Got a call from Rich MacKoul telling me to get my butt over to the Cars and Coffee this morning, 'cuz "The whole gang's gonna be there!"
It was a relatively large turn-out for this little hole-in-the-wall, so I'll just post the photos and caption them as we go along:
Remember "Hot Rod Charlie"? My friend from "Charlie's Rod Shop"? This is his "just finished" ex-racer 911 outlaw (I think he was harrassed by his brother after he finished his '58 356). It's surprising how tiny this is next to a later 996 or GT3 or 4. You old SOC'ers will recognize my son, Chris, peeking in the window. That's a "Full Race" Trabant sitting to the right (more on that at the end of the post).
I asked Charlie's wife, Gloria, if she did the interior and Charlie immediately replied, "No, I did every stitch in there and that plaid is a Bitch to get straight!"
Chris asked what the big red light on the dash was for, Shift Point? Nope, said Charlie.....Oil pressure. "At $20K to replace the engine, if that comes on I immediately hit the stop button!"
These carburetors are physically huge, and the runners are shorter than ours...... This is a 3.0 flat six.
That is one serious oil pressure light.
Several shots of the parking lot with Chris' red 996 left of center and left of that is Scott's Carrera 4. Remember Scott? He spotted with us at Daytona for the Rolex in 2012 - Car #66 versus us with the #67 car. The red Mitsu Eclipse in the left foreground is another racing friend of Chris. This one's running close to 700 hp.
If you look hard, off in the distance, you'll see the Three Amigos 356's. That Cayenne in the middle belongs to Rich MacKoul's grandson.
The Corvette Corner, all seemingly with engine troubles and Jesse MacKoul's (Rich's son) 9-series in the left foreground.
And then this guy arrived with this Lotus 7. THIS car absolutely devastates all Porsches in the New England SCCA autocross. BTW: That's Hot Rod Charlie (Black ballcap, blue shirt, Santa Clause hair) in the background.
Three Fifty Sixes: Al Silvestrie (IM), me (CMC), and Rich MacKoul (real deal).
Rich just sold a guy that little, yellow Boxster two days ago. He was behind me at a light two miles before the cafe and I totally blew him off out of the light. BUT, he's probably too new an owner to beat on his Boxster yet.
Chris' friend with his Mitsu EVO (think Subaru WRX on steroids) and that cute little Fiat 500 is one of those turbo'd ABARTH giant killers. That's our friend Scott, on the right in white and stripes.
This Lotus 7 is a class act no matter how you look at it.
At least they ran the exhaust outside on the Lotus 7, rather than under the driver's seat in my old Austin Healey 3000. No toasted buns, here!
Intermeccanica Convertible "D", CMC Outlaw and a tiny, little '55 Speedster.
Cockpit of the Lotus 7. This is a VERY sanitary car.
A Ford Focus trying to look like an EVO or WRX.
Nice GT4 looking all "race-y", don't you think?
Chris' 996 (left) and Scott's Carrera 4
I never realized how small the original 911 cars were.
Left, in the background and both in dark blue are Hot Rod Charlie and Rich MacKoul, who is currently trying to look like a short "Wild Bill Hickok".
Charlie parked, and about a minute later someone pulled in to the spot to the right in a Trabant 2-cyl, 2-cycle little station wagon. Before he shut it down you could hear the twin cylinder occasionally firing (only when needed) and he shouts over the noise, "That's the sound of Socialism!"
