6th January 1998
Subject:Paul Barick's steering shaft bearing
Paul, I had that same bearing replaced about a year ago. I can't recall exactly what he did but if you care to call my mechanic I'm sure he'd be glad to tell you what the job entailed. Igor Wasilewski, National Auto Projects, Pompano Beach FL 954-784-3754>
Couldn't have cost very much because I can't even remember what he charged.
Gene O'Rourke 87S4 5spd
9th January 1998
Subject: 85 928S 5 speed
Anyone interested in the following car Email me or call: 561-835-0291 1985 928S Metallic Bronze, tan interior, 5 speed, 50k original miles, looks, runs, perfectly. Needs an oil sender according to the owner who is a doctor and has other cars. I think he's the second owner. Has had it for a long time. I just drove it an hour ago. I may buy it for myself. I always like to have a spare 928 around. I've never been in a shrink's care but I'm sure that any one of them could find a million explanations for this ridiculous hang up I have about buying 928s when I don't need them. Help! stop me before I buy again. If anyone is interested let me know. I can get it for $9500. and to me it might be worth that much just for the parts. Or, when my 87S4 is in the shop, it would be a good fill in.
Gene O'Rourke
14th January 1998
Subject: J. Brown's oil change
Seeing as there was no real damage done to your car, you should probably let the mechanic live. Don't have gas stations change your oil again. Take it to whoever works on the car when you need repairs. It may cost you a few dollars more but you won't have to worry about the car disassembling itself two miles down the road after the "mechanic" has wrought his magic on your car.
Gene O'Rourke
------------------------------------------
18th January 1998
Subject: Brian Buxton's 83 928
I must have goofed today. This morning I bought a beautiful 85S
5 speed, metallic bronze, tan leather interior; 53k original
miles. Looks and drives like a brand new car, perfect tires,
stereo, luggage cover, carpets, etc. Two small cracks in the dash.
One owner, always garaged. Ran it up to about 115 in 3rd gear,
and it sang like an angel. Paid $9000. for it at 11 a.m, drove it
50 miles to Stuart Fl. and sold it for $9500. at 12:30.
Brian if you can get $11,000 for an 83 with 69K on it, I must
have done something terribly wrong!
Gene O'Rourke
19th January 1998
Subject: Junker 83 928
I'd appreciate some input from some of the more knowledgeable guys in the group regarding the restoration of old beat up cars. This afternoon as a favor to a friend of mine who is a mechanic, tool & die maker, but has scant knowledge of 928s, I went with him to a junkyard out on the edge of the glades and looked at an 83 that had light fire damage under the hood.
Visually it looked like fire damage was confined to ignition wires etc. The body is dent free, white, but in need of a paint job. The odometer reads 86K but from the look of the interior, I'd guess that it was the second time around.
Interior sucks. door panels loose, warped, and cruddy, same for dash. No radio, or speakers.
Seats okay if they were cleaned up. Dash and instrument panel salvageable but nothing to write home about. Rubber, margineable, two or three tires flat, probably from sitting there for some time.
Owner claims he bought it from an insurance company after it burned. Its a five speed and there’s no way of telling at this point if the engine is okay. My friend, being a mechanic, thinks that he can get it running and looking half way decent for a two or three thousand dollars. I've bought and sold a lot of 928s but they were always in good condition. I'd like whatever input any of you might give. The junkyard guy wants 2500.00 for the car and my friend thinks he might get it for 21 or 22 hundred.
If the engine is kaput, are the rest of the parts worth him spending that much money? He'd like to fix it up for himself. Was always happy with his Mustang GT until I let him drive the 85S I sold the other day. Now he's hot for a 928 but can't afford a good one.
Gene O'Rourke
23rd January 1998
Subject: Rob Gold's trip to Shreveport
Rob,
Congratulations on you anticipated move. I assume that from Tucson, you'll be taking route !0 across the southern tier of Texas. If you do, there's a tiny little village called Flatonia which is, as I recall, about 150 miles east of the booming metropolis of Fort Stockton.
The entire town seems to consist of a gas station, barbecue restaurant, and a few houses. I'm not into barbecue anything but I stopped there for gas a couple of years ago and had the best barbecue sandwich I'd ever had. It was about the size of a loaf of bread and had at least half a pound of the tenderest beef imaginable in it. I ate it as I drove west from there and it was so good that I seriously thought of turning around and going back for several more. Try it.
One other thing. Somewhere right in that area there's a speedtrap thats laser equipped. I got nailed in it when the only two cars in sight to the horizon in either direction were my own and the storm trooper who cited me for 73 mph in a 65 zone. I saw him coming a couple of miles away and my radar detector didn't let out a peep. I had to send $80.00 to some cornball backwoods judge name Jimmy Bob Suggins or something like that.
Have fun.
Gene O'Rourke
23rd January 1998
Subject: Chris Dyer
I wonder how accurate these emission tests are in various states. A few years ago I bought a Lamborghini Jalpa from a guy here in Florida who told me that it was strictly a European model and wouldn't pass Florida emission tests. I bought it to sell in Europe, but just for the hell of it, I put dealer's plates on it and took it to an emission test center in Boca. Paid the ten dollars, and passed with flying colors.??????? Had a similar thing with a BMW M-1.
Makes you wonder.
Gene O'Rourke
23rd January 1998
Subject: Eduardo G's query on 928 availability in Florida
Eduardo,
Lets face it. There arn't really a lot of 928s anywhere!
However, There are probably more of them in South Florida than anywhere else with the possible exception of California. They aren't all that difficult to find, but you have to be really careful who you buy from. Although there are a lot of reputable dealers in the Miami area there are, unfortunately, also some of the worst thieves I've ever met there.
Just know that the guy who comes across like Mother Theresa, could very well be Atilla the Hun.
Something to bear in mind that is at least indirectly connected to the above. The ports of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale ship hundreds of stolen cars every week to South and Central America, as well as Europe. A business that huge obviously attracts many of the worst scumbags and sleazoids in the western hemisphere.
Gene O'Rourke
24th January 1998
Subject: Oil changes & all the would be Dale Earnhardts who want to race your Porsche
Two things: Maybe i'm being somewhat obtuse, but this seemingly endless discussion over the relative merits of various brands and types of oil, and the frequency with which its' changed, baffles me. After driving these animals for 20 years, and around 350,000 miles, I can't remember ever having to add so much as a quart of oil to any of them between oil changes, which I usually have done about every six or seven thousand miles even though my warrantee and maintenance book clearly states that 928S4s should have the oil changed every 15,000 miles unless they are being driven in severe conditions, like maybe across the Gobi Desert, or in Greenland.
My current car, an 87S4 5speed, has almost 92,000 miles on it. Many of them hard and fast, as in three day trips from Santa Cruz to Palm Beach etc. at speeds averaging about Mach 1.5. Have I just been lucky enough to get seven 928s that were perfect? or are some of you guys going a little overboard with your 3000 mile oil changes and synthetic oils? Not finding fault with anyone's practices or looking for an argument. Just making a factual statement about my own experiences with these cars.
