Page 17 - KCRPCA May June 2018

8. Have you personalized your car?
exact same situation as me? It was “only” $500! We already know how this story ended, I purchased that 944 and never looked back. I spent several weekends installing a clutch, being towed to replace the head gasket, and having another mechanic named Udo to make more repairs. On a positive note, I sold the car for $1100 when I left Germany.
If you ignore the time the car did not run, the time I had to push the car while my wife steered - didn’t matter if it ran or not, there was no power steering from the factory (bonus?), the fact that I would not risk driving it outside of town, or the hundreds of dollars I spent on the clutch, head gasket and labor at a Porsche dealer too, it was a great adventure...I learned then and continue to this day to heed the saying, “Porsche receipts, do not add up.” After owning that car for 3 years, I knew I wanted a 1988 944 Turbo S or 1989 944 Turbo. Then after deploying to Iraq in 2003, I had the opportunity to get back into a Porsche and we drove from Clarksville, TN to Greenville, SC to look at and subsequently purchase the 944 that I drive today. My wife even said at the time that I should get this one.
11. Top 3 cars to own?
Love my car, but if I had to, then I would look at a new 911 Carrera S or 4S (w/3.0 S powerkit and 7-speed; no PDK \[911 Turbo\], no center lock wheels \[911 GTS\]), and nally I would consider a C3 or C5 Corvette (manual trans) after my kids’ college bills are paid.
12. Favorite vacation destination?
I have added lots of upgrades to help the 944 keep its youth and stay competitive with current cars. I have installed lots of Lindsey Racing products on my car. My wife knows I love lights, and with that, I have replaced almost all of the light bulbs with LEDs, including the headlights and dash.
9. Favorite memory with a car?
It was during a PCA fun run in Tennessee, I had the whole family in the car that beautiful Saturday. Allison was about 2 or 3 years old. We were in a group of about 15 or so cars driving the back roads of middle Tennessee. Then about 30 minutes into the trip, Allison wasn’t feeling so well, she had an upset stomach. That was the end of the fun run. I spent the rest of the day after we got home cleaning the carpet inside of the car after I removed the driver’s seat. At least I still got to spend time with my car!
10. Why did you buy your Porsche?
My adventure of owning a Porsche began when I was stationed in Giessen, Germany with the U.S. Army. I was a newly commissioned Second Lieutenant. Where there I met another Lieutenant, who was about to move back to the states. He had a 1984 944. It was a German model, so he could not take it back with him. I took it to a mechanic for an inspection, who then highly recommended for me to not make this purchase. He said it would be a great project car, not a daily driver. Now the dilemma, should take this once in a lifetime opportunity to buy a top sports cars that had probably been driven hard by many other 23 year old males in the
Anywhere with the family that has a
nice, quiet beach.
~ Grant
May / Jun 2018
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