Voice of the Vancouver Island Region - Porsche Club of America
Volume 25 Issue 4, May 2022
In This Issue Bowser Coffee, Saanich Peninsula Tour, Stealing My 914?, Pedro’s Garage, In The Zone, PCA Juniors & more
Porscher Advertiser Index
Jason Good Custom Cabinets
Porsche Centre Victoria
Villamar
Villa Eyrie
VIMC
Garage Kings
Wingren Nufloors
XPEL
Please show your support for these companies by giving them the opportunity to serve you. Also mention that you saw their advert in Porscher so they know their money is well spent. The display of adverts does not constitute an endorsement of the company by VIR or PCA.
CONTACT : Members are invited and encouraged to submit articles and photos that would be of interest to the Club. Photos in JPG or PNG formats. Please send submissions via email to the Newsletter Editor at: Newsletter@virpca.org NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: The deadline for the next issue is the 23rd of the month. PHOTO CREDITS: Wyman Lee, Tim Evans, John Clark, Gary Glover, Garth Webber Atkins and Steve Fairbrother. Others are credited in articles. If we have omitted anyone, our apologies, please advise us and we shall credit you next month.
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Advertising Rates (per issue) $210 Outside back page $200 Inside front cover $190 Inside back cover $150 Full page $ 90 Half page $ 50 Quarter page $ 30 Business card Please contact the Editor for more information VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
www.virpca.org
Porscher is the official publication of the Vancouver Island Region of the Porsche Club of America and is published approximately monthly. EDITORIAL: Statements appearing in PORSCHER are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Porsche Club of America, the Vancouver Island Region, its Executives or the Editor. All articles and photographs are copyright the author or contributor (unless otherwise noted). Permission for reprints or reproduction of the contents must be granted by the Editor and the author or contributor. Copyright © 2017-2022 by Porsche Club of America, Vancouver Island Region. All rights reserved.
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THIS MONTH’S CONTENTS VIR EXECUTIVE
4
EXECUTIVE COMMENT
5
IN THE ZONE
10
BOWSER COFFEE
12
SPRING TSD RALLY
15
PCA JUNIORS
16
VANISLE ADVENTURE TOUR
18
PEDRO’S GARAGE
20
SAANICH PENINSULA TOUR
25
YOU WANT TO STEAL MY 914?
29
CARS & COFFEE
34
12
20
25
VIR DISCOUNTS & USEFUL WEBSITES 41
AROUND THE BEND
43 Cover Photo
29
European “Cars & Coffee” 356 Taken By Wyman Lee VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Garth Webber Atkins president@virpca.org
Sam Auerbach secretary@virpca.org
Director—Up Island
Wendy Woodley upisland@virpca.org
Director—South Island
Ron Dempsey southisland@virpca.org
Webmaster Chair
Dave Nickel webmaster@virpca.org
Rally Chair
Klaus Kreye rally@virpca.org
Insurance Chair
James Renfrew porsche@jamesrenfrew.com
Steve Peers vicepresident@virpca.org
A.J. Papp treasurer@virpca.org
Director—Mid Island Detlef Ehrhardt midisland@virpca.org
Newsletter Chair
Steve Fairbrother newsletter@virpca.org
Membership Chair
Kathleen Short membership@virpca.org
Tech / Classics Chair
Paul Rossmo paul.rossmo@prhistorics.com
Past President
Tim Evans pastpresident@virpca.org
The VIR Executive meets on the 2nd week of every month, see “Around The Bend” for details. Please contact the Club Secretary for meeting minutes or to attend. VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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President, Garth
O
Webber Atkins
ne of the things that the Club Executive try to “right size” is Club communications. Our standard operating procedure has been to put notice of upcoming events in Porscher, which is published at the beginning of the month and for the President to send out an e-mail midmonth to all Club members. The underlying principle is to keep communications efficient and not clutter up your inbox. Mostly we manage to plan events so that notice of them occurs in at least one of these modes of transmission. We also post reminders on Facebook, but haven’t so far relied on this as sole means of apprising members of events. Occasionally we have time-sensitive information, usually about registering for an event and I will send an extra or singlepurpose e-mail.