Secondly: Having driven sportscars of all stripes all my life, when I read posts by guys being challenged to race with everything from Hondas to pickup trucks, I have only to say; it goes with the territory. After many years I thought I had finally reached the point where I could ignore all those challenges until one morning about five years ago when a guy in a new Corvette started tailgating me in very light traffic on I-95 in Boca Raton. I pulled over and waved him by but he stayed right on my back bumper no matter what lane I moved to for about seven or eight miles. Finally we reached a point where the highway picked up and additional lane. I pulled over into the right side, slowed down, and waved him by. He finally tore by me and shot me the universal symbol of brotherly love with his middle finger.
While all this was happening I noticed a little blue Pontiac with two guys in it that were sort of pacing us a few hundred yards back, but didn't really give it a thought. When Tazio Nuvolari shot by me, and gave me the bird, I finally decided that he was sorely in need of a lesson in humility. When he got a couple of hundred yards ahead, I downshifted to third at about 75 mph and floored it. He saw me coming and did the same. Into fourth, and as I passed him at about 155 and saw the look of shock on his face, I was just hitting 5th. As soon as I completed his humiliation I immediately got off the loud pedal and started coasting down. He shot by me again and just about that time, in my rear view mirror, at least a half mile back, I saw the blue light come on in that little Pontiac. I just coasted down. They pulled along side and motioned me to follow. By that time Tazio had also seen the light and they motioned him to follow me. They pulled us both over and ticketed him first, as he pulled away he pulled alongside and told me that they had ticketed him for 100 mph OVER the speed limit which was 55. His ticket was $546.00 and they told him to expect at least ten days in jail! They were young Palm Beach County Sheriffs in jeans and Tee Shirts.
After running my license and registration, the guy came over
and said: "Man! you really blew that guy into the weeds"!
I didn't say boo. He then said: "Allright, we watched that
guy tailgating you for many miles. We really don't blame you for
what you did, but did you have to do it in such dramatic fashion?
You literally outran our radar but we figure you must have been
going at least 175!" I assured him that my car wouldn't go
that fast and he then said: "Okay, we're going to give you a
really big break, we wrote him up for 100mph over the limit. He's
definitely going to see some cell time. In light of the
circumstances we're ONLY going to write you up for 50 over the
limit. You could possibly do some jail time also. I've been a cop
for eight years and I've never seen a car go that fast on a
public highway before. My advice to you is to pay that ticket
right away ($260.) and sign up for driver's school, which I did.
Since then I've driven about 100,000 miles and havn't been
stopped. Still drive fast where its' safe but have cooled it with
all characters who want to race.
Long winded diatribe, but maybe something to think about when
some clown in a Camry wants to race your 928.
Gene O'Rourke
25th January 1998
Subject: German automobile dealers
Here's a little item that should warm the cockles of your
heart, whatever they are; and make most of you feel lucky by
comparison. This past Thursday, Palm Beach had 9 1/2 inches of
rain between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. A record for this place that gets
more than it's share of rain, although usually in the summer
months. Probably El Nino rampant. At any rate, early that morning
my son in law drove my grandson to school and many of the local
streets were flooded. After dropping the little terrorist off at
his school, he attempted to go around the block and go home. He
entered a street that was flooded about a foot deep. He attempted
to blast his way through this and the engine in his new BMW 740
IL died immediately. I went there, only a couple of minutes away,
and tried to start the car. The starter grunted a couple times
and died. I assumed that he had run the battery down trying to
start it. Mind you, that he is a brilliant businessman and
international banker, whose extensive breadth of knowledge
totally excludes anything more mechanical than a Zippo lighter. I
called the local Beemer dealer and they sent a truck out and
flatbedded the car back to their hideout. My son in law and
daughter left the country a few hours later to play golf in the
Dominican Republic. I forgot about it. They came home tonight and
he called and said: "Did the dealer call you about repairs
to the car?" I told him that I hadn't heard anything since
they had called me Friday and asked permission to work on the car
because a little water had come up through holes around the
pedals etc. just enough to dampen the carpet, and they were
afraid that it might cause a disagreeable odor if they didn't dry
it out properly. I told them to go ahead and forgot about it.
Tonight when they returned, he had a voicemail message from the
dealer stating that the repair bill was $17,000.00 because there
was a hole in the engine caused by hitting the puddle. I figure I
could hit the Atlantic Ocean at something approaching the speed
of sound without making a seventeen thousand dollar hole in my
engine. What the hell does a seventeen thousand dollar hole even
look like? (absolutely no pun intended). I'm going over there in
the morning and whisper sweet nothings in the ear of John
Dillinger, their service manager.
The only truly negative thing I feel about driving German cars
all these years is the fact that most of the dealers seem to be
direct descendants of Atilla the Hun.
Gene O'Rourke
25th January 1998
Subject: Phil Tong wrote: I'm surprised other fellow 928 owners would stoop so low etc.
Phil,
This may come as a rude shock to you but to the best of my knowledge a prerequisite for 928 ownership does not include membership in the knights of the round table or the acquisition of 23 merit badges. I had a neighbor who owned a beautiful 88S4 who was such a loud overbearing oaf that some of our mutual neighbors drilled holes in the hull of his 80 mph 1600 H.P. Fountain speedboat that he loved to wake his neighbors with early on Saturday & Sunday mornings by blasting back and forth in front of their homes on the intrcoastal waterway at a decibel level just short of a Mt. St. Helens eruption.
The following morning, he fired up the engines while the boat was still on it's hydraulic lift, dropped the boat into the water, and about ten minutes later turned it into the world's fastest instant submarine. He exited facefirst over the windshield and witnesses said he skipped like a stone at least six or seven times before he fetched up solid in the water. This only came about after months of pleas from said neighbors to cool it with the revs until he got out in the channel a half mile away.
Everything worked out for the best though. It cost so much to salvage the boat that he had to sell me the 928 which he had been terrorizing the residents of Hutchinson Island with for some time because he'd removed the muffler from that also.
Shortly thereafter he got his third DUI and had to leave Florida. Come to think of it. Maybe the ghost of Ferry Porsche has some serious pull and decided that this cretin was the only 928 driver who lacked sterling qualities.
Gene O'Rourke
27th January 1998
Subject: water in BMW engine
The car in question, a 740IL, had been driven about a block or so through water eight or ten inches deep when the engine suddenly quit. The local BMW dealer currently has six or seven similar cars with ruined engines from the same morning last week.
Talking to my Porsche mechanic last night, he told me that in their wisdom, the BMW engineers designed the 740 and 750 series engines with the air intake on the bottom of the block, driven by a vacuum boosted system. Why they did this is a mystery, at least to me. But they have apparently had a recall on the 750s and possibly one on the 740s regarding the induction system. Not bad enough to have the intake down low, but with somewhere between 12 and 16 pounds of vacuum boost, it probably only takes a couple of seconds to slurp up a whole gang of water. Just thought I'd throw in a few technical terms like that.
