Lake Placid is a town in New York where this Porsche Parade is happening. The hosts are also referencing famous winter sports history from the same area.
The Saturn Vue is a compact SUV, meaning it’s a taller, more practical car for everyday driving. In the podcast, it’s mentioned because someone claims it had a very powerful sound system installed. That’s the main point of the reference—how it was used and modified.
The Porsche 944 is a classic Porsche from the 1980s/early 1990s. It’s a sports car with the engine in the front and the drivetrain set up in a way that helps it handle well, and people often recognize it by how it sounds.
Normally aspirated means the engine doesn’t use a turbo or supercharger to push air in. It relies on normal airflow, which can make the throttle response and engine sound feel different from turbo cars.
The Porsche 968 is a classic Porsche from the late 1990s. It’s part of the same family as the 944, but it’s the newer, more developed version—so it feels and sounds a bit different.
The Porsche 928 is a classic Porsche grand tourer with a V8 engine. It’s the kind of car people pick when they want to drive far comfortably, not just for short trips.
The Porsche 944 Turbo is a classic Porsche with a turbocharged engine. Turbo means it uses exhaust gases to force more air into the engine for extra power.
State troopers are police officers who focus on enforcing rules on highways. The speaker is saying there were several officers, not just a random number of symbols.
Term
pallets
Pallets are flat platforms that packages sit on so they can be moved easily with equipment like a forklift. They unloaded those before setting up the store.
“Swap engines” means removing one engine and installing another (or reinstalling the same one) in the same car. For classic cars like the Porsche 356, the time and difficulty depend heavily on access, fasteners, and whether wiring and mounts come apart cleanly.
Autocross is a timed driving event on a closed course made with cones. You drive through a lot of tight turns to see who can be fastest while staying in control.
The valve cover is a cover on top of the engine that keeps oil inside where the engine’s valve parts live. If it’s leaking, oil can drip out and you may need to fix it before driving.
Some older cars used a 6-volt electrical system instead of today’s 12 volts. That means the battery and wiring are designed for 6 volts, and electrical problems can show up differently than on newer cars.
Term
heater boxers
This sounds like the car’s cabin heater parts. If oil drips onto them and they’re hot, it can smoke or catch fire.
A “heat exchanger” is a component that transfers heat between two fluids (or between a fluid and air) without mixing them. In cars, heat exchangers can include oil coolers or other cooling-related units, and oil on hot heat-exchanger surfaces can create smoke and fire risk during startup.
“Break-in” is the first period of driving a new (or rebuilt) engine. You don’t want to stress it right away—you ease into it so parts can wear in smoothly.
“Break it in” means you run a newly rebuilt or freshly serviced engine gently at first. It helps the moving parts settle in so the engine lasts longer.
The Porsche Cayenne is Porsche’s SUV. It’s the kind of vehicle people don’t just drive to work—it can also be driven hard because it handles more like a sports car.
A tow vehicle is the car used to pull a trailer or another vehicle. In motorsports contexts, people often tow their race car to events, then use the tow vehicle for transport or even limited driving.
“Pulling the motor” means taking the engine out of the car. It’s a big job that usually takes a lot of time and work.
Part
flat bladed screwdriver
A flat-bladed screwdriver is the common tool with a straight tip used for screws with a single slot. The host is saying their 356 work needed this kind of screwdriver more often.
A torque curve is a chart of how strong the engine feels at different engine speeds. If it’s “nice,” the car tends to pull smoothly when you drive it, not just at one specific RPM.
A clutch is what lets you smoothly connect and disconnect the engine from the transmission. A “Houserman clutch” is a particular upgraded clutch that can make shifting feel better and last longer.
Term
three spring clutch
A three-spring clutch uses three diaphragm springs (or spring elements) to apply clamping force to the clutch disc. The spring arrangement affects engagement feel and how the clutch responds under load, which is why enthusiasts compare spring setups.
This is the event area in Concord where people parked and got ready before driving their cars in the parade. The host is saying the weather was bad, but the cars still showed up.
This is a designated spot where cars were set up before the parade. The host is using it to explain how people were worried about getting their cars wet.
Term
weather app
A weather app is the phone app that tells you if it’s going to rain. Here, people were checking it to decide how risky it was to drive through wet conditions.
The “chassis” is basically the car’s main frame/structure that everything is attached to. The host is saying people were trying to avoid getting the car’s underside too dirty or damaged while driving through a puddle.
Rain tires are designed to grip better on wet roads. They help push water out of the way so the tire can stay in contact with the road instead of skimming on top of water.
Qualifying tires are made for getting the most grip for a short time, like when you’re trying to set your best lap. They usually don’t last as long as tires meant for everyday driving or longer stints.
The tire “compound” is basically the rubber recipe inside the tire. Changing it changes how grippy the tire feels and how it behaves in different weather, like rain versus dry track.
“Targa” is Porsche’s name for a roof style that lets you enjoy an open-air feel while still keeping the car’s structure safe. In this build, they swapped out the normal Targa badge/logo for the Jesse theme.
“Easter eggs” are little hidden details you only notice when you look closely. The host is saying these cars have lots of small, character-themed references built into the design.
The Porsche 911 GT3 RS is a special, performance-focused 911 meant for track driving. Here, Porsche chose it for the Buzz Lightyear theme because the car’s big rear wing looks like the character’s pop-out wings.
Term
paint and it takes over 400 man hours by hand to paint this
They’re talking about how much manual work goes into painting this car. More hand work usually means the color and finish are more carefully done.
PPF is a clear protective film you put on a car’s paint. It helps prevent small damage like rock chips and scuffs from everyday driving.
Term
concor field
This is the display area at a fancy car show (a concours). People drive in and park there, so it’s the kind of place where you might worry about damaging your tires.
“Cars and coffee” is a casual car meet where people show up with their cars and hang out, usually in the morning. It’s more about meeting other enthusiasts than judging cars.
Porsche Exclusive is Porsche’s personalization program—its division for bespoke options and special builds. In this segment, it’s described as helping create a Pixar-themed Porsche car, meaning the project likely involved custom styling and presentation details beyond standard options.
Pixar is the animation studio behind the “Pixar” brand that collaborated here with Porsche. The segment frames the collaboration as producing a special, themed Porsche car with design details inspired by Pixar’s world.
“Shelby” here appears to be a person associated with Porsche in North America (the transcript says “Porsche had Shelby from a Porsche car in North America”). Because the name is ambiguous without a last name, it’s best understood as a Porsche staff contact involved in the Pixar/Porsche Exclusive project.
A “private collector” is an individual who buys and keeps rare cars rather than selling them through public auctions or dealerships. The segment suggests these Pixar-themed Porsche cars are already allocated to collectors, which affects how often they’re seen at public events.
The Porsche 959 is a very famous, rare Porsche supercar from the 1980s. People talk about it because it was ahead of its time in how it handled grip and stability at high speeds.
The Porsche 918 Spyder is a supercar that uses a mix of electric power and a regular performance engine. It’s known for being a very advanced, special Porsche. The podcast mentions it because it’s considered one of the standout supercars.
This refers to a very rare Porsche concept/one-off roadster called the 9-18 Spyder. It’s famous with collectors because it’s an early, lightweight open-top design from Porsche’s history.
“Converted” here means the race cars were modified to be used differently than they were originally built for. The speaker is saying some were changed after the racing series stopped.
“Originality” here means the car still looks the way it did when it was built. The host is saying the carpet looks slightly imperfect because it hasn’t been changed to look “new.”
“Race cars” are cars set up for track competition. The host is saying Porsche expected some of these classic cars to be turned into race cars, so they installed the carpet in a way that made later changes easier.
“Turbo look” means making a car look like a turbo version, even if it may not be the same turbo model underneath. Here, the host is describing the owner’s goal for the car’s appearance.
