Porsche is a well-known German car brand that makes sports cars. The episode is basically talking about why Porsche fans connect the brand to racing (or why some people don’t).
The Audi Q5 is a luxury SUV. The hosts mention it to make a point: it’s comfortable, but it won’t feel as exciting as a sports car like a Porsche 911 when you’re driving fast.
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car from Porsche. In this story, it’s the “fun” car compared to the SUV, because it feels more exciting when you drive quickly.
The BMW 330Ci is a BMW 3 Series coupe. The hosts are talking about the dad shopping for BMWs and eventually ending up with quicker, more performance-oriented versions.
A rear spoiler is an aerodynamic add-on mounted at the back of a car to improve airflow and increase downforce. The episode notes that Europeans especially like the rear spoiler look on narrow-body Porsche 911s, tying style to the car’s classic silhouette.
Concept
narrow body cars
“Narrow body” means an older, slimmer-looking version of a Porsche 911. The hosts are saying European fans especially like how those cars look, including the rear spoiler.
A “wide body” means the car’s fenders are wider than normal. It usually lets you run wider tires and it changes the look. The speaker is saying people felt spoilers only made sense on the wider-looking cars.
“Carrera” is Porsche’s name for a sporty 911. The speaker is saying some Carreras originally came with a rear spoiler from the factory. Later, people stopped doing it, but now they’re putting spoilers back because it looks right.
“Lowered” means reducing ride height, typically by changing suspension settings or springs/coilovers. Lowering affects stance and how aero pieces (like a spoiler) visually sit relative to the body. The host suggests the car being lowered could “pull off” the spoiler look, even if they personally didn’t like it.
Term
sevens and eights
“Sevens and eights” is a way of talking about wheel width, like 7-inch and 8-inch wheels. Wider wheels usually help the car look more planted and can change how tires fit. The speaker is describing the specific wheel sizes they used.
“European tail lights” are taillights made for Europe, and they can look different from U.S. versions. People swap them onto older cars for the look. It can also affect how the lights function and whether they’re street-legal where you live.
The Porsche 911 Turbo is the high-performance, turbocharged version of the 911. In the conversation, they’re saying the rear spoiler looked best on the Turbo-style cars. They liked that look more than the spoiler on other body styles.
A deck lid is the rear door/panel that you open to access the trunk area. People replace them when restoring a car or when they want the car to look more original.
He’s basically saying he drove the car the way it was meant to be driven. Instead of babying it, he used the performance it has, and that’s what made it fun.
He’s saying it’s not just about how fast you’re going. It’s about how the car feels—how connected it makes you feel to the road and how confident it feels at speed.
He mentions a Honda Civic that comes up behind them. The idea is that even if the Civic is going the same speed, it doesn’t feel as exciting as the Porsche to the driver.
A test drive is a short, real-world drive you do before buying a car to evaluate how it behaves, how it feels at speed, and whether it matches your expectations. In this segment, it’s used to highlight differences in driving feel and smoothness.
They’re describing a driving style where you accelerate and shift smoothly instead of jerking or revving hard. The idea is that the car feels better and more controlled when you drive it calmly.
RPMs tell you how hard the engine is working. Higher RPMs usually mean more power, and the host is saying the driver kept it smooth by not revving too aggressively.
The BMW M3 is BMW’s older, iconic performance model. The host is explaining that BMW changed the naming/format and that the M4 replaced the M3’s two-door role.
Steering feel is how the steering wheel “talks back” when you turn—how smooth, heavy, or responsive it feels. They’re saying the 335 didn’t feel right compared to the 330.
The BMW 335 is a BMW 3 Series model that’s meant to be quicker than the basic versions. The podcast mentions it as a turbo model, which helps it accelerate strongly. It’s brought up because it was considered impressive when it first appeared.
The Cayman is a Porsche sports car. They’re mentioning it as the next step in the son’s car choices after the BMW.
Car
Volkswagen GTI
The Volkswagen GTI is a small sporty Volkswagen hatchback. Even though it’s not as expensive as an M4, the point they’re making is that it can feel more fun and more confidence-inspiring to drive.
When they say it “cornered so much better,” they mean the car feels more stable and easier to steer in turns. It’s about how confident the car feels when you’re driving through curves.
