Naples!

My Uber driver dropped me off, and Bob was waiting on his front entry way perched a flight of steps shaped like a half arc all the way up to an oversized wood door with large single light window.  His house was quite a marvel to see as it stood rather tall and spread out on a corner in a part of Naples where every house was larger than life, although in a tasteful, manicured way.  I was happy to see him, and finally meet the man that I traveled across the USA to have the honor to become the new owner of his 1986 Porsche 911 that was sitting around the corner in the driveway.  I saw it in my peripheral and had to have a peek.  He offered to take a spin, but I said, it looks amazing and let's wait for the morning to take care of the necessary measures to finalize the deal.  So, I then met his lovely wife of 30 years, Suzy, who was quite gracious and joyful in her appearance with friendly stories of travels they'd taken together after offering me a water.  Bob cracked a joke while driving the 911 into his garage about not hitting anything, and I said he has a great sense of humor, prior to walking to a restaurant in the quaint town of Naples, a few blocks away.  Coincidentally, the fellow I sat next to on the plane said The Continental is the place to go, and I mentioned this to Bob as we were a few steps in front of the restaurant without knowing, so we had some drinks and dinner at The Continental and swapped Porsche stories we'd both had and appreciated over the years.  Turns out Bob, once had 3 911's at the same time.  I also learned that Bob ordered the car with the specs he wanted, but his first wife was a lovely woman and a successful fashion designer and she chose the gray - green interior, of which I have never seen prior to this car.  

After dinner, Bob went through all his documentation with me at the kitchen table as well as special interest records, explaining each one in detail.  He had the original window sticker in a plastic sleeve, and original paint sample card of all the color options from Porsche with the chosen color, the interior pamphlet stating the leather interior option, information on the club sport ECU he had installed, the Sport Suspension Option, LSD, power locks, cruise, sport seats, 16" Fuchs option, rear badge delete, radio delete, etc.  There was quite a story behind this prized possession, including a small notepad with every single fill up and the mileage from day one to current.  He kept that, but supplied me with a xerox copy.  He also showed the receipts of the AC upgrade parts, the installation fees and that it was just recharged and working fine...which is very rare if not unheard of for this model.  There was a leather key fob pouch that was never used.  There are receipts for the Blaupunkt radio he did one day have installed, as well as the rear Carrera badge he decided to reintroduce.  I've met my fair share of auto enthusiasts, but not one nearly as meticulous as Bob, without the high brow ways.  He's been all smiles and had a laid back attitude and many interesting stories to share.  The car appeared very well taken care of, and he replied it has been garage kept its entire life.  So, that is not the whole story, since I haven't fully inspected it, but I didn't see any dings, which means it doesn't get parked by any other cars.  In fact, he had a 2018 Porsche 911 that was flooded, resulting in an insurance company totaling the car with 4000 miles since new, while the 1986 Carrera was safe on the 4 post lift parked just above the newer model.  So this car made it through and after all the other Porsches he owned, I had to ask, why this one Bob?  Well, he replied, this is a very unique car.  I get it...which is why I am here right now and didn't let down on my bids.  

So, this is the guest room with full bathroom they have setup for me.  This is the best auto transaction I could have ever dreamed of, even if 37 hours from home.  Below is the car in his driveway.  You can see the lift where the car was during the hurricane that flooded the 2018 which was parked in the garage.  A true survivor we have here, a time capsule from the 80's when rock bands had big hair spray hairdo's and new wave was all the rage.  This car was a part of that culture, and I remember living in Del Mar in 1983 and 1984 and seeing one of these a block away from my house in a ditch.  It had gone off the road and was left abandoned, but still looked pretty California even if someone had a heavy night and lost it in the ditch.  I think there is something stuck in time about Southern California and driving one of these up 1, all the way, and I am planning on driving this one down from Oregon on that rugged coast line, with the sunroof open, listening to the whine of the 3.2 whining engine as it revs through the gears. 

And this is "The Ghost" as Bob named this car upon purchasing at Omaha Porsche in 1986.  I will retain the name and will be pulling away tomorrow and heading toward Oregon, driving diagonally up the country.  Now...I know what you're thinking...will this make it on the road for a 49 hour road trip when it was only driven about 50 miles in the past few years, per year...well, your guess is as good as mine, but you know the saying, nothing ventured, nothing gained.  I will sure get to know the car, and if it has a failure, it will be repaired, and hopefully back on the road again, which is why I have my laptop to stay productive if something should happen.  Worst case scenario, it gets shipped...but alas we try and hope for the best.  I've broken down enough times to probably count on all fingers from driving old classics around, and it doesn't phase me much as long as I can get to a safe place to park, and I have AAA, so here goes nothing!  Oh, and how did I persuade myself to get into this arrangement in the first place...that is a long story for another day, when I decide to post some of the many cars I have restored and how that has a true impact of what you desire most, a car you don't need to restore, and what better candidate than an original owner, low mileage, original paint in an uber rare color combination with many rare options to boot.  And, lastly, I will be selling a few prized possessions to allow this one to get the preferred treatment and focus on less is more with one very special vehicle that ticks all the boxes and truly more than I could have combined into one car.  So this is the prize and I do not believe there is another identical every made and never will be.  I haven't ever experienced that and realize it takes a lot of responsibility to own and caretake one of these and this isn't everyone's idea of what they'd like to have to deal with.  I on the other hand, have always had a love affair with the earliest to last of the Carrera's. but prefer the 915 trans, and this is the final year, before it went hydraulic with the coveted G50 in 1987.  I'm still old school I guess and like to feel the synchos winding up before feeling the feedback of a positive sort of handshake between driver and mechanical gearbox, giving the green light to shift.  There is something timeless or like time standing still which I consider the art of loving a car that speaks to you where dialog is what keeps both car and driver intact, while enjoying the up and downshifting to make the turns and hills a little more enjoyable.  Back in this era, there was no automatic, tiptronic or PDK, it was all manual with Porsche, the way the original designer intended it to be.  I like knowing that and having something from the intentions set by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche himself, followed up by his son Ferry, and finally the contemporary to this model, Ferry's son, Ferdinand "Butzi" Porsche.  Could you have imagined being a part of the Porsche family back in the early days and what that must have been like?