Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT The Garage at The Place in The Valley (Garage Condo 45x23x20)
- Thread starter Greg_STL
- Start date
Workspaces between 705 and 1200 squarefeet.
Another local Cars & Coffee today. I was playing some today with a circular polarizer. I enjoy taking pictures but I am far from a professional and it is tough when it gets so busy. Still, nice cars, nice weather, ... not a bad way to spend an hour or two...
So, I realized that I'm not taking as many pictures of our garage. It made me think of how long we have been in the space. It has only been three years in total and we have had the interior finished out for only about six months. In some ways it feels like for ever and in others I keep pinching my self because I can't believe it is done.
So these first pictures are from earlier this spring which is as recent as I have really taken any photographs.
And then this is one year ago in June 2017 when they first started work on the mezzanine and completion of the interior.
Go back one more year and in June of 2016 the facility was just getting the concrete poured for the courtyards and entrance. I think at this point, I had steel studs in my unit but no drywall yet.
And, if you go back even one more year earlier (June 2015) - It is just a field!!! We had bought in at this point but ground would not break until late fall of 2015.
Ok. I cheated. The picture above is from November of 2015 but I doubt it looked much different in June - maybe a bit greener.
So these first pictures are from earlier this spring which is as recent as I have really taken any photographs.
And then this is one year ago in June 2017 when they first started work on the mezzanine and completion of the interior.
Go back one more year and in June of 2016 the facility was just getting the concrete poured for the courtyards and entrance. I think at this point, I had steel studs in my unit but no drywall yet.
And, if you go back even one more year earlier (June 2015) - It is just a field!!! We had bought in at this point but ground would not break until late fall of 2015.
Ok. I cheated. The picture above is from November of 2015 but I doubt it looked much different in June - maybe a bit greener.
Last edited:
RickP
Well-known member
Wow, those photos really put your recent progress on the interior into perspective! I'm glad you're making good use of the garage.
55cadillacking
Well-known member
Simply awesome. You must love it.
buildingup
Well-known member
Looks great. What kind of ceiling fan did you install?
I looked at the really expensive high volume low speed (hvls) fans from big *** fans and others but couldn’t pull the trigger.
I wound up getting a 96” hunter fan from Menards. I think it is on sale right now for about $699. It is not as nice as some of the higher end fans but my space is really not that large and it works well. I have ecobee temperature sensors mounted high and low on one wall and the usually measure within a degree of each other if the fan has been running.
I wound up getting a 96” hunter fan from Menards. I think it is on sale right now for about $699. It is not as nice as some of the higher end fans but my space is really not that large and it works well. I have ecobee temperature sensors mounted high and low on one wall and the usually measure within a degree of each other if the fan has been running.
I hope this does not bother too many people as a non-garage post - however, we wouldn't have bought the garage condo if we had not bought our Porsche. Our thread title could have been "The Garage That Porsche Built" instead of the "The Garage at The Place in The Valley."
We attended our first Porsche Parade this last week. Porsche Parade is essentially the yearly convention for all things Porsche. This year it was held in Osage Beach at the Lake of the Ozarks which is only 2.5 hours from our house. As this was our first time attending we had a number of odd misteps in scheduling and picking events to attend but all in all we had lots of fun.
We knew it things were starting off right when we parked in the Tan-Tar-A resort lot next to a 911 GT3RS and a Carrera GT.
It only got more exciting as we continuted to see cars that I hadn't every really thought I would see. Porsche North America was there with several display cars including a RSR race car and new GT2RS on dislay at the hotel during registration.
We went to our first of several banquets that night where they rolled out a Gunther Werks 400 as part of the event. This is one of the new breed of re-imagined air-cooled Porsches. Singer is a bit more famous but Gunther Werks must have some tie in with Porsche to get rolled out at an official even like this. Just to give you an idea - you have to bring your own donor car and then it starts at $500k to do a build. They then pulled the tarp off a Taycan (Mission E) display model. I say display model because there was no interior in the car and I'm not even sure there was any running gear. Not bad for opening night...