At this point, it seems that Capt. Nemo, my son in law, is covered by the flood damage provision in his policy, but it he isn't, it may be covered by BMWs warrantee. So much for the genius of German engineering.
Gene O'Rourke
23rd February 1998
Subject:Moira's post
Vis a vis your comments to Moira. Perhaps while you're thrashing around in Webster's you should look up "Pedant".
Gene O'Rourke
3rd March 1998
Subject: Re: finishing touches on the perfect 928
Leonard, Good point. I hate to get Lincoln and Cadillac detritus stuck in my tire treads. Sidewinders would be better than the cannon but then the car wouldn't be pure German. The Luftwaffe probably has an equivalent and I wouldn't be surprised if some of their pilots drive 928s; a potential source of supply. A few minor details like this to be cleaned up, and the penultimate 928 will breathe. I say penultimate because if, indeed, it ever became a reality, the members of this list would immediately start modifying not only the engine but the ordnance as well, until it was trisonic and nuclear capable. Forget the whole thing.
Gene
3rd March 1998
Subject: Bastardized Porsches
My computer crashed three weeks ago in disastrous fashion and I've just now gotten it up and breathing, so haven't received any Email till now, and see that there is an ongoing discussion as to what constitutes a "pure Porsche". My 87 S4 5sp is one of the 2% mentioned by Ron Brown, However, I think that I've found the answer to the ideal, blindingly fast, all German 928.
Looking for parts now. An S4 or later will do. Remove engine and back seats. Move center section of firewall back about 15". Install Mercedes Benz DB 605 DCM inverted-vee 12 cylinder engine from Messerschmidt Bf 109K-4. Standard equipment includes supercharger and nitrous oxide boosting. Rated stock at 1491 KW (2000 hp) for takeoff. Connect directly to Mercedes 5 speed auto semi-truck transmission. This should add just about enough weight in the rear to maintain the original 50-50 weight distribution. This will absolutely blow off anything on the road and look good while doing it. Needs 110 octane avgas, but what the hell, you've got to make a few small sacrifices for such an incredible perfomance gain, and its' pure Deutsche. Optional equipment includes Mk 103 30-mm cannon & 60 rounds of armor piercing ammo, perfect for clearing the left lane of I-95 of all those goddamned Lincoln Geriatric Juggernauts that are traveling 40 MPH with their left turn signals on.
Gene O'Rourke
5th March 1998
Subject:
Jim,
Having owned a bunch of five speeds both S and S4s. Its' been my personal experience that the S4s and later models shifted much more crisply than the older models. I don't know whether the inclusion of the single disk clutch in the S4s had anything to do with it but there's definitely a difference.
Gene
5th March 1998
Subject: 86S Auto for sale
Yesterday I drove a Guards Red/Black 86S automatic that the original owner has for sale. Its' high mileage, 199k, but has always been garaged and looks in really good shape inside and out. Drives and sounds like new. Engine compartment also looks like a car with much less mileage on it. He has all maintenance records from day one. Replaced the transmission, water pump, and timing belt a few thousand miles ago. Tires okay but probably don't have more than another five or six thousand miles left on them.
The owner's brother showed me the car and told me that he had been driving it for the past year here in Florida and wanted to get rid of it because he has a REAL car of his own that he prefers. Showed it to me; its' a Nissan Fillylooburger or something like that. He freaked out when I lowered the steering wheel. Thought I was breaking the car. Asking $8000.00. Anyone interested?
Gene O'Rourke
6th March 1998
Subject: speaker grills
Re: the discussion on speaker grills in today's post. Someone decided that he needed the grill off the larger of the two door speakers in my 87S4 more than I did. Are these more or less industry standard goodies or were they made just for Porsches? If so, does anyone know where they can be obtained?
Gene O'Rourke
7th March 1998
Subject: Pronunciations
Just to add a little more confusion to the issue of pronouncing Porsche. When I was a kid stationed in Nurnburg I saw and drove a funny looking little car called a Paw shuh. It was a 53 model with 11 mousepower. Been driving them and calling them Paw shuhs eversince. Now as far as BMWs are concerned, I've had both bikes and cars. Presently a 740IL To me they're all Beemers. I'm surrounded by a zillion yuppies who also drive them. Never heard anyone call them Bimmers. Where do they do that?
Gene O'Rourke
11th March 1998
Subject: The Reverend William Crosby's Sunday Sermon
Reverend Crosby, Thank you for your uplifting inspirational sermon on the proper venues to safely demonstrate our driving skills. Just yesterday I safely demonstrated one of mine by making a sudden high speed move down an I-95 off ramp thereby leaving the poor soul in the NSX I had been racing with to bear the full brunt of the pursuing trooper's rage at not being able to nail both of us. It seemed like the reasonable, prudent, mature thing to do at the time.
There is however, a slight chance that your message was misdirected. Were you possibly trying the reach Trabantfans@AARP.pablum.shuffleboard.com? The members of this group own 928s for many reasons; one of them being the fact that they're amongst the fastest cars in the world. All things considered, I believe that most of them are probably pretty good drivers who don't really need a course in basic highway safety or behavior. In spite of that, I also believe that the combined weight of their right feet could most likely capsize the QE-II. I no longer race on tracts. Now I just read them. By the way, do you get out of the shower to take a leak?
Have you ever read "Tom Swift and his Giant Searchlight"? Just kidding of course, although in truth, many years ago I did safely demonstrate my flying skills by flying a Stearman upside down under all three bridges and the high tension wires that span the Cape Cod Canal, in formation with two other cautious, thoughtful seventeen year olds. We followed that up immediately by dive bombing our High School football game with water filled condoms. The mission was a complete success. We managed to get not only the Principal, but also the Superintendent of Schools with the same Trojan. Naturally, the CAP Commander, School Authorities, and our parents, all being jealous of our safe flying skills, ganged up on us, and in an unbelievable display of narrow minded petulance and ignorance, suspended us for two weeks, which we were forced to spend fishing and drinking beer.
Lets face it, you can take these demonstrations of safe driving and flying skills too far. They're hardly ever appreciated by the proles.
Gene O'Rourke
One and a quarter million accident free miles demonstrating my safe driving skills, almost a third of that in various Porsches, and occasionally at speeds that would cause Michael Schumacher to blanch and lose control of his sphincter muscle.
12th September 1997
Subject: Shimko's search for a 928 maxi hood bra.
I don't know where you can find a bra that size. Maybe you
could get Anna Nicole Smith to part with one of hers and have it
cut down to fit the Porsche. Or, you could install four or five
radio antennae and some nice white rubber mudguards with neat red
and green reflectors on them. Some baby shoes and/or a pair of
large foam rubber dice suspended from the mirror would finish it
off, and the car would then be PERFECT!
