Parade 2012 was pretty challenging for myself and my wife. You've read about some of the problems we faced, so I will omit some of the details.

The drive from the South Bay to Salt Lake was not the most fun thing I've ever done. Triple-digit temps, no air conditioning, completely empty and isolated landscapes, and a car that I don't completely trust add up to an exhausting and stressful trip. A washcloth soaked with ice water (and the cooler with the ice in it, and the flat of water bottles) were life savers--I could not have made it without them.

Luckily the wife was in her 911, not my 914, and did have A/C that worked.

Oil temps stayed under 230, except one higher-speed run up near Reno, where they got up to about 240 before I slowed us down again. I experienced vapor lock on the first day, which was solved dumping a little water in the engine bay and jumpering the fuel pump relay.

The second day, I lost second gear. Nowhere to be found, not even with the engine off. We continued without it.

I was unable to locate a known good transmission in SLC, so I bailed out of the autocross. AutoX without 2nd gear is just not any fun in a 914. The wife also bailed because (in part) of the weather; high temps were about 103 degrees, and the temps at the autoX site were even higher. Her car had also developed a hiccup and she wasn't quite sure she trusted it any more.

I volunteered at the rally, which was the easiest rally I have yet worked. I also volunteered at the autoX, which was absurdly hot. I got to witness a 911 dump half its oil on the track and help clean it up. I also got to witness the zoomy cars run, including Tom Provasi in the "Orange Crate". He set TTOD with his last run, but did not wait the specified 5 minutes between runs so that run was disallowed. Some 911 GT2 or GT3 wound up with the official TTOD instead.

I did well at the tech quiz, winning the 914 class pretty handily. They have changed the scoring so that the class results emphasize the model-specific questions more, and the overall results emphasize the general questions more. In the overall results, I lost to my fellow LPR member Larry Sharp.

Since the wife and I no longer trusted our cars, we contracted with a shipper to bring them home and used frequent flyer miles to get ourselves home. The cars were dropped off at a local Target store earlier today, and of course we got home on Sunday.

The irony: When we drove the cars out of the basement parking lot on Saturday afternoon to where they would be picked up on Sunday, my car had all of its gears and the wife's 911 ran with no hiccups. (Of course, the 914 did develop a fuel leak, so it's good we didn't try to drive home.)

I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with the transmission yet. It drove home from the drop-off site just fine, except of course for the fuel smell.

Hopefully Clay will stop by and tell you his experience. It's a pretty good story!!

--DD

Wow! Dave your much braver than I. Waay too hot for me. But was it fun?

Sorry to hear you had so much trouble with both cars. Glad you both made the best of the event and did fly home. Always like to hear/ read about other people's experiences and how they adjust/handle them. Hope the cars are ok.

Steve Hurt

OK.. Betty and I had fun at Parade...Once we got past Tuesday.

Friday... Leave for Parade at 6 am. We are running up with some of the Maverick region members. Joel Nannis, in his 1999 911 breaks the water pump shaft in Electra Texas and has it towed to Fort Worth for repair at Autobhan Porsche. Betty's 914 decides to eat a rod bearing in Dalhart Texas at about 4 in the afternoon. Even though it is not out of Texas, it is 8 hours down the road from home. So Travis Howard (Thoward914) drives me to Dumas, Texas so we can rent a U-Haul truck and car trailer to get us home.

Sat. 2AM. We arrive back home.
Sat. 7AM. I am up, in the garage disassembling the spare engine so I can replace the Pistons, cylinders, and rings because it has 2 broken piston rings.
Sat. 10 AM. I call in a favor, and get the parts necessary to fix Betty's car.

Sat. Midnight. We dropped the motor, and replaced it with the fixed (not rebuilt) engine off the engine stand. It is now a 2.0 with 1.8 injection on it.

Sun. 9:30 AM. After a test drive and gassing up Betty's 914, we take off for Salt Lake City for the second time.

Sun. 8 PM. We arrive in Colorado City, Colorado. We were beat, and stayed the night there.

Mon. 6 AM. We are back on the road for SLC.

Mon. Approximately 11AM. We go over Monarch Pass in Colorado.

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Mon. Afternoon. Somewhere after Grand Junction,Colorado the engine mounted oil cooler springs a leak. Not the seals, the cooler itself. We feed the engine 4 quarts of oil before we reach Salt Lake City.

Tue. 7AM. I get under the car and diagnose the oil cooler leak. We start making phone calls and a request here to see if anyone can help.

Tue. 11AM we find that aircooled.net has a new oil cooler and seals, and they are local. So we get a cab and take it across town to aircooled.net, buy the oil cooler, and have the same cab take us to Little America, the parade hotel.

Tue. 1PM We go through late registration at the hotel, then take another cab to our hotel.

Tue. 2PM. I start working on the car to change the oil cooler.

