Gary Glover - President I have been a VIR/PCA member for over 10 short years. My wife and I found the group almost by accident; while living in Port Alberni, our oldest son noticed a group of Porsches passing through town every spring. My brother-in-law loaned us his 911 and we ventured to Tofino for a weekend. Well the Porsche Mystique must have chewed on us; within six weeks we owned a 1982 911SC. Over the next four years we ventured to a Parade and entered all events. This even fed the addiction more and we dragged more members to another Parade and started to tour the paved roads of Western Canada and Western US. I became active in the yearly “Spring To The River” event in Campbell River and helped on the executive as Up-Island Director and newsletter print person. The 911SC has moved on to new owners and a white 964 coupe now carries us. Porsches are meant to be driven. That is what I do most of, exercise them. But as a member once told me “A clean car is a happy car” (I think he was sniffing the wax again.) Impromptu drives in the summer or going over 100km to find milk are normal. Porsche builds the cars and gives them a soul, but we as owners give them life. Drive safe!!!!
Mike Griffin - Vice President I've been involved with sports cars since my first,
an MG/TC purchased in '51--- Since then I've owned an MG/TD, TR-2, MGA, Volvo 444, Jag. XK120, '66 Pontiac GTO, '67 Shelby GT
500.
In '90 I began building a Proteus " C TYPE " Jaguar, an exact replica of a Le Mans racing car. It went on the road in '92
and over the next several years it was driven on two New England 1000 Rallies, and a few SVRA races on the east coast of the
US.
The "C" was great fun, but it was a racing car, no windshield, wipers, radio, heater, A/C, or weather equipment, so I
started to look for something fun to drive, but a little more civilized. I had run into Dave a Porsche guru at Summit Point W.
Va. who not only raced his own 930, but serviced another half dozen or so 'Client" racing Porches and we discussed the pros
and cons of Porsche, let me drive a couple, recommended Paul Freres book " The 911 Story" and so the die was cast and it was
decided that I should start looking for an '84 or younger that would fit my budget.
My first and present car, an '84, was purchased in the summer of '98, it was located in Cleveland and I was fortunate to
have a friend and client, who was an excellent Porsche restorer, in the area. He inspected the car and gave it a clean bill of
health, confirming the mileage, 27,500. The previous owners had been two dentists and a Dr. in Rowanoak Va. who apparently
only drove the car to the Country Club on nice Sundays.
I was dreadfully disappointed in the car: no acceleration, the gearbox was so gruanchy that I hated shifting gears----
I discussed the problems with Dave, the guru, and he advised me to drive the crap out of it, bounce it off the rev limiter a
few times, start doing racing shifts, and by George he was absolutely right. Now after almost 60K additional miles, many
minor changes and simple mods, I absolutely adore my 911, and I truly appreciate how unique Porches are and why they are loved
by their lucky owners.
This is the best car that I have ever driven, responsive, fast (enough), economical, and the most comfortable long
distance GT I've had ( Includes my three previous M. B.'s). For example, in the spring of '07
I drove from Vancouver Island to Annapolis Md. north into Ontario, and returned to the Island by driving the roads just south
of the US Border, a total of 7385miles, driving 11 hours a day, and for the first 3200 miles averaged 70 mph, and
surprisingly an average of 27mpg. So easy to drive, so comfortable, so much fun, no wonder I love this car.
I'm quite new to this area, arrived in '03, never been a club executive before, and at 75 I think I'm the oldest,
active, member of VIRPCA, and I'm pretty sure that I'll be taking another cross country trip again in '08 this time to Nova
Scotia to visit my sister. I do plan to replace the clutch, rebuild the gear box and replace the CV joints, prior to this
trip, and after all this cars got to last me another 20 years, at least.
Al Kyle - Treasurer My first Porsche was a 1984 944, which I used as a daily driver from 1991 to 2004. From 1995 to 2003 that car competed successfully in autocrossing and Concours events in regional events, at Whistler and at Parade & Rainbonnet.
