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The magazine of the Founders’ Region • Potomac, Porsche Club of America April 2009

der Vorgänger

der Vorgänger • April 2009 • 3

4• der Vorgänger • April 2009

The monthly magazine of the Founders’ Region, Potomac Porsche Club of America.

April 2009, Volume 55, No. 4

FeaturesHow to install a head gasket on a 944. 8–9How to install 911 engine mounts. 12–14A book for 996 owners. 19How to access a Boxster engine bay. 26–29

EventsComplete 2009 schedules. 10-11Maryland breakfast meeting. 23

Cover illustration by Michael Langshaw: “I startedwith the basic outline of various Porsches,” writes Lang-shaw, who offered the illustration to der Vorgänger. “Then,starting from the center and moving out and around in acounterclockwise direction painting first the main body.The overlapping bodies became the color of the two orthree colors combined. As simple as this sounds, it wasactually a complicated process to achieve the right colorfor each car while holding together some type of cohesivecomposition with the color scheme.”

derVorgänger

Photo by Richard Curtis

George Bockelmann’s supercharged Arena Red 993 is about as immaculate as possi-ble, but it wasn’t always so. George’s car, his first Porsche, had a coming together inhis home garage between a new lift and a very, very stationary I-beam. The result wasanything but immaculate. What happened subsequently is a perfect example of the“while-you’re-in-there” disease that strikes most of us. His story begins on page 15.

Readers and their cars: Page 31


Since becoming president, I’ve spent consid-erable time talking with members about theclub. Sheri and I had dinner with two coupleswho have been in the club for over 10 years.One question was “Why isn’t Potomac the sameas when we first became involved.” They werereferring to when Potomac held monthly meet-ings that usually included a speaker and therewere lots more social events. Thesemeetings were well attended, some-times by more than 100 people. That’san interesting question, and I don’tknow if I have the answer. I can onlyspeculate that members became burnedout on club activities, they needed tospend more time with their families orperhaps they moved to another area.At the last Maryland breakfast, I also

talked with a past president who hadnot attended a Potomac event in severalyears. In our discussions, it was inter-esting to note that many of the issuesthat affected the club then are the sameissues that affect our club now.Issues such as how does the club

provide activities that appeal to as many mem-bers as possible? How does the club providethings that appeal to new members? How doesthe club provide activities that retain membersthat are more senior? What does the club do toattract newmembers? In addition, how does theclub identify members willing to accept volun-teer positions in the club?On Saturday, March 7, I attended two very

different functions that provide some insight intowhat the club is doing to answer some of thesequestions and to provide the Potomac member-ship with a quality PCA experience. These twoactivities were the Virginia breakfast and the DEawards dinner.As most of you know, driver’s education is

one of our premier programs. A track event thatrequires more volunteer support than any otheractivity and supports other club activities.The awards dinner has been a Potomac event

for many years and is our way of thanking theDE volunteers and instructors for their supportfrom March – November of each year. Trackevents such as DE and autocross have alwaysbeen well attended and will continue to be Po-tomac’s priorities.The breakfasts, on the other hand, are recent

additions to Potomac’s stable of activities. WhenJohn Eberhardt and Rob Efrus put the first onetogether at Chutzpah’s Deli in Tysons Corner, Idon’t think any of us realized how successfulthey would become. The breakfasts attract a dif-ferent segment of Potomac membership. Youdon’t see too many DEers or AXers attending.However, you do see many people who are just

as passionate about their Porsches as the DE andAX crowd.The camaraderie at the breakfasts is as great

as the camaraderie at any DE or AX. And the restof our non-track events such as concours, rallysand drive-and-dine, Porsches and Bi Wings andPorsches at the International Gold Cup are out-standing and provide additional venues for the

membership.But back to the original question. I believe

the club is evolving in several different ways.While Potomacmay never be “the way it was be-fore,” we are making an effort to provide enoughvariety to retain the interest of our senior mem-bers and attract those new members that Po-tomac will need for future growth and continuity.One of the things I want to do is revitalize ourmeetings. I think meetings that have a format toprovide the attendees with a brief synopsis ofclub programs are a good thing. The challenge isto keep the club information informative butbrief and include something else of interest tothe membership while providing time for somesocial interaction. A speaker who addresses atopic of general interest to the membership isone of the first things that come to mind.To facilitate this effort, I asked Starla Phelps

to take over the position of Meetings Coordina-tor. Starla brings a lot of enthusiasm plus insti-tutional knowledge about Potomac. She willwork closely with the executive committee toidentify some new (andmaybe not so new) waysto begin to incorporate a meeting format in ouractivities. We are going to ease into this becausewe want what we propose to be of interest to themembership. So stay tuned to the website anddV for more information.But can we do more, or are we doing too

much. What do you think? Send me an emailwith your thoughts and suggestions. I would re-ally like to hear from you about where we aregoing and solicit your suggestions for new ideas.Email me at [email protected]

The president’s page

What the year ahead looks like for Potomac

Potomac club President Tuffy von Briesen

derVorgänger is the official magazine of the Founders’Region, Potomac, Porsche Club of America, Inc.http://www.pcapotomac.org. Contributions for der-Vorgänger should be sent to editor Richard Curtis atleast six weeks preceding the month of publication,preferably via e-mail to [email protected].

Publisher: Tony Kelly

Editor, designer: Richard Curtis6032 Makely DriveFairfax Station, Va. [email protected]

Contributing photographers: Michael Madrid,Sunny Reynolds, Willy Straubhaar.

Contributing editors/writers: Kristen Brickley, Tuffyvon Briesen, Gary Brindle, Sidney Butler, AndyClements, Matt de Maria, John Eberhardt, RichFranco, Jim Hood, Karl Gelles, Tony Kelly, John Mag-istro, Tony Pagonis, Starla Phelps and Steve Vetter.

Advertising manager:Michael Langshaw25099 Ingleside RoadHollywood, Md. [email protected]

Questions about display advertising rates and place-ment in derVorgänger, please contact (do not call) Ad-vertising Manager Michael Langshaw [email protected]

derVorgänger (ISSN 0199-0667) is published monthlyexcept in December by the Founders’ Region, Po-tomac, Porsche Club of America at 11712 Blue SmokeTrail, Reston. Va. 20101-3702. Subscription is limitedto members of the Founders’ Region, Potomac,Porsche Club of America. Annual dues are $42 ($18for derVorgänger subscription alone). Periodicalspostage paid at Baltimore, Md. and at additional mail-ing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to der-Vorgänger, 11712 Blue Smoke Trail, Reston. Va.20101-3702. Statements appearing in derVorgängerare those of the contributing authors and do not con-stitute the opinions or policy of the Founders’ Region,Potomac, Porsche Club of America, its board of di-rectors or the editors of the magazine. The Founders’Region, Potomac, Porsche Club of America neither en-dorses any advertisement nor warrants any productor services theymay provide. Potomac Region reservesthe right to cancel advertisements at any time, for anyreason, in its sole discretion. For information regard-ing commercial advertising and rates, contact the ad-vertising chairperson listed above.

Letters to the editor are welcome but should bebrief and may be edited for length. Please note ifthe letter or e-mail is submitted as a letter to theeditor, and include a contact phone number forverification.

derVorgänger


That happy young fellow at left isKarl Gelles. He’s happy because he’ssuccessfully replaced a head gasket onhis strikingly clean and original 1985.5944. This was his first-ever head gasketreplacement...on any car!It’s not surprising that Karl jus

tjumps right in to perform DIY such asthis. I’ve visited Karl and his beautifuland talented wife, Amy, in their restored1800s home in Bedford, Va. They did allthe restoration themselves, including

making a new chimney cap in their KITCHEN!!, which they then car-ried up a series of ladders to the roof and installed.Karl once told me he learned all he knew about restoration mostly

by just plunging in, looking up things on the Internet and throughreading magazines. Nothing seems to daunt him (and Amy), so re-placing a simple head gasket pales by comparison. He just jumped inand did it, then photographed it and took notes in the process, all fordV. His subsequent article, which begins on Page 8, is his second of-fering for der Vorgänger.A special note of thanks to club member Jim Hood, too. Jim sent

me an email recently volunteering to help in any way possible. He’staken up the task of proofreading each issue and is doing a wonderfuljob. We can’t thank him, Karl and all the other volunteers, enough.