12th March 1998
Subject: Punctuation
Did Dan Quail say potatoes or potatoe's? It certainly is entertaining to watch all youse guys re-live English 101, However, once when I complained about a magazine changing my syntactic excellence, a crusty old editor softly whispered to me at about 110 decibels; "Just get the goddamned words right. None of you lazy assholes who make your living writing know the first damned thing about punctuation anyway, so stop trying to fake it. We have three hundred dollar a week copy editors to do that.
Now get the hell out of my office before I give this assignment to some other asshole, and if you miss the deadline you're dead meat. A thousand angry retorts flooded my mind, but also: "A soft answer turneth away wrath." So I kissed his ring and fled, appreciating copy editors for the first time. Now about all these goddamned apostrophes.
Gene O'Rourke
12th March 1998
Subject: New York Times Circuits section
Those of you who read the N.Y.Times are probably aware of this. Last week the Times started publishing a once a week section each Thursday called "Circuits". Its' about all aspects of the computer business. If you can get a copy of today's issue it can be either a cause for celebration or a frenzied search on HotBot for Dr. Kevorkian's home number.
I'm writing this on my three year old ten thousand dollar computer that is now worth more as a boat anchor than anything else. Read it. Its' fun. "Where Do Computers Go When They Die?" For those of you who don't read the times, forget it. Your amongst the lucky ones; a new box of crayons is still only four or five dollars. I didn't say that. Leonard Laub made me do it.
Gene O'Rourke
13th March 1998
Subject: Michael J. Sawrans post on my derring do
Michael,
Vis-a-vis your comments on my flying derring do. To begin with, that was most likely before you were born. Secondly, in about a million and a quarter miles of driving all over the world in everything from mopeds to 60 ton battle tanks, and several thousand hours of flying everything from hang gliders to double sonic military jets, I've never had an accident or engangered anyone's life. In the past five years since some parking lot attendant acquired my radar detector, I haven't bothered to replace it and have driven roughly 125,000 miles without being stopped, including several round trips from Palm Beach to Santa Cruz in three days each.
I pay the lowest possible insurance rate on my 928 and other cars. If thats the profile of a reckless driver I plead guilty. And as far as you once committing such a dangerous act as driving your 928 145 mph is concerned, You are obviously a wild and crazy guy.
Thats not a helluva a lot different from driving through Miami on a Saturday night, where, as Dave Barry says: "Its' considered legal to drive through red lights if you can still remember when they were green" and " Never blow your horn at anyone because they may become confused and start shooting". Maybe you and Bill Crosby should start a Formula one racing team. Boy! I'll bet that would scare the hell out of Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher. Michael don't take life so seriously because you're not going to get out of it alive no matter how cautiously you drive.
Pax
Gene O'Rourke
14th March 1998
Subject: Tom Knebes quest for knowledge
Tom,
You said "I'm a new 928 owner. Could everyone tell me everything they know about the 928 so I don't have to buy the service manuals"!!!!! 1. They're pretty 2. They go fast 3. They cost a lot to fix 4. Its' possible to have sex in them at 150 mph if you move the seats all the way back and raise the steering wheel all the way up. It also helps if you're on the Bonneville Salt Flats when you do it. 5. That’s all you have to know. The rest is trivia and you'll find out as you go along.
Gene O'Rourke
15th March 1998
Subject: Torqueing lug nuts
Re: the remarks on torqueing lug nuts by John Webber and others. I'll relate something that I'm sure is common knowledge to thos of you who have had 928s for some time but might be helpful to some ot those on the list who have recently bought them. Five or six years ago I came across, quite by accident a beautiful 86s 5speed with 39k miles that had always been garaged and looked brand new except for the tires which were the original factory tires and were almost treadless.
I bought it for a song because the owner and his wife had their third rugrat on the way and had just purchased a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. I already had three 928s and needed another one like a canary needs moose antlers, but this car was so exceptional that I figured I'd buy it and sell it to someone who was looking for really nice car.
I didn't want to spend $800.00 for a new set of tires, so took it to a place I knew that sold used tires, mostly Fuldas that they bought by the container load from Germany where you must have, as I recall, at least 80% of the original tread on your tires. So they get a lot of good rubber. I paid $200.00 for a set that looked almost new. Then instead of selling the car, I liked it so much that I kept it for almost a year and put some mileage on it.
I ran over a drill bit one day and blew one of the rears, so took it to my local guy and told him to put two new ones on the back. He informed me the next day that his guys couldn't get the wheels off the car. As most of you know, the lug nuts are supposed to be torqued on to (going by memory) 92 pounds of pressure. Turned out that the clowns at the used tire place must have used a three foot long breaker bar to tighten the lugs, as they had been tightened to over 250 pounds of pressure, and had literally fused themselves onto the lugs.
They tried everything short of a nuclear device to get them off and finally had to drill all twenty lugs out and replace them and the nuts at a cost of almost $600.00. I took their invoice and collected the entire amount from the used tire dealer. A process that involved much gentle persuasion in several different languages at an extremely high decibel level. Not a warning against buying used tires, just a reminder that when you buy new tires for your shark, make damned sure that the installers are aware of the fact the they're tightening aluminum nuts against aluminum wheels containing steel studs.
You old time owners correct me on the pressure if I'm wrong because my owner's manual is in the car which is having a split steering fluid hose replaced. Not bad though. First time the car has been in the shop in almost two weeks.
Gene O'Rourke
16th March 1998
Subject: Bridges, Bonneville, etc.
Roger,
If you had read my post more closely you'd have seen that I mentioned all three bridges plus the high tension wires in Bournedale. I grew up by the canal and used to watch Hellcats and Corsairs and Avengers and god knows what else do the bridges almost on a daily basis. We had hundreds of planes do it before us but we were probably the youngest that did it and it got us booted out of the CAP, although they later reinstated us. As far as the 150 mph sex is concerned, you'll just have to use your imagination. Re: the Truro Radar Station. When I was a kid I had a summer job driving lumber trucks for the Grossman Lumber Company's yard in Sagamore. I delivered most of the lumber for the station. A few years later my wife and I flew to Provincetown for lunch and on the way back to Warwick, R.I. I decided to show her the Truro Radar Station. I circled over it a couple of times at about 1000 feet and watched the array of antennas following us. About two minutes later we spotted two specks rapidly growing larger in the direction of Otis AFB, seconds later two F-94C Starfires crossed about two hundred feet in front of us doing about five hundred knots. I shoved the wheel hard forward and managed to miss most of their wake, but we still got bounced around quite heavily. They made a huge sweeping turn to the left and came back alongside us with their speed brakes out, gear and flaps down, etc. the only thing they didn't do to fly at our speed, was open the canopies and stick their arms out. I'm sure their stall warning horns were screaming in their headsets. They motioned for me to follow them. Yeah, right! We were flying our first airplane, an Ercoupe, that cruised at about 85 mph. I slowed down to about fifty, made a sharp descending 180", and landed at Chatham. As you know, those old jets were'nt nearly as maneuverable as modern fighters such as F-16s. It took them miles to turn, so they lost us. We then sat outside the coffee shop and watched them trying to find us. My wife thought it was loads of fun until I told her that each of those planes had a ring of 24 rockets in the nose. So much for your and my ex employers. Needless to say I gave the station a wide berth thereafter. Now as far as those ugly Vipers are concerned, I hate to admit it but I got smoked by one when they first came out. He blew by me on Rte. 1 between Aptos and Santa Cruz until we hit the infamous Rte. 17 between Santa Cruz and Los Gatos, I never passed him, as he was slithering all over both lanes trying to take the many curves over the mountains, but could have taken him there if he'd stayed in one lane. As soon as we got out of the hills and hit Rte 85 he was gone. They're fast, but they don't handle all that well. To each his own. I've driven them a few times and they're fun for an hour or two but aren't all that comfortable. Basically $70,000 hot rods in my estimation. A truck engine? As Mother Theresa would say, "You can't shine shit".
