Vehicle Details
- Year: 1969
- Make: Porsche
- Model: 911 T
- VIN: 1290486
- Mileage: 1mi (TMU)
- Transmission: Manual
- Title Status: Bill of Sale
- Color: White
- Seller: Seb25_
- Seller Type: Private Party
- Location: Santa Fe, NM 87505
- Lot #: V-0019441
This 1969 Porsche 911T was purchased new by Paul Orebaugh in December of 1968 and later converted to an SCCA race car before being sold to driver Charles E. Mendez Jr. in the Spring of 1975. The car was further modified to IMSA GTU specifications and raced by Mendez as well as Dave Cowart from the Daytona Finale in December 1975 through the Daytona 24 Hour in 1977 while securing several podium finishes. It was later sold to Ron Case who fitted a Sportomatic gearbox and continued to race the car in IMSA through the late 1980s. The chassis and parts were eventually sold and changed hands several times before being rediscovered by Charles Mendez in 2012 and acquired several years later. Having since undergone a complete restoration to its 1976 IMSA 2.5L GTU configuration, it received a class ribbon and trophy at the 2021 Amelia Concours d'Elegance. This authentic and thoroughly restored vintage race car is now being offered for auction by its driver Charles Mendez out of New Mexico.
The restoration was carried out by Jim Hendrix of John James Racing, a marque expert specializing in Porsche IMSA race cars of this era. The chassis was rebuilt, and the body was refinished in White and dressed in its green #07 Morrison’s racing livery from 1976. Racing modifications include fender flares, a ducktail rear spoiler, RS-style bumpers, a center-fill hood, lightweight Lexan windows, an external kill switch, tow hooks, hood pins, and headlight covers. The aftermarket staggered-width Fuchs-style wheels come dressed in a set of Hoosier racing tires. Historic photos of the car are provided in the gallery along with images from the restoration.
The cockpit has been completely stripped, painted, and outfitted with an integrated roll cage, Cobra Imola S racing seat, custom dashboard, fire suppression system, and an Alcantara-wrapped MPI three-spoke steering wheel. All safety equipment has been updated to modern standards according to the seller.
The custom-built 2.5-liter flat-six engine features JB Racing billet twin-plug heads, JE Dome pistons, Pauter billet rods and arms, Web billet camshafts, coated race bearings, 46mm PMO carburetors, and GT headers paired with a new steel exhaust. Power is sent to the rear wheels by way of a 5-speed 901 manual gearbox. A front oil cooler has been added as well as a new oil tank and fuel cell. The rear suspension consists of adjustable aluminum control arms, sway bars, and coilovers.
This historic racing car is not registered for road use and is offered on a bill of sale.
Auction Results
- Sold for: $273,000
- Auction End: Jun 16, 2022 08:05:14PM UTC
- Number of Bids: 33
Comments (80)
@jwysard congrats! Bring it out to Velocity this fall! Would love to check it out in person
@Naparsei Thanks! We will do our best to be good stewards of your historic car!
Sold for $273,000
Great car. I hope to see you driving it at Rennsport next year.
Bid in the amount of $273,000
Bid in the amount of $272,000
Bid in the amount of $270,000
Bid in the amount of $265,000
Bid in the amount of $260,000
Bid in the amount of $255,000
Bid in the amount of $252,000
This is probably the only 911 that could legitimately vintage race with a Sportomatic (901 box currently installed).
Bid in the amount of $250,000
Bid in the amount of $245,000
Bid in the amount of $240,000
Bid in the amount of $230,000
Those log books I think are Pete Orebaugh's from before Charles raced the car in IMSA. I am pretty sure IMSA didn't do logbooks. I have a ton of photos and articles from the Ron Case era (when the car ran the Sporto). The car had several different race numbers and liveries - we restored it to when Charles owned it, and it had had it's most success.
Bid in the amount of $225,000
Bid in the amount of $220,000
Bid in the amount of $215,000
Bid in the amount of $210,000
Bid in the amount of $205,000
Bid in the amount of $200,000
Bid in the amount of $190,000
Bid in the amount of $185,000
Bid in the amount of $180,000
Bid in the amount of $170,000
Bid in the amount of $165,000
Bid in the amount of $160,250
Bid in the amount of $160,000
Bid in the amount of $150,250
Bid in the amount of $150,000
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
@Seb25_ I spoke with Jim Hendrix and when he received the chassis that section of the tub where the vin was stamped had been removed to accommodate a larger fuel cell and most likely was simply discarded.
