Cars..

[TEWKS]

James Dean 

[roadscholar]

Re: the 928 fellow Mrmerlin, shoulda remembered that name.

 

 

 

 

 

[roadscholar]

2 hours ago, TEWKS said:

James Dean 

 

https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/the-haunting-story-of-james-deans-little-bastard/

 

[TEWKS]

You too Could Spend a Shit-ton of Money on a 928 build!  Man, those seats didn’t hold up very well. This car is advertised at 55K miles. BTW, that reupholster job above looks beautiful! 

[John Ranalletta]

6 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

You too Could Spend a Shit-ton of Money on a 928 build!  Man, those seats didn’t hold up very well. This car is advertised at 55K miles. BTW, that reupholster job above looks beautiful! 

I'll be staying a few blocks from this 928 this weekend if you're interested.

[TEWKS]

3 minutes ago, John Ranalletta said:

I'll be staying a few blocks from this 928 this weekend if you're interested.

I have an offer in on a Cayman. Two other people are looking also. One wants it for a track car (probably going to be out bid) and the other guy’s wife made him sell his Harley!  I laughed at first but then thought, maybe she ain’t all that bad if she’s allowing him a Porsche instead. 

[TEWKS]

24 minutes ago, roadscholar said:

 

https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/the-haunting-story-of-james-deans-little-bastard/

 

I didn’t know about the continued tragic events of cars afterlife. Interesting! 

[roadscholar]

40 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

You too Could Spend a Shit-ton of Money on a 928 build!  Man, those seats didn’t hold up very well. This car is advertised at 55K miles. BTW, that reupholster job above looks beautiful! 

 

Again, not for beginners but pretty amazing cars in their day and will likely continue to appreciate.

 

Edit, Most don't know it but the 928 was the first car to have 5-link rear suspension (Porsche called it the Weissach axle) in 1978, Mercedes adopted it on the 190E and 300E in the mid 80's and nearly every other carmaker has copied it since. It was a solution to the 911s trailing throttle oversteer, I've felt it in action back in the day and it is amazing how the car corrects itself when pushed too hard in a curve.  

 

 

 

[TEWKS]

I don’t know who pointed it out or where I read it but, they placed the 928’s transmission in the rear of the car to try and get an evener weight balance. Tricky engineering. 

[roadscholar]

3 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

I don’t know who pointed it out or where I read it but, they placed the 928’s transmission in the rear of the car to try and get an evener weight balance. Tricky engineering. 

 

Yes 50/50 weight distribution, actually the 924 had it a year earlier and is why 944's, 968's, and 928's handle so well. Not sure who came up with it first but Ferrari had it on some of their models in the mid 60's. The 928 had a number of innovations/contributions to automotive tech, see my edit above.

[roadscholar]

More 928 content, good discussion from these two knowledgeable fellows. Neither are bona fide Porschephiles but come at it from a larger perspective, interesting but also not 100% correct IMO. For instance if Jay had driven back to back 928's with an auto and 5-speed he'd realize the auto suits it better. The 928 has so much torque that unless you're racing it makes the 5-speed redundant for everyday driving, it's somewhat difficult to drive smoothly because every gear is superfluous to the previous one, difficult for me to describe you just have to experience it. 

 

 

[Dennis Andress]

1 hour ago, TEWKS said:

I don’t know who pointed it out or where I read it but, they placed the 928’s transmission in the rear of the car to try and get an evener weight balance. Tricky engineering. 

And it’s critical to correctly shim the propeller shaft between the engine and trans to avoid screwing up the crankshaft’s lateral runout.

 

I’m not motivated to take on a project car. Maybe in a couple of years…

[Dennis Andress]

Hmmmm…..   It looks nice, but it’s been listed for almost a year, and just had its first price drop????

 

[TEWKS]

36 minutes ago, Dennis Andress said:

it’s critical to correctly shim the propeller shaft between the engine and trans

Dayum the 928s were amphibious too? I didn’t know that…  It’s neat having guys here that know a lot about these cars. 

[roadscholar]

7 hours ago, TEWKS said:

It’s neat having guys here that know a lot about these cars. 

 

I think Dennis has been reading up on the Porsche forums lately : )

[9Mary7]

2 hours ago, roadscholar said:

Mercedes adopted it

 

2 hours ago, roadscholar said:

it is amazing how the car corrects itself when pushed too hard in a curve.  

