---
title: 'Kent McCord Has Owned This Rare 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo For 46 Years! | Jay Leno''s Garage'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=ALxuJ1nOya8'
video_id: 'ALxuJ1nOya8'
date: 2026-07-01
duration_sec: 2529
---

# Kent McCord Has Owned This Rare 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo For 46 Years! | Jay Leno's Garage

> Source: [Kent McCord Has Owned This Rare 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo For 46 Years! | Jay Leno's Garage](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ALxuJ1nOya8)

## Summary

Jay Leno talks with actor Kent McCord, best known for his role on the 1970s cop show Adam-12. McCord shares stories about the show, his acting career, and his long-time ownership of a 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo, which he has owned for 46 years. The conversation covers the car's history, its original turbo technology, and McCord's personal connection to the vehicle.

### Key Points

- **Porsche 924 Turbo Experience** [0:05] — Leno and McCord discuss the addictive feel of the turbo, noting it as a 'seat of the pants car.'
- **Introducing the 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo** [0:37] — Jay Leno introduces the car, highlighting that it is still with its original owner, actor Kent McCord.
- **Jack Webb's Advice to Cast** [3:27] — McCord recounts Jack Webb telling him and Marty Milner to be careful because they are joining a small fraternity and should not screw it up.
- **Jack Webb's Gift of a Corvette** [6:58] — McCord tells how Jack Webb gave him a Corvette as a sweetener during salary negotiations, telling him he didn't even have to give his agent a hubcap.
- **Challenges with Early Turbo Technology** [9:34] — McCord mentions he has gone through about 10 turbos in 128,000 miles due to the primitive oil-cooled design that could cook the bearing after shutdown.
- **Turbo Cooldown Procedure** [10:05] — McCord explains that originally owners were told to idle the car for five minutes, but it only took about a minute to bring the bearing down.
- **McCord's Father and Gas Station** [13:17] — McCord shares that his father owned a Richfield gas station in Baldwin Park, the biggest pumping station in the San Gabriel Valley, with gas around 19 cents per gallon.
- **Pandemic and Radiator Issues** [16:25] — The car sat during the pandemic due to a radiator issue; they eventually rodded out the original radiator after finding a replacement would cost $1,500 to ship from Australia.
- **Timeless Design of the 924** [19:22] — Leno comments that good design is timeless and that the 924 looks better now than it did originally, noting its shape is similar to modern Porsches like the Panamera.
- **Car's Intentional Underpowering** [24:59] — Leno notes that Porsche deliberately made the 924 underpowered to avoid undermining the 911; McCord agrees and says the turbo made it almost as close in performance.
- **Vintage Air Conditioning Solution** [28:31] — Leno recommends the company Vintage Air for a modern, compact AC unit that fits in classic cars, keeping the original switch gear functional.
- **Jack Webb's Death** [29:56] — McCord recalls Jack Webb calling him about reviving Dragnet, but Webb died suddenly of a heart attack shortly after, ending the project.

### Conclusion

Kent McCord's 46-year ownership of the 1980 Porsche 924 Turbo is a testament to its timeless design and his personal connection to the car. Despite its age and quirks, McCord still enjoys driving it.

## Transcript

That turbo is addictive, yeah. It's
definitely a seat of the pants car.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> You know, I like any car where I can use
all the horsepower all the time.
>> Yeah.
>> You know, I've got those McLarens and
they're great fun, but you get in and
you go, "Oh, this is fun." You step on
the What? Wait, why am I in jail? What
happened? You know, you get you got
arrested. Well, you you know.
Welcome to another episode of Jay Leno's
Garage. The car we're featuring today, a
1980 Porsche 924
Turbo. These are fascinating cars. The
thing that's interesting about this one,
it's still with the original owner. He
bought it new. He's a gentleman you
might recognize. Uh there was a TV show
back in the '70s called uh Adam-12. It's
a cop show, took place in Los Angeles.
It was a half hour, probably responsible
for more
men and women becoming police officers
than just about any other show on TV. It
got kind of a cult favorite. Uh his name
is Kent McCord. Kent, come on in, my
friend. Good to see you.
>> Thank you, Jay. Good to see you.
>> look great. That TV show was 50 years
ago.
>> Longer than that. We're coming up Well,
let's see. We We did the pilot in 1967.
>> Wow.
>> So, we're coming up to
close to 60 years since we did the
pilot.
>> hilarious.
>> It aired the first time in '68.
>> Yeah, yeah.
>> began its airing.
>> And it was a half hour, which Yeah. And
it was pre-DNA, pre-DNA. I love those
shows cuz
there was no real evidence. You just had
hunches.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> You know, I got a hunch. Oh, you'd find
a matchbook, you know, like
>> More than once Marty Milner said to me,
"I just had a hunch that that would
>> Yeah.
They'll know what And it was on like 50
countries around the world, right?
>> Yes, it was.
>> Yeah, yeah.
>> Yeah, it became we started getting fan
mail from like in
from Germany. I remember one particular
letter.
They sent us the picture of the two guys
in the car. And they were in a green and
white.
>> Yeah.
>> Not a black and white.
>> Right. Oh, yeah.
>> And they were big fans of the show over
there.
>> Oh, that's fine.