country, would love to be able to do this, but we’ve heard clearly and repeatedly from PCA National, that it is the planning and risk management up front, as well as our good safety record, that keep our insurance rates the lowest of any car club and without affordable insurance, we won’t have a Club. Stationary events, however, do not need insurance, so impromptu meet-ups are doable. I know that at least 60 people read the email, because they either let me know they regretted not being able to make it, or asked what time to meet, as I most unhelpfully neglected to include the time. The turnout was good – 20 Porsches and about 30 people showed up, so it seems this is something that at least some members would like to know about and we could consider offering up similar opportunities in the future. The question is – what’s the best way to let people know? An all-member e-mail? Our Facebook Group page? Something else? Sometime over the next couple of months, I will send out a questionnaire to get your thoughts on what would and wouldn’t work for you.
Late in March, Gary Glover, a Past President and active tour leader saw a nice day coming up and asked me to invite members to meet him for coffee in Bowser, a few days later. It wasn’t an event or communications scenario we have entertained in the four years I’ve been on the Executive and I was hesitant to contact 600 people when only a handful might be interested or available. However, we didn’t have much else on the May is Black Rock month and I am looking calendar and I felt it was a worthwhile ex- forward to seeing many of you there. Just periment. around the corner from that, we will have a I have to stress that I could only entertain busy June, with the Spring Rally on the 5th, this because it was a stationary event and the Shawnigan Lake Drive on the 11th and not a drive. We cannot conduct drives with- the VanIsle Adventure Tour on the 24th and out having obtained the mandatory PCA in- 25th. Please register soon for any of these surance in advance, so impromptu drives set events that you are interested in. See up through any VIR Club channel, by any- “Around the Bend” for registration links. one, are not something we can enable and have to actively discourage. Club executives Garth and members, probably throughout the VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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Membership Chair, Kathleen Membership Report for April 2022
Short
Vancouver Island Region has 627 members. We have 383 primary members and 244 affiliate or family members. PCA National Club has a total of 146,564 comprised of 95,690 primary members, 50,853 affiliate members and 21 life members.
Welcome New Members Member Evan Brown John MacDonald David Jubb Kevin Root Kevin Sokyrka Dave Hinton
Co-Member
Emily Jubb
Blake Hinton
Uli Jaeckel
Location / From Victoria Victoria Victoria Victoria Parksville Mayne Island / Canada West North Saanich / Canada West
Vehicle 2004 911 Carrera 2006 911 Carrera S Cabriolet 2003 Boxster 2008 911 Carrera S 2001 911 Carrera 1997 911 Carrera 1993 911 Carrera RS3.8
If you do not have your partner/friend listed as an affiliate (18+ years old) on your membership, please contact PCA to add them, it’s free. You can do that via PCA admin at membership@pca.org or call them at 1-410-381-0911.
Anniversaries in April – Congratulations! 20 Years 5 years 1 year
David and Sidney Manchip Richard Probst, Ross MacDonald Dabid Massel, John Biddle and Rosemary DiLabio, Donald Kelly
Other Membership Activity for this period: Renewals: Non-renewals: Transfer in/out: Juniors:
25 3 2/0 35
(Register your new PCA Junior here)
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PCA – Membership Region Change
During the new member sign up process, only the zip code or postal code is used for automated region placement, so new members will see their assigned region name. We have found most new members do not know what a PCA Region is and having an open region field to select a region is confusing at best. Each member remains in their assigned Region, even if the member moves or changes their address in PCA.org. Note: Members can change their Region affiliation by emailing the PCA National Office at membership@pca.org or calling 1-410-381-0911.
PCA has some exciting news to share about a change to the Test Drive program. Test Drive has previously been a six-month subscription costing $40. The program is now a one-year subscription costing $46. PCA has automatically extended current Test Drive subscribers an additional six months, at no extra charge. Also, if a Test Drive subscriber purchases a Porsche within the oneyear subscription period, they can call the PCA National office at 1-410-3810911 and the balance of their Test Drive term will be converted to full PCA Membership. Test Drive subscribers were notified of this change this month. For more information about the PCA Test Drive program, click here. The VIR thanks the Porsche Centre Victoria for new member referrals at the time of purchase.
