new member 968 owner

mountainman

mountainman

Wrench Pro
Points
51
Location
Little switzerland, NC
Car
1992 Porsche 968
Hi all, I am new to the forum and look forward to participating. I am a US air force veteran and retired 30 year police officer.

The wife and I retired 5 years ago and moved to the mountains of western North Carolina where we have built and rent vacation rental cabins just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Fantastic place to drive sportscars and motorcycles. We have a mercedes C320 wagon, a Porsche 968, triumph tr6 and tr7, and an all original 16K mile 1987 Jaguar XJSC cabriolet that consistantly scores above 99.990 in the Jag concours.

We also have a BMW 1150RT motorcycle. Life is good here in the mountains. I plan to leave everything pretty much stock except for maybe a few performance mods on the 968, which is my daily driver We enjoy car shows, rallys and pretty much everything to do with sportscars.

Anyone in our area give us a call and we can give you some goodinfo on the area and some good driving roads. Mountainman ( Bob Futrell ) 828 385 3100
 
Re: new member

Hello there and welcome, it sounds like you are really enjoy cars and life to the full out there. Have you had any hairy moments on the mountain roads?
 
Re: new member

Thanks for the welcomes. Someone asked about the 968. It is a fairly new acquisition and I am so impressed with the performance and handling for this type of mountain roads that I plan to always have one as long as there are any out there to be had. Even though the Jag is very rare and concourse quality, It is nowhere near the performer that the Porsche is.

After all, it was designed to be a tourer. It will probably go up for sale soon and be replaced with another Porsche ( maybe a 550 Spyder? ). Love those german engineers. Will post some pics when I am able.

Someone asked about hairy moments in the mountains. Occassionally there are. At certain times of the year we experience lots of fog and low cloud cover that makes for interesting driving, especially on a bike.

We have lots of Florida folks that stay in our vacation rentals and bring their harleys with them. Doesn't take them long to realize that the flat, straight roads in Florida are not like mountain riding.

Thanks again for the welcome. If there are any other Porsch 968 owners out there I'd be interested to hear what mods they have done. mountainman
 
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We have a lot of coastal roads down here on hills and you can suddenly find yourself in a really thick patch of fog. Not a pleasant experience really.
 
Re: new member

Hi Bob

Welcome and hope your're enjoying the 968. I have it's older brother a 1989 944 turbo se. Take a look in the gallery to see my body modifications so far. There's a 968 turbo s rear spoiler just been put on instead of the original rubber one. Car's having a 3" exhaust similar to the US Fabspeed exhaust and various turbo upgrades next week. I'm looking for around 330bhp 380lbft torques, that'll do for now. Take a look at the garage I use modifying website http://www.jmgarage.com/modify-968.htm to get some ideas on what you can do to your 968, Jon Mitchell is Mr front engine Porsche man here and is currently converting a 968 club sport to a 3ltr turbo S with over 400 bhp:amazed: Hope he lets me have a go when he's finished :bigsmile: He also manufactures and ships parts out to the US regulary so if you want the best parts available for a Porsche he's the man.

Andy
 
Re: new member

Hi again, The wife and I just retutned from a weekend trip with the local Porsche club. A nice little 500 mile run thru the mountains with a side run thru the " tail of the dragon ". For anyone not familiar, the tail of the dragon is an 11 mile stretch of mountain road with 318 curves and no intersecting roads. No finer place to test your sportscar, motorcycle and your balls. The 968 handled flawlessly. Balls did OK too. If ever you get the chance, it is one hell of an experience. Quite a sight to see a couple dozen assorted Porsches screaming thru those curves.
 
Re: new member

mountainman said:
Hi again, The wife and I just retutned from a weekend trip with the local Porsche club. A nice little 500 mile run thru the mountains with a side run thru the " tail of the dragon ". For anyone not familiar, the tail of the dragon is an 11 mile stretch of mountain road with 318 curves and no intersecting roads. No finer place to test your sportscar, motorcycle and your balls. The 968 handled flawlessly. Balls did OK too. If ever you get the chance, it is one hell of an experience. Quite a sight to see a couple dozen assorted Porsches screaming thru those curves.
Click to expand...

Looks good, I've just Googled it and been looking at some pics. Did you take any or video?
dragon%20map.jpg

I just did a run with my local Porsche group along the south coast. A member put together a little film show of it on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtHYQbubff8
There's a second movie link on there aswell. Mines the Blue 944 turbo in front of the camera car

Glad you're liking the sweet handling of the front engined 968, brilliant bit of kit isn't it. Just finished getting mine cleaned and detailed ready for a Porsche show next weekend :D
 
Re: new member

Didn't get to take any pics. I was pretty busy and the wife had her eyes closed most of the time. That is a very nice ride you have there. I have driven most of the Porsches and for my kind of drivingI really prefer the 944/968. You can only use so much power on tight mountain roades and the balance on these cars is great. I am looking at a Beck 550 spyder but have to convince the little woman that it is her idea. Haven,t driven one, but it has to be a fun ride. I imagine if you look hard enough that someone has taken some videos on the dragon.
 
