Parts Obsolete & Emory Motorsports
In the lush wine country of Oregon’s Willamette Valley lie “Parts Obsolete” and “Emory Motorsports.” This multi-acre pastoral setting houses the headquarters for the father/son combination of Gary and Rod Emory. Gary runs “Parts Obsolete,” a renowned and respected supplier of vintage parts, and restoration maestro of classic Porsches (especially 356 and early 911). His son Rod manages “Emory Motorsports,” a race car construction and maintenance facility specializing in vintage racing Porsches. Gary and Rod are a synergistic duo who has each specialized in a different niche of the “Outlaw” Porsche world.
In Porsche parlance, the word “Outlaw” refers to a car that has been modified from stock appearance and performance to suit the individual owners taste. In early days, “Outlaw” cars were met with distain by the self-appointed purists of the Porsche Concours world who valued originality and correctness as the benchmarks of pedigree purity. They considered any Porsche that deviated from stock issue as desecration to the marquee, an attitude that has changed dramatically over the last quarter century as a successive string of Emory modified “Outlaw” Porsches have been created with tasteful changes that have dramatically enhanced the looks, performance and handling of vintage Porsches.
The Emory “Outlaws” have an unmistakable quality standard. Their cars have been upgraded with changes that Porsche itself would have endorsed had the mechanical and electrical technology and the production processes been available at that given time in history. For instance, many Emory equipped “356 Outlaws” feature 4 cylinder engines that have been reincarnated from a shortened Porsche 6 cylinder engine. These performance power plants feature twin plug heads, larger displacement pistons, Weber carburation, aggressive camshaft timing and a high-extraction exhaust which literally doubles the horsepower and torque of a stock Porsche pushrod 4-banger. The later style Porsche 901 5-speed gearbox replaces the 4-speed, disc brakes replace drum brakes, 12-volt electrical systems replace 6-volt systems, etc.
Owners of Emory modified “Outlaw” Porsches are absolutely ecstatic about their cars citing quantum leaps in acceleration, top speed, braking, cornering, handling, ride quality and overall driving enjoyment. An ironic twist to the whole “Outlaw” movement is that they are now getting the approval and respect of the entire Porsche community. Many “hard core” enthusiasts now occupy both camps of the Porsche world owning both prime examples of “Concours” original cars as well as prime examples of “Outlaw” cars.
What really sets the monetary value of an “Outlaw” car is directly tied to the builder/creator. Just like the art world, the works of Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Rembrandt command high prices. In the Resto/mod Muscle car world, the names of Coddington, Alloway, and Foose bring serious money. In the “Outlaw” Porsche world, Emory is the standard of excellence by which all others are judged. What was initially perceived as an “anti- establishment” counter culture movement has morphed into a respected genre within the Porsche world.
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Garage Style Magazine had the opportunity to spend time with the Emory clan at their annual “camp out” event which takes place each year in June. This event has gone on consecutively for 18-years and draws together Porsche Outlaw enthusiasts from all over the United States. This is a three day event that includes a car show, live music, self- guided shop tours, a barbeque dinner, socializing and on-site camping.
The Emory compound site is an eclectic mix of themes. The general property and tent-filled camping area looks like a scene from Woodstock. The hand hewn country style buildings next to the donkey/horse corral look straight off the set of, “Little House on the Prairie.” The wood shed workshops look like a scene from the early days of Porsche at Gmund. The steel sheds have a Pacific Northwest county vibe. This place just oozes with character and defies description. I had the chance to speak with Gary Emory, the man who started “Parts Obsolete” in Costa Mesa, California back in 1974. Says Gary, “Parts Obsolete was doing really well in California but in the early ’90s I decided to move out of the area. I fell in love with this part of the country and decided to move my base of operations to here. I’ve never looked back.” His son Gary officially joined the family business in 1996 when he started “Emory Motorsports.” The Emory clan garage is a special place. It is here where they work; they play, raise their families, tend to their animals, pass on their tribal knowledge to the future generations and entertain their life-long friends. It’s all good car stuff at Emory Outlaws.
Text and Images by the Author
