Anybody know why Peter Egan got rid of his 356 so quickly?

[William Crowell]

Sometime in the '90s Peter Egan, who writes the "Side Glances" column in Road and Track magazine, bought a "B" model and put quite a bit of work into it, including an engine and transmission overhaul. Then he quickly sold it. I heard the reason he got rid of it was that he became disillusioned with 356 ownership when he encountered the "plaid pants" Depends crowd. Can anybody verify why he sold his 356 so abruptly, after putting so much work and money into it?

[tallman206]

Sounds like he sold it for the right reason (for him, that is!).
Anyone that purchases one of these lovely automobiles just to be part of a special crowd that surrounds some of them is bound for potential disappointment. Shoot, if I based the value of my 356 ownership experience on the current vocal refugees here on this forum, I would have called Adam Wright and liquidated my investment long ago. However, I do not value my 356 experience based solely on the variety of personalities surrounding the 'hobby', but on the total ownership experience and personal gratification of owning, driving, wrenching and learning about these fine autos. The (many mighty fine) people that I do happen to befriend along the journey are just the icing on the cake. I am relatively new to this (3 years ownership), but I am in it for life.
(IMHO - this post topic is not really appropriate for the technical nature of this forum and smells of another attempt to start another controversial, contentious and negative thread about 356s and their owners - something I feel is unnecessary negativity)
_________________
Jerry Henning
Southern Classic Works
St.Petersburg, Florida
1973 VW Type 181 with 616/33-6 powerplant
1962 356B-T6 Cabriolet Rustbucket

[356JAEGER]

William,
If you have followed Peter Egan for any amount of time, you know he changes cars like others change their socks. He is very eclectic in his
automotive tastes, but at his base, he's an anglophile. Those chaps tend
to be much less formal than some in the teutonic camp. Is there some
posit of proof that Mr Egan expressed those views ? Just askin..

Jerry,
There are many fine people in the Registry and here. Some long term members and some now ex members, some of whom were dismissed
from their long term commitment and hard work for that club, simply
because they expressed a different viewpoint. Labeled paranoid
troublemakers since demonizing those you disagree with is always the
best policy for those who are either unable or unwilling to answer simple
straightforward questions that should be known by all the members all the
time. If those who disagree are 'paranoid', then PROVE it and answer the
questions rather than simply hurling invective. Notice some of us don't
get distracted by old tactics from a not so distant time. When I don't like
a topic, I ignore it, otherwise I'm invested.
_________________
Regards,
Joel Jensen

When in doubt, think about it..
The outcome of a project is directly proportional to its preparation.

[bbspdstr]

[Unobtanium-inc]

Anybody who wants out, call me, you know my saying,
"Always buying and sometimes selling."

Seriously, there is an annoying element to 356 ownership, the crowd that wants the Registry to be the Ferrari Club. I once had a Trustee go on and on for half an hour in a Trustee meeting about how we have to keep the "Adam Element" out of the club. But I bet I will outlast him in the club, because at 37 I'm like Mick Jagger,
"Time, ime, ime, ime, is on my side, yes it is!"

Adam Wright

[356JAEGER]

[Unobtanium-inc]

Joel, what the guy didn't count on was me having friends at that table. But he also didn't count on my pulling him aside when I ran into him in LA at the lit meet a few years back, the look on his face was classic when I asked him about it, he of course had no knowledge of what I was talking about. I said ok, if that is what you are telling me, we will go with that moving forward.

[356porschepusher]

To get back to the original subject of this thread, as mentioned above, Peter Egan has had many cars over the years and often times sells certain ones it seems to buy another Formula Ford to restore and go vintage racing. I seem to recall he bought back the B Coupe some time after selling it and resold it. He also had a Boxster within the past couple of years and wrote glowingly about both Porsches. His column is the primary reason I still subscribe to R&T as the rest of the magazine has become less interesting. It will be interesting to see how it further evolves with them moving their offices from CA to Ann Arbor with C&D.
_________________
Eric Wahlberg