people on the Driveand Dine Committee that I would like tothank: Ted and Sharon Whitehouse, AlexLunsford, Claude and Sandra Imbt, Linda andMike Budinski, Jocelyn Chadwick, JamesHenry, Andrew Fort, John Magistro and Lloyd“Buck” Buckner. We can always use a few morehands. And if you have an idea for a great route,restaurant or destination, let me know. If youwant to help plan it, even better.

You can always email me at [email protected].

What is Drive ’n Dine?

“Goodie Store”returns for shirts, hats, etc.

The Potomac Goodie Store is back.Potomac has partnered with CharltonCommerce to enable Potomac membersto order a variety of shirts, hats, jacketsand many other accessories with theFounders Potomac logo on them. Charl-ton Commerce does this for a variety ofclubs at no cost to the club. In fact, Po-tomac receives a small profit for everyPotomac item ordered. Check out Po-tomac’s goodie store website at:

http://pcapotomac.webstore.us.comPlease note that because Charlton

Commerce does this for a variety ofclubs, the items shown in the websitedo not show Potomac’s logo on them.When you order an item, you get tospecify where you want the logo placed.For example, I just ordered two shirtwith the logo on the right just above thepocket.


Advertiser’s index

Allsports Grand Prix 25Autobahn Service, Inc.

27Auto Sportsystems

Group 7Auto-Therapy 27Curry’s Auto Service,

Inc. 6IMA 25Intersport 3OG Racing 11PCA 2Radial Tire Company 5RPM 23Shah & Shah 5Soterion 2Stuttgart Performance

Engineering 7TireVan 13TPC 19

2010 schedulesAutocross:

Sat., April 10, Autox School (will be heldjointly this year with Chesapeake Region; atthe MD State Police facility in Sykesville, Md.)

Sat., May 22, Autox at Baysox Stadium,Bowie, Md.

Sat., July 3, Autox at Baysox Stadium Sat., July 24, Autox at Baysox Stadium Sat., Aug 14, Autox at Summit Point Mo-

torsports Park (Washington Circuit) Porsche -Fest weekend

Sun., Sept 26, Autox at Baysox Sun., Oct 24, Autox at Baysox Sat., Nov 13, Autox at BaysoxContact Tony Pagonis at

[email protected]

Rally:May 16, The “Amazing Race” RallyJuly 11, Camp Friendship Rally (and car

show)Aug. 7, Crab Feast RallySept. 25, Lovettsville Oktoberfest Rally

(and car show)Contact Craig or Linda Davidson at

[email protected]

Drive ’n DineApril 25, Spring Fling Drive and Brunch

May 15, Porsches and Bi-Wings (rain day isMay 30)

May 22, Polo Opener at Great MeadowJune 11-13, Fallingwater TripJuly 24-25, Homestead/Virginia Highlands

TourSept. 25, Lovettsville OktoberfestAug. 14, PorscheFest Fun RunAug. 28, Drive-In and DineSept. 18, Potomac Region 55th Anniversary

Fun RunOct. 2, Fun Run to Club RaceOct. 23, Fall Foliage Run to the Ashby InnDec. 4, Antietam Luminary Tour

Contact John Eberhardt at [email protected]

Concours:May 2, Deutsche Marque Concours d’ele-

gance, Nottaway Park, Vienna, Va. TBD Camp Friendship Rally/Car Show,

Md. Sept. 18 55th Anniversary celebration of

PCA and the Founder’s Region club. Sept. 4, Reston Town Center Show, “Gath-

ering of the Faithful” Sept. 25 rally and People’s Choice car

show, Oktoberfest, Lovettsville, Va.TBD Octo-ber German Car Show, Middleburg, Va. area

Contact Ron Davis or Mike Sarlis [email protected]

2010 track schedule Event Date Days TrackHPDC April 3 Sat. Jefferson CircuitDE May 7-9 Fri.-Sun. Mid OhioDE June 5-6 Sat.-Sun. Shenandoah CircuitDE June 25-27 Fri.-Sun. Watkins GlenInstructor/Training July 16 Fri. Summit Point CircuitDE July 17-18 Fri.-Sun. Summit Point CircuitDE August 13-15 Fri.-Sun. Summit Point CircuitDE Sept. 3-5 Fri.-Sun. Virginia International RacewayHPDC Sept. 25 Sat. Jefferson CircuitClub Race/Advanced DE Oct. 1-3 Fri.-Sun. Summit Point CircuitInstructor/Volunteers Oct. 29 Fri Summit Point Circuit(by invitation)DE Oct. 30-31 Sat.-Sun. Summit Point Circuit


By Ron Davisfor der Vorgänger

The word “Concours” was derived from“concours d’ elegance” which is French for a“gathering of excellence”. It first began inFrance as a competition to determine the finestcarriages.

