2013 ARPCA Year In Review Video on YouTube or directly below

Thanks for the awesome recap, Rob!

Filed under: Events, home 1, News by Scott I

Thank you to George and Scott for arranging the 2013 Holiday Party at the Double Wide restaurant in Cranberry. The event was attended by 56 pre-registered members and five walk-ins. Our club, through the generosity of the members raised well over $1,000 for the UPMC Children’s Hospital Child Advocacy Center 2013 Toy Drive.

New friendships were born and old ones bonded closer together. The auction and mystery prize raffle were a huge success. A collection of outstanding Porsche memorabilia was auctioned. Kudos to those who donated these fine treasures! An impressive slideshow of the Year in Review was assembled by Rob Hoffman. Once the show began, all members stood still (you could hear a pin drop) as we waited quietly in anticipation of each slide. In looking at the pictures, it brought us back to the memories of the year and reminds us how fortunate we are to have this club and the members within it. Many thanks to those who attended and contributed to our charity.

God Bless the Porsche Club Family through the holiday season.

Respectfully submitted,

Lisa M.

PS – If you have not checked it out yet, see the 2013 ARPCA Year in Review video Rob put together here: 2013 ARPCA Year In Review Video

Filed under: Events, home 2 L, Social by Scott I

Thursday Oct 24 the 2013 PVGP Executive Team, Volunteers, Patrons, Special Guests and heads of various PVGP sponsor organizations gathered at the Allegheny Valley School (AVS) in Coraopolis.  Agenda for the evening was simple: present the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and AVS the 31st annual PVGP contribution.  If only it were that simple.

Undoubtedly the PVGP events in July are awesome.  However they pale in comparison to the Victory Lap.  This is the understated yet Grand Finale of all things Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix.  Sure some of the ‘burgh’s Society Page who’s who were in attendance but the event has a grander purpose:  first hand witness of who, what, when, where, why and how the event exists and, more importantly, those helped through PVGP.

Early arrivals were treated to tours of the AVS campus seeing facilities and services provided.  Otherwise the festivities were kicked off at 7:15PM by AVS Bell Choir’s wonderful performance of America the Beautiful.  Brandon and Anita, 2013 PVGP Charity Ambassadors, helped PVGP Executive Director Dan DelBianco (emceeing) lead the Parade Lap recognizing all the volunteers and sponsors who generously donated pretty much everything including time, merchandise, services and funds for 2013.  Many ARPCA-ers were in attendance on behalf of our club and through their direct  sponsorship of PVGP.  The short list included:  Bud Osbourne, Ed Rice, Greg Farrell, Cliff Laschon, Marty Smith and Alan Smith among others.

For 2013 a new marque of the year record was established (throwing down the gauntlet?) with Mustang raising $75,200 juuuust edging out the ‘Marque of the Year’ all time high set in 2011.  Nicely done ‘stangers and congratulations on a fantastic acheivement!  Tantamount though is a new record contribution from PVGP to AVS and Autism Society of Pgh:   a 40% increase over LY with… $350,000!!!

ARPCA is a proud Silver sponsor of PVGP and we look forward to 2014!

Filed under: Events, home 3 L, News, PVGP by Scott I

The P3 program is thriving, thanks to the continued generosity and help of all of you!!  We have sent 4 care packages in the last 3 months, and have received some great replies and thanks from the troops that we are supporting.  Most recently, we sent two packages to a Senior Airman in the Air Force including some gloves, safety glasses, and other requested items to help with his job as a crew chief working on B-1B bombers in the Middle East.  This Airman sent us a very nice note of thanks and also indicated that he had a flag flown on a recent mission on behalf of ARPCA, and will send the flag and certificate to us soon.

We also received a new P3 recipient – another Airman currently serving as a crew chief in the Air Force. He is the grandson of a club member and is stationed in Afghanistan. We put together a very nice package for him as well to help keep up his spirits, help with his job, and also to remind him of home.

The program continues to look for more recipients to benefit from the generosity of our fellow members. Please think of your relatives, friends, and neighbors, and let me know if there is anyone that you would like us to put together a package for. The process is as easy as it gets – you give us the name, and we do the rest!! With the holiday season coming, our Armed Forces members really appreciate even the simplest of gifts that show our appreciation for the work they do every day for all of us – please contact Michael Coyne at (724) 601-7848 or michael.coyne11@yahoo.com with any questions or new candidates.