Kathleen PCA Test Drive Do you know someone with Porsche ownership intentions or aspirations?
Tell them about the PCA Test Drive program. For US $46 they get 1 year access to PANORAMA and defined access to browse the online PCA Mart to find their Porsche. Go to pca.org/pca-test-drive for details. VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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PCA Zone 6 Representative, John
I
P Sommerwerck
am thinking the old saying goes something like: ‘March goes out like a lion…’ In our case, April came in like a lion. Since April 3rd, we received nearly two feet of snow at the house and the mountains have received about four feet. The mountain snow has been a blessing as we are in the middle of a drought. Even with the new snow, the mountain snowpack levels are below normal. However, the snow at the house is preventing us from getting our 911 out of storage. I had hoped to update you on the work that has been accomplished to develop a new and improved Zone 6 website. Unfortunately, I cannot. I can update you on what I am thinking and hopefully, in next month’s In The Zone, I will be able to unveil the new site design. My current thinking is the new site will have many of the old Zone 6 website features; description of Zone 6, its regions, contact information, etc. the changes I want to implement include: direct linkages to each region’s websites for events. This will eliminate the need for the regions to do double entry for tours/events. We will include pictures for Zone 6 Signature events and links to the regions picture pages. The current site requires a technologist to update. I am not a technologist, so I want the new site to be easily updateable. I welcome your thoughts on what would make the Zone 6 website (zone6.pca.org) more useable and/or functional. Next week, Nancy and I start our summer driving season, we are off to Colorado Springs for the Broadmoor Treffen. Two weeks later we head to Vancouver Island Region’s Black Rock Charity event. Hopefully, we will be able to drive the 911 to Black Rock. I grew up in the east and only moved to the west in my thirties, so we will be driving to the Poconos Parade. We are driving the Macan as Nancy does not want the luggage limitations of the 911. Stay healthy and we will see you in the Zone.
John VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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VIR Member, Gary
Glover
March 31st - Bowser for a Cars & Coffee Meeting Finally, a day of sun and warmth in the weather forecast, so why not gather for an impromptu Cars & Coffee Meeting? On March 29th the forecast for March 31st was sunshine. So, a quick phone call to a coffee shop and then emails inviting VIR members happened. Thursday morning, March 31st the weather was great as forecast. Members made their own way to the “Footless Rooster” in Bowser. They arrived from Saanich, Mill Bay, Gabriola Island, Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum, Port Alberni, Courtenay, Comox and Campbell River. Over 30 members in 20 Porsches and 4 non-Porsches in total. Three VIR Past Presidents and other past Exec. members in attendance. The weather was warm and sunny, so we all mingled in the parking area around the cars. Locals also stopped by the observe the collection of Porsches and mix of colours. Thanks to the Footless Rooster for putting up with us.
Gary
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Rally Chair, Klaus
Kreye
The Spring Rally is the first of two TSD Rallies to be held in 2022. This is a team event where each car has a driver and a navigator. The driver and navigator may swap between rally legs. It will be a family friendly event on paved, public roadways operating at/below posted speed limits. The rally will start in Mill Bay. There will be a number of short legs (usually six regularity stages) allowing time to chat between and learn from other teams. The event will end in the Duncan area with a meal where the results will be shared. If you have never taken part in a TSD rally, we will provide a Zoom orientation session, please email me at rally@virpca.org There are 25 car places available, so please register ASAP at msreg.com/2022-Spring-Rally
Klaus
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It’s not just the cars… and now it’s not just the grown-ups! The PCA Juniors e-newsletter is produced for parents and sponsors of PCA Juniors and is intended to create engagement and interaction. PCA Juniors is a free program for young Porsche enthusiasts, under 18 years of age, who are registered by an active PCA member. Sponsoring PCA members will receive this monthly e-newsletter featuring information and activities for kids. For more information about the program, go to pca.org/pcajuniors Here is a snippet from the e-newsletter.