Richard Curtis, [email protected]

Editor’s column

Ads support your passion

Photo by Amy Gelles


April 2009anniversaries

25 yearsRichard Adams &Monica Adams

Charles Hayward

20 yearsLouis J. Clemente &Nicholas L. Schar-Clemente

15 yearsRonald L. Rutledge &Vivien Crea

C. Page Senn

10 yearsAlan F. Ansher &Sherry Ansher

Matthew B. Curry &Chris L. Coulter

Wayne Jackson &Cynthia Jackson

Rudy Marroum &Edward Marroum

Peter Q. Nyce &Valerie Nyce

Karl Salnoske &Susan Salnoske

5 yearsDavid John Buchinski &Mark Husler

Robert E. Farmer &Gail J. Farmer

Todd L. Fredrick &Leslie Fredrick

Michael Kane &Laurie Kane

Robert F. McDermottMichael A. MessinaGary Morando &Shannon Sutter

Sebastian F. Pleta &Lori Pleta

Edward B. Strawderman& Monique Strawder-man

Raymond P. Wach &Connie Wach

New members

Andrew AdamsAlex Anti & Victor AntiMichael P. BarberoStephen BoothChris CaseAllen R. Caskie &Dawn Caskie

Matthew D. Custer &Valerie Custer

Greg GatesDavid C. GrossmanScott M. HenryJeff Horowitz &Patricia Horowitz

Douglas KayBeth S. KochKristin H. Koo &Michael Kim

Michael KraussRichard T. MatthewsStephen M. MeadowsStephen M. ObertherScott RisseeuwIan Schultz & Eva Schultz

Ernest Seagraves &Missy Seagraves

Patrick T. SmithTom StycJames A. Taylor &Jane Taylor

Izzy T. TepekoyluChad D. Todd &Casey Todd

Daniel Virgilio &Mike Clem

Vincent T. Waletzki &Michelle Waletzki

Stacey L. Wrazen &Chad Morris

New members, anniversaries

Porsche Annapolis(443) 837-260020 Hudson Street, Annapolis, MD 21401Exit 23, Highway 50www.PorscheAnnapolis.com

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Genuine Parts. Expert advice.


Story and photosby Karl Gellesfor der Vorgänger

With 125,000 mileson the odometer on my1985.5 NA 944, I beganto notice an increasingamount of fluid drippingonto the driveway. Uponcloser inspection of thelower half of the engine Inoticed one of the telltalesigns of a cylinder headgasket failure.The exact source of

leakage became clear witha trouble light shininginto the underside of theengine. Following thepath of oil led me to theright rear side of the en-gine where the cylinderhead mates with the en-gine block.I decided to keep the

car parked until replace-ment gaskets arrived. For-tunately the engine neveroverheated. I crossed myfingers that the cylinderhead was not warped anddived right in on my firsthead gasket replacement… on any car !Replacing the head

gasket can be a straight-forward yet time-consum-ing undertaking. It’s oneof those projects that—before you start—you re-alize it’s prudent to goahead and replace someother seals and compo-nents while you havethings apart. In my case, Iended up buying toomany seals to list. Basi-cally, I ended up resealingthe top half of the engine.This included camshaftcover gaskets (there areseveral), upper-balanceshaft oil seals, valve stemseals, oil separator o-rings, breather hoses andfuel injector seals to namea few. Most of these rub-ber parts were approach-

Replacing the head gasket on a 944

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ing 25 years in age.(Note: This is in-

tended to provide an in-sight into what lies aheadfor others who may un-dertake this job in the fu-ture or for those whosimply enjoy readingabout working on P-cars.)

Photo 1: Remove thedistributor cap/rotoralong with the spark-plugwires, spark plugs, throt-tle cable as well as thetiming gear front cover lo-cated behind the distribu-tor cap.

Photo 2: Disconnectthe fuel-injector plugs, thefuel supply and returnlines and the fuel rail re-taining bolts. Gently pryupward on the fuel rail toremove the fuel rail.

Photo 3: Remove theintake manifold bolts,hoses, and retaining

bracket. Access will be alittle tight to the clamp forthe rubber hose that con-nects to the underside ofthe manifold. Disconnectthe rubber air-intake boot.Remove the intake mani-fold along with the throt-tle body.

Photo 4: Label all vac-uum lines, rubber hosesand wires. A digital cam-era will be handy to docu-ment major steps. Tocreate additional workingspace, I removed the rub-ber air intake boot, massairflow sensor and air fil-ter housing. The enginelooked rather bare at thispoint and I began won-dering what I got myselfinto!

Photo 5: Note the ori-entation of the belts oncethe alternator belt, powersteering belt and the plas-tic timing belt covers are

removed. Align the en-gine to top dead center(TDC). This was vital toprepare for the next step.It prevents pistons fromstriking valves.Using a steel hammer,

tap a 12-point internalstar bit into the cheese-head bolt located on theend of the camshaft tofirmly seat the bit into thehead of the bolt. Have anassistant hold the timinggear retaining collarsteady with a 1-¼ inchwrench as you loosen thebolt. Ensure that the tim-ing gear does not rotatemore than a few degreesas you remove the bolt. Ifthe camshaft rotates toofar, the valves will beforced into the pistons.

Photo 6: Remove theelectrical plug connectedto the rear camshaft coverplate. Remove any re-maining parts necessary

to clear the path for re-moving the camshaft andits housing. Once thecamshaft bolt cover plugsare removed, you will gainaccess to the bolts secur-ing the camshaft housingto the cylinder head. (Re-place that camshaft cover-to-cylinder head gasketupon reassembly.)

Photo 7: Clean up thecamshaft housing (I sentmine to be powdercoated a rich yellow. Theraised P-O-R-S-C-H-E let-tering remained bare alu-minum for contrast.)All of the cylinder

head retaining nuts arenow in view. Drain thecoolant, various hosesconnected to the wateroutlets and remove theheater pipes. Remove theexhaust manifold. Re-move the cylinder headnuts in the proper se-quence. Replace the oil


cooler seals if these sealsare original.

Photo 8:My head gas-ket did not look as bad asexpected. But the gasketwas brittle and discol-ored. There was someminor deformation inareas, including the rightrear side—where my fin-ger is pointing— wherethe leak was located.

Photo 9: Before re-placing the timing andbalance shaft belts, takethe opportunity to replacethe front engine seals aswell as the upper balanceshaft seals. When re-assembling, it is a goodidea to replace most ofthe hardware. In particu-lar, the hardened cylinder-head nuts and washersand camshaft-housingbolts. These bolts stretchas they are tightened.New hardware ensuresoptimal strength and thatthe proper torque valuesare obtained upon re-assembly.

Photo 10: After twoweeks of working a cou-ple hours each morning,the reseal was complete.Now I will have peace ofmind that the aging sealshave been replaced withnewIf I can find time and

energy, I’ll replace the oil-pan gasket next. I onlyhave a minor leak in theright rear corner, so it canwait.

• • •Karl Gelles has owned his1985.5 Zermatt Silver 944for 5 years; it's hisfirst Porsche. Karl is an in-formational graphics artistfor USA TODAY andtelecommutes from his homein Bedford, Va.