The first full day (Monday) of the Parade is Concours day. The cars were amazing and the level of work that went into preparation was also mind boggling. I saw people "drive" cars onto the golf course with socks on the tires and then fully encapsulate the vehicle in a plastic bag the night before the event. I've never seen cars at dealerships that looked that nice. I can't do justice with a couple pictures but here are some favorites:
Of course, Porsche was there with new cars to look at. I particularly liked this 911T. It was spec'd out with the racing seats, no rear seats, and a manual of course. I'm sure I could "live" with the Cayman GTS next to it if you forced me. They also had a Panamera with a "Pink Pig" livery. The shooting brake is a bit of an odd duck so it fits the theme of the original "Pink Pig".
We didn't plan out Tuesday very well and we tried some smaller events such as the RC car event. No one should ever let me near one of their RC vehicles. We also had to run over to the airport for a pre-meeting/chalk talk for the autocross and then run back for the Zone 10 party. What we did learn that day is that we were supposed to have received pre-printed adhesive numbers for our car during registration but somehow did not. We ran to Walmart and picked up some mailbox numbers. Since we were not sure if the adhesive would come off when we were done - we put down blue tape first and then put the number on the blue tape. Not perfect but at least we could run the AutoX now. My wife was 375A since it is her car and I was 375B since I'm the secondary driver.
Wednesday was AutoX. We autocross locally but figured the talent level at the national convention would be high so we went in with very low expectations. They ran stock, production, improved and modified with lots of classes for different years and models. Our local AutoX is lucky to have 2 Porsche entries so it was nice to see almost 200 entered here over two days. We were in the production level since our car has aftermarket wheels (same dia just different offset) and a "Gundo Hack" exhaust mod. I think we lucked into a good category because we only had 6-8 cars in our classes versus the 20ish in the stock classes. The course was on a airport runway and was very long an narrow - it basically went straight out with a cross over half way down and a full 180 degree turn at the end and then back through the cross over again. It was tight and technical in first and last quarters with some relatively high speeds straights in the middle half.
Unexpectedly, after our first of four runs; we were both in first place in our classes. After two runs we were still in first place. But since we were running two runs to one, since we had two drivers in one car - our tires fell off quick and our best runs were behind us at that point. I got beat by 0.037 sec on the third run by a Cayman R. I tried to respond but I pushed too hard in the fastest part of the course and had a major spin (that still didn't hit any cones!!). That is the beauty of AutoX - a major screw up and no damage anywhere. That was where we finished with me in second and my wife in first in our classes. We were both a little shocked but really pleased.
The convention continued but Thursday was to be our last full day. We had things to do in STL on Friday and needed to leave Friday morning. We decided to do the Gimmick Rally on Thursday. It was billed as a 6 hour rally that would hit highlights of the old Route 66 sections that passed through the region. The Gimmick part was they gave us 40 vintage photos of Route 66 attractions from back in the day and we were supposed to put them in order of when we saw them on our route. We headed out before 9am with 40 loose sheets of photos, 10 pages of directions, and multiple tourist guide pamphlets and maps all in a package handed to us at the last minute. It didn't take us long to throw in the towel and decide that if Golf is a beautiful days walk ruined then a Gimmick Rally is a beautiful days drive ruined.
We did get to see some of the attractions and definitely enjoyed the drive - so it was worth it. We just didn't follow the "rules".
But by far the best part to me was driving on the old sections of Route 66 that still have their original concrete and curbing. The mother road is so different from the modern superhighways that we are so used to.
Compare the above to the modern highway below ... Note that there are no pull off areas, much less room in the meadian, and certainly no "outer" roads.
All in all, we had lots of fun. We spent a lot to time talking to fellow car enthusiasts. We had one last night out at a nice restaurant on the lake. When dinner was over, who did we find parked next to us in the parking lot? I'll take that as a good bookend to a great week.
We took tons of cell phone pictures that are in albums on Flikr. Please have a look if you would like.
Porsche Parade 2018 Albums Link
We attended our first Porsche Parade this last week. Porsche Parade is essentially the yearly convention for all things Porsche. This year it was held in Osage Beach at the Lake of the Ozarks which is only 2.5 hours from our house. As this was our first time attending we had a number of odd misteps in scheduling and picking events to attend but all in all we had lots of fun.
