The 67S "Turbo" project

Hi guys!
I might have a lead on some history on this 67S "Turbo", VIN 306697S, so decided it was time to start a thread.

It came from Miami 10 years ago looking like this. Original color is Aga Blue and delivered new in New York as a low option leasing car. Between the blue and red period, it was yellow.

This car was for sale in my own back yard a couple years ago, but I did not need another project and did´t have the cash or space to store it, so managed to resist the temptation to go looking because I knew it would be extremely hard to avoid coming home with another car.. But it seemed it never sold, so I kept the sellers phone number to be able to call and check if things changed. I never did, but a year later it was back for sale and I realized I had to act fast! When will it ever happen again that I can jump in the car and inspect a 911S for sale less than 30 minutes drive from my home? The answer is most likely NEVER! The good days are over when you could find dirt cheap cars like this for sale every spring..

Here are the pics from the ad:

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Please no flaming guys! I´m fully aware you can dissect a 300K+ car in seconds. Focus on potential. Remember this was done in the 80´s when SWB´s were yesterdays news, and maybe the person who built his dream car saved this 67S from being scrapped. I´m no huge fan of wide body cars, but think this one is a charmer :-)

Cheers, Radmund

First view of the car:

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/q...psbhaeem10.jpg

I can think of few things more exciting than picking up an old car like this and slowly get to know it when it´s safely back home. Wish I could do it once a year! T-E-S or 912, is not the most important, they are all special in their own way with personalities and stories to tell, but finding a real 67S under all the camouflage of course made it a bit extra special.

This is probably also the closest I will come to a "barn find", so even if it was only a car covered with dust after a couple years in the garage it felt like the real deal!

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/q...psifgbwkrz.jpg

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From the way it has been stripped of most of the S-parts, it looks like a roller picked up from a junk yard as a cheap foundation for the Turbo build. The engine was a 901/05, but matching numbers was not important to me this time, I was just grateful to find an alu case and not a mag 2,7.

Price was 20K. You won´t get much early 911 for that amount of money in todays crazy marked, but I thought at the time it was a bit too much because the S-engine was gone, and the general condition of the chassis was not exactly impressive. But price was firm. Seller said he had another guy on the phone waiting to take the ferry to Norway to pick it up. I believe him, it was probably another forum member here. ;)

I decided to "save it" from going back to Germany like so many of "our" cars (that we have stolen from the Yanks). And 20K was exactly what I had after emptying my last saving account and borrowing some cash from my brother and my kid :o, so the decision was not difficult.

When I bought my first 911, (now my brothers car), I drove it all night home from Oslo. http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...for-US-history

That was a magical experience, so tried the same next time when I picked up my 70S. That ended in total disaster with technical breakdown in a curve on the highway in heavy summer traffic. That experience scared me a bit, so when it was time to pick up my blue car, I did not have the balls to try driving it home. That car would also have broken down, so thank goodness we had a trailer! Now I felt my confidence was back and because it was so close to home, I had no excuse not to drive it.

With very old fuel in the tank I was impressed it even started, but running very rough. Brakes were sticky and if I released the grip on the steering wheel, the car would try to pull me towards the ditch as effectively as it could. One of the tires would not hold air very well, so we had to pump it a little extra before we started. To avoid a confrontation with the law (that would not end well) we picked a three times longer route through the woods where we only risked meeting other people for the last few miles until we were safely home.

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It was a great trip on some pretty rough B-roads. Driving duties were shared with my brother in the support vehicle. In case of emergency we had the chance to drop the car at a friends place along the route, but when passing his house we decided it was not the time to chicken out, this was getting too exciting! We had some rain showers, so vision was not the best because the wipers did not function. But by following the tail of the support vehicle we had steady progress. We also stopped at a nice little restaurant in the middle of the deep woods to let the car cool down a bit and to have a coffee.

With 20 kilometers to go I felt a vibration in the car, and it just got worse. When we reached the city limits of our home town I was convinced the car would break down any minute and getting difficult to steer. Typically this was the moment when I spotted a police car right in front of me coming out from a crossing road. The police car stopped in the junction, the officer staring at this strange vibrating wreck of a car. I stared straight ahead trying to look cool and relaxed, but with a heart that had stopped beating.. To my extreme luck, the officer was not in the mood for highway patrol duties that day. OMG what a relief!