Car
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4
The Porsche Cayman GT4 is a more hardcore, sportier version of the Cayman. Here it’s part of a “two-car” setup, showing the owner liked both a small hot hatch and a serious Porsche before switching to an Audi.
The Audi RS5 Sportback is a fast Audi with a sporty look and a more practical hatchback-style rear. In this conversation, it’s the car they say they enjoyed driving more than the BMW M4.
“O9 Cayman S” appears to be a transcription error for a 2009 Porsche Cayman S. The Cayman S is Porsche’s mid-engine sports coupe, and the “S” typically indicates a higher-output trim. The speaker says they preferred this older Cayman S because it felt more raw, implying a more analog driving character than the newer car.
AutoWeek is an automotive magazine. The speaker says they used to read it for years and enjoyed the car articles. It’s part of how they stayed interested in cars.
Concept
selling it
The speaker describes a car hobby/business loop: finding a car, then selling it to “get it in the right home.” This is essentially the enthusiast “flip” or resale mindset, where the goal is matching the right car to the right owner rather than keeping it long-term. It also explains why they care about subjective feel and ownership experience, not just technical facts.
It means preparing the car before selling it—like cleaning it up and making sure it’s in good shape. The mentor is teaching the speaker how to do that so customers are confident in the purchase.
They’re talking about damage to the windshield, which is a big deal for safety and how the car looks. The story shows that sometimes problems like this are discovered before delivery and need to be handled as part of the deal.
“Targa” is a Porsche roof style where you can remove part of the roof. Because of that opening and the structure around it, repairs and bodywork need extra attention.
They’re describing how accident damage can be disguised. If someone repaints over trim pieces and moldings, it can make the car look “fixed” while the underlying damage or poor repair is still there.
They’re basically saying they bought a car without catching the problems, and it taught them a lesson. It’s a reminder to inspect a used car carefully so you don’t get stuck with someone else’s repair work.
They’re talking about negotiating the price of the car. When you buy a used car, it helps to think about the total amount you’ll actually pay, not just the sticker number.
Concept
Alpine Loop
An “Alpine Loop” is basically a scenic mountain road route. The host is saying their best drive happened on that kind of twisty, pretty drive when there were fewer cars.
They called a friend who runs a body shop to help figure out what was really going on with the car. It’s basically getting a second opinion from someone who knows cars.
Concept
big negotiations
They’re describing the tense bargaining part of buying a car. The advice is to stay composed so you don’t give away what you’re willing to pay too early.
“Edgy car” is a colloquial way to describe a vehicle that’s risky or difficult to own—often meaning unusual, temperamental, or not well-suited to the buyer’s experience. The underlying advice is to avoid cars that could create ongoing headaches (maintenance, reliability, or complexity) just to chase something exciting.
When a turbo “kicks in,” it means the engine starts making extra pressure (boost) and the car feels like it suddenly pulls harder. It’s most noticeable when you’re accelerating.
Concept
hang on as hard as I could while this car accelerated
They’re describing how they had to stay fully committed and steady because the car was pulling hard and fast. With a turbo, the speed increase can feel like it happens all at once.
When a turbo “comes on,” it’s when the turbo starts producing boost and the car suddenly feels much faster. If you’re not ready for that surge, it can feel intense and hard to control.
Concept
going 90 or 100, 110
The speaker is emphasizing speed—likely on a road course or spirited road—while describing the sensation of cornering at high velocity. The key takeaway is the combination of high speed and turbo power delivery, which increases perceived risk.
The “Z” is a sports car model line made by Nissan. It’s built to be fun to drive and is usually a coupe or roadster style. In the podcast, it’s referenced as one of the cars involved in a story.
They’re describing two drivers acting aggressively on the road—basically trying to goad each other into racing. It turns into a fast, tense moment, and then they both have to slow down again.
The Pantera is a famous Italian sports car. It’s known for being fast, and the speaker is saying it could really move—so it’s a good “speed test” in the story.
“Reeling him in” just means you slowly catch up to the other car. It’s about who’s pulling away and who’s closing the distance.
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 Circuits Explore.
Circuits Explore creates authentic automotive apparel made for life-minded automotive enthusiasts.
The links for Circuits Explore are in the shown notes.
Okay, let's get to it.
Okay, pattering on with Bill Helms, number seven.
This is the last one for filler episodes.