We knew it things were starting off right when we parked in the Tan-Tar-A resort lot next to a 911 GT3RS and a Carrera GT.
It only got more exciting as we continuted to see cars that I hadn't every really thought I would see. Porsche North America was there with several display cars including a RSR race car and new GT2RS on dislay at the hotel during registration.
We went to our first of several banquets that night where they rolled out a Gunther Werks 400 as part of the event. This is one of the new breed of re-imagined air-cooled Porsches. Singer is a bit more famous but Gunther Werks must have some tie in with Porsche to get rolled out at an official even like this. Just to give you an idea - you have to bring your own donor car and then it starts at $500k to do a build. They then pulled the tarp off a Taycan (Mission E) display model. I say display model because there was no interior in the car and I'm not even sure there was any running gear. Not bad for opening night...
The first full day (Monday) of the Parade is Concours day. The cars were amazing and the level of work that went into preparation was also mind boggling. I saw people "drive" cars onto the golf course with socks on the tires and then fully encapsulate the vehicle in a plastic bag the night before the event. I've never seen cars at dealerships that looked that nice. I can't do justice with a couple pictures but here are some favorites:
Of course, Porsche was there with new cars to look at. I particularly liked this 911T. It was spec'd out with the racing seats, no rear seats, and a manual of course. I'm sure I could "live" with the Cayman GTS next to it if you forced me. They also had a Panamera with a "Pink Pig" livery. The shooting brake is a bit of an odd duck so it fits the theme of the original "Pink Pig".
We didn't plan out Tuesday very well and we tried some smaller events such as the RC car event. No one should ever let me near one of their RC vehicles. We also had to run over to the airport for a pre-meeting/chalk talk for the autocross and then run back for the Zone 10 party. What we did learn that day is that we were supposed to have received pre-printed adhesive numbers for our car during registration but somehow did not. We ran to Walmart and picked up some mailbox numbers. Since we were not sure if the adhesive would come off when we were done - we put down blue tape first and then put the number on the blue tape. Not perfect but at least we could run the AutoX now. My wife was 375A since it is her car and I was 375B since I'm the secondary driver.
Wednesday was AutoX. We autocross locally but figured the talent level at the national convention would be high so we went in with very low expectations. They ran stock, production, improved and modified with lots of classes for different years and models. Our local AutoX is lucky to have 2 Porsche entries so it was nice to see almost 200 entered here over two days. We were in the production level since our car has aftermarket wheels (same dia just different offset) and a "Gundo Hack" exhaust mod. I think we lucked into a good category because we only had 6-8 cars in our classes versus the 20ish in the stock classes. The course was on a airport runway and was very long an narrow - it basically went straight out with a cross over half way down and a full 180 degree turn at the end and then back through the cross over again. It was tight and technical in first and last quarters with some relatively high speeds straights in the middle half.
Unexpectedly, after our first of four runs; we were both in first place in our classes. After two runs we were still in first place. But since we were running two runs to one, since we had two drivers in one car - our tires fell off quick and our best runs were behind us at that point. I got beat by 0.037 sec on the third run by a Cayman R. I tried to respond but I pushed too hard in the fastest part of the course and had a major spin (that still didn't hit any cones!!). That is the beauty of AutoX - a major screw up and no damage anywhere. That was where we finished with me in second and my wife in first in our classes. We were both a little shocked but really pleased.
The convention continued but Thursday was to be our last full day. We had things to do in STL on Friday and needed to leave Friday morning. We decided to do the Gimmick Rally on Thursday. It was billed as a 6 hour rally that would hit highlights of the old Route 66 sections that passed through the region. The Gimmick part was they gave us 40 vintage photos of Route 66 attractions from back in the day and we were supposed to put them in order of when we saw them on our route. We headed out before 9am with 40 loose sheets of photos, 10 pages of directions, and multiple tourist guide pamphlets and maps all in a package handed to us at the last minute. It didn't take us long to throw in the towel and decide that if Golf is a beautiful days walk ruined then a Gimmick Rally is a beautiful days drive ruined.
We did get to see some of the attractions and definitely enjoyed the drive - so it was worth it. We just didn't follow the "rules".
