by John Glynn | Apr 15, 2015 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Loving the story of the latest early Porsche 911 discovery shared in a thread on the Early S Registry. Current owner Jay bought this 911 as a supposed 70s/80s model more than thirty years ago, but only recently uncovered the car’s true identity.
Originally purchased with steel flares, IROC bumpers and a fibreglass ducktail, the car had a 2.7-litre K-jet engine installed. It came with a roll cage and some suspension changes, so it seemed the 911 had been raced in the past.
After fifteen years sitting in storage, Jay decided to explore the car properly. The now more savvy 911 enthusiast began to notice 1964-specific features including engine bay pressings, door handles and other small details. A factory check of the build numbers revealed the production date: 21st September, 1964.
Porsche 901 Prototype
This 911 carries chassis number 300005: the fifth 901 built in 1964. No earlier chassis number is known to survive, making this chassis a very special find. The big question now is, how to restore it? Parts for 1964 and 1965 SWB 911s are notoriously difficult to find: certainly the most unobtanium Porsche 911 road car parts out there.
The Porsche Museum currently has chassis number 57 in restoration. This is obviously a much later car, plus the level of attention to detail found in past Porsche Classic restorations has been criticised in some corners. It will be interesting to see what happens with this amazing find. No doubt the level of interest in this Porsche 901 early production prototype at auction would be completely unprecedented.
by John Glynn | Feb 23, 2015 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
The Silverstone Auctions sale at RaceRetro 2015 brought mixed results for classic Porsche 911s. A number of promising Porsche entries were withdrawn pre-sale – a nice 2.7 911 and early 911T amongst them – but a pair of cars caught my eye from either end of the classic price spectrum.
Porsche 930/911 Turbo Targa at auction
This right-hand drive 5-speed Porsche 911 Turbo Targa is a rare car that sold well inside predictions, suggesting the body might have hidden a few more secrets than the auction description suggested. Not sure how likely that is as the pics make it seem pretty reasonable: maybe it was just the Marmite widebody Targa effect.
The very last year (1989) of Porsche 930 with a Targa roof is a very rare car, but the £35,438 this car sold for would just about buy a very nice 3.2 Carrera Targa nowadays. With the clutch replaced in the last 5k miles and a service 2k miles ago, if this a solid 930 with no major oil leaks, someone did well for themselves.
1965 Porsche 911 SWB prices
Elsewhere in 911-land, this apparently very nice LHD 1965 SWB Porsche 911 2.0 blew its £100-120k estimate well out of the water, selling at £133,875. Owned by a Norwegian since 1998, the description for the left-hand drive European example made no real mention of history prior to the current owner, save some details on a rebuild for the matching numbers engine some twenty years ago.
Four owners have kept this SWB looking straight and apparently honest. With the general condition described as “usable with a fair patina”, the decision to send the car to auction paid off. Matching numbers 1965 911s are highly sought-after now, and to exceed the estimate by over 10% shows just how fevered the market can get for early SWB cars. I can’t help feeling that these cars have not reached their peak: I’d rather buy SWB than RS at current prices and I can’t be alone on that.
Porsche 911 Auction Prices UK
I see from the Silverstone Auctions site that a bespoke “Porsche Sale” is planned for October. I have decided to sell my non-sunroof LHD Series 1 Porsche 924 Turbo this year, and it could take me that long to find enough time to put the trim back on the newly-painted bodywork. Might be an interesting story to put the car through auction and see how it does.
by John Glynn | Feb 2, 2015 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Alex sent through these cool pics of his Porsche 964 Speedster. This 911 Speedster is believed to be the sole Tiptronic example manufactured of apparently just 14 RHD 964 Speedsters – although that’s currently unconfirmed.
What is confirmed is this is a 1992 production car, believed to have been shown at the British Motor Show in UK spec before heading off to Singapore. From Singapore, it went to the well-known Giltrap family in New Zealand, who then sold it on to a local enthusiast. It passed through one more owner before being bought by a doctor in 1998. Alex bought it from the doctor.
While the earliest pre-1990 964 Speedsters were built on turbo-look bodyshells, later versions like this one were constructed using standard Carrera 2 Cabriolet shells. I’ve had a few drives in both and the narrow-bodied cars are sharper and tighter.
As with the earlier 3.0 911 SC Cabriolets, the 3.6-litre engine feels notably different in an open-top car. That fat exhaust note is pretty special with the roof off: I have vivid memories of driving alongside the Amsterdam canals with my mate Jan in his silver 964 Speedster.
Jan’s car was a manual – it would be interesting to see what the Tip gearbox feels like in a Speedster. Two pedals in that RHD footwell doesn’t look quite right, but no doubt it adds to the interest factor.
Most people who rule out Tiptronic are just repeating something they heard elsewhere. I know a few 964 Tip owners who really like the cars: a nice 964 Tiptronic Coupe is currently undergoing full strip and restore with a colour change at Rob Campbell’s Racing Restorations in Pershore for an overseas client. I’ll share some pics of that later and maybe sneak a drive when the project is complete.