Here are the links for other PCA Junior program sites:-
PCA Juniors Facebook PCA Juniors Instagram PCA Juniors Twittter VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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South Island Director,
Ron Dempsey
The MSR registration for VIR members for the Van Isle Adventure Tour on June 24-25 has been open for about a month. If you are still undecided, please consider registering ASAP as it is now opened up to PCA members outside of Vancouver Island. Go to msreg.com/2022-VanIsle-Adventure to see details, costs and to register. Each day of the event is scheduled to include about 6-7 hours of driving, with lunch stops planned along the route. Upon arrival to the destination hotel at the end of day 1, there’s time for beverages, followed by a buffet dinner on premise. Day 2 sees breakfast at the hotel, a slightly shorter day of driving, followed by a wrap-up dinner at the final route location. Please contact Ron Dempsey, South Island Director, at southisland@virpca.org for more details.
Editor - You can also click on the image below to see the details and register
Picture courtesy of Dave Hord
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Suncoast Region Member, Pedro
P Bonilla
Ceramic We’ve all heard about ceramic brakes, but what exactly is ceramic and why are they so expensive? Are they really worth the price? Are they really that much better? We’ll try to answer each one of these questions that people always wonder about. Generally when people talk about ceramic brakes they are referring to ceramic brake pads. I make the notation because there are also ceramic rotors (discs) both of which we’ll look at in detail.
Ceramic Brake Pads Ceramic brake pads are manufactured from material very similar to the one used when making pottery and plates. The material used for the brakes is much denser and durable but it also incorporates fine copper fibers mixed in with the material. These fibers help to increase friction (better braking) and also increase heat conductivity (cooler brakes). Ceramic brake pads were developed in the 1980s and have been increasing in popularity ever since their introduction. Compared to standard brake pads, ceramic pads are much quieter, giving off very little sound when the brakes are applied. They are also quite clean, meaning that there is much less brake dust and they also work better in a wider VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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range of climatic conditions than standard pads. They are more expensive than the metallic or asbestos-type pads and much less conductive than metallic pads allowing for heat to be transferred into the rest of the braking system. Ceramic pads are not recommended for extreme cold weather and they’re intended to be used with standard cast iron rotors.
Ceramic discs Carbon-ceramic brake discs appeared in sports cars in 2001. Developed by Brembo for supercars such as the Ferrari Enzo and the Porsche Carrera GT. These rotors are made from a special mixture of powders, fibers and resins in a very complex manufacturing process. This process, developed in the 1970s for very special applications had been used since the 1980s in braking systems for the aerospace industry (Space Shuttle). Carbon-ceramic offers substantial benefits in terms of performance in all types of conditions, weight reductions, comfort, corrosion resistance, durability and appearance. Ceramic is very heat-resistant, up to 1,000˚C (1,832˚F), therefore ceramic composite brake discs last up to 60 times longer than standard cast iron discs. Ceramic composite means that the ceramic material, silicone is combined with carbon fibers for strength. In Porsche-speak they are called PCCB (Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes). The extremely complex manufacturing process begins by mixing a heatmoldable resin powder with finely chopped pieces of raw carbon fiber. This mixture is poured into an aluminum mold with the shape of the disc brake, fill(Continued on page 23)
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John Clark with his latest acquisition at the recent Up Island Cars & Coffee in Courtenay
ing it half way. Aluminum spikes (cores) are then fitted through the disc. These will form the ventilation channel once removed after the molding is completed. The mold gets another pour of the composite to fill it completely. Once filled, the mold gets a lid while it moves into a press that will put 20,000 Kg (45,000 lb) of pressure while heating the mold and its contents to 200˚C (392˚F). This compacts the carbon fiber and transforms the resin powder into plastic. Then it’s time to cool down. Once the mold is completely cool it is opened and the disc is extracted. A computer-guided laser corrects any rough areas and makes ventilation holes on the disc (equivalent to cross drilling in cast iron discs). Now the disc goes back into an oven that gradually, throughout the course of two days, heats it to 1,000˚C (1,832˚F). This produces a chemical change that transforms the plastic into carbon. The disc then goes into a crucible (high heat resistant container). It is suspended from the bottom of the crucible by five mounts. A ceramic material (fine silicone powder) is poured into the center opening of the disc. The crucible and its contents then moves into another oven which gradually raises the temperature to 1,700˚C (3,092˚F) throughout 24 hours. This melts the silicone. Then it applies a low suction that draws the now melted silicone into the disc ring. This creates an extremely hard, new material, called silicone carbide. Once cooled, another laser-guided machine bores the mounting holes. The disc then gets submerged into a special protective paint that shields the carbon from contacting oxygen (antioxidation treatment) which significantly extends the life of the brake disc. The paint is dried in an oven then the disc is cleaned and polished. Finally a computer carefully inspects the disc taking thousands of micron-level images which are analyzed for imperfections. The last step is affixing the bell, the centerpiece that mounts to the wheel carrier. The bell is made from aluminum or steel and is bolted onto the disc via the mounting holes previously bored into it.
