UPPER CANADA REGION (UCR) has launched a 944/968 Special Interest Group (SIG). This new group provides 944 and 968 owners an opportunity to connect, share information and foster maintenance and restoration of these great cars. Additionally, the group can be a source of displays at events and articles for Provinz and Panorama. This SIG will pick up from the 944/968 group I started within UCR back in 2016, and my plan is to update communications for the group by transferring the existing email from the original 944/968 group to a newly created UCR SIG email account – sig944968@pcaucr.org I will continue to co-ordinate the group, and continue our efforts to build the 944/968 community.
The birth of this new group all started back in the summer of 2016. I was busy maintaining my 968, searching online for ‘how-to’ information, and it struck me how little ‘tech’ information was available through UCR. I emailed our then-UCR President, Mike Bryan about ways to address member technical interests, and Mike encouraged me to go ahead the ideas we discussed. Yes, I had volunteered myself by that point. My interest in increasing the tech content in UCR merged with providing more tech sessions, and the project took on an informal mandate to learn and share, provide tech sessions, discuss and share parts, tools, know-how, increase the knowledge base, and anything else for 924/944/968.
The birth of this new group all started back in the summer of 2016. I was busy maintaining my 968, searching online for ‘how-to’ information, and it struck me how little ‘tech’ information was available through UCR.
UCR leadership were highly supportive and sent out an e-blast in August 2016 inviting 924/944/968 owners to contact me directly if they were interested. I think we also had a similar paragraph in Provinz around that time. We quickly had about 60 interested owners, and I started sending out an informal email now and then. In addition, I began trying to organize a 944/968 specific tech session. Pfaff wonderfully stepped up in October 2016 to host a 944/968-focussed tech session. Lots of UCR 944/968 owners enjoyed plenty of tech discussion about 944/968s and other Porsche models.Â
Our next event in June 2018 was a great tech session hosted at the home of Jon Dunski. Assisted by his brother, Jason, the session focused on using 944 cars for track, ranging from street-legal Driver’s Education (DE) through to full-race versions. Read more about this session at pcaucr.org/provinz-944-968-tech-session/.Â
There is still more to do to build a strong tech infrastructure within UCR to help sustain these great cars: addressing the challenges of backup for DIY maintenance, providing sources for rare parts, and diagnosis for obscure issues. I am still on the same mission to build a community for 944/968 owners. The national club has a significant 968 registry with a lot of production content on its website. There is a registry contact for 944s, and a technical expert for 944/968s. I have found one or two regions that identify their own local ‘tech experts’. I’m certain we have people within UCR who know these cars inside out and would love to share their knowledge. The factory dealers and independent service shops are also in the ecosystem–the more these cars are maintained, the more business will flow to these professional repair shops. DIY enthusiasm only goes so far, and a well-maintained car becomes something to keep on loving.
At the January 2019 board meeting, UCR approved creating the UCR 944/968 Special Interest Group. Anyone wishing to join the SIG, please email me at sig944968@pcaucr.org. All ideas for events and initiatives are welcome. There will be a web page on the UCR site to introduce the group. I will continue to promote the cars and group in Provinz, send out a periodic email news update, and work to arrange tech sessions on the 944/968. Any tech service shops that are interested in collaborating with the group are encouraged to contact me by email. According to owners that have joined the old 944/968 group, we have about 80 cars, but I suspect we have many more in UCR. These are great cars! Let’s see if we can help keep them alive and kicking for many years to come. </>