Although I may need to start when my dad comes and visits again, maybe record some more.
People really like the episodes with my dad.
I thought his story was good to tell.
I was a little bit hesitant about, oh, I tuned into this guy's podcast and he just introduced,
he just interviews his dad.
It's kind of weird.
I was a little bit fearful of that, but I was going to do it anyway, but yeah.
So last week I went down to the Long Beach Grand Prix.
As usual, I show up there and I didn't run into anybody I knew.
I ran into one person that I knew.
Yet you show up to your average car meet and you see five million people, you know.
No one likes racing.
Like Porsche isn't associated with racing at all.
Like, why would you want to go to a race?
What does Porsche have to do with racing?
I'm just lost on that, but moving on.
Okay.
So in this one, my dad kind of talks about things they did to the cars when they got them.
Oh, and then he mentioned the Q5.
I know you're probably thinking, what the hell does the Q5 have to do with anything?
But he's just kind of have to know my dad.
I mean, he sells his client's cars.
So yeah, he used to sell Porsches now they're buying their wives a Q5.
And so it's like, when he's just talking, he's just thinking of like cars that people buy
that they think are cool.
And I'm sure he likes a Q5.
He's just saying like, I'm cruising in my 911.
I'm having the time of my life.
If I was at this speed in the Q5, it would be boring as hell.
So when my dad was talking about the 330 CI that they were trying to get for my brother
and they ended up getting a 335, which led to an M4.
And then we talk about all the cars in between and stuff like that.
He's talking about the E46.
And then he did eventually get one.
You hear my dad talk about how he did eventually get like an 05 or something.
I think he sold it.
And I know he still, he still got that 87 325 IS.
I think it's 87.
Then my dad goes through the trials and tribulations he's gone through learning the business.
Then we end with a few fun stories.
Anyway, here's me pattering on with my dad part seven.
In Europe, they love the rear spoiler on those narrow body cars.
Right.
But nobody ever had the rear spoiler on here.
Like I remember growing up and just being like, it's illegal.
Unless you got like a wide body, you don't have a spoiler on.
And now all of a sudden the spoilers are starting to come back.
People are putting spoilers on it.
Yeah.
And I can see why they come back because they were original.
You know, your eight, your Carrera was original spoiler car.
But every one of those cars that I did, I never ordered and I ordered a lot of new cars.
I never ordered one with the front rear spoilers on a narrow body ever,
which the SC wasn't really a narrow body, but we just didn't do it.
What I did with that car is I put a front spoiler on it, lowered it,
and we put sevens and eights on the car.
And a lot of time we put European tail lights on it back in the day.
But that's basically what we did with that car.
I mean, I have the spoiler, but I run just the regular rear deck.
Right.
Right.
And you know, I think your car, because it's lowered and it could pull off that spoiler,
but we didn't like the look of it.
We liked the look of it on the turbo or the turbo look.
We were totally fine.
In fact, I sold a beautiful 80 anniversary to a guy, a wealthy guy.
And he said, yeah, I'll buy the car if you take the well tell off the back.
And this was seven, eight years ago.
It was a really nice 89 silver anniversary car.
And I found a deck lid, which you could do back in the day.
And we put it on and took the spoiler off and he loved it.
And he was totally happy.
But he said, I'm, he was too embarrassed to drive that narrow body with that spoiler.
But every time I got one and we took, if I was in charge, we took them off.
We just, it just didn't like the look.
It just didn't look quite right.
The barbecue pit in the back on a narrow body.
Yeah.
Favorite driving route.
Well, I have a beautiful place where I can ride right up the canyon.
It's two miles from my house and it goes over the Alpine loop and down into Sundance and Proven Canyon.
That's a beautiful road, but it's really tight and there's more, there's animals and stuff.
My favorite route is to go out around Utah Lake.
I have a big long straight away and rolling hills and goes around and then go around corners and you get to a little town.
And then you ride around the backside of Utah Lake and it's a, it's a 70th mile tour for me.
And I really enjoy because there's all elements of the ride.
And I like to get out and roll a car, not just go through corners.
I want to do a lot of different things.
I even like being on a freeway in an old 911.
I do.
I like getting out and getting it in fifth gear because there's a lot of room in a 911.
Even those whole, I, it's the other day I had to take a car to Salt Lake City and I was in the 82 SC.
