Bill Fraser, PhD, President of PCAR MOUNTS, LLC
I’m a chemical engineer and spent nearly 36 years in the chemicals and plastic industry conducting, managing, and directing R&D operations inside a large multi-national corporation. My new company, PCAR MOUNTS, LLC, has become my new passion.
And like you, I’m a sports car enthusiast. Although, that doesn’t mean I collect or have owned/sold many vehicles --- no, I tend to commit to my cars, drive them every day, and keep them a long time. My short list of fun cars (interspersed with family transportation) have included a 1965 MGB, a 1973 Fiat 124 Spider, a 1969 Porsche 912 (which, sadly, died of terminal rust), a 1982 BMW 320i, and now, finally, a 1995 Porsche 993 Carrera 2 (my “forever car”, hopefully).
For me, the classic, “air cooled” Porsche® 911 remains an expression of pure, timeless design wrapped around amazing engineering and performance. There’s just something about the size, shape, and contours of these early cars that appeal to my right brain sense of beauty. And, I suspect that since you’ve come to our website, you probably share some of this attraction to the classic 911 styling and respect for its durable, functional excellence.
PCAR MOUNTS™ started with the words, “if only”.
“If only” my 993 were equipped with the modern electronic accessories and features that are now common (expected) in today’s premium vehicles, it could honestly qualify as my “forever” daily driver. I wanted GPS navigation, hands-free phone connectivity, and access to my digital music library. It was the arrival of the multi-function smartphone with its amazing apps functionality, that provided a pathway to satisfy this “if only” sentiment.
As discussed elsewhere in this website, the two primary challenges for retrofitting a classic 911 with a mobile electronic device (MED) like a smartphone or portable GPS are: where to put it and how to mount it.
I combed the internet exploring vehicle mounts for MEDs and searched the Porsche discussion forums, obsessively, for a clean, workable solution --- No luck. So, I decided to forget about a 3rd party answer and solve my own problem. This solution needed to be both “Porsche-worthy” and non-invasive, i.e. deliver “factory-look” function and preserve originality such that installation could be undone with no evidence of modification.
Trial and error prototyping and countless computer modeling tweaks to the design finally led to the configuration of the PCAR MOUNT and its unique, two-end, bracket-anchoring, patent pending design. It worked beautifully on my 993 and I believe I now have my “forever” car.
If you, like me, have suffered a similar “if only” malaise about your own classic Porsche 911, I think our PCAR MOUNTS’ products can cure this condition.
While the PCAR MOUNTS bracket system was designed for my own car, if this product were to become the basis for establishing a business, it needed to fit all classic 911s not just 1995 993s --- that’s where Sam Shalala comes in.
Sam Shalala, Owner of Shalala Racing Services
Sam is the Porsche expert advising PCAR MOUNTS. He is the former owner of Pro Technik, which was one of the largest independent Porsche repair facilities in the Southwest and brings more than 25 years of Porsche expertise to this PCAR MOUNTS adventure. He’s the “go to guy” for just about any 911 issue --- and has done all the important jobs on my 993 --- another key to my “forever car” goal.
Sam not only fixes them, he makes them go fast. His racing career began through Porsche Club of America events, where he participated as an owner, crew-member, instructor and crew chief. An accomplished driver, Sam set a Porsche track record at Texas World Speedway, finished second in IMSA's 24 Hours of Daytona, fourth at 12 Hours of Sebring and boasts more than 100 podium finishes.
Sam is passionate about Porsche and has been an absolutely invaluable resource to PCAR MOUNTS providing expertise and consultation to both product and business development. He provided access to classic 911s across the 1970s, 1980, and 1990s to ensure that the PCAR MOUNTS bracket system design fit them all. He has been the “sign-off” guy in developing the bracket installation procedure and you saw his handiwork in our installation video.