PCCB conversion to iron rotors
Because of their better stopping power and VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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longer life than cast-iron rotors, Porsche had initially recommended PCCBs for track use. When first introduced, we were told that the high price ($9,000 option on the Carrera S) was justifiable because the discs would virtually last for the life of the car, but people would wear them out after a few hard track days. What happened is that ceramic discs can degrade if you’re hard on the brakes in a track environment which allows for very little cool down time. So now, the consensus is that ceramic brakes are simply too expensive to replace when they wear out so most track junkies who had opted for PCCBs have replaced the discs with cast-iron discs. So, what then are ceramic brakes good for? They are perfect for people who don’t like cleaning their wheels. PCCBs drastically reduce the build-up of brake dust. PCCB discs weigh 50% of their cast-iron counterparts, so there is a great reduction of unsprung weight. They also look very cool and if not tracked, should last the life of the car. For more information on Porsche restoration and more, please visit my website: www.PedrosGarage.com Happy Porsche’ing
Pedro © 2022 Technolab / PedrosGarage.com
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VIR President, Garth
Webber Atkins
On Sunday April 24, 16 cars and 26 members toured through the backroads and scenic roads of Central and North Saanich, taking in farmland, ocean views and interesting rural residential areas. The weather was sunny and temperate, making the drive pleasant and relaxing.
Thanks go to Brad Blaney for driving the lead car, Rowland Atkins for running sweep, and Geoff Melnychuk for volunteering to file the PCA Observer Report. We ended the drive at the Stonehouse Pub at Canoe Cove, where our group filled the excellent sunny dining room and enjoyed a good meal. Thanks to all who turned out and made it fun!
Garth
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Photos by Eric Maitland & Garth Webber Atkins
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VIR members can find VIR logo’d clothing range at our special PCA webstore here... www.pcawebstore.org/regions/VIS VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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911 AREA RUGS! Wingren Nufloors announce custom made, Porsche themed, Turkish rugs. Limited Edition run of 100 rugs, 3’x5’. Various designs available $299 each. See one at the Black Rock auction
Contact Gordon Halkett for details at gordonhalkett@gmail.com
Porcher Editor, Steve
Fairbrother
My sincere apologies to Bill Corrigan of the Olympic Peninsula Region as I showed a photo of OPR’s President, Bill Ellwell in last month’s issue of Porscher in his Griot’s Garage Tour article. Bill’s true likeness is shown here.
