NewsLetter - Winter 2022

WINTER 2022

2022 Board Members

President Erik Apotheker

203.733.1470 president@fsrpca.org

Eastern Vice President

Jim Hamel

908.329.5845 eastvp@fsrpca.org

Assistant Eastern Vice President Pierre Hilaire asstvp-eastern@fsrpca.org

Western Vice President

Mike Ball

804.240.9296 westvp@fsrpca.org

Assistant Western Vice President & Tourmeister

Dave Wallace asstvp-western@fsrpca.org

Activities Officer

Greg Kahles

757.802.1890 activities@fsrpca.org

Secretary & Archivist

John Greene

757.663.8249 secretary@fsrpca.org

Treasurer Jerry Kent 757.971.7849 treasurer@fsrpca.org

HO Editor

Brad Jublou editor@fsrpca.org

Charity Chair

Josie Grandfield charity@fsrpca.org

Membership Chair

Ken Thomas membership@fsrpca.org

High Performance Driver Education Chair

Marco Estrada dechair@fsrpca.org

Safety Chair

Mark Hugel

mark.hugel@cox.net

Past President

Melinda Cagle pastpresident@fsrpca.org

IN THIS ISSUE

Presidential Musings

News from the Secretary

Membership Report

Editor’s Corner

Member Profile

Blessed with 50 Years of Driving Porsches

Route Planning App Review from the Keystone Fun Run

Lightning Strikes Twice

Clunk!

2

4

6

16

19

Horizontally Opposed (HO) is the official publication of First Settlers Region (FSR), Porsche Club of America (PCA). All opinions, views and information appearing in HO are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the PCA, FSR, its Officers or the Editor.

The HO Editor reserves the right to edit all material submitted for publication. Permission is granted to reprint any material provided that full credit is given to the author and to Horizontally Opposed.

This publication, and previous publications of Horizontally Opposed, are available to view on-line at www.fsrpca.org.

Advertising rates, schedules and commercial partner marketing support is available to all parties interested in engaging the members of the First Settlers Region of the Porsche Club of America. Please contact FSR Treasurer, Jerry Kent at treasurer@fsrpca.org or call 757.971.7849 for more information.

Presidential Musings, Erik Apotheker

With publishing lead times as they are, by the time you read this, FSR will have completed our final community outreach event, Turkeys in the Trunk; held our Open Board Meeting assisted by Zoom technology; and conducted our annual elections.

Having been blessed with many new member additions, a look at our club management structure seems in order.

FSR is a chartered region of The Porsche Club of America, so while we have a great deal of control in how we operate, we are governed by a series of national guidelines. Comprised exclusively of member volunteers, our active caretaking is managed by a group of talented individuals that bring both professional and realworld experience to our benefit. Each dedicated member executes a function within the club, while also acting as member ambassadors. The board is comprised of an Executive Council (affectionately called EXCOM), which is elected by membership vote, and EXCOM appointed positions.

President – Erik Apotheker

Having recently concluded our election cycle, we have installed a President, Eastern Area Vice President, Western Area Vice President, and a Treasurer for the next two-year term beginning on January 1st, 2023. Regretfully we were unable to install an Activities Officer, but more about that in a moment.

Getting to know your Executive Council

Erik has been a member of PCA since 1988, spending 30 years in the Connecticut Valley Region prior to relocating to Virginia Beach. During that time, he was also active in Golden Gate Region Time Trials and an active racer in the PCA Club race program. Since transferring into FSR, Erik has served as the Board Activities Officer and currently serves as its President. Erik has also co-chaired the Zone 2 Club Race at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), chaired last year’s event, and is scheduled to chair the spring 2023 event as well. Erik looks forward to working on the club’s evolution (“It’s always an adventure”), growing membership, and expanding activities and opportunities for our membership while fostering an engaging and fun community. Erik operates a small eCommerce consultancy in order to feed his Porsche habit.

Eastern Area Vice President – Keith Stone

Keith Stone has been a member of PCA since May 2021 and has lived in Cape Charles with his wife Laura since 2018. Whether it be fun runs or weekend events, it is a good mix of socializing and driving with some of the finest people and cars that most pleases Keith. Being a member of FSR has enabled him to participate and volunteer in a sport he enjoys. Keith is excited to help the club further its goals of membership and activities. During the day, Keith works to support aerospace IT systems.

Western Area Vice President – Mike Ball

Mike has been a member of First Settlers Region since 2015 and drives a 2014 911 Carrera and a 2018 Panamera Sport Turismo Turbo. Mike and his wife Mary live in Richmond, Virginia, and Mary drives a 2020 Macan. Mike looks forward to spending more time with our fabulous members and their cars in addition to helping increase membership in the region, increase engagement in and enjoyment of all PCA activities by our regional membership, improve communication between the members and the Board of Directors, and increase the number and variety of activities offered by FSR. Mike retired from his private medical practice in 2016.

Treasurer – Jerry Kent

Jerry and wife Kathy have been FSR members since 2012, joining shortly after purchasing a new 2011 Boxster. It is said it’s about the cars and the people, but also about giving back to the membership for all they have given them. Jerry found that out immediately, participating in all the varied activities of FSR, and forming another whole set of great friendships and bonds. Jerry has served as the FSR Treasurer for the past two years and is excited to continue his work for member benefit. Currently Jerry is a Project Manager for a commercial general contractor

Secretary – John Greene

John has been an active member of PCA since 1999 while living in both northern Virginia and Norfolk. John is currently serving his second two-year term as Secretary and is engaged with many other endeavors. John is also Treasurer of his local golf group (since 2012), and he has been Treasurer of his Church since 2020. He is also currently President of his neighborhood non-profit, East Beach Institute. John retired from the Department of Defense in 2011.