The criteria went far beyond the efficiency ofeach carriage; judging was based on the so-phistication, beauty and refinement of these ve-hicles. The carriages were admired as works ofart. With the dawn of the auto age a new era ofcraftsmanship and engineering ingenuitybegan. As a matter of fact many of the early carbuilders actually started out building carriagesand wagons, like Studebaker for example. TheConcours d’Elegance followed suit, and con-cours became a celebration of the automobile.More than a quarter million people now col-lect, preserve and trade classic automobiles.

At a concours d’ elegance Judges decidewhose owner has done the most outstandingjob of preparing, maintaining and presentinghis/her car.

ThePCA Potomac programPCA Potomac’s car shows are mostly low-

key events, and are often combined with a rallyor picnic or some other social event. These areWash & Shine shows, also called People’sChoice shows without official judging. Win-

ners are selected by ballots cast by owners/spectators. It is a fun way for car buffs to breakinto showing their car.

A true concours is a judged event wherejudges selected by the club use a scoring sheetwhere points are deducted from a maximumpossible score based on condition and cleanli-ness. Various concours rules are used depend-ing on the level of competition.

PCA Potomac concours are “top only”meaning that the undercarriage of the car is notscored, we stick to the body, interior, trunk andengine compartment. Teams of three judgesand a timer have about 3-4 minutes per car todo the scoring.

Our first event of the year is the theDeutsche Marque Concours d’ Elegance, nowin its 27th year. It is also our most challengingshow if you enter the concours class, but wealso have a wash & shine class. The show fea-tures some of the area’s finest Porsches, Mer-cedes Benz, BMWs and Audis. It will again beheld at Nottaway Park, Vienna, Va., on Sunday,May 2. It ends up with a traditional wine/beer/soda and cheese reception at the adjacent gar-dens where trophies are presented.

The preliminary PCA Concours Programwill have the events shown on Page 23. Noticethat most of our events are low key, Wash &Shine events where Peoples Choice ballots de-cide the winners, not official judges.

What is a concours?

Photo by Michael Madrid

Judges work over their scoresheets at the2009 Deutsch Marque concours.


By Ron Davisfor der Vorgänger

Sitting here with 26” of snow in my yard itsmighty hard to write an article about theDeutsche Marque Concours. But just think,while we were getting cabin fever, our Porscheswere getting garage fever. They are dreamingabout spring and how good they will look atthe area’s premier German car show featuringthe sharpest Porsches, Mercedes, Bimmers andAudis. Nottaway Park in Vienna, Va. will againbe the show’s location on May 2.

As is our tradition, each of the four clubsorganizes its own concours event and judging.

The Porsche show will again be a top-onlyconcours, meaning no one will be checkingyour fender wells or tranny. Only those enter-ing the concours class will be judged, and scor-ing will be based on cleanliness and overallappearance of interior, exterior, engine andtrunk compartments.

There will also be a wash & shine (people’schoice) category, so there is no excuse for notentering.

The exact number of classes for the judgedconcours cars or for wash & shine will be de-cided based on how many models of each year

register. For example, last year’s show was es-pecially difficult as our rain date was also kindof soggy and establishing classes for fewer carsthan normal was challenging. But we arecount ing on great weather this year so there willbe many classes including ones for 356s, early911s & 914s, late 911s, Boxsters and 928s/924s/944s and likely an outlaw class.

Trophies will be presented at the traditionalwine/beer/soda & cheese reception at about 3p.m. in the garden of the adjacent HunterHouse. The registration fee for this event is $30per car regardless of class. Registration fee in-cludes one ticket to the reception, additionaltickets are available at $10 each. Childrenunder the age of 12 attend free. There is nocharge for spectators.

