Black Plate Special: 1968 Porsche 912 California Barn Find
America’s family farms have been steadily disappearing over the past 40 (or so) years. What does that have to do with cars? Well, as any famous picker will tell you, good stuff is found in barns and barns are on farms. Ergo, barn find cars begin vanishing as family farms vanish. Which brings us to this cool, California Black Plate 1968 Porsche 912 spied by our very own Montana D, on craigslist. The ad claims “barn find” in its title, but doesn’t actually expound on that claim; only its thick coat of dust and grime suggests possible storage in an unheated building clad in wood, a.k.a. a barn.
Inside our 912, you’ll note newer seats, which suggest the originals might have been so badly decayed that they warranted replacement. Or, they might have just been replaced. Hard to know. The dash is remarkably crack-free, the headliner looks great and various touchpoints in the cabin, including the steering wheel and shifter knob look pretty fresh from the photos. Even the carpet seems to be in good nick, though naturally, if you’re putting in new seats you could just as easily renew the floor covering and pedal covers. The original cocos are in the frunk, by the way.
Our rear engine looks to be neat and tidy, insofar as everything is in place. Again, the engine caked in dust suggests it’s been in storage for a while. A couple of new fuel hoses are likely the result of trying to get this 1.6L flat-four engine up and running. That’s actually confirmed in the text of the ad: “Engine runs, will need service,” the seller says. So at a minimum, you’re likely going to need to rebuild those downdraft Solexes and perform service on all the routine no-brainer stuff: plugs, wires, distributor, rotors, points and some fresh oil, for sure. That’s being optimistic and positive, of course.
The belly pan looks remarkably solid. We all know the red flags that emerge from “barn” storage but looking at this, none of the warning bells go off for me. I’m pretty sure if this car was stored in a barn, it has to be one of the best ventilated, least straw-y and rodent-y barns in America. Hey, take the wins where you can.
All in all, this is a tidy 912. OK, there seem to be a few anomalies, like the front bumper rubber strip and bumper guards aren’t in place. And those Fuchs are from a later Porsche and look — at least for me — blatantly out of place. The 45Gs asking price also seems high, but in this day and age, it’s probably not far off given the completeness and condition of what you get. With a good detailing of the exterior and some careful attention paid to the engine, theoretically, you could be motoring pretty quickly. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not only appealing but a great way to put this 912 back in its rightful place — out of a barn and onto the road.
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Comments
That’s as sound a pre ’70s Porsche I’ve seen in quite a while. As good as this car is I’d ditch the fiberglass bumper/spoiler for a stock one and lower valance. The Fuchs should be replaced by the earlier models or the steel wheels that came on them standard. Nice car.
One thing for sure is we need to find thousands more barn finds 911’s enough to flood the market and bring prices to within reason. That is one special find to come across a early 911 in such fantastic condition.
$45K for a glorified VW powered car? These cars prove that there are lots of people out there that are WAY overpaid for the jobs they do.
If they even work. LOL. In my experience, the people with the most money really do not work. Of course, most of them wouldn’t want this as is, oh, they will want it after a 100K restore, because that is what is important to them, appearances.
No VW engines in these cars.
Ten years ago? This was a $4000 car, on a good day.
Last time I drove a friends 1968 912 about a year ago it was like shifting with a toothpick in a cup of Jello. Had to jamb shifter into my right leg to catch reverse or 1st. LOL No thanks….
A few dollars worth of bushings and an afternoon in the garage works wonders on the shift-feel of old 911’s/912’s
Imagine what you would get if you bothered to hose it off and vac out the dust .
Less.
There are pics on the ad with it washed on the rack and it looks pretty darn good. Unfortunately it appears to be a dealer that was probably first to see it in the “barn”.
These are not VW motors..this is a 912 , not a 911 and Fuchs were an option on them..those these look wider than original. The price is a little high but not much. Any good 912 now is $35,000 to $50,000…and I love driving the wife’s 68 5 speed( with Fuchs). The are lovely, well built .extremely reliable and useable cars. I thionk the “knocker’s” have never driven one..
Wheels are the later model 16 inch. Certainly agree on the “knockers”.
At least four times what I’d be willing to pay, but if the price were right I would consider this a great project car.
Since I’m not from Kalifornia. What is the big deal when selling vehicles with the Black License Plate? Does it work as a legit plate if registered as a Antique?
That thin transverse engine mount looks like a ‘66 or ‘67 type. Later 912’s had a thicker one.
Like it or not, this is the entry level Porsche of today. And given what a decent 912 driver sells for, even if this one needs crank bearings out, it’s going to be worth what was spent. Someone is getting a value here whether they make it a driver, a flip or restore it.
Would prefer to drive one of these, as the lower power would keep me from having to explain to the officer that I just couldn’t help myself through that big set of “S” curves in my neighborhood.
What makes all these early Porsches so great is that they are sports cars, but not at the expense of being a useful car. Plus well made, pleasing designs, well engineered, without feeling like a compromise when you are behind the wheel. Would much rather drive one of these than any of the solid axle relatively high horsepower muscle cars of the time. That’s only because I have to go around corners where I live. If my world were all straight line driving, of course I would want to break traction at every opportunity.
Steven, why do you and your cohorts think that black CA plates are something special that has to be mentioned in you description of a vehicle? Get over it, it is nothing special and you look foolish bringing it up.
A real California black plate (as opposed to the recent reissues) suggests the car was originally registered in California, and the fact that the car retains said plate suggests that it hasn’t been registered in some other state. As you probably know, being in Truckee, many parts of our fair state do not suffer snow and, those parts that do, do not use salt to dissolve the road ice. So a California black plate is an indication that the car is likely to not suffer from rust. But then you knew all that, didn’t you?
A succinct and intelligent explanation on the underlying meaning of ‘Black Plate.’ Cheers to you, Euromoto!
I have a 1968 912. This vehicle looks great, one small comment – the line running under the vehicle from the engine towards the front is not standard. Fuel and brake lines run through the tunnel and are not exposed. Could be the fuel line was blocked and an external line was a quick fix. Not a big issue to return to original.
For all you that think a Commiefornia black plate is some type of holy grail because of the weather conditions of the state obviously have never lived in the Sierra’s. The weather, e.g. snow (600-800″ on average) and subsequent things that get applied to the roads to combat it all play havoc with our prized possessions. I will stick to my guns on this, If that is how you have to lead your story there must not be much to say about the vehicle.
sure am glad i got my 69 912 targa back in 79,,,paid 4000 can for it,,,no rust now