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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 070.92
EAN num: 9781592282562
ISBN number: 1592282563
Label: The Lyons Press
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 224
Printing Date: June 01, 2004
Publishing house: The Lyons Press
Sale Popularity Level: 219240
Studio: The Lyons Press
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Just as life is often described as a road one takes through the aging process, Wilkinson's experience rebuilding a Porsche is the exit ramp that leads straight into his garage to a world of wires, leather trimmings, and memory pit stops with each turn of the 911 manuscript.
Quirky, cool, entertaining, and opinionated, Wilkinson's rebuilding project leads to inspired digressions on his life. Learning about the inner workings of a car is also a lesson in tracing the thought-streams of the human mind. While rebuilding his car, Wilkinson waxes eloquent on the history of Porsche, American engineering and culture, personal status, his unfulfilling stint as editor of Car and Driver, his love of flying and all things mechanical, not to mention the integrity of wedding dress silk when it's woven amidst engine pistons. According to Wilkinson, 'Most of the work that my Porsche required, I was confident I could do myself. Turning nuts and bolts, replacing pieces and parts, disassembling and reassembling, rewiring and renovating were within my basic-competence envelope. Anybody who can overhaul a lawnmower knows how a car engine works. Anybody who can drive a vacuum cleaner or polish shoes can redo a car interior. Anybody who can read a home-wiring diagram can at least begin to fiddle with a car's electrical system.' He makes it all sound so easy. Yet, the expensive misadventures he had while rebuilding the German masterpiece were like mirrors of a life experience; the eventual purr of the redone motor felt like a long-awaited jaunt upon a road temporarily closed, and the traveling sure was sweet.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I enjoyed this book. As a car guy and a new Porsche owner, it was a pleasant, rambling account of a restoration project and lot's of tangential life's learnings. Certainly not very technical, but technical enough to make it interesting for me, this was a book I read in a few evenings. It kept a smile on my face, and it kept me relatively engaged. The author writes well, and spins a decent yarn. Per the title of this review - reminds me simply of a (rather long) well-written article you'd find in any top-notch car magazine. No hesitation in recommending this book - but don't look for a detailed account of a technical restoration... that's not what it's supposed to be.
Rated by buyers 
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I was a bit mislead by the title of this book, particularly the part of the title: "...How I Sank a Small Fortune into a Used Car...".
The Amazon review states that the author spent $60k on his car, whereas the author repeatedly states he spent $70k on his car restoration. This discrepency isn't really the issue, what I was hoping for was some description of what exactly the author bought and spent $70k on during the restoration. I am planning on restoring a vintage Porsche myself and was hoping this book would shed some light on various pitfalls I may want to avoid.
Of the 20 or so chapters in this book I'd say about 15 were dedicated to personal stories about the author and his illustrious career, and only 5 chapters to stories actually related to the Porsche he restored.
After reading this book I feel like I got to know the author quite well but not his Porsche. It was a delightful series of stories and I did enjoy the book, yet it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I found the cover and title of this book to be misleading.
Not a bad book at all, just not what I was expecting.
Rated by buyers -
Wilkinson is a true character and he spins his experiences in restoring a pseudo-classic Porsche 911 (okay, to a true Porsche nut they're all classics) into an entertaining tail. He's an amusing cross between Tim Allen's character from Home Improvement and that uncle your parents don't talk about much because of the nutty things he's done. Strangely these characteristics endear you to him and as a pilot and aircraft owner I enjoyed (and frequently cringed at) his diversions into his experiences as a pilot and aviation editor. Speaking of this the book is rich with diversions into other aspects of his life tangential (or not) to the car project. For some this adds a lot and in general I enjoyed these but I could see where some might find it too fragmented and distracting. Overall though his series of life experiences, including those directly related to the books primary subject matter make for a fun and interesting read.
He's clearly an individual for whom there is no substitute for hands-on experience and the process is more important than the end goal. He articulates well what he's learned and, while the book is not bogged down with technical details, he discusses enough of these to keep a gear-head reasonably happy. No one would restore a car using this book as a manual but there's definitely something here for the technically inclined.
All in all it's a pretty easy and light read and a lot of fun. Perfect as a weekend read for the Porsche fan but with, I think, much broader appeal than that (general car nuts, pilots, those interested in 60's civil disobedience, etc.).
Rated by buyers -
Before I even opened the book, a question came to mind. Why buy a Porsche? I have a number of buyer's guides and when I read them I am amazed that the company is still in business. How can they survive selling a car which has a leaking sunroof for 20 years??? German engineering is good, why can't they fix that quickly? Anyway, one buys a Porsche because it is a PORSCHE! That is what I got from the book. I did wished he had talked more about the car than other stories but the man obviously has a very full life.
Those cars have quirks and need a lot of care. If you are going to buy one, don't spend all your money on the purchase of it since you will need a lot for maintenance. Learn to be a mechanic too. If you want a reliable automobile that won't need to be the center of your attention, buy a Toyota. What is the fun in that? This book helped me see more what Porsches are about, PASSION!!!!!!!
Rated by buyers 
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I really enjoyed reading this book. There are probably a ton of readers and car-nuts out there who can sympathize with Wilkinson's view while laughing at the way it is told. The Gold-Plated Porsche is a fantastic read.
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