Activities Officer – This Position Remains Open

Historically one of the most demanding roles, FSR finds itself without an AO at the present time. It is the EXCOM’s hope that we can restructure this position to be more distributed across other functions within the club while maintaining a robust offering of events spanning the calendar. Currently, this role will be executed through the shared resources of the FSR Board.

Past President – Melinda Cagle

Having served as President from 2018-2019, Melinda serves our board as an advisor and mentor. Melinda’s ongoing focus on communications, tactical planning, and enhancing member value very well align with her professional experience at NASA where she is currently a Deputy Manager for the Advanced Subsonic Transport Technology project.

In accordance with our bylaws, the EXCOM will appoint chairpersons to aid in the guidance and operations of the club. Many are expected to be the individuals who currently serve in these capacities, but some may change. Similar to any organization, succession plans are vital for sustainable organizational health. Perhaps more evident amongst the EXCOM, the board has recognized the benefit of deploying this philosophy further and has put significant efforts into stand-up committees that broaden perspectives and lighten workloads. In 2020 and 2021, a Charity Committee and Member Ambassador program was formed and now sits beside our long standing and well-run High-Performance Drivers Education (HPDE) Committee. It is our hope that we may be able to better link our communications-based roles under a Marketing & Communications Chair in 2023. To further support the intended Activities Officer role restructure, we hope to stand up an Activities Committee. With the recent installation of two Assistant Vice Presidents, all should be achievable.

With much work still to be done, I would be remiss if I did not pause to thank all the volunteers who have gotten us to this point. Special thanks go out to Josie Grandfield, our longtime Charity Chair, who chose to step down in order to focus on family and Zone 2 events; to Jim Hamel, who elected to not run for reelection but will likely remain active with the board; and to Greg Kahles, who similarly did not choose to pursue reelection but will remain active with FSR as his HPDE passion continues to flourish. All of these individuals have contributed to the club in so many ways, and I hope they will accept my heartfelt gratitude for their efforts. It is my sincere hope that they will find continued enjoyment in all PCA offers.

Anyone so inclined to join any of our committees or to get further involved in club operations are invited to contact any of our board members. Please consider getting involved. And as you attend events in 2023, please be sure to extend a word of thanks to those who do so much for our club.

News from the Secretary, John Greene

I hope everyone’s enjoying the somewhat early fall weather. I have been wearing a winter jacket, though, for dog walking at 7:00 a.m.!

This quarter’s HO, as was last quarter’s, contains a summary of just the one Board of Director’s (BOD) meeting we held. We did have our annual “open” BOD meeting on November 8th, however, and the results of that will be in the Spring issue of HO. And of course anyone can “attend” (virtually) our regular BOD meetings held every other month.

The Executive Council continues to meet monthly and, between EXCOM and BOD, the events you’ve all seen advertised have been planned, staffed and attended by members and volunteers such as yourselves! Of note, and not in any particular order:

• By the time you read this, FSR will have held its annual election. This year, four positions will have been filled: President, Vice Presidents East and West, and Treasurer. There were no candidates to fill the Activities Officer. Along those lines, there will be several vacancies on the Board itself, so if you’d like to serve as an Officer on the Board—and make your voice heard—please let one of the current Board members know and thanks in advance.

• FSR’s checkbook balance continues to be healthy, with a balance of $121,327.17 as of October 1st, and all bills paid.

• September was a strong membership month for First Settlers Region. Primary membership grew by 14 members to 830, or 1.7% for the month and 2.5% year-to-date. The September growth included 11 new members, 2 transfers into the region and 9 late renewals from expired memberships from prior months. The monthly on time renewal rate was strong at almost 82%. And transfer-out activity was low at 2 for the month but remains high at 25 year-to-date. One of the September transfers out was to Shenandoah.

• Attendance at the monthly breakfasts continues to be down lately, most likely due to continuing COVID concerns. The owner of Pop’s Diner in Chesapeake values our attendance but, if it continues to be at these lower levels, he may open up some of our reserved seating to others—so come on out!

• By now the October HPDE will have occurred so, if you ran, congratulations and hope you had fun. FSR DE dates for 2023, subject to approval, will be April 28-30 2023 and October 13-14 2023. And hope you signed up for and participated in the November Fun Run!

That’s it and, as always, thanks to all those who volunteer for your Board!

What Are Our New Members Driving?

Ken Thomas - Membership Chair

As car people, we always like to look at Porsches and talk about different models and our experiences. We are also interested in trends and what models are currently popular. Here’s a look at what our new members to date in 2022 listed in their member profiles.

The Porsche Pet Picture Challenge!

So Mom, where are YOU going to sit?

Do you have a pet that likes to accompany you on your Porsche adventures? If so, we’d like to hear about it! Send us a picture or two of your pet on, in, or near your car and a short description (no more than 200 words or so) of how you include your pet in the enjoyment of your Porsche, and we’ll feature it in an upcoming issue of HO! Be sure to include your name, your pet’s name, and your model of Porsche. Format of the submission should be a Word document with full-size JPEG file pictures sent along with it. Send your submissions to editor@fsrpca.org.