And I was gotten, I got ready to get on the freeway and I started to get on and I said,
I'm going to drive my car today like I used to when I was a young man.
And I remember it turned up the radio a little bit and getting there and I had about a 30 mile roll.
And I drove that car the way it's capable of being driven.
And I had a ball driving at that.
And not too many people were getting by me.
I was rolling along and it was really fun just being on a freeway, making a compute on a cool day.
Well, I was on that lake road the other day with my son.
And I was in the Carrera and I was in the SC and he was in a 87 325 IS.
And we were rolling along on those rolling hills and we were probably going 90,
which is exciting in a 911 90 miles an hour.
You, you feel something.
It's, it's a feeling.
It's not the speed.
They're not that fast.
And then we had a Honda Civic come up from behind us and just act.
And he, and he rode with us.
He got in behind us and just rode with us and I was thinking, that's fun.
He's having a great time rolling with these two cars, but he's not feeling what I'm feeling because I felt like I was going fast.
It was exciting.
My car is lower.
It was exciting to be going 90 miles an hour in the 911.
I don't think it's exciting to go 90 miles an hour in a Q5.
I don't think that's exciting at all.
That's just, there's nothing, there's no feeling.
I'm excited to be in my car at 40 miles an hour, but I'm paying attention.
I've got my phone down and in those old 911s, even driving.
So I'll never forget one time going for a test drive on a car.
Larry Motland, I'm counting it strong.
He just fixed a car and I jumped in the passenger seat with it thinking, cause Larry wrote one road Atlanta.
He's, he's really a good driver.
And I'm thinking he's going to go out and run the car a little bit.
He would, he drove that car so smooth and so gentle.
I just looked at him and thought, wow, that's how you drive it.
I mean, it was amazing how smooth and nothing.
He just kind of rolled it up to maybe 38, 4,000 RPMs, kind of shifted it, stretched his legs, just a little bit shit.
I mean, nothing.
And it was so smooth and I, I don't know, that was a few years ago, but I never forgot that.
I thought that's how you drive this car too.
Just being in the cars and experience.
A lot of these cars are just, they've kind of lost their magic a little bit.
Like a good example is when Billy bought that M4.
I mean, it was the first, when they went from the M3 to the two door was now M4.
He was just one of the first people on the planet that had one.
And he got it and it was like, it was fast.
It did everything.
And I remember you just being like, I'm not really that impressed.
Well, it's funny as even before that, he wanted to get like a 330 CHP, he wanted to get a little coupe.
And back in the day, they were just so hot, you couldn't find one used.
And he, you know, being his father's a car dealer, we wanted to get a decent buy and we never could find one.
So we ended up ordering a new 335.
He got the, you know, he got one of the first 335 black on black manual coupe that came into Salt Lake.
It was a beautiful car and he was so excited to get it.
And I remember getting in the car and being in the passenger seat and going, uh-oh, something's wrong here.
This is not, this is not a 330.
This is not the same car as a 330.
And then driving the car and just going, oh my gosh, I could feel it in the steering.
I could feel it in the gearbox.
I mean, it was a beautiful car.
It was a turbo and it was fast.
Oh, when those 335s came out, they were the hardest thing.
Oh, the car was so quick, but the 330 was such a better car.
I just had no question.
Here we are today and my son drives an, oh, what is it, 05 330s VHP 4 door.
I mean, he went back to that car because, you know, that 335 wasn't this car.
But yeah, he, after the 335, I think he went to a Cayman.
He went to a new Cayman.
And he went to the Audi and then he came back and he bought a M4 beautiful car black with silver stone.
It was a pretty car manual.
But what I'm coming and it was a boat.
But the thing is the kind of where I'm going with this is the next car he got after that was the GTI.
And I remember you thinking, I'd like the GTI better.
And at first he was like, oh, no, no, no, no, no, this is just kind of a commuter.
Oh, no, no.
But after a while, like, I think if you ask him straight in his eye, he'll say, I really like that GTI better than I like my M4.
He loved, he did.
He went from, I think he still had the M4 or we had just sold the M4 and they went back to his job and bought that GTI Audubon manual,
which was an awesome car.
He absolutely loved that car.
And yeah, he told me he enjoyed driving that car much more than the M4.
It just cornered so much better and the feel was so much better.
I love that GTI.
