Road Stories

I thought it was a pickup truck!

Hi everyone,

If any one of you remembers any of my posting here, you must have said: "This guy is WORKING on his car all the time. When is he having fun driving it, anyway?" Well, I did drive it yesterday, and this time it was just for fun! I have recently spent lots of time on wheels, brakes, steering and suspension, repairing, retightening and replacing, inspired by all of you guys (especially by the posts on alignment!) and with lots of $$, sweat, and the expert help and advice of the good people at DEVEK I can proudly report that my 118k miles, '87 S4 Auto is now 99.9% operational (Yes, everything actually works, but for how long!?) and she has performed magnificently on the road yesterday! Believe it or not, here in N. California we still have a few great (mountain) scenic roads, with little or no traffic, quasi perfect pavement, and where just trying to drive AT the speed limit is still a challenge, even for a 928! Forget Autobahn speed...how about some nice twists and turns? Going up the hill (a 22 miles climb) I caught up with a few SUV's which promptly took the first available turnout to let me pass (I would do the same if I were seeing that fast approaching Shark behind me.) There was no need for aggressive behavior, just approaching, keeping a safe distance then a quick "Thank you!" wave, a swift push on the throttle and me and my spaceship disappear in the next twist of the road....
I drove mostly in 3rd and 2nd. The car's powertrain is very responsive as I now have tightened all the linkage and Bowden cables. I would never have believed an automatic could be this "sporty." I quickly felt perfectly comfortable to take all those left/right twists, barely touching the brakes before entering the "left," then accelerating in the curve to "seat" the car, let go for a split second while changing from "left" to "right" and repeating the acceleration out of the turn.
Do you all start feeling what I felt?
The car responded every time with the same predictable crisp feel and accurate placement. The brakes are fantastic, and I never got in a difficult situation...maybe I wasn't pushing hard enough! I have driven this car since last February, but this time I played with it! Of course I got challenged....and also surprised by another driver. On one of the few straight sections, I could see a nice and sparkling Chevy truck in the distance...Time for some Shark appetizer ...I get closer and closer... Hmm...looks like he is waiting for me...although he is going at a good clip himself! The low ground clearance, the VERY wide rear tires and large dual chrome exhaust belie his real intentions! While he powerfully accelerates in front of me I can hear a sound more like a Corvette than a "rock"...
And at closer examination, he also has one of those double A-arms independent rear axle! (More like a formula one car than a truck...)
Heehee...this could be fun!
The man clearly knows what he is doing, he accelerates at least as fast I do in the straights (now I am going ALL OUT!), but the Porsche's better handling get me a ;ittle closer to him in every turn. He doesn't make any mistakes, his truck stays on a perfect line at all the time. This guy is a Driver!
He is not trying to play any dirty tricks on me, he is just having fun...like I do: brake late, place the car in the turn, accelerate out, and so on..
No way to pass, this is "solid double yellow line territory," all the way!
Time flies..but every moment counts. Now the real adrenaline rush is on! This is almost as good as...
Well ... you get the idea!
By the way, believe it or not, we are still within the limits of the law: driving 65 on this road IS a performance!
We go for about 15 miles of really intense fun, and when he is about take a turn into a local road, he slows down, pulls on the side, lowers his tinted window, waves a nice friendly thumbs up salute..then surprise!
This man must be is his 80's! A wide smile, white short hair and imposing moustache under a big cow-boy hat....
He has this intense spark in the eyes showing how much he just enjoyed challenging a Porsche...Just an old kid!
His spotless car looks like he just came back from a Concours, and his big V8 sounds wonderfully intimidating but smooth and composed, exchanging rythmic exhaust beats with my 32 valves German thoroughbred...Looks like the cars enjoyed this too!
He tells me he has lived there for over 40 years..because the road to get home is so much fun! Aging is changing these days!
He compliments me on my Shark...and wishes there were more of these for him to play with from time to time. "Usually, when I see a Porsche here, I know we both gonna have fun...but yours is pretty darn fast! Don't see too many of these ...What model is this? Water cooled, 5 liters? You're kidding me? Do they really make big V8's at Volkswagen these days?". We share a big laugh!

Can wait until next Sunday. Hope this time he'll be looking at my behind!

Jacques Vuye
Sonoma CA
'87 S4 Auto Nougatbraun Metallic/ Tan with 118 K miles, very and fully
functional ...and with a renewed respect for so called older drivers in Hot
pick-up trucks!