Tue. 6PM. I finish up the oil cooler change. It's too late to make tech at the AX, so I call the AX chair and get him to allow me to tech the car at the AX in the morning.

Tue. 7AM. We arrive at the AX, and I get the car tech done. It passes. We work corners until noon.

Tue. 4PM. The AX is over for our run group.

Parade AX Results.

I have won P2 with a wounded 914. But that is not the best part. There was an attempt at a protest in our group, but the protesters withdrew the protest 2 minutes before the time ran out.

Our run group had a Father/Son team running a 924. They protested the fact that Betty was listed in the "Men's" class. It seems that when she registered, she deliberately did not check the Ladies class check box on the entry form. So she was grouped with the men. Well, she won 3rd place, and beat the guys in the 924. They dropped the protest when they realized that if they Protested, Betty would be bumped to Ladies, and it would put the P2 group under the number of people to trophy 3 deep, so they wouldn't get a trophy anyway. And the AX chair asked her if she wanted to run the Mens or Ladies class, and of course she said the Mens class.

So, for the first time in the history of PCA Parade, a woman was allowed to run in, and trophy in, the Mens class. Apparently there are a number of Ladies that have been fighting that rule for years, and this will make it easier next year.

I am more proud of that than I am for my 1st in P2, and the first time I ever beat Betty at an AX in 26 years.

After that, we were able to make the gimmick rally and the tours, and even drove the road to Bridal Veil Falls on our own before the worker party on Saturday.

Other than a slight detonation problem, the car ran all the way home with no issues. Just the typical 914 oil drips.

Yea, I know a lot of you don't see the value in PCA membership. But one trip to Parade, and you would have a changed view. Taking a 38 year old, tired engine in one of the most inexpensive, entry level cars Porsche ever built and Spanking Cayennes and Panamericas on the AX course makes it worth it. And everyone coming by and commenting on how nice the car is helps. We didn't find one judgmental comment from anyone because we drove a 914. Just a lot of awe that we drove to Parade in it.

So... how about we plan a 914 invasion of Parade in Traverse City, Michigan for next year? I would love to see the reactions to the Alien, or 911 Turbo powered 914 /6 conversion, or any of the other six conversions we are so proud of.

C'mon.. Let's show them that the 914 IS a real Porsche! If Betty and I can pull off this last trip, at least y'all could try to show up!

That was a 22 hour trip they made, each way, folks. And evidently the car was packed just about as full as it is possible to be packed.

Their saga makes my troubles seem kind of inconsequential. (Though at least they have AC!)

Congrats to Clay for the class win, and to Betty for the precedent-setting third place!!

If I go to Michigan next year, it won't be driving a 914. I'm not going to drive through the NV desert again.

However, 2014 will evidently be in Monterey....

--DD

Pussy ...... We didn't use the ac going home. ;-)

Congrats, Clay and Betty!

It's not the heat, I dealt with that OK. It's the fact that there is NOTHING out there. No services, no place to stop, no shade, no nothing.

Some pics shortly.

--DD

Up in the Sierras, stopped for one of the many amazing views. And to let the cars cool or rest a bit.

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Got a little warm in places--

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What passes for a "rest stop" in NV:

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Definitely getting warm:

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Utah does rest stops much better:

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And they have interesting things at their stops:

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Wow. Just... Wow. Epic. Congrats all around from start to finish, but especially to Betty for literally changing the rules!

Concours was at the state capitol building

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I think they gave me the wrong Parade number....

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They even let Cayennes run the autoX:

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Do you really think that west Texas is any better? Miles and Miles of nothing....

The speed yellow spyder is one of my customers down here in San Antonio. I also AX with him monthly. Good people.

I wish PCA would move the parade to the fall or spring. I was at the one in Tampa a few years ago and it was hot.

Besides vapor locking twice on the way, this was the hi temp thru the CA / NV desert on the way to Ouray, CO for RRC 2011 ... finally cooled to 210 about St. George, UT.



I hate the freakin' desert!!!!

That's a low voltage reading....you have your foot on the brake?

My oil cooler fan is running. May be grounds, may be inaccurate gauge .. gauge never read correctly.

912 6 ....what that be?

It would be a 912 converted to a flat six which is what it was in the beginning anyway ... a 911

ah...so that would make my car a 914 3 at the current moment.

Nope ... 914 1/2 6

and WET!

I think they do it in the summer so people can schedule their family vacations around it. It does seem to go Coast to Coast with very little in the Middle

I had the same experience driving my Chevy van across the Nevada desert when the AC compressor went bad. It was so crazy hot there was no way to get cool. And with the windows down (which they had to be) you were in a convection oven just roasting the entire way. No fun.

You need to put the oil cooler attached to the underside of the engine lid and put a fan on it. That "system" worked great on my car before I went with the front cooler.

But why not put the oil cooler up front. I think the long lines also help to dissipate the heat.