You get that GTI out of first gear and that's amazing little car.
I mean, there's part of me that says like, that's crazy that someone would take a little Volkswagen and like it more than an M4 BMW,
but then the other side of me that like people that know are just be like, come on now,
are you really, are you really going to question a GTI just because it's cheap?
I mean, everybody knows GTIs are great.
Right.
Yeah, the GTI was a great little car.
And you know, he had that, he had the GTI and had the GT4 Cayman at the same time with those two manuals back and forth.
And he decided to get something completely different.
So he got rid of the GTI, kept the GT4 and bought that RS5 Sportback.
Totally different car again, totally different car.
Was it an RS5 or an RS6?
RS5 is RS5 Sportback.
And I really liked the RS5 Sportback.
I thought I liked that car, me much better to drive that car than the M4.
Nothing close, but that M4 didn't do anything for me at all.
I thought it felt like a refined muscle car to me.
That's what it felt like to me.
And that 330, you know, now he has that 330 ZHP and that car is so far superior to that 335 in my opinion,
in terms of feel and the steering and the gearbox.
I mean, that's an amazing car.
I mean, that's going back and going back.
But I really liked his O9 Cayman too.
I liked that O9 Cayman better than the new one.
I liked the feel of it.
It was more raw.
It was an O9 Cayman S and that was a fun car.
Well, I know you've had a lot of magazines.
Did you ever have like a favorite auto publication?
No, no, I never really did have a favorite one.
I took auto week for years and years and years.
I liked looking at the cars in the back and the article.
And that was really more for professional reasons than anything else.
And for me, I loved when you sent me a good article and I love reading good articles on all the porches and stuff.
So it's basically just an article.
But I've never been a head guy that knew all the facts and did that stuff.
I was more of going out and finding that car and then selling it.
That was really fun and get it in the right home.
I had a lot of fun doing that and still do.
I still enjoy doing that.
Okay.
Did you have any mentors?
I did.
I've had some mentors along the way.
Again, I was ice cream metallic.
I had no idea what I was going to do.
So the one partner I had, I had for a short time was Joel Murphy and he and I were together for about a year.
We're still really good friends.
He taught me how to get a car ready.
Like I said, I was down at my grandma's house with Pledge and he cleaned me up a little bit about how to get a car ready and stuff like that.
And just how to handle certain clients and stuff.
Because that's when he and I were going to LA and working with Beverly Hills Porsche Audi or Merlin O'Porsche Audi back then.
So Joel was really helpful for me in the beginning.
And then another good mentor who is just a wonderful, wonderful guy was the half owner of Merlin O'Porsche Audi and Encino.
His name was Han Scrotley.
He's just a wonderful guy.
He took me under his wings and taught me a lot of stuff.
I would buy cars all over the country from him.
And I remember sometimes rolling in there and windshield would be broken or something like that.
It's a, Billy, did that windshield break on the way down or was it broke before you bought the car?
And said it broke on the, I wouldn't lie to Han.
He said it broke on the way down.
It's okay.
And he would cover everything.
But it was fun because back in the day we would fly around the country and he would say, one of his guys with me, we go and look at the car.
And then back in the day we would drive those cars back to LA.
So Han Scrotley was a big influence for me.
And unfortunately he's not with us anymore.
Any apprehensions or fears when you got started on this path?
Well, boy, I got some fears quick.
I was, I was bulletproof full of myself after selling the first two or three cars and making money and not really making mistakes because there were 70, 71 T's.
There were just really easy cars like that 68.
And then I bought a 75 Targa.
It had been hit and I didn't, wasn't wise enough to see it had been hit.
He just, he painted the whole car and painted right over the, the moldings and stuff.
Oh my gosh.
And I got down to LA and I'm still young.
I'm 21, 22 years old.
I got down to LA and I was unprepared because I'd made a really a bad mistake.
And I had these guys coming over that these are LA people, firemen.
They do things.
All Porsche guys running together and they're just working me over on this car.
I mean, I don't know how I'm going to get rid of it.
I made a mistake.
I learned a lot on that and that created some fear.
And finally I just got lucky and I'll never forget.
I thought, I'm never going to sell this car.
I came over and I said, Hey, listen, you can have this car for 9,500 or 10,000 like that.
This guy looks at me.
I'll never forget.
He said, this car is way too nice for that.