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2009 track event scheduleBy Doug NickelPCA Potomac track coordinator

Our 2009 schedule provides many opportunities for PCA drivers toimprove their skills and enjoy the company of friends at the track, in-cluding an Instructor Clinic, two High Performance Driving Clinics(HPDCs), our Club Race/Advanced DE at Summit Point and a DriverEducation schedule that includes eight DE events. All Potomac trackevents are on weekends including seven three-day weekend dates. Againwe will be driving Summit Point’s main track and Shenandoah track,Mid Ohio, Watkins Glen and Virginia International Raceway.

Highlights in the schedule:Potomac’s first DE accommodates the change to the Zone 2 VIR

event date. Rather than opening our DE season at Summit Point inMarch, we’ll be going in mid April.Potomac has two Saturday HPDCs scheduled. The spring HPDC is

April 4 and the fall HPDC is Sept. 26 HPDC can be the single best dayyou’ll have in your car, with emphasis on awareness and car control ina safely controlled environment and with an instructor in the car. HPDCalso qualifies you to drive in Potomac DE events.Our annual trek to Mid Ohio is the second weekend of May.Our August DE event at Summit Point is again scheduled for three

days. We’re planning a Porsche Fest Gala with multiple events, includ-ing rally, social and an autocross.We have again scheduled three days for the Potomac Club Race/Ad-

vanced Drivers’ Education event in 2009.Lastly, we’ll be running an invitational Instructor/Advanced driving

day on the Friday of our last Summit Point Raceway event.

Event Date Days TrackHPDC April 4 Saturday Jefferson Circuit, SPRInstructor clinic

April 10* Friday Summit Point RacewayDE April 11-12 Sat-Sun Summit Point RacewayDE May 8-10 Fri-Sun Mid OhioDE June 6-7 Sat-Sun Shenandoah Circuit, SPRDE June 26-28 Fri-Sun Watkins GlenDE July 11-12 Sat-Sun Summit Point RacewayDE August 14-16 Fri-Sun Summit Point RacewayDE September 4-6 Fri-Sun Virginia Inter. RacewayHPDC September 26 Saturday Jefferson Circuit, SPRClub race/Advanced DE

Oct. 2-4 Fri-Sun Summit Point RacewayInstructor/Advanced DE

Oct. 30* Friday Summit Point RacewayDE Oct. 31-Nov. 1 Sat-Sun Summit Point Raceway

* By invitation only

SPR= Summit Point Raceway HPDC=High Performance Drivers’ Clinic DE=Drivers’

Education* Zone 2’s VIR DE is scheduled for March 6-8, 2009** Zone 2’s VIR Club Race is scheduled for June 26-28, 2009*** Please note that track dates are considered firm but are subject to change.

While the event schedule for 2009 is firm, things may change dur-ing 2010. Our Mid Ohio date may be later in the year, we may have anevent at New Jersey motor sports Park (Millville, N.J.) on either theThunderbolt Circuit or Lightning Circuit, and we are also looking intoa three-day event at High Rock Raceway, in Spencer, N.C.

*Check Founders’ website for information [email protected].

2009 Potomac PCA Club Raceneeds volunteers for the event

Once again, the Potomac Region is hosting a PCA Club Race thisfall on October 3rd and 4th at Summit Point Motorsports Park in WestVirginia. The race will be held on the main track and features practiceraces and sprint races on Saturday and a sprint race and enduros onSunday. There will be a social hour and dinner for volunteers and driv-ers Saturday evening.

Please volunteer to assist the Potomac Region in hosting our 18thconsecutive year of Porsche Club racing at Summit Point.

Volunteers are especially needed to serve as corner workers for therace. Excellent training is available for anyone who wishes to become aflagger. The school for novice flaggers will be held in conjunction withthe SCCA, and is scheduled for March 28th and 29th. An advancedflagging course for veteran flaggers is also available through SCCA, andis scheduled for March 14th. Both courses will be held at Summit PointRaceway. There is no cost to register. The novice school is the onlyflagger training planned prior to the 2009 race, and is mandatory forany volunteer who has not worked as a corner worker before.

Volunteer help is also needed for in event planning, registration,tech, timing and scoring, social and logistics for the race.

Please send your name, contact information, school or area of vol-unteer interest to Kevin Oyler at [email protected] . Volun-teering for club race is an excellent way tomeet fellow clubmembers andget involved in Potomac club activities. Hope to see you at the races.

March events7 Virginia breakfast (see below)13-15 Zone 2 DE at Virginia International Raceway21 Maryland brunch28 Tech session at Arlington Porsche, open to all members28 Lifts for Charity at Arlington Porsche, open to all members

RoutineMaintenance

Chassis Upgrades

RepairServices

Alignment/CornerWeight Balancing

All vehicles securely stored indoorsduring servicing

Sales

Tire Mountand Balance

PerformanceUpgrades

TrackPreparation

703.544.0015 | www.funktionauto.com44264 Mercure Circle #140, Dulles, VA 20166


PCA Potomac 2009 calendar(For specific details, and the most up-to-date information, check the Potomac website.)

Drivers’ EducationDE and track schedule, facing page

Tech inspectionsSaturday, March 28 at Porsche of ArlingtonSaturday, May 2 at AutobahnSaturday, May 30 at IMA MotorsportSaturday, June 20 at IntersportSunday, July 5 at HBL-Porsche of TysonsSaturday, Aug. 8 at Tischer Auto ParkSaturday, Aug. 29 at AutoTherapySaturday, Oct. 24 at Auto Sportsystems

Group

AutocrossSunday, April 5 Autocross School at SummitPoint “Triple Skid Pad”Sunday, April 26: Autocross #1 at Baysox

Stadium, Bowie, Md.Sunday, May 24 Autocross #2 at BaysoxSunday, June 21 Autocross #3 at Washing-

ton CircuitSunday, July 19th: Autocross #4 at BaysoxSaturday, Aug. 15th: Autocross #5 at Sum-

mit Point at Washington CircuitSunday, Sept. 27th: Autocross #6 at BaysoxSunday, Oct. 18th: Autocross #7 at Baysox

Drive ’n DineSaturday, Feb. 7—Weather permitting drive,

leave from the Virginia breakfast siteSaturday, March 21—Weather permitting

drive, leave from the Maryland breakfast siteSaturday, April 25—Horses & Horsepower,

Charles Town Races *Saturday/Sunday, May 16-17—Porsches and

BiWings—Zone 2 event hosted by PCA Po-tomac (overnight optional)Sunday, May 31—Club picnic, JR Lakes,

Leesburg, Va.Saturday/Sunday, June 13-14—Fallingwater

(overnight)—Zone 2 event hosted by PCA Po-tomac **Saturday, July 4—Weather permitting drive,

leave from the Virginia breakfast site (see below)Saturday, Aug. 1—Weather permitting drive,

leave from the Virginia breakfast siteSaturday, Aug. 15—Porsche Fest Drive ’n

Dine **Saturday, Aug. 29—Drive ’n and Dine *Saturday, Sept. 12—Horses & Horsepower,

Charles Town (W.Va.) Races & Slots *Saturday, Sept. 19—Family picnic at Lang-

shaw’sSaturday, Sept. 26—Lovettsville (Va.) Okto-

berfest (Drive ’n Dine, rally and concours) (mul-tiple clubs)

Saturday, Oct. 2—Fan Drive to Club RaceSaturday/Sunday, Oct. 17-18—Virginia Gold

Cup (overnight)—Zone 2 event hosted by PCAPotomac **Saturday, Oct. 24—Fall Foliage RunSaturday, Nov. 7—Weather permitting drive,

leave from the Virginia breakfast site* Registration preferred to guarantee a spot** Registration required

RallySaturday, May 2—Spring Fling RallySaturday, June 20—Summer Fun RallySunday, Aug. 2—Camp Friendship RallySaturday, Sept. 26—Oktoberfest Rally (mul-

tiple clubs)

ConcoursSunday, May 3—Deutsche Marque, Nott-

away Park, Vienna, Va.Date to be announced—Porsches & Bi-

Wings, barbecue and People’s Choice car show.May 31—PCA picnic/People’s Choice car

show at JR’s Festival Lakes, Leesburg, Va.Sunday, Aug. 2—Camp Friendship Peoples

Choice, Laytonsville, Md.Saturday, Sept. 5—Gathering of the Faithful

car show, Reston (Va.) Town CenterSaturday, Sept. 26—Oktoberfest Lovettsville

(Va.) Peoples Choice (multiple clubs)

Community serviceSaturday, March 28, Lifts for CharitySaturday, July 11, Laps for CharitySunday, Aug. 2, Camp Friendship

Monthly breakfastsInformal monthly breakfast meetings con-

tinue in Northern Virginia andMaryland. Mem-bers can come and go as they please, joining inat communal tables. No registration. If membersdecide to go for rides together after breakfast, somuch the better!