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps7v8bruot.jpg

When finally parking in front of the garage, I swear the car would not have lasted more than a few more kilometers. I do not remember if the engine died for good that day or the next, but for the rest of the season I was not able to bring it back to life. Probably many reasons why the car behaved so badly, but one of them was a tire about to explode..

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/q...psfqqrogra.jpg

All in all a fantastic little adventure and these big and small problems and adventures I have with my cars are one of the reasons I love them so much. We have a history together and it´s funny that it´s often all the problems and obstacles you have to overcome that many years later are your best memories.

So why was I so eager to find a project like this?? When I first got into these cars, I was very concerned about originality, matching numbers etc. In an Internet society like this, people judge based on what they see and read, so I guess I´m one of the "boring guys" obsessed with anal details. Well, I can be obsessive about details and love original cars and parts, but I also love the opposite at least as much. If I could only have one car, it would be a hotrod. Now I have the best of both worlds.

This is my definition of "perfect":

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/q...psc6ekcwel.jpg

It is not realistic for me to achieve anything even close to the quality of the car above, but that is not the goal, at least not for the next 10 years. I promised my brother if I was going to get another car, it would have to be something we could both work on to improve our DIY skills. I can't experiment too much with my functioning car because help is too far away if we break something that is working. As a start I hope it can be a reliable rolling resto, but that depends on the condition of the chassis. If the rust is worse than we think, I might have to put it in storage for a couple years. If it passes inspection the goal is to have a beater that can be improved over the years, but with no focus on making everything "correct". This car is about having fun, they can´t all be Pebble Beach candidates.

But we probably have a long road ahead of us. When we prepared to put it on jack stands, we heard a BANG and saw this:

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/q...psakhqeqjp.jpg

My brother looked at me waiting for my reaction, but I just laughed! If this had happened with the other 67S in my garage I would have fainted, but this is "just a car" and not something super special belonging in a museum. Another setback, yes, but not a big problem.

I have always loved Aga Blue, but from the first time I saw a picture of a Golden Green car, I have not been able to get it out of my head. Only problem is that my 4 year old daughter says it´s going to be pink.. I don't quite remember, but I might have said once "sure it will be pink" without thinking about the consequences.. Hopefully she will forget about it, but every time we are in the garage she says "But dad, why is this car still red"?? Time will tell; green, pink or something else as long as it is refreshing and spicy. (sorry purists..)

I just read in another thread a guy who wrote: "One negative consequence of the rise of values is the end of the "beater" Porsche. I miss it."

Hope to prove you wrong Mr. Eaton in Montana. ;)

thanks for sharing the story- put a smile on my face :)

This car is very familiar...I like your style. I like your priorities. I like the fact that you laugh and know the difference between things that last, family, and things or stuff that can be fixed. Keep up the GOOD work. Looking forward to reading and hearing about your family and of course this car... Have a GREAT time and drive the wheels off of your "hot rod". I hope they keep issuing a "good bill of health" inspection as it would be a shame to mothball this car.
Regards Andy

I like the way you think!! By the way, my 67 is somewhat close to yours,,,,306747S.

Great story Radmund. I especially like the adventure you and your brother had in getting the car home.

Thanks guys, glad you liked the story :)

HC: You are next in line to start a project thread ;-)

It has been a pleasure to meet you here Andy! In the next posts I will show some of the pictures we have discussed in our email correspondence.

Our cars were probably friends at the factory Ed! It is no doubt on the list of inspirational cars and the closest VIN of the S´s later than my own I have in my small private archive.

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Fun fact: It is very cool how these cars were picked from the assembly line and given completely different lives. My car had tinted windows as only option, while the Jennings car is only 9 numbers earlier.. And some became R prototypes...

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Regards, Radmund

One of the details on this car that I´m most curious about is the "Father & Son" engraved on the keys. Was this a father and son project, and if it was, when?? Or is it simply the key company who is the "father & son" because the ignition of this car is replaced??

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It would be great if it was a father and his son who had fun with this car, doing exactly what they liked. Now it is a father & daughters project, doing exactly the same.

I have discussed my "Hearts & Minds program" with Frank in another thread and because he is older and wiser, he has now convinced me that psy-ops will fail. It is not possible to force kids to be interested in cars. I´m not actually that serious about it, but enjoying having them with me in the garage. Their motivation is not the cars, but the bribes. We always pack cookies and hot chockolade when it´s time to "work". The oldest one decorates the car, the 1 1/2 year old drives and work on the chassis with her little electric plastic drill.

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