>> The other thing that happened during
Adam-12 was that episodes of Adam-12
started getting bicycled from Universal
Studios
to different police departments and used
as training films.
>> Oh, is that right?
>> Yeah. Because we had a technical advisor
with us every day we shot the show to
say do this when you get out of the car.
>> Right.
>> They basically had nothing to do with
what the story was going to be like or
anything, but it once we
we would get out of the car and approach
a suspect all of that was by the book.
>> Well, my favorite thing about the show
was how
spartan the police car was.
>> Yeah.
>> No air conditioning, no electric
windows, radio, shotgun, here's the
keys, there you go. And those cars were
pretty hot when I mean you were filming
in the Los Angeles in the summer.
>> Well, one of the cheats that we did, we
did get air conditioning when we ordered
ours.
>> Oh, is that right?
>> Yeah. You know, because one of the
things that happened is we set up a
shield over the front of the car to keep
the reflection
of the windshield from obliterating us.
And we had to have the windows rolled up
because we were miked inside. It wasn't
as sensitive as what we have now.
>> Yeah.
>> We need air conditioning.
>> Did it seem like it was going to be a
cult favorite as you were filming or it
just seemed like just another TV show
job, you know, what I mean?
>> Oh, no, it was never just another TV
show.
>> yeah.
>> Almost from the beginning.
Jack Webb being a stickler for
authenticity and also having had a
tremendous relationship with the LAPD
>> Right.
>> called both Marty and me into the office
at the beginning.
And he said guys, you are joining
a very small fraternity.
Don't screw it up.
He said if you get pulled over for
something, buy it."
>> Right. Right.
>> he said, "Because if you try to talk
your way out or give them some accurate
crap,
>> Right.
>> you know, you're it's going to shoot
through this department like wildfire.
And he said, "So, don't discredit us and
don't discredit yourself."
>> Have you ever gotten a ticket?
>> You know, I did.
>> You got it for what?
>> couple things on the ticket side. One
time I was in one of my Corvettes that
I'd had prior to this car.
>> Right.
>> Going down Laurel Canyon
trying to get to Harry's Camera before
it closed to buy a component that I
wanted for my camera.
And I was smoking it pretty good and a
motor officer pulled me over.
>> And I got out of the car and I got my
wallet out and and I walked up to him
and I said, "I was wrong. Just write the
ticket."
And he said, "After everything you've
done for us,"
cranked the bike and took off.
>> Oh, there you go.
>> The second one was I'm in Burbank.
>> Right.
>> Hotter hot day.
And I'm coming down Hollywood Way and at
Verdugo, there's a 7-Eleven.
>> Right.
>> And I'm coming down this way and the
7-Eleven appears
uh behind a tree and it was just this
blistering hot day.
And I pull in to the left-hand turn lane
and then pull into the 7-Eleven.
Burbank motor officer's coming this way.
And he pulls in and he asked for my
driver's license and registration. I
said, "What I do?" He said, "You
improperly entered the left-hand turn
lane."
>> Right.
>> So, he writes me the ticket.
>> Oh, wow.
>> I go to court
and I plead guilty to the judge with an
explanation.
And he says, "You want to go to driver's
school or you want to fight this?"
And I said, "Well, if those are my two
choices, I guess driver's school."
And I walk over to the bailiff to give
him my information and he says, "You
should have worn your uniform."
But that was the last ticket I got.
>> All right. Well, let's talk about the
car.
>> Yeah.
>> You've always been a car enthusiast,
obviously.
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah.
>> You made the jump from Corvette to
Porsche. That's like Oh, boy.
>> Well, we went through a transition
there. I had a '66, a '69, and I had a
'71.
And the '71 vet
>> Right.
>> I got from Jack Webb.
>> Oh, okay.
>> I had talked Jack Webb, who had a habit
of getting a convertible Cadillac in the
summer,
and a two-door hardtop in the winter.
>> Right.
>> And every crew guy was lined up to get
that car that had gone from Encino to
Universal and back
>> Right, right.
>> for half a year. And I finally I talked
him into getting a Corvette. I had my
'69.
And he got this Corvette, 454,
the 390 I think it was the 395 with a
with a automatic.
>> Right, right.
>> And uh I was in a negotiation with
Universal over salary.
And I get a call from Jack's
secretary one day, Jack wants to see you
up at the office. And I go up to the
office,
and the Corvette's parked in front.
And I walk in,
and uh Jack had a desk when he'd work
with writers, a double desk.
And I'm sitting on the other end,
and he takes out the keys to the vet,
and he tosses them to me. He says,
"Here, it's yours." And I said, "What?"
He said, "The Corvette."
And you don't even have to give your
agent a hubcap.
So, that was part of the sweetener that
he threw in on my negotiation.
>> Yeah, that's a good way to do it.
>> So, I kept that car for a long time, but
then during one of the gas crisis,
going back and forth over Laurel Canyon,
you know, that 454 ate gas like
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> And and we were we were on that uh that
program where depending on what your
license number I think the last number
on the
>> only buy gas every other
>> odd or odd or even.
>> Odd or even days. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> And and I got tired of that, and I
bought a Saab.
And uh I sold the vet, and uh I had a
Saab Turbo.
>> Right. Oh, I had okay.
>> And then I started racing for
Volkswagen.
