Turning back time; A resto-mod project powered by happy memories.

Already too much of a hint....

I want to describe a happy memory of mine, one with the names, places, and other specifics left vague. A deliberate decision because I believe that my story, for a lot of you, will also be your story. I hope that many of you will be transported back to a moment in time and be able to hold on to that memory as important context for this post.

I would have been thirteen or fourteen years old, bright and early on a spring morning, just past sunrise. I had to be at an extracurricular school activity earlier than usual, so I hitched a ride with my father on his way to work. Ever an early riser, he loaded me into his new, first, Porsche and hit the streets before the mad rush of peak hour. Entering the on ramp, gunning it over the bridge, he tells me to watch closely in the rear view mirror as we pass the threshold for the spoiler to rise up out of the rear of the car. “Pop the wing” became the mantra of those early morning drives as we, father and son, bonded over our shared love of the car. 

These were the moments that cemented into place a perpetual bond between Porsche the machine, and Porsche the passion. They were how I inherited my fathers love of vehicles, engineering, and design. In no way do I mean to suggest we needed the car to have the wonderful relationship we do now, but there is no escaping the strong impact those small moments had in enshrining it. He had worked so hard to achieve something that he could share with me and that has had a lasting and meaningful impact. 

The year: sometime around 2005. The location: Melbourne Australia. The car: a 2004 Boxster S. 

One of the few pictures I have with the car, taken a few years later, Summer of 2009.

The experience though, was universal. It is why I hope that at least a few readers were also transported back to their own time and place. When Porsche became more than a car, instead a family affair. In the two decades since I have been extraordinarily fortunate to be able to take that familiar passion and make it a career. Modern Aircooled turns ten this year, and in that time it has allowed me to drive thousands of vehicles with the most coveted of badges. It is a dream job, one that has allowed me to live vicariously through the stories of our clients and continue experiences like those I had as a child. A decade on, however, I have found myself searching for that little bit of nostalgia. I have found myself reminiscing on those early days and times with my dad. I have found myself looking for a tangible bit of those times to hold onto.

A few months back a good friend of the shop called me out of the blue. He mentioned that his Mother was looking to sell the car he had passed onto her a few years ago. He wondered if I might have a buyer, or be a buyer of it, hardly wishful thinking as I had jumped on another vehicle of theirs in the past. I was certainly interested as Modern Aircooled had taken care of the car for a while and I knew it to be an exceptional vehicle.   Even if it wasn't though, I’d have been betraying my feelings to turn it down. It’s exactly what I had been looking for, a low mileage, 2004 Porsche Boxster S 550 Anniversary Edition. The very best iteration offered of my cherished childhood experiences. 

This post is to introduce what will become a feature of our shop blog. I intend to work with my shop, and its vendors, to produce the very best of what a 986 can be. Intended to be in the spirit of the Porsche Classic restoration challenge, without the strict OEM restrictions, this Boxster will be transformed into a timeless but capable classic. A car that will be able to act as a contagion for my children one day, giving every opportunity to pass on the same passion. A space to share experiences and bond. 

The car is currently as it rolled off the truck and I won't go into exactly what we have planned, but rest assured this is a series worth following. Shamelessly, these are the words of a very excited new owner of what has long been considered the bottom of the Porsche pecking order. I hope that having read this far you will understand why I will go to such lengths for this project, and why it will forever be a testament to what these cars can mean to us all. 

Jordan Remeljej, Founder, Modern Aircooled.