I will be looking for judges and helpers , solet me know if you are interested. Last year’sterrific judges/helpers made this event run likeclock-work. If you would like to help judge,place cars, tally up score sheets, etc., pleasecontact Concours Chair Ron Davis at [email protected] or at (703) 280-4561or cell: (703) 409-0513

Directions: From the beltway take the exitfor Rt. 66 West and go about 1 mile to the Nut-ley St. exit which is the 1st exit after you leave

the beltway. Head North towards Vienna. Youwill pass the Vienna Metro station which willbe on your left. Go two stop lights on Nutley toCourthouse Road. Take a left onto CourthouseRoad, go about two blocks to Nottaway Parkon your left. If coming on Interstate 66 fromthe west, take the Nutley Street exit and followabove directions.

Deutsch Marque concours set for May 227th Deutsche Marque Concours Registration

Event date: Sunday, May 2, 2010Location: Nottaway Park, Vienna, Va.

Name: ________________________________________

Porsche year: __________ Model___________________

Address:_______________________________________

_______________________________________

Phone: (home)_________________(work)____________

email: _________________________________________

Category: Judged_________ Wash&Shine_____________

Registration fee (all classes) $30

Extra reception tickets @ $10 each ____

Total: ____

Make checks payable to PCA PotomacMail to: Ron Davis

8508 Browning CourtAnnandale, Va. 22003


By John Hillfor der Vorgänger

Many of my adultfriends are surprised, oreven startled to find that Iam a Porschephile whoseeks out opportunities for driving Porsches at race tracks.But most of my adult friends didn’t know me in my form-ative driving years …

My first car was a $400, used, 1967 Chrysler 300 witha 4-barrel carburetor and a huge V8 engine. In 1976, Iwas 18 and exactly the kind of youth now I warn my chil-dren about.

My friend, Tom, had a knack for egging me on in var-ious situations, to “punch it” as he used to say. And inretrospect I learned a lot about driving from Tom. Hebrought me along as a Driving Education instructormight, in small steps. They weren’t deliberate driving les-sons (as far as I know) but they did show me a wholenew way to drive.

My first lesson came while driving on a long, straight,flat, country road with no intersections or driveways formiles, Tom suggested I come to a stop and then “PunchIt!” The scream of the tires and roar of the engine weredeeply engraved on my psyche. Then, cruising along thesame road, he made a questioning “hmmmmm” soundand said, “I wonder what would happen if you punchedit NOW?” The engine roared again, the wheels screamedand the back end wiggled around as though it was tryingto find the best way to get the power onto the pavement.

The same process held for braking, turns, gravel, small

unintentional off-road ex-cursion, etc. One thinglead to another until Tom’ssuggestions were my ownthoughts. Once his confi-dence in my driving in-creased, we would go for a

ride with some girlfriends on that old country road andTom would say, “You know John, I think we are goingthe wrong way, you better turn around.” I slowed toabout 25 mph, then floored it, locking the steering wheelhard left. The car, spun in a perfect ‘Batman’ 180-degreeturn and roared down the road as though we were at thedrag strip. Ahhh, the scream of tires, the roar of the en-gine AND the squeal of girls!

I can only imagine the oceans of grace poured out onme and that community, because as far as I know, no onewas hurt. Frankly, I still carry a lot of guilt about thosereckless days.

Eventually, work, marriage, involvement in the churchand economic constraint all placed an emphasis on theextremely functional and practical station wagon andminivan.

But eventually my patience paid off. In my late 40s, Ihad the ability to reward myself with a Porsche. I hadn’ttaken the honorable route that many Porsche owners do;scraping together some savings and buying a used olderPorsche that they fix up and then trade stories with otherPorsche owners. I just jumped in full tilt.

I fell in love with a brand new 2006 Arctic Silver 997SCabriolet with a terra cotta interior, GPS, other bells andwhistles, and when she was released for sale in the fall of

How about your story ofwhy you love yourPorsche(s)? Share them withdV readers at [email protected] high-resolution photo ofyou with your car wouldalso be appreciated.

Why I lovemy Porsche

From recklessteenager

to PorschephilePhoto by Allison Hill

John Hill with his 2006arctic Silver 997S cabrio-let with terra cotta interiorat Watkins Glen in 2007.He says the cabriole—which he still owns— isdifferent from the 1967Chrysler that was his firstcar. He also owns a newGT3 (photo on Page 2).


2005, she was all mine!That’s when the trouble began. On early af-

ternoon commutes on country roads I wouldtest (much more carefully than those earlyChrysler days) the capabilities of this near su-percar. I was astonished when during weekafter week of occasional “tests” I just could notfind or understand the limits or even start todefine the broad performance capabilities ofthis superb vehicle.