On the cover:

This issue’s cover features Steven Karnes’ picture of the custom upholstery in the 1976 911 S he’s been working on. To find out what else Steven has been up to, see “Lightning Strikes Twice” later in this issue. If you wish to submit a photo or original piece of art to be considered for a future cover, please email editor@fsrpca.org.

Editor’s Corner Brad Jublou

Two things I really like: cool cars and interesting people. Fortunately for me, FSR has an abundance of both.

I say fortunately because, as the new editor of “Horizontally Opposed” magazine, I get to write and collect stories and pictures about…cool cars and interesting people. And in the First Settler’s Region, I have a wealth of great material to work with; so I feel very fortunate indeed.

But I’d like to remind everyone that this is not my car club magazine; it’s our car club magazine, and I invite you to get involved any way you might choose. Questions or comments about the magazine? Send them to me. Something you liked or didn’t like? Tell me about it. Did you enjoy an FSR or PCA event and want to write an article about it? Send it along. Think someone in the club would make a great subject for a Member Profile? Let me know. HO should highlight our club’s great events, at both the national and regional level, and the topics we’re interested in. And it doesn’t survive without your inputs, ideas, pictures, and suggestions.

So my goal for the future of HO magazine is simple: to continue to bring you great stories and pictures about cool cars and interesting people. Along of course with a technical article every quarter for those who are mechanically inclined (and maybe especially for those who are not!) and the latest news from our Board of Directors. That’s it. Hope you enjoy the ride!

Happy Holidays!

Greg Snell

Member Profile

I’m a Hawkeye whose career as a “techie systems guy” and then as a bank exec and consultant had me living on both coasts (twice) with a few stops in the middle. I’ve called the Richmond area home for 25 years now. I’ve been retired for nine years, been together with Barbara for eight, and have been living in a historic old Bon Air home for just over seven years. My interest in cars is not new, but my fascination with Porsche and my membership in PCA only goes back to 2016.

Over the years I’ve owned a number of interesting cars, and over the past eight years I’ve accumulated a collection of 15 vehicles. I had a garage built to match our old historic home and stuffed it, Tetris-style, with mostly old British cars. In 2019 I opened the garage to the club following one of our breakfasts at Joe’s. I had fun showing off the flock; the black ’63 356 coupe was the favorite Porsche back then. Watching some of the members trying on the very original ’58 Lotus Seven was a highlight.

So how did a kid from Iowa end up in Richmond, go through a few interesting cars, build a modest collection, get hooked on Porsches, and join PCA First Settlers Region? I started young and am still going strong. Here are some points along the way.

Around 12 years old I caddied for a local dentist who had a Morgan +4. In a community of ‘50s American cars it was just about the neatest thing I’d ever seen. Doc used to pick me up to go to the course on Saturday mornings. I was hooked.

By the time I got my license I’d found Hot Rod Magazine. Doodled cars in study hall. Went to the local strip to

watch races. To my dad a car was purely a means to go from point A to point B. Me, I got to drive our ’59 Opel Olympia…a not too auspicious introduction to German cars. My appreciation of Porsches and sports car racing began when I watched a Porsche powered Elva beat the Cobras at Road America in 1963. That Elva-Porsche is at Revs Institute in Florida, and its driver is a docent there. I met him at the museum in 2018 and talked to him about that day and what it meant to me: it was a great experience!

By college I was hooked on sports cars, but it took nearly 50 years before that interest turned into a passion. In the interim, I worked. A lot. Started in sales, hated it. Jumped into programming / IT, loved it, and ended up a senior banking exec and consultant specializing in operations and technology. Wrote code for top secret Navy and DOD contractors in the ‘70s and by the late ‘80s I had a hand in growing a small bank into one of the country’s largest mortgage companies. Became a hired gun consultant to financial industry clients in the ‘90s and finally retired in 2014. Moved a bit along the way: Iowa City to LA to Hartford to LA to Dallas to

Cleveland to Gaithersburg to Purcellville to Morris Plains to Richmond to Aroda and, finally, to Bon Air.

A few cars of interest along the way as well. In LA I had a ’63 Ford Fairlane wagon with a 427 sideoiler and 4 sp. Street legal drag car. Ran it at Lions Dragway a few times and paid a few tickets for street racing. Swapped it for a ’63 Lotus Seven and ran the canyons. Got into organized autocrossing. Hit a dry spell for interesting cars until Cleveland where I picked up a Lotus Europa. Sneaky quick. Still the best handling car I’ve ever owned. The Europa was my school car at Bill Scott Racing at Summit Point. Did a fair amount of track time with it. A Corvette owning friend invited me to tag along at a Corvette Club track day. He said, “Your little twinkie car is fiberglass…it’s a ‘Vette wannabe.” They never invited me back. I kept the Europa well into the ‘90s. Daily drove an Audi Coupe Quattro. By ’99 I was in the market for a sports car and chose a BMW M Roadster over a Boxster, but I was at least starting to think about Porsches.

By 2014 I was widowed, retired and had been in metro Richmond for several years. I’d known Barbara for over 20 years, and that friendship turned into much more as we’ve been together for nearly eight years. By some combination of luck, planning and hard work I was in a position to indulge my interest in neat old cars. I figured an interesting old car was more fun to have than a quarterly statement on a CD.

like to experience. “Iconic” is kind of up to individual interpretation, but to me it means those that started a trend or broke a mold for engineering or styling. Cars that stand the test of time. And cars that simply meant something to me. Some of my favorites are:

Porsche 356 B Coupe, 1963. Our first Porsche. No need to explain why this one is iconic. Barb’s favorite and the most frequently driven of all the cars. We recently took it to a British Car Club outing…why not? We call her “Toot.”

