sandor

Question -

If you originally bought a 911 30 years ago, and have since sold it, and it has gone through countless number of hands since then, would you have any interest in seeing pictures of it as it sits today?


Reasoning -

I was just reading through the owners manual of my '76 targa again, and again realized that the original purchaser listed his name address and everything in the indicated form in the back of the manual.... seems the car has stayed in the philadelphia area from start to finish.



Do people think it would be worth it to trace the original owners? ....i actually found 2 "suspects" in the phone book, so there really isnt much work for me-just dont want to come off as a stalker type

Doug&Julie

I think it might be pretty cool! The worst that can happen is they hang up on you and it's over. Best that can happen is you'll meet to share stories of the car that you can pass on the next cars owner. History is always fascinating, especially when it pertains to our Pcars.

Jay H

Interesting timing of this thread... Last night, I just composed a brief letter to the original owner of my '90 asking just a few short questions about his ownership. I sent along a small pic and a short history of the car since I owned it. I believe it's been 11 years since this person has owned it, so I'll see if I get a response...

As for me, I would love to see what has happened to a car after many years. I'm only 35, so I haven't owned cars for nearly that long of a time as this '76 in question, but if any of the current owners of (sports) cars I owned had contacted me, I'd probably talk their ear off...

Someone did call me a year ago about one of the sports cars I owned back in the mid '90's. He was inquiring about the car since he was going to buy it for his daughter. I couldn't believe the car would still be around because it was getting up in years. He just wanted to know if it had ever been wrecked and didn't really care about any more details, but I didn't mind the call. I would have been curious to find out how many miles were on the car and how much it was being bought for.

I did write the prior owner of my current 911 about a year after I bought it. He was very interested in talking about the car and I gained a bit of valuable history by talking with him. We spoke for about 45 minutes via phone. Well worth the letter.

Regarding the original owner of your '76, all they can do is either ignore your request or respond. Never hurts to ask.

Jay
90 964

sandor

glad to hear the encouragement, its all done with best intentions, as perhaps the owners have "dreamt" of this car and what has come of it, and i certainly dont mind providing answers. i have to say it is quite inspiring to find out more of the history of a car that has lived such a long life.

here's to all the long lost p-cars...

steve911

I tried to do this when I first bought my '85 three years ago. There were 5 POs - I only heard from one but it was an enjoyable exchange of letters and emails and I learned quite a bit about my new to me 911.

And yes, IF I were to ever sell it, I would be interested in seeing how it fared it someone's hands.

itsme-itsme

One of the PO's of my 78SC contacted me to see if they could buy it back
I compiled a PO history back to 1988 through maintainance records. I'm the fourth owner since then. Turns out the PO who had it the longest and did the 60K rebuild in 1988 worked for a local Porsche service shop and my current wrench knew him. Even better, he still had the SSI's that he took off when he sold it. I got them for $700 and they look good as new.
As for me, I'd like to know all I can about the cars past, and I'd hope to keep in touch with it from now on (if it ever leaves my garage...).

Carrera51

I've thought of seeing if I could find the 76 911S my dad had when I was a kid. He sold it in 1983 to an airline pilot. I found an old picture I took of it the day the guy picked the car up and it got me think about what happened to it.

The car is a white 76 911S, with red interior with the plaid inserts in the front seats, sunroof, and it had a Blaupunkt 8-track player in it at the time. Sold in 1983. At the time we lived in Potomac, MD. I would love to hear where the car has been the last 21 years.

MRFLATSIX

I sometimes wonder what happened to my Speedster. It was a blue 1600 Normal, purchased brand new by me in 1958 from Commonwealth Motors inSanta Ana CA. I paid $3650 out the door. I drove it for 9 years and traded it for a 1966 912 at Zipper Motors in Beverly Hills. I never saw the Speedster again. I sometimes wonder what happened to it. Is it still alive somewhere? Did somebody crash it? How many owners? I hope somebody has restored it and is enjoying it as much as I did. Possibly I could find out by tracing the VIN number
(I still have the original sales contract).

Jay H

If you car is still around, I bet the current owner would be interested in seeing this contract!

Jay
90 964

Jay H

Sorry to drag up an old thread...

This afternoon I heard from the first owner of my 1990 964. He was delighted to hear about the car and liked that I sent a photo of the car along with my letter. He last owned it in 1992...

The final piece of the puzzle of my car's ownership history is complete.

So, it's worth inquiring.

Jay
90 964