Porsches are just different than that oldChrysler, not to mention the station wagons,and minivans in between. This problem calledfor serious investigation. So, without knowinganyone in the Porsche club, I decided to attendan informational club get together at a Porschedealer. A week later I registered for one day atthe High Performance Driving Course offeredby the club.

Arriving early in the morning at SummitPoint (my first visit ever to any race track) I awk-wardly checked in at the gate and then drovearound inside the grounds looking for JeffersonCircuit, passing a few other novice PorscheHPDC classmates looking for the same.

Once found, I pulled up to an area outsidethe only building that looked like it might haveroom for a check in desk and a classroom andparked in the gravel adjacent to the building.An instructor arrived and abruptly told me tomove my vehicle away from the building (as

though I was supposed to know you’re notsupposed to park there—anywhere else on theplanet it would be the place to park). I askedwhere and he said, “The paddock.”

The WHAT?! I checked in to get the schedule for the day,

sign up for lunch, receive my color group as-signment and then waited for the other tracknovices to arrive.

The scheduling was complicated but notimpossible. Three separate groups taking turnsbetween track time, corner working with flags,class time and something called the skid pad.Everyone began with lining up their car for atrack-side technical inspection, then into thebuilding for my group’s formal class time wasnext.

Finally, the flow of information I was look-ing for, a veteran instructor/Porsche owner ex-plaining the track environment supplementedby video and examples. Then suddenly off tothis mysterious thing called the skid pad, apaved, donut shaped, track approximately 100feet in diameter. Normally they wet the pave-ment with water – but the day was already wetwith rain.

An instructor got in the car with me andwhen it was my turn we went onto the track.Under his instruction I slowly increased speeduntil the front end began to shake due to los-ing grip, known as understeer.

Then he had me increase the speed morequickly and tighten the turn around the donutwhich caused the rear end to slide out, or over-steer. But oversteer took me into a full spin,with both feet in to keep from unpredictablemovement as tire/pavement friction is regained.

The time on the skid pad was up tooquickly, but it was my first lesson in how muchI don’t know how to drive. The rest of the dayheld many more examples of pointing out justhow much I didn’t know how to drive.

Then it was off to the bigger, 1.2-mile trackwith several turns. Cones were set up at variouslocations, a slalom course, stopping exerciseand finally the laps on the track.

First with an instructor at the wheel, thenwith the instructor in the passenger seat, Ilearned just how much I didn’t know abouthow to drive laps on a track fast. Thresholdbraking, turn in, apex, accelerate at the apex,turn out, smooth actions on the wheel and thepedals, both hands on the wheel at ALL timesand finding “the line.”

By the end of that day I had made somenew friends, learned about my lack of drivingskill, had fun learning, and acquired an appetitefor the track that is thus far insatiable.

• • •John Hill is a White group driver with a black

2010 GT3 (see photo on Page 2). He still owns the2006 C2S Cabriolet.

By Rob Talastasfor der Vorgänger

“Why do I love my Porsche?” you ask? Let me countthe reasons. Do you have a couple of hours to spare? I’mkidding, but I can give you a few.

I love my car mainly because it’s my first Porsche—achildhood dream that finally came true. I’ve alwaysdreamed of driving, and more importantly, of owningone. I’ve had a fondness for air-cooled 911s since I wasa kid, and 30-some odd years later, I actually own one.

After searching for roughly six months, I was fortu-nate enough to find a 1980 911SC only a few miles awayfrom me. It had a somewhat unique color, relatively lowmileage on it, was well sorted, and within my budget.The previous week, a potential buyer had arranged for aPPI to be done on the car, and then subsequently backedout of the purchase. Instead of commissioning an addi-tional PPI for my own purposes, I spoke to the shop thatperformed the PPI, and made the purchase based ontheir feedback. A few days after checking out the car andtest driving it, it was in my garage. Happily, it is still in onepiece, and is still running smoothly.

After the purchase, I immediately started attendingHigh Performance Drivers Education events, and threeyears later, I am still learning new techniques and nu-ances to increase my skill at driving the car.