Jaguar XK 120 OTS (open two-seater). Early car, built in 1950. One of the first thousand made. To me far better looking than an E-type. Magnificent twin cam engine that propelled the Jag to over 120 mph (hence the name) in an era of 50 mph cars. But it drives like a pig.

Morgan +4, 1967. My favorite. I’m just the 3rd owner of this ex-race car. Right hand drive, de-tuned to run on pump gas and a handful to drive. I’ve had the fun of taking Moggie around Lime Rock when Morgans were a featured marque at the fall festival.

Lotus. I began following F1 racing in the ‘60s and Colin Chapman’s success and my prior experience owning two Lotus pretty much guaranteed that Lotus would make the list of iconic cars. There is a very early Seven from 1958. The 46th one made, it has a history as an H-Modified racer before being put back to street trim.

Chapman introduced the fiberglass monocoque Elite in 1957. Sporting four wheel disk brakes (inboard

at the rear) it was far ahead of its time. Mine was built in 1960, one of 1030 built over 5 years.

The Lotus Cortina is the result of a collaboration between Ford of England and Lotus to compete in sedan racing. My ’64 LoCort is an RHD series one that was club raced in the UK before being restored here.

Modern Porsches.

I’m not sure what drew me into Euroclassics Porsche back in the summer of 2018, but I came out as the owner of a 2016 Cayman GTS. Barb was away on a family trip and came home to find it in her garage space; my first modern Porsche rapidly became Barbara’s. The Cayman was a stripped-down car, probably better suited to a track rat’s use, but it got us both firmly hooked.

It may have been a conversation with Justin at Euroclassics while the Cayman was in for service that led to the first trade-up: it was a 2019 Porsche Experience car, but this one had been the display car. Delivery miles on a 2019 Carrera 4 GTS, loaded with options, and at a discount. A no brainer! A great touring car, the 911 became as much the daily driver as our BMW. We did several trips in that car. I did a track day at Dominion Raceway and can attest that 140+ is a breeze.

A pretty fall day in 2021 called for an open car to drive to the hills. Likely one or more of the old Brits refused to start, and that prompted the desire for a current technology car with a top that goes down. Euroclassics answered that need with a 2021 718 Spyder. We’ve had the car about a year and added over 3000 miles, loving every one of them.

So what’s next? Barbara and I will stay busy dealing with a combined family of 5 kids and 7 grandkids (ages 5 months to 23 years). We’ll travel doing road trips whenever we can. I’ll stay busy in our kitchen indulging in my other passion, cooking. And then there’s that list of cars I haven’t gotten to yet: Outlaw 356, early 911, 993, 944 turbo and a couple of other Brits as well. Stay tuned.

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Blessed with 50 Years of Driving Porsches

by Ed Merry

Introduction. We have been richly blessed with wonderful cars that are a joy to drive, especially on lightly traveled twisty back roads. Looking back, the Merry family has been blessed with 4 Porsches over the past 50 years. We’ve driven about 400,000 smiles (note “smiles” not miles). I would like to tell you about each car and a memorable event with each. We currently have three Porsches in our family: My son-in-law, Drew Pathwick, has the metallic light blue 1971 911 T. My stepson, Lee Eason, has the 2001 Speed Yellow Boxster S. I currently have the 2019 Guards Red Carrera T (911 T). This article captures a bit of our appreciation of these blessings. This article is mostly for me; but perhaps for you as well. Rich blessings indeed. So, let’s get started…

my wife, I leaned forward financially, and bought my dream car. They delivered the car to me in October 1971. Since it was an idle time in the test program, my wife, myself and my infant son Scott drove several days in the high country of Western New Mexico and Eastern Arizona. I especially enjoyed US-191 near Alpine, AZ. After about 1200 smiles, I returned home saying, “I really love driving this car!!” It was a radical change from the 1969 Chevelle sedan I traded in! Looking back, I think this wonderful experience is what makes me focus on driving my Porsches.

The most significant driving event for this car was the 1978 Porsche Parade. We drove from Virginia to Aspen, CO, then to the Tetons and Yellowstone and then back home. Wonderful car.

1971 Porsche 911 T My very first Porsche. In 1971 I was on extended temporary duty for the US Air Force to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. A pilot flying for us had a 1970 911 E Targa and was going to Korea and wanted to sell. Thinking of possibly buying his car, I went to George Kuper Porsche Audi in El Paso, Texas. They had several 1972 cars on the floor and one last 1971 911 T. After much soul searching and the agreement from

A funny story: as this was my very first Porsche Parade, I spent weeks cleaning the car up to enter my very first Concours. While driving out, my infant daughter, Natalie, found a bag of air mints. She liked the sweet sugar coating on the outside but did not like the pink peppermint inside. So, she licked off the sugar coating and stuck the pink sticky center on the upholstery, glass, headliner, etc. Imagine my shock when we stopped. I remember laying on my back trying to scrub pink spots off everything when we arrived at the Snowmass Resort for the Parade.

My son-in-law, Drew Pathwick, has the car today with about 225,000 smiles. When asked, he refuses to sell it back.

