'09 PCA Parade Concours / Experience Showing '70 911E Targa in Preservation Group

[z356]

I entered my 1970 911E Targa at Keystone last week. It is 55K miles, original paint & interior vehicle in Preservation Class. The color is Crystal Blue, which is quite rare (less than 14 911/914-6 were painted this color). This car was special ordered in 1970 with this unique paint, all leather interior, factory air conditioner, retractable antenna/speaker & tinted glass. It was shown with its original window sticker, original tool kit and owner's manual.

I have known of this car since it appeared as the cover shot in Issue #4 of Gmund Magazine in 1980. Back then it was still owned by its original purchaser - Doug Troyer. He was then the PCA Zone 1 Rep and hailed from the NNJ Region. In 1981 it was sold to its second owner - Terry Ritsos of NYC - and I used to see it often at PCA Driver Ed's at Watkins Glen & Lime Rock. This car was last shown at the '86 Portland Maine Parade and won its class. Then it mostly sat quietly in Terry's garage in NY for the past 23 years. Last year, after I sold my 37K original miles/original paint 356 C Cabriolet for a large sum of money, I decided to re-connect with the cars that started me in this hobby back in 1973.

My first purchase was a 65K original miles Signal Yellow '73 911T Sunroof that I found at European Collectibles during a visit in Southern California for the '08 LA Lit Meet in March. Then I called Terry to see if he still had the Crystal Blue '70 911E Targa I had known all of these years. He did and soon I negotiated its purchase, which was a dream I had harbored for nearly 30 years.

The car first spent the better of one year at Reid Vann's St. Louis (MO) mechanical shop getting its engine rebuild. It only arrived by transport at our summer home in Edwards, CO just 6 days before this year's Parade in nearby Keystone. I cleaned it somewhat (but did not waxed it) and drove it on Sunday to the Concours Prep area in the underground parking where most entrants were working on their cars. I wasn't too worried because Prescott Kelly had accepted the car for the Historic Display at the Concours and I had decided I didn't need it judged.

That afternoon John Paterak saw me dusting off the car in that parking and strongly encouraged me to go ahead with participation & judging in the Preservation Class. He had worked on this car back in the seventies when Doug Troyer owned it in New Jersey and thought it had a real chance of doing well in the Preservation Group at the Parade. But he suggested I first remove the H1's and European lenses the second owner had installed 30 years ago. Luckily, I had been given the original US headlights & lenses in aged/crumbling Bosch boxes that had not been opened in 30 years. I rushed back home and got them. I had no time to remove the after-market (but period-correct) Carellos that the original owner had installed. These were featured in the Gmund 'poster' that was displayed alongside the car and I wanted it to look exactly as it had been on that old magazine cover back in 1980! Nor, may I add, did I have time to wax the car prior to the event.

On Tuesday, I drove up to the spectacular Rocky Mountain Concours site with my fellow PS02 contestants and then headed for my Historic Display parking spot. The judges couldn't find me until way past noon since I wasn't with the other PS02 cars, but it was finally judged. When the results were posted an hour later, to my surprise I had won both my Class and my Division. A few hours later, all Division winners including my car were judged again by a larger team of experts for the coveted Preservation Group award. The next night at the Concours Banquet, the winner of the Group award was announced. It went to a deserving 928S in very original condition and that had travelled from NY State. I felt very lucky that my car got even considered for the Group award, the overall winner of all Divisions in Preservation at this year's Parade.

As in all cases of a well preserved car that has survived into the present, the credit for the success of this very rare Crystal Blue 911E rest with its two original owners. They kept the faith and maintained this car in pristine original condition for 39 years, allowing us today to experience the joy of seeing a piece of automobile history preserved for posterity. I am just a temporary custodian of this Crystal Blue 911E Targa and hope some of you can see it in person at some future 911 Reunion. Saludos, Eduardo Venegas - Z356

[Winter]

Gracias for your story, Eduardo. Congratulations on the awards and on having a beautiful targa. I hope to see your car driving around Eagle County sometime this summer.

---

Tom '75 targa

[ERN911]

Very cool story, bien echo Eduardo

[fryardds]

Eduardo,

Agreed, great story. Congrats on your Preservation award. I saw a photo of your car on the Parade PCA website and wondered about it's story. Please post some additional photos if you have some.

[mkossler]

Eduardo,

Great story, and very gentlemanly to defer credit to the previous owners. If you will forgive me, I would like to quote your post with a few breaks for ease of reading. I will happily delete the quote if I offend.