As for this particular car, I could get a chance to try it out later this year as I hear it is coming to Goodwood. I may be charged with helping Alex find a new home for it if it comes up for sale.
by John Glynn | Jan 26, 2015 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
The first time I visited my friend Jonas Zambakides at JZM Porsche, I had just come from Autofarm. “How’s Josh?” asked Jonas. “He’s talking about selling the business,” I said. “He’s been saying that since I met him twenty years ago,” laughed Jonas. I could not disagree.
Autofarm is not too far from Ferdinand Towers, so I get down there every so often. On my last visit, a deal to buy the business was in progress – chatting with the buyers was interesting and the contracts have now been exchanged. Porsche 911 RS Carrera guru, Josh Sadler, has sold his Autofarm business to long-time employees: Mikey Wastie and Steve Wood.
Autofarm under New Management
It’s hard to imagine Autofarm without Sadler’s extensive understanding of the 2.7 RS close at hand. Originally founded at the same time as the RS was released, Sadler’s Autofarm became synonymous with the passage of RS Carreras from old homes to new. His famous little black book has more chassis numbers than a Porsche Museum catalogue, and it seems Sadler is not finished collecting them yet.
The new owners have split the business responsibilities, with Mikey running engines, projects and restoration, while former Carrera cup pilot and keen racer Steve will manage the service and storage sides. Sadler stays on in a heritage capacity: there is no better word to describe his core skills in the business of Porsche.
“Stepping back from the day-to-day running allows me to focus on car sales and heritage. As 911 values have risen, provenance has become increasingly important and investors are seeking perfect, correct specification cars. With Autofarm’s expertise and history, we can really help customers,” says Josh.
I don’t claim to know anything about the Carrera RS, but I’ve spent a great deal of time with RS people. Some supposed experts were all smoke and mirrors, and some who I assumed would be largely nonplussed on the subject of Carrera RS and early Porsche race cars like the ST or T/R knew much more than they thought. No doubt Sadler can comfortably hold his own in any RS discussion: I’m glad he will still be around.
Despite his annoyingly youthful appearance, Mikey Wastie’s served a valuable apprenticeship under Sadler, so is not short on knowledge. The company has managed some interesting restoration projects over the last few years, and the new owners will open the doors slightly wider, to bring in a few more modern Porsches. Autofarm will have quite a different flavour with new hands on the tiller: I’m excited for the business – it might need a bigger car park.
by John Glynn | Jan 15, 2015 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Swapped some good emails with Jonny, a fellow impact bumper 911 man earlier this week regarding an agreed insurance valuation for his newly-restored Porsche 911 SC. The car is just about finished, so it’s time to make sure that this investment is properly protected in case anything should happen. The car is absolutely lovely: well worth sharing on Ferdinand.
“The brief for the car was an ‘everyday’ hot rod based largely on standard components and some period accessories – hence ‘stock rod’,” says Jonny. “The car as purchased was scruffy but largely sound. The shell needed repair to both kidneys, sills, one inner wing and the oil tank aperture.”
Porsche 911 SC Hot Rod begins
“I contacted well known body man, Barry Carter, about tackling the bodywork. He was at the right end of the country for me and has done some lovely metal restoration on 911s. Barry’s mission was ‘search and destroy’ all rust. After a lot of detailed repair work, I believe this has been accomplished.
“While Barry was working on the rust problem, he also addressed the metalwork in other areas that I was changing, to make the shell perfect. This included a mirror hole delete, side skirt delete, side repeater delete, rear fog light delete, front spoiler delete and rolling the wheel arch edges.
“When the bodywork was done, I stripped the car back to bare metal myself and the shell then went to Steve Utting at DC Coachworks. Steve carried out a complete colour change to Porsche Delphi Green – a 914 colour, similar to some 911 shades. The new paint extends to the wheelarches, engine and luggage bays.
“Former Paragon engine builder, Lee Colbran, rebuilt the engine with standard pistons and cylinders (rebored and Nikasil coated) 964 cams, and SSI heat exchangers. We also backdated the heating: taking the secondary air blower out of the engine compartment. I rebuilt the Bosch K-Jet CIS injection and had the fan and housing refurbed. Mike Bainbridge rebuilt the transmission for me, also fitting a Quaife LSD to the car.
“There’s nothing wrong with standard SC brakes, so no upgrade was necessary. I had the calipers reconditioned by Classic Brake, and replaced every part of the braking system. All the suspension was also removed, stripped and refinished in the correct plating or powerdercoat. New suspension bushes are a mix of standard and Superpro, as this is not a track car. Rear torsion bars went to 26mm, with a 22mm front anti-roll bar. Turbo tie rods were fitted to my 911 SC, as they make a difference.”
Jonny is an electrical engineer, so there are some clever bits and pieces on the electrical system – more on that in a later post. The interior is very period, with the original brown dash, door caps and trim, some manual Porsche sports seats and very smart Mercedes “Brazil Brown” carpet, as it tones well with the Porsche palette. The door panels and rear quarter trims are covered in “Domino” Alcantara. Rear seat backs have been deleted but the handy “jump seat” cushions are still in place.
Kudos to Jonny for getting in early and snapping up an SC before prices went crazy, then working his way through a detailed “update” restoration so the car can be used every day. Undervalued for far too long, the 3-litre 911s are still my favourite and I love what Jon has done with the Delphi Green stunner. Looking forward to having a drive sometime soon.