2006 Cayman S. Let’s skip forward a few decades. For our 40th wedding anniversary we went again to Hilton Head, SC. While there, I drove a 2006 Cayman. Now we wanted a more modern car with a certified pre-owned warranty, a good stereo and above all, *** Air Conditioning***! In September 2008, I found a black one at Euroclassics in Richmond that fit our dreams. We called it the “Black Pearl.” A black Porsche when clean is gorgeous but is so hard to keep clean. Like my first Porsche, I immediately took it on a wonderful drive. This time in the mountains near Staunton, VA.

Interesting story: Euroclassics had their annual customer appreciation track day at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on Columbus Day. I was invited to participate. The Cayman S has so much capability that it is frustrating on a public road. So, I signed up with Euroclassics. I had the High-Performance Driver’s Education (HPDE) technical inspection done, got a helmet, and drove the full course at VIR. This was my first experience driving on a real racetrack. Wow!! Our Porsches have so much capability. “I love driving this car!” Plus, I came back home with a disease called “perma-grin” from smiling so much.

they have nothing like them in Kansas. Sidenote, we drove many of these same wonderful roads on the recent Waynesboro Fun Run.

2012 Cayman R. Skipping ahead a few years, and

after reading the reviews of the Boxster Spyder, I knew the Cayman R would be sweet. Looking for an allocation, I eventually got one with Porsche of Silver Springs, MD. So I ordered and got a Cayman R. This Porsche was Aqua Blue Metallic and had the PDK transmission. We called it the “Blue Streak.”

CAUTION: HPDE is ADDICTIVE! I am addicted and have been blessed to drive on a track several times each year since then. But more on this later.

The most memorable trips in the Black Pearl were the Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway as well as driving the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Lots and lots of smiles.

After driving the Black Pearl about 35,000 smiles I sold it to a PCA member from Kansas in March 2011. This made room at my home for the next Porsche. I gave the buyer my usual highlighted VA map with some twisty road suggestions. He called me on the way home extolling the wonders of VA 36 and VA 39 across the VA mountains. The buyer commented that

On 12 April 2012, a friend took me to pick up the car. Like twice before, I left the dealership and drove several days in the VA mountains. At first, I was uncertain about the PDK transmission; but after several hundred miles, I am convinced PDK is much better. Coming home, I had that familiar “perma-grin” expression as well as exclaiming, “I love driving this car!”

Interesting story: now looking back at over 60 track days over the past 14 years, this has been another rich blessing. I was in my 60s when I got the Blue Streak. I was looking ahead to old age, a nursing home with bland food, a Gestapo nurse, and nothing to do. I envisioned eventually lying in bed watching mindless TV, then a road race would come on TV, maybe the Daytona 24 Hours. I envisioned thinking “I wish I had driven that track.” Then it dawned on me: my Cayman R was designed just for those tracks. So why not drive them? So, between the

Black Pearl and the Blue Streak, I have been blessed to drive Sebring, Daytona Rolex Course, Road Atlanta, Dominion Raceway, Mid-Ohio, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen and Laguna Seca as well as VIR. More wonderful blessings.

So far, the fastest I have been on the ground is 154.3 MPH approaching turn 13 at VIR.

In 2009, my first wife died suddenly. After several years, lonely and “starving on my own cooking” I remarried. I am richly blessed with Brenda. In fact, she has driven several days at speed at VIR. From driving a tractor on a farm as a little girl to going 126 MPH on the back straight at VIR is quite a change.

Most significant trip: in July 2014, we shipped the Blue Streak to my adopted daughter in California.

After the Parade and Laguna Seca, Brenda and I

Brenda and I flew out and after several days visiting their family, we drove up the coast to Sequoia National Park and Yosemite on our way to the 2014 Monterey Porsche Parade. Immediately after the Parade, there was a DE at Laguna Seca. Wonderful. The signature turn is the Corkscrew. Intimidating! From the top at turn 8 to the apex at turn 9 is a 75foot drop. That is 5 stories! Concerned, I asked my instructor about it. He replied, “It’s easy, aim for the middle trees, count to 2 and turn right.” He was correct.

drove home via Arches/Canyon Lands National Parks and Rocky Mountain National Park. The only downside was the drive from Denver to home. 1880 miles (not smiles) of interstate highways and cornfields. Boring. But with PDK at the speed limit plus 5 MPH, we got 32.7 miles per gallon.

I traded the Blue Streak in on 23 June 2019 after over 99,000 wonderful smiles. Richly blessed indeed.

2019 Carrera T (911 T). In May 2019, I was approached by Barry Cate at Checkered Flag Porsche to consider trading in the Blue Streak on a 991.2 Carrera T that they had in stock. They were taking orders on the 2020 992 911s. Deja-vu again. Much like October 1971, we drove it and I was hooked, again. This 911 T is more comfortable, has the Bose stereo and more bells and whistles. I really like the broad torque range of the turbo motor. I do miss the hatchback of the Cayman for loading luggage and stuff. We made arrangements to buy the car.

Interesting story: on 23 June 2019, we came to

Checkered Flag about mid-day to swap cars. I was eager to get this new car and expected to be at the dealership only about an hour. It also was a Macan Launch Party, with many FSR friends and a food truck. As the day went on, I asked Barry several times when the new car would be ready. “We’re still finishing up the transfer.” Little did we know that the word had gone out: “Ed is getting a new car!” Finally, when they brought the new car out, we were greeted with lots of smiles, applause, and well wishes from many friends. Thanks Barry Cate and Joe Finkel!

As usual, I went the next week for a long drive in

a Cayman R to the 911 T, I answer, “I had to get more performance to keep ahead of Lee!” That is my excuse and I’m sticking with it!