Steve Bill Corrigan VANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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Thanks to Betty Terpsma for posting this Norman Garret article to our Facebook group. Courtesy Hagerty.com Dear Thief, Welcome to my Porsche 914. I imagine that at this point (having found the door unlocked) your intention is to steal my car. Don’t be encouraged by this; the tumblers sheared off in 1978. I would have locked it up if I could, so don’t think you’re too clever or that I’m too lazy. However, now that you’re in the car, there are a few things you’re going to need to know. First, the battery is disconnected, so slide-hammering my ignition switch is not your first step. I leave the battery disconnected, not to foil hoodlums such as yourself, but because there is a mysterious current drain from the 40-year-old German wiring harness that I can’t locate and/or fix. So, connect the battery first. Good luck finding the engine cover release. Or the engine, for that matter. Now, you can skip your slide hammer. The ignition switch’s tumblers are so worn that any flat-bladed screwdriver or pair of scissors will do. Don’t tell anyone. Once you’ve figured that out and try to start the car, you’ll run into some trouble. The car is most likely in reverse gear, given that the parking brake cable froze up sometime during the Carter administration. Since there is not a clutch safety switch on the starting circuit, make sure to press the clutch down before you try to crank the engine. (I don’t want you running into my other car in the driveway.) This is doubly necessary because my starter is too weak to crank the clutch-transmission input shaft assembly with any success. With the clutch pedal depressed, the engine should turn over fast enough to get things going. But first, you’ll need to press the gas pedal to the floor exactly four times. Not three. Not five. Four. The dual Webers don’t have chokes and you’ll be squirting fuel down the barrels with the accelerator pumps for the necessary priming regime. If you don’t do it right, the car won’t start before the battery gives up the ghost. Consider yourself forewarned. If you’ve followed along so far, the engine should fire right up. Don’t be fooled—it will die in eight seconds when the priming fuel runs out. ReVANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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peat the gas pedal priming procedure, but only pump two times. Deviate from this routine at your own peril. Now you have the engine running. Make sure the green oil light in the dash goes out. If it does not, you only have about 100 yards to drive before the engine locks up, so be attentive. If all goes well with the oil pressure, you may now attend to the gear shift lever. Some explanation follows. This is a Porsche 914. It has a mid-engine layout. The transmission is in the far back of the car, and the shift linkage’s main component is a football-field-long steel rod formed loosely in the shape of your lower intestine. Manipulating the gear shift lever will deliver vague suggestions to this rod, which, in turn, will tickle small parts deep within the dark bowels of the transaxle case. It is akin to hitting a bag of gears with a stick, hopefully finding one that works. If you are successful in finding first gear (there is a shift pattern printed on the knob; they say German engineers don’t have a sense of humor), congratulations. You may launch the vehicle into motion. Do not become emboldened by your progress, as you will quickly need to shift to another gear. Ouija boards are more communicative than the shift knob you will be trusting to aid your efforts. Depress the clutch as you would in any car, and pull the knob from its secure location out of first gear. Now you will become adrift in the zone known to early Porsche owners as “Neverland” and your quest will be to find second gear. Prepare yourself for a ten-second-or-so adventure. Do not go straight forward with the shift knob, as you will only find Reverse waiting there to mock you with a shriek of high-speed gear teeth machining themselves into round cylinders. Should you hear this noise, retreat immediately to the only easy spot to find in this transmission: neutral. This is a safe place, no real damage can occur here, but alas, no forward motion will happen either. From this harbor of peace, you can re-attempt to find second, but you may just want to go for any “port in a storm”, given that the traffic behind you is now cheering you on in your quest with vigorous horn-honks of support and encouragement. Most 914 owners at this point pull over to the side of the road and feign answering a cell phone call to a) avoid further humiliation; b) allow traffic to pass; and c) gather the courage for another first gear start. You may choose to do likewise. If you press onward without taking a break, you may re-enter first. This is how the car mocks you for your lack of skill, but sometimes it is the only path