Posted by z356:

I entered my 1970 911E Targa at Keystone last week. It is 55K miles, original paint & interior vehicle in Preservation Class. The color is Crystal Blue, which is quite rare (less than 14 911/914-6 were painted this color). This car was special ordered in 1970 with this unique paint, all leather interior, factory air conditioner, retractable antenna/speaker & tinted glass. It was shown with its original window sticker, original tool kit and owner's manual.

I have known of this car since it appeared as the cover shot in Issue #4 of Gmund Magazine in 1980. Back then it was still owned by its original purchaser - Doug Troyer. He was then the PCA Zone 1 Rep and hailed from the NNJ Region. In 1981 it was sold to its second owner - Terry Ritsos of NYC - and I used to see it often at PCA Driver Ed's at Watkins Glen & Lime Rock. This car was last shown at the '86 Portland Maine Parade and won its class. Then it mostly sat quietly in Terry's garage in NY for the past 23 years. Last year, after I sold my 37K original miles/original paint 356 C Cabriolet for a large sum of money, I decided to re-connect with the cars that started me in this hobby back in 1973.

My first purchase was a 65K original miles Signal Yellow '73 911T Sunroof that I found at European Collectibles during a visit in Southern California for the '08 LA Lit Meet in March. Then I called Terry to see if he still had the Crystal Blue '70 911E Targa I had known all of these years. He did and soon I negotiated its purchase, which was a dream I had harbored for nearly 30 years.

The car first spent the better of one year at Reid Vann's St. Louis (MO) mechanical shop getting its engine rebuild. It only arrived by transport at our summer home in Edwards, CO just 6 days before this year's Parade in nearby Keystone. I cleaned it somewhat (but did not waxed it) and drove it on Sunday to the Concours Prep area in the underground parking where most entrants were working on their cars. I wasn't too worried because Prescott Kelly had accepted the car for the Historic Display at the Concours and I had decided I didn't need it judged.

That afternoon John Paterak saw me dusting off the car in that parking and strongly encouraged me to go ahead with participation & judging in the Preservation Class. He had worked on this car back in the seventies when Doug Troyer owned it in New Jersey and thought it had a real chance of doing well in the Preservation Group at the Parade. But he suggested I first remove the H1's and European lenses the second owner had installed 30 years ago. Luckily, I had been given the original US headlights & lenses in aged/crumbling Bosch boxes that had not been opened in 30 years.

I rushed back home and got them. I had no time to remove the after-market (but period-correct) Carellos that the original owner had installed. These were featured in the Gmund 'poster' that was displayed alongside the car and I wanted it to look exactly as it had been on that old magazine cover back in 1980! Nor, may I add, did I have time to wax the car prior to the event. On Tuesday, I drove up to the spectacular Rocky Mountain Concours site with my fellow PS02 contestants and then headed for my Historic Display parking spot.

The judges couldn't find me until way past noon since I wasn't with the other PS02 cars, but it was finally judged. When the results were posted an hour later, to my surprise I had won both my Class and my Division. A few hours later, all Division winners including my car were judged again by a larger team of experts for the coveted Preservation Group award. The next night at the Concours Banquet, the winner of the Group award was announced. It went to a deserving 928S in very original condition and that had travelled from NY State. I felt very lucky that my car got even considered for the Group award, the overall winner of all Divisions in Preservation at this year's Parade.

As in all cases of a well preserved car that has survived into the present, the credit for the success of this very rare Crystal Blue 911E rest with its two original owners. They kept the faith and maintained this car in pristine original condition for 39 years, allowing us today to experience the joy of seeing a piece of automobile history preserved for posterity. I am just a temporary custodian of this Crystal Blue 911E Targa and hope some of you can see it in person at some future 911 Reunion.

Again, congratulations on a very fine auto and well-deserved result.

Cheers,

[fbarrett]

Eduardo:

I enjoyed seeing your car and meeting your wife during the display, as I recalled the car being on the magazine cover and knew Doug Troyer briefly. I hope you can bring the car to some Rocky Mountain Region shows.

Frank
1965 912
1960 Type 678/4 aircraft engine
(both at the '09 Parade)

[cool5]

+1 on the additional pics if available. What a nice piece of history.

[TimT]

I would like to quote your post with a few breaks for ease of reading. I will happily delete the quote if I offend.

What and ruin that run on sentence? A few paragraphs and breaks make for easier reading.

[z356]

Thanks to those that have responded to this thread. I will post some additional photos tomorrow, especially interior shots of this 911E.