Reflecting on the 4 Porsches that I have had, I find it interesting that 50 years ago, I bought a 911 T and now 50 years later have another 911 T. Ironic? We have been so richly blessed.

Conclusion. I hope this article will make you stop and reflect on how richly blessed you have been as well. I know that my family has been so blessed. Wonderful cars. Over the years we have made many good friends in our club. Some Porsche owners are impressed with the workmanship and the beauty of our cars. And while I like those aspects of our beloved cars, I really love driving them. Now about 400,000 smiles have passed. I suspect that starting in October 1971, I got spoiled with driving Porsches. That 1971 911 T was such a stark contrast to a 1969 Chevelle Sedan. So, I guess a closing picture of the Red Rocket leading a group of Porsches on a recent FSR fun run is appropriate. Drive Safe. And remember, “John Deere green probably won’t look good on your Porsche.”

the Blue Ridge mountains. You see a pattern in this activity. Now just over three years later, I have about 37,000 smiles on the “Red Rocket” – a Guards Red 911 T. “I really love driving this car!”

Funny story: as many of you know my stepson Lee Eason is a very good driver in his Boxster S. I work at becoming a pretty good driver on the track; in contrast, Lee is a “natural.” When asked why I upgraded from

Route Plotting App Review from the Keystone Fun Run

by Shawn Faherty

The Keystone Fun Run was held 24 September 2022; it started at Euroclassics Porsche in Midlothian and ended at the Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum in Colonial Heights, VA, where we had a delicious lunch of pulled pork and fried chicken. In between was a series of beautiful back roads, a lot of great scenery, and a drive through historic Petersburg—all in all, a beautiful day for a drive.

Many of us have been searching for an application that allows plotting and following a driving route. The ability to have prompts for upcoming turns and share the route with others are among the “requirements” we have. I have tried several different solutions including Google Maps, PCA’s Drive, etc. All of them seemed a bit lacking until a recent discovery. On the Waynesboro Fun Run, I was speaking to Scott Orr, and he suggested trying Ride with GPS. I was familiar with Ride as I had previously used it on my phone to track bike rides but had not thought of it for this purpose. Thanks for the suggestion, Scott!

A bit of background: I have participated in many

drives with FSR and a few other clubs as I live in Fredericksburg at the northern tip of FSR “territory.” There are a few other members up my way, but most of the driving seems to be either “down south” or “out west.” Steve Marcom and I have explored a lot of back roads up here and Steve was the Route Master on an excellent FSR Fun Run from Bowling Green, VA, earlier this year. Sharing the routes and trying to remember the best ones has been a constant challenge. The other factor for me is that even if my wife accompanies me on a drive as she did on Day Two of Waynesboro, she cannot look at the printed directions as she quickly becomes car sick. Having a route on a smartphone provides the ability for the driver to be given a head’s up that a turn is coming while keeping his/her concentration on driving. Additionally, there is no concern about getting left behind at a stop light or in traffic. An added benefit is not needing a barf bag for the navigator!

For the Keystone Fun Run, I planned the route in the intuitive Ride with GPS web interface by following the printed driving instructions that Mike Spraker shared with me after the route was driven and documented. Once plotted, I was able to save and share the route. At the beginning of the drive and before we left Euroclassics, I started the app and began the route. The app provided very convenient prompts for upcoming turns. As I approached a turn, the app announced verbally and consistently that there was a turn in .25 miles. There was another prompt and chime sound at the turn location. After making the turn, the

app signaled that the next turn was x miles ahead, then provided the .25-mile warning. These distances and tones are configurable in the app. Note that I have a 2014 Cayman with PCM3.1 and an added JoyeAuto CarPlay unit that allows me to stream from my phone and display Waze or Google maps on the head unit screen. This allowed Ride with GPS to announce over the car’s speakers. I assume it would announce over the phone’s speakers if you didn’t have CarPlay/Android Auto but further testing is needed.

More about the app: Ride with GPS has a free version that allows the user to record his/ her route and it reports distances, etc. According to their website ridewithgps.com, you can also create your own routes to drive, but you cannot share them. To plan a route via the website map interface, one needs to subscribe to at least the Basic subscription for $8/month or $60/year. It appears the Premium Service which is currently $10/month or $80/year gives “advanced route planning” along with additional features, but I’m unclear what these features are. I used the free Premium trial to plot one trip for a local drive and paid for a month of Premium to plot the route for our Tractor Museum Fun Run. For someone to receive shared maps that others have created with turn-by-turn prompts, you need at least the Basic Plan. The Basic and Premium plans both allow for mobile app route planning and offline maps, but I have not tried those features yet. If the club is interested in expanding the use of the tool, we will need to do some experimentation.

As far as privacy is concerned, several settings allow a user to make their profile or routes to be Public, Private, or visible to Friends Only (perhaps we should do this for some of Ed Merry’s “secret routes!”). You can also set the app so that you exclude tracking within a given radius of certain locations like your home.

It appears that Ride with GPS can be configured to share data with a Garmin GPS, Strava (another exercise/biking app), or Relive - I’m a big fan of Relive for recording the route and need to try this integration! Pro-Tip: be sure you don’t have Ride with GPS syncing to your phone’s health data or it will look like you are a workout beast!

The app worked beautifully and got me to the Keystone Museum without incident. Thanks

to Mike Spraker, Dave Wallace, Scott Jackson, Mike Ball, and the rest of Mike Spraker’s supporting cast for organizing and executing this Fun Run!

