I have loved the shape of the Porsche 928 since I saw the pictures that inspired me to go look at one in the showroom in Anchorage. The pricetag locked up the brakes at that time. When I went to college in 1984, I thought about a 944, but settled for a VW Golf GTi. It wasn't until 2010 when my brother asked me if I wanted one of seven or eight that he had bought, fixed up to every day driver status and matched with a new caretaker. I picked out a 1988 S4 and my brother, Gerry, drove it to Alaska.
I had suspension components changed out by German Steel (Greg Sykes), as well as the top end refresh in 2017. I drove it during the summers and put it in the garage for the winters. I met Mike Holtzclaw and started going to autox sporadically. I did drive 20k miles from June 2010 through June 2018, north to Hatcher Pass and south to Soldotna in search of winding, sojournistic paths. I would take my camera along and shoot anything but the car, now that I think about it! I would just enjoy the freedom and oneness with the machine. I thought about making the machine perfect again; but the lack of funds moved the priority of that down the list. The machine doesn' seem to mind. It might release a gremlin every now and then to focus my attention, but it definetly prefers to be on the road instead of in the garage!
I blame Mike for the idea of driving to Porsche Parade 2018. The idea grew until I finally found myself behind the wheel, heading to Missouri. We returned to Anchorage after 23 days, extending our adventure as far south as Austin, TX ( for a barbecue tour) and a visit to a favorite uncle ( a WWII Flight Engineer/ top turret gunner on B-17s) in Michigan. Sustained speeds over 80 mph, scenery, 100+ degree temps, a deer and minor (?) brake problems. 11,750 miles and the 31 year old machine NEVER skipped a beat, I felt young again! I am also astounded by the engineering Porsche put into the machine to bring it to life!
Commenti