Flat black is a paint finish that doesn’t shine like normal paint. The downside is it makes scratches and imperfections stand out, so it’s harder to keep looking clean.
Bob Gutierrez is the person in the story who owns the Porsche 924 they’re talking about. They mention him because he cleaned and showed off his car at the event.
They’re joking about how strict the Porsche Parade is compared to another car show in Greenwich. The discussion is basically about how the judging and results are viewed.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car made by Chevrolet. It’s designed for performance and is popular with car enthusiasts. In the podcast, it’s mentioned because someone moved from the Porsche club to the Corvette club.
A shock tower is a reinforced spot on the car’s body where the suspension shock/strut bolts in. It’s important because it helps the car stay rigid when you hit bumps.
The Porsche 356 is one of Porsche’s earliest classic sports cars. It’s a big deal to enthusiasts and often shows up in classic-car judging because it represents Porsche history.
The Porsche 924 is a classic Porsche from the late 20th century. It’s notable for its transaxle setup, and in this story it was chosen because the event was celebrating that theme.
A transaxle is a single unit that combines the transmission and the differential. It helps the car send power to the wheels in a more compact, well-balanced way.
A “gimmick rally” is likely a rally event with a special theme or extra rules. In this story, it’s just used to explain why she couldn’t help with car prep right away.
“Deep sixes” is a wheel/fitment nickname for a specific style of Porsche wheel with a deeper rim profile (often associated with classic 911-era aesthetics). The speaker is arguing that the car’s wheels don’t match what would be expected for its year/build, which matters for correctness in judging.
A date stamp is a printed/marked date on a part that tells you when it was made. For older cars, people look for the right date to help prove the car is original.
On an engine, the valves open and close to let air and fuel in and exhaust out. A valve stem support is a small part that helps hold and guide the valve stem correctly, and it can matter for whether the engine looks like it came that way from the factory.
“Factory-correct” means the car looks and is set up the way it would have been when it left the factory. At judging events, they look for details that match the original build, not modified or swapped parts.
“Preservation cars” are cars that are kept as original as possible, instead of being restored to look brand-new. Judges often care a lot about whether the details still match what the car originally had.
At these events, cars are split into groups (classes). If there are only a few cars in your class, it can be easier to place well than if the class is packed.
A “barn find” is when someone discovers an old car that’s been sitting for a long time. Those cars often need a lot of work because they’ve been exposed to moisture and time.
Badging means the badges/emblems that tell you what model a car is. If a car has missing or wrong badges, it can suggest it’s been modified or is not what it appears to be.
A badge is the little emblem on the outside of a car. The “continental badge” is a specific emblem that’s meant to go in the matching holes on the body.
Term
Paterac brothers
This refers to the Paterac brothers as the people credited with doing the paint/body work. In classic-car circles, naming the specific shop or craftsmen is common because restoration quality can vary a lot by who did the work.
“Restored” means the car was repaired and brought back to a better condition, sometimes to look like it did when it was new. The age of the restoration can affect how well it’s held up.
Person
Col Spragum
The host mentions Col Spragum as a racing-team figure. He’s presented as someone with experience building and preparing cars for competition.
Company
JDC Miller Ninetext three program
This is a racing program connected to a team. The host is using it to explain where the track-prep experience comes from.
Welcome to the Porsche Club Insider, your one stop for all things Porsche and PCA.
Here's your host, Vu Gwin, and the Insider crew.
So here we are in probably the most historic location for a podcast.
We are in Lake Placid, New York, home of the 2026 Porsche Parade.
Also, it was the home of the 1994 Parade.
But I think most of the world knows it for something else.
I'm just sitting here enjoying you talk about sports next.
Dang it.
Thankfully, what happened in his 1932 arena?
All I know that this was the home of the 1932 and the 1980 Winter Olympics.
And I will confess, I am not a hockey fan.
So I don't know all the details.
This guy is always shaming me about my lack of sports knowledge.
I knew nothing about hockey, honestly.
I'm not the brightest guy, but it does say the 1932 arena.
What I said, I'm just saying 1932.
The 1980 Olympics was played in Lake Placid, but a different set of ice.
It is pretty cool when you walk into the arena here and the other arena.
There is sort of this vibe, you feel, that there's something special about this place.
Well, it's because we're here.
Of course. Of course.
Well, I will make sure that I want to thank our presenting sponsor, Pirelli.
I think Pirelli tires are on that new cayenne over there to the right of us.
Thank you to our presenting sponsor, Pirelli.
Pirelli tires have to achieve the highest levels of performance, safety,
noiselessness and grip on the road surface, innovative tires that can satisfy
even the most specific mobility needs of the end consumer.
This morning, actually, yesterday, they were serving coffee to everyone
at the tour departure area.
And today they're out taking care of all the autocrossers that parade.
I want to thank all of you that are listening.
If you aren't currently a PCA member and own a Porsche, what are you waiting for?
Be sure to have your Vin Handy and join PCA at PCA.org.
And if you don't currently own a Porsche, check out our test drive program
where we can unlock resources and help you get that dream Porsche
for your driveway and our garage.
And I also want to thank the hundreds of thousands of fans
that are in the crowd at 745 in the morning.
It's standing room only in the stadium.
I apologize that you had to wait in line to get in.
Hopefully your tickets are valid and you didn't have to get them scalped.
Yeah, because at nine o'clock, the free bagels come out.
Then the crowd then the crowds will definitely come out.
Yeah, Damon, Manny, Nathan, thank you for being here
so early in the morning to make this happen.
It's going to be fun.
We're going to be talking about what's been going on.
Yeah, I'm not used to having Damon like so far away, away.
Usually he sits where our confidence monitor is.
And it's yeah, I truly need a mic to actually talk to you guys today.
He sounds like God.
And where did that never been to our studio?
I'm going to say studio, more like a closet.
It has a I look over and Damon's screen.
He has a screen to himself that he can see.
But I have to look at Damon's over Damon's shoulder into a screen
to see what we're actually seeing on the screen.
So it's nice having this big monitor in front of us.
Well, and it's actually way more comfortable.
The other thing about your closet you record and that people don't know
is it's like a 10 by 10 room and Vue must have installed a hundred
thousand watts of lighting.
So when you're in there, it's about a hundred degrees in there.
I don't you feel like a rotisserie roast chicken.
It is unbelievable.
I'm like, can we turn these things down?
And we have to shut off the air conditioning
because it makes too much noise.
Oh, awful.
This this podcast was not about complaining about the conditions
and where we work in, fellas, it's about how awesome this boarder parade is.
It's pretty amazing.
Like this place, I mean, I've been to a bunch of parades
and every parade has, you know, its its best feature,
whether it be the weather, whether it be the, you know, the hotel
and the accommodations, whether it be the site of the Concorde.
But here to me, the history of this place is what does it for me.
And honestly, the kind of the streetscape that what you see out front is just
it's like going back in time and just seeing the porches going up and down
Main Street to me just tickles me.
So what I've shared with everyone during the middle of the day,
I feel like we're on a Hollywood movie set where the movie is sponsored
by Porsche because you have cars coming or porches coming towards you.
Porches behind you.
Porches are parked on the curb.
You have PCA members because you can see the PCA logo on their clothing
and Porsche crest everywhere.
It's it's kind of utopia.
It's pretty amazing.
I mean, actually, one of the things that formed my early childhood of love
of Porsche was just growing up.
There was a lot of porches around and I love the sound of a Porsche.
So even as I was walking here this morning, I'd try to pick out
what model it was before it passed me.
And I'd want to know, oh, that sounds transaxle like sounds kind of.
Oh, that's a normally aspirated 944
And I actually got that one wrong.
It was a 968
I was like, damn it's but it's kind of fun to play that game.