The Virginia breakfast is the first Saturdayof each month at Chutzpah Deli & Restaurantin Tysons Corner from 9-11:00 a.m. There is aparking lot with plenty of space for displayingcars. Chutzpah is located at 8100 Boone Blvd.,Tysons Corner, Va. 22182 behind McDonaldson Rt 7.

TheMaryland breakfast is the third Satur-day of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. up-stairs (private room) at the Irish Inn, 6119Tulane Ave., Glen Echo, Md. Note the newMaryland location and time.


Story and photos by Rick Karltonfor der Vorgänger

Given the increasing age of air-cooled 911s, it’s not abad idea to consider installing fresh motor mounts. Therubber in old factory mounts (photo #1) will deteriorateover time, regardless of your car’s mileage. Obvious signsof bad mounts are visible cracks in the rubber. Less ob-vious signs are sloppy gear shifting/selection (althoughthis can be caused by many potential issues). Be sure topick up 101 Projects for Your Porsche 911 from Ama-zon.com or www.pelicanparts.com or a Bentley guide be-fore you start any project for helpful step-by-stepguidanceMy “uniquely red” 1984 Carrera (photo #2) recently

had the 915 transmission rebuilt. Given the relatively lowinvestment dollars, it wasn’t a bad idea to consider re-placing the factory enginemounts to firm up shifting a bitmore. You should also consider replacing the transmis-sion mounts as well, and that project is certainly downthe road for my car.

Mounts: While solid mounts are recommended forracing, my car pulls double-duty as a weekend driver/oc-cassional DE participant, so I installed theWevo mounts(www.wevo.com) with the black pillows (a bit less firmthan the blue pillows). TheWevos are stiffer than stock,but in my opinion, don’t transmit that much more vi-bration to the car.

Installation: The first step in replacing these mountsis to place a jack under the engine for support (photo#3). It’s not a bad idea to use something to distribute theweight so you are not putting pressure directly on thecenter of the sump cover (a block of wood will do). Youjust want to take a little weight off of the mounts anddon’t need to lift the engine much. Once the engine issupported, you can begin to remove the oldmounts. DOONEMOUNT AT A TIME (to keep the engine from slip-ping off of the jack and dropping as well as to preserveengine alignment).For each individual mount, start by removing the cen-

ter M12 bolt that holds the motor mount bar to themounts themselves (photo #4). Pay attention to theorder of the washers (especially where the large conicalwasher goes and the direction).

Caution:Given that my engine was recently removedfrom the car for the transmission refresh, the bolts for mycar (photo#5) came out easily and without issue. How-ever, with the age of these cars, if your bolt hasn’t been re-moved recently, it’s almost guaranteed that the bolt isrusted in there and a regular wrench can twist/manglethe engine bar depending on how badly rusted. If youhave the later-style engine bar with the built-in threads(~mid-year 1983 and later cars): use LOTS of penetrat-ing oil beforehand and an impact wrench. This should

How to replace engine mounts on a 911A relatively simple DIY; requires minimal tools and experience

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No. 1: Replacing tired en-gine mounts is called forwhen there are visiblecracks in the rubber, oryou’re having troubleshifting gears. It’s also agood time to replacetransmission mounts aswell.

No. 2: You’ll need a jackin order to lift the enginejust enough to take thetenion off the mounts.

No. 3: Place a block ofwood between the jack’ssaddle and the bottom ofthe engine. to help dis-tribute the weight


not be an issue with the early (prior to 1983) cross barswith the nut on the bottom.After the center bolt is removed, then remove the two

smaller M8 bolts that hold the mount to the chassis(photo #6—one is already removed). These bolts havecorresponding nuts that must be kept from turning when

they are being removed. To gain access to these nuts,reach underneath the engine shelf. Once each mount isremoved (photo #7), install the new mount in its place(photo #8). Installation is the reverse of removal (applyanti-seize to the threads of the large center bolt).For Wevo mounts, tightening the center M12 bolt to

4 5No. 4: An impact gun comes in handy when removing theM12 bolts. Do one mount at a time. Pay special attention tothe arrangement and direction of the washers, especially theconical washers.

No. 5: The M12 bolt removed. Next, remove the twoM8 bolts (arrows) that secure the mount to the chassis.


40 ft.lb (or 55 Nm) and the smaller M8 bolts to18ft.lb (or 25 Nm) is recommended.

Helpful tip: If you have trouble finding enough spaceto work on the driver’s side mount, youmay want to dis-connect and remove the heater hoses from the heat ex-changer. For the passenger side mount, unbolt the A/Ccompressor andmove it out of the way. Also, using a bitof grease between the mount bushing and the big washerof the center M12 bolt will help them stick together andmake installation a bit easier.A special thank-you goes to Rob Talastas (his blue ’80

SC is in the garage in photo #2) and to his buddy, Neil,from the Audi club.

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No. 6: The first M8 bolthas already been removedin this photo. The twoM8 bolts have correspon-ding nuts that must bekept from turning.

No. 7: The mount is re-moved.

No. 8: New mount in-stalled.


By George F. Bockelmannfor der Vorgänger

What got you started in Porsches? About five yearsago, Tom Barns, a co-worker had purchased this car fromthe original owner in Pennsylvania. Tom had spent twoyears looking for this beautiful 1996 993 with about 20kmiles. When he needed to sell the car a year later, I hadright of first refusal to buy it. (It was) such a handsomecar, I had to buy it.

What attracted you to your first Porsche? The at-traction is in the beauty of the 911 curvy bodylines andthe performance that this car delivers.

Describe your current Porsche. This is a 1996 993and my first Porsche. When I purchased it, it came withthe Kinesis wheels and Billy Boat mufflers. Shortly after Ihad a custom installation of the TPC supercharger kitdone by Euroqupe, St. Charles, Ill. I prepared the kit bymatching the supercharger ports to the manifold ports,polished ports where accessible, ground all internal andexternal welds, glass beaded all of the aluminum partsand applied yellow irridite (corrosion protection) even tothe supercharger body.

