I work normal Monday through Friday hours, so there isn’t much that will get me out of the house before noon on the weekend.
Except cars, of course.
Besides magazines and YouTube, I spend a fair amount of time perusing build threads on various forums. They’re not even consistent forums, rather, catering to whatever car pops into my head as I sit in front of my computer.
A few years ago as the air-cooled Porsche craze was gathering steam, I put more effort into finding enthusiast generated content on the internet. Publications like Excellence and GT Porsche are more than adequate at serving up anecdotes and historical information. But there’s something I really appreciate about reading it straight from the owner’s build log; no language filters, no embellishing production value, and a first hand narrative presented straight to the community.
It was either a Porsche 356 or early 911S forum that introduced me to Bob Tilton’s werk over at WerkCrew. For better or worse he’s moved on from his blog, but while reading through his quasi build-log and other posts I came across a mention of a meeting of air-cooled aficionados. Looking at the address I realized it was only 10 minutes from my house.
Years later, it’s a staple in my event attendance schedule. I try to avoid parking lot meets as they don’t really interest me any more but the monthly get-together at European Auto Salvage Yard (EASY) in Emeryville, CA gets a pass because: A) It’s hard to find such a variety of air-cooled vehicles, and B) It’s not in a parking lot.
There’s a few cars I see on a regular basis, and an increasing amount of newer ones that swing by throughout the morning. By chance I had a quick chat with the aforementioned Bob Tilton, during which he noted the upward creep of participants at the meet, as well as changes in the air-cooled community at large. Other details from the conversation are fuzzy, as I spent half of it trying not to sound like an idiot.
“Which one is mine? Oh, I’m here in my Honda.” Better luck next time.
Refreshingly, these folk are owners and drivers. You’ll overhear someone discussing their next track outing and the preparations they made for it. Or a newer owner will be picking another’s brain on how they swapped a twin-plug motor into their 912. And there’s the constant music of Weber throated motors coming and going.
You’ll see pristine 914-6s parked next to modded 911SCs. A back-dated 964 will neighbor a fully patina’d 356. Even a 21-Window Volkswagen Bus will be found sharing curb with a water-cooled 996 GT3.
And while this isn’t an all inclusive meet, there’s always more variety to be found in the parking around the corner. A second generation 964-powered Corvair, a ’66 Ford Mustang Fastback, and other water-cooled Porsches are constants.
The days of the air-cooled legion’s obscurity are gone. Not too long ago I’d have to defend my desire for a 914 or 911. They were labeled archaic, ugly, dangerous, and generally undesirable. As much as I disagreed with that, I put off acquiring one, sure that such attitudes would keep values down until I was ready.
I haven’t missed the boat per se, but current trends mean it’ll be a while before I park one in my garage. For the moment I can enjoy them by proxy; whether by the meets, the build journals, or anything else I put eyes and ears on. And I have little doubt that when I begin my stewardship of Stuttgart’s finest, it will have been worth the wait.