The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car known for its performance and distinctive design. The 1974 version had some important updates to make it safer and more modern.
The Porsche 928 is a type of luxury sports car made by Porsche. It is known for being comfortable and powerful, with a design that sets it apart from other sports cars.
When a car is 'lowered', it means the body of the car is closer to the ground. This can make the car look better and help it handle better when driving.
When someone says a car is 'stock', it means it hasn't been changed or modified from how it was when it was first sold. It's in its original condition.
The Porsche Carrera is a popular sports car known for its speed and style. It's part of the Porsche family and is loved by car enthusiasts.
Car
Porsche SC
The Porsche SC is another version of the Porsche 911, known for being sporty and stylish. It was made in the late 1970s and early 1980s and is a favorite among collectors.
The G50 is a specific kind of manual gearbox used in some Porsche cars. It's known for being easy to shift and reliable, making it popular among car enthusiasts.
The 915 is another type of manual gearbox used in older Porsche cars. It's known for having a unique feel when driving, which some people really enjoy, even if it's not as smooth as newer models.
Car
Porsche 915
The Porsche 915 is a type of manual transmission used in some older Porsche cars. It's known for how it feels when you shift gears, and many drivers enjoy its unique characteristics.
Synchros are parts in a car's manual transmission that help the gears fit together smoothly when you change gears. They make shifting easier and prevent damage to the transmission.
The Chevrolet Camaro is a sporty car that looks cool and goes really fast. It's been around since the 1960s and is popular among people who love driving and want something exciting. People often talk about it because it's a fun car to drive and has a lot of power.
Carrera is a name used by Porsche for some of their faster and sportier versions of the 911. It means those cars usually have more power and better features.
Car
Porsche 930
The Porsche 930 is a special version of the 911 that has a turbocharger, which helps it go faster. It's a classic sports car that many enthusiasts love.
Car
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4
The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 is a fast sports car that is designed for performance. It's known for being very fun to drive, especially on racetracks.
GT4 is a special version of the Porsche Cayman sports car that is designed for better performance. It has more power and better handling, making it more fun to drive.
The 993 is another version of the Porsche 911 that was made in the mid to late 90s and is loved by fans for its classic design and performance.
Term
964
The 964 is a version of the Porsche 911 that was made in the late 80s and early 90s, featuring some new updates and improvements.
LIVE
Welcome to Porsche Pattern with Bracken Helms, the show where we hear Bracken and his distinguished
guests from the Porsche community patter on about Porsches and all things automotive.
Porsche Pattern is sponsored by Circuit 6-4.
Circuit 6-4 creates authentic automotive apparel made for like-minded automotive enthusiasts.
The links for Circuit 6-4 are in the shown notes.
Okay, let's get to it.
Patterning on with Bill Helms, part five.
All right, here's another filler episode with my dad.
All right, what do we talk about in this one?
Oh, we start out with 1974, 911.
And I just barely bought the car, so I was maybe overexcited, which tells you how old this
was that I interviewed him, because I've now had that car for a while.
And during this, when I'm talking to him, I don't even think I'd taken delivery.
I think it was still in his house in Utah.
But we kind of touch on like what made the 74 different than the 75, 76, and 77.
A lot of people lump it in with the 75, 76, and 77, even though it is virtually the same
thing, it just didn't have those thermal reactors and stuff like that.
Also, I don't want you to be confused.
At the very start of the interview, I say to my dad that the 74 has got more like
long-hooded.
This does my car.
You're probably thinking, well, you're talking about the 74, like it's your car.
What do you mean?
Well, I meant the 85 Carrera.
Then I asked him what he thought about the 914.
I did the typical question, SC or Carrera, 915 versus G50.
What he thought about water cools, what he liked about water cools.
He brings up the 928, and he's talking about it like, oh, it was put together so much
nicer than the other cars.
The 911 and the 928 were put together so much better than a 944, 924.
He says that, but I think he prefers a 944 over a 928.
I could be wrong, but my brother's bonkers for the 80s.
He just loves everything 80s, so he wants to buy a 928, or he has for a while, and my dad's
always trying to, well, if you're into 80s, why not buy a 944?
Why not buy a 944 turbo, whatever?
I think he actually prefers the 944, even though he recognized how great a car the
920 was and how much money and stuff they spent putting into it.
How many years pattering on with Bill Helms, part five?
Growing up, it's like, we always got the vibe around the house that, oh, god, the 75, 76
and 77s weren't the best cars, but it was always like, the 74 wasn't a long hood, but
we always knew that the 74 was a good car because that was before the emissions.