That car won 1st place in Street Concours at 1995 Parade, won both Divisional & Class honours at Whistler Weekends in 1996 and 1997, and 1st place as a Daily Driver at Rainbonnet in 1998. That car had 60,000 miles on it when I bought it and it was sold when it had 180,000 on it odometer. The car was completely repainted in 1995 and the interior was refurbished in 1998. The car was in excellent condition when I reluctantly sold it in 2004 to make way for its replacement.
My second and present Porsche is a 1986 944 Turbo. It has just turned
155,000 miles and it will be completely repainted and all the deferred
maintenance addressed before I drive to Parade. My daughter and I will
autocross the car, use it for Driver Education, and we will enter it in the
Concours event at Parade.
I am a founding member of Vancouver Island Region. I am also a
past-President of the region, having served two terms following those of
Ernie Kowal and Blair Cooper. I have been the Treasurer for the Regions
since its inception, with the exception of six years following my
presidency; I am now once again the Treasurer.
Secretary - Ryan Davies I just purchased my first Porsche, a 1989 944 Turbo, in April of 2006, after 2 years of looking for my "perfect Porsche." Growing up reading the car mags, I knew it had to be either and 944 Turbo S or a 964. Better yet, a C4 would be the ideal candidate to satiate my Porsche need with my ski hill travel requirements! (Hey, don't laugh; my '69 Camaro proved to be an exceptional ski machine in the 4 years I lived in Kelowna.) Test drives in multiple 964 C2 and C4s had me convinced that I was going down the right path ... 2 pairs of ski boots would fit in the trunk, the rear seats would be perfect ski bag holders and Porsche itself sells ski racks for the car; what's not to love? Plus, with heated seats, the air-cooled engine's 'heater' couldn't be THAT bad in the winter, could it?
Then it, of course, happened ... I found the 944 online in Montreal, and the rest is history. It was exactly what I was looking for: stock in appearance, but with engine up-grades bringing things into the 360 horsepower range. I'm currently beginning year 2 of a 4-year plan (well, maybe a 5 or 6 year plan...), and the car is a regular on the local autocross scene as well as several DE days a year. The only true "problem" I've found with the car is it makes driving my Audi 2.7T (a pretty stout car in it's own right) feel like I'm driving a Vista Cruiser! Oh well, the challenges we must face....
This car will continue to be a regular at the autocross events, and I'm looking forward to meeting the non-autocrossers among us at various events throughout the year. A great club celebrating great cars; again, what's not to love?
Brad Blaney - Membership I purchased my first Porsche way back in 1975. It was a sunshine yellow 914 with a 1.7 litre engine and only 6000 miles on the clock. I loved that car and enjoyed it 5 years.
My need for a Porsche lay dormant for 14 years until I purchased a ‘project’ car. Another 914, this time a 1993 with well over 100k on it and much abused by former owners and mother nature. After rebuilding the engine, I turned my attention to the rest of the car and realized it was a complete rust bucket!
While pondering what to do next, along came my next Porsche, a 1972 914. I bolted in the newly rebuilt engine and motored along in it for 9 years.
Then last year, after 3 consecutive 914’s, I decided to move up to a Porsche with a bit more refinement and power. I purchased a 1984 944 and immediately appreciated the ride, handling, 70 more horsepower and QUIET of the newer car.
However, over the summer I soon began to miss having a convertible. So I purchased my next and current Porsche, a 1995 968 Cabriolet. It rides and handles even better than the 944, has 86 more horses and of course, I can again drive with the wind in my hair!
My association with the Porsche club began when I joined in 1997. I served as the club Secretary in 2000 & 2001 and have just taken on the job as the Membership Director. I’ve auto crossed, cruised to up island events, attended show and shines, tech nights, breakfast drives, banquets and can be found most Sunday mornings having coffee with the gang. See you there!
Conrad Peden - Competition I bought first Porsche in 1993, a Signal Orange 72' 914, and (as a gift from
my wife) been member since 1994.
Activities in the club are primarily Autocross and supporting some chaity
events, time(family) permitting.