The cooler is not in the engine bay because I did not want to heat the air in there any more than it already is.

The cooler is not up front because I did not want to cut any body panels.

I made the decision to put the cooler under the rear trunk floor about ten or fifteen years ago. That was when I bought the cooler, t-stat, adapter, and some of the fittings. I have not changed my mind about my reasons since then.

--DD

I kinda like this idea. If I can ever squirrel enough vacation away (read: in a coupla years) I will invade a major PCA event with an O'Brien built 914 RS.

I'm planning on getting there next year!

Them old blue hairs have seen it all! there hard to impress..Glad i didnt go because of the heat ,but wish i would have and taken home the in P06 class.Ive beat the winning 75 911 before,and ive beat the best in the business before during the Colorado parade.and have the hardware to prove it..all do respect to Mr Terry Zaccone he`s one hell of a driver and has won Parade AX like 27 times or some crazy # close to that ...Dang Michagin is a long haul ...dont think I`ll make that one either but maybe ..ya never know

Zaccone will drive Marcel to Michigan next year. With the top off, of course.

--DD

I`m sure she`s getten close to 500k on the ODO...great car with a great owner..and teacher. he tought me well or i should say I got some really good advice from him every time i met him.. and even he was surprized when i showed him my time tickit...on the last run ..GOTCHA PAL

I was just hoping someone from here would come contest me for the P2 class win next year.

I dont remember is P2 ..prepaired 2.5 and over?.. it`s been a few years

P2 is Production 2. Basically stock cars.

There is also showroom stock for new cars, Improved, and Modified. A car is progressed first into Improved, then into Modified based on the modifications outlined in the PCRs.

If you want to see the whole rules, they are here.

From the Parade competition rules:

P01: 356, All; 912/912E, All
P02: 914/4, All; 924, All
P03: 924S 2.5,All; 924 Turbo (931),All; 944,All; 944S,All
P04: 944 Turbo (951), All; 944S2, All; 968, All; 928, All
P05: 911 (1965-1971), All; 914/6, All
P06: 911 (1972-1977), All
P07: 911SC (1978-1983), All
P08: 911 Carrera 3.2 (1984-1989), All; 911 Speedster
(1989)
P09: 911 Carrera 2 (964:1990-1994) and Carrera 4
(964:1989-1994), All; American Roadster, All; RS
America (1993-1994),All; 911 Carrera (993),All;
911 Turbo (1976-1989), All
P10: 911 Carrera (996), All except Turbo/GT2/GT3;
997 (2005-On), All except 997S/Turbo/GT2/GT3;
911 Carrera (991:2012-On), All except 991S; 911
Turbo (965 & 993:1990-1998), All
P11: 911 Carrera (997S:2005-On), All; 997
GTS/Speedster (2010-On), All; 991S (2012-On),
All; 911 Turbo (996: 2001-2005) except 996 GT2,
All; Boxster Spyder (2010-On), All; Cayman R
(2011-On), All
P12: 911 Carrera 996/997 GT2 (2002-On), All;
996/997 GT3 (2004-On), All; 911 Turbo
(997:2006-On), All; Carrera GT (980:2004-
2005), All
P13: Boxster (986:1997-2004), All
P14: Boxster S (986:2000-2004), All; Boxster
(987:2005-On), All; Cayman (2006-On), All
P15: Boxster S (987:2005-On), All; Cayman S (2006 –
On), All
P16: Cayenne, All; Panamera, All

Nice diaries, guys. Thanks!

Traverse City is a must. The sweet cherries will be just coming in and it'll be cool temp-wise, but the last week of June is historically the best week of the summer (I've studied such things). Reserve time to drive the forests/orchards/rolling hills of the western lower peninsula.

- Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes
- Petoskey/Leland/Lenewee County
- Mackinac Bridge/Mackinac Island
- Golf Gaylord
- I could go on like the energizer bunny

If somehow I can make it, I promise to lead an ex-po-tition to the coolest secret road around...
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going a little over
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yup that brings it back i was in P06 in Colorado because there where only 4 cars in p05 and p06 so they combined them ..something like that....911 guys dont like that at all when we are bumped into there class hahahah

Yea, it has a tendency to piss off 911 drivers when you beat them with a smaller, cheaper, lower horsepower car....... ;-)

There was a quote from Parade 04 in Fort Worth, after they announced the TTOD for the AX (which happened to go to a 914/6).

Question from the audience (referring to the 914): "What do you feed that thing?"

Answer from the owner of the 914/6: "911s"

Classic

The Provasi-mobile ("the Orange Crate", a 914-6 with an IMSA history) had TToD on his last run by over a half-second, but that time got thrown out under a protest from the next-fastest car. (Some form of 911, GT2 or GT3 I think.) He didn't wait the specified 5 minutes between runs, because they cycled the cars through quickly enough that he still had two runs at the end.

Oh well!

--DD