OVERVIEW
VIN: 303468
All original Porsche 911
Original paint, interior, engine and transmission
700+ hours of preservation work performed by Canepa
Original delivery documents from Porsche
43,515 original miles
Owned by the same family for 49 years
"A car is only original once" is the mantra for many collectors, valuing the way the car was originally delivered from the factory. This is no different for Porsche 911s, as having the opportunity to find a true original car is becoming increasingly rare in the day and age of so many restorations of collectible automobiles. "Finding a car that is over half a century old, yet completely original in exceptional condition, is like finding a needle in haystack," said Bruce Canepa. However, Canepa has found that needle in the form of this absolutely stunning and original red 1966 Porsche 911.
Ernest Maxfield would become the first owner of the 911, placing the order with EurAfrica on January 5th, 1966 for a total cost of $5,923.75. Optioned with leather seating, a headrest for the passenger seat, hubcaps with the Porsche crest, and with speedometer reading in miles, he would pick up the car on February 1st of 1966. Maxfield specified in letters to Porsche that he would like to pick up the car personally from the factory in Germany, with documentation and insurance paperwork that shows his visits and travel. After picking up his car on that day in Germany, Ernest and his family would own the little red 911 for an almost unheard of amount of time: a single year short of half a century.
Shortly after the car was picked up, it was then shipped to New York City where Ernest resided. With the first documented service in America being on April 4th, 1966; it was to add two seatbelts and to modify the carburetors. Over the course of his ownership, Ernest would keep much of the service documentation as well as a notebook with his mileage, fuel added and calculated miles per gallon up for every stop until 42,813 miles.
Around 1975, Ernest and his family would move with the 911 to Peoria, Illinois, where the same level of treatment to the car would continue, with regular services and upkeep. The car would remain in Ernest's possession until he passed away in 1993, leaving the 911 with his wife Elaine to care for it, who then passed it on to their daughter Diana M. Kearse on July 8th, 2014. The 911 would then appear on April 21st, 2015, showing the first documentation of the 2nd owner, who was a collector in Connecticut. He would only own the car for a short time, before the car would make the journey across the United States to Canepa.
Upon arriving at Canepa, the car received a thorough inspection, evaluating each piece of the Porsche. "When a car is in as original condition as this red 911, the most cautious actions are taken in order to preserve its originality and is only given the most sympathetic reconditioning and service as needed," said Bruce Canepa. The interior was original, chrome work, lights, trim and on and on, only adding to the fact how well the car was preserved by its original owner.
Canepa set to work to ensure that the 911 would be preserved for the future. Evaluating the mechanicals, the car was disassembled to clean, service and recondition every component you could touch to as close to as new condition using only the most careful methods. The front and rear bumpers were removed, including the aluminum trim and rubbers, and thoroughly cleaned. The license plate panel, headlights, front and rear turn signal assemblies, engine lid grill, door mirror, quarter windows, door trim mouldings, lower rocker mouldings and wipers were all removed in similar fashion and treated to only the needed amount of cleaning. The entire underside of the body was cleaned by hand to like new, using mostly soap and water with only moderate amounts of other cleaning materials.
All of the mechanicals were addressed. After being 52 years old, the original engine was due for an inspection, service and reseal. Camshaft chain tensioners were replaced, carburetors rebuilt, valves were adjusted, gaskets and miscellaneous seals replaced, transmission resealed, the entire clutch assembly replaced, and new oil lines. The brakes were serviced, and the front and rear shock cartridges were replaced with Boge, as was original. Washer nozzles were serviced, headlights disassembled and cleaned inside and out, as was every other socket and terminal on the car.
All of the interior of the 911 is original, with no retrimming and its original leather seat covers. While the seats cushions were slightly broken down, the seat cushions were rebuilt and then reassembled with the original seat covers. The rest of the interior was delicately cleaned by hand with the mildest of soap and water, and nothing from the interior was retrimmed or replaced.
The last step was to carefully and slowly polish the paint without damaging it, a skill acquired over the course of years of experience with similar original paints. The original 52 year old surface was carefully brought back to a shine with only polishes and foam pads, yet the way the paint presents would impress any Concours judge for originality.
Preservation of this level of an all original car is only possible after many hours of labor (in this case 700 plus hours), ensuring that each step is careful and exacting, only requiring just enough finesse to clean, service and recondition but not damage. This all original 1966 Porsche 911, with its 52 years of documented ownership, extraordinary preservation and now preserved even further with the expert work by Canepa, is ready for the next 50 years to drive and show at any preservation class concours event.