forward. Once you are ready to again try for second, I can offer some advice. One trick that works is to declutch the transmission, pull the lever from the first-gear position, enter into the aforementioned neutral zone, and then rapidly wig-wag the shift knob side-to-side along a lateral axis. If you move the knob quickly enough, the transmission will be out-smarted and cannot anticiVANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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pate your next move. It is at this time that you should re-attempt to enter second, and most likely you will do so. Surprise is your best weapon against this transmission. The move to third should be straightforward, as it’s the only easily-accessible gear in the set. You should now be out of my neighborhood and on the main four-lane road. Third gear will be good for 45 mph, so I would advise you just staying there. Trying to get to fourth gear will only frustrate you and your nearby drivers (see: first-to-second shift). You don’t need to check for gasoline in the car. It will be full, even though the fuel gauge reads zero. The odometer reads “0”, not because it was reset when I filled the tank, but because it is just broken. Ignore it. If it is night, and it most likely will be, you will need to turn on the lights. I’ll leave it to you to find the switch since I’ve helped a lot so far. Suffice to say that once you get them active, you will find that the seven inch sealed beams from 1971 will only illuminate sufficient roadway for travel below 45 mph. Since you are still in third , this shouldn’t be a problem. Oh, and the lights only work on high beam, so ignore the flashing lights and vulgar gestures from opposing traffic. By now you’ve certainly noticed the smell. That is the aroma of Mobil 1 oil being boiled off of long sections of horizontal exhaust pipes, which were cleverly encased by the factory with a second shroud of oil-holding chambers. They filled with oil during my last drive and you are now operating a small thermal refinery that is making light short-chained vaporous hydrocarbons from what was once $8-a-quart oil. They are being conveniently routed to the cabin through carefully formed channels in the heating system, plus the rust holes in the floor provided by Mother Nature herself over the past few decades. You’ll feel less dizzy if you open a window. But mind that driver’s window does not work, so you’ll have to lean over and roll down the passenger window half-way. I say half-way in a manner that will become apparent once you try to get the window to go all the way down, which it will refuse to do. Instead, simply open the driver’s door slightly and drive along, as I do. Once the oil vapors are exhumed from the cabin, you should start to feel a little better. There is a rag behind the driver’s seat that you can use to wipe the oil film off of the inside of the windshield. Knowing which road you’re probably on by now, you will be hitting stop lights. Try as hard as you can to not bring the 914 to a stop. The brake system is ideal for this situation, being known more as “scrubbers” than “brakes”. Since you can’t effecVANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
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tively stop the car, use this to your advantage and don’t try. Remember: You certainly don’t want to have to go back into first. If you have made it within sight of to the highway entrance, don’t get any ideas. The front right wheel is severely bent and the vibration at velocities above 50 mph will crack the windshield and cause the doors to open by themselves. So stay on the surface streets, stoplights notwithstanding. It may be at this point that you consider abandoning the car to avoid further calamity. There is an Exxon station right before the freeway entrance. The last guy who stole my 914 used this very spot and it was rather convenient for all concerned parties. I suggest you ditch the car there and scope out a nice, reliable Camry to heist.
Norman Garrett was the Concept Engineer for the original Miata back in his days at Mazda’s Southern California Design Studio. He currently teaches automotive engineering classes at UNC-C’s Motorsports Engineering Department in Charlotte, North Carolina and curates his small collection of dysfunctional automobiles and motorcycles.
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T
here is always a Cars & Coffee meeting near you at weekends! Pop in, meet old friends and make plenty of new ones. You never know, VIR may even pay for your coffee occasionally too!
There are 3 locations across the Island to meet Club members regularly:-
Up Island 2nd Sat of month, 10am Crown Isle Plaza (next to Starbucks), 444 Lerwick Road, Courtenay
Mid Island Sundays 10am, Serious Coffee, 9-1209 East, Island Hwy E, Parksville
South Island Sundays 9am, Starbucks, Eagle Creek Village, 29 Helmcken Rd, Victoria
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“It's not just the cars, it's the people!”