Over the years my corral of of 914's has grown and, like stray puppies, I
haven't been able to turn one away. I now have two more 914's both 73's
and they have a friend over to play, a 71 914 with aspirations of becoming
more 'Porsche' than its previous incarnation. Hopefully somewhere around the
low 2.? L turbo six. Ya never know, I've seen some pretty odd powerplants
shoehorned into 914's.
Ya Baby, lets autocross!!
Doug Hoare - Up-Island I am a career banker, and currently an empty-nester in Nanaimo with my wife of 27 years (and fellow new VIRPCA member), Carolyn. I have been a dedicated Toyota owner since 1988 - that is until one fateful day in January, 2006 when we, on a whim, test-drove a 2005 Midnight Blue Boxster S from Speedway Motors in Victoria. Thereafter, despite numerous other test-drives in BMW's, Mercedes, Mazda Miatas, Audi TTs and the like, we became determined to one day have a Porsche of our own. We finally found the one for us in August, 2006 - a black-on-black 2002 Boxster. Owning a Porsche changes the way one looks at life, I think, and in a good way! All things are indeed possible now and we are very pleased to be involved with such a positive group of people in VIRPCA. As a recent new member and now the new 2007 Up-Island Director, I look forward to meeting many of my fellow Porsche enthusiasts and working with all concerned to help keep our Club - and owning a Porsche - a consistently exhilarating experience. By the way, Carolyn thinks Isabella (the Boxster) is hers....
Virginia MacDonald - WebMs I have been a website designer since 1999, with several award-winning sites in my portfolio. My history with cars began in 1969 with a 1954 Austin A40 and, some would say, has not improved. I am now the owner of a PINK 1973 Mini, and owned a 1968 Cortina GT for a few years. I am very excited to be an enthusiastic participant of the Autocrossing community and was very surprised to be named "Rookie of the Year" when I started. Before I discovered Autocross, I was involved in competitive rowing and was awarded my first gold medal by Silken Laumen.
Al Sherwood - Newsletter Hmmmm, where to start, I would have to say that my first auto experience was in junior high school in Power Mechanics class, we stripped a VW Beetle down to it's chassis and cut about a foot out of the middle then welded the 2 halves back together. Of course this was not really a 'street legal' car so we got permission from the principal to drive it around the school field. It was quite the hoot, no body, no windshield and I don't even recall seat belts! Everybody in the class got a chance behind the wheel, it was official, I had the fever (and who knew mid life started so soon?)!
Back in 1997 I saw my first Boxster, parked outside of the Thatch on Hornby Island, and I remember thinking that I could drive a car like that. It wasn't until 2005 while tooling around in my RX-7 that I decided it was time to try that open air experience and the search for a convertible was started. I looked a number of contenders, but none showed the promise and practicality of the Boxster. I searched and eventually found a 2003 model in Vancouver, a ferry ride to Vancouver was all it took to put me in the driver's seat, it was done, signed, sealed and driven home in just a matter of hours! Today I have a 2006 Boxster which Jacquie and I drove to Porsche Parade in San Diego and also to Portland International Raceway to participate in a Drivers Education session. When the weather improves we plan on going south again and log more track time, there is nothing quite like putting on the helmet, sliding behind the wheel and driving as fast (and safely) as possible around the track with a bunch of other crazies, um, err, enthusiasts!
My dream would be to take European delivery of a custom ordered Boxster S...
Rick Kroeker - Past President I have really enjoyed my years on the executive, as VP, Pres and now Past Pres........and I hope to spend lots more years working with this great group of Porsche nuts. Speaking of nuts, the new Pres is quite an enthusiast, so try and keep up with him if you can! I am on my 3rd 911 in five years, so I must be a fickle Porsche owner, or I just can't make up my mind. I do love the cars though, and I am looking forward to 2008 as a great year for Crown Isle, Autocross and many more fun drives all over the Island and maybe beyond. My greatest wish is that more members would step forward and offer to help out here and there, the executive spends many many thankless hours trying to make the club fun for all, and it would be so nice if more members would help in organizing events, drives and so on to make this club even more fun! Many thanks to all the hard working members of the exec and others who have helped out in past years, we do appreciate you!
