GSX-R panels back from the painter (again)

So this weekend the GSX-R1100 resto project took another step forward with the completion of the bodywork. We'd originally had it painted by the "guy who works mainly out of his garage but uses his boss's spray booth occasionally" (you know the sort) and while it turned out OK, he didn't clear over it. Normally this mightn't have been an issue but the decals we used were not uniformly glossy (some were kind of matte in fact) and it just didn't look quite right.

So I contacted the shop that painted the ducktail on my Porsche and they recommended Kevin at Urban Autobody, and I took the panels over a couple weeks ago. Kevin is a top chap and very handy with a spray gun, and so after a fashion I got a call to pick up the panels.

Can hardly wait to get them on the bike!!

The 911 at 50

On July 11, Porsche Centre Winnipeg hosted the unveiling of the special Porsche 911 Carrera "50 Years 911" for members of the Red River chapter and other interested Porsche fans. The Porsche Centre served up some tremendous hospitality along with soft drinks and delicious appetizers.

General Manager Michael Degroseilliers was a gregarious host and we enjoyed talking Porsche with him. But in the end the car was the star and it is a stunner!

The exterior features special Geyser Grey Metallic paint as a nod to the original 901; it's one of three exclusive 50th anniversary colours, the others being Graphite Grey and Black, both non-metallic. The feature car was also equipped with distinctive-looking LED headlights. Front air intakes are chrome and the turnsignals echo the shape of the first-generation "long-hood" 911 units.

Profile is standard 991, which means "classic 911"... anodized window trims also echo the ur-911.

Also exclusive to the 50th anniversary edition are the 20" Fuchs forged alloy wheels. Not sure I am personally smitten with the anodized "petals" but everyone else seemed to like them, and Michael assured me that they could be customized to my taste when I ordered the car. Sold! ;-)

Out back there is more chrome as well as a special "911-50" logo.

The option sheet on the special 50th 911. Some relevant numbers: 430 horsepower; 7 speed manual transmission; 4.2 sec 0-60mph; 303km/h top speed; $152,500.

The outside of the 911 Carrera "50 Years 911" is pretty special, no doubt. But where it gets really gorgeous is inside. The leather seats with houndstooth-check cloth inserts are simply spectacular. This is really as nice as a modern 911 interior gets, I reckon.

Does that not look classy and comfortable? Special 911-50 logo appears on headrests as well.

The dashboard is accented with tasteful brushed-aluminum trim. The 911-50 emblem appears above the glovebox along with the number of the particular car in the series, which is limited to 1,963 examples (get it?)

That beautiful interior deserves one more photo. Ausgezeichnet!

Unfortunately the "engine compartment" delivers all the visual excitement of a hairdryer. The good stuff (3.8 litre flat-six engine) is buried well beneath and produces 430 horsepower :-) (The Carrera S powerkit is standard)

Porsche Centre Winnipeg also treated attendees to some very nice swag: 911 posters reprinted from vintage originals, a fold-out brochure on the 901, a set of commemorative 50th-anniversary 911 postcards, and even a Porsche Centre Winnipeg license plate frame.

My thanks to Michael and the staff at Porsche Centre Winnipeg for their gracious hospitality and their generosity in hosting the event. The new Porsche Centre is a fantastic facility and I strongly encourage a visit if only to have a chat with Michael and ogle some gorgeous new Porsches!

Porsche Parade: Pony and Picnic in the Park

June 30, 2013 was "Porsche Club of America" night at the local Pony Corral cruise night. There was a good showing from the local chapter with about 20 cars coming out. I made sure to be there to get my free drink and giant hamburger - wow was it big.

Chapter president Geoff was there with his new-to-him '79 930. What a cool car, in wonderful preserved condition. The boxed rockers are sure unusual, Geoff says that they were added at the factory.

I brought out my '85 Carrera 3.2 of course.

Next to me was an '89 Carrera 3.2 in Slate Grey, this is a Euro model and a beauty. Cloth upholstery too which is rare to see.

Of course there is always "that guy" and in this case it was Bentley Man (at right, in tan shorts) who appeared to insist on parking right at the entrance. His travelling companion is the lovely lady just to the left of the car.
 

This uniquely customized vehicle is Pontiac Grand Am with the personalized plate "Hot SE". Dale said it reminded him of the Red River Ex on wheels. To me it had a certain Filipino Jeepney-like quality:

But hey, to each his own. That guy would probably think my mostly-stock Porsche is the height of lameness.

