Just drive it man!
What's the true value of that special car in your garage?
As prices for 80’s and 90’s analog sportscars continue to skyrocket, many an enthusiast has had cause for such introspection.
While many look to what others have recently paid for a top quality example of their favorite ride, the true question is what would they give up? What is the true cost of losing access to a well-loved and well-sorted analog freedom machine?
To help answer that question, we sat down to talk with Jay Sottile who, some 20 years ago, stared down that dilemma in a bigger way than most and decided to prioritize driving his early 911 over any other outcome.
This is no ordinary 911. This is the oldest living 911 in the world. Technically a 901, this car was only the 5th 911 to be made. In the wake of a trademark dispute with Peugeot, the 901 would become the 911 to avoid any confusion with the Peugeot three-digit naming convention. 35 years ago, as Jay was saving up his tips and wages as a tech in a ‘service station’, he happened across an ad in the Milwaukee Journal for a 70’s 911 that had been spoiled updated with “flag” mirrors, flared steel fenders and a duck tail. It looked like the love child of a late model 930 turbo and the legendary 1973/74 911 RSR. Neither the ad copy nor anything about the car gave any hint that it might be such and early special example, but it certainly scratched Jay’s 911 itch.
It looked like the love child of a late model 930 turbo and the legendary 1973/74 911 RSR. Neither the ad copy nor anything about the car gave any hint that it might be such and early special example, but it certainly scratched Jay’s 911 itch.
Jay bought the car then and there and drove it hard, the way its engineers intended, for the next 15 years until storing it for as many years. Then around the year 2015, revisiting his special car and embarking on some research to bring it closer to its stock configuration, Jay noticed a strange serial number under some paint on the body. - 3000-05.
After some inquiries to Porsche, Jay realized what lay behind that flared bodywork and updated mechanicals.
A couple of years earlier Porsche had paid an undisclosed and surely quite princely sum to acquire car number 3000-57 and restore it to ‘as new’ in a dedicated exhibit at the Porsche museum in Zuffenhausen. Now Jay found himself with a much earlier car in outlaw clothing and a large question of what to do next.
With such an outlaw dilemma there was only one person to call - Magnus Walker. In characteristic style, Magnus immediately made the proper suggestion: “Why don’t you just drive it man?” This struck exactly the right chord with Jay.
Aptly christening it the 901 RSR, Jay drove #3000-05 all the way from Milwaukee to LA to meet Magnus for his MOMO sponsored Run to Laguna Seca for Porsche’s 5th Rennsport Reunion that summer. As soon as Jay got the car back on the road and en route to LA, he was immediately reminded of the zen of exploration in a vintage vehicle.
Things don’t always go as YOU plan them but experiences come to you in a uniquely serendipitous way. The age of the Internet has made travel just like online dating - Who wants to swipe left or right on an adventure until something just right (and predictable) pops up? Vintage car people know the value of just getting out there and driving into the unknown. Good things happen - Every time.
Not much longer after Jay made the decision to double down on this mindset with the 901 RSR did this magic start. Some 400 miles in, Jay and his wife made a stop for fuel in rural Iowa and did a quick calculation of the fuel consumption of the car. Working out to only 11mpg, Jay knew that something was off. His CIS fuel-injected engine should be getting almost double that.
The age of the Internet has made travel just like online dating - Who wants to swipe left or right on an adventure until something just right (and predictable) pops up? Vintage car people know the value of just getting out there and driving into the unknown.
Good things happen - Every time.
Jay, who like many fellow car freaks enthusiasts, carries a plethora of tools in the “frunk" of his p-car, didn’t have the lift he needed to get the car in the air to understand where the fuel loss was coming from. Neither did the location where he had stopped to tank up. What it did have was a fellow named Dwain who, out of good grace and excitement at seeing Jay’s iconic 911, was able to start a chain of events to make this an unforgettably positive experience.
