I’m going to shuffle the deck again (barn find story)…

[MarkP]

Most of the Emory Motorsport’s guys that I hangout with race 356’s, so I started thinking awhile back that if a nice open 356 race car came along I might switch from the #808 911 to the 356 class (btw, the 356’s do turn faster lap times than the early 2.0 911’s).

Then (surprise, surprise) I was in So Cal in June and went to visit European Collectibles in Costa Mesa for the first time. As a matter of chance, the only person there was the receptionist and she encouraged us to just look around. In addition to the showroom, I stuck my head in a few doors in the back of the building and discovered an unrestored and surprisingly good condition 356 open racecar.

Further investigation over the next few days revealed that the car, a 1960 Super 90 Roadster, had been Dick Barbour’s first Porsche racecar in 1967 & 68. Dick won several Southern California regional SCCA races in the car before moving up the Porsche ranks driving 904’s, 908’s 934’s and 935’s. He won the 24 Hours of Le Man’s three times, 12 hours of Sebring and the 1000km of Nuburgring, among others.

In 1969 Dick sold the car to a doctor in San Diego that raced it for a year or two and then put it in storage where it stayed for over 30 years. The car was to be sent by European Collectibles to the Monterey Historics RM Sports Car Auction.



Enter silly me stage right… After several weeks of negotiating and collecting documentation supporting the history of the car (including a letter from Barbour), I own it! The car will be shipped to Emory’s and be prepared for vintage racing. The plan is to maintain the original paint and hand painted numbers (#88 – amazing coincidence). I will be racing the car by next spring!

So, the #808 – 1968 911 2.0 ‘S’pec period correct vintage racecar will be officially for sale at the end of this season. $29,900. Just turned 1:39:1’s at Portland and 1:47:7’s at Seattle!

AND

The 85 Carrera Targa with under 26,000 miles is for sale now. This was a one owner until I bought it a couple of months ago – super nice with full documentation since new. An excellent candidate for Preservation class concours. $27,000

I’m going to work on getting all of the specs for both cars up on my web site asap. In the meantime, email me if you’re interested.

[Superman]

Awesome, Mark. Enjoyed watching you race two weekends ago.

Interestingly, I just yesterday heard a story of someone finding a Carrera engine (you know, four cam, twin plug four cylinder) under a porch which he bought for $150. That's not a typo.

[island911]

Cool, Mark! Very cool.

[masraum]

That 356 is beautiful. That pic or one like it was recently posted here, I guess that was you.

Congrats.

[IROC]

I had never been a huge fan of 356s until the last Excellence. I love the look of that gray 356!!

Mark...that thing looks great. Kudos for rescuing it from 30 yrs of storage and getting back on the track again!!

Mike

[JTO]

Man Mark, that is a beautiful car, as is the 911, as is the Targa. You are a fortunate man.

Troy

[Dantilla]

Congrats! Can't wait to see it on the track.

[Drago]

Mark,

Glad to hear your efforts to validate the history of the car worked out...

Looking forward to seeing #88 out on the track next year.

Congratulations on a great find!

[CHILI]

Looks great! I love that look and the look of the one in Excellence to which Mike is refering. Just be sure to take lots of pictures in case you ever want to sell it, that way you can put it back to the way it was when Dick raced it. Might be worth more with that kind of history in it's correct color, markings, specs, etc. Of course you probably already knew that.

[MotoSook]

Excellent! Very cool!

[Fishcop]

What a beautiful looking car, great score!

[MarkP]

I've been doing more research and just came across this web site with old race programs on it.

This is the program cover and below is a list of entrants. The last name in the second group is Don Trueblood #88, this is the Dr. that Barbour sold the car to. Cool stuff...

[69 Soft Targa]

I was wondering about that...

Mark,
Looked over your car at PIR and watched you race. Very nice! I spoke with Gary but didn't ask about the "For Sale". Didn't get a chance to meet you.

...now I know!

[VincentVega]

Great story! Best of luck, and post lots of pics.

[rdane]

Very cool stuff ! Looking forward to 88 being on the track next year.

[Doug Zielke]

Great news, Mark!
I hope to see you racing her at Monterey next year.

[Joe Bob]

Mark....looks good. Can I or we get some more pics. I am planning on a roof cut on my 356 C and want to do that same look. At least from the top up....

I see it's a 60 model year...what mods if any were done, was it originally a cabriolet or was it a cut job?

Are you planning on keeping that windscreen or doing something different? What about a roll bar?

[901/05]

This is one of my favorites.



Shawn.

[Joe Bob]

Ummmm, me like. Wonder where the head fiberglass aero thingy can be found....?

[901/05]

Mike, I think Gary fabs them and the passenger deck (not fully visible in that pic) Have you visited his site?

Click on "outlaws" for photos of very some very sweet cars.

Shawn.