There is an interesting story behind how your 911

was damaged and subsequently repaired. Could youelaborate on that? (How the accident happened, whatwas your reaction, the entire repair process, etc.). Ihad attended a PCAHPDC and an autocross event, therewas an ‘off-course’ incident at the track. There must havebeen something that caused a slow air leak (in my car)after the autocross, (so I put) the car on my two-post carlift. A circuit breaker then popped.This had happened before so it was no big deal. How-

ever, this time things were different. The breaker panel isat the other end of the house. After resetting the breakerand walking back to thegarage (good thing I didnot go upstairs to the bath-room), I could hear the liftmotor running.OMG! The car was

going up! I was able to cutoff the power but notquickly enough. Abouttwo inches of the car roof/windshield was crushed bythe overhead I-beam.I screamed, I howled,

and cursed! The garagedoor was open, and I sus-pect my neighbors heard

You won’t believe what happened to his car... but George Bockelmann saw it as an opportunity to build the Porsche of his dreams

Photo by Richard Curtis

Above: George Bockel-mann with his Arena Red993 after restoration froma lift accident thatcrushed the roof and ne-cessitated not only replac-ing the roof, but—”whileyou’re in there”—a paintjob and other upgrades(see extensive list that be-gins on Page 16).


me if any were home. Barely controlling myself, Ipromptly called the lift manufacturer who calmly said,“Sounds like the contacts welded shut.” It appears thatthis is not the first time there was an issue with theseswitches.The manufacturer sent a crew with a portable lift and

was able to get my car down. The safety locks requiredthat the lift be raised before they disengage, allowing thelift to be lowered. The manufacturer installed a newmotor/pump assembly that had a higher-rated switch.My car insurance company stepped up and got my re-pair process started. The lift company did nothing.I put clear packing tape on the inside and outside of

the windshield to hold it together and drove to Au-tocrafter in Manassas for repair. The car sat for almost ayear because of other cars ahead of mine.On the web site, Rennlist under the 993 forum, I have

several threads (I think you need to subscribe to view pic-tures); “My Sad, sad Fraiday…” (Yes, Friday is misspelled

as I was so upset that day),“The healing hasstarted…” and “My Car IsNowHome!!!!” that detailsthe damage and the repairwith many pictures.(Having to do all this

body repair work, has ledto) the slippery slope of (other) modifications, and whilewe are ‘in there let’s do this.’ Robert Appel, who ownsAutocrafter body shop, did most of the repairs, insideand out. I would like to extend a mega-thanks to every-one who helped in bringing this car back to life!!!!!! Ilisted who did what to give credit where credit is due.

How long have you owned your present 911? Ap-proximately four years of ownership.

Can you list all of the Porsches you’ve owned (orstill own)? The 1996 993 is my first Porsche and I willbe keeping this car for a long time.

Do you own any non-Porsches?My modest collec-tion includes a 2002 BMW M5 that I bought new andhave since addedmany performancemodifications. I alsohave a 2001 Ferrari 360Modena (six speed) that I boughtto use while the Porsche was being worked on. My daily

Exterior modifications:New OEM roof installRain gutter deleteHeadlight washer deleteWasher reservoir deleteEuro NB bumper skins

front, rear from GertCarNewallFront, rear umperette deleteKinesis K-28 rims, yellow

anodized centers, 8 x 18front, 10 x 18 rearRims refurbished by Ye

Olde Wheel Shoppe,Elkridge, Md. and AlexandriaMetal Finishers, Lorton, Va.No-Turn wheel centers by

Booth DesignShow quality mirror finish

full car re-spray in Arena Red

Above: The car as it satafter a new roof waswelded on and the bodywas stripped prior topainting.

Left: Bockelmann in his“downstairs” garage andhis BMWM5 that he’sowned since new. Thegarage is completelyequipped.


driver is a 1998 Ford F-150 pickup truck.

What do you like best about your Porsche? Least?Best—the supercharger performance. Least—nothing,this car is great!!!!!!!!!

What do you do for a living? I am an advisory me-chanical engineer for Progeny Systems, Manassas, Va. Idesign equipment for use on submarines. I have been de-signing and building things since I was 10 years old.

How long a PCA member? I joined PCA about fouryears ago, shortly after buying my first Porsche.

What aspects of Porsche-club membership inter-est you? What activities are you involved in? I did a

PCA autocross class andparticipated in a few au-tocross events in 2005. Ihave done two HPDC daysat Summit Point in 2006that was great fun.Shortly after that, I had

the mishap with my car onthe car lift, so I haven’tbeen involved while Ihelped with the rebuild.My wife, Carola, and I didattend the 2008 PorscheParade 2008, our first one.My hope was to bring my993 to the concours that Ientered. The car was notfinished, so all I could dowas bring blow-up picturesthat I had on display. Thatwas a disappointment, butwe did not let that spoil the

great time we had doing the wine tour and seeing all ofthe great cars and people. I especially enjoyed seeing thecars on display at the convention center.

You host an annual picnic? Can you tell us howthat got started and describe the last one? About sixyears ago, I tagged along with my oldest son, Jacob, whowas 16 at the time and a Honda owner, to a local HondaBBQ at Lake Fairfax. It was a very enjoyable event, meet-ing many people and enjoying cars. I decided to host aBBQ at my house for BMW M5 owners. Last summerwas my 5th annual M5 BBQ. I have had as many asthirty-two M5’s attending. After I acquired my Porsche, Istarted the Porsche annual BBQ three summers ago. Thislast summer’s BBQ was to be the coming out event formy repaired car. However, the car was not finished. The

Rear window wiper delete,new glass, motor removedHID headlight modAll new light lensesLED replacement in third

taillight by meStainless-steel brake linesRS shift rod couplingMO30 suspensionH&R springs and sway barsClear-film paint protection

(Venture Shield) applied byDonny Warren of ProShield,Sterling, Va.Interior modifications:Leather work by The 928

Leather Shop and installed byAutocrafterLeather-covered dashLeather-covered rear shelfAlcantara headlinerNew carpeting, kit by

GAHH, installed by Au-tocrafterCustom-mounted sub-

woofer speakers in rear seatarea, by me and AutocrafterDAS bolt-in roll bar, coated

with truck bed liner materialAlpine CDA-9886 head

unit, MP3/iPod/USB/XM radioSafe & Sound, Manassas, Va.Audison Rx5 power ampli-

fier, Focal Polykevlar 6.5”component front speakers,Phoenix Gold Tantrum 4 x 6”coaxial rear speakers, and JLAudio 8W3 8” subwooferspeakers, all from Rod BurchCustom short shifterTechment shift knob and e-

brake handle

Left: The 993’s interiorfeatures an aluminumpedal set and aftermarketshift knob and handbrakelever plus an extensiveand upgraded sound sys-tem.

Below left: The K&N airfilter element is containedin a custom-made (byBockelmann) housing.The expanded mesh hegot from an onlinesource; the “bottom” ofthe air cleaner is from acamp cookware pot thathe cut and applied thegrey finish. He completedit with a Porschecrest.


highlight was when Robert (of Autocrafter) drove my carup to my BBQ. The car was brought from Manassas in atrailer, freshly painted, no doors, no bumpers, no win-dows, and no interior. Each year the BBQs get bigger andbetter. I also started a Ferrari BBQ that brings out a num-ber of cars and more great people. I will be setting thedates soon for the 2009 BBQ.

What was on your wish list – Porsche related —for Christmas? It was to get my car finished and out ofthe body shop. And I did get my wish on Dec. 23, 2008.

Can you recommend helpful and /or interestingwebsites and/or books for fellow Porsche owners? Ifollow Rennlist’s 993 forums mostly, screen name‘mr_bock’. Pelican Tech Forum has been helpful.Books that have been a good read include:Porsche 911 Perfection by Design, by Randy LeffingwellPorsche 911 Performance Handbook, by Bruce Ander-

sonGoing Faster, by Skip Barber

Porsche High-Performance Driving Handbook, by VicElford

Porsche 993 Essential Companion, by Adrian Streather(My car is shown in the supercharged section)

Additional items. I love to domost of my ownmain-tenance and repairs. My house came with multiplegarages. The large upper garage (we can squeeze in fourcars if necessary) is finished off and is fine for showingoff my cars. The lower garage is set up as a workshop.This is where the lift is (low ceiling), and I can get mytruck up enough to do a brake job. I have a welding areawith stick, MIG and oxy-acetylene. Also a large chambergrit blaster, maple wood topped worktables, storageshelves, and 220-volt air compressor with air linesplumbed along one wall with air taps. For tools, I havetwin stainless steel roll-around toolboxes. I do spendquite a lot of time in my garages!!!!My wife has gotten the Porsche bug, and we are start-

ing to look for a 993 convertible for her. Perhaps au-tocross and some track time may be a couples event.