It is true that when driving a 911, there is a “connec-tion between car and driver.” There is no better way to de-scribe driving a Porsche 911. It’s a great feeling beingbehind the wheel of a vehicle that actually requires youto drive, as opposed to being able to rely on the moderntechnology of newer cars to do the work for you. No ABS,no power steering and no traction control—it’s all leftup to you as the driver to get the car quickly and safelyaround a track. Some call it a work out. I call it plain fun.This car is a blast to drive!

Although I’ve not always been the most mechanicallyinclined car owner, I am slowly learning to try my handat working on the car. If there is a project I am not com-fortable with working on my own, I’ve got several friendsthat are generous enough to assist me and lend a hand.

To be honest, my first oil change on the 911 was adisaster. I knew that I had to drain roughly 12 quarts ofoil, but the drain hole of my oil catch pan was not largeenough to receive the flood that came out after pullingthe first drain plug. Oil spilled EVERYWHERE!!! It tookme several hours just to clean and dry up the mess. I wasnot off to a good start with DIY maintenance. And tothink, this was just an oil change. Don’t let me startchanging spark plugs—I’ll catch the engine on fire some-how. Trust me.

There have also been times when I’ve started a proj-ect and either broke something along the way or came toa point where I just wasn’t getting anywhere and endedup leaving the car on jackstands for several days. Thiswas frustrating at first, but when I got back to the job andactually completed it (meaning, the car actually re-started), it was a great feeling.

Reading the local forums where guys do ALL of thework on their cars themselves is inspiring, and I hope toget to a similar position one day. Trust me, I’m in no rush,but I hope to venture into performing more indepthwork. I don’t just mean doing an oil change withoutspilling a drop of oil on the floor. This car is truly a testof patience and skill, and as a recovering credit-card me-chanic, I need a lot of both.

Did someone say “engine drop?” We’ll see. One day.Hopefully it will happen because I want it to, not need itto.

Back to the car – I’ve made a few minor modificationsover the years I’ve owned it. I’ve kept it street legal, buthave removed the air conditioning, added a roll bar, newseats with harnesses, and other “little stuff” to make the

car safer for the track. Oneof my favorite additions isa new muffler. It’s MUCHlouder than before, and itactually sounds like I’mgoing faster. Surprisingly,my wife enjoys taking longdrives in the car, in spite ofthe fact that it is super loudand no longer has AC.

So, “Why do I love myPorsche?” I love my car be-cause it has fulfilled a child-hood dream, taught me tobecome a better driver, hasallowed me to spend timewith friends, and it contin-ues to inspire me to workon the car myself.

Did I mention that thiscar is a blast to drive?

How about your story ofwhy you love yourPorsche(s)? Share them withdV readers at [email protected] high-resolution photo ofyou with your car wouldalso be appreciated.


A childhood dream come true

Rob Talastas in his homegarage with his ’80 911SC, which he drives onthe street and also in DEs.



By Barry Nefffor der Vorgänger

The following is shameless nostalgia; you’vebeen warned.

I went into my 1950s small town restaurantand made some inane remark about thestrange English sports car out front. The ownerpiped up stating that the car was a Porsche. Itwas the strangest damn car I had ever seen. Ilater learned that the car with the tank-slit sizedwindshield was a Speedster. I had always beenattracted to the MG TD that I regularly sawaround town and especially to the XK120 thatpassed through on occasion, but I don’t thinkI had ever heard of Porsche until that moment.

I don’t remember when I saw the next one,but I certainly remember my first ride. Shortlyafter I arrived at my duty station at Andrews AirForce Base in 1965 I received a phone call frommy sister stating that one of her friends waslooking for someone to go to Watkins Glenwith him to attend the USRRC race. He had alight blue 356B. The races were great (USRRCwas a precursor to the Can-Am), but the rideup was better. On the way home, he let me

drive it! From thenon I wanted one.

On my militarypay I couldn’t affordone so I made dowith a bug eyedSprite. That bad ex-perience was fol-lowed by a VWBeetle that servedme well including acouple of trips toBridgehampton forthe Can-Am races. I

used that Beetle to get started in autocross, run-ning the D.C.-area championship series withthe Andrews sports car club. Members of ourclub included Ken Wise who worked on thebase. He had a 356 coupe and a Speedster.When I mustered out in 1968, I hocked mysoul to buy a beautiful, dark blue 365 C coupe.