Doing a Volk
VW Rabbit Bilstein Cup.
>> Oh, okay.
>> And I had done several of the Toyota Pro
Celebrity races. One one at Watkins
Glen. And uh
you know, the Saab I went to school up
at Bondurant.
>> Yeah, yeah.
>> And you know, I started looking at
Porsches and I thought something that
was economical
better than that 454.
>> Right.
>> And still had tremendous performance.
And I kind of got led
to Vasek Polak in Redondo Beach who was
probably the country's biggest
>> Oh, yeah. He was the Porsche guy.
>> Porsche guy. And so
I went in they loaned me one of these. I
had it at my house for
a couple weeks
and came back and this was sitting on
the showroom floor and I just loved the
look of this. I loved the way it sat. I
loved the fact that it was a little more
economical than than other cars and
a kick in the eye.
>> And this was it wasn't a VW but it's VW
Porsche right?
>> Well, it's it started out on a design
from what I understand in the
development of this car, it started out
in a in a VW design thing then went to
Audi.
>> Right.
>> And then Porsche
was thinking about moving into
water-cooled
uh front-engine cars.
>> Right.
>> And so they they had the 924 and then to
add a little
oomph to the car they put in the turbo
here. You know, and then it became a
Porsche.
>> Cuz originally what was the 924
non-turbo was like
125 horsepower just
>> Yeah, it was
>> not much more than a Volkswagen.
>> yeah.
>> Yeah, yeah. It was more VW so this was
the turbo and these were uh
They were how many turbos have you gone
through on this thing?
>> I think about 10.
>> Really? 10?
>> I think about 10.
>> And how many miles?
>> 128,000.
>> Okay. This is early primitive sort of
turbo technology. So, it was an oil
cooled turbo. So, when the engine is
running, it's pumping. But when you shut
it off, ooh,
the
turbo's spinning down from 10,000 rpm.
>> Right.
>> With no oil. Because you shut the car
off.
>> what's in the sump.
>> Right.
>> And it heats the oil.
>> And cooks it.
>> the bearing. Blows the turbo.
>> I remember they would tell people, "Oh,
run it for 5 minutes idling."
>> Yeah.
>> To cool it down, that kind of thing.
Nobody
>> Actually, actually it took about a it
took about a minute to bring that
bearing down.
>> Wow.
>> You know, so I have all kinds of little
signs in the glove box that I tape to
the
>> Yeah, yeah.
>> steering wheel when I take it in for
service.
You know, do not do that.
>> So, the engine So, it's four-wheel disc
brakes.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay.
>> Independent suspension.
>> Independent suspension, four-cylinder.
How many was it How many liter? 2.5?
>> Two.
>> Oh, 2 liter.
>> It's a 2 liter.
>> 2 liter, okay.
>> Just a nudge under, actually.
>> Yeah, with a five-speed. You know, it's
a good-looking car. It still looks
contemporary.
>> Yeah.
>> I It's so funny. I don't recognize these
big giant
Are they just reflectors or turn
signals? Do those flash?
>> Uh
Yeah, they flash.
>> Okay, they Yeah, yeah. Funny, I For some
reason I don't remember Is that that's
an American thing?
>> I think it's an American. If you were
looking in England, you know, when I
when I got the call that we were going
to do this thing, I started looking at
my car again and
>> Right.
>> You know, and and it was like a kind of
a little architectural dig.
>> Yeah.
>> Opening up the boot and looking into the
side storage places and finding
the original window sticker, which I've
got.
>> much was it? 24 and change?
>> This This came in at This car came in at
26.
>> Oh, 26.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay.
>> The first brand new car I ever bought
was a
1965
Impala Super Sport.
>> Right.
>> Black on black. 327 350.
>> Yeah.
>> Four-speed.
>> Right. Oh, nice car.
>> I didn't want air conditioning in it.
No No kid worth his salt would waste
horsepower on air conditioning.
>> Exactly.
>> You know, so
>> And black on black in LA where it's
100°.
>> Right.
>> Good thinking on your part, yeah.
>> You know, and so
you know, living with that philosophy,
having grown up in that era.
>> Right.
>> This has air conditioning in it. Right
now, it's not operating, so we have what
they call
the air conditioning is 265 air
conditioning. Roll down the two windows
and go 65 miles an hour.
>> Yeah, I see. Very good.
Cool. Well, she still looks good. Is
this the original paint?
>> This is not the original paint.
>> Original color?
>> I It's the original color. It's a
dolomite gray.
>> Dolomite gray, okay.
>> Which I've almost bought I can't tell
you how many cars this color.
>> You know, I was talking with Dan
Aykroyd. He's real involved with police
stuff, and they got the LA Police Museum
here.
>> Yeah.
>> And here's how old you are. You're an
artifact. You're in the museum.
>> Yes, I am.
>> an Adam-12 display.
>> They have an Adam-12 display, and they
have a lot of memorabilia that both
Marty and I
donated.
And
it is one of the really hidden gems in
Los Angeles. The LAPD Historical Museum.
And it's on York in Highland Park.
>> Park, okay.
>> Yeah, which it which is interesting. I
was born at Avenue 40 in York.
>> Oh, is that right?
>> where my folks lived
uh when I was born. And my dad was
working next door here.
>> Okay.
>> During the Second World War.