I'm going to give you 11,000, a thousand more than I was asking.
And the rest of its history.
And after that I was, I had to be more cautious.
That was a serious education on one car.
I knew I had to be more aware of what had been painted, how it was painted.
And that's when my education began probably 21, 22 years old.
That was, and I had some fear.
That created some fear that, that stayed with me.
I was more cautious from that point on.
I wasn't thinking I could do anything.
I knew I couldn't.
I thought I got lucky.
A song you want to play while driving.
If it's out for cruise and I'm by myself, it's, it's just going to be my hippie mix.
So many different songs I love to hear, but it's going to be my hippie mix.
Best drive you've ever had.
That's probably through the Alpine Loop back in the day when it wasn't crowded.
And you leave my house, there's the mouth of Canyon in five minutes.
And I still do that.
I'll, I'll drive over the mountain.
I'll stop at Sundance.
I'll go hiking.
And that's really fun for me is to go hiking in my car and go hiking in the woods and then
come back and have my car sitting there, have something to eat and then drive home.
That's just something I really enjoy doing.
Um, embarrassing moment in the Porsche business.
I hope probably be more relevant.
I don't know.
There's, there's, I mean, oh, okay.
I bought a car in Salt Lake.
I had a couple of drinks in me and I was up at the main body shop, which I hung out a
little bit.
I bought a black 71 coupe and it had 911 S on the back.
And then on, in the, in the front, it was a 7, I said 911 S inside it too by the clubbox.
And, you know, I've been drinking it was late.
The guy rolled in there.
So I bought that car thinking I was buying a 71 S and you know, I'm pretty cocky at
that point.
I'm, I'm 20, 29, 30 years old, following myself and doing it now for 10 years.
Get up in the morning and so I walk out there and I go, you know, that car didn't seem
all that fast.
It seemed all fast.
And then I go lift up the hood and it wasn't red in there.
And I got to make the, I have to make the phone call.
And it's through my good friend Lane who owns Albuyan Body Shop.
I got a colleague guy and say, Hey, I'm not buying this car.
I thought it was an S.
I mean, cause he had the assemblums on it, but I should know better.
I know what I'm doing.
We worked it out, but that was, that was probably the most embarrassing thing I ever did.
If you got a redo in life, what would it be?
I'd have been on it.
I'd have been completely honest sooner.
Took me a while to, you know, you're in the car business or some wheeling dealing.
You're not really, you're just fudging a little bit here and there.
I'd have, I'd have, I'd have got that one.
I don't want to cut that one.
Just being, I wasn't cheating anybody, but I'd been a little more, I'd had more clarity.
I'd be more honest, more clear.
Okay.
If you could acquire a skill, what would it be?
Probably staying, staying calm under pressure.
I had a guy that used to buy a lot of cars, but he said, Bill, I can always tell when
you're getting ready to pull the trigger.
You walk around the car a couple of times, calm as you can be when you're getting close
to making me offer.
He said, I could always reach, he'd pick up the pace.
You start walking a little bit quicker.
So I'd just be a little bit more calmer under that big negotiations.
That was a, I was like a 59 Jaguar or something I was buying back then.
Best advice you have followed.
Don't buy an edgy car.
I'm not good at edgy cars.
I don't do it.
You've known that.
You've said, dad, can you find me this something?
Can you do this?
And you know whatever car you're going to get from me is going to be put back.
It's going to be okay.
If you're young and you're getting in this business, buy a nice enough car.
Don't get into the edgy stuff.
You can't put it back together and that's where you can get hurt.
If you could interview or talk with anybody in the car world, who would it be?
I guess it could be anywhere.
I don't know.
Probably Dalai Lama.
That'd be an interesting conversation.
Any crazy or exciting stories you haven't told me yet?
No, you've heard my crazy stories, but one of my best stories is that time I was tired
and we were taking two cars.
I was with Joel, by the way.
We were taking two cars to L.A.
We had to get out of there late because we had to be to L.A.
And I remember we drove to St. George, which is about 300 miles.
We stopped and we got a cup of coffee.
I was driving a 79 SC.
He was in a 79 Turbo.
We got a cup of coffee and we said, let's switch cars.
And we were both tired.
Switched cars.
Went into the gorge coming out of St. George and these corners are just wind and wind and wind.
