cars

My Porsche 356 Lives Again

January 6, 2024

Almost a year ago, I bought a 1964 Porsche 356 SC that had been hidden away in a garage for a couple of decades. The mechanical work is finally done, and it got delivered back home this week: I took it to Gaudin Classic Porsche (Instagram), a phenomenal shop here in Vegas that does beautiful work. Because the car had sat for decades with no prep work ahead of time, there were a few parts that had to be replaced, period. The tires, shocks, and brakes had to be redone. The fuel tank had quite a bit of rust inside…

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Bought a Defender 130 Outbound.

November 1, 2023

cars, defender

I loved my 83 Cadillac, but I quickly ran into problems with it. I wanted to have a comfy car for 3-4 hour road trips to nearby places like LA and Palm Springs. I pretty quickly figured out that’s a bad idea in a 40-year-old Caddy, especially one with the HT4100 engine that doesn’t fare well in the desert. If I somehow had a giant warehouse garage, I’d have kept it, but I couldn’t justify keeping a car that I could only use in the fall/winter, and only around town. When thinking about a road-trip replacement, I kept coming back…

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Bought a 1983 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham.

June 11, 2023

cadillac, cars

I love huge American land yachts, and I think this car is a wonderful time capsule from the 1980s: That’s the epitome of 1980s American luxury: metallic light brown, long lines of chrome, padded vinyl roof, whitewall tires. It’s a weird combination of very clean, simple lines – but wildly over-jeweled. It’s like movie starlet wearing a simple dress, but … jewelry on her wrists, fingers, ankles, ears, and neck. When you open the doors, the kitsch luxury continues with acres of thickly padded brown leather: It’s just a nice, chill, quiet, 1970s place to be. It’s like your favorite…

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Bought a 1964 Porsche 356 Coupe

March 16, 2023

cars

I’m madly in love with Sabine, my Porsche 356 Speedster replica built from a VW Beetle. I love the simplicity of the air-cooled engine experience, the looks, the ride, everything. The only drawback has been constantly saying to admirers, “Yes, but it’s a replica.” So I’ve had my eye out for a genuine 356 coupe for a while, something that I could drive in the winter when the open-air Speedster makes less sense. (The Speedster technically has a heater and a top, but you don’t wanna use either one.) This mysterious 1964 356 coupe popped up on BringATrailer, and right…

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Bought a Modified VW Squareback

March 6, 2023

cars, vw

This adorable little 1971 Volkswagen Type 3 has such an excellent story. About 20 years ago, it was abandoned at a hotel in Vegas. A towing company carted it away and notified the Californian owner, but the owner didn’t want to bother with it. It was broken down, had a flat tire, dents and dings all over. It sold at auction for $75. Most $75 cars are destined for scrap or being sold as parts, but this one got lucky. Its next two decades were spent under the ownership of VW fanatics who saw its potential. A Porsche 914 2.0L…

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Bought Another Blue 2013 Jag XKR-S.

October 21, 2022

cars, jaguar, jaguar xkr-s

About two years ago, I got a 2013 Jaguar XKR-S hardtop, and I love it. It’s comfortable, fast, loud, useful, and pretty. It’s the definition of what a grand tourer should be: a combination of luxury and performance that make it easy to drive long distances at speed. I do way more road trips than track days, although that might change now that I’m in Vegas. But originally, when I first fell in love with the XKR-S, I wanted the convertible version. So I kept my eye out on the market – mostly out of curiosity – watching prices and…

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Doug DeMuro Reviewed My 944 Turbo.

August 30, 2022

944, cars, porsche

After I bought my 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo off Cars & Bids, I contacted Doug to see if he wanted to review it. The video just went live: Doug remarks a lot in there about the car’s amazing condition and originality, and that’s certainly one of the big things that sold me on it. He sums it up with, “This is an exceptional car. It drives well, it’s fun, it’s exciting, and the Turbo version is pretty fast, and I just think there’s a lot to love here.” I agree!

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Bought a Porsche Speedster Replica, Sabine.

May 31, 2022

cars, porsche, sabine, speedster

The 1950s Porsche 356 Speedster is iconic. From James Dean to Top Gun to Doc Hollywood to Justin Bieber’s Mistletoe, the beautiful German bathtub has stood for decades as shorthand for cool. Originally Porsche’s cheapest, simplest model intended for racing, today its pure form just screams cool. Porsche only made a few thousand examples. Now, the few that remain trade hands for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sadly, most of them aren’t driven and appreciated – they’re locked up in pristine storage while they financially appreciate. (Matt Hummel is one of the rare exceptions who drives the heck out of his 356s.) Fortunately,…

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Bought a 1986 Ferrari 328 GTS.

April 29, 2022

cars, ferrari

I’ve always wanted a 308 or 328, and I finally pulled the trigger on this 1986 Ferrari 328 GTS from BringATrailer. It screams 1980s with louvers everywhere and pop-up headlights. It’s my first car with a gated manual. Normally when I think Ferraris, I think bright red, aka resale red or retail red, typically with a black or tan interior. I love this one because it’s the exact opposite. I’d never seen a black over red 328 before, and I love the deep color of the leather. I won’t be taking this one on any cross-country road trips. It’s only…

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Selling My 911 on Cars & Bids, Bought a 944

April 4, 2022

cars

Lemme set the stage with tracks from Just Say Yes, the 1987 Sire Records sampler: Depeche Mode – Never Let Me Down Again (Split Mix)Echo & the Bunnymen – Lips Like SugarThe Smiths – Work is a Four-Letter WordReplacements – Can’t Hardly WaitThe Ramones – I Wanna Live You feel me? Okay, with that in mind: I got a 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo. This… is a 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo from Cars & Bids. Guards Red, pop-up headlights, phone dial wheels, Blaupunkt stereo. It just screams 1980s to me, like a great car to take to Radwood. It’s also kinda…

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cars

Hi. I’m Brent.