>> And what did your dad do?
>> He was a welder by trade.
>> Oh, is that right? Oh, that's pretty
cool. I didn't know you're an LA native,
okay.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> Well, that's fascinating.
>> my dad became an entrepreneur for a
while and opened a Richfield gas station
in Baldwin Park.
>> Oh, okay.
>> And it was the biggest pumping station
in the San Gabriel Valley.
We were on Garvey, which was the street
that preceded the 10 Freeway.
>> And how much was gas a gallon then?
>> Well, about 19 cents.
>> 19 cents?
>> Yeah, I think I can see I see
and then the gas wars would start and it
go down about 16.
>> Wow, there you go.
>> I started working there when I was 10
pumping gas.
>> That's funny. That's right. Well, very
good. Let's open the hood.
>> Yeah, absolutely.
>> Is it on my side here?
>> It is down on the lower side.
>> Oh, let's see.
Okay, I'll let you do it here.
>> Okay.
>> Now, is that the original steering wheel
in the back seat?
>> That that's the original steering wheel
back here.
>> Oh, I see. Yeah.
>> That's the original. I had this
steering wheel done. It's a smaller
diameter.
>> Right, right.
>> And there's no power seats in this. It
goes forward and back.
>> Yeah, you don't need power seats.
>> yeah, and when you're sitting
you are splayed like this for me anyway.
>> You know, it's so funny when this when
this came first came out, I imagine the
Porsche enthusiasts were a bit
snobby.
>> Yeah, they were.
>> Yeah, it was oh yeah.
>> And they still are.
>> Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you know, this
time to get some love now cuz the prices
have come back up. You know, people
recognize it's a good-looking car.
Uh they handle pretty well and with the
turbo you can get some decent horsepower
out of it.
>> Yeah.
>> Cuz it's not a heavy car.
>> Yeah.
>> And it's what, 180 with the turbo? Is
that what it was?
>> It it'll it'll come up to about 170. You
know, you get it in that range. It's got
a real low first gear.
>> Right.
>> And that was just to get you rolling.
Dog leg transmission they always talk
>> Have you had had an accident with it?
No?
>> No.
>> No.
>> Thank goodness.
>> So, it's unmolested.
>> It's unmolested and
>> 120-something thousand miles on a
Porsche is nothing.
>> Yeah.
>> These will go a long time.
>> Yeah, I had the top end breathed on a
little bit.
>> Yeah.
>> And you know, and we freshened it up and
uh
didn't want anybody to get in here and
and clean this motor
cuz you wind up with water down in the
spark plug galley and you know, you
start and then it starts misfiring and
everything and I didn't want to
mess around with that.
>> was that way about my room with my mom.
No, I don't want anybody
>> Right, nobody
washing anything.
>> I mean look at Yeah, I think you could
probably get a new pad here. I
I would spring for the new pad.
>> Yeah. Yeah. You know, that's uh
you know, I'm falling in love with this
again.
>> Yeah.
>> It it sat for a the the whole pandemic.
>> Yeah.
>> I had a radiator issue.
>> Right.
>> And then we tried to find an original
radiator. And this is again where you
come into issues with cars this old, as
you know.
>> Uh we found one in Australia.
>> Really?
>> Yeah, but it was $1,500 to ship to ship
it here.
>> Wow.
>> And so we took the original out of here
and rodded it out about uh
a year ago.
And finally, you know, it hadn't run
during the entire pandemic because of
the radiator issue.
And then I get it back and my wife and I
are
out cruising
and I come up to a stop sign and I go to
shift down into the first and it just
and all the all the shifting bushings
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah.
>> had gone.
And then I got that in and got it taken
care of. And then when it was in being
taken care of
the guy that's worked on it for 35 years
said uh you've had a rat in your
>> Oh, eating the wires.
>> Yeah, eating the wires. So he replaced
all the
all the
plug wires and everything and
>> Well, look at the size of that
alternator. What an enormous That's a
That's got to be a 25-lb alternator.
>> Probably at least that, yeah.
>> I mean, you can actually got Mitsubishi
makes one that's like like this big. You
fit it right down there. It's probably
twice the
the amperage of that, too, but
but very nice car.
>> Yeah. Very nice car.
>> Yeah, they laid this in here
pretty nice. I think it was the 924S
or they waited till the 944.
>> Right.
>> They basically cut up Porsche engine in
half.
And so, it gave it the four.
Uh and that became a Porsche motor. This
was again
Audi developed.
>> Right.
>> With and then they put all the badging
on and and did all of that stuff.
>> Did you ever think of upgrading to the
944 or cuz I mean what you obviously
really bonding with this car at this
point. Yeah, so you've had it what how
many
>> 45 years. 46 years.
>> 46 years.
>> Yeah.
>> And like two payments left or
>> Yeah, only only a couple left.
>> I mean, so why why this rather than the
Corvette or whatever?
>> I just got into this thing and then you
know, I did a lot of racing in in the
to have a high performance car as a
you know, as a temptation on the street.
>> Right.
>> You know, became less of my
my macho connection.
>> Right, right, right.
>> I figured you know, you can do all this
stuff on a track and everything. And I'm
the kind of guy that when I bought my
first car in 1954
two-door sedan
it may not have been
the newest car, it may not have been the
best car, but it was the cleanest car.