Matty, the paragraphs spacing you added is fine. I didn't want to take so much space since most posters in the forum are into 'brevity'. It reads better with the breaks. Thanks.

Tom, will see you around beautiful Eagle County for sure!

Frank, I hope to participate in activities with other members of my new PCA region - Rocky Mountain - in the coming years. I wish you continuing success in the publishing world. I had lunch with Anton a few weeks ago in Carmel Valley and he told me of his latest book venture in which you are involved. By the way, are you a fellow Penn alumnus?

Brian, I ran into Bob White last week at Keystone and we talked a bit about your 'new' Conda Green '71 911S. I have known Bob since my first Parade back in '81. Back in 1995, we happened to coincide on a visit to Alois Ruf in Pfaffenhausen on the same day and later that week had lunch together with Wilma at Porsche's 'Casino' cafeteria in Zuffenhausen. Interestingly, I also knew John Kirby-Miller in Mill Valley in the late 80's and he is now a neighbor in Carmel, where I have a second home. I am fascinated by the stories & persons that are usually associated with low mileage, original & preserved cars. And the story of how you found and purchased your wonderful Conda Green '71 S last year, with all of its history & preserved patina, was terrific. Some even called it the deal of the year! More importantly to me and other like minded enthusiasts for 'survivor' cars, it reminds us all in our hobby that there are still some wonderful original cars out there looking for the right new owners / custodians. Hope you are enjoying your '71S as I am this '70 E!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Colorado

[fryardds]

Originally Posted by z356

Thanks to those that have responded to this thread. I will post some additional photos tomorrow, especially interior shots of this 911E.

Brian, I ran into Bob White last week at Keystone and we talked a bit about your 'new' Conda Green '71 911S. I have known Bob since my first Parade back in '81. Back in 1995, we happened to coincide on a visit to Alois Ruf in Pfaffenhausen on the same day and later that week had lunch together with Wilma at Porsche's 'Casino' cafeteria in Zuffenhausen. Interestingly, I also knew John Kirby-Miller in Mill Valley in the late 80's and he is now a neighbor in Carmel, where I have a second home. I am fascinated by the stories & persons that are usually associated with low mileage, original & preserved cars. And the story of how you found and purchased your wonderful Conda Green '71 S last year, with all of its history & preserved patina, was terrific. Some even called it the deal of the year! More importantly to me and other like minded enthusiasts for 'survivor' cars, it reminds us all in our hobby that there are still some wonderful original cars out there looking for the right new owners / custodians. Hope you are enjoying your '71S as I am this '70 E!

Saludos,
Eduardo

Well, what a small world indeed Eduardo. I am really looking forward to finally meeting Bob and Wilma next weekend at the Brian Redman vintage races at Road America. I am especially excited to show them Patirck. It will be a special time.

Will you be in Carmel for the Historics next month? If so it would be fun to meet you and maybe you can introduce me to John. I would be excited to meet another former caretaker of Patrick. If I don't see you there then maybe at the 2010 Porche Parade in Chicago. Maybe your fabulous Crystal Blue E will be there also.

I saw the photos on the Early S registry too, your car is really remarkable. It looks like an almost new car, so well preserved and cared for. Very special garage I might add too. Thanks again for sharing.

[Talewinds]

Eduardo, I was just enjoying looking at the pictures on your thread here but after reading the back story I realized I saw your car at Reid Vann just a couple of months ago. Reid and I have some mutual interests and he graciously gave me the grand tour of his shop one morning. I'm sure you already know this but I thought I might reaffirm one of the things that makes Reid Vann great, it was readily apparent that your car was being treated with the greatest of care and attention while at his shop.
Congrats on a wonderful car, I'm lucky to have seen it.

[bkreigsr]

Congratulations on getting Doug's car.
I knew Doug 'way back when' he started the Zone One 48 Hours of Watkins Glen (now finished its 35th edition 6/19-6/21), and I recognize the car from many subsequent events.
I see you even got his plates with it - nice !
Bill K

[fbarrett]

Originally Posted by z356

Frank, I hope to participate in activities with other members of my new PCA region - Rocky Mountain - in the coming years. I wish you continuing success in the publishing world. I had lunch with Anton a few weeks ago in Carmel Valley and he told me of his latest book venture in which you are involved. By the way, are you a fellow Penn alumnus?

Eduardo:

Yes, BS in Civil Engineering, 1965. And you? The showroom poster books are expected here any day.

