Where have all the (vintage) Porsches gone?

[lane912]

i see 2 1966 912's every day when i open my garage-

[RSBob]

Am driving my 73 less and less partially because of value and part because the 914 continues to get more and more dialed in. The 914 is expendable, while the other isn't, other than the insurance money. If you think a 911 feels raw, try a brick without a fixed roof and a massaged 3.0. A 914s cornering ability is nothing less than sensational and must be experienced to be believed - if you can get past the car's appearance. Riding on rails gets me past it in a hurry.

And how many 80s or older 911s do I see in a month? Other than at meets, probably 2, but then I work from home 3 days a week.

[viejopatron]

Cars n Coffee in Irvine usually has 10+ drive in. Some conserved. Some restored. Some sporterized.

[BE911SC]

Spotted at the airport yesterday:

[marksearls]

I understand the value issue, but they still need to be driven. I signed up for the October DE at Road Atlanta and I have the only longhood. There is a 72 914-6 and a handful of SC's and Carrera's. Out of around 200 entrants, the majority are waterpumpers. Is this the same in other parts of the country, with little representation at DE events?

[WIL84911]

Originally Posted by lupin..the..3rd

living in one of the most car-unfriendly places on earth might have something to do with it.

Bingo!
I'm not too far.. and NYC is the last place I wanna be driving my 84.

[HarryD]

At the Oregon Chapter DE, we had 54 cars preregister.

Of those, 22 were Porsches and 4 were air cooled:
1973 Porsche 911T
1980 Porsche 911SC
1983 Porsche 911SC
1993 Porsche RS

[Dixie]

It's just the natural evolution in a car's lifecycle.

Five years ago, 80's 911s were very common at DEs. They were still "new enough" to be considerd quick, and old enough to no longer be doted over. Now Boxsters and 996 GT3s are taking their place. I still see 911s at club races, but they're starting to drop in prominance their as well.

80's 911s are just now embarking on the phase of becoming restored or refurbished garage queens. Sure, they'll never reach the pricing of long-hoods, but after owners dump some serious cash into one, they're not going to want to take them out of the garage too often.

[marksearls]

While it may be part of the "evolution", it has somehow changed with very few air cooled cars on track. Part of the fun is driving with cars with similar HP/WT ratios. I guess that is why I decided to put in a 3.0 into my '73.

[carreradpt]

I drive mine alot here in Fl. The ac is working pretty darn good, but I only use it on the stinkin hot days. Took a beachline cruise this morning and saw a yellow 912E. In my neighborhood there are 2 997's and a Cayman. No long hoods around and haven't seen one in quite a while on the road. And I am always looking.

[regency]

Got out early today, 6:45 am. Did my usual, Petes for a coffee, then up Auburn-Folsom road, cut over to Penyrn, then to Newcastle and up to Auburn and a little farther to Meadow Vista and then back down to Rocklin. This is all Sierra Foothills type of roads. Makes for an epic drive everytime.

BTW, didn't see any other sports cars at all.

Steve

73 911 T MFI Coupe, Aubergine

[bluesky]

I drove my 73 to Home Depot yesterday (Sat morning) & parked in the back of the lot. When I came out I noticed a pristine cream-colored 356 Speedster parked right next to me. As I got closer, some guy in a new Malibu pulled up and asked what yr, said he used to own a 58 coupe. I asked him if he could tell if it was a real Speedster...we both took turns laying on the ground next to the car and confirmed it was a real 356 at least & not a kit. It had Speedster items on it but don't know if it was the real deal. The other guy said it was...I don't know enough about the longer-hoods to know. I was hoping the owner would come out of the store so we could chat and make it into a Cars & Coffee (w/o the coffee) but I got tired of waiting. It was nice to see something Porsche other than a Boxster which I see bazillions of each day.

[Trackrash]

I found these in San Diego.

[1980 widebody]

I've been out driving mine.

[Caferacer]

Saw my first '80s slant nose in the wild (i.e. not at an event) on Friday afternoon on W 36th St. in Manhattan of all places.

[mikeyc71911t]

I see 1980 & older 911's often. I live one hour south of the Miller Motor Sports Park, in Utah. I drive my 71 911t during the summer and take it to the track often. I am an instructor for several track clubs, but enjoy the PCA HPDE event, parking lot the most. They are out there, but they are being more pampered as they become older (mines 40years old & still formidable against other than German makes) & more rare. Similar to what has happened to the 356. The 901's are becoming more valuable and harder to insure, therefore more worrisome to drive around. You can see some pics of my Butzi at work on track by going to Rennsportfoto.com
Check the Yellow group 8/22, look for the light brown car, that's me. Page twelve is cool, the Mazda is still behind me from one pic to the next, but there is a newer Porsche that just smokes mine, all the new ones do.
Anyway, they are out there, just seem to be regionally spotted around happening useable areas. Disappearing from everyday use, valuable, not wanting to loose them in everyday traffic!

[1968SWTs]

Every third house in Mill Valley, CA (north of the GG bridge) has a 911SC and a golden retriever. I see at least 11 per day on a commute to SF, but see more than most as it is a two wheeled commute. Most of them don't do any of their own work so they are using the high end shops, which have plenty of business from people in the lucky sperm club, so it ain't cheap. I have heard numbers like $3,000 per year to keep them on the road. The usual commute yields two carerras, 7 911sc's, two longhoods, two 914's, 1 356, a Giulia sedan (had to throw it in - my favorite commuter sighting) , seven 993's one 993TT, and about 45 997's (all with drivers wearing those white collar stock broker shirts)

[onboost]

That's funny but an excellent assessment....

[Talewinds]

Originally Posted by 1968SWTs

Every third house in Mill Valley, CA (north of the GG bridge) has a 911SC and a golden retriever. I see at least 11 per day on a commute to SF, but see more than most as it is a two wheeled commute. Most of them don't do any of their own work so they are using the high end shops, which have plenty of business from people in the lucky sperm club, so it ain't cheap. I have heard numbers like $3,000 per year to keep them on the road. The usual commute yields two carerras, 7 911sc's, two longhoods, two 914's, 1 356, a Giulia sedan (had to throw it in - my favorite commuter sighting) , seven 993's one 993TT, and about 45 997's (all with drivers wearing those white collar stock broker shirts)

=My sentiments. I've never seen more air cooled 911's day-to-day than in my travels around the San Francisco area, they're just everywhere.

I saw a mid 80's Carrera in Hobart, Tasmania two weeks ago and one very nicely restored long hood in my neck of the woods about 3 months ago. Other than that ???????, seen VERY few air cooled cars on the roads in the last year.

[Racerbvd]