. . . barn find
Called to catch-up some w/ 1059's Old Mechanic --- John Forbes . . . and he had a story to tell . . .
. . . This beautiful “baby” has lived inside a barn in New Jersey for nearly 40 years. Purchased by a Porsche technician in 1970 when she was new, her owner became ill and unable to drive soon after purchasing her. The “baby” was parked in the barn and stayed there until July of 2012. Under the dirt and grime of 40 years was the “Princess” you see here. This one-owner car still has the original tires, tool kit, and jack. This car had only 5.020 miles on her when she came out of the barn. Bob Ingram, a Porsche expert, told John this car is a historically significant car and may be the lowest milage 914-6 in the world . . .
. . . Entered in the first Pinehurst Concourse, John drove her in the Iron Mike Rally and added 80 more miles. She performed like the champion she is and John had a smile on his face the entire trip. Below are some pictures of her story and a more detailed account of baby's history . . .
1970 Porsche 914-6 Survivor
. . . The story starts in Southern New Jersey in 1970. A German mechanic, Wolfgang Schmidt, who lived in Mt. Holly and worked at Alpine Porsche/VW, bought his dream car: an Irish Green 914/6. He purchased it brand-new through his workplace: Serial # 9140431023, black interior, plain steel wheels with hub caps. The thousand mile checkup was completed at 1,500 miles and to make the car more “sporty” he added a white Porsche racing stripe and an after-market muffler to enhance the engine noise. The lube sticker and the sticker documenting the muffler are still on the car . . .
. . . Wolfgang enjoyed his 914-6 as a Sunday driver for 3 years, but unfortunately he became ill and was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy and lost the ability to drive over the next 3 years. After a courageous battle, he sadly passed away in 1976. His wife Lillian was so distraught she left the car in the detached garage where he had parked it. It remained there unvisited, under a car cover for almost 40 years . . .
. . . The story resumes in 2012 with John Forbes who was asked by a customer/friend, Robert Fleischer, to do a pre-purchase inspection on 1988 911 Carrera located in New York. The car was exactly what Robert wanted, the purchase was made and John drove the car back to North Carolina. On the return trip John stopped to see his old friend Karl, who operates a VW repair business in New Jersey. He wasn’t there, so John left a business card . . .
. . . Upon arriving home he received an urgent call from Karl insisting he come back to NJ as soon as possible. He told John about a customer who was selling her house because she was now 75 and too old to stay by herself. Her realtor had told her to get rid of all the “junk” in her garage. The “junk” consisted of an old VW, the 1970 Porsche 914-6 which is John’s specialty, and boxes of old German tools . . .
. . . With no one to love or care for it, the 914-6 had become a hotel for chipmunks. When Karl first viewed it, it was evident the garage roof had been leaking for quite some time on top of the rotting car cover. All of the tires were flat, the brake fluid had turned to sludge and gas had turned to mud, the engine was locked up, and the interior smelled really bad. BUT the odometer showed a correct reading of 5020 miles!! . . .
. . . John’s friend Robert volunteered to help with purchase of the 914-6 and John drove to NJ to pick her up and bring her to her new home where he began his labor of love and cleaned, cleaned and then cleaned some more. “We found chipmunk nests all over, including the glove box, heater channels; in a cubby hole under the gas tank and acorns were everywhere" . . .
. . . The Irish Green paint, cleaned and buffed, is now almost perfect. The original tube-type tires were flat, but just needed air. The spare tire had never been out of the trunk and still has the sticker on the treads! The carpets are now clean and the interior smell is gone. The rubber, dash and all the lights and lenses are in brand-new condition, since they have had no exposure to the sun for 36 years. All the chrome still gleams perfectly and the doors still have the classic “thunk” when you close them. The tire jack is still mounted with the safety rubber band they used when shipping the cars from the factory. This band is designed to break when the jack is removed for the first time, which means this jack has never been out of the trunk since 1970!! . . .
. . . John removed the engine and transaxle assembly, which still had the factory cosmolene. He removed the cylinder heads, but the engine still would not rotate. The reason: acorns stuck in the bell housing between the engine and transaxle, packed there by chipmunks. Examination of the cylinders showed that they still have the original cross-hatch marks from the factory because the car has such low mileage. He cleaned them, installed new ring sets, and cleaned and re-seated the valves. The timing chain housing still has the original rubber guide ramps, which look like new. The Factory Weber carbs needed heavy cleaning and rebuilding; and the fuel tank had to be boiled out. John also cleaned and rebuilt the fuel pump, flushed the brake fluid, installed a new master cylinder and replaced all the rubber brake lines . . .
. . . The 914 now runs and drives like it came out of a time warp, like it is 1970 once again and it is new . . .
. . . On May 3, 2013 the car was entered in the first Pinehurst Concourse d’ Elegance in the survivor class. While there judges told John and Robert this is a historically significant car. It may be the lowest mileage original 914-6 in the world . . .
. . . In spite of this, John made the decision to participate in the Iron Mike Rally, a 75 mile rally from Pinehurst to Fort Bragg to benefit the wounded warriors. The princess was so happy to be driving in the wind and sunshine. John drove with his friend Robert beside him. They had just gotten the car up to 70 mph when they came upon a sharp left hand turn. Robert looked at John with an expression of fear on his face. The princess sailed right through the turn. John told Robert, “It’s a Porsche, nothing else even comes close! No need to worry” . . .
http://www.blackforestracing.com/ind...14-6-barn-find
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Originally Posted by Todsimpson
