1. Intro
2. Down to Earth Sampler
3. Air Cooled Sundays
4. Eisenbud’s and Paddock Imports Shop Tour
5. Conclusion

Intro

Mid-way through September and the Fall vibes are in full effect. The leaves on the trees are turning colors, the pumpkin spice lattes are back, and the weather permits cozy layers to be thrown on. Since the weather has been treating us well in Colorado, there has been a huge presence in car events. I’ve been subscribed to the Colorado Cars and Coffee newsletter for the last 2 years and this September had a packed list of events to attend – some events overlapping others.

This past weekend I attended a small pre-meet for Down to Earth and a cars and coffee meet at a local part-Porsche specialist shop and another part-European service shop. That same day was the Down to Earth Car Show at the Empower Field at Mile High – home of the Denver Broncos. Spoiler Alert: I didn’t go… Instead I had the intention of meeting other car enthusiasts and immersing myself into the community. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and engage with other enthusiasts other than being an introvert with my camera. At these times, I have to remind myself that I can’t neglect the people behind the cars. I mean, who drives and personalizes the cars? The people?!

Aside from that, it was also a good excuse to keep improving my photography and do the things that keep my happy. Trust me, this REVIZE sh*t is what I enjoy doing!

Down to Earth Sampler

A couple weeks out from the Down to Earth car show, someone I briefly met at a drift event reposted on their Instagram story of a pre-meet happening at a Dutch Bros just out of Denver. I drove over there in the morning and met a couple folks hard parked in the lot. Literally, down to earth were these 2 cars: 1 being an Inifiti G35 and the other being a Honda Accord.

The bagged Infiniti is owned by Isaiah, or @thrizzax (Instagram).

The static Honda Accord is owned by Bryantt, or @cr2bry (Instagram).

Briefly, their homie Dom pulled up in a BMW 3-series sedan sitting on a set of Work Meister CR-01s.

I found out that they were going to be showcasing their cars in the show the moment I introduced myself. They advies me to go but I was still on the fence about going. I later decided not to go because the show was starting at 12pm and it was only 8am. I wanted to grab at least one more car meet before I called it a day – or should I say morning?

Dom and his E30 sedan departing to catch the roll-in for Down to Earth…

As the trio scraped away from the Dutch Bros parking lot, I checked my newsletter to see what other events were going on. One of events that I’ve been meaning to attend was a Porsche meet hosted by Eisenbud’s and Paddock Imports. Luckily, I was able to catch this meet because months prior, they hosted a meet but I was scheduled to work at my part-time gig…

Air Cooled Sundays

A couple minutes heading south on the mostly repaved I-25 highway, I ended up in this commercial side of Denver. I pulled up to a dead end street where Paddock Imports was located. The meet was just about to start and with barely anyone there, I thought I missed it. Fortunately, there was an older gentlemen named Tom who came in his tan 911. We exchanged a few words up until 3 more P-cars arrived. It was sights and sounds that you’ll unfortunately not hear but will see!

When I arrived, there was only the black 964 by its lonesome… I came to learn later that morning that it belonged to the Eisenbud’s apprenctice, Kevin. It wasn’t until this Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and Porsche 911 (996) came to provide the 964 some company.

Right off the bat, I was intrigued by this Karmann Ghia. It’s rat rod presence definitely stands out and I love the small details that the owner, KC (or “Casey”?), implemented.

KC was mentioning how hard it was to fit these Porsche wheels. According to my research, these are known as the ATS Cookie Cutter wheels. For the rear fender arch, he had to ditch traditional fender rolling and massaging. With unorthodox methods, he was able to get the rear wheels to clear the rear fenders.

The small details I like is the checkered pattern on the alternator/generator backing plate.

As you can see, the checkered pattern ties into the cockpit where the dashboard is also checkered. Lots of character inside and out.

What caught my attention after identifying the Momo steering wheel was the roller pedal. I’ve come to learn that this was a common mod for 50s-60s VWs.

I wanted to capture the sign and the Drivers Era sticker by using the reflection of the rear quarter glass. I exchanged a few words with KC. We mainly talked about Vin Anatra’s YouTube channel. What Vin’s doing for content is awesome and his brand Drivers Era is truly for those enthusiasts who love driving their car. I’d recommend checking out his Ferrari 360 build.

Kevin, KC, and Doug exchanging a few words by Kevin’s Porsche 911 (964) Carrera 4…

Parked next to Tom’s tan 911 (930) was another 930 with a car and a 911E.

I didn’t get a chance to meet the gentleman who owned the 930 with the car bra but I overheard that it belonged to his pops. A common theme that day was the amount of enthusiasts who got into Porsche’s because of their pops. Shoutout to our pops for inspiring us to love these machines!