And there's just one after another.
So and they give people an idea who are watching the podcast.
It's like one main long Main Street, maybe a little
a little longer than a mile, maybe, and it's filled with restaurants
and little hotels, boutique hotels.
I think there's a best Western in Hampton, but the rest are mom and pop places.
But it works because you can walk from one end to the other.
If you're a downhill, do that.
I'll go walk. Why walk when you have that over there?
All I see you is carrying that thing around.
Yeah. No, I saw who yesterday drive past me.
So we're going down the hill.
So for those of you that are listening and not not watching,
I brought my Honda Moto Compacto because I'm at the opposite end of Main Street.
And yes, I could walk.
I do realize I could do that, but it's like a 20 minute walk
or I could ride my Honda Moto Compacto and be door to door in less than five minutes.
And you're a man in demand.
We can't wait those extra 15 minutes for you.
That's right. Time is money.
Speaking of records and history,
the population of Lake Placid is about 21, 2200.
And PCA is setting a record this week with Porsche Parade,
the largest Porsche Parade ever with over 2600 attendees.
That's insane.
That's actually more than the population of the town.
Yes. We've doubled the population, more than doubled the population.
No wonder the locals look so cranky.
They're like, geez, get out of our town.
Did you hear that the ask of the city last night at dinner?
It was very simple.
Please slow down.
You know what's sad to admit, I drove my 928 from Charleston.
So 1400 miles.
We didn't see another Porsche until we were a hundred miles from here,
which kind of blows my mind.
So I saw a 944 turbo, New York plates.
Great, super excited.
And then the very next Porsche we saw.
Oh, pulled over by New York State Police.
Oh, ouch.
That's a bad way to start parade.
So if you're listening, my apologies, good sir.
Yeah, they know they know that we're here when we were coming up as well.
Manny gave me a heads up.
He says I think it was up 88 or something like that.
He's like, make sure you watch your speed.
Obviously, I don't normally speed anyway, but I have ways running.
And I noticed there was like 88 police officer like icons.
And usually you think it's just like someone collected eight times.
Oh, no, there was eight state troopers.
Like they were having a field day.
You're toting also.
Correct, which definitely made me not speed.
And Nathan, when you tow his boo, you're doing like 50 miles an hour.
I mean, the cars were more capable, but not he is not more capable.
I know my capability.
So I say for those who have not ridden with boo
in his culture, they'll call an oldie auntie.
And so his family calls him auntie based on how he drives.
So I'm just saying, you know, the video that was at the 1530, 40.
If somebody called me out on that, they're like, if you was riding with me,
I'd kick him out of the car.
He was telling you to slow down, stop signs.
I'm like, I'm being a good navigator.
In fairness, I was so excited about the car I was driving.
Voo was over there kind of doing that quiet motion that drivers.
That guy used to do with the fake break, because I did not see the stop sign until
or or the speed cameras stop, stop.
We're we're using members cars.
And there's he drove by the same speed camera three times.
He was about to speed right by it.
He was a slow learner.
You are.
So anyways, I was doing my job as a good co-pilot.
He was.
All right.
So first, before we get into parade, I do want to thank
as you can imagine, the logistics for hosting 2,600 people.
Not only the town is, you know, welcoming to us, but to prepare.
I want to thank all of the volunteers.
We always talk about how volunteers make PCA.
We have well over a thousand volunteers for Porsche parade.
I want to thank the National Office staff.
They have a, you know, they have a job description and none of this that they're
doing this week is included in that.
And it concludes, you know, schlepping boxes, running errands to have enough markers
and tape and, you know, we roll up our sleeves and do what it takes to make sure
that our PCA members have a wonderful experience.
And sometimes we get wrapped up in the, you know, the chickens too cold.
But I think overall, what do you guys think?
I'm looking at the audience.
Are you guys having a good time?
So.
I don't know if the microphone can pick that up, but the applause was so loud.
It was hurting my ears.
And then kudos to the ladies working the parade store.
Yes.
Because I think yesterday they matched total sales from Oklahoma for seven days.
They matched in three days here at Lake Placid to give you an idea of number one,
evidently, these coaches buy a lot more clothes.
Secondly, I don't think these coaches thought it was going to be this cool
or rainy, so they didn't bring warm stuff.
So it's like it helped out.
It was like an iPhone drop.
I think we opened at like 10 or something and people were there like eight
30 camping out by the door.
They sold a lot of the Porsche shoes.
But they had to transform this what was a learning center for the Olympics or
something into a store.
So it's not like we pull into a retail store and all we do is put our merchandise
down. They had to do a lot of work once we got there on Wednesday after we unloaded
the pallets, it was a 12 hour days or like three days straight to get the place set up.
So we have we haven't been through the full week of parade, although I feel like
well, you've been here just about a week.
We are recording this on Wednesday, which is the middle of parade.
We've had a check in on Sunday.
Why don't you tell them what you put us through a week before we left for parade
where you decide to swap engines in your 56
OK, so in fairness, the idea was to get the 356 my A ready so I could
autocross that parade and we've been traveling and I figured it maybe a week.
People always talk about how it takes 30 minutes to drop an engine for a three
56 that may or that could be true if you have all the right tools in the
right places and all the bolts that you grab come off easily and all the wires
don't snap off and all that.
Yeah, I could see how that might end here.
Putting in doesn't leak oil, doesn't leak fuel.
I could see how it could come out in maybe 30 minutes.
Now, going back in before it goes back in, you have all those.
Hey, while you're in there, kind of things to do, right?
So it includes putting a relay on the starter,
you know, fixing the back wall, interior back wall, you know, all these little things.
And oh, by the way, making sure all the parts kind of come in as you put this
the stuff together, engine goes in.
I would say engine went in fairly easily.
But then when you start it up,
things might not always in the car, the engine was rebuilt like three years ago
and it's been sitting outside my office.
And well, the first clue was they said, take the oil before you turn it on.
Good idea.
It's down to about maybe a quarter and a half.
Yes. And we're like, was it like that when you got the engine?
He like, I'm not sure.
I'm like, was there a puddle next to your office?
And he goes, I don't think so.
And so I looked at the pallet and there was a bit of oil.
And then then denial comes in.
So he's just had oil to it and we fire it up.
Yeah. And it's not the.
So here's the thing is I've never done this before, right?
So you don't know what is normal procedure as you're installing a engine.
So we started up and one of the.
I now know that one of the valve covers was leaking badly.
But the panic that set in as I started the car and the guys go, stop, stop.
And I look behind and it's like the Valdez just dripping and I'm like, oh, no,
I'm not going to make it to parade.
That's OK if I don't make it to parade.
But you know, you're like, what's the problem?
Is it like something serious?
Turns out it was the spring on the valve cover was just, I guess, worn out.
And obviously now I don't have I'm like two days away from putting it on a trailer.
I couldn't get a new spring.
So I kind of fashioned some rubber around the spring to give it just more pressure
onto the valve cover and guess what?
It held no other leaks, fantastic.
So let's go for a ride.
And I'm smart enough not to go by myself because if I'm going to go down,
I'm going to take somebody with me.
So I took Manny.
Now, we have that element fire extinguisher that we've never used before.
Not only did we have the element fire extinguisher,
but we took the office fire extinguisher and put it behind my seat.
And so the first one, Nathan, that we grabbed from the office,
I pick it up and it's a really big one.
And I'm like, wow, this is really lightweight.
And I look at the gauge and it's like completely empty.
This is how we're keeping membership dues low.
We don't service our fire extinguisher headquarters.
I said, you know, this is like when we thought we had a defibrillator in the office
and it turned out it was just a first aid kit.
And for years, we thought this box was a defibrillator when the Red Cross lady came.
We're like, yeah, we got it right on top of the refrigerator.