Our 89 260E sedan was very easy to control with that suspension..... loads of fun in the rain!! (or so I've been told)

[roadscholar]

9 minutes ago, 9Mary7 said:

 

Our 89 260E sedan was very easy to control with that suspension..... loads of fun in the rain!! (or so I've been told)

 

I've had several 124's but the first time I drove one was from Jacksonville to Atlanta when they'd just come out in '86 to deliver one for the dealer here. I thought, man this car drives amazing, it was really the first modern driving sedan. 

[RandyShields]

12 hours ago, roadscholar said:

it was really the first modern driving sedan

What about . . . .

[9Mary7]

15 hours ago, roadscholar said:

this car drives amazing 

Agree 100%. They are wonderful automobiles that can be repaired without the Dealer involved.

[roadscholar]

8 hours ago, RandyShields said:

What about . . . .

 

Nothing wrong with a 2002 Randy, they're great little cars and what I consider the first (German) sports sedan likely inventing the category. When I said 'modern' I meant the original 300E still drives almost like cars today even though it's 40 years old and was a big departure from everything that preceded it. I guess the differences are subtle and maybe not noticeable to some but after spending lots of miles in a w123 (it's predecessor) the difference is stark in a number of ways. Most importantly the way the car goes down the road, it had a surefootedness and demeanor like nothing else at the time and IMO opened the door to modern driving cars.

 

[RandyShields]

11 minutes ago, roadscholar said:

Most importantly the way the car goes down the road, it had a surefootedness and demeanor like nothing else at the time and IMO opened the door to modern driving cars.

Agree with all of that -- in fact, a 260E was my first Mercedes in the late 80s and started my love affair of the brand!  Bought it 2-years old with less than 10K miles for, then, the princely sum of $25,000.  Sold it 10 years later to my mother-in-law, who pampered and treasured it until she passed away.  She and I were both very proud of that auto.  It was great to have it in the family for so many years.  The only downside was the crappy radio, but that was fixable.  

[roadscholar]

 

 

It's come a long way.

 

 

 

https://jalopnik.com/2025-porsche-911-carrera-gts-debuts-awesome-t-hybrid-wi-1851500528

[Hosstage]

I don't like the idea of the complexity of hybrids, but they sure can be made to perform at a high level.

Hmm, aren't F1 cars, probably the most advanced racing cars in the world, hybrid setups? Why yes, yes they are!

 

Sadly, we no longer get this on the F1 circuit:

 

 

[roadscholar]

 

[Hosstage]

Ah, to have been there when 10 and 12 cylinder screamers ruled the world!

[TEWKS]

1 hour ago, roadscholar said:

 

 

 

https://jalopnik.com/2025-porsche-911-carrera-gts-debuts-awesome-t-hybrid-wi-1851500528

 

It looks like they built an engine and then put it in a giant vacuum sealing machine. That’s the image my pea sees anyway. 

[roadscholar]

41 minutes ago, Hosstage said:

Ah, to have been there when 10 and 12 cylinder screamers ruled the world!

 

I was doing a vintage race at Road Atlanta once and they let a guy out to do some demonstration laps in a Jody Scheckter F1 Ferrari (why I chose that video). Hearing a singular F1 car from that era echoing off the walls/hills around that track was something I won't forget, just incredible music to the ears.

[John Ranalletta]

1 hour ago, roadscholar said:

 

 

It's come a long way.

 

 

 

https://jalopnik.com/2025-porsche-911-carrera-gts-debuts-awesome-t-hybrid-wi-1851500528

 

[Dennis Andress]

It’s officially summer!

[TEWKS]

But, it’s a dry heat?  

[wbw6cos]

.....so is the oven!!   Try sticking your head in that!

[TEWKS]

Just now, wbw6cos said:

.....so is the oven!!

So is Hell,  I better knock the crap off! 

[Dennis Andress]

4 hours ago, roadscholar said:

 

 

It's come a long way.

 

 

 

$183,275. This is what happens when you don't have an adult in your life.

 

 

 

[roadscholar]

Successfully avoiding Porsche dealerships for over 15 years... 

[Rougarou]

29 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

But, it’s a dry heat?  

 

27 minutes ago, wbw6cos said:

.....so is the oven!!   Try sticking your head in that!

 

After being in "wet" heat and "dry" heat,......I'll take a 110-115* desert day over a 80* Louisiana day any day of the week.