This Porsche 911E belongs to Eric and is in superb shape. Also, the tire tread on these Pirelli’s look period-correct.

There really isn’t much to say about this car other than “Dayum”…

I spoke with Eric and learned that he also got into Porsche’s because of his dad. Of all the expensive cars that he was fortunate to take rides in, the Porsche is what stuck.

This 911E has been in his possession for 20 years now. “I don’t build it for the next owner. I build it for me. I’m never going to sell it” shared Eric.

Those words stuck with me. As I constantly contemplate whether or not to dive deeper into modifying my daily driver and dream car, Civic SI, the thought of “building it for myself” made the scale tip towards “build your dream car” as opposed to “leave it alone”…

I’m only 5 years into ownership with the Civic SI and I don’t ever plan on selling the car. I’m just too attached. Who knows? Will I be like Eric and commit to a journey of long-term ownership with the Civic or find the next shiny object?

(Side note: I ask for forgiveness if I spell any of the owners’ names wrong!)

Something you don’t see often is a classic Porsche with a car bra – let alone an original Porsche car bra…

Can’t get enough of Porsche body lines…

Joining the Air Cooled Sunday meet a bit later was this Polar Silver Metallic 996 owned by Clark.

In contrast to the silver paint was this set of gold-faced ESM-004Ms in a staggered configuration.

Eisenbud’s and Paddock Imports Shop Tour

I got caught up snapping away that I ended up being left behind the pack. Eventually I went inside and briefly spoke with Doug, shop owner of Paddock Imports. He recommended I check out the shop in the back as there was some “special stuff”. I grabbed a donut from the gold LaMar’s Donuts boxes and made my way over.

As I left the entrance of Paddock Imports, there was this cycling couple passing by saying “nice cars”. The couple in their cycling bibs were actually a friend of Clark’s so they biked with me to the back as we traveled alongside the Paddock Imports shop.

We approached a separate shop building in the back of the premises where the “special stuff” was at. Doug wasn’t lying… Also, the cycling couple found Clark haha.

Beside this 911/912 was the ProHub Dyno. When I first saw the equipment, I thought “what the f*ck goes on in here?!”

There were modified bikes, machining equipment, a library of Porsche 911 service manuals for various generations, and – you guessed it – Porsches.

The models ranged from classics like the Porsche 365 to the Porsche 911 993 – including generations in between.

John and Jim are Eisenbud’s long-time technicians who specialize in air-cooled Porsches. They’ve been part of the Porsche community and are highly regarded as specialists in diagnosing, rebuilding, and setting up vintage engines and transmissions, according to contributors on Rennlist, Pelican Parts, and 912bbs.

Unfortunately they weren’t there that day but their tool boxes were and those were neat. Red Snap-On tool boxes and red Porsches go hand in hand considering you need some deep wallets for the two…

The shop seems to be super busy with 20+ cars in queue. As you’ll see, the shop will be filled. Wait times for customers are exacerbated by shipping logistics since the parts come overseas from Germany as mentioned by Kevin. To add onto that, wrong parts could be ordered which would make the repair process even more of a nightmare for both the customers and the technicians.

If I had to pick a favorite car in the shop that day, it would be this Midnight Blue Metallic Porsche 911 (993) Carrera. I’m typically a 997-type of guy but the 993 just speaks to me – especially in that colorway.

I walked to the other segment of the shop and this corner caught my eye. It’s where Kevin is stationed and I like how it’s decorated. On the poster, it says “It all starts with a dream”. It reminded me of the Honda catchphrase “The Power of Dreams” so I thought it was a tad bit ironic in a Porsche shop. I didn’t even realize until I got to the editing process of the photos that the car in the poster is a Lamborghini. Besides that, there’s a plethora of original Porsche wheels on the rack to the left. It’s quite the collection.

On a separate toolbox there was an assortment of zinc-plated hardware. Nothing less to be expected as Eisenbud’s motto is “We don’t just fix cars, we elevate them”.

Near the back of the shop, you’ll find a black Porsche 911 (930) Targa with the famous whale tail and another Porsche 911 Carerra (993). Tucked away and elevated in the corner for storage looks to be a 5th generation Ford Mustang (S197)…

Here’s another angle of the Eisenbud’s shop where you can see that every spot is occupied. On the lift, the yellow 911/912 has had its suspension and drivetrain stripped away.

Here’s a closer look at the whale tail on the Targa…

Pushed off to the side was this Porsche 911 964. As you can see, duck tails aren’t only great for aerodynamics; they’re also fantastic for supporting boxes… Furthermore, you can get a better glimpse of how the Eisenbud’s shop is set up.

Surrounding the 964 shell were an assortment of spare parts and hardware. As you can see on the racks to the left, pallets full of suspension and trailing arms occupied the shelves.