Then the following Sunday, the local PCA chapter organized a picnic in Assiniboine Park followed by a drive out to a local drive-in about 17km north of the city.
 

There was a pretty good turn-out of cars from the club.

I had mine there of course, freshly detailed. I think I will take some better pics and write up a post on that.

Anyway, after a fashion we all arrived at the Half-Moon Drive In in Lockport, and basically monopolized the lower parking lot for an impromptu car show.

PCA member Paz and Lisa brought his 2012 Turbo Cabrio. As I said to Pam afterwards, there was evrything out on the drive from $5K (mid-'80s 944s) to $170K (this Turbo). Pretty inclusive club I guess!

 Crowd around Geoff's Turbo.

Andy's '87 Carrera 3.2 with the inferior heavyweight G50 gearbox ;-)

June 2013 Porsche Club Meeting

The first Wednesday of each month, the Red River chapter of the Porsche Club of America has its meeting. This month we met at a new venue, the Confusion Corner Bar and Grill at Osborne and Corydon, just about 5 minutes drive from our new house ;-)

The venue has a lot to recommend it and I'm glad we'll be meeting there. The rooftop patio is a nice place to eat, and the staff are great, even roping off parking spots in the lot for our cars.

This was one of the coolest - an original Porsche 914-6. Two-liter power from a flat-six 911 engine powered this rare mid-engine Porsche, and not many originals survive today, although clones abound. This example is a real beauty with a nice patina of age.

A nice variety of Porsches of all ages and configurations... watercooled front engine all wheel drive, watercooled rear engine rear wheel drive, watercooled front engine rear wheel drive, aircooled rear engine rear wheel drive...

A young fella from the local dealer brought a very nice new Cayman to show off.

Mid-engine layout leaves not much room for stowage.

Cabin looks nice but rather unremarkable. Could be a Mercedes, Lexus or BMW if not for the crest on the wheel.

 A tidy 996-generation coupe.

Cayman again. I think I would have one of these in preference to a new 911, not as if I could afford either one but still...

After the meeting we typically take a short drive for ice cream. As the rest of the group was dawdling, my pal Andy and I decided to take the initiative and run out as a convoy of two... my white '85 911 and his black '87. His car doesn't half look good from the back, I have to say.

Garage Activity! and Pony Corral Cruise Night

One of the great things about finally having a garage is the cool storage stuff you can buy for it! I think the first thing that I got after we bought the house was this tire rack to mount on the wall, as I am sick of either a) keeping wheels in the basement and lugging them up and down stairs, or b) paying the dealer$hip $50/year to store my wheels for me.

The thing went together fine with a minimum of cursing or disassembly/reassembly. It seems to hold the set of 17" VW alloy wheels up there with reasonable security, and despite the strange perspective in this photo, it IS level... I even used a bubble level when assembling it ;-)

GARAGE!!! so awesome to have a garage.

Later on I took the Porsche out to the Pony Corral for cruise night. Not a lot going on there but saw a nice Triumph GT6 on Minilites. I really dig this car for some reason - it is TINY.

Can you guess what this is? Had to take a picture of the awesome machine-turned aluminum dashboard of this Turbo Trans-Am. I remember quite clearly taking a ride in the back of a Turbo T-A driven by my first girlfriend's cool/scary older sister back in the '80s, and the distinctive dashboard really stuck with me. Dynamically the car was probably junk but that dash was just so... cool (I'm sorry to keep using that word but it just seems to fit so well).

Some kids playing "Chinese fire drill" (can we still say that?) in matching Mercedes 450 (left) and 280 (right)SLs. I think (hope) that the cars belonged to their families. I kept an eye on them when they ran over to the newish Aston Martin convertible (just behind the yellow 240Z at upper left) but their shenanigans were not repeated. There were people having their pictures taken beside the Aston which I thought was just a bit weird.

The Mercedes were obviously well-used but tidy.

Bradley GT... dear God. Chacun a son gout and all that, but maybe give it a wash and clean the trash out of the interior. That's all I'm sayin'.

Rear three-quarter view of the GT6 Mk3; tastily styled by Michellotti. Need this as eye-bleach for the Bradley.

As I say there was really not too much of interest for me at the cruise this week. A guy applying tire dressing to his new Subaru WRX; some OK British stuff including a Triumph Spitfire, older Mini and MGB; Mustang club with new Mustangs that have interesting styling but being new, are somewhat "meh" for people who like old cars; and finally some real "WTFs" like the Bradley and a "Raptor" pickup truck. I know it will pick up (ha) as the summer continues.

Later, skaters...