>> Right, right, yeah, that's funny.
>> You know, I always tell my wife if
something happens to me in a in a shop
or or we're at Home Depot or something
you know where to find the car. It's at
the furthest spot in the parking
>> Right, that's funny.
That's funny.
>> So, you know, I I just as you said,
bonded with this car and and have always
I you know, I mean, you look at this car
from a
side view
just driving it the other day. I've got
people, you know, you
get this all the time. You get the
thumbs up and the
and then the other thing that I noticed
I was up against a Camaro this morning
coming here.
>> Yeah.
>> You know, and the guy hammers it like
I'm going to race him.
>> Right.
Well, it seems to you know, it's funny
because interesting about good design is
it's timeless. Like this car looks
probably it looks better now than
probably at the time because at the time
you you used to seeing Porsches look
like 911s or 356s.
And this comes along and it's like,
"What?"
>> Yeah.
>> You know, but yet it it is I mean you
could pretty much Well, it still uses
same shape today basically. Panamera or
any of those
you see all the Porsches and I think
their mistake was aligning themselves
with Volkswagen in America cuz then it
became, "What is it a Porsche or a
Volkswagen?"
>> Right.
>> A guy buying a Porsche doesn't want
people to go, "Hey, is that a
Volkswagen?" You know, that was sort of
the problem. And this was VW Porsche,
right at the time.
>> Yeah. Yeah, I mean they had they handled
all the distribution and everything VW.
You know, one of the one of the fun
things about about the turbo when they
said they're out of business I I took it
up to a
Pasadena
Porsche to get the last turbo put on.
>> They get the last turbo, yeah.
>> And this is the last one we're we're
covering you. Right.
And and he was the one who recommended
me to my guy John out at
Modern Modern Auto Tech
Technology in Pasadena and and uh
you know, and John's taking care of it
ever since.
But we go out and we're driving in the
thing and the service manager at at
the Porsche dealership says,
"I forgot about this car. You can run
over a dime in this thing and tell
whether it's heads or tails."
>> Right. Yeah, yeah. That's the
>> And driving up here I just wondered if
the
if I had lost the shock when we were
doing the
you know, it just is as stiff as a car
can be and and
when we were doing the VW Rabbit
Bilstein up
Bilstein gave me a set of shocks for
this thing and I think they're the same
ones that are in here probably now 35
years.
So.
>> Well, it's sure well very nice. Can we
take it for a ride?
>> Absolutely.
>> it. Let's do it.
>> This is the other thing about closing a
hood on this car anyway.
I I went for a 10-cent part at a Newport
Porsche.
And the guy comes out, he takes puts the
little thing in I can't even remember
what it was.
And he lays the thing down and he
presses here and
just put a cup in the hood of It was
brand new.
>> Wow.
I have never driven one of these. Those
would be a treat.
>> One of One of the other things fall into
this.
One of the other things is I still have
the original three of the four original
mats.
>> I like this little wheel.
>> Yeah, you know, the the big
>> though, isn't it?
>> Yeah. The bigger one
just puts your legs at this angle and I
dealt with that for years and I finally
tried to find one that had the
a little different configuration here.
No.
>> No power steering.
>> This is strictly a muscle car.
So, as you know, boom, this thing
really goes up Here we go.
You feel every bump and
>> You do feel every bump, but you got to
remember this car is
50 almost 60 years old.
>> Yeah. No, it's it's 46 years old.
>> Well, I guess Well, I guess what it it
shows you're a good driver, man. That's
why I'm dyslexic. Okay. But, that's
that's a long time ago.
>> Yeah.
>> And the fact that it still operates
as a modern car I mean, you can drive
it.
>> Yeah.
>> It's fast enough. It's fun to drive.
It's easy to work on, reasonably so.
When you bought this new, did it come
with the tool kit?
>> It's got uh
It's got some stuff in the in the boot.
>> Yeah, remember those days where you
actually get
>> Actually got a tool kit you could
you could work on your own car.
>> Yeah.
>> I like when that turbo kicks in.
>> Yeah, it it gives you a little boost.
>> You know, I kind of like turbo lag cuz
when you're driving by yourself
>> Yeah.
>> it's like you're getting a free jolt of
you know, yeah.
>> It'll wake you up.
>> I mean, obviously if you're racing or
something, you don't want that. But
it's just fun to drive.
>> My wife said the other when we were
driving up here, yeah, she said, "Do you
Do you enjoy driving this car?" I said,
"I love it."
You got to pay attention to it.
>> Right, yeah.
>> You know, it's not one of these where
you
everything's being done. You got to know
about the gear ratio and range that
you're
you know, when you're coming up behind
someone, slowing down to bring it down
and
>> And it's it's funny cuz there's nothing
old-fashioned about the dashboard. It's
still basically the the most sensible
layout that they still use to this day.
You know, speedo in the center,
gauges easy to read.
>> there's a lot of rattles. I've chased
them from the beginning and uh
never really been able to solve the
little things like where the the the
seatbelt ratchet.
>> Yeah, yeah.
>> Things like you know
>> they did
>> Yeah.
>> Well, the thing I think the mistake they
made was
selling it as something less than a
Porsche.
>> Yeah.
>> You know, a Volkswagen. It was like new
Coke. They tell you for a hundred years
new Coke's the greatest tasting
beverage. Oh, no, we got a better one.
