Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 112285
Engine No. 800887
Transmission No. 38381
Tourist Delivery, the exciting process of combining a European
vacation and the purchase a new Porsche, can forge a bond between
car and owner that can last a lifetime. Ordered through the
Northrup & Klaus Company of Nuremberg, Germany in October 1959 by
William R. Wilcox of Azusa, California, this remarkably
well-preserved Signal Red 1960 356 B Super 90 Coupe is a pure
expression of that bond. The original order sheet records that
Wilcox first selected his new 356 in Ruby Red over a Black
Kunstleder and Corduroy interior. Yet, upon learning of a new
optional shade of red for 1960, Signal Red, the order was quickly
revised. Additional options that appear on the factory invoice
include two headrests, a Becker Europa radio with two loudspeakers,
an antenna, and a pair of Coco mats woven in Red and Mustard Yellow
with the final order totaling $3,470.20.
In June of 1960, Wilcox traveled to Germany to accept delivery of
his new Super 90 ab werk or "ex works." A copy of the factory
Kardex warranty card shows delivery on 28 June. After a summer of
touring Europe, Wilcox's Signal Red coupe arrived from Hamburg at
the Port of Los Angeles aboard the H.W. Schulte in September. Once
in Southern California, original "pink slips" show the car was
registered in November 1960 and received a pair of license plates
marked UMR 402. Forced, like all Californians, to turn in its
original yellow plates in 1963, this fully matching-numbers example
then received black plates marked QLV 279-the very same pair it
wears today.
After Wilcox's passing in 1976, the car was stored in the family
garage located in the dry climate of inland Southern California. A
letter from Wilcox's son from approximately 15 years ago describes
the way the car remained so well-preserved noting that it "... has
been carefully stored since 1976 with less than 50,000 miles." The
car's mileage log book, service invoices from Lee-Wood Motors Inc.
and Bozzani Porsche, and its California black plate with a 1977
registration sticker are further proof of light, but regular use.
Remaining in-situ for forty-seven years, his son made the difficult
decision to sell the car in 2024 through the family's trust. After
64 years under single family ownership and preserved in storage for
the majority of it, the car would have a new caretaker, a
preeminent Porsche and early Volkswagen historian with a keen eye
for the inimitable details this Super 90 displays and a careful
plan to thoughtfully return it to the road.
Highly original preserved cars such as this are best identified by
the minute details they retain. The car itself is a
matching-numbers example as per its factory Kardex. It still wears
its original coat of optional Signal Red paint on top of its
chassis number stamped body panels. The interior remains
upholstered and carpeted in the original materials it was first
delivered in. It retains nearly all of its original purchase
paperwork, oval Tourist Delivery plates, owner's manuals (including
the rare Super 90 supplement), its original tool kit, jack,
date-stamped KPZ steel wheels-even its rare original stamped Huf
glovebox key and period red leather factory teardrop key pouch. The
eagle-eyed will spot period additions that include a Becker Europa
"Highway Hi-Fi" AM/FM radio and a pair of Impact brand safety
belts.
Then there's the drive. Recent sorting by Richard Dick at Air
Cooled and Scott's Independant and the subsequent light mileage
added under current ownership prove that it is not only the
cosmetics that remain in near as-delivered condition. The flat-four
received multiple oil changes and filters, a Solex carburetor
restoration, valve and timing adjustments, and the transmission
fresh fluid. With an emphasis on originality, nearly every system
was inspected and renewed as necessary including the braking,
electrical, and fuel systems with various sundry components to
properly and safely return to the road with invoices on file
detailing the work completed. Those who have driven well-preserved
cars with relatively light use, note a tightness and road feel that
many restorations struggle to match. Chassis number 112285 exhibits
this is spades with the consignor noting that, "the car is highly
civilized with doors that sing upon closing, a clutch and shifter
that engage positively with original tolerances, a ride with lack
of vibration, with the typical cold-blooded nature of the
high-compression Super 90 nonexistent."
There are innumerable phrases that exist in the hobby to describe
an automobile such as this. "They're only original once" and "find
another one" are favorites yet, these shallow remarks fail to
capture the complexity of this Super 90. It is a wonderfully
preserved matching-numbers example. It is an unshown, yet sure-fire
Porsche Club of America Parade winner. It is a candidate for a 000
quarterly Referent. Perhaps most of all, it is a 65-year-long love
letter to the Porsche marque and an unrepeatable opportunity for a
new caretaker to experience, near as possible, was like to enjoy a
new Porsche 356 B Super 90 Coupe in 1960.
