Slipstream - November 2015

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My Second Porsche: The First Water Pumper By Tom Martin Photos courtesy of the Author The Porsche 924 started life as Volkswagen’s flagship sports car. VW commissioned Porsche to design the car, which developed a chassis and transmission that would work with the existing Audi 100 engine. VW also handled the suspension, utilizing a Golf steering rack, safety column and MacPherson struts, and control arms from the Scirocco. Porsche decided on a rear wheel drive layout, and the new design sported a four-speed transaxle moved back to drive the rear wheels. The clutch remained up front with the motor, and a rigid tube connected the motor and transaxle. VW abandoned the project before it could market the car, so Porsche jumped at the chance to introduce it to the public as their entry level model, but not before revising the coachwork and updating the interior. Initially, the water cooled, front engine layout of the 924 was met with disdain by Porsche purists. Little did they know that the stellar 928 was waiting in the wings, poised to displace the venerable 911 as Porsche’s flagship model. History will show that this result never happened, but it is interesting to note that Porsche was seriously considering a front engine, rear wheel drive configuration as their path into the future. The launch 924 was available in four standard colors: Black, Rallye Yellow, Mars Red, and Signal Green. Two metallic colors, Marina Blue and Diamond Silver, were also offered as options. I ordered mine in Black, along with the Touring Package, which included alloy wheels and leather steering wheel, plus stabilizer bars. The original sticker showing included options Two months later, my new Porsche ported in New York. I picked her up from the dealer one night after work during the first week of January 1977 - in an ice storm on secondary roads. On secondary roads, one hour from home. It was borderline white knuckle driving, but the superb balance of the Porsche helped my fiancée and me get home in one piece. She was absolutely gorgeous, resplendent in her shiny black paint, complete with unmistakable new car smell. The shifter was short and smooth, a stubby affair with a rubber accordion boot; rowing through the gears was akin to sliding a hot knife through butter. With a near perfect 50/50 weight distribution, handling was phenomenal, but the engine was rather anemic. It didn’t matter though. Once you wound her up to redline in the gears, it was all about maintaining speed and keeping the momentum alive. Front and rear views of the beautiful 924 Three months later, I was winding her above redline at autocrosses. I had some good results, but soon tired of the confined space and restricted speed. The 924 was at her best breathing freely, flat out in top gear on winding country roads. So I found solace there. And also several speeding tickets. It became necessary to retain an attorney. Some may regard this as the reckless abandon of youth; I look upon it as the result of an absurd, politically-mandated 55 mph speed limit in place at the time. But then again, I’m just sayin’ . . . . Some major life milestones occurred in that car. I brought my new wife home in the Porsche after our wedding. A few years later, I drove her to the hospital where she birthed our son, and brought them back home in the Porsche a few days later. Because many VW and Audi parts were incorporated into the 924, buying replacement parts became somewhat of a game. For example, when a new oil drain plug was needed, I got a better deal by asking for an Audi 100LS part. I had a bad habit of leaving my gas cap behind at gas stations when I refueled. When I went to the dealer and asked for a replacement cap for a 1977 22 November
Porsche 924, the quoted price was about $25.00. I quickly changed my request and asked for a gas cap for a 1975 VW Rabbit. “But I thought you had a Porsche?” asked the attendant. “I was mistaken,” was my reply. The VW cap was $7.00. The 924 was my daily driver. In the winter of 1978, the Great Blizzard of ’78 descended upon the Northeast. I was at work when it struck with alarming speed and intensity. It became rapidly apparent that the Porsche would have to remain in the factory parking lot. I parked her close to the side of the building and affixed a neon ball to the top of the radio aerial. Three days later, after the snow subsided, and after the snowplows moved the snow away from her, I found the Porsche completely enveloped in a huge block of snow. I hand-shoveled the snow away from the driver’s door and the exhaust pipe, crawled inside, and started her right up. She was a great trooper, that 924, never let me down. After seven great years and 107,000 miles of ownership, the 924 met an untimely demise one sunny afternoon when a speeding Cadillac ignored a stop sign at a two-stop, four-way intersection and collided violently with the Porsche. In the ensuing crash, my head shattered the windshield. Concussed, I was somehow able to crawl away from the wreckage. An ambulance was dispatched and transported me to a nearby hospital. Failing the standard recognition tests, I was kept for observation. Then the A sad ending to Tom’s well-owned and driven 924. arduous procedure of removing the glass shards from my face began . . . without anesthesia. Several weeks later, after obtaining the insurance settlement, I purchased another 1977 924. Draped in Diamond Silver Metallic paint, she was a fine example of the model. She also served me well -- until the divorce. I had to sell her to settle. After the smoke cleared, I tried to reclaim the past and purchased my third 924. Acting on impulse, and without due diligence, I ended up with a Porsche with problems. Enough problems to have me park her before her time. But not before my next Porsche. October 4 Time Trial Results Class Car# Name Driving Fastest 4 239 Tom Leavitt Porsche 944 (1983/Tan) 76.460 5 25 Mark Schnoerr Porsche 993 (1996/Black) 70.790 5 590 Carey Spreen Porsche 911SC (1982/Guards Red) 73.580 5 5 Travis Howard Porsche Boxster (2003/Blue) 74.005 5 65 Robyn Howard Porsche Boxster (2003/Blue) 77.219 6 56 Scott Wolthuis Porsche 911S (1975/Blue) 71.450 6 156 Casey Wolthuis Porsche 911 (1975/Blue) 72.579 6 510 Mike Farrar Porsche boxster s (2002/silver) 73.830 6 245 Denny Payne Porsche Cayman (2007/Yellow) 73.919 7 981 Ed Reynolds Porsche Cayman S (2014/Silver) 70.314 9 916 Rick Gonzales Porsche 914 (1974/black) 69.282 10 4 Rick Schwausch Porsche 911 (1999/Red/White) 65.800 10 177 Chris Tabor Porsche GT3 (2015/White) 67.159 10 93 David Hedderick Porsche Boxster S M030 (2001/Silver) 67.923 10 39 Jim Hedderick Porsche Boxster S (2001/Silver) 69.781 10 81 Jeff Herrmann Porsche 912 (1966/White-‐ish) 71.475 10 15 Gary Leto Porsche 914 (1972/Green) 81.038 1X 17 John Clark Honda Civic Si (1989/Red) 71.477 1X 99 Kim Whitener Honda CRX (1988/Blue) 72.051 1X 172 Jerrett Jan Mazda Miata (1993/Oreo White) 72.660 1X 74 Gabby Garner Mazda Miata (1995/Merlot Mica) 74.011 1X 77 Willie Manell Mazda Miata (1993/Black) 74.583 1X 42 James Schwan Mazda Miata (1990/Red) 75.581 1X 88 Mick Harrison Mazda MIata (2002/Yeller) 77.527 2X 96 Scott Steider Nissan 350z (2003/Daytona Blue) 66.812 2X 213 Chris Park Nissan 350Z (2003/Blue) 68.005 2X 91 Armstrong Vongsavath Honda S2000 (2004/Sebring Silver) 69.246 2X 199 David Whitener Honda CRX (1988/Blue) 69.492 3X 159 Gary Kelley Lexus RC-‐F (2015/black) 70.939 3X 61 Gene Arrington Chevy Stingray (2015/Black) 75.894 3X 59 Richard Diller Lexus RC-‐F (2015/black) 79.204 3R 111 Ken Orgeron BMW M3 (2011/White) 64.690 23
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