I Can't Wait!

In 16 hours I will leave for the DE (Drivers Education) event at Thunder Bolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

I washed the car, packed my box full of car stuff, and soon will pack my bag. I can't wait to see how fast I can get on the straight away. Photos and commentary to come.

RIP: Paul Newman

It's Been a Long Time...

Whew. it has been a while since I tapped the key board for this Blog.

Well, I have some good stuff going on. I just got the 911 back from the shop GT Performance. Gennady, hooked me up... what a great guy and shop. The 911 is now lowered (pics to come), cambermister installed, wiper fluid is now flowing freely, the passenger door latch is fixed, the hood latch replaced, the shifter is in a much better position, the pop-off valve popped off while they had it and they fixed that (i suck at installing things), the alignment (with negative camber), bump stear, turbo tie rods are all set up.

Wow... all this for less than $800. I found my mechanic/shop.

The car is ready for the DE event at THUNDERBOLT RACEWAY... on Oct 10-12. I gotta go fast!

I also received my die cut white magnetic numbers from Meisel, my printing friend Whit hooked me up. I have all the numbers I could ever need (3 sets of #4-9, and 5 sets of #0-3)... 7" tall and of course HELVETICA font. Pics coming soon.

Fall is here and i am going to have to do some day trips in the lady. So excited.

Birthday Wish List.

4PC Pedal Set - Rubber Grip (black w/ red extensions)

Mad as a Bear

I wish bad things to happen to the jack ass who stole my skateboard, bike and tools out of my garage. Eff you!

Chesapeake/Delaware Regions - NJMP - ThunderBolt PCA DE

I can't wait until October! I am signed up for a Drivers Education event at the brand new Thunderbolt Motor Park. The new track look sick. I have a feeling this is going to be money well spent!

Part Number: 902391 - Window Felt

Yesterday evening I decided I was going to install a new passenger side window felt. No, big deal right?

Eff that!

4 cuts on my arms/hands
2 metal splinters
2 stripped Alan Key bolts
6 hours
Tons of frustration
1 lost/recovered alan key
1 lost rod (the piece that attaches the interior door latch to the door release mechanism)

I don't really want to get into it, but dang was that a pain in the ass. I thought it was going to take 1.5-2 hours tops... but then all the crazy stuff started to happen. I was removing a bolt from the door on the hinge side when the alan key stripped the bolt, jumped out of my hand and some how fell through a quarter sized access hole. This hole did not open into the main cavity of the door, that would have been too easy, it fell in to a channel where the only way to get things out was to fish a magnet into the hole hoping that you could retrieve the missing item or do what I did. I removed the door from the car and shook the shit out of it until my wife could reach in with her little fingers and get it out.

I still had a striped bolt head. My neighbor Sean had an Easy Outs set, one word... effing lifesaver. I am going to by a set for myself. Got the bolt out in seconds.

After that, i had to pull out one more stripped bolt, no big deal. I have ordered Wurth Metric Hardware Kit, so I can have plenty of spares next time.

Oh wait next time is probably when the shipment comes. Since I lost that rod for the door handle. I have a funny feeling that it is stuck in the door somewhere... and it happened when i shook the door upside down. So I'll Have to take the door off again. If it is not there, I'll have to call a salvage yard to get the part. Ugh.

I do love working on the 911, as much stress as it brings it is a far better stress than work stress.

Upgrades

Yesterday, I installed the new windshield washer engine. It worked! With the exception of only the drivers side sprayer working, dang. I will have to eff with it today.

I also installed the new K&N Air Filter and the Performance Air box, the engine sounds pretty good and breathes a little easier...



I am not a huge fan of the Carbon "Fib-ber" but what ya gonna do.

Upgrade Time

I am going to take the 911 to get all her scratches touched up and or buffed out. Awesome.

I decided to order the H4 headlights, with paintable rings... and will have them painted by the shop to match the Silver.

I have also ordered a Chin Spoiler, for better aerodynamics. And a Cambermister, for better handling. And a Performance Airbox cover, to add horsepower. Lastly a new Window wash Pump, since the one on the 911 now is broke.

Upgrading is fun...Pics coming soon.

Too Much Work Not Enough Play

I have been slacking on everything, except work. I have taken the 911 out 3 times in the past month. I wish I took her out more... it is now hot and humid in Baltimore and it is not a comfy ride when you don't have A/C.

I think I'll be hitting up the autocross circuit on the 15th, and am going to try the new tires.

I hope to have pics and video, from that event.

April is not Porsche Month so much

Well, the only thing the 911 and I did this month is the HPDC earlier in the month. I was wait listed for the Driver Education event and did not get in. I was suppose to be in Hershey, PA for the All Porsche Swap Meet, but I am traveling out to Hannover, Germany to art direct a photo shoot of Hannover 96, a global football team. Germany will be fun, but a ton of work while we are there. At least I get to go to Germany again and see cool Euro cars!

High Performance Driving Clinic

WHAT A GREAT EVENT! The Potomac PCA put on a HPDC yesterday at Summit Point Motorsports Park. EVERYBODY who drives should take a class like this. There is basic driving education... is far beyond anything I ever learned in drivers ed. in high school.

We did some classroom education. On the track we did braking, throttle and skid pad exercises.
All of which was fun and exciting.