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Up Island Director, Wendy
Woodley
The Up Island Cars & Coffee on Saturday April 9, was a special celebration of the 26th Year for the VIR. Garth Webber Atkins, our President, drove from Victoria to join us in Courtenay for this special celebration. We were treated by VIR to a Starbucks beverage. We had 30 members from Campbell River, Comox Valley, Parksville, Nanaimo and Greater Victoria. We also had the privilege of three Past Presidents, Tim Evans (& his wife Marilyn), Brad Blaney from Victoria, and Gary Glover from Nanaimo. Wendy, the Up Island Director requested that all the women who own a Porsche join in on a group photo (see photo below). We had Wendy Woodley 2002 Boxster, Garth Webber Atkins, Lorie Romain 2004 Boxster S, Bev White 2001 Boxster S and Betsy Terpsma 1969 911T. New members Lisa & Marc Rutan, Courtenay, joined us for the first time. They have been a member of PCA for a number of years and recently transferred from Canada West. FYI: When you buy or sell your Porsche, you should update PCA at membership@pca.org or 1-410-331-0911
Wendy
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I
f you have received a discount from anywhere that you believe would be applicable to others in the Club, please advise us via email to newsletter@virpca.org and I’ll add to this list. Note: The discount details may change after publishing, if Porscher is not advised.
Please mention that you saw their advert in PORSCHER if you visit/talk to these sponsors
Where
Discount Description
Lordco
Up to 30%
Mention Porsche Club of America (show PCA card)
Porsche Center Victoria
Up to 15%
15% for in-house work, 10% over the counter parts
Blast-It!
10%
Confirm with owner first.
10%
At checkout, use code Pelican-PCA2022- followed by your 10 digit PCA MEMBER ID (not login ID). Note: You can only use this code once.
Pelican Parts
B
elow are some Porsche related sites that Club members may find useful. If you know of any others please forward them to the Editor. Zone 6 website zone6.pca.org
Best forum for 986 owners, run by Pelican Parts 986forum.com/forums PCA Boxster register, another great resource for Boxster owners boxsterregister.org
See the PCA site for other models www.pca.org/special-interest-groups Macan Forum, everything related to Macans www.macanforum.com General car auction site https://bringatrailer.com Pelican Parts forums and classifieds http://forums.pelicanparts.com/ Below are some USED parts web sites:https://www.partsheaven.com
http://rennlist.com/forums
http://www.nineapart.com
http://malahatautoparts.com/parts-search
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Up Island Mid Island South Island May 19 7pm
May 29
Ongoing Cars & Coffee Times
2 Saturday of the month, 10am—Noon, Crown Isle Plaza (next to Starbucks), 444 Lerwick Road, Courtenay Sundays 10am, Serious Coffee, 9-1209 East, Island Hwy E, Parksville Sundays 9am, Starbucks, Eagle Creek Village, 29 Helmcken Rd, Victoria nd
Club Executive/Business Meeting via Zoom
The monthly Executive/Business meeting via Zoom. If you wish to join, advise Sam so we have an idea for online capacity
Cars & Coffee at Porsche Centre Victoria
Contact Sam Contact Garth
PCV will be hosting our usual Sunday Cars & Coffee but at their location on Douglas St. More details to come!
Spring - Time Speed Distance Rally June 5
June 11
June 24-25
In this team event each car needs a driver and a navigator. It will be a family friendly event on paved public roadways operating at/below posted speed limits. Free to 1st time rallyists! Register at msreg.com/2022-Spring-Rally
Past-President’s Drive
Same drive as last year to DrumRoaster Coffee store/café in Cobble Hill. Details and reg at msreg.com/2022-Tim-Drive1
Van Isle Adventure Tour
July 16
Contact Tim Contact Ron
Join Ron Dempsey and others on a 2-day mystery drive. Registration on MSR msreg.com/2022-VanIsle-Adventure
Ladies Drive
July 10
Contact Klaus
Contact Garth
To be confirmed
Past-President’s Drive
Contact Tim
Same drive as per last year to Genoa Bay. Details and reg at msreg.com/2022-Genoa-Bay
Porsches on the Pitch
Aug 6 2 - 8pm
At Shawnigan Lake School Our postponed 25th Year Anniversary celebration, including BBQ, Shown & Shine, draw prizes, 50/50 etc. Various accommodation available too. Watch for the MSR reg page coming soon.
Port Alberni Drive
Aug 13
Contact Dan B
TBA
Contact A.J.
VIR Fiscal Year End
Aug 31
Contact Tim
More events being planned, watch for them here or in Garth’s emails
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