German cars in general seem to have a knack for making certain colors infinitely more valuable by producing them in severely limited quantities. The domestic brands do this, too, with Mopar seemingly being the dominant force in associating limited production colors with higher values. That’s why it’s a tad ironic that purple – not exactly a first choice among the bulk of consumers – is such a desirable color for both Porsche and Plymouth fans. This 1969 Porsche 912 appears to be draped in a color known as Royal Purple, but given the seller doesn’t refer to the car as a factory original, there’s a chance it’s a respray. Find the 912 here on eBay where bidding has crested $16,000 with no reserve.
Now, I’m not a paint expert in terms of assessing whether a car wears its original finish or has been resprayed, but my general detective instincts would tell me that if an owner wanted to repaint his air-cooled Porsche in the 1970s or 80s when they were just used up sports cars, purple would not have been the first choice. Red, black, white – all those typical 80s colors are what the second and third owners would typically choose. And, when this 912 was 15 years old, it wasn’t as if owners were talking about how rare a color like Royal Purple was, because not enough time had really passed for that to be a topical conversion.
When you peek inside the door jams and under the hood and see matching paint, it spurs some hope that this 912 left the factory with this unusual paint choice selected by the original owner. A certificate of authenticity would do wonders for solving this riddle, but not every seller wants to go through that trouble. The color seen here is also referred to as “Lilac”, so either name on the COA would provide the verification needed. Now, the seller has gone so far as to confirm that the drivetrain remains numbers matching, so we know that much. The interior is standard, so there are no sport seats to be found here – but the buckets appear to be in good shape.
You always like to see the original engine stickers still present under the hood, as these are typically lost during a respray, or replaced with copies that are much to bright and with clear lettering that should appear somewhat weathered after all this time. Dead giveaways that they’ve been replaced. The seller confirms the 912 runs and drives, so the long-term storage hopefully took into consideration everything that needs to be done to prep a car for a few years off the road. The seller confirms more work will be needed to achieve total road-worthiness, but between the running condition and the color, this seems like a project worthy of taking on. Do you think the paint is original?
Well, if it is not original paint, the person who painted it deserves an award…I looked at the pictures up close, and saw no hints of a color change…in person inspection, or course, is mandatory…very nice find!
Was going to say that based off these pictures, that if it is a respray whoever did it made sure it was done to a very high standard.
https://rennlist.com/forums/911-forum/796892-beware-do-not-buy-any-cars-from-sheridan-wy-or-billings-mo.html
Counter point?
https://jalopnik.com/huge-porsche-collection-for-sale-by-owner-who-never-sel-5614985
Let’s piece this through. The Jalopnik article posted by Sonny has both positive and negative opinions of Mr. Smalls. That’s from 2010. The Rennlist post from Haig L Haleblian is from 2014. Considering that timeline shows a fairly constant pattern of negative behavior and scams, I’d stay away. Keep in mind that the one positive report from the Jalopnik article is from the seller’s neighbor, hardly an unbiased source and one who hadn’t even bought a car from Mr. Smalls.
I’ll also add that the Jalopnik article speaks of a collector who wants to sell his whole collector and move out of Wyoming. But, based on the pictures of the warehouse in the article and the picture of the warehouse this 912 is stored it, it appears Mr. Smalls failed to do either of those things in the ensuing 11 years.
Item location:
Sheridan, Wyoming
I tried to purchase this exact car from him in February. I was in contact with him and I wanted the VIN so I could obtain the Origin Papers from Porsche. I wanted to know how original the vehicle is. I was asked to put down a $1,500 Non Refundable deposit for the VIN to be emailed to me. Thinking this was “off” but curious, I said I would agree because I really wanted the VIN. 2 weeks no reply. Finally a response. SOLD. I guess I’m still looking for my factory purple Porsche.
Thank for letting me tell my story. Therapeutic.
you’re killing me smalls
His E-Bay feedback rating is 87% which is horrible. One guy “won” an auction only to be ghosted after it ended.
Anyone dealing with a seller with a low rating isn’t thinking straight or is a masochist. Realities rarely equal expectations in a long distance purchase. I think we can all attest to that. If one were to really dig into this sellers history, one would not walk but run like hell. I’m astounded that buyers still attempt to deal with certain sellers of this caliber which unfortunately there are a few we all are familiar with. Caveat emptor
this auction closed at $33.9K… I would be real curious to know the final outcome of this…. Do you think the sale will actually happen? So many strange stories associated with this seller!
I’d love to hear “the rest of the story”. It could prove most entertaining
Ended:
Apr 17, 2021 , 6:46PM
Winning bid:
US $33,900.00