Above the pallets are more wings which I thought was worth capturing. Whether it’s a whale tail, big wing, or duck tail, Porsche just makes it so that the piece alone looks gorgeous – even if it’s resting on or in between other spoilers in a random garage in Denver.

To add onto the extraordinary fleet of vehicles inside Eisenbud’s was this Porsche Diesel Junior 108 Tractor.

According to my research, Ferdinand Porsche wanted to make an affordable, easy-to-maintain, and universal tractor. Being unable to produce tractors due to a law at the time, Porsche resorted to selling its licensing of the design of the tractor and engine to Austrian company, Allgaier. Years later Mannesman bought the Porsche licensing from Allgaier and started to produce the tractors as Porsche Diesel (Source: Porsche Centre Quebec).

After spending a significant amount of time ogling over cars in Eisenbud’s everyone transplanted themselves in the service bays of Paddock Imports, myself included.

As we entered from the back, we were greeted by a trio of BMWs. I stayed behind and squatted by the black BMW M3 (E46) to snap a photo of the rear of the BMW 2002tii beside the BMW 5-series Touring (E61).

In the Eisenbud’s shop prior, Tom gave me word of a Porsche Safari that’s lifted up in the Paddock Imports shop. I first imagined a Porsche 992 Dakar in my head only to discover it was a Porsche 911 Carrera 4. I took a peak at the under carriage and unfortunately didn’t take any photos. After dissecting the under carriage, I discovered there were modifications such as aftermarket struts, control arms, and subframe spacers. Most evident of this Safari build are the Falken Wild Peaks wrapped around 17″ aftermarket wheels. Shoutout to Tom for pointing out this rally-styled 996!

There were a handful of other clean cars in the Paddock Imports shop space. The elephant in the room though was this Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. It’s actually owned by Doug! It’s under the knife due to transmissions issues. To be specific, the input shaft snapped and is in the process of being replaced. What caused it to snap? I’ll give you a hint… Take a peek at the bottom right corner…

This Gallardo received a twin turbo treatment and makes up to 1700hp. Doug mentioned that it’s been featured on 1320videos on YouTube.

Despite being taken apart, I appreciate the fact that the Gallardo looks good on some HRE RC103s wrapped in Hoosier Track Attack Pro tires.

I spent another 5 minutes hearing about how Doug acquired this Gallardo and added small revisions to the car. After that, I walked back out front as it’s been about 2 hours since I first arrived. It was almost time to head out.

Conclusion

Before I departed, there was this really gangster Mercury Eight parked out front. That was the last thing I’d expect to pull up to the Air Cooled Sundays meet. There’s a couple things I love about this car. First, it would be the rear fender skirt. Second would be the low roof line paired with the relatively short windows.

The condition of these Mercury Eight hub caps were immaculate. The mirror-like finish was a good “selfie” opportunity.

Here’s one last look at Kevin’s Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (964). I overheard from Kevin that he was an apprentice for Eisenbud’s. With my experience as a budding mechanic, I took great interest in getting to know how Kevin landed that apprentice opportunity.

Kevin needed a clutch replacement and went to Eisenbud’s. It was difficult for him to get his car into the shop and obviously frustrating playing phone tag. In an effort to get his daily driver back on the road he called the shop and said “Look, I’ll help out if that means I can get my car out quicker.” Well, he got his car in the shop, helped it get back on the road, and “3 years passed by and [he has] been [there] since.”

I had an awesome time chatting with other enthusiasts that day and it was a real pleasure speaking with everyone. I went into that weekend with the intention of focusing more on interacting with people and I achieved that. I exchanged a few words and in return, I got some amazing stories from people who love Porsches. What I really love and appreciate about the Porsche community is that it’s centered around people enjoying their cars and community. Not once did I feel judged for driving my Honda Civic to a Porsche meet. There were no big egos or “show boating” of any sort. It’s just honest people, simply put… Alluding to what I mentioned in the beginning about the people: it starts with the people! The cars are just the glue that bring the people together!

I was telling my wife about this meet and one thing I shared is that people who own Porsche’s are my type of people because they can appreciate the beauty and aesthetics of these machines while still put miles and enjoy the sounds and the emotions these machines output.

I left this meet feeling energized and ecstatic. I hope to carry on this type of energy into any meet I go to and eventually host. I attempted hosting a car meet in Denver’s City Park and that failed. I got my humble pie for sure. I realize that I have to put more time and energy in my community.

I want to thank Doug and Kevin for hosting Air Cooled Sundays and the fellow enthusiasts I met that day! This one was fun to be a part of. If y’all enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and family! Don’t be afraid to contact me on Instagram if you want to have some photos for yourself! I’m more than happy to share these photos with you! Until next time, Jayveezy out!