Perhaps in the future the FSR Tourmeister could have a subscription that would allow him (or his/her delegate) to plot and share future Fun Runs. I for one know that it helps me to not worry about getting cut off from the main group at a stop light, etc., and it would certainly help save a few trees!

Please feel free to contact me if you have thoughts on this app or others at shawn.faherty@gmail.com

Lightning Strikes Twice by Brad Jublou / Photos by Steve Karnes

In the Winter 2021 issue of HO, there was article not about a Porsche barn find, but a beer find. FSR member Steve Karnes, owner of Lee’s Auto & Marine Upholstery in Newport News, got a line on a 1963 356 B over some malty beverages with friends one day. He subsequently bought the car and initiated a reassembly. HO decided to catch up with Steve to see how things were progressing.

As related previously, Steve took an inch of dust and debris off the body and got it to a pretty good shine. The Solex carburetors were shipped to 356 Carburetor Rescue in Arizona and took two months to rebuild. The fuel system was cleaned from end-to-end, and it got a new ignition, distributor, and many other electrical repairs. The car actually caught on fire once due to a backfire, although that was quickly extinguished!

By December of 2021, Steve got it running. He took it out a few times, but he wasn’t completely happy with it. “I felt like, to really do it right, the car needed to be taken completely apart and then put back together again with more care and attention than I had the time to do,” Steve explained. “I had another car I was working on, a 1976 911 S, and money was just flying out of my pocket. So what happened was…I sold it. In January 2022. In fact, I ended up selling three Porsches in one day! But that’s another story…”

That was the first time lightning struck for Steve. The second time actually had its beginnings further back, before the beer find, when in June 2018 an older gent came into Steve’s shop in Newport News. Looking at the various Porsche pictures and memorabilia in the shop, he said, “I have one of those,” and he indicated a picture of a 356. “You do?” Steve asked. “What kind of condition is it in?” “Excellent condition,” responded the gentleman. “Do you know how much that’s worth?” Steve asked. “Not really,” the man responded. Steve

had recently returned from the Porsche Swap Meet in Hershey, PA, and had a new Hagerty’s Price Guide with him. He showed the man what the car was worth; eyebrows were raised. Steve said he’d love to see the car sometime, and the man, Mr. Terry Weeks, agreed.

More than a year later, in November 2019, Mr. Weeks called and invited Steve and his wife Carrie to come over and visit and see the car. They chatted with Mr. Weeks and his wife Lois for two hours before Mr. Weeks finally said, “Well let’s go see the car.” “I think the two-hour chat was them interviewing us,” Carrie said. “I think they were vetting us, trying to determine if we were a good ‘fit’ for their car!”

The car was indeed in excellent shape, although it had not been run in nine years. It was a rare find, a unicorn: a one-owner, all original, 1964 356 C. Complete tool kit; fully documented; Mr. Weeks even had the original sales brochure. 118,056 miles on it. The only work that had been done on it was some paint correction to get the Ivory color back to a beautiful shine.

Mr. Weeks was a 1st Lt in the US Air Force when he ordered the car in 1963. Stationed in South Korea, he was an engineer working in base support operations. He reasoned that if Air Force pilots could drive Porsches, well then so could engineers! He ordered his car through a company that sold only to service members overseas, and they sold the vehicles directly to the individual; no dealership was involved. Mr. Weeks’ car was shipped from Bremerhaven to Norfolk, and he took delivery himself, right there on the pier.

Mr. Weeks was out of the Air Force by the time his car was delivered, and he went to work at the Newport News shipyard, where he had a long career. He would often drive the 356 to work, and for a time he used it as his carpooling vehicle; the catch there was that the other two gentlemen in his carpool were both over six feet tall! So when it was Terry Weeks’ turn to drive, one six-foot plus commuter would have to sit crossways in the back.

At the end of the meeting at Mr. Weeks’ house, Steve told him that if he ever planned on selling the car, he would like

to have the right of first refusal. Mr. Weeks said he would consider it.

In the months and years that followed, the relationship between the Karnes and the Weeks grew into something more than just a potential business deal. They started seeing each other socially on occasion, going out for breakfast and the like. “All the times we saw each other after that second meeting when I first saw the car, I never mentioned buying it again; I figured that if and when he was ready, he would bring it up,” Steve said. “But every time we went out together, I took my checkbook with me, just in case!”

Then in June 2022, Mr. Weeks called Steve and said, “Let’s go have breakfast; today’s the day!” They met, had breakfast, and negotiated a price. Mr. Weeks had two conditions: one, he wanted something written about the car (block checked!); two, he wanted to be able to drive the car on the 8th of November. “Why 8 November?” Steve asked. “That’s the day back in 1963 that I picked up my new car at the pier in Norfolk!”

The car hadn’t been run since 2013, but after picking it up Steve trailered it straight to a man who knows something about Porsches to help get it in good running condition again: FSR’s own Bob Weber. They took all the usual steps: drained the fuel lines, replaced all rubber hoses and fittings, did points/plugs, changed the oil, cleaned the fuel pump, etc. They dropped the fuel tank to inspect it and clean it out, but it was pristine. They got the car running and Steve and Carrie have taken it out on the road a few times. But as those with older cars know, sometimes success is fleeting. Steve said, “I was going to drive the 356 C today, but it wouldn’t start. I think it’s the fuel system. I’ll have to figure it out…”

The356CToday

It’s getting increasingly difficult for Porschephiles in pursuit of a 356 to find one. Many might think that maybe their luck has played out. But the cars are still out there and if you’re lucky, they can be found. And sometimes, if you’re really lucky, lightning can strike twice.