First things first, Dwain had a guy. Dwain’s guy was Scottie Harkin, owner of Harkin Service in Adair, Iowa (pop 700). It being a Sunday, the shop was closed but, as it turned out, Scottie had an apprentice named Jordan with a keen interest in Porsches. Scottie and Jordan, like good, practical midwesterners, were there to help. Just a short while later he arrived with his trusty F-550 flatbed and loaded up the 901 RSR. After some time working side by side with Scottie and his son, Jay realized that some last minute work on the transmission had crimped the fuel return line and any unused gas from the fuel pump was simply ending up on the road behind. This was an easy enough fix and there was a O’Reilly within 25 miles that could source a part by the next day.
Now Jay found himself with a much earlier car in outlaw clothing and a large question of what to do next. With such an outlaw dilemma there was only one person to call - Magnus Walker.
In characteristic style, Magnus immediately made the proper suggestion: “Why don’t you just drive it man?” This struck exactly the right chord with Jay.
After a long day, Adair’s Relax Inn and Suites had a nice clean room available. Early the next morning, Jay inquired about calling a taxi for the 50 mile round trip to O’Reilly. While his questions were met with a hearty laugh from the hotel manager Jackie, they were accompanied by an offer to drive Jay there and back as soon as she could complete a few tasks in the hotel office. Not long thereafter, Jay found himself bombing down the backroads of Iowa with Jackie. Letting his mind wander for the first time in over 24 hours, Jay was jolted back to the present when the car started to careen off into the drainage beyond the shoulder of the road.
Jackie had passed out!
Jay grabbed the wheel and Jackie came to as the car slowed to a stop on the empty road.
As she regained her wits, Jackie confided that just that am she had been feeding her dog when a can of its food had fallen from the shelf and hit her in the head. Indeed, she likely had a concussion. After some rest and assuring Jay she was ok and would seek medical attention, they finished the trip, got the part, and returned to Harkin Service to install the new fuel return. After a hearty lunch for all at nearby Zipps Pizzeria, Jay and his wife were on their way to Laguna and Scottie and his son were new Porsche aficionados. Jackie also recovered nicely from the can to the head.
That’s the thing about traveling in an iconic old car that stuns drivers and mechanics alike with its combination of simplicity, performance, and good old fashioned precision engineering. Every stop can offer a new connection with someone who has a story or an interest. Even a mechanical hiccup is a ticket to adventure for the enlightened. There is no substitute for this type of travel.
Soon enough for Jay and his wife, they were eating up the next 1400 miles including some epic roads and vistas in the Rocky Mountains before dropping down to Las Vegas for a co-pilot swap with Jay’s nephew Tony. With Jay’s wife on the way home, Tony in position, and 901 RSR adorned with the proper number 64 meatball on the door and hood, it was off to LA. There they met up with Magnus and nearly 70 other Porsche drivers for and a visceral rip up Angels Crest Highway to Willow Spring and on up to Laguna Seca.
If that were the end of the story, we would happily tell the tale of an important car saved from the shackles of a museum and an epic cruise with Porsche collector royalty. But it’s not even close. From that moment on, Jay has driven, auto-crossed, and explored with 901 RSR as much as possible. He is always ready with a wrench, story, or just warm “hey brother” and we have had the great fortune to join him and his great car on a number of road rallies.
This is what car collecting is all about. It’s not about the how many cars you have, if you have any at all. It’s about collecting experiences. At Roads United, we know no better way than to head out in a great analog car and set our sights on serendipity.
Jay embodies this as much as anyone we know and we are grateful for this opportunity to tell the story of just one of his adventures.
This is what car collecting is all about. It’s not about the how many cars you have, if you have any at all. It’s about collecting experiences. At Roads United, we know no better way than to head out in a great analog car and set our sights on serendipity.
Jay embodies this as much as anyone we know and we are grateful for this opportunity to tell the story of just one of his adventures.
all images copyright Jay Sottile unless otherwise noted