@Seb25_ Got it. Didn't know if that log book followed the car and was used for other organizations as well. Thanks
Bid in the amount of $145,000
Bid in the amount of $140,000
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
@Boostin Sorry I was a bit confused about the log book since I don't recall having log books in IMSA. The one in the gallery is from SCCA and I do have the other pages. I only ran three SCCA races so it's pretty thin.
@Seb25_ thanks. I'm less concerned about the actual VIN plate to be honest. Those can be reproduced. My concern just relates to the stamped VIN in the trunk. The production numbers varied over the years, some matched between tunnel and dash, some didn't, and then numbers correlated to the VIN is a whole other story. But to confirm, do you have your old log book (the picture of the cover in the gallery)?
@Boostin I understand your wish to tie the VIN to the production numbered. We have reached out to Porsche archives for this. However having researched P. Orebaugh's original purchase documents with the vin and then having used the production number for the period I owned the car I am confident the car is the car. Since the chassis was dipped and repainted prior to my ownership, it wasn't uncommon for the vin plate to have been removed.
@wsk It is my understanding that the car went to someone in Alabama or Tennessee from Ron Case. Then Steve Southard, Jim Torres and then to Cary.
Bid in the amount of $135,000
How about an ownership trail between Ron Case and Cary Eisenlohr? Thanks.
@Seb25_ Thank you. I have been through the history on racingsportcars.com. What I was hoping for is the original log book to accompany the chassis. It just helps given some of the questions around the VIN. I'm not questioning you or this car, just looking for more comfort as unfortunately others out there have taken the liberty of creating new cars with old race history.
@Boostin I uploaded the race history and you can go to this link for more .
https://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/archive/Charles-Mendez-USA.html?page=2
Check out this like for the period I owned the car and then search Ron Case for the remainder
Thanks
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
Also do you have pictures of the original log book with the various IMSA entries?
Are there any more pictures of the VIN pre restoration or earlier in the car’s life?
Can any of the prior owners chime in as to the rationale for the overstamped numbers on the front compartment vin and also on the dash vin? There may be good reasons, such as the dash vin overstamped looks to be simply a re-stamp of the prior numbers. It is hard to see on the front vin as it is hard to see the numbers underneath. A magnetic resonance image scan would help to confirm the numbers below the vin number. There may be no reason to doubt any of the vin numbers. I love the story and the history! For me, it will just be hard to put a strong bid in, without more time to better understand some of these items.
Boostin -
The 72 oil tank was added prior to Charles ownership. The original car was red. When Pete redid the car to be more competitive, it was painted "refrigerator white". At that time, the oil tank was moved and the door added. Pete is unfortunately no longer with us, but Chuck Allard was (at the time he was quite young, he is a respective member of the Porsche community). I have "before" and "after" pictures which I will see if Charles can post.
I think there are photos of the brakes, in period. There are some other items that came with the car, mostly from the Ron Case era. Ron rebuilt the car several times, and a later iteration included a very cool aircraft connector based switch panel that controlled all the lights, the extra fuel pump, and some other items. I will try to get a picture of it, but honestly, when we decided to restore the car to the 1976 spec, it was put in a box.
The car sustained several crashes. I know it had a minor incident at Mid Ohio while Charles was driving (1976). The car was damaged in practice (perhaps Charles can clarify), but Dave Cowart and Dave Pannaccione drove it to a 5th in class at that race. It finished almost every race, although Ron had a DNF at Riverside, which I believe was a pretty good crash, involving another car. I may have a picture of the actual crash (as it is happening). I will check.
The roll cage is original to the car, and only the door bars were modified. In vintage pictures compared to now this is apparent. The door bar originally was very high, and of course, that's not where most accidents happen. The decision was made to keep the cage as it was, and put in new NASCAR style bars.
@Alarson11 As far as crash damages to the car, I hit the outside wall at the entry to the thunder valley straight at Mid-Ohio. I'm sure there were other incidents following my ownership.
@Alarson11 - Number on the front dash below the radio cut out is 1162643
@Alarson11 Thanks for your comments. Images have been uploaded.
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
There should be a number stamped on the dashboard right below where the radio hole is. Can you please post this picture ASAP? The front compartment chassis number looks to have been re-stamped, so the next way to verify this chassis is thru this knee wall production number or if you have documentation showing the tunnel #1290486 corresponds to this vin number? It may all be fine as this #1290486 seems to have been used on the log books in period, but seller will get the best result here if there are “no stories” and “no questions”.
