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Guest Blog entry by Paul

Last year Dan and I took a Saturday ride over to sunny central Oregon and checked out the Sunriver Exotic Car Show. The event was very casual, no charge, and open to the public, it seemed to be just a relaxed get together of car enthusiasts at a very nice resort. The following Monday I wasted no time telling my employers about the event and sharing the many photos I had taken. It had been a very fun day and was an event I thought we, Sports Car Shop, should make an effort to be a part of in the future. Well the future arrived this year with us as one of the show’s few sponsors. The only trick was how to get several vintage cars and a couple modern classics across the mountains, of course I volunteered to help by driving!

This is where things got a bit tricky for me, as luck would have it the date of the show fell on the same day as my 5th wedding anniversary and the day after Dan and my latest trip to the track needless to say I was in a tight spot, a Friday spent racing followed by a day at a car show is not exactly what Mrs. Breen was dreaming of. Luckily I had a plan… We would head over to the show Saturday morning in a gorgeous 1974 E-type roadster

My vision was a warm top-down drive through the Cascades in a roaring 12 cylinder to arrive for a fancy lunch at an upscale resort. I’d get to look at cars while my wife was swept away by my James Bond-like driving, the beautiful surroundings, and the sheer romance of the event. What could go wrong? As it turns out almost everything!

What I had forgotten in my plan was that the show started at 9:00 AM which required that all cars be parked by 8:00, with Bend a good two and half hour drive away at close-to-legal speeds that meant a departure time of 5:30 AM, not a good start. The second problem evidenced itself Friday, I was getting sick, the bug that had been going around had got me, during our track day I was trying to deny my sore throat and achy body but there was no getting around it, by that night I was truly ill. I thought of calling the whole thing off but when I called my boss to give him the news he sounded very excited about the show and told my that instead of the E-Type he wanted my to bring over a 1995 Porsche 911

He had already put my room reservations on the seat, just pick up the car and meet him Saturday morning by 8:00. I couldn’t back out now, I figured he was putting us up at a hotel and they really wanted the car there, what was I to do? Man-up and do it is what. I let Heather know as gently as possible that we would be waking at 4:30 and to avoid ruining her whole day we would take two cars, I would drive the 993 from work and she would follow in my 911, that way we could just drop-off the work car at the show then have the day to ourselves, I was determined to make a wife-friendly weekend plan that would work. She took it well and agreed, (in 5 years she’s come to expect these kind of things I guess).

Saturday morning came too quickly and of course we didn’t leave town until almost 6:00, we would really have to fly to make it on time. It took Heather a while to adjust the Porsche and being a cautious driver she was lagging behind, I gritted my teeth and slowed the pace to keep her in the mirrors. Luck was on our side, as we crossed the pass at sunrise the 993 informed me that the outside temp was a chilly 27 degrees!

I of course had packed for summer temps and had only short-sleeved shirts, I was hoping Heather had come better prepared (which she had). I called Joe from the road to let him know we were still an hour away and got the good news that they were on a frost delay. This year the show was being upgraded from a parking lot get together to a real car show and was to be held on grass of the golf course, nice! We arrived perfectly at 8:30 just as they were opening the course and allowing the long line of cars out onto the turf. I parked the 993, said hi to the bosses, got a couple mochas, and made a quick round of the show while people were still setting up. This was the only chance I got to take pictures and check out the cars as the rest of the day was spent with Heather enjoying the area’s non-automotive attractions. All-in-all things went well and I consider the whole trip a success, Heather and I ended up having a great dinner at the Deschutes Brewery and stayed at a great little bed and breakfast, The Mill Inn just up the street.

Unfortunately I only got to enjoy the show for a few minutes while things were still being set-up. The cars on display were stunning and the reports I got from later in the day confirmed that it was a cool event not to be missed.

Paul and I braved the 100 degree heat to check out the sweetest 356’s in Pacific Northwest at the Parts Obsolete Campout. This has to be one of the coolest shows to attend all year because the atmosphere is totally laid back and it’s almost more of a social gathering than a car show. Not to mention the incredible access to the property that houses the Parts Obsolete business.

The pictures tell the story better than I do, check them out below. And of course, I made sure to take pictures of all the for sale cars too!

dc

Has there been a lull in early, non-s, 911 sales? It sure seems like there haven’t been many under $20k and decent examples for offer in recent years. And I really like this color. Anyone know if it’s original?

1969 Porsche 911E on Hemmings ($15k, VA):

Check out other Porsche posts on my site.

dc

This month’s issue of Excellence (2/08, page 102) has the market update on the 964 and 993 series Porsche 911 models. These are my favorite Porsche 911’s hands down. And I’m not alone as the market would show. But on the other hand, the Excellence report shows that prices are still dropping. So low in fact, they indicate that ‘excellent’ examples of all 964 Carrera 2 models command under $30k, and well under $20k for ’so-so’ examples. My first reaction was disbelief as I’d love to own a good-to-decent 964 for under $20k. Where are these examples I thought to myself?!

So I immediately surfed over to Rennlist, TheSamba, Route30Classics, Craigslist, eBay Motors, and Pelican Parts for private party listings (I trust private party listings far more as a rule than dealer listings). Almost all of the 964’s listed on these sites were either in range as Cabriolet’s or out of range. Which begs the following question:

• Is there a ton of negotiating room in these ad’s?
• Am I looking in the wrong places?
• Or is Excellence wrong?
  • How do they come up with these numbers?
  • If they’re auction averages, isn’t it reasonable to assume that the cars purchased at auction were by brokers/dealers who added a markup of some sort?

There was one car that stood out in my search: 1990 Porsche Carrera 2 on Pelican Parts Classifieds

For Sale: 1990 Carrera 2 Coupe $19,000
120,000 miles
Exterior is in very good condition for the mileage
Interior is in excellent condition
Engine is very strong with no drips
Lowered, with Bilstein sport shocks
Late model year rear brake calipers (same as fronts)
Factory whale tail
Wheels are 17″ aftermarket, I believe Mille Miglia Cup I
Recent (Dec 17, 2007) major service included:
Valve adjustment
Filters, fluids, plugs
Repacked all 4 CV joints
New air temp sensor
New oxygen sensor
New brake light switch
Replaced left rear bumper heat shield
Includes car cover!

The car does not have a radio. If you want me to install an in-dash unit, I will provide one of my choice (radio + CD). In either case the asking price remains the same.

Update 1.6.08: Price dropped to $18k. Maybe there are good examples out there for well under $20k…?

This car looks really solid from the pictures, and the black on black is very sharp (Update:Ed says the car is green and looking at the larger pics, it does look like a really dark green. Thanks Ed!). The only flag in my mind is that this car may have been used as a test bed or track day car. The owner sells application software to log telemetry data over video files generated at track events (VERY COOL!), and it could be assumed that this car was used accordingly. That said, many of the cars that I’ve seen at track days are easily in far better shape than the daily street warriors that show up. A decent inspection should put any worries to bed if the car is in good nick.

So what do you think? I’m hoping that Paul from Sports Car Shop in Eugene, Oregon, will comment as he is my best Porsche resource! Update 1.7.08:Check out Paul’s assessment in the comments.

dc

I’m a sucker for white German cars, and this 84 911 3.2 for $16k looks like a decent buy on Roadfly. The ad states too many records to list, which is always a good sign. 125k miles on a well maintained early 911 is just getting her warmed up!

For an 84 in good nick, this is worth a look for sure.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, and I’m a sucker for white on white. Here’s a pic from the past:

dc