But by far the best part to me was driving on the old sections of Route 66 that still have their original concrete and curbing. The mother road is so different from the modern superhighways that we are so used to.
Compare the above to the modern highway below ... Note that there are no pull off areas, much less room in the meadian, and certainly no "outer" roads.
All in all, we had lots of fun. We spent a lot to time talking to fellow car enthusiasts. We had one last night out at a nice restaurant on the lake. When dinner was over, who did we find parked next to us in the parking lot? I'll take that as a good bookend to a great week.
We took tons of cell phone pictures that are in albums on Flikr. Please have a look if you would like.
Porsche Parade 2018 Albums Link
Last edited:
slik560
Well-known member
Excellent. I just could not make the trip this year due to other committments, but your post is fantastic and helped me see what I missed! Looked like a fantastic time.
C_F
ALLIANCE MEMBER
That definitely looks like a fun time. 
I think it's pretty cool that there are still areas of the 'ol Mother Road that are still original & drivable. There is a few miles of the original road in Arizona that I was able to drive on, around 15 years ago, I assume it's still there.
A few years ago, my daughter & her boyfriend took a couple weeks vacation, drove to Chicago & then drove the entire Route 66 (what is still available to drive) to California. They had a blast, and had tons of stories to share when they returned home.
I think it's pretty cool that there are still areas of the 'ol Mother Road that are still original & drivable. There is a few miles of the original road in Arizona that I was able to drive on, around 15 years ago, I assume it's still there.A few years ago, my daughter & her boyfriend took a couple weeks vacation, drove to Chicago & then drove the entire Route 66 (what is still available to drive) to California. They had a blast, and had tons of stories to share when they returned home.
Look what followed us home:
We traded the EOS in on a CPO 2015 Porsche Macan S. My wife had two summer cars in the EOS and 997. My oldest daughter has taken over the RAV4 as her "daily" driver. We have been watching the CPOs on the Porsche site and found one in STL that had the options we wanted.
The above picture is a good one to show much height we have under the mezzanine. I don't think there will be any issue stacking the Macan and 997 on a four post lift ... if we keep buying more cars. Oh, and you can see we finally got the neon Porsche crest fixed.
One more picture of the Macan from the side.
We traded the EOS in on a CPO 2015 Porsche Macan S. My wife had two summer cars in the EOS and 997. My oldest daughter has taken over the RAV4 as her "daily" driver. We have been watching the CPOs on the Porsche site and found one in STL that had the options we wanted.
The above picture is a good one to show much height we have under the mezzanine. I don't think there will be any issue stacking the Macan and 997 on a four post lift ... if we keep buying more cars. Oh, and you can see we finally got the neon Porsche crest fixed.
One more picture of the Macan from the side.
moab11
Well-known member
that is one nice looking SUV!
hemiallen
Well-known member
Wow, nice thread. Gald it made it back to page one for me to see it.
How big is your loft? I see the steel frame image, is the entire floor steel or just the outer frame?
Allen
How big is your loft? I see the steel frame image, is the entire floor steel or just the outer frame?
Allen
The loft is 23’ x 15’. The posts and floor beams are steel with a steel corrugated floor with concrete poured on top. It is kinda overkill but the fire code required it.
C_F
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Congrats on your latest addition to your fleet, looks like it's in great shape!
@jay8s - I do not know how many other units have sold. I’m not positive if any have. I do see some of the other owners are down there but it seems like people are held up in the units with the air on in this heat. I was down there working yesterday replacing headlight units in our 12 year old RAV4. I was certainly hunkered down in the air working so maybe I’m just transferring my feeling to others.
I have not heard of another Cars and Coffee this year but I would expect to have one this fall. I’ll have to check into it.
I have not heard of another Cars and Coffee this year but I would expect to have one this fall. I’ll have to check into it.
What is the clear hight from the floor to the bottom of the rafters?
@alberto - Sorry for the slow response. I could not remember for sure what the exact measurement was under the floor beams. I was washing cars tonight and decided to measure the height under the mezzanine. To the bottom of the floor beams is just a tad over 132" or 11'.
But the front of the mezzanine has one deeper beam that runs the width of the bay. It measures just under 130".
