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Supposed Survivor: 1967 Porsche 912

1967 Porsche 912

Porsches are hot right now. Especially unrestored ones. The seller of this particular 912 claims that they purchased it from the original owner and that it is a “true survivor”. That statement got me excited and warranted some additional investigation. The 912 may not be as desirable as the 911, but I’m sure any of us would would love to have one, especially in original condition. This car is found here on eBay where bidding ends later today. Let’s take a closer look though and see it it’s really as great as it sounds.

912 Interior

The mileage is listed at 53k so the shiny paint and clean interior are believable. I always like to look a little closer at the paint before believing any survivor claims though. Door jams and engine compartments are good places to look for evidence of a respray. I’m okay with new paint on a driver or restoration, but if someone claims that their car is unrestored, it better have original paint!

Flat Four

Things are a little crusty in the engine room, but that can be expected on a car that is nearly 50 years old. The big difference between the 911 and the 912 was a lack of a couple of cylinders. The 912 was an entry level model and obviously not as quick as its big brother. That doesn’t mean it was bad by any means. It had the good handling, the good looks, and the good name.

Tape Lines

Anyway, back to this particular car. I wanted to believe that this car was really a survivor, but it didn’t take long to discover that it wasn’t quite as original as presented. Perhaps the seller’s definition of “survivor” is a little different than mine, but the tape lines on the plate prove that this car has suffered a respray. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad car. The fuel tank has been replaced and the brakes serviced so it is drivable. Let’s just hope that all the bidders know exactly what they are getting here.

Comments

  1. Avatar jim s

    i would rather have a 912 then a 911. i remember how much better the stock 912 was on an autocross course. as for this car, after looking at all the photos, if i was interested in it i would pay someone who knows these to do a PI. great find.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mark Holmstrand

      PI, as in 3.14159?

      Like 0
  2. Avatar DirtyHarry

    Looking at the passenger side, I see two paint jobs, from the door forward there is an obvious color change. It is a survivor with paint work as needed I suppose. Looks like a lot of miles with a 5 digit odometer, it is likely 250k miles.

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Dolphin Member

    Way better than a lot of old rusty Porsches that we see, but with the repaint(s) it’s a repainted survivor at best, with some small dents. The trunk is also repainted without much prep. The P-car experts will have to say whether the right shade and finish paint was used. OTOH, the 5-speed is a big plus, but you would want to have a Porsche COA to know that the car came with it. It would be a much better sale if the car had a COA from Porsche—-big omission there.

    Lots of Armor-All used on the tires and vinyl interior, so those are nice and shiny—if you want them that way. Most people going after an original car wouldn’t. A lot of the details in the interior look pretty shabby and aged, like the speedometer face and the hood release knob. Also the interior rubber, but no surprise since it’s so many decades old. Dash top is wavy, but that happens with age.

    The underside looks pretty good, and to the seller’s credit there are a lot of good photos of the car, but some of the most important places were missed. It might not be a problem with this car, but you have to check the suspension mounting points carefully, since if they are rotted and weak that’s a big problem. Unfortunately there are no photos of those points on the chassis, which tells me the seller doesn’t know what Porsche people need to see when evaluating an early 911/912 car like this. Similarly with the excess Armor-All and no COA.

    Not that much price info on these in the SCM Guide, just that the median auction paid price for 1966-69 912s is $38.5K, with a maximum ever paid of $82.5K. I think the high bid in this auction is about right at $24.3K but with under 3 hours left and the reserve not met, who knows?

    Like 0
  4. Avatar 67coopers

    Seems low. Regardless of history (His Story) it is a nice car with a great vintage feel. Just let the Armor All dry. Looks like an obvious repaint too. I don’t think Porsche painted over the id plates and rivets.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Thorsten Krüger

    Look at the gaps of the front trunk lid. This car has had an accident before.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Dolphin Member

      Thorsten, You might be right, but I would be concerned more if each trunk lid gap wasn’t even along the whole length of the lid. The fact that each side’s gap is consistent along the length of the lid suggests that maybe the hood could be adjusted on its hinges over toward the right (passenger) side. Then it looks like the gaps might end up even. If not, then you might be right that the body could be twisted.

      I think the trunk lid was repainted off the car, since it looks like new paint, while the front fenders have old faded and chipped paint. Then what might have happened is the lid was replaced shifted over a bit to the driver’s side.

      Like 0
      • Avatar racer99

        Agree but with resprayed panels (hood, deck lid, and right quarter) and lots of work done inside the hood and engine compartment calling this original really seems a stretch. Bidding maxxed out at $25K but did not show as sold. Think that’s a reasonable price for it.

        Like 0
  6. Avatar Alan Brase

    I’ve spent the last couple months looking at a 67 912 doing some collision repair. And this red car looks pretty good. I see the hood is up too far on the right, but lacking more pictures, it’s hard to say if something is crooked or perhaps the hood needs adjusted. I feel the right hand door gaps look excellent. I don’t think I see a wrong or missing part except the steering wheel cover. I agree there seem to be 2 colors. And I never understand why they always need to paint the door post and then mask the tags poorly. Unless you are color changing why paint the post?
    But all contributors’ advice was spot on: Seller should provide COA (Porsche will help you there!); Get a local, trusted private inspection.
    Buy a good car. Don’t worry so much what it costs. 912 engines do seem to break after about 60k miles, so look out for that. Figure on getting the bottom end rebuilt and properly balanced.
    But everything else is pretty durable except for susceptibility for rusting. That’s a no brainer now. So, you can flog this thing and it will not break. It’s pretty. Life is good.
    Al

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Alan Brase

    I just can’t see enough hood fitting lines to venture a guess. Paint matching is a difficult art and they chose the wrong mixer. This is why good shops shoot more than 1 test match samples. One could and would blend it if it were a commercial job.
    I CAN say that one look at the under hood engine compartment and the value goes down in my mind. Anyone would put that cheesey plastic filter on the fuel line and drive with the big open hole in the left filter… deduct $5000.
    Al

    Like 0
  8. Avatar snerd

    lipstick on a pig , nice try here is a nice 356 C

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Alan Brase

    To each his own. I knew a guy, said he’d spent many years driving 912’s. It was impossible for him to enjoy driving a 356- just too crude. Nice car, but probably 3 times the price of the subject 912.

    Like 0

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