When I purchased my 1969 912 in January of 08 I was completely new to the 4 cylinder Porsche engines. I had owned plenty of 911′s and a 930 Turbo but had never had the opportunity to own one of the best cars ever produced by Porsche. I had received at least 50 photo’s of the car and every question area I had knowledge of that could be a problem looked okay in the pics.

I finished up work in Atlanta and caught a flight to Detroit to pick up my new toy. I had watched the weather the prior weeks banking on a window of opportunity to drive the car out of the salt belt and get it into pre-galvanized friendly fly zone for winter months. I managed to catch a 2 day window where the roads were dry, free for the most part of salt and a somewhat balmy 30-40 degree range. My flight got in late so I spent a sleepless night in anticipation wondering how the car really was. The owner of the car, Mr Wilhelm, a German engineer working for an American Auto manufacturer picked me up at the hotel. He was a nice fellow with great stories from working at Porsche AG in Stuttgart. We finally arrived to his house and there was a slight mist in the air. I waited and waited as he stumbled to find the garage door opener and finally the click I’d been waiting for. Every Porsche owner knows the feeling of watching a garage door open up with their favorite car gazing at them… I need not explain!

Here it was:

I was impressed overall with the body. Yes, the side trim distracted from the overall lines but it was done back when people did that type of thing (yes they did that type of thing, I have pics of other Porsche’s with it) in the 70′s. Alot of thoughts went through my mind about that trim. I was angry at the guy who approved it but then I thought, geez he could’ve driven this car every day to work and became upset with the guy who parked next to him. Maybe he decided enough was enough with the door dings from Joe’s Impala… So I got over the trim. I decided that when I repaint it back to Polo Red (code 6804) I would remove it. But that’ll be a while.

Pic with the trim:

Mechanically I was having problems finding gears but got it after a bit of practice. I checked the oil and it was thick. I asked Mr Wilhelm if he ever changed it and he said; “Yes, one time in my 2 years of ownership”. I asked “Did you change the filter?” (because the top of the housing was seeping oil) and he said “No, I haven’t. If you keep clean oil in it why change the filter?”. Hmmm (pondering this concept I was posed the questioned of just how much oil a car would leak to keep the circulation of fresh oil in it thus bringing someone to the conclusion that it’s always clean?)… There were no puddles or stains on the concrete under the car. Engineers are great at engineering but…. Well, anyway. So I decided I’d take the car. I knew that oil would need some thinning so I added a lighter weight throughout my trip in the cold weather. This kept the engine running at a perfect temp and allowed better flow through that old filter. But boy was that thing old…

It’s a deal

Thomas even threw in a Pocket Rocket for my kids which fit perfectly in the back seat!

So my journey began. The car ran great at around 70mph I cruised south. Adding a little oil at each fuel stop just to be safe. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep.

Here I am driving away from Detroit

I drove through the night and as I made it into the Carolina’s with each stop I noticed the car getting harder to shift into 3/4th gear (It’s a 4 speed). Dang was it getting hard. I was fishing all over for them… Using toothpicks to hold my eyes opened I made it to the Dames Point Bridge in Jacksonville and had to pee so bad it was the only thing keeping me awake. I decided to make one final stop before the bridge. I found a nice field to walk out into under the early morning stars and leak. Whew what a relief. Turning around I saw that little Porsche staring me down parked 40 feet away in the field. I smiled and she winked. Okay…. I got back in the car and struggled to get it into 3rd and 4th again. I thought to myself if I have to shift out of 4th again the whole way home I’m screwed because it’s nowhere to be found! The sun rise over the Dames Point was really incredible and I did finally make it home.

I pulled the car into the driveway and stumbled up to the door half asleep. I insisted my wife come out and check out the car. She enthusiastically ran to see the car, well sort of… I said to her “Wait till you hear it run!” So I hop in the car turn the key and… nothing. I smile at her and try again… Nothing. Uh-oh. She’s not too happy with me now!

See part 2-

Tags | 1969 Porsche, 356sc, Porsche 912