The best part was in the afternoon... we had two 20 minute sessions on the track. OMG! I love driving on the track at full speeds. We had an instructor in the car who helped us with learning the lines, finding the apex and to yell at you when you did something wrong. Genius. Fun. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. i can't wait for my next track event.

The Gold-Plated Porsche: How I Sank a Small Fortune into a Used Car, and Other Misadventures

I just started reading this last night. It is a easy read for anyone. Especially fun if you have ever picked up a wrench to fix something on their car minor or major. Definitely inspiring but I doubt I'll ever go that far with the 911.

HPDC this weekend..... so excited!

Windows

I started the 911 up last Wednesday. To find out that the windows would not open. UGH. Both windows did nothing when I pushed the automatic opener switches. So I figured it couldn't be the motors. I opened up the trunk and found that the fuse was blown. So I went to Advanced Auto Parts, picked up new fuses. Replaced the old ones. Voila! The windows worked. I know it is a pretty boring story, but I need my personal triumphs... especially after the week I've had.

I also changed my oil for the first time on the 911. Not too hard, but I sue did let a good amount of oil leak on the floor. I'll do better next time.

Next weekend is HPDC... yay! I can't wait.

911 project 2008 #1

-Pop-off Valve install (I have the part, just need to install)

Yesterday, I installed the pop-off valve for the air box. It was fairly simple and straight forward. I opened the hood of the car and removed the air box lid... then realized that there was no way I was going to get the 2" drill bit and my drill to the place it needed to be. What I needed was a 90º drill but I don't own one. So I called my buddy Jason, who has a great 4x4 truck and shit load of tools, to see if he has one. He didn't. My doorbell rang and it was the HVAC guy to drop off some filters that I had ordered from him. "you don't happen to have a 90º drill in your truck?," I asked.

"Sure do, wanna borrow it?, " said Wayne, owner/operator of ALL ABOUT AIR.

What great luck! So drilled what I needed to drill, mixed some epoxy and placed the pop-off valve in. 3 hours later I was back on the road. Success.

More work to come. I love working on the 911.

Deutschland

Well I spent few days in Germany... I am glad to be back, but I did have a ton of fun. 3 days were work related... running around Euroshop... a retail design conference. but one day was a trip to Stuttgart, to see the Porsche Factory.

This was my rental car, an Mercedes Benz A150.



It was a funny little car, with a bit of pep... I got it up to 155kph (96mph).


Here is a shot of the factory entry.


But soon I felt like this family when they reached Wally World


Sorry closed for renovations! WHAT! The Porsche Factory had an explosion 2 days before I got there... the people at Porsche tried to email me, but I did not check my personal email. Damn. All was not lost... I did get to tour the museum. Oh yeah, they did offer me a coffee for my troubles. Thanks Porsche, but I guess better luck next time.

Don't get me wrong, I still was stoked! There were 20 or so awesome cars to see, I purchased some stuff at the museum shop, and got to sit in a Carrera GT.



Here are some of my pics

April is officially PORSCHE month at the Todas household

Like I said before, I'll be doing the High Performance Driving Clinic, April 5. My Valentines Gift from my lovely wife Kimmy is... Drivers Education weekend, April 12-13 . The wheels are going to be smokin' in April!

Practicality

Yesterday we went to IKEA... just to look... and ended up buying this Desk... and yes we brought it home in the 911. It was a tight fit but we did it. Whom ever says Porsche 911's are impractical... bite your tongue.

PCA Potomac High Performance Driving Clinic

I just signed up for the April 5, 2008, PCA Potomac High Performance Driving Clinic. I can't wait... Should I sign up for the DE for the following week? That's a lot of driving! Then there is the Hershey Swap meet at the end of April. OMG lots of Porsche stuff in Arpil!

The Driver

Thank you Chris for refering me to read the The Driver by Alex Roy! Holy cow... it is a must read, so exciting, so fast, so illegal. I wish I had the balls to do some of the thing Alex did in the book. I read it on my flight to the Philippines... I couldn't put it down.

if you are interested in road racing, outlaws, and comedy... read this book!

Here is an interview with Letterman

2008 911 Projects

Here are a few things I'd like to accomplish on the 911 this year.

- Ignition Tune up
-Pop-off Valve install (I have the part, just need to install)
-Lower and realignment
-H4 headlamp upgrade
-New Stereo system (hidden in the glove box), keep original in dash (but find the annoying rattle on or around it)
-Fix/replace the window seal/trim on the passenger side
-Air filter upgrade

I think that is it for now. What I didn't include were oil changes, maybe a transmission fluid change. I will update as I complete these items.

AWWW YEAH!

Dear Mr. Todas,

Thank you for your interest in Porsche and your request to tour our
production facilities in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.


The following arrangement has been made:

Number of people: 2
Date: February 27, 2008
Time: 09.50 AM
Language: English



I am so psyched! Here is my confirmation for visiting the Porsche Factory and Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. I am going to Germany for a convention in Düsseldorf, and decided to take an extra day and visit the factory.

I have been out of the country for the past 3 weeks... visiting family and vacationing in the Philippines. It was a great time, but I am glad to be home. Got to see some family, cool beaches and islands, ate fried crickets, saw Grandma Orang, and other fun things.

I will soon be making my 2008 plan for the 911... upgrades, autocrosses, DE events. Stay tuned.