Aluminum Ultimate PedalsGT Sport steering wheelCustom console extension

for chrome fire extinguisherby me and AutocrafterEngine-bay modifications:TPC supercharger, matched

ports, welds finished, yellowirridite finish by me; installedby Euroquip, St. Charles, Ill.Dyno and map tweaking by

TPC: 322.5 rwhp, torque280.4 lb.-ft. at 5,700 rpmFan painted body colorLarge K&N air filterCustom hand-made stain-

less-steel air-filter housingModified OEM mufflers,

Stage III by FisterD (Darrin onRennlist, 993 forum)FVD stainless-steel exhaust

tips

Above and right: The custom mount for the fire extin-guisher (seen at right) was made by Bockelmann(above) using corrogated cardboard for a mockup ad-vancing to carved MDF, which was then covered inmatching upholstery by Robert Appel. The rollbar,right, was covered in truck bed liner material.

Top: Cars lined up on the lawn for his annual BBQ.


Reviewed by Pete Kauffmanfor der Vorgänger

The Essential Companion is not a technical manual, but anyone whothrives on things technical will be interested in the content. While thebook does not have systematic directions for maintenance tasks, it hasenough information to assist anyone interested in working on the car.

The Essential Companion is also written so the non-technical per-son, like me, can understand not only various tasks, but can also un-derstand the engineering and design that were the underpinnings ofthe development of the 996.

One of the most interesting partsof The Essential Companion is thechapter about why Porsche movedfrom air-cooled to water-cooled en-gines. According to Streather, the air-cooled engines were at the end oftheir useful life. The air-cooled en-gine’s demise could be attributed tonew and more stringent emissionsregulations and to new noise, fuel ef-ficiency and fuel recovery systems.

The 996 was a completely new design and little was retained fromthe previous model, the 993. The chief designers of the 996, Pinky Laiand Harm Lagaay, started from scratch. The result was a car that wasmore powerful, lighter, faster, handled better, was simpler, easier andless expensive to maintain.One other benefit derived from the new 996 design was the creation

of one of Porsche’s most successful normally aspirated 911-based rac-ing cars, the GT3.The book is filled with photos and lots of history. The chapter on

the model year’s summaries provides detailed information about all996 models by production year. There is also detailed informationabout the genesis of limited production models such as the GT-2.Steather writes that he considers the GT-2 the first true productionPorsche to have supercar status.The chapter on engines gave Steather an opportunity to provide in-

sight into the development of and problems associated with the en-gines used for the 996. The author admits there is no doubt the initialforay into new engine technology was not as successful as it could havebeen. He noted that the problems associated with the new technologywere expensive to repair, but that only 200 warranty claims were madein 1999 for catastrophic engine failures.Steather writes that the 996 engines did have problems such as rear

main seal (RMS) leaks, intermediate shaft bearing failure, oil-to-coolantintermixing and stress cracks. Porsche was not able to fix the RMSproblem until 2005, writes Streather, when a new seal was used. Al-though RMS leaks can be repaired, the leaks often recurred, writesStreather. The repair became expensive for Porsche when they decidedin 1999 to replace engines to keep the problem from repeating. The au-thor claims the problem was so minor that driving around with RMSwas not a major issue as long as it didn’t get worse and the owner mon-itored oil levels.If there’s a weakness, it is information overload. The book would be

a good one to read for anyone with a 996, as it provides insight intothe design, engineering, development and real world use of this model.

• • •Editor’s note: Adrian Streather has written several books about Porsches,

chiefly among them: Porsche 911 Enthusiast’s Companion: Carrera 2,Carrera 4 and Turbo 1989-1994; Porsche 993 Essential Companion;and Porsche 911SC Essential Companion.

Book reviewPorsche 996 The EssentialCompanion: Super Porscheby Adrian StreatherISBN-13: 9781845840969List price: $99.95, al-though available for con-siderably less.

A book for 996 owners


Help Potomac build membershipJoin the club in a membership drive to increase our club’s numbersYou can help our region

grow. Photocopy this pageto include the PCA appli-

cation below. Make a fewcopies and keep them ineach of your cars. When

you see a Porsche ownerhand them the flyers andinvite them to join, or leave

the flyer on the wind-shield. We are currentlythe second largest region

in PCA. Help your club tobecome No. 1.

Member perksWhen you become a

PCAmember, you becomea member of the largest in-dependent, single-marqueclub in the world. It’s onlyfitting that you get a fewperks, right? For starters,you will receive a subscrip-tion to Panorama, PCA’smonthly magazine. Youwill also have access tothese additional benefits:Discounts from many

local and national mer-chants, including fiveD.C.-area Porsche dealers,for Porsche related prod-ucts, parts and services.(This is worth the cost ofmembership alone.)Technical publications:

Up-Fixin der Porsche (11volumes reprinting alltechnical articles to appearin Panorama).Tech Committee avail-

able to answer your ques-tions.Valuation committee to

help you establish thevalue of your Porsche forinsurance purposes.Access to specialized

insurance for Porsches thatare second autos/pleasureonly/limited use.Nationwide PCA Club

racing program; modeledon vintage racing rules.Annual national con-

vention (Porsche Paradegathers in a different loca-tion each year. Over 600Porsches and 1,500 folks.)Group tours (PCA Tref-

fen®) to Europe and thePorsche factory.

Membership eligibilityMembership is open to

all Porsche owners, co-owners or lessees, who are18 years or age or older.


By Chas Rannellsfor der Vorgänger

From the time I was 14 years old, I have had a fasci-nation with sports cars. For years, while raising our fam-ily, my wife, Chris and I purchased practical vehicles. InJuly 2003, however, after 32 years of marriage, we cameclose to divorce when I informed Chris that I was the suc-cessful bidder of my first Porsche, a 1999 Boxster. It wasquiet when I left home that morning to catchmy flight toAustin, Texas to take possession of my new sports car. Tothis day, when I tell the story of my Porsche purchase,Chris gives me that look that only a wife can give a hus-band.Recently, my older brother, Bob, stopped by to visit.

He had a bag in his hand and an excited smile on hisface, just like those I remember somany Christmasmorn-ings ago. Bob was always the one to wake me at 5:00a.m. on Christmas morning and say “Let’s go wakeMom& Dad so we can see what Santa brought us.” Bob al-ways brought the same level of excitement to his manyhobbies. Whatever his current hobby was, it was on hismind 24/7. He ate, slept and breathed his hobby.From 1955 to 1959 we lived in Southern California.

Our next door neighbor, Ed Lockmar, owned a Porsche.When Bob expressed an interest in Ed’s car, Ed took Bobunder his wing and sparked additional enthusiasm bytaking him to the 1959 Riverside Grand Prix. Bob be-

came an instant Porsche enthusiast.In January 1960, our family moved to Germany and,

once there, Bob and I became involved in go-kart racing.Bob received his driver’s license in 1960 and expandedhis sports car interest by joining the Frankfurt Auto Sports

Fraternal memories of PorschesLooking back on decades of involvement with cars and the love of the marque

Family photos

Chas and Chris Rannells with their ‘99 Boxster, left, with friends Rachel LeSuer and John LeSuer and their ’95 911, right, at SnowShoe, W.Va.