Well, WELL, NO, MY HEY, I LIKE MY NEW
COKE. I like my regular Coke.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah, I remember when this came out, it
they deliberately made it underpowered
because they didn't want to undermine
the 911. I mean, so you know, they they
built the car with one hand tied behind
their back. Oh, no, we can't Oh, no, no,
it can't be better. Oh, no, it can't be.
So, consequently, it's always a
compromise.
>> was al- almost as close in performance
with the turbo as a 911.
>> Right, exactly.
>> And uh
you know, and I and I have to say when I
walked into the showroom on this thing
and then I'd had the one that they
loaned me for a couple of weeks and
driven it
and just really liked
the
the look of it, the feel of it.
>> Yeah.
That's what I loved about when they came
out with the C8 Corvette. All the old
guys, "It doesn't have round tail
lights. It's not a Corvette." Yeah. You
know,
Porsche
kind of like a Harley-Davidson. They
have to keep building exactly the same
thing. Oh, new hand grips for, you know,
2026.
Yeah, you feel the turbo.
>> that little kick in it. Yeah, it's fun.
>> You know, I like any car where I can use
all the horsepower all the time.
>> Yeah.
>> I drove a couple of McLarens and they're
great fun, but you get you go, "Oh, this
is fun." You step on the What? Wait, why
am I in jail? What happened?" You know,
you get you got arrested. What you you
know.
I mean, you and I come from the era
where
when you watched a car movie, the
speedometer go 90, 91, 90, 100 mph and
then that's like the end of the world,
100 mph.
>> And that's the other thing I forgot.
The original speedometer on this was an
85 mph speedometer with a big red 55.
>> Yeah, and that's stupid.
>> You know.
So, I got rid of that a long time ago. I
didn't keep what, you know, the original
face.
Probably should have, but nobody's going
to put it back in.
>> Yeah, that was Jimmy Carter.
>> Yeah.
>> Those are actually more dangerous cuz
people had no idea how fast they were
going.
>> Yeah.
>> You feel that turbo kick in?
There we go.
It gives you a little kick in the butt,
though.
>> Yeah, yeah.
That's a lot of fun.
And then the car is like on rails. It's
I don't know if that's a function of
35-year-old Bilstein shocks.
>> Yeah.
>> May have given up a little.
>> Yeah.
You know, it's funny. I have had the got
that Carrera GT.
And I've had it since new. It's 2004.
One day I'm going down the road and I'm
hitting bumps and I'm jumping to the
next lane. And I realize my shocks are
depreciating like 5% every year. I just
never realized how bad it was until I
put new shocks in one. Oh my god, this
is what it's supposed to be.
>> Yeah.
>> How old are these tires?
>> Uh
I think they're about 6 years old.
>> Yeah, they feel a little like starting
to get a little hard, I can feel.
You feel like you want to slide.
It really is a light car compared to
even a modern Porsche.
>> Yeah.
I think it's 2,800 lb.
>> Yeah, that's I mean, that's
a lightweight now.
>> Yeah.
>> Fun thing about
200 horsepower or less is you can enjoy
watching the tach sweep across.
>> Yeah.
>> You can look at the tach while you're
driving. You know, most modern supercars
you can't even take your eyes off the
road.
>> off the road.
>> And you said your air conditioning does
not work?
>> No, I can't get
>> You know, you should You know what you
should put in this is vintage air. You
ever heard of them?
>> No, I haven't.
>> They're a company. I put them in
everything I have. It
The air conditioning unit is it's it's
it's this big.
>> Really?
>> It looks like a tiny old tomato. You
know, everything is improved so much.
The idea of putting a big, you know,
75-lb
I mean, they're really unbelievably
good. But, you should check it out.
>> into that because
>> you they make it. And what they do is
they keep it so all your original switch
gear
>> Yeah.
>> still works. Yeah.
>> Well, that's something to look into. I
just talked to my guy and I said, "What
do we What do we" He said, "I'm going to
have to go in and and check for
something's leaking." I said, "Well, we
know that."
>> Well, this is probably freon, right?
>> It is freon.
>> Well, you can't get freon anymore.
>> Well, you can kind of on the
>> Well, you can, but it's crazy expensive.
>> But, 134
>> it's And then it's not It's really not
worth it when you do it and it's only
going to last for 2 months.
>> Right.
>> Well, you know, when uh
Adam-12 ended in in 19
75, and then I did a uh
uh another series We did two spin-offs
of Adam-12 that we were going to do. One
with Jo Ann Pflug playing my partner
being
>> Right.
>> an early
adopter of females getting into the
field.
And then the other one was with Mark
Harmon being my partner and me moving
into the place.
Marty had said, "Find me something I
have to do half-day's work and I can go
down on the avocado farm in Fallbrook."
>> Right.
>> So, we had it all set up and then it
didn't it didn't happen.
But, in 1982, Jack Webb called me and he
said, "You know, I want to have a
conversation with you." And
we met at the
and Bull in in uh
He said,
"Listen, kid, I got
400 of the best then
well-written scripts that exist.
And uh
we're going to modernize them and we're
going to redo Dragnet.
But, this time this is going to be your
show." He said, "I'll do the voice-over
narrative
and Frack, meaning Marty, Marty'll be
your partner. But, this is your show."