With all the white on white it is hard to see in that picture. So, I took one the other way. The larger cross beam sticks down just about 2 1/4" lower than the floor beams.
I really do think that 11' is enough to be able to stack cars on a 4 post lift.
But the front of the mezzanine has one deeper beam that runs the width of the bay. It measures just under 130".
With all the white on white it is hard to see in that picture. So, I took one the other way. The larger cross beam sticks down just about 2 1/4" lower than the floor beams.
I really do think that 11' is enough to be able to stack cars on a 4 post lift.
Hugo L.
Well-known member
Hmmmm... could be a tight fit depending on the cars, but with yours, it should be fine.
I think I am going to look at the Benpak HD9-SW. I can get two cars up top and two cars and/or two small SUVs underneath. It has a max lift of 77 inches and a drive through height underneath of 70"
The Macan is only 64" tall so it fits in the 70" underneath. I can't put it up top and just raise all the way because the resultant 64+77" would put me into the ceiling (mezzanine floor). The TTS and Porsche are both short enough that you can put them on top and just raise to full height and they won't hit the mezzanine. I like that as it should make it idiot resistant (there is no such thing and idiot proof.)
I do not know of anyone else that makes a double wide unit. I could do two singles but that seems like it would take up more space on the floor. I like the idea of the floor being wide open if I put two cars up on the lift. The only thing that worries me is that the difference between the max lift and the drive through is 7" - that is the depth of the beams supporting the runways. That is taller than most of the single four post beams and I'm a little worried about the ramp angle to get the cars up onto the runway. They make 4' long aluminum ramps and I know race ramps will make you any custom size composite ramp you want so I think I can find a solution there.
If anyone knows of a different solution - fire it up. We only have 4 cars at the moment so figuring out how to get 6 into our unit (plus two at the house) is not a huge priority at the moment.
The Macan is only 64" tall so it fits in the 70" underneath. I can't put it up top and just raise all the way because the resultant 64+77" would put me into the ceiling (mezzanine floor). The TTS and Porsche are both short enough that you can put them on top and just raise to full height and they won't hit the mezzanine. I like that as it should make it idiot resistant (there is no such thing and idiot proof.)
I do not know of anyone else that makes a double wide unit. I could do two singles but that seems like it would take up more space on the floor. I like the idea of the floor being wide open if I put two cars up on the lift. The only thing that worries me is that the difference between the max lift and the drive through is 7" - that is the depth of the beams supporting the runways. That is taller than most of the single four post beams and I'm a little worried about the ramp angle to get the cars up onto the runway. They make 4' long aluminum ramps and I know race ramps will make you any custom size composite ramp you want so I think I can find a solution there.
If anyone knows of a different solution - fire it up. We only have 4 cars at the moment so figuring out how to get 6 into our unit (plus two at the house) is not a huge priority at the moment.
slik560
Well-known member
If you're gonna go up, go BIG. 
Looks like a logical choice for your set up.
Looks like a logical choice for your set up.Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Greg, the only drawback I see to the double is having to move two cars before you can get to either of the cars on the upper deck.
Hi Greg,
I have been following your thread for a while and finally finished reading it recently. I greatly admired your perseverance dealing with STL county. I love your place and your cars. And I agree that life is short, might as well enjoy it while we can! I live in STL and would love to check the place out sometime, maybe during a cars and coffee.
I have been investigating lifts for a while and am close to pulling the trigger. I thought about Bendpak, but they are no longer made in USA. I would recommend getting an ALI certified lift for peace of mind. I have a contact in the lift business if you're interested. He's in New York but has local connections as well. I don't know about double wide lifts, though. I haven't looked into that cuz my garage is only 18 feet wide - LOL.
Joe
I have been following your thread for a while and finally finished reading it recently. I greatly admired your perseverance dealing with STL county. I love your place and your cars. And I agree that life is short, might as well enjoy it while we can! I live in STL and would love to check the place out sometime, maybe during a cars and coffee.
I have been investigating lifts for a while and am close to pulling the trigger. I thought about Bendpak, but they are no longer made in USA. I would recommend getting an ALI certified lift for peace of mind. I have a contact in the lift business if you're interested. He's in New York but has local connections as well. I don't know about double wide lifts, though. I haven't looked into that cuz my garage is only 18 feet wide - LOL.