[TEWKS]

2 minutes ago, Rougarou said:

 

 

After being in "wet" heat and "dry" heat,......I'll take a 110-115* desert day over a 80* Louisiana day any day of the week.

Don’t get those numbers up here but humidity sucks the life out of you. 

[Rougarou]

3 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

Don’t get those numbers up here but humidity sucks the life out of you. 

 

We are outside during the summer months, humidity does suck, but if you're weird like me, getting that nasty gooey sweat going is a good thing.  Acclimation is the key to enduring the areas that you are located.   While I don't much like humid heat, it's bearable so long as the fluid intake is generous.  After sweating in the yard for several hours, walking in to get some ice water refreshed or a sammich to the houses 77* thermostat feels very cold, so it's back outside real quick like.  

 

 

[TEWKS]

To keep this kinda on topic, the “toy” car I test drove last week had really cold AC. 

 

[Dennis Andress]

56 minutes ago, roadscholar said:

Successfully avoiding Porsche dealerships for over 15 years... 

For most of my life I didn't care they existed. So, it is a kind of odd fun to window shop online, and maybe drop by and sit in the latest. Being able to afford such a thing is a mind trip that I'll never reconcile...

 

[TEWKS]

9 minutes ago, Dennis Andress said:

Porsche dealerships

I visited one over the winter and in conversation with the sales manager I forgot to add in the “a”. Yup, I was promptly escorted out the back door.  

[Dennis Andress]

1 hour ago, TEWKS said:

But, it’s a dry heat?  

In tech school, right after basic training, one of the instructors commented that cold weather is better than hot because you can always put more clothes on. After spending two winters near Fairbanks, Alaska I've found his advice to be true, and utterly impractical. Tucson weather has been pleasant since late October. Sure, February was kind of cool, and March had some big rain storms, but almost every day has been fit for riding. June and early July will have nights and mornings cool enough for riding. Yes it might be best to put stands up around 0530, but there's incredible beauty the morning after a big monsoon. Late July, August, and September suck.

[roadscholar]

24 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

I visited one over the winter and in conversation with the sales manager I forgot to add in the “a”. Yup, I was promptly escorted out the back door.  

I had a big fat snagletooth redneck with no shirt, barefooted, wearing just overalls, and a South Georgia drawl walk into my Yamaha dealership one Saturday. After talking to him a few minutes he pulled out a wad of cash and left with 3 new yellow dirt bikes : )

[TEWKS]

12 minutes ago, roadscholar said:

I had a big fat snagletooth redneck with no shirt, barefooted, wearing just overalls, and a South Georgia drawl walk into my Yamaha dealership one Saturday. After talking to him a few minutes he pulled out a wad of cash and left with 3 new yellow dirt bikes : )

Proves, sometimes you just never know! 

[TEWKS]

14 minutes ago, roadscholar said:

I had a big fat snagletooth redneck with no shirt, barefooted, wearing just overalls, and a South Georgia drawl

Now I have to go google search that, that’s a picture you’ve got to see at least one time in your life! 

[roadscholar]

Can't judge a book by the cover.  

[Dennis Andress]

The little red car is doing its job just fine. I’ve no need to replace it. 

[Dennis Andress]

A concise description of the new 911.

 

https://rennlist.com/articles/porsche-takes-the-wraps-off-the-992-2-generation-911/

[roadscholar]

On 5/28/2024 at 9:43 AM, 9Mary7 said:

Agree 100%. They are wonderful automobiles that can be repaired without the Dealer involved.

 

On 5/28/2024 at 2:15 PM, RandyShields said:

Agree with all of that -- in fact, a 260E was my first Mercedes in the late 80s and started my love affair of the brand!  Bought it 2-years old with less than 10K miles for, then, the princely sum of $25,000.  Sold it 10 years later to my mother-in-law, who pampered and treasured it until she passed away.  She and I were both very proud of that auto.  It was great to have it in the family for so many years.  The only downside was the crappy radio, but that was fixable.  

 

Looks like they're starting to get some traction.

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1992-mercedes-benz-300e-31/?utm_source=dm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2024-05-29

 

 

[RandyShields]

4 hours ago, roadscholar said:

Looks like they're starting to get some traction.

Wow.  Starting to appreciate.

[9Mary7]

3 hours ago, RandyShields said:

Wow.  Starting to appreciate.

The sale price was a great deal on an excellent, reliable car that could be serviced anywhere. Additionally, everything on it is rebuildable. I would buy that one over any new car (which of course would be 2-3 times the price)!