1966 Porsche 911

model history

Porsche 911 chassis #303804 was completed in March 1966, less than 18 months after the 911 first entered production. During this period the factory updated the initial specification of the 911 on an almost monthly basis, introducing a range of improvements. Some of these changes were little more than adjustments to the trim but several were fundamental to the performance of the car. 

One of the most important was the use of Weber rather than Solex carburettors, which addressed complaints about early wear and temperamental set-up. This car is one of the very first to have received Weber rather than Solex carburettors from new. It also benefits from the shorter ratio type 902/01 gearbox, rear anti-roll bar and adjustable front suspension mounting points introduced by Porsche in late 1965. 

this car

This car was first delivered in June 1966 to the Porsche Northwest dealership in Beaverton, Oregon, USA. Its first owner was Philip McCormick, a resident of Portland, Oregon and he chose a fairly basic specification, the only listed option being a radio. For the next four decades, the car remarkably remained in the city of Portland with four further owners until 2005 when it was imported to the UK by well-known early Porsche aficionado, Robert Barrie. He sold the car to Richard Clark, who would commission a thorough refurbishment using Maxted-Page Limited. It changed hands briefly in 2010 before being sold to Jonathan Procter, the respected Swiss-based historic car dealer for his own personal use. Procter sold the car to the previous owner in 2015. 

The previous owner invested much time and effort improving the car during her stewardship. In 2016, the running gear received attention from BS Motorsport (Neil Bainbridge) and Prill Porsche Classics (Andy Prill). In 2017 the body was stripped to bare metal, minor corrosion repaired and repainted in the original light ivory colour by Panel Craft Elite. Then in 2019 the engine was fully rebuilt on the original cases by Jaz Porsche (Steve Winter) and was upgraded with S cams and high compression pistons. It has been measured on the rolling road at a very healthy 165hp, slightly more than the factory figure for Porsche’s 1967 2-litre “S”. 

The interior is largely to factory specification except for some tasteful period enhancements. The standard front seats have been replaced with a Recaro lightweight bucket seat for the driver and a Recaro Sports seat for the passenger. These would have been available from the factory in late 1966 for drivers wishing to use their car for “sports purposes” and echo the set-up that was used on the rally cars of the time. A pair of Heuer chronographs have been mounted to the dash continuing the sporty theme. The wheels are 5.5” wide genuine Fuchs which, while not available until late 1967, do allow the car to run with slightly wider than standard 185/70 Pirelli CN36 tyres.

We sold the car to its current owner in 2021 who has subsequently become a great friend of the business and as a truly fastidious and dedicated custodian, having gone to great lengths to research the car’s early history, mapping the locations of its services and mileage during its history in Portland. 

Similar efforts have been made to improve various details on the car be they originality related, cosmetic or to enhance the driving experience. This work includes having a full geometry and setup at chassis tuning experts Center Gravity, sourcing and fitting NOS Cibie Bi-iode headlights as well as Cibie Pallas spotlights, fitting a vintage Blaupunkt Frankfurt head unit with bluetooth for streaming and handsfree telephony along with safer period-looking inertia seatbelts.

In continuing the ‘sports purpose’ feel the owner removed the airbox (which remains with the car as a spare) to fit air filters. Dissatisfied with the modern look branded air filters added he had a custom set of non-branded filters made up and fitted. The 5.5” wide Fuchs have been restored by Vert-Ego aka Biagio Chrzanowski, well-known expert Fuchs restorer, to achieve a correct factory finish. A twin brake circuit system was installed by BS Motorsport in 2023. 

A recent pre-sale service was carried out which included an oil and filter change, valve clearance adjustment and the fitment of new spark plugs.  

The car has a comprehensive history file with service records dating back to 1977 and copies of the factory Kardex and Porsche Certificate of Authenticity.