I remember clearly when I drove the 356home from the dealer that the car felt like I hadbeen driving it all my life. The layout seemedlike I had been measured for the pedals. I hadlearned to heel and toe in my Sprite, but the356 made it easy. (Sadly, this experience wasnot carried over into my Boxster without pedalcovers.) Ken looked it over for me and invited

me to join PCA Potomac.Being in PCA at that time in my life was like

being in a close-knit family. It was the best partabout owning the C coupe. The club waspretty evenly split between 356s and 911s. Asa young single guy, I participated in just aboutevery event that the club did. We ran the cham-pionship autocross and rally series. The au-tocross committee coordinated registration sowe usually ran as a group in the third or fourthheat of the day. In the summer there was anevent almost every weekend, usually alternat-ing autocross and rally. Every event seemed towind up at a watering hole.

In those days, we only went to the trackonce a year and then only for one day. My onlyother dV article was a 1969 first impression onrunning at Marlboro. It was the last time theclub ran there. While waiting for Summit toopen, I took a reconnoiter trip there. Finding

no gate, I drove onto thepre mises and onto the un-paved track around thecurrent turn 9. The mainstraight was the only partthat was paved. A group ofguys around pit out had anastonished look as a Por -sche cruised down thestraight. I picked my waythrough boulders still be -ing blasted out after turnthree and made my wayback around to where I goton. I think it’s pretty likelythat was the first Porschelap at Summit.

Permit me a specialmemory. No stories of thatera would be completewithout mentioning Danand Sandy Rowzie. Thesepages featured a piece onDan last year [October’08], but didn’t mentionhow central he and Sandywere to the Potomac andPorsche experience for somany. Many members, in-cluding me, spent their

weekends at Rowzie’s working on cars anddrinking beers. When they welcomed me tobring my derelict Speedster (a story for anothertime) down to their place south of Alexandriafor storage and wrenching, it joined two otherSpeedsters already in their backyard belongingto others. On any given weekend there couldbe six or eight cars being worked on with oth-ers dropping by to kibitz. On their lot, there al-ways seemed to be room for one more projectcar.

So what happened to the blue bathtub?After running autocrosses and DEs, I wantedto try my hand at racing. This, combined withthe initial signs of body rust, inspired the tradefor a tow car and a Formula V. My Box ster S isgreat fun to drive, but it’s not the hanging it allout, flinging it into corners experience of the356. The only thing I have left are memoriesand a throttle body.

How about your story ofwhy you love yourPorsche(s)? Share themwith dV readers at [email protected]. A high-resolutionphoto of you with yourcar would also be appre-ciated.


My life witha bathtub

Photo by Richard Curtis

Left: Long-time Potomacmember Barry Neff withhis current DE car, an ’83911 with a 3.2 engine.

Below: Neff’s firstPorsche, a 365C coupethat he bought in 1968after his military service.

Readers andtheir cars

Photos by Richard Curtis

Above: Dave Simon ofMt. Vernon, Va. with his2007 GT3 that he’s hadsince May 2009. Beforethe GT3, he owned aBoxster for 8 years.

Above left: RoderickHosang drove his 2004911 Turbo to the Marchbreakfast meeting in Vir-ginia. He’s owned the sil-ver cabriolet for two years;it’s his first Porsche.

Left: Potomac Member-ship Chairman John Mag-istro in his home garagewith what’s left of a 2001Boxster S that he’s partingout.

Left below:Mike Hernan-dez drove his 2002Boxster from Franconia,Va. to a sports-car gather-ing at Fairfax (Va.) TownCentre. It’s his firstPorsche.


der Vorgänger • March 2010 • 31

Photos by Richard Curtis

Above left: IMA Motorsports owner Iva Arzola chats with 1987 928 owner MikeFrachel of Bristow, Va. at a sports-car gathering at Fairfax (Va.) Town Centre. Later,this group carvaned to Arzola’s shop in Chantilly, Va. for lunch and a tech seminar.

Top: Mitch Berkowitz has his ’89 944 Euro-spec Turbo up for sale. He’s owned the60,000 mile car for two years and before that, owned another 944 Turbo, an ’88model. Berkowitz is from Takoma Park, Md.

Above: Gunter Imer of Annandale, Va., in his 2003 Turbo.

Left: Allen Morrison of Bristow, Va., in the cockpit of his 2002 911 Turbo at a sports-car gathering in February at Fairfax (Va.) Town Center..

Reflections off the hood of Dan Rowzie’s 356 Speedster. Photo by Michael Madrid

slug: Hood.tiffsize: 8.75 x 6.152black and white

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