On my general car blog, I shared the full details of a trip my son and I took to Skywalker Ranch where 000 Magazine hosted an incredible event honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Porsche Turbo. I thought it was worth adding a few details here as well.
The highlight of the show was the original 1973 Concept car that started it all. This concept car was displayed at the 1973 Frankfurt Motor Show when the idea of putting a Turbo in a road car was unheard of. The concept below was three Porsche prototypes in one. Originally constructed in 1972, it was used to develop the Porsche G body and then to develop the RS/RST 3.0 body before finally being turned into the Turbo concept car. The really funny part is that this car has never actually had a turbo in it! When it was on display at the motor show, it had wooden parts to mock up the turbo. When it was sold to a private owner, it had a 3.0 liter naturally aspirated RSR drivetrain, which is what it still has today.
As good as the car looked under the sun, it really came to life at night.
Also on display was this incredible 1975 930. I didn’t get the chassis number, but I know it was later in 75 than mine because the owner said it was one of the last 75s. It looked to be an incredible example, and other than a respray at some point, it was all original.
I came across these poster images that walk through each generation of Porsche 911 Turbo. 50 years of awesome! I have the 930…and would love to book end it with the 992 Sport Classic!
Here are some recent photos of a lovely all original 1975 930 courtesy of the Porsche Museum as part of their 50th year anniversary celebrations:
I already shared the adventures of finding my 75 airbox, but that is just the start of securing all of the period correct bits and pieces for this restoration. My goal with this car has always been to restore it as close to how it left the Porsche factory as possible, or at least with period correct options that were available in 75.
This is not a one-owner all original car, but I don’t care. When the car arrived it didn’t come with anything that wasn’t bolted down. I’m having fun giving this car a fresh start, a complete reboot. My mid-life crisis is the rebirth of this legendary machine that started Porsche on the Turbo journey and I get to write my own Porsche story with it now. How’s that for justifying a series of financially reckless decisions 🙂
Introducing the most expensive book I’ve ever purchased. Top of the list for things my car didn’t come with was the owners manual / maintenance book. I must have told myself a hundred times that I didn’t care. I’m not into these esoteric details that collectors and concours junkies obsess over…or so I thought. When an all original, like new, unmarked manual popped up on eBay I couldn’t stop going back to it. The manual was originally a part of a vast Porsche car and memorabilia collection, the White Collection, that was recently auctioned off. The asking price was crazy, and I made a series of offers to the seller until we agreed on a slightly less crazy price. I will take that price to my grave!
eBay has been a great source for completing the list of needed parts and accessories. Here are a few other recent finds.
According to Ryan’s book, I seem to have found the correct gray toolkit, which Porsche began delivering with the 930 in April of 75. Prior to April the kit would have been black. My toolkit has the gray basketweave exterior, gray interior and gray buttons. This was a lucky find for sure.
Another big score was the air compressor. There are tons of early Porsche air compressors out there for 78 and up cars, the “Webster Inflator” model with the beige case. Once again, according to Ryan’s bible on these early Turbos, Porsche was supplying BDW compressors for ROW Turbos in 1975 that came in a blue, vinyl covered cardboard box. I came across one example in two years of searching, and scooped it up. I haven’t seen another sense.
Much easier to find was the period correct Bilstein “Green Dot” car jack. This one is like new and appears to never have been used given the lack of scratches/scuff marks on the bottom. It’s well lubricated and moves freely.
I even found the optional Hepp first-aid kit that was often supplied with these early Turbos.
Topping the list of things I didn’t need to buy, but couldn’t help myself, is this period correct vintage MotoMeter tire pressure gauge and leather case.
One of my few value adds in the process of restoring my car, other than writing checks, is scouring the internet for hard to find parts. It’s fun and the only skills required are internet savvy, patience and understanding how to avoid all the scammers out there.
When I first put eyes on the 930 after it arrived from Japan, I noticed the air filter was held on with a bungie cord…not a great sign.
That’s okay, Porsche made these cars from 75-89, how hard would it be to find a replacement airbox or just the missing end cap? After flipping through Ryan’s book on these early Turbos, I learned it might be a steep hill to climb. Porsche used a unique airbox design for 1975 cars, switched to a new design in 1976 and yet another design that lasted a bit longer in 1977. Wonderful…they only made a few hundred of these cars in 1975 so how many spares would still be out in the world?
Fast forward a few months, after posting on every site and Facebook group I could find and ignoring about 1000 clear scams, I received a direct message from a post I put on the early 930 Ferrari Chat thread (an incredible resource).
A few different folks had directed me to “Peter from Germany” and it was clear that he was a legit early Turbo owner and great resource. He wasn’t willing to sell me his 75 airbox directly…he gave me a mission to find a 76 airbox (also one year only) and then he would trade with me. I love a good mission impossible…accepted!
Fast forward a few more months, and 1000s more scammers, and I got a ping from a Pelican Parts Classified post I created. I got connected with a nice guy behind Aircooled Exclusive, a clearly legit source of hard to find Porsche parts. He had a pristine 1976 airbox with my name on it, for the low low price of $1500. Hell, at this point, I would have paid twice that! Worst case scenario, I would have to run the 76 airbox and be mocked by every early Turbo expert for all eternity.
Peter from Germany and I took a long time to connect again. Busy travel schedules and I only had Ferrari Chat messaging to reach him. We finally exchanged email addresses and things move faster. I sent him photos and videos of the 76 airbox I had secured:
He took the leap of faith, packed up his 1975 airbox and shipped it from Germany to Seattle.
After receiving my correct, one year only 1975 airbox, I packed up the 76 and shipped it off to Peter. Trade completed!
While there are a lot of scammers out there, I’m constantly amazed by the wonderful people I meet in the car community, and how much support there is out there for restoring classic Porsches. There are so many experts, and thankfully hoarders, willing to offer their expertise, time and collection of hard to find parts to make it happen. Huge thanks to Peter and Aircooled Exclusive for helping me complete this piece of the puzzle.