And we were going hard and we went into a corner and the turbo kicked in.
And I was so spaced out, I forgot I was in the turbo.
And I knew if I got out of that car, I was going to be dead if I got out of the gas.
And I just had to hang on as hard as I could while this car accelerated.
And I just hung in there.
I knew what to do, but it was so scary with that 79 Turbo coming on.
That was a rough, rare car.
And I remember that's the scariest I've been.
And that was one of the most powerful experiences I've never forgot.
I got through the corner and I pulled over and went for a walk.
Hit Joel with the lights and we both over.
I said, my God, I forgot I was in the turbo.
And I just had to hang on.
I mean, I had no choice because I was already going into that corner.
I'm sure I was going 90 or 100, 110.
I was going fast.
You can roll through there really quick and there were no cars.
We were rolling and we were both good drivers.
We were both under 30.
I'll never forget that experience.
There's the one where you're, you're in like a brand new turbo
and you're just cruising through there.
I think you were by yourself.
And then two guys came by with their girlfriends.
Oh, that, that's, no, that was, that was after,
that was after the car when the guy comes by with, with the girlfriend.
I thought there was two of them and they both had like pretty new Zs.
Yeah.
Well, one, one was a Z car and it was funny.
We were coming, we were that, that instance, I was coming out of Vegas.
We were just getting ready to go into the door and I only had so much gas
and I had to get the St. George and this guy was just kind of egging me on
and act and acting like a punk.
And I thought, I'm just going to get him to the gorge.
I'll just get him to the gorge and then we'll see what kind of car he has
and what kind of car I had.
And so we got to the gorge and I really didn't want to do it,
but he rubbed my face because he was with his girlfriend.
I was alone.
I was just working.
I was just getting back to Utah.
But I remember going, okay, he, he's rubbed me the wrong way
and I just went ahead and left him through the gorge.
And of course I had to slow down as soon as we got through the gorge.
So the poor guy had to pull up and he kind of cruised down by me with his head down.
So it was, it was an experience.
And then I had another one with, I mean, out in the middle of nowhere,
I'm, I'm driving along and I look up and I see this car coming.
And I thought, my God, is that a Kuntas?
And all of a sudden it went by me.
I had to be going 110 and it went by me.
It had to be going 150 once it was a Pantera.
All I could see was those great big mufflers in my face.
And I just cruising up the road and I was, I was in the 79 turbo
and I just went a little bit for it.
I'm just going to ignore him.
I can't get any more tickets.
I'd had so many tickets by then I'd had my driver's license taken away
only because I drove so many places to pick up cars and I had to get back.
And so I got tickets and back in the day,
he didn't pay your tickets all the time because they were out of state and there were no computers.
So anyway, this guy goes by and finally I drive up and there's these crazy kids in the car
and they're all smoking pot.
And they look at me and they say, what's with you, man?
How come you're letting that car go by you?
And they're pointing down the road to me to go get it.
I'm still young.
I'm 27, 28, 29.
So I shifted down and I remember going in and reeling that Panterian.
I mean, it was, it was a go, but I, I mean, we were going fast,
but I could outrun him in the turbo and I remember reeling him in
and then it's falling down and being a hero for the kids.
So the instances like that.
And to me, I'm at the shop.
I'm working.
So I'm also driving the car to California,
but I'm doing it for money because I have a family too.
So it's different.
You're not just out cruising the LA going to the beach.
I got to get that car safe and I don't want another ticket.
Kids tickets were expensive.
I can't wreck the car.
There's just so many different variables when you're doing it.
You got to stay in check with yourself a little bit.
About this episode
Bill Helms’ “Pattering on” Part 7 blends family-car-dealer stories with real driving philosophy. The chat starts with his dad’s buying journey—from BMW 330/335/M4 era comparisons to why a GTI can feel better than an M4—and turns into Helms’ own Porsche business lessons. Spoiler debates (narrow-body vs factory look), favorite Utah canyon/freeway routes, and how “feel” beats raw speed lead into mentors, early mistakes, and negotiation nerves. Wild tales include forgetting he was in a 79 Turbo mid-corner and outrunning a Pantera while avoiding tickets.
In this episode I talk to my dad about: -The way he set up cars. -Things he had to learn getting into the business. -A few cars lately he wasn't in love with. -Stories about delivering the cars.