In case you get it and it was the first aid kit.
In case the insurance companies listening, we do have proper fire extinguishers.
The one that he happened to grab was one that we used at a parade.
And for some reason, they sent it back to us thinking that we should refill it.
Anyways, we hop in the car.
The motor sounds fantastic.
Shout out to Steve Hoffman for rebuilding my 1600 into a 1720.
And we just we were started out at the back of the building
and we go up the small little hill.
And if you've been to the PCA National
Office, there's a cul-de-sac there as we get to the cul-de-sac.
About 60 yards into the trip.
In my mind, a electrical fire is happening.
Fresh, fresh, you smell the smell and neither one of us said anything.
We like looked at each other and I'm like,
why is there smoke coming out from from the top of the dash?
And then I panic, panic.
I'm like, get out, get out.
And we get out.
And I'm like, I didn't do anything
electrical and it's a six volt car.
What could possibly be catching on fire electrically?
And who was it?
Bob Miller was there helping us, everything.
And I was like, call Bob out, call Bob out.
And he kind of nonchalantly walks out and he sticks his head in.
He's like, oh, yeah, that's the oil from that dripped onto your heater boxers
and heat exchangers and just blowing that off.
But here's the thing, I didn't know that.
Like, I didn't know that could be a thing.
And I was like, really, are you sure?
Like, this is not.
He's like, yeah, yeah, it always happens when you're firing up a new.
I told Bob, I'm like, you get in a car to be in a past year.
Not only that, I said, Bob, can you drive?
And I'll ride along just to make sure.
Long story short, it all came together.
And maybe when we have another day to talk about the car and some other little
things that happened, the car made it on to the trailer.
I knew it wasn't a good idea to drive nine
hours at 90 degree heat on a motor that has zero miles.
I knew enough that it needs to be broken in properly.
I contemplated during that nine hour drive, should I autocross it tomorrow?
Spoke to Steve Hoffman, he said, yeah, how many miles do you have on it?
I said, like, two.
He's like, yeah, probably not a good idea to autocross the motor.
You need to break it in.
So I still want to autocross.
I'll be autocrossing my tow vehicle and I'll be flogging the Cayenne.
So one vehicle you need to get home.
I did think about that.
But that has over 100,000 miles.
OK, I did think about that.
I did think about that, but I believe I can restrain myself.
I'm not kidding.
I'm just going to send it and whatever happens, it happens.
Well, the good news of it was you were explaining this MacGyver repair.
You repaired on your valve cover.
I mentally had this image of like a high G corner that spring popping out the valve
cover, all the oil dropping out and creating a hazard for all the other members.
So, thankfully, you're not going to take it out of the autocross course.
Yes, so there's just a little tweaks, but I have to tell you the experience
of pulling the motor, putting in the motor, working with Mr.
Bill Biltate, working with David Ducart.
They've been sort of my angels on the shoulder.
It's kind of funny because sometimes my angels would like fight with each other.
And I'm trying to, you know, figure out what to do.
I will say three things that from my toolbox that I have never really used as
often as I have working on a 356 is a flat bladed screwdriver.
I'm a big, big hammer, the a 12 millimeter wrench,
which I never, ever used.
It was the cleanest wrench I ever had and a 14 millimeter wrench.
I think with those 34 tools, you can rebuild a 356
Awesome. It's pretty cool.
And I have some tools to share with you guys later.
Things that can make it easier.
And yeah, so I'm super excited to drive it.
I am putting the break in miles here in Lake Placid.
And it's incredible.
The motor is smooth.
The torque curve is nice.
I've only gone up to like maybe 3500 RPM.
It's shifting great.
I have a Houserman clutch over a three spring clutch and on and on.
So when we have more time, let's get back to parade.
What do you want? Sorry.
All right. So so Sunday was the Pirelli welcome party.
That was incredible.
We are here on what did we do on Monday?
Was the concor by the way, I'm controlling photographs.
OK, I mean, so.
Yeah. So where are we going to start?
You're starting with the concor on Monday.
So the outside the convention center that we are recording here is the.
Is it the speed skating circle?
Speed oval speed oval.
Yep. So Eric Haydn won, I think, five gold medals in different disciplines.
It was pretty impressive back then.
Uh-huh.
I believe you.
It's it was a unique location because it's the first time we have been on grass.
Love the no grass.
Didn't like the rain and I swear that surface did not drain very well.
I think it held it.
I think it was I was telling people that it must be designed this way.
Not to like design the whole water, which then freezes.
Yes. Yes.
Yes. So but it had that look in the morning that it was ice
as it was the entire thing was covered.
And then I found out there's a lot of sand in the soil around here, which I guess
when I was putting in the signs for a store, I realized that too.
But that's why the grass is draining so much quicker because I thought for sure,
you know, we usually bring change of shoes because we get there early in the morning
and there's dew, but the grass is dry because of the sand.
I think it was the perfect place to have the Concord.
We had over 180 cars.
We had a wonderful historic display.
And with the volume of people that we have here, 2600 people, it easily accommodated.
I mean, in some places where it's popular cars, people are looking at,
maybe it was shoulder to shoulder.
But yeah, even the misty weather didn't keep folks away.
Obviously didn't keep the competitors away.
Beautiful shots from the top of the hill and some incredible cars.
Thank you to all of you that showed your cars.
And I think some of these cars have never even seen moisture, but they were out
on the Concord field.
There were definitely some brokenhearted people in this very room.
This was the Concord prep area.
And you could see people looking out, looking at their weather app and thinking,
oh, dear God, I've spent hundreds of hours in my car to ride there, drive it.
And the world's biggest puddle was right outside this door.
And if you just hug the wall, you could maybe get through the puddle with only two
wheels, and it was funny watching people like, weigh the risk of rubbing your car
against the concrete wall versus keeping your chassis 50 percent cleaner.
Poor ship people were kind of a strange lot.
So but I will say this is the best parade Concord venue I've ever had.
One, it should always be on photos.
Our cars always photo better on concrete than they do on grass.
But see this shot right here?
This is the best shot, because most of the time we do an event,
you can't capture the whole event in one shot, even like it works and stuff.
You maybe can capture one fairway, but to be able to see all the cars in kind
of broad scale was just for those watching on YouTube and the building to your
right is a high school, which is in session at the time we're doing the Concord,
which I could I can tell you bad for the kids.
I could tell you there's a lot of nose marks on those windows.
No kid was paying attention.
On Monday, it was also easy to see all the cars.
Again, we usually are at some golf course or something like that.
And I think some people like that.
But I like this, like you could just do laps.
The other thing is, and this is my OCD about parking, but because it was an oval,
all the cars are parked at slightly angle.
So they've got good room to walk around the cars and have the doors open.
Sometimes we get some of those things that are a little tight.
And so this set like the spacing of the cars was whoever did the layout had
them evenly spaced and they were all lined up nice.
Oh, can I be honest about one thing, though, when they were proposing this site?
And as you said, all the cars are backed into their spot.
Manny, what do we feel about our
members and their talents for backing up cars?
I was concerned.
They can't do it.
I was concerned volunteers don't know how to tell people how to back up.
Yeah. But they did it.
They did it.
Yeah. Porsche did a wonderful display.
Here's the thing.
We actually couldn't park cars on the middle grass, interestingly enough,
but they allowed us to I don't know if it was a spray paint or was it chalk?
But they did a nice saying in the middle of it.
They had the special Pixar cars there.
They had 11 booth.
We actually did something different for our vendors instead of being in a building
tucked away.
We had vendor alley adjacent to the concor.
So there was just so much to do and people hung out
all day till three o'clock, even with the misty and the puddles within about three
minute walk, there's a bunch of places to eat.
It was a ideal location.
Yeah, there was already a sound system in place.
