A few things to know before stealing my 914

Post by reedjosh » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 4:24 PM UTC

technofiend wrote: post #85

quadrifoliate wrote: post #24

> 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 g…

> and then rapidly wig-wag the shift knob side-to-side along a lateral axis. I learned this driving my first car which was a similar vintage Karmann Ghia. It still did it out of habit twenty years later driving my stick-shift Jetta. The second YouTube video I found of someone learning to drive a KG was doing it instinctively as well. [1] I guess there's so much play you just learn to wig-wag a little to see if you're…

Post by kingcharles » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 4:26 PM UTC

cameronh90 wrote: post #66

sbisson wrote: post #19

Reminds me of my first car, a Mini Clubman estate with the fake woody panels on the side. The only thing you needed to know was that it had been re-engined with a hill-climb tuned Cooper S engine. Great on an island with a 40mph speed limit and too many rich folk with Ferraris and the like, as it could out accelerate them anywhere on the island. Sure it wouldn't go faster than 50, but that was fine as it got to that…

> island with a 40mph speed limit Does it begin with J and end with Y? (I'm a London-based bean!)

Post by orangepurple » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 4:29 PM UTC

h2odragon wrote: post #118

orangepurple wrote: post #55

I used to bother with mechanical junk like this when I was younger. I bought 10 cars under $1000 and repaired everything from shattered valvetrain to clogged fuel filters. These days if I wanted to drive a junk car with a good brand I would LS swap it and call it a day. It's more important to treat cancer before it metastasizes unlike the hospice care this person is giving that car. It troubles me to see people suffe…

I don't doubt this person could restore that car to factory perfection or remake it into a modern masterpiece. Thats not what it's for tho. The clapped out heap of junk has an integrity, and dignity, worthy of respect. This car should most properly be exhibited on blocks in the front yard, surrounded by tall grass, possibly with a tree beginning to grow out of it somewhere. Between a trophy and a salute to both the s…

Post by repiret » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 4:30 PM UTC

ho_schi wrote: post #111

It always entertaining when Americans speaking about manual transmissions as something mysterious. It is not, feet on pedal, switch, feet from pedal. Europeans are surprised seeing you manipulating the wipers to control the transmission. I consider personally most automatic transmissions horrible. The gear is either to high to overtake or so low that the engine is running with too much RPM. The only exception is the…

Post by a4isms » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 4:33 PM UTC

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #49

gkoberger wrote: post #42

This is one of my favorite styles of writing. I have absolutely no clue what this person is talking about and have no interest in cars, yet I read every single word. I love when people have such a deep knowledge of something that they can write an essay as unique and thoughtful as this. It reminds me of Kitchen Confidential, Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman!, or any rant about British politics by David Mitchell.

Depth of knowledge is impossible to assess for anyone that doesn't have similar depth in the same subject matter. The author could be bullshitting (he's not) but how would anyone who's not driven vehicles that are decades beyond their design life know?