Re: new member

Yeah plenty of videos and pics on Youtube. Mainly bikers trying to kill themselves :amazed: Nice scenery though for a spirited drive should we say ;) which is what we tend to do on a run, drive to a viewpoint, take in the view, have a bite to eat etc. go on to another point etc etc. Glad Mrs Bob comes along, my mrs is not into cars at all but my 2 daughters love them so I have some support in the family :bigsmile:

Take it easy now

Andy
 
Re: new member

Welcome sir, you have a smashing ideal garage there! Sounds like there are some terrific driving scenery where you reside. I'd like to take a trip down that way the next time I'm over there. I tend to see alot of family in Maryland and Penn.
 
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We would welcome you. We actually have vacation rental cabins right in the middle of some terriffic mountains just off the Blue Ridge Parkway if you want to stay a bit and always have a spare bedroom if you are just passing through. Life is good.
 
Re: new member

mountainman said:
We would welcome you. We actually have vacation rental cabins right in the middle of some terriffic mountains just off the Blue Ridge Parkway if you want to stay a bit and always have a spare bedroom if you are just passing through. Life is good.
Click to expand...

Do we get a complimentary trip out in the 968 if we come over :blink1: :lol:
 
Re: new member

Get your posts upto 10 and you can set a gallery up for us to see her in all her glory in the mountains. I'm intrigued to see this picturesque setting :bigsmile:
 
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will do. I have a really sweet Jaguar XJSC that consistantly scores in excell of 99.990 at the Jag concours also. I think it may go on the block soon. Like a buddy of mine says when you go German, you can't go back. Lately I am walking by 3 English cars and a motorcycle to get in the 968.
 
Re: new member

You may want to plan that trip down this way to coincide with one of the MANY car events held in the area. We have had quite a few already this year and we have a huge one at lowes speedway this fall and the Euro in greer, sc as well. Both of them will be 400 to 500 cars. This area draws all the car clubs. Not long ago, going down the BRP I met 9 Gullwing Mercedes. It has been years since I had seen even one on the road.
 
Re: new member

Love the 1980/90's XJS models that looooonnnng bonnet is wonderful. Looked at one in an auction other day, oooohhhh if I had the room to put it my hand might of been going up :amuse: Have you been over to the Porsche section yet we're a bit thin on the ground there need to kick start some threads going I think, get talking some PORK :lol:
 
Re: new member

If there is anyone out there with the Porsch 944/968 models, I'd be interested to know som of the performance mods you have done. Some basic things to boost the low end power. And cheap is good also.
 
Re: new member

mountainman said:
If there is anyone out there with the Porsch 944/968 models, I'd be interested to know som of the performance mods you have done. Some basic things to boost the low end power. And cheap is good also.
Click to expand...

Hi Bob
N/A engines are quite hard to boost, Porsche did a pretty good job getting 220bhp out of a 4 cylinder. Look at the exhaust get a straight through de cat section and rear muffler, this should release a few horses. You can get one that you can put the cat back in for inspections if required. Then look at the chips, JMG says you can get another 10 -30 bhp from this. Induction kit can help release another few horses. In the UK that would cost about £650 fitted. After that you're looking at injectors and other engine work to get those last few horses out.

You can also look at the handling side by upgrading to the MO30 club sport options. The JMG link I posted earlier should give you some ideas http://www.jmgarage.com/modify-968.htm

Andy
 
Re: new member

Thanks Andy, It is totally stock with 55,000 miles, so I hope I can get a little more out of it. I put in NGK Iridium plugs in and it is nice and smooth. I have a K&N air filter ordered and I have been researching chips. There are a number of them and a wide variety of supposed results. I am wondering how much good the chip will do without changing the induction and exhaust. Some of the chips are quite inexpensive which makes me a little apprehensive. I have lived a long time and never found a free lunch. I read somewhere about some modifications to the stock airbox that was supposed to help for very little time and money.
 
Re: new member

mountainman said:
Thanks Andy, It is totally stock with 55,000 miles, so I hope I can get a little more out of it. I put in NGK Iridium plugs in and it is nice and smooth. I have a K&N air filter ordered and I have been researching chips. There are a number of them and a wide variety of supposed results. I am wondering how much good the chip will do without changing the induction and exhaust. Some of the chips are quite inexpensive which makes me a little apprehensive. I have lived a long time and never found a free lunch. I read somewhere about some modifications to the stock airbox that was supposed to help for very little time and money.
Click to expand...

The JMG chip is very good, mapped by Klaus Hoffman a leading Porsche engineer (read my post 944 upgrades in the Porsche section of forum) That's what I'm fitting. I'll ask JMG what else can be done on Sunday as I'll see them at the show I'm attending. You have Lindsay racing and Fabspeed over in the US don't you? I know they're mainly turbo models but they may do 968's aswell. Exhaust is a big yes though, having researched this the Porsche manufacture was done to a budget in this part of the car :shock:
 
Re: new member

Ill research that chip and start looking at exhaust systems. I have looked at a few and they were pretty pricey. I don't have to worry about emissions inspection in our county, so that alone should help.
 
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