The Brains were like just plugging in.
I'm sure they did more than that, but it was just an ideal.
The only complaint I'll have and I'm going to give a shout out to our
Canadian portion of America members, because the Canadians are the nicest of all members.
So if you're Canadian, you guys are the nicest, because my poor Canadian friend,
he comes up and I see his car and I say, oh, it's great venue.
And he kind of points to his car and his car is backed up to the restroom.
There's only one porta pot here and his car literally back bumpers like three feet
from the bathroom.
And I'm like, I hope the judges who when they judge your car don't have a strong
sense of smell because you that poor guy.
So what did you think of?
I guess we have to share one of the things that was really stressing us out,
that we didn't find out until later from the city when we came.
Parade officially starts on Sunday with check in and such.
And we were going to do everything in Lake Placid,
but they told us that there was going to be this huge marathon.
And to bring all of our members into the same area as all these marathon runners
was possibly going to be a logistical nightmare.
So we decided to find a venue about what, seven or eight miles away.
And so there was a remote check in.
Now, obviously we, a lot of us were in meetings, but you checked in as an attendee.
How did that work out?
Well, a huge shout out first,
they was at CERNAC Lake High School and I shout out to the school for accommodating
us, that was great.
You know, I thought it was very efficient.
They had docents there welcoming new parade attendees.
I thought that was a really well done thing.
You had a record this year, a new parade.
46 percent of the attendees and normally it's about thirty percent.
So I think that the docents were great.
They have these little tags for the new entrance.
That's a first time attendee.
I think those were nice.
I made a point.
Look at how many of these first times any tags are here.
Because when I see one, I think it's normal to get here at 745
Yeah.
So it was just a night.
That was a nice thing.
It flowed smoothly about the only challenge for me.
And this is not a big deal was because I'd already placed my car in Concord Prep.
This is the best thing about PCA where we share around here.
So I was thinking, well, how do I get eight miles when my car is kind of not
accessible to me and another member lent me their car?
So I jumped in a member's 997 C four S and drove it over there.
And it only had one drawback.
We will usually bring a classic Porsche of some ilk to parade.
We brought our 79928
So my wife and I get in this 997 and we start motoring.
She's like, this car is more comfortable than ours.
Uh oh.
And I was like, honey, we're driving a classic Porsche.
Not that a nine and seven isn't classic, it certainly is.
But so then she's like, oh, maybe we should get one of these.
So I guess it was a good thing and a bad thing.
So you're telling me you don't have a 997
I have a 997 turbo.
But remember, it's got the white interior.
So we don't actually use it because I like to wear denim and it just doesn't work.
These are you, you're.
Yeah, yeah, our nose had never been a parade.
They have registration down to a science.
And you just basically a friend of mine came to his first parade and he said,
registration was really smooth because you just followed that sheet and went to
every little area that the sheet told you.
And he goes, we're in and out and it's felt like 20 minutes.
But it's amazing how well they've now they've gotten registration down to process
that many people in one day.
Yeah, and coming into this, we're just like, please let folks be patient.
Like I said, we're doubling the population here.
There are certain things that we could control such as registration and getting
things ready, but honestly, I wasn't sure how the town would react having these
many people here, but there were actually it's not not actually like in season for
them right now, a lot of the restaurants, not a lot of the restaurants,
but some of the restaurants had to open early just for us.
Actually, the biggest shout out I had, which is so funny, but down at the car wash,
they have a gentleman or there's two of them actually that work for the city
and they work for the Public Works Department and their job the entire day is
simply to move the cone to let people into the car wash.
So I struck up a conversation and I said to the guy, I said, hey, first off,
thanks for being out here, beautiful town.
Thanks for accommodating us.
And how did you get the job of being the cone mover?
He's like, oh, no, we fought for this job.
Oh, this is awesome because normally I'd be out doing less glamorous things.
Here I am just seeing the most amazing and beautiful cars.
And I said, well, I hope all of our members
have been friendly and he says everyone, but one person has been friendly.
So I said, that's pretty good batting average reports.
Apparently that member thought he didn't move the cone with enough expediency.
No way.
Yes. So I said, well, I apologize for that memory.
He says, no, he goes, oh, it's been awesome.
Some of the cars have been so funny.
He says, please come back.
So remember when we went a couple weeks ago to Huntington Beach to watch the bus
show to see how they did this show that we're going to replicate with porches.
And we said, you know, these bus people are like the most chill laid back people.
I mean, nothing bothered them.
You tell them to move the bus.
They were like, yeah, no problem.
I think they distributed weed in the goodie bag.
I mean, everybody was whatever they were one, we should start to look at for parade.
And it's hilarious.
They had zero AV and every bus seemed to have some sort of sound system.
And as you're walking along, one would be playing,
you know, NWA and the other one would be playing, you know, was it that?
What's they weren't fighting?
No, they were fighting distance where it would transfer to another
another bus.
You got to see online.
There were the recent release of the Pixar cars.
And it was a surprise to parade attendees that those cars made it here.
Literally the premiere in Southern California, which bogged on, I think, went and
interviewed some PC and a folks for our our YouTube and such.
Because they realized is that Maddy doesn't know how to use this PC.
Oh, huge shout out to Damon.
He's been the hardest working guy this week.
Let me have a sprint.
This is what we don't normally have to deal with.
Thank you, Damon.
So so the Pixar cars were at the debut in Southern California.
And it was a Porsche for loading them up and bringing them right out of here.
They be lined to Porsche parades so that they could be on the field.
Did you get a chance to take a good look at these things?
And, you know, sadly, I didn't.
They had a crowd around them.
And then the one problem is, you know, my kids will kind of make fun of me because
I said, oh, dad, you're famous.
You do all this YouTube stuff.
I said, I'm famous to like nine people.
The problem was all nine people were at the concourse.
I would try to walk two feet.
Someone like, hey, can I ask you about, you know, this screw or washer on my three
two career, if it's got the right plating and so I dutifully walk over and do that
and bring you back to the earth and walk around with Chris Jacobs.
Oh, I can only imagine.
Yeah. So I got a brief walk around them, but I didn't get a chance to really study
the details, and I think the details are really what make these cars.
What Porsche did was pretty cool was, of course, they're in an Olympic venue.
What does Olympic venues to do during Olympics is they trade pins.
So that theme, Porsche brought a whole bunch of pins and anything PCA people are
collectors when they realized there's more than one pin.
Like at the pro league banquet, pro league had different
different types of tires, like qualifying tires, rain tires.
And as soon as people and everyone got one tire keychain,
but as soon as people realized that there was different types of tires
and actually had people feeling the tires to see the compound on the little ring
was different, which I said, I don't think I looked at me.
I was like, like he kind of looked at me.
He normally looks at me weird anyway, but he was looking at me, especially weird.
He goes, oh, my gosh, you got the rain tire keychain.
I'm like, Chris, is this something you really would like to have?
He's like, no, I'm like, are you sure?
And it gave it to him was like giving a gift to a little kid.
He's like, thank you, I've I've been waiting to collect the rain tire.
I'm like, this is Chris Jacobs.
I'm like, really?
We were trying to figure out are the intermediate rain tires or full range.
This week, we would have needed the full range.
That's right.
Serious.
They're very popular, but they also bring these Pixar cars.
And we were able to do a segment for our video.
So they have three of them, Jesse,
Buzz Lightyear and Woody.
So this is the Jesse one, which is a GTST hybrid
target and just some of the details.
Porsche exclusive just went crazy with the details.
Special paint just for this car.
The wheels were custom made in the center caps
or to replicate the sheriff's badge for the first time ever.
They replaced the Targa logo on the bar with this time they put Jesse.
The interior, they made it look like her vest.
It was just so many different little Easter eggs that were on the car.