Joe
No worries. That clearance height should be just enough to stuff a lift in there if you don't park any really tall cars. I was thinking of getting one of these.
https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/parking-lifts/pl-6kdt/
It's made by Benpak. Allows you to lift two cars independently so you don't have to move both cars from below to access one of the cars above. I have not gotten a price quote, their site says they are around $16k. Very steep, but would be a great set up.
Thanks for the comments everyone. I had looked at the BendPak suspension parking lift but the price was a bit crazy. Also, it lifts to 89” which is great if you need it but would make for a very flat car in this case. I kinda liked that the 77” rise on the double wide four post would not be enough to have either car hit if someone was not watching what they were doing. Also, did I mention that the price was over double!!!!! It would be nice to have two different car heights and not have to move as many cars but not at double the double wide price. I think I would do two 70” lift single wide four post lifts first.
I really would not expect that this will happen anytime soon. I just do not have enough to store that I need the lift yet. My quick jack seems to work great for the small maintenance items like oil changes and tires/brakes.
@Joe-R ... I really hope The Place has a fall Cars and Coffee event. If they have one, I promise to post up the invitation.
I really would not expect that this will happen anytime soon. I just do not have enough to store that I need the lift yet. My quick jack seems to work great for the small maintenance items like oil changes and tires/brakes.
@Joe-R ... I really hope The Place has a fall Cars and Coffee event. If they have one, I promise to post up the invitation.
Sounds good Greg!
We received an update from the developers recently. It looks like four more units have been sold or at least are in the process of being closed on. By my count, they have now sold 17 of 34 units in the first phase. It still seems slow but it is nice to see us make it to the half way point. One of the largest corner units was one of the latest sales. It will be fun to see that one get built out.
My wife and I continue to fill out our unit. We picked up a 2015 Subaru BRZ with about 21k miles on it. We wanted a lower horsepower manual transmission car to be able to teach our daughters to drive manual. Our second daughter turns 15 next month and can start her drivers lessons. She is the next gen petrol head in the family so we wanted to get something that would be fun for her.
I think that we drove about 5 or 6 of these FRS/BRZ twins trying to find one that was in good shape. I kept finding versions that had "clean" car faxes but were obviously in wrecks and repaired poorly once I saw them up close. One had the back seats ripped out for a huge subwoofer. We even drove one where they had tires on the back that were so cheap the stability control would kick on when just turning normal corners. I wasn't sure if there was something worse going on or it was just the tires so we passed on it. This one seems in pretty good shape with the only mod being a dark tint. Only time will tell....
This last weekend, I took it to autocross to try it out. I haven't driven a stick in years and I had driven the BRZ to work one day. Nothing like driving a car at AutoX on temp tags. I did figure out the crazy 3 emergency brake, 3 regular brake, 3 emergency brake, 3 regular brake cheat code to turn the traction control and stability control off completely. Let's just say that I didn't set the world on fire with my times. I am used to point and shoot AWD, high horse power, and sticky tires on my TTS and this is something different. The BRZ is more about balance and momentum. I think if I drove it regularly I would probably be a better driver.
My wife and I continue to fill out our unit. We picked up a 2015 Subaru BRZ with about 21k miles on it. We wanted a lower horsepower manual transmission car to be able to teach our daughters to drive manual. Our second daughter turns 15 next month and can start her drivers lessons. She is the next gen petrol head in the family so we wanted to get something that would be fun for her.
I think that we drove about 5 or 6 of these FRS/BRZ twins trying to find one that was in good shape. I kept finding versions that had "clean" car faxes but were obviously in wrecks and repaired poorly once I saw them up close. One had the back seats ripped out for a huge subwoofer. We even drove one where they had tires on the back that were so cheap the stability control would kick on when just turning normal corners. I wasn't sure if there was something worse going on or it was just the tires so we passed on it. This one seems in pretty good shape with the only mod being a dark tint. Only time will tell....