Gene
17th March 1998
Subject:
Patrick,
Before you spend enough money at Braman in WPB to stagger General Motors, I'd suggest seeing Igor Wasilewski at National Auto Projects in Pompano Beach. He can do just about anything they can do, and usually at one half to one third of their price. He's at 954-784.3754. He' ll work on any brand of car but probably 90% of his customers have either Porsches or Mercedes. He's saved me a lot of money in the past few years.
Gene O'Rourke
19th March 1998
Subject: Andy Snyder's 85S
Andy,
All your info considered, I'd say that the price is three or four thousand too much. Example: a couple of months ago I sold a like new, one owner, 86S 5 speed with 52k miles on it, for $9,500.00 and made money on it.
Gene O'Rourke
20th March 1998
Subject: Ron Johnson's Maui Porsche
Ron,
Congratulations on picking up your 928 on Maui. Its' easy to understand why the dealer couldn't move it for six months. Theres really no place to drive it there. My first 928 was a 78 model that I got on Oahu in 77. Its' like using a nuclear device to blow stumps out. On top of that, every cop in Hawaii has a hand operated radar and will nail you for going 30 mph in a 25 zone. I could paper a small room with all the tickets I got on both Maui and Oahu. Enjoy the car.
Gene O'Rourke
21st March 1998
Subject: Financials
Brian,
Its' time you stopped being so godamned sneaky about the money you charge for cars. Please post your bank affiliations complete with account numbers so members of the group can see what chicanery you're up to. Also, it would be helpful if you included all your credit card numbers and details on your significant other's menstrual cycle.
Gene O'Rourke
22nd March 1998
Subject: Re: Porsche batteries & other factory parts.
David,
I seem to have hit a tender spot. Do you own a $4600.00 Porsche Bicycle? You dodged my comparison between Porsche designed watches and Casios. Also, between Porsche Bicycles and Ferrari F50s. If I offended you, I apologize. We all use words from time to time that may offend without meaning to. I drove and raced 356s and 911s and still think they're great cars; just not my idea of great GT cars. I never considered anyone who bought 911s as being idiots. I happen to be 6'2" and 200 pounds and even in my later model 911s I was always banging my elbows or head on some interior part of the car, but I still think that they're great cars, just not 928s, and its' ludicrous to compare them. Further, I did not trash any companies or "worshipers", I merely said that I don't worship at the Porsche altar. I don't sleep with a copy of "Excellence" under my pillow. I seriously doubt if there are any members of this list who have driven 928s many more miles, and for as many years as I have. I didn't do it just for the hell of it, I did it because I'm addicted to them. That does not mean that I believe they have any supernatural qualities, or that Jesus or Moses had a hand in their design. They're just cars. Possibly the very best cars; but just cars never the less.
One last thing. You said that you had never had any repair problems with your 928s. I notice that you have three of them. If that statement is true I can only surmise that you don't put very many miles on them, because I've spent my share of money on them and from reading the daily journals of this group, so have most of the other members. I've had seven of them since "77" and the cumulative repair costs on them over 350,000 miles would make one hell of a down payment on a 996 Cabriolet. Pax Gene As far as having a fleet of mechanics to care for my cars is concerned, I lived and owned businesses in the four states I mentioned plus a couple of others, and the only mechanic that ever ripped me off was right here in South Florida, and he only did it once. So much for that.
22nd March 1998
Subject: Re: Porsche batteries & other factory parts.
David,
You have some valid points. However after driving Porsches for 45 years and somewhere in the vicinity of 400,000 miles between my 356s, 911s, and 928s, I can truly say that I've never had any after market parts die prematurely. I've had several rebuilt water pumps and other parts for 928s that lasted just as long as the Porsche factory parts. Same is true for many other parts on all my cars over the years. I didn't really want to get into a debate with anyone. Just relating my experiences driving the marque since 1953. Also, I don't think comparing a $4,600.00 Porsche bicycle to a Ferrari F-50 is a valid analogy anymore than I think a Porsche designed wristwatch for $300.00 is a good analogy to a Casio that costs $40.00 and runs forever, and quite possibly makes them for Porsche. One of them is a bicycle that happens to have disk brakes and shock absorbing suspension. The other is arguably, the most fantastic street machine ever made. Essentially a slightly detuned Formula One machine with fenders. Only the McClaren comes close and that costs almost twice as much and has yet to prove itself. As I mentioned in my post. I love these cars or else I wouldn't have owned and driven them all these years and miles. However, I don't worship at the Porsche altar, or get under them with a toothbrush. I drive them just like I've driven my Ferraris, Lamborghinis, E Type Jags, and a whole bunch of other great fun cars. One other point. I stopped working on my own cars a long time ago when I just didn't have the time. Since then it has been a fairly simple process to find good Porsche mechanics who, if they must buy rebuilt parts, and none are available from Porsche, which is occasionally the case, know where to buy "quality" after market parts. Maybe I've just been lucky in finding people like that in Florida, Hawaii, California, and Connecticut. In the meantime I respect the fact that you're obviously a company man and possibly not quite capable of complete objectivity. Hell! Who is?
Gene
22nd March 1998
Subject: Porsche batteries & other factory parts.
Regarding the seemingly endless discussions over the relative merits of various brands and types of oil, wax, batteries, tires, water wetters, spark plugs, shock absorbers, frammises, wellingers, crownyangs, fillyloobergers, etc. After driving Porsches as long as there have been Porsches, I'd like to say this: I just like to drive them. I try to hold all that other stuff in a strictly secondary or supporting space in my mind.
Obviously if you buy crap, thats what you get. However, thinking that something has to have the Porsche imprimatur, or official sanction on it to be good is, basically admitting that you are indeed a victim of modern American advertising. Porsches are great automobiles. I've long since forgotten exactly how many of them I've owned. However, they are cars, not mystical embodiments of automotive engineers wet dreams come true. They have lots of problems which cost a helluva lot of money to fix.