People lumped the 74 in with kind of the G body, like it's an SC or it's a Carrera.
The 74's got a lot more long hood in it than my car.
Oh, absolutely.
And everybody back then, we all knew the 74 was a great car, but they were sought out.
They were really nice cars, and they were really dependable.
Anybody that had one of those, it was day and night.
The nightmare began, unfortunately, in 75 with the thermal reactors and the cars
running really warm, but that happened for BMW, too.
You know, and people like 914s, people like the 73 and the 74, 914,
because it was before the mission.
But you go back to the TII and the BMWs.
BMW was having their problems with the emissions stuff, too.
So everybody likes to get that sweet spot right before 75.
There were better cars.
I've been driving your 74 lately because it's the house with the SC there, too.
And it's really fun to drive as quick.
It's light. It rides good.
It's enjoyable for me.
I mean, that SC is just so much more a car.
But that 74, that 74 is a fun little car.
It's just a great little car.
And it's kind of in between, you know, the old long-headed.
All of a sudden, you've got your little bumpers, and you've got the seats.
It was the first year, and you've got the first year of the 2.7.
But the 74, people just kind of forget how special it was.
And I know people have cleaned up the 5.6 and 7 with the thermal reactors
off and done some stuff and made that car work, too.
I like the look of the 74, 75, 76, 77.
I remember the first time I saw those bumpers.
I was in Sun Valley, Idaho, and I walked out of a restaurant
and there was one sitting there, a new one. It was a new 74.
And I had to walk around that car for I spent 20 minutes or half hour
because the owner didn't come out.
So I was just really looking that car over.
And I adapted really quick.
I liked the car.
I had your friend come over to my house and he saw the SC sitting there
and he saw the 74 sitting there.
And I saw him going back for and he liked the classic look of that 74.
Yeah, I talked to him shortly after he stopped by there
because you left your phone in his car.
But I was in awe when he told me, oh, I like yours better.
And I'm like, better than what? Better than my dad's a scene.
He says, yeah, he's like, I like that classic look.
And I'm like, my dad's car is so much better looking than the 74, in my opinion.
I was really surprised because the SC is dialed in.
It's got sevens and eights on it.
It's lower, just right.
And the 74 is totally stock.
It hasn't been lowered yet.
I mean, that front ends way up too high.
It needs to come.
It still needs to be lowered. Not a lot.
I don't like Targas wheel, though, but the car needs to be lowered.
It's just sitting there completely stock.
Looks not goofy to me because it's very classic looking,
but it's going to be a different car once the mechanic gets to it.
And we get it lowered in a couple of things.
But yeah, he was all over that car.
And I can see, I mean, I really like to look at that car, too,
because I was I was full blown by getting those cars new, too.
I mean, I was that's when I started.
I mean, I was buying and selling those when, you know,
they were a little more low mile new cars.
Did you do very many 914s? I did it.
You know, I did a few 914s.
But, you know, when you could do a 911 and run it down there,
which was more unique and it was much more fun to drive from Salt Lake City
to the Los Angeles because in 914, you know,
after that second one I drove down there, it was almost Uncle.
That was a long drive, even in my 20s.
That was a pretty stiff ride.
I mean, that was you're going down there in a go cart.
And I remember getting that like Las Vegas and saying, Uncle,
so why not come back?
I like the 911 better.
It was more fun for me to drive.
I can make more money at it.
It was easier to sell.
It wasn't very complicated.
Plus, I enjoy driving the cars so much more.
I mean, I've just 911 was just always a sweet spot for me.
It's really like gotten steam lately.
And so I have asked you, maybe you haven't been in one in a while.
Like maybe you kind of forgot because like a lot of people
are really starting to rave about them now.
And I told you to go out and drive one.
Yeah, I've driven a couple of them.
You know, they're a great car for what they were.
They were when you're a 911 guy, it's hard to go to 914
because the 911 was the flagship
and it was just such a beautifully hand-built car.
Their heart and soul was in the 911.
The 914 is just a much more austere, simple car.
It's a nice car.
It's fun to drive.
I like the gearbox.
I mean, it feels like a go cart.
I like that little the engine sitting in behind.
But, you know, my soft spot was always a 911.
Two or three years ago, I was at like just a local PCA concourse.
This guy said to me, he's at a concourse
and we're talking about his 914.
He's like, yeah, I mean, when I first bought this car,
it was a pain in the ass, even to be at shows like this.
And I'm like, what do you mean?
He's like, and I don't know if he was full of it,
but he said a 914 wasn't allowed in PCA.