This last weekend, I took it to autocross to try it out. I haven't driven a stick in years and I had driven the BRZ to work one day. Nothing like driving a car at AutoX on temp tags. I did figure out the crazy 3 emergency brake, 3 regular brake, 3 emergency brake, 3 regular brake cheat code to turn the traction control and stability control off completely. Let's just say that I didn't set the world on fire with my times. I am used to point and shoot AWD, high horse power, and sticky tires on my TTS and this is something different. The BRZ is more about balance and momentum. I think if I drove it regularly I would probably be a better driver.
Stuart in MN
Well-known member
I haven't driven one but I think those BRZ cars are intriguing. For street driving how do you like it, is it fun?
@Stuart in MN - The suspension is surprising stiff. The stock BRZ is stiffer than my TTS on coilovers. The manual transmission is a good one and driving is engaging but If I drove it everywhere in stop and go traffic it would get old fast. I do find myself driving faster than I should and revving it out so I would have to say it passes the fun test.
slik560
Well-known member
Ditto. I was thinking of your spacious set up when I was crawling along the garage floor between my 911 and the steel shelving on the side to try to hand-clean the wheels and seal them. I gotta get more space.
We use the place but not anything too exciting lately. There are almost always at least two cars stored there. I bought a couple track maps to hang up.
Mid-Ohio was the first course that I really drove on and is still one of my favorites.
We went to Monaco as part of a cruise for our 20th wedding anniversary and walked the course that I'd driven hundreds of times virtually on the playstation.
We have 5 vehicles but surprisingly during the last snow storm, the 911 and TTS were the ones up at the house. The 911 with AWD and snow tires on the OEM rims does a good job in the snow.
There was a good article recently on Car&Driver about snow tires and Corvettes and Porches.
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a25409822/corvette-porsche-911-snow-tires-winter-safety/
Mid-Ohio was the first course that I really drove on and is still one of my favorites.
We went to Monaco as part of a cruise for our 20th wedding anniversary and walked the course that I'd driven hundreds of times virtually on the playstation.
We have 5 vehicles but surprisingly during the last snow storm, the 911 and TTS were the ones up at the house. The 911 with AWD and snow tires on the OEM rims does a good job in the snow.
There was a good article recently on Car&Driver about snow tires and Corvettes and Porches.
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a25409822/corvette-porsche-911-snow-tires-winter-safety/
PhoenixRising
Active member
Any updates?
Updates....
1. We have not done too much at the Place lately. I changed oil in my TTS a couple weeks ago. We washed 3 cars when it was 60 degrees out two weekends ago but that was the biggest rain dance ever causing the foot of snow this last weekend.
2. I've noticed that the facility is now officially over 50% sold. The web site shows 18 units sold and only 16 still available. I'm still a little surprised that those units with windows looking over the runway have not sold out. I also wonder how many units will have to sell before they pull the trigger on the next phase.
3. My wife is very active with the Porsche Club. The local STL Porsche dealer does not bring cars to the STL Autoshow. The club brings cars instead and uses it as an outreach event to get people interested in the club. There were plenty of 911s to show but no one wanted to take their Macan. We got drafted. Now I will need to wash it (maybe even wax it) this next weekend in prep for the show next week.
4. We are going to take a vacation out to LA in February. We are going to visit the Peterson museum while it still has the Porsche exhibit. I also bought tickets for the Vault tour. We decided to hit up the Porsche experience center while we are there as well. I'm going to drive a Cayman GTS and my wife is going to take the "Master the Manual" class in a Boxter S. Last, but not least, we decided to try out Turo and rent a Cayman to drive. In keeping with the Porsche theme, we are going to take a drive using the new Porsche "Road Trips" ap. I'm hoping to also hit Bob's Big Boy in Burbank for their Friday cars and coffee like event. That might be too much for a short mid-winter trip. I'll take lots of pics.
5. On the Cars and Coffee front, Nancy is working with the Porsche club to do a single marque C&C in March. The Place is not huge; so, the idea of a low key C&C where you only get in the gate if you have a Porsche seemed like an interesting idea. Others can come and look but access inside will be for Porsche's only. I'd actually like to see us replicate with an American Muscle or 90's Japanese cars event... But the test case will be Porsche's @ the Place on March 23rd. More info to come....