Thanks again for all your help!

Filed under: home 5 R, News by MichaelSkowvron

We see your smart-phones and DSLR cameras at all of the ARPCA events.

So… Howzabout sharing some of those great shots?

Click this link and email them to: ARPCA Pix Submission

In order to help us sort, include event name in email subject line.

Then watch for them in a slideshow at an upcoming event where YOU can take credit and explain the full setting.

(Please reduce size of each picture to no more than 2MB or just email a link to your flickr, google+ or dropbox and we’ll grab there!)

Thanks!

Filed under: home 6, Misc, News by Scott I

It is getting to that time of the year when we start thinking about putting our toys away for winter.  Here are some suggestions for doing so properly:

A question I get asked from time to time is:  “Should I change my oil before I put my car away or when I get it out in spring?”  I recommend putting any vehicle away with fresh oil.  Changing your oil before storage ensures you get contaminates out which would otherwise likely be covering your critical engine components such as crankshaft and bearings during extended periods of non-use.  It is also one less thing you have to worry about after a long winter when the weather breaks and you want to start driving your baby again.

My next suggestion would be to thoroughly wash and put a good coat of wax on your car.  Start by washing the car then prepping the paint for wax by clay barring the exterior paint.  The clay bar process strips any old wax plus it removes any contaminates on the surface of your paint.  Make sure to follow up with a good coat of your favorite wax.

Now we want to protect our tires.  It is best to clean the tires really well.  We want to remove any kind of tire shine as most products contain chemicals which extract the agents in your tires designed to prevent dry rot.  Movement from rotation and heat which occurs while driving on your tires helps to keep them healthy and ply-able.  Driving on your tires helps counter-act tire shine chemicals from drying out the rubber making up your tires.

After cleaning your car, wheels, tires, and waxing it; take it for a final drive.  Drive at least 15 miles to get the engine up to operating temperature.  This also ensures we get any excess water out from the cleaning process.  Towards the end of your drive, stop at a gas station and fill up to help prevent condensation from forming in your gas tank.  Buy a bottle of gas stabilizer and add it to your tank when you return home.

Once the tires are clean we want to pump up the pressure to 50psi.  Over inflating tires decreases the size of contact patch and helps minimize flat spotting (from not being driven).  I also recommend during storage to push the car forward or back an inch every other week.  Doing so also helps to prevent flat spots.

Porsche strongly recommends NOT starting your car unless it is going to be driven at least 15 miles.  Starting your car and just letting it idle creates condensation inside the engine.  It takes at least 15 miles of driving to get enough heat into the engine to burn off that condensation.  So if you do not plan to drive your car do not start it.  Otherwise you will be doing more harm than good as the condensation will just be sitting in your engine.  Not good.

Now that you have your tires inflated to 50psi, move your car into its storage location in your garage.  Do one final wipe down with a damp chamois or California Duster.

Next, plug in a Porsche Battery Maintainer.  There are many different kinds of battery maintainers out there but I have found Porsche ones work best.  Aside from being extremely simple to use, they plug into the cigarette lighter socket and have a long thin cord which fits between the door and door seal (so you do not have to leave a window down).  Then plug the maintainer into a wall outlet and it will turn on and off as needed.  Just set it and forget it.

Finally put a cover on your car and she is ready for hibernation!

Filed under: home 7, Misc, Technical by Scott I

All members are encouraged to attend the monthly Business Meeting.  They’re  casual meetings with light snacks and beverages provided by the Club.  Emphasis is on events and programs conducted by ARPCA and fresh ideas are always welcome. Please attend and discover for yourself how much fun a business meeting can be.

Meetings, as you can see are scheduled for 2nd Thursday of each month and promptly start 7:30PM (unless noted otherwise).  Occasionally they move  due to “competing events” such as Watkins Glen DE in 2014… but any moves are already noted so this schedule is final (until it changes – haha).  Mark your calendars now and check back for  location which will be posted at least 30 days in advance.

Minutes are published in each monthly issue of Rundschau.  See you at the next meeting!

Filed under: Events, home 8, News by Scott I