And we got a tour from Porsche on these right before we did the video.
You can see the Buzz Lightyear had a they chose a GT3 RS because obviously
if you've seen Buzz Lightyear, he has the wings that pop out,
which is very reminiscent of the tail.
And it's really interesting to see the
reactions from folks online about these cars.
There's no way you can appreciate it until you see it in person.
And it's not just vinyl.
Obviously, it's paint as Manny was talking about.
And look at the paint job there.
The denim paint.
It's not it's not a wrap.
It's actually paint and it takes over 400 man hours by hand to paint this.
Same thing with the the Jesse car.
Yeah, that's the woody car.
I think they said, what was it?
Two types of blues and white mixed in to get that denim.
It's pretty crazy to think about.
We've never seen a modern Porsche get painted.
What is it, Boo? About 30 seconds?
The robots paint the modern one.
So.
This one definitely needs PPF.
Can you imagine if you have some damage on this?
You don't think you don't think Dr.
Colerchip could match that paint?
Oh, oh, Damon, I shrunk the screen.
Oh, that happens.
You can zoom in.
It's actually like a cell phone.
It's a touchscreen. So.
Oh, no, here we go.
Oh, there we go.
So here's the Goodyear made molds to put their tires.
Of course, you know, Nathan, I'm sure you thought this as well as.
Well, all they take to make a replacement tires.
Yeah. You know, I mean, at some point, the tires are going to age out.
They said they bought four sets of tires in case it gets flat or something.
But nonetheless, that's going to age out because they inspect.
That's what I want to know.
Yes, they are.
Yes, they are in spec and they're Goodyear tires, but the Goodyear changed them
to light gear for this car.
You know what I learned about these tires?
Because obviously our podcast is presented by Prelia.
And I was speaking to some of the
I'm not going to say Goodyear.
No, it's all good. It's all good.
They're light year.
So I said, like, could you have bid for, you know, producing those tires?
But because they wanted light year, that is actually that's copyrighted by Goodyear.
So they could they couldn't.
Well, Goodyear makes tires for Porsche and inspect tires.
Yeah. So think about this, though, as well.
So there are four sets of tires, but they're going to age out at some point.
So what are these tires actually for?
They're for showing the car, not driving on it.
So you would actually need two sets of wheels at least if you wanted to drive
that car to put regular tires on and keep the look.
And then you only use the light year tires when you're showing the car.
And why do you why four sets?
Well, maybe you run over a nail on your way to the concor field or the cars and coffee.
Yeah, that's that would be crazy.
But since the car is wise, you won't be using the tires a whole lot, right?
So he's on your car.
Of course, to infinity and beyond.
So yeah, the detail on these cars was just
really incredible and Porsche had Shelby from a Porsche car in North America
who worked closely with Pixar and Porsche Exclusive creating this car.
She was there giving everyone a tour who was interested of the car.
So it was pretty cool to see them.
Hopefully the room that the rumor they're not being auctioned off.
They're already spoken for to a private collector.
Yes.
I've heard rumors that the collector is in the US and may have another Pixar car.
And that's true.
Hopefully they'll bring it out to other events and not disappear in a collection.
Yes. So Nathan, you're going to bring them out when you get them?
Yeah, I am not that cool.
Trust me.
Very cool to have create something like that.
And it's all going to charity.
It's already done like the project is finito.
You know what I think about, too, is for us that are really into cars,
we think being a designer for a company like Porsche would be a dream and it very
well could be, but sometimes it's still just a job.
But I can only imagine getting us behind this task would have been so fun,
because just your creativity comes out.
You don't have to think about doing a focus group and running by all these people.
You're creating a true one office with an artistic vision.
To me, that's such a reward for that team to be able to do that.
That's what excites me.
So pretty cool.
Imagine about a meeting as they had,
but not only had Porsche management, but Pixar.
Oh, supercars I see you've brought up.
So we had everything at this parade from a 1955 Continental Cabriolet
to the Holy Trinity of supercars and 959, the Courgette and the 1918 Spyder.
And kudos to these folks.
These cars don't melt as they proved and they left them out in the rain.
You know, the favorite thing I saw was in my hotel,
which is a mid-price hotel, Laurel Lake Placid, shout out to him.
Anyways, in the parking lot is a 9-Eleven ST.
And I told my wife, I'm like, I don't feel so bad.
It's like 800,000 hour car in the same parking lot as our base McCann.
But she goes, yeah, I saw some kids taking photos of it.
I like their good case with kids.
I'd like to give a shout out to Alex
Sloyante, who was in charge of the historic display.
We were looking for the Holy Trinity.
One member was already planning to be in the concourse with their 9-5-9,
but we were missing a Courgette, a 9-18 Spyder.
So I thought I'd help out Alex and I made a call to a dear friend.
His name is Donald Osborn.
You might recognize his name.
And he made a call to the Audrain collection.
And Sean O'Donnell reached out to me and said, what do you need?
And I said, I would love to have six
significant cars for the historic display.
He said, here's the list you pick.
You can have them.
And then I had to make the third call to
John Golombowski of Reliable Carriers.
I said, John, what are the chances you can scoot over to Rhode Island
and just grab six cars for me?
And he said, that's exactly what he said.
Sure. And not only did he pick them up, he took them back.
And if that wasn't enough, we also wanted all three of the PCA Club Coops.
We had a 60th coming.
Of course, we had the 70th anniversary car from PCA, as well as some other 70th
anniversary member cars that have been delivered.
But we didn't have 11 fiftieth.
And we were like, oh, man, that we're almost there.
Like we almost had everything that we needed.
And then I remembered past President Prescott Kelly actually bought a past PCA
executive council members Ruben Ledezma's Club Coop.
So that car was in Connecticut.
So I made another call to John and said, dear John,
is it possible that you could pick up a Club Coop in Connecticut?
And he said, sure.
Prescott said, absolutely.
Prescott was already providing to the historic display a club sport,
a 968 club sport.
And so when I told him we would come by and scoop up the club sport,
he said, actually, would you mind if I put the club sport
on the truck and I'll drive the Club Coop over from Connecticut?
And we had everything we had wanted.
So because his wife thought that was more comfortable.
And that's exactly a smart woman.
Yeah.
So out of all the 180 cars at Concord or maybe just cars on the street all week.
Have you guys seen something that really drew your eyes and wish you had?
You know, this is a little bit just
with my history at Porsche, many of you guys know I worked at a Porsche dealer
in the early 1990s.
And so one of the least known Porsches, there were actually two of them here.
It's the 92 Carrera Cup USA.
Oh, yeah.
35 of those cars were delivered.
The race series was canceled after I think 17 of the cars were converted and dial.
And so we had a converted car here as well as we had a non converted a port car,
they call it. So I actually judged a 5700 mile port car.
And it was really fun to be on the judging team for that car because I was
an amazing team, shout out to them.
And so one of the first comments when we got in the interior,
a couple of the judges pulled me aside, said, gosh, you know,
it's kind of surprising to me because this car is so clean.
But the carpet is is kind of you see these gaps and it's kind of ill fitting in
the car. And I said, no, no, that is the mark of originality.
Because believe it or not, Porsche knew these cars were going to be converted
to race cars, and so they simply place the carpet in the car.
They didn't glue it down.
And so that was correct.
And many people have subsequently glued the carpet down in those cars.
But if it's really correct, that the carpet is just laid in there,
which is to me a weird little nuance of the history.
And so to have two of those cars and in fact,
one of the cars drove past me yesterday on the street and I just tickled me.
So how much do you mean?
Well, there were so many.
The 67 911 S that won, I think,
restoration restoration that was actually right in the corner here in Concord Prep.
It was parked right next to the Matt Black 930 that was recently recently featured
in Panorama, but that car I really took a liking to it because the owner was showing
me photos of what it looked beforehand.
