Red Eye Garage meets Jack's Garage January 30 2014

Tucked away in a quiet neighborhood, you wouldn't notice anything unusual if you drove past, but if you knocked on the right door, you'd uncover one of the most epic garages in Dallas.

My journey had begun at a Cars and Coffee. As I chatted with the owner of a hopelessly gorgeous Porsche 356, he told me about his garage and invited me to stop by sometime. His name was Jack Griffin, and he has raced at LeMans, Sebring and Daytona, among others. Jack is immediately friendly and approachable, but as you get to know him, you begin to pick up clues that he may in fact be the world's most interesting man. Needless to say, we took Jack up on his invitation.

Jack welcomed us inside his home, and right inside the door was a sitting area with books, art, trophies and memorabilia lining the walls. The large photo in the background is of Jack racing at the 24 hours of LeMans. 

Inside is a store stocked full of car care products from Griot's Garage, which help you to keep your car looking pristine. Jack is the DFW dealer for Griot's Garage products.

But the main attraction is the garage. At one point in time, Jack had 16 cars, and they were all crammed in this garage. He has culled the herd to a more manageable six. As you can tell, Jack has a slight preference towards Porsches. If your significant other has concerns about you having too many cars, you can cite this as a case study. 6 is a manageable number. Moreover, Jack mentioned that his purchases turned out to be excellent investments too. Your significant other will be writhing in the inescapable grip of reason.

The one car that isn't a Porsche is this 1984 Mercedes. Jack bought this car for his mom for Christmas, and it is still in pristine condition. The paint is all original and has been hand washed its whole life.

This Porsche 914-6 is Jack's first Porsche. It is the 6-cylinder version that is sought after over the 4-cylinder. The car only weighs 2000 pounds, and the engine has been modified to double the factory output.

Jack has bought and sold numerous Porsches over the years, but he has always held onto his first Porsche. We can certainly relate to that, as I am going to hold on to my first BMW for as long as I can.

This is the hopelessly photogenic Porsche 356 that we saw at Cars and Coffee. Jack bought this car in pretty rough condition in 1994 and then had it restored to concours condition. We're glad that he breathed new life into this classic beauty.

The 1955 Porsche 356's were exported to the states under the name "Continental", but Ford Motor Company fought it because the Lincoln Continental was already using that name. Porsche lost that battle, and in subsequent years, the car was simply known as the 356. Jack uses this car to show off what Griot's Garage products can do, and we certainly couldn't see any swirls in the paint whatsoever. 

Jack bought this white 911 from a friend recently. They are bulletproof and run without much fuss.

This is a 1989 Speedster. There were only 819 of these sent to the US. What makes it special is the soft top that is designed to be lightweight. There are no electric motors to put the top up and down. Additionally, it has been given the widebody treatment that the turbo models receive. As a final touch, the rear deck lid has a fairing to make it more aerodynamic when the top is down. Jack bought this new and has only 14,000 miles on it.

This coupe has the same interior and exterior colors as Jack's 911 Speedster, so they work together as a pair. The coupe is the daily driver and sees the most mileage out of all these cars. Jack prefers to drive his cars, rather than keep them as museum pieces, and we applaud him for that.

There are photos, flags and art scattered throughout the garage. This group of photos are from the Colorado Grand Rally, which has state trooper escorts and no speed limit. All kinds of rare multi-million dollar collectible cars show up, from Duesenbergs to Ferrari GTO's.

Does the man in the center look familiar? Jack is friends with Jerry Seinfeld, and they met when Jerry was interested in buying one of Jack's cars. They hit it off with their mutual love of Porsches, and they have been friends ever since. They've been to a few Colorado Grand rallies together, and Jerry has even paid a visit to Jack's Garage.

 Jack got started in cars from his dad who was a mechanic, and Jack was always around cars. His dad bought a Porsche 356, and after Jack drove it once, he knew that someday he had to have his own Porsche. Little did he know that he would go on to own a fleet of Porsches. Jack has crossed off more items on his bucket list than most people have ever dreamed of doing in a lifetime. He does this all while remaining genuine and approachable. He is a class act and a real ambassador to the world of cars. If you'd like to connect with Jack, you can check out his Facebook page here.

 

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