And I said, "Great, I'm in."
And uh couple days later, early in the
morning, Buddy Hackett gave me a call.
Buddy was a real good friend.
>> Yeah.
>> And called me and he said, "Hey, are you
awake?"
I said, "I am now." And he said, uh "Sit
up.
Turn on the television.
Jack Webb is dead.
They're just bringing his body out from
the Sierra terror of
bringing it.
And that was uh that was the end of that
endeavor. But uh
Jack was a wonderful wonderful man to
me.
Very loyal. He had a stock company of
people. You can look at
>> from Dragnet radio days. Marty worked
with Jack in the radio.
>> Wow.
>> You can imagine.
And uh
you know, so
they had a relationship that went all
the way back to a movie called The Halls
of Montezuma.
But he he uh
he had a a stock company. They knew the
way that Jack worked. Jack worked with
teleprompters.
I was very lucky in my life. I worked on
two iconic shows, The Adventures of
Ozzie and Harriet, where I started.
>> Right.
>> And they came out of radio, Ozzie and
Harriet. And Ozzie used teleprompters,
but he never insisted
any other actor use them.
>> Right.
>> Jack, on Dragnet,
would put a teleprompter in front of an
actor, and the actor said, "Oh, I don't
use teleprompters." Jack would take the
teleprompter away and say, "Good. Now
just don't blow your lines."
>> Right.
>> And of course the guy would blow his
lines, and Jack would put the
teleprompter back in, and then Jack
would say, "Now let's get the day's work
done."
But uh
you know, he uh
was loyal to those people who knew the
way that Jack worked and what Jack
wanted.
But it was devastating the day that he
died and suddenly. He had a heart
attack.
>> I didn't realize he was so young. Would
you say 62?
>> 62.
>> Wow.
>> Yeah, it was uh
>> Well, he came from that mad man era
where everybody just
>> Well, everybody smoked and drank.
>> You know, Fred deCordova, the old
producer of the Tonight Show, every day
would be like a a highball or
some sort of stupid mixed drink for
lunch, you know.
>> And you know who directed the movie
Here Come the Nelsons, which was
basically the pilot for The Adventures
of Ozzie and Harriet.
>> Was that Was that Fred?
>> Freddie.
>> Oh, that's right. Yeah.
>> And then Ozzie said,
"I know how to do this." And Ozzie
directed every other episode until David
started directing too.
>> I'll tell you something else about Fred
McMurray. You know who his father was?
>> I don't.
>> His father was Ponzi's partner.
You know the Ponzi scheme?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah, the two of them had
these schemes that they they pulled into
town in their own railroad cars.
>> It was all Donald Duck.
>> Oh.
>> And they get money from investors and
then the train would pull out in the
middle of the night and they'd go to the
next town.
>> And they never got caught. How do you
know How did I get caught?
>> Yeah.
>> But you didn't get caught cuz you were
you you were out of town. There was
hardly any communication between
>> Yeah.
>> But yeah, the Ponzi was his
>> Yeah, I didn't know that.
>> Yeah, Fred was a character.
I know Fred came one day and said, "Oh,
I had a little accident today.
I hit another car." What kind of car did
you hit? Said a big town car. I said,
"When was this accident?" 1929.
What What is a big town car? You know,
he's thinking of you.
You know, this thing is a lot of fun to
drive.
>> Huh?
>> It's hard to believe it's a 47-year-old
car.
>> Yeah.
>> I mean, you got a few rattles and stuff
that you can probably take care of.
>> Yeah, I got it.
>> Some new bushings.
>> Yeah.
But, you know, it's still fun.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> And that's the key to the you know, I've
always
>> a little
feeling the turbo spool up and
and then catch it down. You get that old
kicking in the rear end.
>> Now, we started out running
When we started hanging out, we got a we
got a call I you know, when I was a kid
and after the Second World War,
I always remember the Indianapolis 500
being on the radio and my dad doing yard
work
>> Right.
>> Day and being out there with my dad
listening to the race.
So, I don't know if you remember Don
Skagen and Jay Michaels who were PR guys
at NBC for a long time.
>> Jay Michael sounds familiar.
>> And and so on
early May
my wife and I have just moved in at
1970. My wife and I have just moved into
our house in Hollywood.
I get a call from
Jay Michael. He said
do you know
the Indianapolis 500? I said, of course.
He said, would you be interested in
going? I said, I'm packing.
>> Yeah.
>> Yes. So, we went back as a guest of the
500 Festival Committee in 1970.
And it was a, you know, a whole bunch of
celebrities. David Hartman was
you know, just
>> David Hartman, yeah, I remember, yeah.
>> Yeah, and and uh
you know
just a whole group of guys and gals.
And it was raining and delayed the race,
and they come up where we're all sitting
in Tower Terrace.
They said, well, everybody headed back
to LA. We need We need towels. It's like
lap 160.
>> Right.
>> Hartman and I look at each other. We're
not leaving.
We're staying We're in this till the
end.
And we stayed till the end.
And I I went back. I missed
the year my son was born on May 27th,
1975.
Cuz I couldn't figure out a way, but I
did go back for practice.
>> That's uh
>> And and came home and Rocky had Michael.
And uh
then I probably in those years have
missed five races
since 1970.