Bob Rannells aboard hisHarley Davidson on Sky-line Drive.


and Touring Club (FAST). He made friends with otherlike-minded sports car enthusiasts who had Aston Mar-tins, BMWs, Porsches and Ferraris. Bob was driving aVolkswagen. That did not dampen his spirits though; hethrew himself into club activities.

Before long, he wasparticipating in club ral-lies and gymkhanas. Ashis younger brother, Iwas sometimes in-cluded. Once, Bobdrove the Volkswagenin a club rally and hisfriend, Bill Thomp-son, and I served asnavigators.We won!We received overallhonors and evengot a trophy. NowI got excited. Thiswas fun!During the three

years we lived in Germany, Bobattended many more club rallys, gymkhanas and

hill climbs. I tagged along on many of those occasions.Bob also attended a total of three races at Nurburgring, in-cluding the 1961 German Grand Prix along with hisfriend, Bill Thompson and me. The course was almost23 kilometers in length with over 70 turns, many ofwhich were banked. Nurburgring is a great course forspectators, offering great vantage points throughout itsentire length.Bob was able to use his FAST membership card to

admit us into the pits. Once in the pits, we were able tomove around freely to see the cars and drivers. On that

day, Bob even assisted Jack Brabhamwith changing a tireprior to the race. Stirling Moss won the race that day.At the conclusion of the race, as we were preparing to

leave, we heard someone say “there’s Fangio,” one of themost successful Formula 1 drivers of all time, who wasthen retired. We rushed to see him. Bob pulled out hisFAST membership card and asked Fangio for his auto-graph.To this day, that autograph is one of Bob’s prized pos-

sessions. To top off a perfect day, we purchased a tokenand drove a lap around Nurburgring just prior to head-ing home to Frankfurt via the autobahn.

“So Bob, what’s in the bag?” I asked. From his bag,Bob pulled out a racing program from the 1961 GermanGrand Prix held on Aug. 6, 1961, and, with a big grin, heopened it to the section that showed the pictures and bi-ographies of the drivers. Before us were pictures and au-tographs of Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, BruceMcLaren,Maurice Trintignant, Innes Ireland, Jimmy Clark, GrahamHill, John Surtees, Joakim Bonnier, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill,Hans Herman and Tony Brooks.In their careers, these Grand Prix drivers had collec-

tively amassed 14 Grand PrixWorld Championships and120 Grand Prix victories. In addition, Jimmy Clark wonthe Indianapolis 500 in 1965, Graham Hill won it in1966 and Dan Gurney came in second in that race in1968 and 1969.While Stirling Moss never won a World Champi-

onship, he came in second four years in a row from 1955to 1958. These autographs are priceless mementoes of ayoung boy’s excitement over sports cars almost 50 yearsago.After graduation from high school in 1962, Bob at-

tempted to land a job with the Porsche factory but re-ceived a nice letter telling him they preferred to hire fromwithin the Porsche family.In the early 1970s, Bob took an interest in four wheel-

ing when he purchased a Toyota Land Cruiser. He im-mediately joined the local four-wheeling club and was offagain participating in club events. Bob even tried his handat racing dune buggies, co-driving in the 1973Mint 400.While Bob and his co-driver, Kenneth Pobloske, fin-

ished the race 19th out of 119 starters, the race was wonthat day by Parnelli Jones, winner of the 1963 Indi-anapolis 500.Bob was also introduced that day to the Mears broth-

ers, Rick and Roger, who were into off-road racing in theearly 1970s. Rick Mears switched over to Formula 1 rac-ing. He won the Indianapolis 500 a total of four times, in1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991.After many years of working and raising his family, at

age 64, a grandfather and now retired, Bob has once againtaken up motor sports. He has acquired a Harley David-son motorcycle. On a beautiful day, you can now findBob and his wife, Melanie, enjoying their Harley whilecruising the country roads of West Virginia.As I occasionally try to convince my wife that it is in

my DNA to own a Porsche and think it would be niceone day to trade my Boxster for a 911, I still get that lookthat says “you better not do it.”So, after many years of raising our family, myself now

at age 62, also a grandfather and semi-retired, on a beau-tiful day, you can see Chris and me also “cruising” thecountry roads of West Virginia with our good Porschebuddies and fellow PCA, Potomac Founders’ Regionmembers, John and Rachel LeSuer.

• • •Chas Rannells of Harpers Ferry, W.Va. has been a PCA

member for five years. Chas is a certified public accountantand shareholder with Swart, Lalande & Associates, PC, lo-cated in Fairfax, Va. Chas currently drives a 1999 PorscheBoxster and says he has never had so much fun driving sinceowning his Boxster. He hopes to be able to find time to partic-ipate in future club events and meet other PCA members.

Bob Rannells’ FASTmembership card auto-graphed (upper right) byJuan Manuel Fangio, theFormula 1 great.

Two car plaques from BobRannells’ associationswith the Frankfort AutoSports and Touring Club.


Potomac enjoyed itsnew meeting site at theIrish Inn in Glen Echo,Md. for our monthly third-Saturday-of-the-monthbrunch. The Inn accom-modated the crowd with aprivate room (top photo),and the gathering was fol-lowed by a tour throughthe countryside (right andbelow) for club memberswho wished to enjoy adrive on the nice, sunnyday.

Marylandmonthly b’fast


Social: Janet Gresh, Sheri von Breisen [email protected]: OPEN [email protected] 2 Rep: Jim Becker [email protected]: Michael Johnson, Pete Kauffman [email protected]

derVorgängerEditor: Richard Curtis [email protected]: Kermit Kidwell [email protected]: Michael Langshaw [email protected]

Model ExpertsCayenne: OPEN [email protected] & 912: Tim Berardelli [email protected] (older): George Whitmore [email protected], C2, & C4: Roger Bratter [email protected] (‘95-’98 911): OPEN [email protected] (Boxster): Geoff Thompson [email protected] & 914/6: Ray Plewacki [email protected] & 968: Ivan Arzola [email protected]: John Brown [email protected]: John Lewis [email protected]

Contact information for PCA Potomac Founder’s Region officers and chairsFounders’ Region officersPresident: Tuffy von Briesen [email protected] president: Dick Seltzer [email protected]: Bruce Dobbs [email protected]: John Magistro [email protected] president: Tony Kelly [email protected]

Drivers’ EducationDrivers’ Ed: Alan Herod [email protected]: Charlie Clark [email protected]: Skip Close [email protected] coordinators: Doug Nickel, Eric Stratton [email protected]

Chief instructors: Ralf Bruckner, Dirk Dekker [email protected]

Tech co-chairs: Andy Clements, Kevin Oyler [email protected]: Tony Pagonis [email protected] ‘n Dine: John Eberhardt [email protected] Race: Kevin Oyler, Starla Phelps: [email protected] Ron Davis, Mike Sarli [email protected]: George Whitmore [email protected] officer: Todd Daubert [email protected]: Janet Gresh [email protected]: John Magistro [email protected] relations: Scott Mayster [email protected] service: Scott Mayster [email protected]: Gary Brindle [email protected]: Craig Bond [email protected]

Lap-top needed: The auto cross program is need of a lap-top com-puter. If you can donate a working computer please contact Tony Pago-nis @ [email protected] .

dV on the Internetder Vorgänger is on the web under "About Us." If you are not being

mailed your dV please go to www.pca.org and update your profile to giveus your current address.