And beforehand, the previous owner wanted to make it look like a turbo look
and put flares on it.
And they were able to reverse.
I mean, when you put flares, you're cutting into defenders.
So normally it would be just easier to buy new
fenders and put them on, but defenders have the chassis number stamped on them.
So they bought replacement ones.
They will lose that.
So instead, they grafted replacement metal and made it look
like it was original, never, never cut.
Among all the other things that the score was, I think there was like three,
only three things wrong with this car they could find.
And then we're talking at the level of like a piece of dust on something.
That's how perfect this car was.
So yeah, that really impressed me after I saw what it looked like before the restoration.
Well, kind of a interesting one.
You call that out because that class was so competitive.
The other car that was really interesting related to that was the 68
Nanna Linness Targa owned by friends of the show, the Whitlock, Leonard Whitlock,
the Patriot Whitlock family.
And I actually, that car was fun for me to see because I sold the base car.
So I sold the original car and you can check it out on my BAT profile.
It was honestly the worst Porsche I've ever sold.
It was terrible.
It was a horrible car.
But the redeeming thing about it was it was a real Euro 68 Nanna Linness in
Tangerine, but it had been badly fordated, changed to yellow.
And when people during the auction asked about rust, I answered very honestly,
because I'm a good seller, I said, yes.
And then like, well, how about like, where's the rust?
Yes, everywhere.
And so it was really cool.
And they used map, the automotive apprentice school, Madison automotive
apprentices. And so there was a whole team of young men and women all day around
that car, prepping it and showing it.
And it just turned out great.
So it was cool to see those two early cars, the one we see on the screen.
Unbelievable car.
And then the 68 Tangerine Targa, too.
So very cool.
That's the 75 930, which unfortunately, I think 90 percent of the people that
walked by thought this was a wrap.
Yeah.
And we're shocked when I told them, no, it's a one on one special
paint, paint the sample back then of flat black.
Now, if you all never dealt with anything flat paint wise,
it will show every imperfection.
If you brush up against it, it's like a scratch.
It's a nightmare to take care of.
It's like, look at it, don't touch it.
And
when I talked to the painter who was a young guy who painted it, he said it was
the most stressful paint job he's ever done.
But it looks fantastic, though.
Yeah, it was.
I'm trying to find a photo of our friend, Colonel,
who brought his 79 924 Sebring edition.
Bob Gutierrez 924.
Yes, he was very proud of it because it won at the Greenwich Car Show and
Greenwich must have much more relaxed standards than the Porsche Parade.
Because he finished six out of sevenths.
Don't be shaming.
I got fifth out of sevenths, so come on now, be friendly.
I saw you take the loser route out of the oval.
Like, wow.
It was like the walk of shame.
Walk of shame, yes.
Very quietly.
I think he shut the engine off as he slowly left the.
I literally, as I was leaving, I sent in my
resignation for the Porsche Club and joined the Corvette Club.
That's it.
Getting my white sneakers out soon.
What do friends do best, especially when your friends are preparing their car?
I walked over after a meeting and saw Bob cleaning the 924.
And of course, I looked in his engine bay and being a friend that I am,
I just reached down and like touched this shock tower kind of semi-deep.
And I pulled a handful of just like schmutz.
I'm like, Bob, I thought you're like cleaning this car to win.
He's like, oh my gosh, where'd you find that?
I'm like, I can find a lot more if you don't start cleaning it.
And so he starts stressing out this out in the other.
And then I heard he didn't do very well in his class.
However, last night he was over the moon.
Yes.
Just proves that what the judges think and what other people think are two different
things, he got second place for the juniors judging,
which I told him, that's the toughest judges are the kids.
You can't hide anything from them.
And they can bend down and actually touch things.
Yes.
But you get a judging group that looks like they're over 70.
You know, I'm good to go on the low stuff.
They're not going to bend down.
But yeah, they I told them, that's pretty impressive.
You can get second place and then
they have the honorary judges.
Honorary judges are usually our guests from Germany, from Porsche.
And they always pick a 356 or 911.
But this year was the Transaxle anniversary, plus it was motor sports.
So they hit gold when they saw Bob's 924, because it was a tribute to their
Sebring win and it was a transaxle.
The only transaxle.
The easiest choice for them, they said.
So when they announced that they won the honorary
judge's choice, which is an incredible award, there's only one they give out.
They were over the moon.
You know, we're never going to hear the end of this, right?
No, we can always bring back the sixth place.
Now, the best I knew was going to get sixth place because you were here.
He had the car here for three days.
Now, his wife, Ellen, does the gimmick rally.
So she was busy at registration, answering questions.
He's supposed to be cleaning it every time I saw him.
He was sitting in the chair talking to people to cap on teasing him.
I'm like, the car doesn't clean itself.
You got to get actually on your knees and start cleaning.
So I think what she thought he was preparing the whole time, he was just
sitting down and talking to people, which probably explains the sixth place finish.
But he redeemed himself with the two other awards.
I also have to congratulate our national vice president, because I like how
he approached Concord, because as we were sitting in meetings,
he kept checking to see if his son and his grandson were cleaning the car.
And when we were on breaks, we would walk out to the car and we saw no tools moved.
We saw no cleaning supplies, change positions.
They literally walked in, I think, half an hour before, I guess,
the end of Concord Prep did what they did and took home first in class.
Yeah, I think this is where outdoor
judging is beneficial, because indoor these lights, it showed the paint.
Oh, yeah.
And it needed a lot of help.
But when he went outside, it looked beautiful.
Yeah, I don't know.
That car is original.
So I would cut the paint some slack, but I have to throw poor Ron under the bus
here because Ron has shown that car at many different parades.
I think they've owned it for 30 years and a beautiful car.
So I walk up to it and me being the
anorex for weird portion of details, I was like, hey, it's all original.
And I go, well, it's cool.
I said, but you know, you have the wrong wheels on the car.
Don't Ron just goes ghost white.
And he goes, no, I don't.
I've owned this car since like 1982.
And I was like, those are definitely the wrong wheels on the car.
He goes, and he's like, why do you say that?
I go, well, it's got deep sixes.
And I go, it's a 72.
I said, the last cars that should have deep sixes are like, you know,
maybe early build 71 and he's like, what are you talking about?
So we go and look and he's like, I don't believe you.
I go, get your spare out.
So we pull the spare out.
I show him where the date stamp and I was like, there you go.
It's a 1969 date stamp.
He's like, how is that possible?
So poor Ron, I'm going to dog about.
But I did say if you're an anorex for early
911 details, the deep six is a way sexier wheel than that flat.
You do you do realize that is a very mean thing to do in the middle of a concourse.
He already won.
So we're going to have a new valuation and there's no protest committee.
Nice knowing you, my friend.
I do love you, Ron.
Now he's going to kick me out.
Good thing I joined again.
Oh, there's there's a car at the bottom of the picture.
It is a beautiful car.
Manny dog, this paint out the poor man.
You did.
I just said under the under the lights, you could see everything wrong with it.
That's how we feel about Manny in person.
That's what friends are for in PCA to help you get your car to that next level.
We're not. So I was walking around.
There was a lady with she was very proud of her turbo.
And she was, I wouldn't say upset, but she got points deducted
because her and I noticed them, but I didn't say anything.
Her valve stems did not have the valve stem supports.
And she was debating whether or not the car came from the factory with valve stem
supports and she's like, that can't be.
That doesn't look like something that Porsche would do.
And I'm saying, do you really want to know the answer to that one?
And I said, yes, it should have the support.
She said, dang it.
Yeah, we actually discussed that in our judging, too, because we did the seventy
four to 98 preservation cars, which I have to say we had a class of six
cars that were unbelievable.
