Event Recap: 2012 PCA Porsche Swap Meet @ Hershey Park

Going further down the to-do list of car-events I've missed for years but wanted to get to finally, is the Central Pennsylvania Area Porsche Club of America (CPA-PCA) Swap-meet in Hershey, PA. As an aspiring p-car owner and plain old fan (as if you couldn't tell by our content), events like these are a bit more special than the several annual VAG shows that have built up the basis of my summer show schedule for over a decade. This show was planned to be the only thing I did on this April Saturday, but the Cars and Coffee trip turned into the opener. By the time I left Hershey Park's lot for the afternoon to head home, it was clear that I spent just the right amount of time there.

Heading up I-83 to Hershey from Hunt Valley was a fun drive; I got my clutch replaced with a stock Sachs unit after some gear-selection problems arose with the SPEC Stage2 M20 clutch installed with my stroker motor last May. I made great time, then found myself right outside of Hershey Park's complex with a sweet 930 in front of me at a red light. A grin appeared on my face and I headed into the maze that is Hershey Park, ending in the visitor parking section for the Porsche Swap-Meet. I paid my parking fee of $10 and headed into the show grounds. It didn't take long for me to find a muse.

I would personally never buy a Porsche 912, but the 912's on display in the show field were nothing short of impressive. Just about all of them were period correct and restored to perfection. Then there was the 356 row. Oh yes. Making my way through the field I quickly realized what spoke to me and what didn't. I thought I would be more enthusiastic about the 928/944/968s, but even though there were some lovely examples I couldn't take my eyes off the 911s. Especially the 993s. My old man has a 96' 993 Carrera 2 coupe that he bought new when I was in high school. That car has been driving me for longer than I can remember, no pun intended. Seeing modified 993s was just about my favorite take-away from the afternoon; and oddly enough my favorite was a red one. Before buying the red coupe a few years ago, I wasn't into red cars really; I like making my maneuvers without too much attention. I've grown to love red since owning it, and now red cars are catching my eyes constantly.

While making my way around the lot, I went through the swap/yard-sale areas and made mental notes on the prices of all the things we VAG guys typically overspend for prior to knowing street values (wheels, etc.). I also took note of the prices out there for used 930s, as there was a lot just for trade/sale activities. There was a 46K mile 996TT for sale and it was going for upper $40s. This was surprising as the last I looked at those numbers, five years ago to be exact, they were nearly twice that. The economy is making this as good a time as ever for those with money blowing a hole in their pockets, but you definitely have to do your research to ensure stable resale value.

There was one other cool sight at this years meet, and that was two very rare Carrera GT's, in slightly different specs (but both Silver), in the same lot. It was well worth the trip to check this show out and hopefully I'll be making it up there next year. The album from this event is here. Wallpapers will be posted on the ROTL FB and Google+ pages over the next couple weeks, so keep an eye out.