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
Can you please share picture of the chassis number in the front compartment and also a picture of the knee wall production number on the front dash? I have not seen a chassis number stamped on the tunnel before? Is this a Karmann specific detail? Is there any paperwork that ties the #1290486 to the porsche vin 119120092? Can you share what crashes the car has been in and provide detail on damage to the car?
Thank you for the responses. Can you also post a picture of the chassis number in the front trunk, just behind the fuel cell on the passenger side?
@Seb25_ Hi Boostin - Just uploaded image of the chassis production number stamped in the car. # 1290486.
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
@Alarson11 Podium celebrations were for first place only back then. Added more photos to the gallery this morning. Only original purchase docs from when Orebaugh purchased the car. Thanks
@Boostin Oil tank- additional changes were made when my brother ran the car after Daytona 24 Hour in 1977. Oil cooler was added and tank was likely more forward. Coils were added in same period. We upgraded the cage for safety reasons and sanctioning organizations. The oil filler was on the car when I purchased it from Orebaugh. Look at the image of the car when it was white and number 11. Tub was pretty rough when we recovered it and I think we replaced the pans. Added more photos. Have to run down to the shop to get photo of the chassis production number. Will upload later. Trying to run down more original period photos.
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
Couple additional questions - did it run the oil tank in the current location in period? What about coils in period? Any particular reason the cage was redone? When was the 72 oil filler added and why? Thanks
Bid in the amount of $126,000
Can you please share an image of the chassis number and the underside of it as well? Will be difficult to access but an iPhone should be capable. Were the pans replaced as part of this restoration or previously? Were there any other original parts that came with the car or just the tub? What brakes did it run in period? I'd love to see any more period pictures that are available - interior, exterior, motor, underside, on track, etc. Thanks
Bid in the amount of $125,000
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
Additional content has been added to the gallery for this listing.
Can you please share chassis pics before and during the restoration? And can you share podium pictures from Daytona, Sebring and other races? And any additional documentation of the first purchase and most recent 2012 purchase by Charles Mendez?
Also, Charles is an exceptionally modest guy. He and Dave Cowart drove this car to class podium finishes at Daytona and Sebring. Charles later won Sebring outright in a 935. Dave went on to win 2 IMSO GTO championships and drove the Red Lobster March and the Red Lobster M1. Pretty cool stuff.
I co-own this car with Charles (full disclosure). I have the full race history (not sure how to post it), but it does include 7 starts at the 24 Hours of Daytona and 10 starts at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Overall, this car started 54 IMSA races; it also has good SCCA race history in the hands of its original owner (prior to Charles buying it). Also, the 3rd owner converted this car (after Charles owned it) to a Sportomatic; this is probably the most raced Sportomatic race car (pro races) ever. That owner, Ron Case, also visited the factory several times and received factory support to uprate the Sportomatic to handle the endurance races.
This car was entered and accepted at Velocity Intl events and the Monterey Pre & Reunion. It never ran, mostly due to COVID. As the organizers of these events require better and better "race history", a lot of lesser cars will be dropped from the ranks of accepted cars. I imagine this car would easily be accepted at next year's Rennsport Reunion.
Bid in the amount of $100,000
Thanks Steve, many great stories on the car but could only choose one. Thanks for keeping it alive over the years.
Charles, Good luck with the auction. I saw the car at Amelia and it looks great. If you remember I was one of those 'hand changers' over the years and it certainly looks better than when I had it. I'm glad you undertook the restoration even though I wanted to restore it back to the Ron Case 'sportomatic' configuration. This car probably has more miles at Sebring than any other car that has raced at Sebring
Steve
Welcome to our auction. What a thrill to reconnect with the car that took me on a wonderful racing adventure. The Morrison's Porsche has been restored with utmost care to the configuration as raced by David Cowart and myself at the Daytona 24 hour in 1976 finishing second in GTU Class and eleventh over all. The car is an absolute delight to drive and perfect for the aspiring or retiring racer. Perfect for track days, PCA HPDE, PCA Vintage, HSR, SVRA and with its long history why not take ride at Monterey and Rennsport. And while you are having fun on the track your investment should continue to appreciate. Thanks and hope other from you. Charles
Bid in the amount of $20,000
Wow!