They didn't know if they wanted to consider a 914 a Porsche
that I think now, and it's like, don't allow anything.
There's there's no limit to it.
I mean, you could have a base SUV.
I'm kind of talking out loud because you you're not a PCA guy.
But it's just weird to me that like they were so particular about
not allowing the 914 because that's not a real Porsche.
And there's all this like, that's not a real Porsche.
This is a real Porsche.
Yeah, I don't know.
Like you say, that's not my world.
And to me, a Porsche is a sports car.
That's just why that's where I'm at.
Porsche is a sports car.
Air cool versus water cool.
Obviously, we pretty much have some next subject.
OK, PDK or manual manual.
And I do love I love the newer cars.
They're amazing cars.
I love I love all Porsches and the design.
They're absolutely gorgeous.
I still like riding, you know, I just I'm 71 years old.
And I just started 21.
I just love those old.
Favorite air cooled.
Probably an 83 SCC coupe would be in this.
And it's just because, you know, I've got a story behind it.
The market was a little bit slow.
And I had an 83 SCC coupe with seven or eight thousand miles.
And I had an 84 Carrera coupe and they were both red.
And I remember it was winter time.
And, you know, back in the day, you didn't sell a car in a week.
Sometimes it took three or four or five months to sell a car,
even the right car.
They just easy to flip when I was trying to retail them then.
I drive the Carrera one day.
I drive the SC the next day because I worked every day.
And I had a 50 mile commute, Salt Lake and back at least.
And I'd get back and forth in the car.
So it was really unique for me to have this experience.
And I remember that I like that SC more.
I could feel the three fifty six in the SC.
I couldn't feel the three fifty six in the Carrera.
I couldn't feel it. I couldn't.
And so that that 83 SC, you know, it's just because it was
the last of an of a nice run and I always loved the coupe.
That's probably my car.
I always said the three three liter sounds like a three twenty seven.
And the Carrera sounds like a three forty eight.
It was just more harsh and more bulk.
But most people would say the best car would be the Carrera car.
I actually really love both cars a lot.
But I like the car before the G fifty for me.
I just I just like the personality of a nine fifteen transmission.
It's just it's quirky, which is where I'm going with that next question.
It's I always ask this question because I feel like, you know,
not all these journalists are like not all of them know what they're talking about.
And you there just seems to be a craze in every magazine.
Oh, but does that have the G fifty?
Oh, but does that have the G fifty?
And that's I'm not saying that people don't have their preferences,
but this whole throwing the nine fifteen under the bus is crazy.
So what would you say nine fifteen versus 15 when I when I hear people it's funny.
You know, when I hear people say that they're fragile or they're delicate,
I've never rebuilt a nine fifteen motor.
I've only been doing this since I was 21.
I've never I don't ever remember shopping a car to another dealer.
And I've sold hundreds of cars.
I don't ever remember and ask me about the transmission.
They might have said back in the day.
How's the synchros because the first gear synchro in a nine fifteen,
if you're a bad driver, can go a little bit.
And the second gear has got a personality on its own.
But that's because someone didn't want to drive it or didn't replace the clutch.
They're a great transmission.
But the thing is there's there's a wonderful feel about them.
And they're they're they're all different.
You're seventy four drives different than my eighty two.
Your career nine fifty, they're all a little bit different,
whether it's short shift or you've left them alone.
Even a nine fiftieth never been touch has a little bit different personality.
And there's a feel to it.
G fifty for me and feel just a little bit more like a Camaro.
It's more like a slot transmission.
It's a nice transmission.
It's really it just does not have the feel.
And you drive in a nine eleven for feel
because they're not the fastest car in the world.
It's a feeling.
And the people I'm talking to are experts.
I'm not talking to idiots.
And a lot of people are just like it's a non issue
or they have a preference for the nine fifteen.
I don't people that really know aren't like, oh, got to be a G fifty.
The only person I've ever talked to that was gung-ho on the G fifty was
your friend, Michael Wilhoit.
And that's all because he's a sales guy.
Oh, I can get more for him.
He says, and I think that's how he answered it.
I can get more for a G fifty.
And he can't because that's what everybody's belief is.
Right. Well, that's you can now.
That's not going to be true later.
And you'll have this on.
Go back to this recording.
That won't be true later.
People are going to want because you buy nine eleven for feel.
And the G fifty is a wonderful transmission, but so was the nine fifteen.
And mechanically, they were both good transmissions.
So let's go.
G fifties had problems, too.
That wasn't just a bulletproof transmission.
It had a little bit of issues.
The nine fifteen and G fifty are great transmissions.