1. We have not done too much at the Place lately. I changed oil in my TTS a couple weeks ago. We washed 3 cars when it was 60 degrees out two weekends ago but that was the biggest rain dance ever causing the foot of snow this last weekend.
2. I've noticed that the facility is now officially over 50% sold. The web site shows 18 units sold and only 16 still available. I'm still a little surprised that those units with windows looking over the runway have not sold out. I also wonder how many units will have to sell before they pull the trigger on the next phase.
3. My wife is very active with the Porsche Club. The local STL Porsche dealer does not bring cars to the STL Autoshow. The club brings cars instead and uses it as an outreach event to get people interested in the club. There were plenty of 911s to show but no one wanted to take their Macan. We got drafted. Now I will need to wash it (maybe even wax it) this next weekend in prep for the show next week.
4. We are going to take a vacation out to LA in February. We are going to visit the Peterson museum while it still has the Porsche exhibit. I also bought tickets for the Vault tour. We decided to hit up the Porsche experience center while we are there as well. I'm going to drive a Cayman GTS and my wife is going to take the "Master the Manual" class in a Boxter S. Last, but not least, we decided to try out Turo and rent a Cayman to drive. In keeping with the Porsche theme, we are going to take a drive using the new Porsche "Road Trips" ap. I'm hoping to also hit Bob's Big Boy in Burbank for their Friday cars and coffee like event. That might be too much for a short mid-winter trip. I'll take lots of pics.
5. On the Cars and Coffee front, Nancy is working with the Porsche club to do a single marque C&C in March. The Place is not huge; so, the idea of a low key C&C where you only get in the gate if you have a Porsche seemed like an interesting idea. Others can come and look but access inside will be for Porsche's only. I'd actually like to see us replicate with an American Muscle or 90's Japanese cars event... But the test case will be Porsche's @ the Place on March 23rd. More info to come....
STL Auto Show with Porsche Club
My wife is very active in the STL Porsche Club. One of the items on their calendar this year was to participate in the STL Autoshow in the convention center downtown. Historically, this has been the OEM show with new cars from all the major brands. The local Porsche dealer does not participate in the show. So, the club has brought a collection of cars down to show the last couple years. It gives the club a chance to be ambassadors for the marque.
The club asked for volunteers with different generations of 911s, Caymans, Boxsters, and 944s for the show. No one wanted to bring a Porsche SUV so we were "voluntold" to bring our Macan S. We had to drop off the car on Wednesday night (with less than 1/4 tank of gas) and leave it there until Sunday when the show closed. We also worked the booth on Saturday morning for a 4 hours shift. It was fun but our Macan is not a show car so it was a little odd.
I decided to put some Porsche People stickers on our Macan as the last minute on a whim. They were given to us at the Porsche Parade over the summer and seemed like the perfect accessory for a family Porsche SUV.
It was fun talking to people at the show. It is amazing how many people have owned or want to own a Porsche.
My wife is very active in the STL Porsche Club. One of the items on their calendar this year was to participate in the STL Autoshow in the convention center downtown. Historically, this has been the OEM show with new cars from all the major brands. The local Porsche dealer does not participate in the show. So, the club has brought a collection of cars down to show the last couple years. It gives the club a chance to be ambassadors for the marque.
The club asked for volunteers with different generations of 911s, Caymans, Boxsters, and 944s for the show. No one wanted to bring a Porsche SUV so we were "voluntold" to bring our Macan S. We had to drop off the car on Wednesday night (with less than 1/4 tank of gas) and leave it there until Sunday when the show closed. We also worked the booth on Saturday morning for a 4 hours shift. It was fun but our Macan is not a show car so it was a little odd.
I decided to put some Porsche People stickers on our Macan as the last minute on a whim. They were given to us at the Porsche Parade over the summer and seemed like the perfect accessory for a family Porsche SUV.
It was fun talking to people at the show. It is amazing how many people have owned or want to own a Porsche.
slik560
Well-known member
Nice! That’s awesome that you support the club and the show. It’s odd that the dealership does not. In Kansas City, the MB / Porsche / Rover / Jag dealer always has a huge presence.