Article by Eugene Gouws
Brief History
MANUFACTURED JANUARY 1958
Chassis number: P84407
Engine number: P610222
Original registration: TJ 59530
Original owner: Lindsay Motors, Dr Kaye
Used by Eric Hump. 1958 to 1961
Subsequent owners:
Alois Klesse. 1961 to 1964
Jan Els. 1964 to 1969
Taken off the road.
Shaffer. 1969 to 1970
Philip van Dijkhorst. 1970 to 1974
Willie Springhorn. 1974 to 1993
Eugene Gouws. Under restoration. 1993 to 2007
On the road
Eugene Gouws. 2007 to ???
All Speedsters
Model
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Number Made
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Model
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Num,ber Made
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356 PRE A
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1900
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356A
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2922
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Remaining RHD Speedsters
South Africa | Australia | United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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RHD Speedsters in South Africa
Owner
|
Chassis Number
|
Status
|
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1
|
Gouws
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84407
|
Running |
2
|
VD Walt
|
84434
|
Running |
3
|
Langeveld
|
Running | |
4
|
Langeveld
|
Damaged in fire | |
5
|
Lindsey
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84500
|
Running |
6
|
Smith
|
84678
|
Running |
7
|
Assad
|
84701
|
Almost Running |
8
|
Blacher
|
84885
|
Running |
9
|
Stevenson
|
84886
|
Running |
10
|
Dorfer
|
84498
|
Restoration |
11
|
Brews
|
Running |
Birth Certificate
Certificate, early service history and chassis plate proving authenticity
1958 to 1961
Porsche P84407 was imported by Lindsay Motors and registered in the name of Dr Kaye.
Eric Hump, the Porsche representative in South Africa, used it as his personal car.
The car was fitted with a 1495cc four-cam motor and entered in various races during this period.
The most notable achievement was overall winner of the inaugural 9-hour race held at the Grand Central track at Halfway House.
Car No
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Year
|
Race
|
Drivers
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Position
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8
|
1958
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1st South African 9-Hour Endurance Race
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Fraser-Jones / Fergusson
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1st
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14
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1960
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3rd Rand Daily Mail 9-Hour Endurance Race
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Fraser-Jones / Fergusson
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4th
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9-Hour Grand Central
Thirty eight cars started. Cars included Ferrari, Austin Healey, Triumph, Mercedes 190ML . MGA, Alfa, Volvo, Peugeot, Lancia, Saab, Prefect, Anglia, Renault and Jaguar XK 120. Ferrari led for the first three laps and was then overtaken by Porsche P84407. The Ferrari passed away in the 6th hour. Porsche P84407 driven by Fraser-Jones and Fergusson went on to win on distance covering 560,42 miles. The second place car, an Austin Healey driven by Love and Pfaff, was 16 miles behind. The Porsche also came second in the Index of Performance classification, beaten by an Alfa T.I.
9-Hour Grand Central
1961 to 1964
Porsche P84407 was purchased by Alois Klesse who entered the car in various races in Rhodesia, Moçambique and South Africa. The car was damaged in an accident in Belfast returning from a 4-hour endurance race held in Lourenço Marques.
1964 to 1993
Porsche P84407 was purchased from Alois Klesse by Jan Els. The car was repaired and was subsequently entered in the hill climbs at Lourenço Marques and Krugersdorp.
In 1969, Porsche P84407 was involved in an accident at Mooi River in Natal whilst towing an Alfa that broke down. The accident occurred when the driver of the Alfa left the road and plummeted down a ravine. During this episode, the tow-rope broke, the Porsche overturned and skidded bottom-up on the tarred road. The car was extensively damaged and had to be taken to Pretoria on a trailer.
The car then had various owners, each starting but not finishing restoration.
1969 to 1970: Shaffer
1970 to 1974: Philip van Dijkhorst
1974 to 1993: Willie Springhorn.
1993 to 2009
Porsche P84407 was purchase in 1993 from an amount of R100 000 by Eugene Gouws. The car was in boxes, but most parts present.
Restoration commenced in 1993, consecutively by two outfits that will remain nameless for fear of slander and too many swear words: The car was taken from the first after too many cracks appearing in the floor of the body shop, suspectedly from the weight of the lead and body filler. It was taken from the second because op a lack of progress.
Restoration
In 2004, Porsche P84407 was taken to Carrera Motors who undertook the final restoration.
Restoration – Carrera Motors
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Restoration Racing History
During restoration, the racing past of Porsche P84407 became evident. Alois Klesse was involved with the preparation of the car for the inaugural 9-hours in 1958. He confirmed that various modifications were necessary to accommodate the 4-cam motor that was used when racing.
These included:
Cutting of the louvers in the engine lid to improve ventilation;
Installing an additional fuel pump behind the floor board on the passenger side;
Cutting holes in the engine bay to accommodate the oil cooler and pipes;
Installing the two switches to isolate each of the sets of spark plus of the 4-cam motor.
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Concourse 2007 / 2008
Speedster Prices
Prices of 356 Speedsters have risen on average 30% per year with the biggest rise between 2004 and 2009 when prices increased by between 40% and 44% annually
The prices of right hand drive 356 Speedsters are on average about 22% higher than the equivalent left hand drive cars.
Porsche 356 (Cars-on-the-Square)
Porsche 356 (Cherry Festival & Cars-on-the-track)
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Porsche 356 Run To CASA DO SOL 2008
Porsche 356 (CASA DO SOL)
The listing “Remaining RHD Speedsters” at the top of the article is very incomplete.
The publication: “Porsche Speedster Type540” lists the Chassis Numbers of x36 RHD Speedsters made in the Porsche factory.
The original Australian Porsche 356 Register, a register within the Porsche Club of NSW, had eleven RHD Speedsters listed and sighted in 1982. One of these was in Brisbane and another in Canberra – the other nine were located in NSW.
At that time, the consensus was that there would have been more RHD Speedsters located in Melbourne/Victoria than in Sydney/NSW.
Number 6 above is “SMIT” not “SMITH” and the Kardex is 84687 not 84678, regards otherwise great article!
Speedster 84892 is in Melbourne and owned by me- Ross Copeland
QUery, not sure if “replica” is a slanderous term in the Porsche community, but does anyone know much about the Envemo Porsche replicas built in Brazil?
Regards,
Carl
See http://www.envemo.com – about the Envemo Super 90 the best replica ever.