I've had numerous people who've seen my car tell me that I should concours the car and even take it to Parade in the preservation class. Most of you know I'm new to 914's and am not a big show guy but as I think about it it might be fun to "represent" at Parade. I don't really care that much if I do well but I think it would be great fun to share the car with others who attend, learn more about it, and see some really clean 914's.

My question is this; I'm really not inclined to do the 6 hour drive in my car. Are there private guys with a truck and trailer who do this sort of thing? Thought about taking my '68 f100 and renting a U-haul auto transport but lately my '68 doesn't get that much time on the road these days either and I can see getting stranded with both.

Of course I could contract with a national carrier but I suspect that it would likely be more expensive and would be hard to get confirmed shipping dates that coincide with Parade?

Anyone know of a private individual who might haul my 914 from Atlanta to French Lick and back? Other ideas?

Appreciate any help you can provide. Just might be fun to do this if I can figure out the transport thing.

Steve

I can't help on the transportation angle, but certainly would recommend attending the Parade and doing the Concours. It's good for the car to get a good cleaning, and even if it's driven to the Parade, you can show it with pride.

After Eric Shea drove his 914-6 cross country to go to Amelia Island, you're commute would be much shorter in comparison. The only issue may be in getting housing as I understand the main hotels are filled already with waiting lists.

I don't mean to rain on your parade or anything, and every year is different, but last year's Parade saw only one 914 entered in the Preservation class ... a '74 LE Bumblebee. I talked to Steve, the owner, and he was pretty disappointed ... a hollow victory is how he described it.

The point I'm making is that you may want to consider entering a class that has more entrants.

The following is just my opinion.

Having a professional hauler tow you there & back will be pretty expensive. If you decide this make sure they are insured & check them out as best you can. If something goes bad it is usually a horror story for the owner. Besides, then you still have to make the drive in something, why not a cool car?

If you think your car will make it then drive it. I have a lot of fun driving to the events & home. That's what these cars are designed to do, road trips. If it is the six hours that's scaring you break it up. Find a destination about halfway & stop over for 2 hours sight seeing & lunch.

Concours, not my thing but that's just me. I have friends who love it. When I'm at a show I'm almost never around my car. There is just to many other cars to see & people to talk to. I can see my car anytime I want. I can't imagine being at a parade & being stuck by my car for hours just so somebody can pick it apart.

You can represent 914s just by being there whether you show it or not.

Wow that is disappointing. Not sure what other group would be appropriate. Preparation? As mentioned, I'm not so focused on winning. Was really looking more forward to supporting the preservation of these cars and learning from others interested in it. From your description it could be a very small group conversation! Wonder why there are not more interested in that.

Thanks for the info. I'll give this some thought.

Steve

Thanks, George. I agree. I don't want to become a concours junkie but doing it once to twice seems like a good experience.

Steve

Check out your local PCA. You might be able to hitch a ride in someone's trailer. Also check out your local shows. Don't know about your town but in Seattle there's tons of shows to go to.

Thanks, Billy. Yeah, I'm going to start by doing the Peachstate PCA concours in May. They don't do a preservation class so I'll likely just do the regular full concours. I've asked some people in the Peachstate about others going to French Lick but have not heard anything yet.

steve

I've been checking this week on the expense to move a 914-6 from the west coast to Atlanta and for this trip, the going price for an open carry on a regular car transporter is about $900-1000. To go with an enclosed transporter (still carrying 8 or so cars), its about $1400. If you want to check with a broker for transport, Dependable Auto Transport and Door to Door are two companies I have checked with.

Another option might be to call around to some of the Atlanta area high end or collector car/hot rod shops and see if they have references for companies who will haul one car at a time, enclosed.

BTW, nice car. Sounds like we need to coordinate a meeting of Atlanta teeners with a PCA event.

Thanks. Yeah, I've shipped quite a few cars and it has always has ended up being $1,000-$1,800 depending on distance and type of carrier. Just not willing to do that just to show my car. I do have feelers out for people with a single car trailer who may transport for a fee.

Did you buy a six? That was my first choice but found my 2.0 first and not disappointed. Would love to get a group together in Atlanta. The May PCA concours is coming up or we could just do a cars and coffee thing. Caffeine and Octane is one good choice or we could just do our own.

Steve

At this point in time you would need to see if you can even registrar for parade or if it’s sold out. In preservation class you get additional points for driving the car to Parade. Get a copy of the rule book and read the criteria for the preservation class.

