The Story
In 1980, I had the chance to finally buy a 911. Unfortunately, it wasn't running and was in less than concours condition, but the price was right, $3750. The car apparently had be a daily driver in Cleveland for seven years and had plenty of sun exposure on the once magnificent silver paint. The engine was blown because of the failure of a chain tensioner, the scourge of early 911s. So the rest of my automotive funds paid for a complete engine rebuild. The waiting list at Stoddard Porsche was beyond my patience, so another Cleveland Porsche dealership did the job. Once a week, we would go to visit our engine. Once it was done, it ran great, but still looked like a rat. My available funds were severely limited, so a body restoration was a long time in the future. So I took the remaining funds and bought a new paint brush and a quart of silver Rustoleum and made it into a 20 foot car. On an outing with the NE Ohio PCA region to Mid-Ohio Raceway, I left the car in the Porsche Corral all day as my son and I wandered around the track and watched the races. When we returned to the Porsche Corral that was packed with many gorgeous cars, the setting sun was glinting off the side of my 911E. Then I noticed all the finger marks in the dust of the day along the sides of the car. I guess people passing by said to themselves, "What the hell kind of paint job is this?" and had to touch it. I had the car, still covered with Rustoleum for another six years. The new owner restored the body immediately upon purchase. He died a couple of years ago and I understand he sold it to someone in the state of New York.