Racing Porsche cars, figuring out how to get started in the motorsports industry. PCA, GTB1, Austin, Texas, Ryan Yard
After doing multiple driving events in 2016, I talked to a couple people about what they did to improve their skills, its all about seat time, I embarked upon a goal of doing at least one driving event per month through the year of 2017, currently I have overachieved with some months doing as many as 3 events. I got a calendar, and started putting all the materials onto the calendar as a way to visually reinforce my goal.
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On my birthday last year my sister, and parents got me the coolest gift. A gift card to use with Longhorn Racing Academy and their exotic driving experience. That is where I continued my love of all things Porsche. I drove a Peridot Metallic Green Cayman R, and instantly fell in love. I remember getting out of the car, and telling Varun (the owner of LRA) that I was going to be this car. And after a couple more times hanging out with the LRA team doing an HPDE, and another event, I bought the car:
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Air-cooled cars are the best, my Dad went through many “phases” Cadillac, American, German, and has currently settled on being an airhead he loves Volkswagen. He has built Kharmann Ghia’s, Beetles, a Double-Cab, and has a number of Buses. We wanted to work on a car together, I wanted something with a bit more panache so after 6 months of searching I found the best car I could afford, a 1974 911. It has taken a couple years to restore, and seems like a project that will not end, but, I love it!!
Here is the “final” result
It took a ton of restoration work, the car sat in California for 30 years, and needed a lot of love this was the car we started with:
I had to fix the entire fuel system from the gas tank all the way back to the injectors with everything in between, new fuel lines, fuel pump, rebuilt fuel distributor, and warm-up regulator, new accumulator, and injectors.
Need all of the safety work, new tires, and brake pads, and rotors.
Then I decided to do a full down to metal, glass out respray in the original factory, and what I think is the most gorgeous color: Copper Metallic Brown
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In the beginning there were so many cars, I can’t even keep count, the first car that I remember working on with my data was a 1949 Cadillac. It didn’t run, I remember getting under the car, and helping my dad take parts off of the engine: oil pump, fuel pump, carburetor to clean them, rebuild or replace them. When it finally did start using lots of starter fluid, and a mason jar to bypass the gas tank, the backfire shook the windows, and the smoke and debris that shot out of the exhaust was unbelievable. What a memory, the seed was planted but it took a long time to start growing. I grew up moved to New York (not a car friendly town, if you are a poor 20-something), and finally got back to Texas. Once back I started making up for lost time.
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