2023: The Year in Review at 924S944.com

The week between Christmas and New Years is when we get the “Top 100 Songs” on the radio and all matters of retrospectives from entertainment to the economy and everything else in between.  Not one to be left out of these festivities, we are doing our own look back on the year that was, 2023.  Most of what you see out there are based on focused research, verified facts and carefully assembled statistics.  But not here!

As we look back we want to stress that after the pandemic stuff we were all hopeful that 2023 was going to be an epic year.  We wanted everything to be a little better – no, a LOT better – than the previous few years.  We wanted to go back to our old lives of getting together with friends, working somewhere other than the spare bedroom, and not worrying about the virus.  We wanted to be normal.  And for the most part, at least here in the Sunshine State, that is what happened.

So here is the Year That Was for 2023, and even a little peek forward into 2024.

• We saw plenty of folks diving into the 944 scene for the first time – and many of them are young folks.  Checking out social media and seeing who is joining the forums, what they have purchased and the questions that they are asking is a bit of entertainment on its own.  Those of us who have been in this twisted 944 world for a while try hard not to roll our eyes at some of the questions, but we were all there at one time or another.  We may not want to admit it, but we welcome these newbies to our world and will help them out as much as we can.
• We opened 924S944.STORE to make it easier for customers to buy used 944 parts.  Our goal is to make it easier for folks who need used parts and pieces to find, order and get delivery of what they need quickly and easily.  We have built inventory systems into the shop so that we know what we have and can actually find it when someone needs it.  (How many transmission couplers does one person need?). Check it out as we add more and more parts to the listings.
• In early March we attended the Amelia Island Concours weekend in Fernandina Beach, Florida to participate in the annual Porsche Werks Reunion where we displayed our 1987 924S “Sparky” and took home a trophy in class.  The judging for the Werks is all about the story, and Sparky has a great story – resurrected from the executioner’s hand (insurance total )loss and brought back to be the proud little guy that he is.  Sparky was also featured in PCA’s Executive Director’s “Favorite Porsches at the Werks” video.  We also participated as judges where I got to work with two other judges looking over the G-Body 911’s.  Great fun.
• While at Amelia we also were selected to participate in the “Cars and Caffeine” event on the Concours show field on Saturday morning.  This is an event that requires an application, review by some secret hallowed committee and acceptance in order to participate.  For the first time Sparky was NOT the only 924S in the event – we met Micheal Fan

  

  from Charlotte and his beautifully restored 924S that he did himself.  Michael will be back again this year.

• On a local level, we joined our local DeLand Area Cruisers, a hot-rod/classic car club.  Sparky made a lot of friends and introduced the 944 hobby to many of these crusty old hot rodders to the point that in May, we had a shop tour at 924S944.com facilities.  With a 944 on a lift, they were quite interested in the engine/trans layout of our cars, as well as the German engineering displayed – quite a difference from their muscle cars.  And some of these folks are master fabricators who can make anything for anything out of nothing – good folks to have on speed dial.  Look into local clubs that might be outside of your comfort zone and teach them about our cars.
• In April we helped the Thoroughbred Region PCA organize and run a one-day HPDE at the FIRM in Starke, Florida.  I taught the classroom parts of the event – and the whole thing was a great success.  We are doing it again this year on April 6.  Interested?  Information and registration here.
• We took a cruise around Scotland and looked for Porsches.  The Scots are a hearty group, and while we did see a few newer Porsche sports cars in Glasgow, the Porsches that we did see were mostly SUV types.  That isn’t surprising as the weather, roads and terrain require that kind of car for year-round use.  The Scottish folks were wonderful and the scenery was fantastic with history that dates back some 5,000 years.  Highly recommended.
• We planned on going to 944Fest in August this year, but a hurricane stood in the way.  A storm came across north Florida and blocked our route north on the Wednesday before the event. – the day we were leaving to go north.  We have driven truck-and-trailer through a hurricane before and I didn’t feel really good about doing it again.  So we had to bail out.  Unfortunate.  A real shame, too, since we heard that it was a great weekend.
• In September, I took the plunge and had a new right knee installed.  At this writing I am a little over three months post-op and it has healed up nicely.  Over the years my previously-broken knee (motorcycle in the woods when I was 25) got stiffer and stiffer with the range of motion limited to only about 90 degrees.  It was also not as strong as I needed, and it got to the point where getting out of my 924S full-cage race car was impossible without help.  Well, the new knee is stronger, 130 degrees of motion (normal) and I can get out of the car without a problem.  The surgery is now just a 40-minute procedure, but the physical therapy is painful.  But was it worth it?  Absolutely.
• While recovering from the knee surgery we were able to pick up a couple of 924S Special Editions from one guy in Oregon.  Both need a lot of work to get them back to show-quality condition, but both are complete, in run-and-drive condition.  One is already being restored and the other will get the same treatment in the spring.

So what will 2024 bring?  Well, I turn 70 in May, and if I knew that I would live this long I would have taken better care of myself.  We have many projects on the board including rehab of my race car to get back to HPDE’s this year with PCA , Chin Track Days and others at the FIRM, Sebring and Roebling Road.  To be honest there are enough projects already planned to keep us busy through the year.  We are returning to Amelia Island for both events.  We are going to Brevard, North Carolina again in April for the Appalachian Region PCA “Luft Wasser” where we put 200 Porsches on Main Street for the day, along with their unique white squirrels.  We are planning to participate in 944Fest over Labor Day weekend.  We will go back to the mountains in September for the annual Appalachian Adventure with PCA.  And we will continue to participate with our local Florida Citrus Region Porsche Club in local events, shows, rallys and other festivities.

Looks like a busy year.  So get out to the garage and work on it…and have some fun!  This year is going to be great!