To be honest I entered a car show as an excuse to get together with some lower NY/NJ guys a couple of years ago and I had a blast driving there. Anyone in the northeast will tell you a 6 hour drive in my car is normal if I want to see 914 gatherings. At one show we had no place to put our food so like any good 914 guy we used my car as the table. It's all about how you look at it. Like others for me the drive is better then trailerilng. Just my .03

Andy

Yeah Andy, I see your point. Problem is that I get drawn to these very original cars and then just can't bear to treat them as a regular driver. What I need is another 914 to drive!. It takes all types of people and I've learned over the years that what I enjoy is getting great examples and preserving and sharing them with others. It is a bit of a sickness but I accept it.

In the next few months I'll start a thread in the O&H section. My car is not quite up to the quality of Steve's Sahara beige '73 but at twice the mileage its surprisingly similar in my view.

I admire those who drive the hell out of their cars. vicarious enjoyment for me. Keep it up.

Steve

I recall an old saying about driving vintage cars. It goes something like: It's akin to marrying a young model and hardly touching her. Are saving her for the next guy's pleasure?

The again, driving 6 or 7 hours in these cars down an interstate ain't much fun for me, so borrowing a truck and pulling a trailer is viable, but that kinda sucks too.
I agree with Andy that it all depends on how much fun you'll have at your destination.

Yes Len the quote I've heard is that having a garage queen is like dating a supermodel but not having sex with her because you're saving her for the next guy. When I heard that for the first time I realized it was a perfect description.

Concours is great for some, others not so much. Same goes for autocross or track. We're lucky that we have a choice. Preservation is different than preparation or restoration. My car won overall Preservation in 1996. It was the first year of this category. It came down to my 914 with 30 or 40K miles (can't remember) and a 912E with less than 100 miles. Obviously the 912E was gaga museum quality. My 914 was driven out to the Parade (16 hours), had been on the track two weeks prior and was autocrosses several times that same year before Parade. I was just happy to be on the lawn (it is the best parking spot). Mine was preserved well but used as intended. Since 96 one other 914 has won overall.

If you can, I'd recommend driving it. The first question people will ask when they see your plate is if you drove or towed it.

btw, you don't have to stand by car your car all day. You can get a good idea when your time to be judged is and that allows you to walk around. Most competitors stand by their car cleaning until the call is given to put down all cleaning tools.

The year I won, I had no intention of getting a trophy. Being there was good enough for me. So the overall was a huge surprise. Someone asked at registration how I was going to fit that big trophy in my car if I won. I remember laughing it off.

btw, it fits nicely in the front trunk.

Steve, if you tow & since your F150 is getting long in the tooth - then you might want to rent a crew-cab pick-up from Enterprise Truck Rental (we do that so far to tow our vintage Avion trailer to events/rallies), & the car trailer from U-Haul. Enterprise's trucks are a step up from the base U-Haul ones & better on long trips. Also it's Ent. Truck Rental you'll need to use, cuz their car rental side has trucks but you cannot tow with them.

That way you can travel in Crew Cab style with lots of interior space & the 914 in tow, & then can do the local driving portion inside IN or closer to the event site in the 914 on road if you want, or on the way home after judging is over. It's actually more common for the preservation class cars to be trailered in.

Your 914 is a preservation car, so I think that's where you'd want to be, even if there aren't many other 914s (or any) & it just shows how hard that class is to compete effectively, if only one entered in that prior year. It shouldn't be thought of as a "hollow victory" just because nobody else was willing to take it on at the national level. Also, you never know how many cars you'll get in any class - cuz a few years back they had a dozen at the IL (or MI ?) Parade.

Also, you'll want to pick the year(s) to enter Parade, to be a reasonable drive/tow to them, & next year will be up in VT 2016, then probably out West somewhere next after 2016.

BTW - Manny is a loooong time Porsche guy & 914er (& past PCA President), even if he's a "Newbie" on here, so he is very knowledgeable too. So a good resource for these types of "how does Parade work" questions.

In the end - do what makes the best experience for you, but don't get scared off by naysayers, or the chance that the field in your class is small or one, because there is still the points score to compare to other years' Parade when a particular class (914s) has a bigger field of competitors.

And with good prep & luck you may get a bigger award over all of those "other P-cars" of the tail-dragging & front motor types too!

I say do it this year, & next year maybe also if not too long a drive for you up I-95!

PS - IIRC you still get the bonus points for driving part way, & the Enterprise trucks are all automatics so your wife (or other trip partner) can drive it the rest of the way, so make sure you have the extra driver on contract if you want to do that. It's about $1k for a week in a 3/4 ton Crew Cab Ford, Chevy or Dodge with their rental LDW insurance when I do it, but not sure how much for extra driver adds (my wife won't drive the big trucks anyway).

Cheers!
Tom
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