Offered at $995,000RE/MAX 100

Office: (800) 493-4545


New location for Md. b’fastWe are trying a new location and format for the third-

Saturday-of-the-month breakfast in Maryland on Satur-day, March 21.We are going to have a Third Saturday Brunch at the

Irish Inn in Glen Echo, MD at 11AM on Saturday. Wewill have a private room upstairs, so just head upstairs.We will also have free American LeMans Series postersavailable.The Irish Inn is at 6119 Tulane Ave in Glen Echo,

Md., just off of MacArthur Blvd., and can be easily ac-cessed from I-495 at the Clara Barton Parkway exit southtowardWashington, and then theWashington/Glen Echoexit off the parkway. From the Glen Echo exit, make a leftat the stop sign onto MacArthur Blvd. northbound, andthe Irish Inn is immediately on your left. There is parkingin front and behind the inn, and there is additional park-ing up the road in front of Glen Echo Park.The Irish Inn website is

http://www.irishusa.com/irishinn/and their phone number is (301) 229-6600

First rally of 2009 setRally season will be on us soon.We have four rallys on

the calendar for 2009.The first will be the Great Grape Es-cape Rally on Saturday, May 2.The rally route covers about 84 miles, starting at the

Manassas (Va.) Battlefield Visitor’s Center and ending atBarrel Oak Winery near Marshall, Va.The route passes several vineyards—sorry, no sam-

ples on route—and on some delightful roads. We willstart at 12:30 p.m. to have everyone finish by 4:00 p.m.at the winery, where participants will be served wine andsnacks.A rally questionnaire will consist of answers and

mileage for each observation. Registration is $30 per car.You can also do a wine tasting and tour as you like. Con-tact [email protected] for more information. It willalso be posted on the Web site.This is the same date as the May breakfast in Virginia,

so come to the breakfast, and we will have a group driveover to the start line and tour the visitors center at thebattlefield before the Rally. To register send your name,navigator’s name, model of car and insurance companyto [email protected].

— GaryBrindle, rallychair and JimPugh, rally co-ordinator

MICHAEL ALLEN LANGSHAW FINE ARTAUTOMOTIVE – PORTRAITS – ABSTRACTS

www.artworkbymal.com Ph. 831-236-0422


Photos and storyby Matt De Mariafor der Vorgänger

While it is useful for theBoxster owner to have ac-cess to the engine com-partment, there is not thatmuch to be done on a lightdo-it-yourself basis. Open-ing up the engine com-partment takes a little timeand is strictly sequentialand procedural; but it isnot an insurmountableproject.This article will show

you how to gain access tothe Boxster engine in orderto perform amajor mainte-nance:

1 2

3 4

How to access a Boxster engine


To begin, first set theparking brake and unlockthe top latch (Photo 1).Then open the top 4inches (Photo 2).

Disconnect the lower ballsocket that tensions theback window (Photo 3).

Release the upholsterycurtain from the back wall(Photos 4 and 5).

Fold the top forward untilyou feel it engage themain section. Be carefulto fold the window gentlyso that there are noabrupt creases in the plas-tic (Photo 6).

Remove the clip from thepivot hinge for the backdeck. This is to enable thedeck to be swung forwardout of the way. (Put ablanket across the back ofthe car to preventscratches.) (Photos 7and 8)

56

7

8


Swing the back deck for-ward out of the way andlock it with a locally madetool (Photos 9 and 10).

Remove the accessorydeck by releasing the plas-tic tube fasteners. Simplyunscrew them a quarter-turn counterclockwise(Photos 11 and 12).

Remove two remainingplastic retainers in orderto lift the carpeting abovethe metal engine cover(Photos 13 and 14).

The metal engine coverwill be exposed and fivemetal fasteners will haveto be unlocked in thesame fashion that theplastic fasteners were(Photo 15).

Remove the tray; the topof the engine can now beseen (Photo 16).

Move both seats forwardto gain access to the frontof the engine. Four plasticspade nuts have to be un-screwed in order to re-move the upholsterypanel in front of the en-gine (Photos 17 and 18).

The front engine panel isexposed (Photo 19).

Remove 8 bolts and 2nuts to allow the cover tobe removed (Photo 20).

• • •Matt De Maria, an engi-

neer who left the govern-ment and started StuttgartPerformance Engineering in1970, currently owns aSpeedster and an early 911.He has owned about adozen other Porsches overthe years.

9 10

11 12

1413


15 16

17 18

1920


Name: Bob HopkinsOccupation: Manager for a family owned painting

company. I’ve worked at the White House, and I haveworked at Blue Plains. I usually work in my office,though.

Hometown: Glen Arm, Md.—right by Loch RavenDam.

Porsche(s) currently owned: 1986 911 Carreracoupe purchased in the spring of 2007.

Previous Porsches: Some Hot Wheels and slot carsuntil my sons got a hold of them.

Like best about your current Porsche: To drive it atits limit, you need to learn what it wants. You have to playby its rules. I have seen it written that the secret hand-shake of an older Porsche is “flick, lift, mash” meaningturn in, breathe off the gas to get the car to rotate andthen give it some throttle to control the rotation.

Like least? The 915 transaxle is no fun in stop-and-go traffic.Modifications, if any: The OEM shift knobwas split, so I put on a swell carbon-fiber one. I also havelaminated stainless-steel brake lines, and I run a track padduring DE events. Before I owned the car, turbo tie-rodends and Bilstein sport shocks were installed. Also theride height is about 1˝ lower than normal. I fear thatmodifying the car beyond what it is now would dilutethe special challenge it has now.

If you could change three things about your fa-vorite Porsche, what would they be? My favorite

Porsche is the 997 GT3 with the ceramic brake packageI was able to drive at Thunderbolt. I would like to changethe name on that car’s title to my name. I would like itto park in my garage instead of where it now resides. Iwould like it to weigh 2,300 lbs.

How long a PCAmember? Since the spring of 2007In which Potomac events (DE, autocross, con-

cours, Drive ’n Dine, Rally, breakfasts, social) haveyou participated?I have attended HPDC events and DE events. I have

felt very welcome because of the warm reception I havereceived at these events.At my 1st DE event, I was even awarded a nice tire

pressure gauge as a door prize. The variety of cars at theseevents is fantastic, and I really enjoy meeting the peoplethat are out to play with their cars in ways that would becriminal on the street. I also have attended a Drive ’nDine that was held in Baltimore County shortly after Ipurchased my car. I learned some new roads and had agreat time scooting along, before the masses hit thestreets, in a convoy of like-minded drivers. I have also at-tended a Tech event. I was very impressed with enthusi-asm of all the members. Members really want to helpeach other find problems and help them with the solu-tions. I believe that the online community associated withthe PCA provides an unbelievable service for the do-it-yourselfer with members offering helps, advice, tools andlots of humor.

An enthusiast’s profile

“Enjoys people out to play with their cars”

Right: Hopkins partic-pates in a skid pad exer-cise. Often during DEweekends, he can foundat one of Summit Point(W.Va.) Raceway’s skidpads helping others getthe most out of their car’ssetup.

Below: Hopkins has at-tended one tech sessionat IMA Motorsports latelast year. Tech InspectorFrank Stone gives himsome advice on his 911.


Readers andtheir carsTysons Corner’s Chutz-pah Deli was the site ofthe March 7 Virginiabreakfast meeting. Thewarm weather broughtout a lot of beautiful cars,including Ted Speck’s ‘731.7 liter 914, above. He’sowned the car since1972; it’s one of four914s he’s owned alto-gether. He’s explaining toLee Hamilton, right, thatthe car has only 44,000miles.

The Guard’s Red 1987 911 Turbo has been owned byAnnandale’s Lewis Clemente for 18 years. He bought itwith 8,000 miles on it; it now has 45,000.

Realton Mat Cuter, of Waterford, Va., drove his 1999996 cabriolet (with a hardtop!). Mat bought the car inOctober 2008.

Above: Fairfax’s Claude Imbt drove his cherry 2006Boxster S. Claude has owned the car for four years anddriven it 31,000 miles.

Above right: Ian Schultz, left, of Reston looks overGary Brindle’s 1979 911 with a ‘72 engine taken out to2.8 liters. Gary is from Nokesville, Va.


Photo by Michael Madrids

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