Item of Value, or only of Interest?
 

Recently I was checking out a friend's project that was currently housed in a retired fellows shop. The shop was full of interesting Porsche and VW memorabilia. Very interesting... The retired fellow is seriously ill and remained in his house while my friend and I visited about his project.

My buddy disappears, then returns a few minutes later with a book in his hand stating that "you are really going to like this."

It was a factory workshop manual for the 4-cam engines. Real. Original. Near perfect, some slight wear on the cover. I leafed thru it from cover to cover. Drawings, illustrations, specs you name it. WOW!

I returned the book to my friend who asked if I wanted to meet the owner of this item. The next hour or so disappeared like a time warp as the retired fellow told me some of his history and his passion for german cars. He had torn down these engines, rebuilt and dyno'ed them as a teaching tool for other technicians. He described the full throttle howl - made the hair on my arms stand up. The history of this fellow was mind-boggling. I hated leaving, but my trek home was already going to be seriously late and as he was ill, I did not want to stress him further.

The fellow stated that he was going to give the book away or maybe sell it if he found someone who was "deserving"... Of which I may or may not be.

For me, the book is a fascinating bit of Porsche's extroardinary racing and engineering prowess. Would love to have it based just on that. But here's the real thing. After meeting this extraordinary gentlemen, the fact that it is HIS book and the context that he used it in, really makes the item of great interest to me.

So - is this of value and if so how much (as I will offer to buy it)? Or is it only "of interest" to an odd-ball such as myself with no significant value?

angela

Angela, I'm pretty sure your question was merely rhetorical...This manual is obviously a valuable bit of literature. Valuable to all who have an interest in the Fuhrmann 4 cam design. There aren't many 4 cam rebuilders left, and they would probably already have the manual. But restorers? Historians? So yes, a VERY valuable piece.... one that should be used for more than a display, IMHO.

Actually no, the question was not rhetorical. I genuinely did not know if it was valuable - though I did suspect it. For all I knew, the factory made a bazillion of them and they are littering collectors' shelves worldwide. Usually when I see something there is nothing rare about it even though I may find it very interesting.

As that is not the case, as it truly is "valuable" to the Porsche community, I will do my part to make sure it goes into the right hands. That would mean, unfortunately, not my hands. This is one of probably 100 factory manuals the fellow has spanning the decades...

Sure was cool looking through it though (and wishing...). angela

If it were me, I'd scan it and post the images somewhere - I'd even host the images on my site for you.

I agree. The information is for sharing, not collecting dust. If the item comes into my hands, even temporarily, I'll contact you and we'll do just as you suggest. Share it. The line drawings alone are drool-worthy.

angela

JMO,
The book may be worth something as a book alone. The book is worth a great deal because it belongs to a teacher and it is one of his tools.
Kind of like this. My car is worth something because it is a Porsche. Paul Newmans Porsche is worth much more since it belonged to him. (I would love to have his old Datsun Z.

- scan the info and keep a copy; post it on the web
- try to get the original into a museum - either P AG in Germany or here

Just a wag - it's worth some bucks but probably not worth an obscene amount of money. It would be a limited market - maybe something a 4 cam owner might put on the shelf.

Two have sold on the bay for around $100 bucks in the last couple years. One of them was mine.