Anything that a Japanese or American automotive engineer can design to do simply, German engineers can find a way to do a little better in a much more complicated and expensive manner. To me, a Porsche designed $4600.00 mountain bike is a sick joke for idiots who have far more money than brains. Porsche designed sunglasses or garbage disposals, or nose hair trimmers, pander to the lowest common denominator of subhuman intelligence.
I've been driving them all these years because I feel that they are the best all round cars for the type of driving I do. I don't give a tinker's dam if the battery or spark plugs are made by someone other than Porsche as long as the quality is there, especially knowing that Porsche in most cases, buys those parts from the same people, with the addition of "Porsche factory approved parts" or whatever, stamped on them, which then allows them to charge twice or three times as much per item.
I've had just as many problems with "Porsche approved factory parts" as I have with those from outside suppliers. I think that some members of this list have a tendency to get so caught up in the technical minutiae of the breed that they epitomize the old saw about not being able to see the forest for the trees. If your thing is to get under or into the car to work on it, then fine. But if you love to drive them for the pure pleasure of feeling one of the best cars ever designed under the seat of your jeans, then just get good parts in them and drive them with the sense of brio, panache, and joie de vivre they were designed for.
Gene O'Rourke
22nd March 1998
Subject: Re: Porsche batteries & other factory parts.
Philip,
Its' been so long since I lived in Germany that at this point the only expressions I've retained are such basics as "Vo is der bahnhoff bitte, and Hey Schaatz, cominzee hier. etc. serious scientific things like that, or if you're from Phil Tong's home state, "Lidat". There are others, but none that I'd use in this forum. Hope all is well down under. Hadn't spoken to you for a while as I suffered a disastrous computer crash which put me off line for almost a month and was due to my clever time saving ploy of not bothering to back up my work for a long time.
Gene
23rd March 1998
Subject: Re: Porsche batteries & other factory parts
David,
your post says it all. The combined age of all the 928s you've owned is 63 years. The combined time you've owned them is approximately 7 years and 8 months. It would be interesting to know how much all the previous owners spent on those cars in the 55 1/2 years of their combined existence before you bought them. Also are the mileages you listed actual mileage on the cars or mileage that you've put on them in the short time you've owned them? Assuming that the mileage is original, you couldn't possibly have driven them enough in the past three years to incur enough wear and tear on four of them to expect any appreciable amount of repairs. Hell! I put more miles on one 84 than you listed on all your 928s combined, and only spent seven or eight hundred on it.
To my recollection, no repairs I've ever had on any of my 928s were due to faulty aftermarket parts, but a whole bunch of them were original Porsche factory parts such as clutch cylinders, water pumps, a steering rack, steering shaft bearings, faulty window switches, sunroof switches, a sunroof motor, AC compressor, rear hatch switches, master cylinder, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Also, I never even hinted that I worshipped Ferraris even though I've owned and enjoyed several of them. I don't really understand your asking if I own an $80, 000 Volkswagen unless you were calling 911s Volkswagens. Lastly, your defensiveness over the $4600.00 Porsche bicycles has wounded me deeply. Let me know how many of your friends have them and I'll order each of them new solid platinum Bentley bikes covered with rhinestones. Lets be friends. I'm through with this discussion.
Gene
87S4 5speed, 93 thousand miles, owned nine years
95 BMW 740 IL
94 Mercedes C300 Convertible
97 Sable Wagon
97Dodge Van
85 Celica GTS Convertible
91 Raleigh bicycle, $250.00, about 3000 miles, slightly rusty but does 0-20 in app.1 minute.
26th March 1998
Subject: Magic blower syndrome
Recently I've seen some posts regarding the so called "Magic Blower Syndrome", didn't pay close attention to them because I hadn't experienced that particular ailment with any of my 928s. A few weeks ago my AC suddely started blowing full blast of its' own accord. Remembering the previous posts, I told my mechanic that the cause was probably in the control box under the hood, and that most likely there were corroded contact points etc. etc. He got into the box containing the aforesaid points and they were, indeed, rusted and/or corroded. He cleaned them up at no charge, and I drove about twenty miles before the whole thing happened again. I gather that this is a fairly common problem. I'd appreciate those of you who've experienced this malady to let me know what the final cure was.
Thanks
Gene O'Rourke
27th March 1998
Subject: Threats
Stephane,
Its' hard to believe that someone would actually threaten you and your family over a software glitch. Criticism is one thing, but threats are inexcusable. If its' true, there must be a way to track down the senders. I'm not a hacker, so don't know the procedures involved, however, there are laws against "Terroristic Threatening" its' a felony and carries severe penalties. In the short year that I've been part of this group I've seen your many posts, instructive and helpful to lots of us. Don't quit the group because of this. Try to find out who the people were who threatened you and I'm sure the threat of prosecution will cause them in the words of the New York City Police Dept, to make "massive adjustments to their attitudes".
Gene O'Rourke
----------------------------------
27th March 1998
Subject: Threats
Seems like everyone is apologizing all over the place. My turn. Its' either creeping dementia or early galloping senility. I misread the post about threats to Leonard M. and thought it was coming from Stephane Chabot. Sorry guys, but my message on the threats still applies to Leonard M.
Gene O'Rourke
27th March 19998
Subject: Track prep comments to Ed Croasdale
Dave,
Loved your last comment to Ed re: keeping sunroof closed so interior of car will be cleaner after sliding on the roof. It really hit my funny bone because a long time ago I did just that in a 356; no sunroof, but an awful lot of the surrounding landscape wound up inside the car with me and actually protected me to some degree as a whole bunch of blue spruce branches got between my face and the windshield. One other bit of advice to Ed: Stirling Moss once uttered one of the great truisms of racing: "It is better to go into a corner slow and come out fast, than it is to go in fast and come out dead".
Gene
--------------------------------------------------
28th March 1998
Subject: Re: MAGIC BLOWER SYNDROME
Daniel,
I obviously misunderstood your previous message. I thought you meant that it was normal to do that all the time, because, as I said, I've been driving 928s and indeed, all models of Porsches as long as they've made them and this never happened to any of them.. Your explanation makes sense. However, I don't know if you saw Tom Green's post to me yesterday or the day before, in which he said that he had replaced the entire resistor pack and yet his car still did the same thing. Can you think of any other possible reason and/or cure for this happening? If so, you'll be a hero to the group. Leonard Laub and Phil Tong have assured me that they will personally chip in and buy you a new Boxster. Did you check out my possible explanation for your difficulties getting connected to the list?
Gene
29th March 1998
Subject: Magic Blower Syndrome
Daniel,
I thought that I had saved a whole bunch of posts on the "Magic Blower Syndrome" from other members of the list, but I guess I deleted most of them as my email files began to bulge. If you've been receiving this list for the last few months, you would see by going back through them, that quite a few guys, including Porsche mechanics like yourself, haven't been able to find a simple solution to this, including replacing the resistor pack etc. I'm not saying that your wrong by any means, because even though I've been addicted to driving Porsches in general, and 928s in particular, for many years, I'm not really a mechanic and don't have the time, tools, energy, desire, or expertise to attempt fixing these things myself. Maybe you can solve this problem. Without the kidding I did in my earlier post about guys buying you a Boxster, I know that there are quite a few members of the list who would dearly love to have an answer to this problem, and directions for a fix that really works. Thanks again for your interest and offer to share your knowledge.