I mean, I actually felt so bad because the car that I actually gave six place to
was actually that career cup that I called as one of my favorite cars here.
So it hurt my heart to give it last place because I loved the car.
But the entire class, if it all depends on who shows up the day.
So if you get a first place, it doesn't
necessarily mean it because maybe you're the only car in your class in some years
and parade, but if you won here this week, your car was unbelievable because we did
not have a bad corner.
No, every car showed up to win.
Sounds like someone who finished the sixth place.
Manny, I finished fifth place.
I'll have you know my correction.
I am the fourth.
But it was the toughest ever competition.
Racers, we always say everyone in front of me is cheating and everyone behind me is
a good driver. He's not lying.
I mean, the caliber of cars at this parade was incredible.
For me, I have 356 on the mind.
Of course, I gravitated to all the 350 sixes.
I saw Tom Tate's pair of black 350 sixes were incredible.
There was a Harry Cooper built sort of outlawed 356 with I think a nine
twelve motor and a five speed and that was a cool car.
But the 356 that I really loved, not just because the car was beautiful,
but the story was cool because this person had cut class and happened.
I was that was going to be my pick.
So, Nathan, you picked the Madison Automotive Apprentice car and I picked the
continental. Yeah, well, and I've got nothing left.
I'll let you finish the story because this car was the gentleman at a young age was
cutting class and came across this 55 continental.
And you take it from there, Damon.
Yeah, he was cutting class.
It's this beautiful blue continental.
It was not a beautiful blue when he found it in 1988.
So, senior skip day,
1988 comes across this 356 continental.
I believe it's a 55 correct?
In a barn, it is covered in rust.
You there's no continental badging on it.
It looks like a total basket case and he decides to buy it and restore it.
Which if I looked at a car like that, you might as well let a tree grow through it.
But he bought it.
You know, he started rubbing off some of the rust and all the grime.
And he sees the two holes for the where the continental badge would go.
And sure enough, he found a continental badge in one of the boxes that came with
the car and the paint you saw on that car.
I forget exactly what the color was.
But that was a blue, I think.
Adria blue blue.
Yeah, that was all done back in the early to mid
nineties, and it still looks by studying today.
Paterac brothers.
Yes, yes, by the Paterac brothers in the audience.
John, did you guys do that car?
Interior, you did the interior.
Yeah, I think the interior and all that stuff was done a little more recently.
But the body work and all that stuff was done, you know, quite a long time ago now.
25 years ago was restored, John saying.
Are you trying to say it's not under warranty anymore?
So so really cool car.
And I do have to give a shout out to the Madison Auto Apprentice Program car.
And it's not just because they're here watching us.
But it was one of the first cars I saw here in Concord Prep.
And
it not only does it look cool and if I wanted to modify a car, there's a lot of
stuff in there that I would do looks wise, aesthetically.
But you know, it's going to handle really well and be able to take
abuse on track because Col Spragum, who I think many are saying runs the JDC Miller
Ninetext three program.
I think we haven't committed to come to Tech Tactics East next year and do a
presentation of how he went from basically zero to a team that the customer car,
only one running Emsa.
And if you have Palo Emsa, they recently won a Laguna Seca.
They beat everyone, all these other huge teams, the end of winning overall.
So that's a pretty cool story.
As far as I know and understand,
he has tons of experience, not just with newer race cars like that,
but also air cooled cars.
And so who wouldn't want to drive a car that's been set up and built by
him and his team?
So anyway, that's my two cents there.
I do have to say during Concord Day, Abe from Porsche,
I'm pointing towards the Cayenne Turbo EV.
He came up and he said, hey, you want to take a ride for 15 minutes?
So I'm like, sure.
And he gives me a ride in this Cayenne EV Turbo.
You look at this thing and it's pretty chunky.
You look at the tires and, you know, it's obviously an SUV.
It blew me away.
Number one, how fast this car is.
I think it's close to 1,100 horsepower.
But how it cornered because it's all the weights in the bottom.
So we need to get this presentation.
Keep that in mind.
That was an incredible ride through the countryside around here about this.
How quick this thing.
I was actually bracing myself as we were coming up on other cars because it was so.
So you do remember Lake Placid, their ask of us that I mentioned earlier.
I think we were outside of Lake Placid.
Yeah, this is definitely outside of Lake Placid.
We might have been close to Jersey as fast as we were going.
All right. Let me see here.
I do want to remind everyone to be sure to head over to PCA.org to sign up for
PCA's newsletters, performance news, e-brake news and Mark Fresh all free.
I want to remind that we will be at Monnery Car Week with Works Reunion August 14th.
Registration is open.
I believe the judge classes is sold out.
We definitely have a corral space still open.
We have Treffen at sea.
The people at Princess are here with us this week at Parade as well.
They are signing people up for the 2026 Pacific Wine Country Cruise September
19th through 25th.
We have a Donald Osborne, as I mentioned earlier, he's going to be on there.
Bruce Meyer, man, he's going to be there.
Nathan's going to be there. I'm going to be there.
So if you want to come out on a cruise that is actually quite affordable,
starting out of Vancouver, down to San Francisco, down to Santa Barbara,
down finally ending in L.A., a wine and chocolate cruise.
But more importantly, you're going to be with us and we're going to have a lot of
fun and I hope to see you there.
Recently, Damon was working feverishly in his hotel room to punch out the Concord video.
I believe it was like a 46 or so minute video with you and Chris.
46 minutes. Wow.
Like I said, if you're going to feel invisible, walk around with Chris Jacob.
That's why I let you do it.
Sure, I'll take the photo for you.
If you're looking to race, folks, we're offering it here at Porsche Parade,
but you can do it online at PCASemRacing.com.
Insider swag, if you'd like some.
And thank you, everyone, here at Parade that has come up to us and shared with us
how you look forward to listening to Insider on Mondays.
And yesterday was probably my very best moment of parade to this point.
I was just walking the hallway and I see this father and son walk up and the kids
kind of nervous and I'm thinking, I don't know what was I was thinking.
But the father said he wanted to meet me because the kid listens to our program
every Monday on the way to school.
How cool is that?
So cool. Are you looking at me so I keep things G rated?
Is that? Yeah.
That is a reminder that we have listeners of all ages, Manny,
but he was very cute and he thanked and he
rattled off some some portion knowledge, so that was pretty cool.
So here we are at the top of the hour.
I want to thank all the crowd, the massive crowd that came out as we get ready for
tech tactics. Anything else before we sign off, gentlemen?
I think we're about to start tech tactics.
So we'll get a quick switch over for those watching on YouTube.
You'll see these sessions little by little come out, but it's going to be a fun day.
Thank you, everyone, in the audience for waking up early and joining us.
Thank you all that are listening from abroad.
Be sure to like, comment, subscribe and consider sharing our show with fellow
portion enthusiasts until next time.
Stay safe and we'll catch you down the road.
Thank you.
About this episode
Lake Placid sets the stage for the Porsche Parade, with Pirelli sponsorship and a huge turnout that’s compared to the town’s population. Between parade logistics, Pixar-themed display cars, and tire-compound pin trading, the conversation turns into classic-car reality: engine swaps, oil-leak scares, and break-in advice before autocross. Nathan Merz also shares a quick ride in a Cayenne Turbo EV, plus stories about concours judging details and restoring a 356 Continental from a rusted barn find.
This episode was recorded live at the 2026 Porsche Parade in Lake Placid, New York. Special guest Nathan Merz joins the show to review Lake Placid as a host city and break down the massive preparation behind the event. We dive into Vu's frantic, down-to-the-wire 356 engine installation and discuss how organizers navigated a localized marathon on day one. Plus, we share our favorite highlights from the Concours day including the Pixar Porsches—and recap Manny's first ride in the brand-new Cayenne Turbo EV.
