Provenance

[Macroni]

Man these cars are fun to drive fast.... they challenge you...... howl when pushed and smell gloriously when you stop them.... I can not believe their value is in their paperwork.......

[NorthernThrux]

Man these cars are fun to drive fast.... they challenge you...... howl when pushed and smell gloriously when you stop them.... I can not believe their value is in their paperwork.......

I suppose because the paperwork might show how long they might drive fast and smell gloriously (as opposed to some burning smell!). But, yeah, more of historical interest. I do have communication and reminiscences from all 5 previous owners, the original Texas DMV registration when new and service history from 1989. Not that any of that made a difference to what is now a 5.5 year restoration to concours condition.

And once you do such a nut and bolt restoration, does provenance matter ? The clock has been reset to zero (with appropriate documentation of the process and a slavish adherence to originality). No previous service history matters, and no one famous ever owned the car, so it won't make a bit of difference in 20 or 30 years when I sell it. If I sell it. What I have does provide some stories (like former owner Athos Christodoulou from 1988, http://toronto.citynews.ca/2007/08/3...o-theft-rings/), and has value to me, but not many others. Documented in my build thread for all eternity. Going forward, I'll be one of those people who keep a meticulous notebook of every fill and repair (I suppose, having never done it before!) and that will be my present to the next owner.

Ravi

[StephenAcworth]

Happy New Year, Ravi
Glad Robert is nearly finished with your car...
However, I believe your comment about the ‘build thread’ and your ‘meticulous notebook’ indicates that they will for sure add value to the car in the future.
For example, your concours restoration is a well documented restoration by one of the best guys in Canada (probably wider scope in reality). Yet without the documentation, would the car command such a high resale value in a few years?
I would agree that such work as Robert has done ‘resets the clock’, but without the documentation you have accrued, the restoration would be only as good as your claims... and that value will be impacted by all the work you subsequently have done over the next 20 or 30 years.
To me, this proves the value of provenance and paperwork (as well as it being interesting)... and having the build documented here only adds to the value!

[damsroy]

When I purchased my car originality, provenance and documentation were a key part of the transaction.
I bought my car from the original owners who purchased her in 1973 in Reno,NV.
When I looked at the documentation I could get a feel for the car for everything that happened during her life. The maintenance receipts (maybe 40 or 60 invoices) details everything that has been done to the car. One day the owner complained about hesitations at 3000 rpms and you can see the different tries and the number of ticks that were applied to the MFI pump do solve the issue. Note also the “check for shift lever squeaks” on the 1,000 Miles maintenance receipt!

Key highlights below:
- original invoice, window sticker and original bill of sale
- original owner manual, emission booklet, maintenance book and list of Porsche dealerships in US and Can in 1973
- all the registrations from day 1
- all maintenance receipts from day 1
- period correct pictures (pictures of pictures so bad quality here and I removed the faces since I didn’t ask the original owners before publishing those pics)

[CVLCPorsche]

The latest PANO has addressed an issue I've always held as important to any collector. That is, the history or provenance of an automobile.

As a friend has told me for years, "paper will lie still and you can write anything on it". What he implied is "it's easy to make up the truth".

Way back when I played with Corvettes it was "money in the bank" if your car was documented as Chevrolet didn't keep good records. More big block cars survived than Chevy ever produced! Unlike Ford (Marti Report) and Pontiac (PHS) it wasn't difficult to fake a car.

Porsche's original Kardex program was very good but the COA's can be rife with mistakes and translation issues and not every car is easy to run down. For instance; a friend with a '77 Carrera 3.0 with Turbo flares owned it 30+ years before anyone figured out it was a "Z Order" car. In his case the car is a true "Turbo" body complete with cutout for the turbo up-pipe that the '75-'77 cars had.

Having documentation when it comes time to sell will be to everyone's benefit. The buyer will have confidence and it certainly will cast a favorable light on you as the caretaker.

Tom

Tom- As the author of the above article, glad you liked it and it has stirred some good discussion, thanks for posting it up!

Nathan

[sithot]

Tom- As the author of the above article, glad you liked it and it has stirred some good discussion, thanks for posting it up!

Nathan

Thanks to you for writing the article!

Tom

[damsroy]

Tom- As the author of the above article, glad you liked it and it has stirred some good discussion, thanks for posting it up!

Nathan

Any way for non Pano subscribers to be able to read it?

[sithot]

Any way for non Pano subscribers to be able to read it?

Here is a way. Good deal considering the prices on other Porsche related magazines.

[sithot]

Here is a way. Good deal considering the prices on other Porsche related magazines.

Here's are 3 others in ROW prices.