Gene
29th March 1998
Subject: Re: MAGIC BLOWER SYNDROME
Daniel,
All the things you say make perfect sense but: Last night around midnight, I came out of a restaurant and the temperature was probably in the high sixties. We didn't drive more than a mile when the AC came on full blast. When it does that, it continues as long as I don't shut it off. However, if I shut it for for a fairly extended period of time, say a quarter of an hour, and then turn it back on at low speed, it may stay on low for upwards of 15 or twenty minutes, or it may go full blast within a minute or two. The outside air temperature doesn't seem to have much effect on it one way or the other. And, as Tom Green mentioned, he replaced the entire resistor pack on his car and the condition persists. Go figure.
Gene
29th March 1998
Subject: Magic Blower Syndrome
Dean,
I knew it was only a matter of time before someone on the list came up with a solution to Magic Blower Syndrome, This morning after reading your post, I went out and started the Porsche and let it idle for a few minutes with the AC turned on low. Within minutes it came on high. I immediately threw it against a tree and voila! it stopped! Often the most complex problems have the simplest solutions.
Gene O'Rourke
31st March 1998
Subject: 928 versus Ferrari 456
Jordan,
Re: your query on 928s vs Ferrari 456s, I've driven a neighbor's 456 a few times and I'd say that its about as fast as the 928 but has a more ponderous feeling, which is understandable, as I think its around 4000 or more pounds. Doesn't feel as roomy to me, and doesn't have as much leg room if you're tall. If you don't need the back seat, a 550 Maranello would be a better car, considerably faster, and about $30,000 cheaper. I don't know what the actual stats are, but those were my impressions. A 355 coupe is also faster and better handling at roughly half the price.
Gene O'Rourke
87 S4 5sp
31st Macrh 1998
Subject: Stereo vs 928 engine music
Alex,
Re: your preferences on music. I have a pretty good stereo in my 87S4 but leave it off most of the time. Even after driving 928s a long time, there's still nothing on the stereo that can compare to the sound of downshifting to fourth at 85 mph or thereabouts and planting your foot in it to 125 mph or so. Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" or Oscar Peterson, can't even come close.
Gene O'Rourke
1st April 1998
Subject: Should I buy a warrantee?
Eric,
Your new car has 24k on it and the warrantee company will cover you for another 36k, bringing total mileage to 60k. At that point you'll be due for the car's major tuneup which won't be covered by the warrantee. Several of my 928s had less than 20k on them when I bought them. I can't recall spending even half the $2500. warrantee fee, on any of them until they had over 75k on the clock. If it were me, I'd keep the money and risk not needing it. The odds are greatly in your favor.
Gene O'Rourke
1st April 1998
Subject: Track prep
Ed,
I didn't think that you'd take my remarks seriously. I never made a dime in all the years I raced. Did it for pure pleasure, just as you're doing. Also, I was never seriously injured racing cars, although motorcycles, hydroplanes, and hang gliders put a whole gang of oowees on my body. Racing as an amateur, don't try to win your first few races. Try to hang in behind the hot shoes and watch their moves till you start getting the feel of it. Even after that, a good way to approach it, is by driving as slowly as you can to still be the first car across the line. No race is worth trashing your car over, even if you have a backer picking up the tab.
Have fun
Gene
2nd April 1998
Subject: 95 GTS
David,
That car is worth twice what you're asking for it. Accordingly, I've Fedexed a check to you in the amount of $1,000.00. The check is drawn on "The Confederate Bank of Jackson, Miss. As soon as it clears, call me and I'll bring Sandra Bullock up with me to drive it back.
Gene
2nd April 1998
Subject: Clutch, Wheel, Odomteter
Bob,
Remember the old saw "If it ain’t broke don't fix it"?
Sounds to me like you should have fixed your right front wheel
and odometer and left the clutch alone. You've probably got a
misaligned throwout and/or pilot bearing, just a guess.
Gene O'Rourke
2nd April 1998
Subject: Head gasket replacement
Gary,
You didn't say whether your mechanic wants $2600.00 to replace just one or both head gaskets. Either way, its' a helluva lot of money. I replaced both head gaskets on an 86S a couple of years ago for less than a third of that.
Gene O'Rourke
2nd April 1998
Subject: Steering rack
John, Don't drive the car many miles if you can't keep steering fluid in it. You can burn out the power steering pump if you do, and then you'll be looking at a lot higher repair bill. I replaced a steering rack on my 87 a couple of years ago, and the price you've been quoted seems reasonable.
Gene O'Rourke
2nd April 1998
Subject: 928s vs Testarossas
Ken Kasik's and Stephen's (don't have his surname) remarks about 928s versus Testarossas yanked a funny memory out of my failing brain. Several years ago I was sitting at a traffic signal in Palm Beach, heading for one of the bridges that connect to the mainland. I had my 82 year old aunt in the car with me.
This particular bridge has only one lane in each direction, but the approach to it has a parking lane to the right of that. There were no cars parked next to me, but about four or five hundred feet ahead there were several cars parked just short of the bridge. A clown pulled up next to me in the parking lane in a TR and proceeded to rev it up like he was on the drag strip at Moroso. When the light changed we both nailed it. My poor old aunt was in deep shock, screaming at me to slow down. I couldn't. The devil was holding my right foot down. (I hate myself when I occasionally do things like that}
We were absolutely neck and neck for the first four hundred feet. The last 100 feet were taken up by Tazio Nuvolari in the TR sliding with all four wheels locked up to avoid smashing into the parked cars ahead of him. I figure that he probably flat spotted about 1500 dollars worth of tires.
My aunt was extremely narrow minded about it. Even after I told her that she had just become part of history by riding in one of the very few cars that ever outdragged a TR on a public street. She of course, could care less, not knowing the difference between a Testarossa and the Graf Zeppelin.
A few days later I parked next to a TR and went to lunch at one of the local hangouts. When I came out the TR was gone and someone had "keyed" my car. I can't get back at him unless I key every TR in Palm Beach, and they're all over the place, and of course they're all red.
My aunt told me that God was punishing me. She may be right, but the guy who works on my car compounded out the scratch and it was worth it. Note to Bill Crosby et al. No lives were endangered. No pedestrians or other cars nearby.
The only damage done was to the TRs tires, and the driver's ego and underwear. Also, when we reached our destination, my aunt, who had been slowing down the past few years, sprang out of the Porsche like an Olympic gymnast and never even thanked me. I felt deep remorse for close to three nano seconds. After all, isn't this one of the things that 928s are about? Besides, I'll bet Tazio will think twice before he tries to drag race anyone in a parking lane again.