Frank
aka Toad Hall Motorbooks (www.toadhallbook.com)

[z356]

Attached you will see photos of the '70 911E Targa's interior, top and engine. The interior is factory 'all leather', which is a rare option. Most panels are done in this material, including door panels and rear shelf. Only dash & top door covers appear to be in vinyl. The car still exudes the aroma of natural leather some 39 years after it was built.

The special order tag with the color code on the jam is a different 'silver' color than normal. It says "Made in Western Germany / Kunstharzlack". Its top black line is stamped with the code '7310-L' which was the paint number for 'Crystal Blue' in the Targa model. These silver colored jam tags appear mostly on special paint order cars.

The Targa top is still in the original condition and has never been restored. There is a special tradition to this Targa top,which has been honored by each of the three owners (including myself) for the past 39 years. The original top has never been folded, so it still looks like the day the car was picked up at the showroom. The original owner purchased a second Targa top back in '70 which is used for those occasions when you actually want to drive the car al fresco & thus store the 'spare' top, neatly folded in the front trunk or on top of the rear seats.

In the engine compartment the decals are still the originals. The motor was actually rebuilt last year to standard E specs and the original factory look was preserved.

The car had an MSRP of $9,756. Back in 1970, this was a considerable amount of money for a vehicle. Z356

[z356]

Brian: I will be in Carmel for the August events and let's make sure we get together. I will send you PM with my particulars. John Kirby-Miller showed his very original '58 Speedster at last year's Carmel Concours on the Avenue and I am sure he will be around this year too. See the link below: http://www.velocetoday.com/archives/969
So we will introduce you to John for sure. Re: Bob & Wilma White. Great that you are meeting them finally. For many years he was the only American in PCA that had actually worked at Porsche in Germany. I think this was in the seventies as part of his engineering work at Illinois Urbana. But in any case, I was very jealous that he had that unique experience in Weissach & Zuffenhausen. Remember that back then most of the core employees that created the legend of the 356, the recently introduced 911 and the early racing cars were still at work at Porsche and Bob knew them all first-hand. Names like Ernst Fuhrmann & Helmuth Bott and so many of the old timers. Even when I first visited the factory in 1981 (Sontag's PCA Treffen), many of these historic figures were still around and we met some of them. Who can forget Frau Bauer's special 'parts' at Racing Shop at the old Works II, along with her helper, a then young Jurgen Barth! So get him to tell you as many of those stories as you can!

Talewinds: Reid Vann in St. Louis is a good friend and first class fellow. I met him through my Chicago Region friend Tom Grunnah years ago. Glad you got a chance to see the car in person before it showed up at the '09 Parade.

Bill: Doug Troyer (the original owner) is alive and well in Florida. I will let him know about of your post here. You might also remember that he had that wonderful Carrera 2 Cab. He tried to buy back this Crystal Blue 911E Targa, but the second owner wouldn't sell. Doug sold this car on a 'weak moment' as he wanted to have a more competitive (read newer & more hp) car for track events. Doug's name for this car was 'Elfie' and he has enjoyed me keeping him up-to-date on its current doings after bought it last year. He now has a nice 356 Cab that started out in Italy, so he is still very much in the game. Doug is still looking for his original PCA 911 New Jersey plates in storage somewhere. I had these reproduced for the Historic Display at this year's Parade since my goal was to duplicate the cover shot of Gmund Magazine back in 1980 when the car was only 10 years old! (see attached photo)

Frank: I am College, Class of '72. Have not been back to Penn in Philadelphia in years. You can see in my garage an old flag (second photo) which I 'liberated' in my Freshman year from the Class of '44 at the Ivy Day Alumni Reunion March! Maybe I will attend my 40th Class Reunion in 2012. Good luck with Tony Singer's Porsche Showroom Posters book. That should be a worthy collectible in anyone's Porsche library!

Saludos,
Eduardo / Z356

[fbarrett]

Eduardo:

The Gmuend magazine cover brings back memories. As soon as I saw your car, I recognized it from that cover.

In the early 1980s I was a small-time auto magazine publisher and Gmuend subscriber. When I heard the publication was for sale, I thought I could fulfill my dream of publishing a good Porsche magazine by taking it over. John Barnes and I met at the Hilton at O'Hare in Chicago to discuss a deal , but after seeing the pathetic ad sales figures and subscription numbers, and hearing the price, I had a sober flight home! Shortly afterward, the magazine folded. My library still has a complete set plus photocopies of another issue that was never published.

You should write an article for Panorama on your car.