Clunk! ...

by Pedro P. Bonilla, Suncoast Florida PCA

©2022 /technolab / PedrosGarage.com. Reprinted with permission

A clunk is very different from a tick, which has nothing to do with a hiss, a click, a squeal, a knock, a pop, a rattle or a bang. All of the above are sounds that you don’t want to hear coming from your beloved Porsche. But if you do, we’ll try to steer you in the right direction. There are hundreds of different sounds a car can make. Some good, others not so much. Also, please keep in mind that a bad component may make more than one sound, and what I describe as a clunk, you may think is a knock. It’ll be difficult trying to verbally describe the sounds, but here we go….

Clunk:

That’s the most common one and usually comes from the front end. If it happens when driving on bad roads it’s usually a ball joint that’s worn. Ball joints have a flexible dust boot to protect the joint. When the boot tears it can allow grease to escape and road grime to come in, doing damage to the joint. Usually the drop links are the first to go, but control arms, trailing arms, steering arms, etc., all have ball joints that wear out with time and mileage.

If it happens when driving over bumps, it could be an issue with the suspension, such as a bad upper strut mount or even a bad strut itself (it happened to me recently).

If it happens when you’re turning a corner, it could be a problem with the steering rack, or a wornout wheel bearing.

Squeak:

I mention squeaking here because many times it’s a precursor to clunking. If your car starts squeaking when the suspension is depressed, it may be one or more of the ball joints that has dried out and is letting you know. If you determine which one it is, check the condition of its dust boot. If intact, you can try to inject some lubricant (high quality lithium grease) into the boot with a syringe or with an aerosol straw tube. If it quiets down, you know it needs replacement soon.

Tick-Tick-Tick:

So many things can tick!

Generally ticking sounds are heard coming from the engine itself. First check if the ticking varies with engine speed or car speed. That’ll tell you if it’s coming from the engine as you rev it with the clutch in or if it’s from the drivetrain as you accelerate. The fuel injectors (all 6 of them) can tick quite loudly. The lifters, especially if the oil level is low, can ticktick-tick. A shredding poly-ribbed belt can tick as it goes around.

Believe it or not, a very loud, metallic sounding tick an also be caused by a loose sparkplug. If you can get the car on a lift, with the engine running, try to determine the general area where the ticking is coming from. The best listening device I use is a long screwdriver. Place the butt end against your ear and touch with the tip where you want to listen. You’ll be surprised at what a great stethoscope it is.

Knock-knock:

If you can hear knocking sounds from your engine, get it checked out ASAP! Something could be seriously wrong. A knowledgeable technician can tell you if it’s serious or can be easily fixed. What’s generally called engine knocking really sounds more like clattering and is generally due to using a lower gasoline octane rating than what’s recommended. On high compression engines, you need to use high octane to avoid pre-ignition and knocking which can damage the engine. Fortunately, most modern Porsches have automatic knock sensors that will retard timing to avoid pre-ignition (but you will lose power).

Bang!, Pop!:

A loud bang, like a gunshot, is usually a backfire. Backfiring happens when unburnt fuel comes out of the engine and gets ignited in the exhaust pipe. This could be due to a vacuum or exhaust leak or a problem with one of the catalytic converters. The bang

can also happen in the intake at the throttle body and could indicate an issue with the fuel and / or the ignition system, caused by a blocked fuel filter, bad spark plugs, or a damaged cat.

Grinding or whirring:

If the grinding happens when shifting, you probably have an issue with a synchro in the transmission which makes your gears not mesh at a synchronized speed and therefore grind. A dried-out CV Joint (drive axle) or a failing wheel bearing can also grind quite loudly. If you hear grinding while applying the brakes, your brake pads are probably worn or you may have some debris caught between a disc and its pad.

Hissing:

A vacuum leak while accelerating makes a loud hiss. A fluid leak getting onto a hot engine surface will also hiss.

Rattling:

Rattles under the car means that something is loose and making noise as it vibrates. Generally, a heat shield in place over the catalytic converters is one of the most common culprits. They are mounted with hardware that deteriorates in time and allows them to vibrate and create rattling.

Whistle (Coke bottle whistle):

A very distinct and loud “coke bottle” whistle is most likely the air-oil separator (AOS). If the inside membrane tears, it can create this unique sound.

Roar:

Most of our cars produce a beautiful roar as we accelerate (some call it the symphony in flat-6). But if your exhaust note changes all of a sudden to a loud roar, something happened to the exhaust system. The exhaust manifold may have cracked or one of the gaskets is allowing exhaust to freely escape. The muffler may be damaged or an exhaust pipe clamp could have rusted out and become loose.

Squeal:

A loud squeal when you rev the engine, especially when cold, is one of the easiest to diagnose. The belt is most likely loose and slipping on the pulley. It could be worn and in need of replacement, or the tensioner pulley may have lost its tension.

If the squeal is coming from the wheels without using the brakes, you probably have some debris between the disc and the backing plate. If it happens when applying the brakes, then your brake pads may be worn out…. … and, if it’s coming from your tires, back off the gas pedal!

For more information on silent Porsches and more, please visit my website: www.PedrosGarage.com.

Happy Porsche’ing, Pedro