Off to Kerrville, TX I go!

"OneFastPuertoRican" (OneFastPuertoRican)
03/26/2015 at 15:02 • Filed to: porsche, hill country rallye, texas

In about 17 hours, I will be making a 315 mile road trip from Dallas, TX to Kerrville, TX to join 100 of my closest air-cooled brothers (and sisters) at the annual Texas Hill Country Rallye. This will be the first time in nearly 4 years in owning "ze pumpkin" that I've taken a trip longer than my 30 minute commute to work or a friendly jaunt out to the monthly Cars & Coffee venue. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous as hell about this trip...

(Note: I just heard about the big accident involving an 18-wheeler hitting a bridge beam under construction just north of Salado, so it looks like I'll be planning an alternate route tonight)

Now when you are planning on driving 700+ miles over a long weekend in a 46 year old car, you don't just jump in and drive off. That's a rookie mistake you don't want (or afford) to make. 10 months ago, I poured over the list of stuff I had to do in order to get my baby 'road-trip worthy'. That long list included: updated seats, new rear torsion bushings, tune-up engine with larger venturis in the carbs, address the lingering gas smell in the cabin, new updated engine insulation, purchasing a fire extinguisher, and have the shifter looked at for loose play. While all this may sound easy to have done in 2-3 months, when you work full-time, have two small kids with weekend activities and a busy freelance schedule, 10 months goes by pretty damn quick!

For time's sake, I'll spare you all the drama that led up to this moment, but pretty much everything on the to-do list was checked off and completed. Arguably the most important feature, new driver's seat, was completed 3 weeks ago. Neat, eh?

There's other things that are essential for a 5 hour road trip throughout Central Texas and Hill Country:

iPhone battery charger, sunscreen, sunglasses, driving shoes, bottled water/drink bag, bail money. Misc parts such as clutch cable, generator pulley belt, a few quarts of high-temp motor oil, fuses, spark plugs, distributor rotor. Tools like a full metric ratchet set (including elbow joints) with spark plug adapter, vise grip, duct tape (yes, you read that correctly), flat and philips head screwdriver, adjustable wrench, standard and needle nose pliers, cheater bar, torque wrench. And just to make "ze pumpkin" look purty at the car show Friday night, some car wash in a bottle, windex, paper towels/rags, and vinyl dressing/Armor All. The collapsible chair is for pit stops and naps after a carb heavy lunch.

Our departure out of Dallas before sunrise should be uneventful. By the time the morning commuters wake up and head out the door, we'll be somewhere in Central Texas before we jump off the freeway and zig-zag our way west. There's a quick stop in Fredericksburg for some BBQ lunch goodness before taking in the Museum of the Pacific War and heading to the hotel in Kerrville for much needed nap.

So if you would like to send good thoughts, karma, prayers, etc our way, we'd very much appreciate it. If you want to check out random pics of air-cooled goodness (and pics of BBQ), you can follow along with the unofficial hashtag on Instagram #hillcountryrallye.

(here's some pics from last year's HCR to get you all hot and bothered)

DISCUSSION (16)

Party-vi > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 15:04

Kinja'd!!!

REPRESENT!!!!

ttyymmnn > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 15:08

US 281 is a good road. Should be four lanes the whole way, and probably 75 mph for much of it. You definitely want to avoid I-35 right now. It must be hell. Safe travels!

OneFastPuertoRican > ttyymmnn
03/26/2015 at 15:36

I was looking forward to driving though the Balcones Canyonland, but not if I have to sit in an extra hour or so to get through that mess in Salado.

Definitely looking at 281 instead. Thanks!

ttyymmnn > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 15:39

Save that for the drive home. It's a nice drive. But really, 281 is probably your best bet both ways. I-35, especially north of Waco up through West, can be a disaster at any time of day or night.

Flat Six > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 15:56

Wow, I wish you safe travels in your beautiful car. Can non air-cooled enthusiasts attend, or is it just for owners?

OneFastPuertoRican > Flat Six
03/26/2015 at 16:07

Thanks for the well-wishes! This year's HCR location could not accommodate the sheer number of people that showed up last year, so they restricted it to air-cooled P-cars from '48-'89 and capped it at 100 cars.

I imagine if you were in the area you could definitely stop by and check out the scene. Rumor has it a genuine Carrera RS might make an appearance!

Kurt Bradley > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 16:11

Swing through Austin, and let me snap some pics of your car. No really.

www.kurtbradley.co has my stuff on there

TheBaron2112 > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 16:24

That doesn't look like a regular 911SC.

That looks far more expensive. What kind of 911 is this?

OneFastPuertoRican > Kurt Bradley
03/26/2015 at 16:33

I wish I could. I'm on a tight schedule to get back home before 3pm Sunday. Yay, kids birthday parties!!!

You're more than welcome to come out Friday 6-8pm when most all of the cars will be out on display at the Kerrville Town Square.

Oh and awesome portfolio on your site. We should hook up soon!

Kurt Bradley > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 16:57

Wish I could make it. Gotta instruct at H2R this weekend.

Thanks for the appreciation on my pics too!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 17:21

Awesome. Hope you have a great time and that you have smooth sailing there and back!

OneFastPuertoRican > TheBaron2112
03/26/2015 at 18:18

Uh, which 911 are you referring to? The green 911 or the other thirty-some odd 911? :)

TheBaron2112 > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 18:56

The orange one that seems to be yours.

OneFastPuertoRican > TheBaron2112
03/26/2015 at 19:34

Oh THAT one. It's actually a 912. The four-banger little brother to the 911.

TheBaron2112 > OneFastPuertoRican
03/26/2015 at 19:37

Oh. I'm bad at telling old 911s (and 912s!) apart from one another.

I'm interested in getting a mid-80s 911. Something in good condition that I can fix up and keep as my toy. Maybe an SC. Depends on what all is out there.

OneFastPuertoRican > TheBaron2112
03/26/2015 at 21:51

No worries. It's not easy to distinguish between both w/o looking at the back end. You should look on Pelican to get a good idea of what's out there price-wise. Good luck!