Monday, June 28, 2010

Family Fun Car - What is it?



My lack of posting as of late has been a result me being completely and utterly sucked into looking for a replacement for my sold 911SC. Not a replacement actually, but a family car.

And after several weeks of probably four hours a day trolling the US and UK for a car, I have come to the conclusion that a parent with sporting persuasions and a $20k budget does not have too many options. 

There are the beautiful Rolls Royce Mulliner Coupes from the late 60's but they are a bit slow. Then there are the Astons, too expensive. Bristol's, too elusive. Interceptor's, too fussy. 

Really, there are Jaguars. They kind of sum it up with the maxim, "grace, space and pace.' No other cars fit the bill.

So, I think I found my car. It is a Jaguar. 4.2 litre. Four speed with overdrive. Four doors. Wire Wheels. Lots of leather and wood. My brother will go look at in a couple of weeks and if as advertised, it will be mine. I already put a small down payment on it to hold it.

A hearty harrumph to anyone who can guess what model it is from the above interior shot.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Memorial Day Race Weekend Recap



Sorry, this took so long, but I was waiting for pictures. Am still waiting. I will add them when one of the photogs from the race posts them up. 

Now, on to the recap. First, on Saturday during the warm-up I ran a 2:21 lap. Not bad, and not pushing too hard. So I decide on a goal of 2:17 for the weekend.

In the qualifying race. I ran a 2:19 and this put me in 9th out of 18 cars. I finished the main race in the same place with a time of 2:17.

Goal reached. So set new goal. A 2:16.

Hit that on Sunday qualifying and the ran a 2:15:02 in the main race. Sweet. This was the fifth fastest lap time even though I finished the race 8th. 

It was great to be really in the mix. Lots of banging. Three of the four corners of the car got some other color paint on them. That is how close this racing is. It is incredible. Sure there are faster cars, but none that run as close as us.

Finally, on Monday in the enduro, my co-driver Chris Mosera of Garage Films and I managed to finish 9th out of 21 cars. And third out of the six or seven 944s. What a weekend. 

The only carnage was a set of wheel bearings from having a grease seal fail. But after a total of 5 and a half hours of hard racing to only need $40 in repairs was great. Engine was solid, brakes, suspension all doing well.

And for the next race, my RA-1s are just coming into the sweet spot, so they should be fast when we head to PPIR over July 4th.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Death Creates Life



To bring a new classic into the house, I had to sell one.

And what I sold was the Porsche I owned the longest. My 83SC with only 63k miles. Totally original and well-preserved. I looked after it for 6 years. I felt as if I was its caretaker the car was so nice.

Pictured is the new owner. From a Porsche loving family in SoCal. I am sure the car will be loved. He drove it from Denver to SoCal over a blazing hot weekend. The car ran fine. He said he ran a bit hot though.

I miss you White Chocolate.

But, now I have the funds to buy something older, and gasp, not a Porsche. Stay tuned. The Hunt is on....