Hello all. I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Russell M. Wahlers, founder of RPM Racing North, now located in Plainview, NY. I wanted to tell you all a short story about one shops adventure in sending 2 cars down to the Texas Mile ,which took place over the last 2 days. This is not meant to seem like a speech, I just wanted to share some thoughts with some fellow Porsche people.
About a month ago, my partners and I, Timothy Siachitano and Wayne Hatami decided to take a chance and build a car to run this "Texas Mile" we had heard about here on 6speed. Tim is a long time "go fast" guy and thought it would be exciting to build a car here in our shop to see what we could do in only a few weeks. Our fabricator/tuner extroidinaire, Eddie Bello, assured us that it could be done. Ed has been with RPM for several months now, and never ceases to amaze us with his capabilities. He has brought something very unique to our business, the ability to build high horsepower cars, that are consistant and reliable .We decided to go for it, if for nothing else, to let everyone know that some fast, reliable cars, come out of RPMs somewhat modest shop here in Plainview.
We purchased an 03 996 TT with just over 70k miles on it and began making improvements and modifications that we believed would make this car fast and reliable. The compression was within spec,so we did not rebuild the engine. Alot of TIG welding and fabrication, coupled with a special assortment of go fast goodies resulted in what we believed would be a car that could do app. 180mph in 1 mile. We also wanted to send an infamous white 911 along with our 996TT, Eddies car. Eddies car IS FAST, as anyone who's been around for a while can attest to it. Eddies car is a very clean 964 with huge horsepower underneath its 993 TT wing. We knew he would do well, but could it do over 200mph? This car is not a lightweight racecar by any stretch of the imagination, it weighs over 3000 lbs and it looks way too nice to have been gutted or stripped for a track only car.
We tried to find transport in the last few days before the event, to no avail. Both cars would need to be completed by Wednesday, the week of the event. Monday was interesting. Eddies engine was out on the shop floor and spread across 2 shop tables in a million pieces. Tims car had no suspension or brakes and still needed to be tuned!
Anyway, Wednesday evening came and the cars were together and driven off to Texas, I think about 1,400 miles . The cars were tuned on the drive down.
Tim, Ed, and our videographer Anthony Santana, arrived Friday evening and were given a lesson in Texas hospitality. The folks down there were extremely friendly and helpful to the guys from RPM. I understand that another 6 speeder, VR Alexander, was fantastic company and a genuinely great guy. VR Alexander saved the day by setting up a hotel room for the RPM guys who desperatly needed some shut-eye after all that driving. The crew from EVO was there of course, and were very good to the RPM crew all weekend. It's always nice to meet the people you do business with on a day to day basis. I can't say enough about Todd and the crew, they were great.
Saturday comes and our 2 cars, driven straight down from NY are lined up , and ready to go. Tims car does a best of 188mph and Eddie hits 210! The 996TT runs with no issues at all . Eddies car loses a piece or two as it flys past 180mph @ the 3/4 mile mark, but it's nothing serious, nothing some racers tape won't cure.
Sunday is here and Tim rips off a 191 mph pass and Ed rocks 219 mph! Anthony is filming and giving me the updates so expeditiously that I feel as if I'm there. 191 and 219. Not bad for a couple of true street cars. I'm still amazed at what these two accomplished.
In conclusion, it was alot of work, in a very short period of time, with many miles of driving to get there, but I think it was worth it. We still got the work done here in the shop and got to see what one of our homebuilt cars could do with limited time for modification. We, as a business, look forward to more events like this one. It's events like these that remind me of what I love about this business, the people, the sport of it and the camaraderie. My thanks to all of you that made the RPM crew feel welcome.

 

very cool pal!

 

Hey Russ, great story!! That is awesome. Looking forward to getting my springs on the car.

 

Nice job Russ, long time no see, I'll have to stop by. Hope all is well with your family.
Chris

 

Congrats, that would be soo much fun!!

 

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

!!!!

 

Hello guys, thanks for bearing with my long winded thread ! I had alot more to say but didn't want it to go on too long. Again thanx. Chris T. Hello sir, your parts are in...and we'll get you dialed in this week. Chris TT Surgeon, it's good to hear from you "old friend" (stealing from Hemmingway). You should come by the new place, it will be good to see you, and thank you for asking, the family is doing well. Yours? Regards, russ