The conversations about the G fifty came in the last ten years where
somebody's decided that they want to talk about and how much better it is.
But you ask any of the old boys.
I've never heard one of them say they'd rather drive the G fifty, not one of them.
Another argument I got or someone was telling me just this last lit show.
This guy's telling me about all these old nine eleven.
He's had and he's talking forever.
But he brought up the fact that like I prefer the nine fifteen cars
because they're lighter and I'm like, is it really?
Can you really feel that?
And he's like, I've driven so many of these cars.
I've got a few of them at home.
I prefer the nine fifteen.
It drives lighter like that's interesting.
I've never heard that.
That might be true.
I never noticed it.
Yeah. And you know, when the G fifty came out, no one ever talked about it.
Not one of my friends, not the mechanics, not the dealer.
No, we never, ever, ever discussed.
We did discuss the Carrera had better tensioners.
We did discuss that the fuel injection in the three point two was better.
No one ever talked about the G fifty.
This is all something that's talked about now.
But old timers would probably pick the nine fifteen.
Speaking of like you going out and picking a car,
you always picked the normal like Carrera.
You never picked the turbo.
They wore you out.
I if we were meeting some people or I was going to show
the turbo was such a gorgeous car and so much.
I mean, it's just an awesome car.
But even in my late twenties, it was too much.
I wasn't going to drive it.
My commute was fifty, sixty miles.
And so for me to drive that saw like a back.
I'd be worn out by the time I got back that four speed.
And it was it was just a massive car.
The whole car, it was a monster.
It was an awesome car.
I think that kind of rubbed off on me.
I mean, the fenders are great and it feels cool going down the road.
But like it just seems a lot more of a feel car, more of a fun car
to have like the narrow narrower body.
Because you when we were looking for my car,
you shot me a nice nine thirty and I shot down that turbo.
I mean, that was four grand more.
Right. I mean, think about it now.
And how much more nine thirties worth?
But that's what I wanted.
You you ran a by me.
You said I can get you a nine thirty, a nice car.
And I said, no, I want.
And by far, you made the right choice
because this is a much more fun car to drive.
Favorite water cooled.
Probably GT four.
I like it. I like the way I like the feel of the Camons.
What do you like about the water cooled cars?
You know, they've gotten really, really dependable.
They're smooth. They're quiet.
They handle unbelievable, beautiful.
They're a little bit big for me.
I like a smaller car, but they're a wonderful car.
And I really, really like the nine ninety one.
I thought the nine ninety one was
that's my favorite nine eleven water cooled.
Which vehicle would you buy at the Porsche dealership
if you had to go buy a brand new one today?
Well, I wouldn't use the word had to
because that'd be pretty fun to buy at the Porsche any time.
GT four.
What models we kind of already went through this.
What model series Porsche is your favorite?
But, you know, I love the nine twenty eight.
I love so many. I mean, I've did so many nine twenty eights too.
I mean, the nine twenty eight was a very expensive car.
People forget how expensive that car was.
There was good reason they put a lot of money and effort in that car.
I mean, everything was finished.
The nine eleven and nine twenty eight are just awesomely built cars.
And they're far above the the other cars
like the nine twenty four and the nine forty four
just because they spent they cost so much more money.
And I've liked a lot of different models, but I am a nine eleven guy.
But I meant like series like nine six four nine nine three.
It's obviously going to be a C.
Yeah, it's going to be the G cars for a lot of different reasons.
I I like the nine six nine six four a lot,
but there were more issues. I'm more contemporary.
I was the one selling them.
I was the one where the clutch went out, which was a surprise.
The air conditioners, they had various problems
that people don't talk about because they're all loving and driving.
But nine sixty four, there were a bit of issues and that oil leaking problem
was just it was a nightmare to buy and sell.
It was difficult.
Thanks for joining us for today's episode.
If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, comment, like and share with your friends.
Feel free to send questions or suggestions to the email in the description of the show.
Special thanks to our sponsor, Circuit Six Four.
Goodbye for now.
We hope we can get together again for our next episode.
Now get out there and enjoy the cars and the people.
About this episode
Bracken Helms chats with his father Bill about the nuances of the 1974 Porsche 911, exploring its differences from the subsequent models and its unique place in Porsche history. They discuss the appeal of the 914, the merits of air-cooled versus water-cooled Porsches, and the ongoing debate between the 915 and G50 transmissions. Bill shares personal anecdotes from his experiences with various models, highlighting the charm of the 911 and the craftsmanship of the 928. Their conversation blends nostalgia with technical insights, making it a rich discussion for Porsche enthusiasts.
