There is a certain protocol when it comes to driving a vintage car. One of the rules is: "Thou shall not drive a dirty classic car."

Yet, I found myself doing just that this spring after waking my 1976 Porsche 911S from its winter hibernation.

It's risky to drive a dusty, pollen-covered vintage Porsche because it’s such an attention-getter. No one wants to be extolling the great virtues of one’s vehicle to a bystander if it clearly needs more love from its owner. I’m ashamed to admit I was so motivated to get the car out for the season that I didn’t wash it the first time I pulled it out of the garage. Or the second.

I blame losing the nozzle for the garden hose for my lapse in judgment. I couldn’t take it to the car wash because it needed a thorough cleaning at home, and I knew the nozzle was somewhere in the garage (it was inexplicably in my paint supplies box). But there are no excuses. I drove it dirty anyway. Yes, I was ashamed.

I'm sometimes a risk-taker when it comes to driving Smokey.

In April, the Fox television network came to my Connecticut town to film a concert at the green, featuring one of the "American Idol" contestants. As expected, over 10,000 people flooded our small shoreline community, and I questioned whether it was wise to drive the Porsche that day, knowing the traffic would be horrendous.

Gridlock is bad for Smokey, who gets temperamental when sitting in one spot for too long. Despite fears of overheating and cramping up my left leg from holding in the clutch too long, I took him out anyway, successfully avoiding the throngs of drivers hoping to get a look at Nick Fradiani (who, by the way, wound up winning the competition).

Daily weather conditions are also not to be taken lightly if one owns a classic car (particularly one that is a work in progress). During the summer, temperature is a key deciding factor in whether Smokey goes for a ride or not. Yet, sometimes I can’t resist. When the thermometer hovers around the 85-degree mark I have to make a choice. Sometimes I risk it; and sometimes I drive 10 minutes and then home again because the oil gauge indicates it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Then there's rain. I've tested the integrity of the sunroof, but I'm not entirely confident that water will stay out. A rainy day isn't generally anyone's pick for perfect driving weather, and it's clearly a risk when one owns a vintage car. Smokey’s tires and suspension aren’t in pristine condition, and there are some other mechanical issues that need to be resolved. Slick roads don’t exactly make those conditions easier to work around.

But my attitude is that you can’t be sure until you try. So even if the sky looks like it might open up, I’ll keep going where I’m going.

Driving a vintage Porsche can be risky in certain conditions, but I’d rather experience the ride than let Smokey sit in the garage waiting for the perfect 60-degree day with no traffic in sight. But I've learned my lesson; he will be clean and sparkly from now on just in case someone stops to ask about my little German sports car.