>> We all got out of the TV business right
in time.
Yeah.
You got that turbo kicked in? There we
go.
>> Jay, come to think of it, I don't know
that I've ever sat in this seat.
>> I I just I I was going to ask you that.
>> I think I'd have a more fun sitting here
than
>> Yeah, I remember when the
when the Porsche 930 Turbo came out,
>> Yeah.
>> it made 260 horsepower.
>> Yeah.
>> And people talking about having it
banned because it's too powerful.
>> Well,
>> funny how things change. I've got a a
'62 Maserati 3500 in the garage there
with fuel injection. And I'm reading the
road test from a '62.
>> Yeah.
>> And in Road & Track it says,
"Why anybody needs 220 horsepower in a
sports car is beyond me, but
>> I'll take it.
>> you know, because that was considered
just a crazy amount of power.
I mean, turbo was a great idea. It
seemed like it's free horsepower.
>> Yeah.
>> The exhaust gases are going out anyway.
Why not use them? I mean, it just seems
like common sense.
>> Yeah.
>> And less horsepower to run than a than a
supercharger.
I remember an ad they ran back in the
'60s with the Comet.
>> 100,000 mi at 100 mi an hour.
>> you remember that ad? Do you remember
that ad?
>> That I do. And that's what happened to
us.
>> Yeah.
>> They were at 24 hours at Indianapolis
for speed, and we were averaging about
120 mi an hour.
Uh
Mercedes went to
Nürburgring and ran 100,000 km. Saab
went to Talladega.
And they ran like 40 days or something
like that.
>> Yeah, right.
>> And Nissan scrapped the campaign.
>> You know, give it back to the Porsche
guys.
>> Go to replace every bushing,
and you're going to rattle-free car.
>> Yeah.
>> Although it doesn't bother me. I'm just
you know,
I'm so used to driving cars with no air
conditioning, windows open.
>> Yeah, I'm thinking
>> Yeah, it doesn't
>> I'm thinking for sound in this if we
were doing when we worked, we'd be in
the dubbing studio looping all
all this dialogue.
>> Any other cars you like?
>> Miatas and even get that I've got my
little C-Max and I've got a 2009 Ford
Fusion.
>> Oh, okay.
>> And I had a I had a show
you know, with the Yamaha motor in it
and then things started happening to it
and I traded it in for that Fusion.
>> Well, did you see my Ford Festiva with
the show motor in the backseat?
>> No.
>> Oh, yeah.
It's called the Shogun.
>> Oh, really?
>> It was built by Chuck Beck and
what's his name? The other guy.
>> That little car was a fun car. I would
have it today. I bought cars with this
in mind.
>> Yeah, great.
>> Either the car dies or I do.
>> Yeah, yeah.
>> and
for a fun thing, this was in the vets.
You know, weren't family cars. They were
like my youth
showing itself off.
So,
you know, right now
I don't know what high performance car I
would want to park in the garage.
>> You must be the longest original owner
of a 924. In fact, you should contact
Porsche. I bet they'd do a story on you.
That's probably I I don't think there's
I've never heard of anybody else with
one.
>> Yeah. I mean, they're probably out there
somewhere so.
>> Well, there weren't a lot that were
brought into the United States. They had
to redo the bumper, the front and the
back because of the you know, the all of
that stuff.
And uh
you know, so
looking up
and
basically, thank you because
I got jazzed about this car again.
>> Oh, yeah. Well, that's that's you need
something to rejuvenate, you know.
>> And uh
>> Like put a little excitement in the
marriage, you know.
>> You know, I I did uh
you know, like finding that original
sticker on the thing.
>> Yeah.
>> You know, my
you know, for if you haven't seen this,
this was the
the this was my turbos.
>> Oh, yeah. All yellow.
Replaced turbos. That's hilarious.
So, about every 10,000 mi you replace a
>> I was putting a turbo in the damn thing
and and you know, and again, that's when
Porsche was good to me
on that front until
they got some new management or
something and somebody looked at a
a a sheet somewhere that said, "What is
this Ken McCord turbo replacement
invoice?"
>> Did they always replace it with the same
turbo or an up updated version?
>> Uh replaced it with the same one until
my guy took the last one and rebuilt it.
And and this thing has held
from that time on and it's still going.
>> would have come up with an auxiliary oil
pump on that
>> Yeah.
>> You turn on the ignition and just
circulates the oil.
>> Well, you will interestingly what they
did to try to solve that is they gave
you an ignition delay
where you could turn the key off, and
pull the key, and the engine would run
for whatever time you set it to.
>> Oh, I see.
>> And and so you would have it and allow
that bearing to stop spinning.
>> Well, Ken, thank you, my friend.
Appreciate it. Great talking old TV
shows and cars and
it's it's uh yeah, it's just great. You
have quite an automotive life. I didn't
realize.
You know, when you see people on TV, you
never really know.
>> Yeah.
>> But just the racing and all that kind of
stuff so
Well, I hope you enjoyed this trip down
memory lane and
>> I did, very much.
>> How many original owner 1980 Porsches do
you find? Not many. This is especially a
924, so thanks for saving this piece of
history.
>> Well, you're welcome.
>> There's a railroad tracks. We're going
to get killed by a train. See you guys
next week. Bye-bye.