Sometimes life throws together a series events which result in a unique opportunity, which if recognised as such, at the time can, offer you an experience with deserves to be grabbed with both hands & then some....
Well, that's what happened to me anyway...
Let me give you a bit of background; I've always had a love of German cars,in fact, I've only ever driven German. I've been tempted away, & I've gone so far as the occasional test drive in something loud & throaty; but was that temptation away from an admiration for superior build quality & reliability only really a flirtation with the idea that perhaps I was missing out? No, it only served to reinforce that what I had was actually pretty good.
My first air cooled car was Roger the Funky Satsuma, a'72 1200 Beetle, nothing special, he cost me £450, & fell into my possession out of convenience rather that anything else. Someone in the village was selling him & he was what I could afford aged 17. Cheap to run, cheap to insure & I could stick a couple of mates in the back. I was pretty merciless as a 17 year old, & blew up a couple of engines in poor old Roger; but, I found the local VW shop, & they helped me keep my costs down by allowing me to be the assistant mechanic on any jobs that needed doing to him, thereby teaching me about my car in the most practical way. It wasn't too long before I knew my way around his simple engine, & managed to do a complete rebuild on my own.
I guess this early confidence in knowing an air cooled engine stood me in good stead for my road trip. There were other Beetles, a 1302LS, a 1303 I also had the opportunity to own a Type 2 split & a beautiful Karmann Ghia.
I was hooked. Out of sheer practicality, I had to sell the old air cooled's, & get a bigger faster car, the 2.0L Golf GTI, then a couple of Audi S3's... You can see there's a theme here, right?
I've never lost my love of all things air cooled, & being a Beetle owner, I'd always hankered after owning a classic Porsche. There's no mistaking that classic airfoil shape, the simple, yet effective lines, the car that always has heads turning, craning for another look.
It was almost as if the universe had been working on my behalf without me realising, I found myself staring at a set of circumstances that were as clear as motorway sign sat on my kitchen table saying 'buy the Porsche now, it's out there waiting for you'.
I didn't waste much time scouring all the usual websites, & soon came up with one which looked like it was going to be my car. I'd had the car sent over to TLG Auto Porsche Repair in North Hollywood. Again, by a strange set of circumstances, I was put in touch with TLG - it was one of those conversations that went along the lines of 'I know a guy, who knows this guy, who I think can help you....'
Fortunately, I'd agreed with the owner that if it didn't pass the Pre Purchase Inspection, I didn't have to buy it. I'd lose the $500 deposit I'd paid, but let me tell you, I dodged a helluva bullet..... Always get a PPI done....
Pretty disheartened, I felt like I was back to square one, & several hundred dollars down. I wasn't prepared to keep chucking money at random cars that looked ok in the photos, so I phoned TLG, & asked Marco if he would help me find my car. It was my 2 days later he called me back & said 'I think I have the car you are looking for...'
As soon as I saw her, I had a good feeling. Admittedly, she looked a little bit like a bored middle aged housewife that needed sprucing up, but she looked honest. So, over to TLG for another PPI. Marco was pretty enthusiastic about her,for all the right reasons. 'She's a GOOD car', 'I think THIS is the car for YOU'; ok,ok- I had to think fast - it's not every day you part with a sizeable lump of cash for a car you have never seen in person from a guy you have never met. What the hell, it just all felt.... right.
Next...... Preparation for 400 miles &crossing 13 states....
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