1967 Porsche 912

Imported to Jersey by a Porsche collector from Italy in 2014, this delightful left-hand-drive Karmann-built Porsche 912 came into the vendor’s London-based hands just under two years ago.

Originally delivered to Milan on the 30th of May 1966 in Sand Beige, it ended its European sojourn in the hands of an Italian collector, with whom it is believed to have been kept in storage for many years.

It’s been resprayed to a high standard in what the vendor thinks is a genuine Porsche blue at some point in its life and the non-original but correct 912/1.6-litre engine was comprehensively refurbished in 2015 by Tower Bridge Classic Porsche.

Lightly patinated inside and out, this 912 would provide a cost-effective entry point for the Porsche enthusiast who thought the model had long moved beyond their reach.

The 912 left Porsche with a Sand Beige body, a colour that might work better than most but not half as well as this Porsche mid-blue. Done to a high standard, the fit and finish is good with sharp shutlines and good panel alignment.

And while your average aftermarket paintjob has more orange peel than Big Daddy’s thighs, this one is actually pretty good. Sure, there are a few bubbles and cracks to the finish now but they all look to be in the paint rather than caused by rust breaking through from underneath.

The wheelarches, for example, are still minty fresh, smooth and sharp, as are the inner wheelarches. The chromework is generally good too but it, like the paintwork, has clearly been refreshed at some point: e.g. one front over-rider is a little rusty, while the other looks like new.

The Fuchs alloy wheels (is there any other sort on a Porsche of this era?) have been a little nibbled but they’re fitted with matching Fulda tyres, so swings and roundabouts, eh?

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you an insight into their attitude towards maintenance.

Aside from the usual stonechips and swirl marks, the Porsche does have a few other blemishes most notably some cracks and bubbles in the paint around the badges on the engine cover and bonnet, the leading edge of the bonnet, the offside door, and the offside rear wing.

But, it appears completely free of the sort of rust and crustiness that the model is prone to and what blemishes there are add to, rather than detract from, from its character. That said, given the way these things are rising in value, we can see a new owner may want to get the car resprayed at some point.

Other work to do includes replacing the front indicator lenses, both of which are cracked.

Shall we get the important stuff out of the way first? Our photographer, a man of unusually good taste and no little talent behind the lens, decided to make the first photo of the album a shot of the dials taken through the side window.

This presumably means that he, like the rest of us, think that the green lettering on the dials complements the dark blue coachwork wonderfully. So wonderfully, in fact, that we think it would be worth the price of entry just to be able to feast your eyes on that one small detail…

It is, however, far from the only detail worth admiring. The steering wheel, with its wonderful thumb-press horn ring, is, like the rest of the interior, a little patinated but still gloriously of-the-period, as is the (probably original) radio, which might not be the last word in high-fidelity but doesn’t half look good.

The front seats – there are none in the rear – are OK; the owner believes they’re the originals and having seen and sat in them we wouldn’t bet against him.

Faults? Well, the front boot, or frunk, isn’t opening at the time of writing. The cable releases the catch a bit, but not enough for us to release it. This might be a simple case of us being idiots or something more serious. Having seen the office staff in action I’d put my money on user error but you might like to take a more pessimistic view when deciding whether to bid or not. UPDATE: The front boot now opens, and pictures have been added to the gallery.

Less contentiously (and I’ll eat my hat if that last paragraph makes the final edit…) the headlining is a little stained in places, the funky front door pull handles with their natty push-to-release button are a little jaded, the glovebox has been modified with a couple of extra holes, the offside floor is moist, extra speakers have been fitted to the door cards, the offside window glass isn’t connected to the lifting mechanism, and there is a small tear in the base of the driver’s seat on its nearside edge.

Small stuff, in other words.

September 2019 saw the Porsche fitted with a new dynamo and regulator, while the engine was comprehensively refurbished in 2015 by Tower Bridge Classic Porsche at a cost of £4,500. The work was considerable; please see the attached invoices for details. The engine had to be returned when it was found one cylinder was down on compression, but this appeared to be rectified.

The vendor tells us that he used it in the summer of 2019 but it’s been in storage since then due to the COVID pandemic bar a couple of short, local runs this spring before the lockdown kicked in.

This lack of use might explain why it’s only firing on three cylinders, something potential bidders will need to factor this in when deciding their bidding limit. You will see and hear the missing on the video (which will be added to teh listing on Monday 21 Sept), unfortunately we don’t have any more info about the cause. You are, of course, welcome to come and take a look for yourselves to see if you can figure out what the problem is. The brakes, gearchange and other functions appear to work fine.

The Porsche doesn’t have a current MOT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have the car re-MOT’d at the earliest. The cost of an MOT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…

It does have a couple of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it in the past couple of years plus quite a few bits of paperwork from its time in Italy.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this paperwork.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

With a guide price of somewhere between £19,000 and £29,000, this lovely little Porsche 912 represents a significant investment but then you’d be looking at well over twice that for a contemporary 911 - and the four-cylinder car is also going to be considerably cheaper to run than its six-cylinder sibling, too.

And therein lies the charm of this example; with a few jobs still to be done (including the engine) to bring it to the sort of condition most of us would want to see our classic car in, this is a rare and valuable opportunity for the talented home mechanic and restorer to get their hands on a mid-sixties Porsche that they can add value to with every job they tick off.

Sure, you could buy an eighties 911 for the same money but this one is so full of period details and effortless style that we know where we’d put our money; that it’s a left-hand-drive car with an Italian provenance only adds to its considerable appeal.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.