Frank

[z356]

Frank: I still see Gmund Editor Susan C. Miller at the LA Memorabilia Meet from time to time. Gmund was ahead of its time and I am sorry it didn't succeed. Back then, I was working in NYC in international banking and I would go to an obscure magazine & book store that specialized in European publications by the Ritz Hotel (between 5th & Park Ave) in Midtown to find my Gmund copy. Distribution was extremely limited. I now have every published copy in my collection, except the last that you report never made print. You should publish that last one as a pamphlet! I had never heard of the unpublished last issue!

I don't think we had another attempt at a Porsche-oriented publication until the first 'Porsche Magazine' issue many years later in Northern California. I remember visiting their early offices in Novato. After the Porsche lawyers objected to the name, it soon became the well known publication we still know today as... "Excellence".

I will contact Leonard to see if his wife might be interested in the story of this Crystal Blue 911E Targa. Thanks for the suggestion.

Saludos, Eduardo

[analogmike]

Nice post!

When I saw the picture I had to do a double-take, looks just like my ex-'72S Targa, maybe the same color (mine was a custom order, the color was not available in 1972)

[z356]

Analogmike:

Your ex-72 looked pretty nice. It is hard to tell from the photo if it is precisely Crystal Blue. Remember that in those years Porsche had just completed (circa 1969) the new paint facility at Zuffenhausen and they daringly turned the color spigot 'on', rocking the world with memorable hues that have forever been associated with that period - the Age of Aquarius era - in both their 911's & 914's. There were a number of light blues that are well known in the early 70's 911's, including Pastel, Gulf and Mexico. At the 911S Registry Forum, member Carl Bauer has posted some interesting articles from Christophorus that shows precisely how many cars were painted certain colors in the model year 1970. This information was found on an article written by then Christo editor Richard von Frankenberg in the October 1970 issue (#89). von Frankenberg was working with official Porsche production figures, so the veracity of his report is probably excellent. von Frankenberg writes that from August of 69 to June of 1970 (inclusive for model year '1970'), Porsche produced 15,749 of the 911's and 914-6's. He then reported how many (by %) were painted in each color.

http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...ad.php?t=23316

Another 911 S Registry member (Scott Clarke) took those % reported by von Frankenberg and calculated the following post, in which he reports:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I did the math, so the numbers in () are the quantity of cars in that color, more or less.

77% took their car in standard colors;

1. Blood orange 14,48 (2095)
2. Ivory 13,75 (1989)
3. Signal orange 11,72 (1695)
4. Irish green 7,03 (1017)
5. Albert blue 6,81 (985)
6. Conda green 6,56 (949)
7. Bahia red 6,42 (929)
8. Burgundy red 6,07 (878)
9. Pastel blue 4,23 (612)

21,7% took their car in special colors;

1. Metallic silver 7,83 (1133)
2. Metallic blue 2,78 (402)
3. Lemmon yellow 2,1 (304)
4. Black 1,22 (176)
5. Metallic green 1,21 (175)
6. Adriatic blue 1,21 (175)
7. Light yellow 1,11 (161)
8. Metallic red 0,96 (139)
9. Sepia 0,79 (114)
10. Olive 0,68 (one 1970 in Norway in this color) (98)
11. Signal yellow 0,6 (87)
12. Bush green 0,21 (30)
13. Beige 0,1 (14)
14. Signal green 0,1 (14)
15. Porcelain blue 0,1 (14)
16. Light red 0,1 (14)
17. Ivory 0,1 (14)
18. Crystal blue 0,1 (14)
19. Turquoise 0,1 (14)
20. Turquoise green 0,1 (14)
21. Light grey 0,1 (14)

1,3% where "color of your choice" cars (188)

So that gives you some idea of the breakdown in colors and confirms why some colors are so seldom seen today since just a few of them were ever painted in these 'rare' special order tints. If your car was painted Crystal Blue as a special order or paint to sample in 1972, that would make it even rarer.

Saludos, Eduardo /Z356

[gsue58@pacbell.]

Hello Porsche Friends,
I am John Kerby-Miller's daughter, Sue. We hope have the 1958 Speedster at the Concours on the Avenue August 16, 2011 in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA. There will be a trophy in my Father's name. It was planned for last year but the show was very small due to the economy. On August 11, 2009 my Dad received a trophy for the (non-judged) presentation of the Porsche. He was very proud. That year he was too sick to prepare the car, so I did. After 14 years of prostate cancer, he passed away on Sept 21, 2009. The Porsche is a member of our family, and always will be. Thank you for your kind words about my Dad. I did not realize how HUGE his social circle was! :-) sue [gsue58@pacbell.net]