I think he had forgotten all about that when I called yesterday and asked if that evening would be good. "Not a problem" he said...
Some 914's are legendary because they were factory six cars or dealer GT kit installs. This one will be legendary because of the care and planning and careful engineering that has gone into it. That and it is freakin' beautiful.
I am talking about Paul Sayegh's 3.6 conversion that many may have read about in Excellence. The car is probably a heartbeat from done but of course, the magazine articles follow the progress so you haven't seen the finish yet.
The car is a beautiful - flawless black. Black doesn't forgive imperfection and that is not a problem here. The valences flow into the GT flares perfectly. The polished wheels are the only thing that isn't pure liquid black.
The engine looks like it was born there. Everything is as if it were engineered by Porsche to be right where it is.
The interior has subtle updates but if you aren't looking for it you might not catch on. Heated GT look seats for one. The one thing that caught my eye was a smallish light at the bottom of one of the North Hollywood reworked gauges. It was a check engine light for gosh sakes! That is the kind of detail I am talking about here. It wasn't on by the way...
Paul took me for a ride in the cool night air. We practically crawled out of his neighborhood. Once we got to the curvy road that turns out onto the main road Paul snapped open the throttle. Oh my God doesn't quite describe what it feels like to have that 3.6 rocket you forward. Then he took a few turns. Very flat, very well behaved. The car is as quiet in fifth gear as a Boxster... It would get no complaint from the wine and cheese crowd.
A few cars come to mind that have been projects that turned legend. The "Black Beauty" 911 that was in Excellence comes to mind. Believe me, once you see this one in person or the coming articles on the conclusion of it's build you will know what I mean...
Nicely done Paul...
and without pictures!
