Porsche Guy drives a … Porsche. (What – you thought maybe it was a VW??) No, he really does drive a Porsche. It’s not a brand new one, but he is quite handy with cars and has always loved to spend time tinkering on them. He claims that one of the reasons he prefers older vehicles is that he can work on them himself. I KNOW that the other reason is that he can’t afford to buy brand new the exoticars that he really wants to own – and also, he hasn’t got a clue about computers, and since new cars are full of computery things – well, it just wouldn’t be a pretty sight.
So okay, the man is a gearhead. Fine. I accept this. And since I have been known to share his enthusiasm for cars, we seem to have that weird thing known as “something in common”. (Except when he gets all technical on me, but he’s learning to recognize the glazed look I take on at those times and immediately switches to telling me how shiny and pretty the exterior paint colour is.)
Now, his Porsche being “d’un certain âge”, it requires repairs and replacement parts every so often. For example, the digital clock doesn’t work. He did get a replacement, but there is some wire missing or connection broken (or maybe it’s computer-related?) so he can’t get this new one to work yet. The hatch doesn’t always close properly – but he’s working on that, and today said he thinks he’s almost got it. The air conditioning gave up the ghost long ago, but PG says he’d way rather open the windows and feel the wind – and besides, how hot does it get in Vancouver anyway?
None of those are absolutely crucial elements to a car, really. Well, maybe the hatch is, but honestly, it mostly does close properly after a few tries. But when the gearshift broke off in PG’s hand a couple of months ago, as he was driving, now THAT was crucial. Somehow, he nursed the car home, after he pulled off the leather boot that covers the bottom half of the gearshift and gingerly gripped the five remaining centimetres of unbroken gearshift to shift as best he could. I was sure he would replace that sucker right smartly, because a gearshift is a pretty integral part of a car, especially one with a standard transmission.
Oh, he replaced it all right. With vice grips.
Thank you, 
Thank you, Fhina, at 
4 responses so far ↓
VioletSky // January 18, 2009 at 2:02 am
Ingenious. And stubborn, to boot!
No mechanic’s bill will cross that dash, will it?
pinklea // January 18, 2009 at 9:05 am
All true! PG also has a hobby car (a Fiat Dino coupé, which most people have never heard of). He’s been “working” on it since sometime in the 1980’s (long before my time). It’s still sitting in his warehouse, in pieces.
XUP // January 19, 2009 at 7:49 am
I once had a boyfriend who was obsessed with VW bugs – he did all his own repairs, too and they almost always involved an elastic band. He always had a pocket full of them and they seemed to be able to fix almost anything that was wrong with the car. I’m not mechanically-inclined so I have no idea how this could be.
pinklea // January 19, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Apparently, elastic bands, duct tape and WD40 are all anyone needs to fix anything. I didn’t know this also applied to VW bugs, though. Live and learn, right?
Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.