Gene O'Rourke
3rd April 1998
Subject: Fernando Abreu's quest for a Porsche service place in western
Fernando,
If you're anywhere near Danbury, check out "Danbury Porsche- Audi", My brother lives in the booming metropolis of Gaylordsville about 30 minutes north of there. He's currently between Porsches but just bought a new Audi A-6 from them and has been dealing with them for years. He thinks they're as good as anyone in the area.
Gene O'Rourke
9th April 1998
Subject: Replacing batteries
Del,
Someone's blowing smoke up your butt. I've replaced at least a dozen batteries on 928s in the past 20 years and never heard of having to have "the computer realigned".
Gene O'Rourke
9th April 1998
Subject: Porsches & Shrinks
Jacques,
You said: First I had a shrink, now I have a Porsche. I think you have it backwards. The shrink usually comes after the acquisition of the Porsche.
Gene O'Rourke
13th April 1998
Subject: MIME messages
Howard,
Regarding MIME messages. I had the same problem for months, and was getting flamed for always sending my posts in MIME format. David Kennedy, who is obviously a computer pro, finally explained the whole thing to me, and was kind enough to send me several email pages of tips on how to do away with it. I was using MS Outlook and finally gave up on it and bought Eudora Pro 4.0. Even then, whenever I sent a post, I had to manually key in "Uuencode" or the message would go out in MIME format.
Finally I stumbled across the solution, which Qualcomm, in their wisdom, didn't bother to put in the 170 page manual that came with the program. If you go to Eudora; after its' installed, click on Options, then under "Encoding Method", click on "Attachments", then on "Uuencode". After that, all your messages will go out in Uuencode unless you want to revert to MIME. If you're running a Mac, click on "BinHex" instead of Uuencode. The results will be the same. I know this will sound absolutely obtuse to all the computer dudes on the list but I'm a writer, not a hacker. I empathize with Dave Barry, who said in his "Dave Barry in Cyberworld" "I'm a computer junky. Much like a horsepower junky. I'm sitting here at my tenth computer which could easily find the solution to "The Grand Unified Theory of the Universe" while simultaneously doing the tax returns of the entire population of the state of Michigan. I use it thusly. I stare at the screen for ten or fifteen minutes and then type; "Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot" or something similar". I know there's a way to defeat MIME within the confines of MS Outlook. I couldn't find it. Eudora Pro fixed it, but its' much like using a sixteen pound sledgehammer to drive carpet tacks with. For whatever its' worth.
Gene O'Rourke
14th April 1998
Subject: MIME messages Date
David,
Re: your post on MIME messages. I think you missed my point. When you and I corresponded on this subject a month or so ago. I fessed up to you that my technical knowledge of computers is scant. You were kind enough to take the time to explain the solution to my problems regarding MIME, and also the fact that my computer had crashed and I had lost an immense amount of work and other data due to my failure to back up my work frequently. However, your post today regarding the many merits of MIME etc. pretty much explains the reason that I spent a couple of years in the Silicon Valley area translating techie talk into language the average intelligent person who is not a computer professional can understand. Its' plain to me from your messages regarding the above that you are knowledgeable on this subject far beyond the point that I ever will be, or even care to be. For my purposes, computers are wonderful tools to research information, save a huge amount of time over using a typewriter or one of the early word processors, an incredible means of communicating with spirits, kindred, or otherwise, globally, at almost no cost, and the ability to do some relatively simple graphics. They have changed my way of doing business incredibly these past few years. However, I left the engineering profession in 1967 when computers resembled small apartment buildings. I really don't have the desire or the time to involve myself with all the technical minutiae or the mechanics of the zillion various software packages on the market. We live in a society where the average person doesn't know how to program their VCR, or even stop it from eternally blinking 12:00. When both hardware and software design finally reaches the true definition of "Plug and Play", computer sales will skyrocket beyond Bill Gates wildest fantasies. I'm not implying that members of this list are amongst the group mentioned above, but whenever we have one of our frequent power outages here in south Florida, I have to get the manuals out to reprogram the VCR and several other pieces of equipment. This coming from a guy who designed much of the ground support systems for the Saturn/Apollo missions. How do you think the average lawyer, accountant, or marketing executive feels about this? Your knowledge of computer mechanics awes me. I just want a machine that I can communicate with, research material for articles and/or books with, and save a whole lot of time by not having to use "white out" to cover my sloppy typing. And, I want to be able to do those things without having to go back to school to get a Masters in Computer Sciences to do it. I'm not putting you down in any way. I truly respect your technical knowledge and appreciate the help you gave me. I just think that at times, people who work in the computer industry take for granted the idea (not fact), that the average computer buyer understands what they're talking about. Most of us don't.
Regards Gene
14th April 1998
Subject: Dan Scheper's Haleakala trip
Dan,
I used to live above upper Kula road about half way to the summit of Haleakala. Drove a 911 and 930 to the summit many times without any problems. Same holds true for the summit of Mauna Kea on the big island. I'd feel a power loss after I passed Hale Pohaku at the 9000 foot level, which was where the pavement ended then, but wouldn't have any trouble reaching the summit at just below 14,000 feet. I would guess that you may have some air in your hydraulic lines which might expand as the outside pressure went down. Best thing to do is stop at the Kula Lodge for a cocktail while the shark adjusts itself to the rarified atmosphere. Also check the fluid level in your master cylinder.
Gene O'Rourke
14th April 1998
Subject: Floor mats
Tony,
I just put pretty black carpets in my 87S4 with embroided red Porsche logos on the front seat mats and the hatch mat. The main reason I ordered them was due to the fact that I constantly had to pull the driver's side mat off the accelerator pedal so the car didn't idle at 3000 rpm. Also, the old ones were pretty cruddy after 93,000 miles. Now I have these pretty new mats and still have to pull the driver's side mat off the pedal several times a day. My mechanic told me that any auto supply store has little clips that you can buy for zip, that will anchor the mats perfectly. One of these months I'm going to check that out. You may want to do it sooner.
Gene O'Rourke
20th April 1998
Subject: What is it?
Moira,
Whatever you do, don't open that thing on the floor between the passengers seat and the door. It's a diabolical device that is the Teutonic version of Pandora's Box. Forget about it. Also, the round thing right in front of you. Do not put your fingers above it and flip it down. The steering wheel will fall in your lap and the ejection seat will fire you out through the sun roof. If your car doesn't have a sunroof you're entire day will be ruined.
Gene O'Rourke
20th April 1998
Subject: Gas mileage
Re: Kevin Fraser's query on 928 gas mileage. Just got back last night from the Amelia Island auto freakout. About 800 miles round trip, mostly at 80 - 85 mph. Averaged 23.5 mpg with an engine that really needs tuning. Around town I get about 18 mpg. Saw three zillion boxsters, two zillion 911s, two other 928s.
Gene O'Rourke
87 S4 5sp