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Phone: 831-430-9940 • See More race cars • Contact Us about this Car
1958 Porsche Speedster
Chassis No. 84450
Engine No. 68502
REQUIST A printable PDF document with Photos
The Iconic Porsche Speedster has always been the 356 that performance minded owners used for racing, autocrossing and high speed runs through the hills. This particular Speedster lives up to the name SPEEDster like no other. This car represents the best of the best, a 1958 model with period performance upgrades taking it to a level of performance not found on any other Concours level 356.
This is the Famous John Clever “barn find” Speedster
John was a fixture in the Porsche Club of America (PCA) Golden Gate Region from the 1960’s and was also part of the gang that hung around the most famous Porsche performance shop in the Bay Area, Garretson Enterprises. John was famous for his Rally and Autocross skills. In December of 1968 John found this car and began using it in club autocrosses and rallys. A roll bar had been installed in the car before John purchased it and he believed that it had probably been raced in SCCA events some time in it’s past.
Autocrossing in PCA in the 1960’s and 1970’s was extremely competitive with class wins decided by .001 of a second. In an attempt to stay on top, John began to modify the car with assistance from Bob Garretson and Bruce and Clark Anderson.
In 1971 the stock drum brakes were upgraded with late model 356 four wheel disc brakes. The suspension was also lowered and Koni shocks added. To stay within the stock category rules the engine was internally modified while retaining a completely stock external appearance. Aluminum fined 912 cylinders and 1600cc pistons were added to increase the compression ratio and improve cooling. An Elgin M7805-15 high performance cam was installed along with stronger 912 connecting rods. The heads were flowed and the intake valves de-shrouded. The stock Zenith 32NDX carburetors were modified to match the improved performance of the heads and cam. The tach was also upgraded to a 7000 RPM Carrera unit to match the high performance engine. Both the engine and transmission are believed to be original to the car.
In 1974 John parked the Speedster in his barn. The engine was pulled out and rebuilt but never put back in the car. One thing led to another and he never got around to getting the car back on the road. It only saw the light of day once in the late 1980’s at the Speedster Fest held in Hayward, California. John towed the car to the event and showed it complete with a thick layer of dust still on the car! The car had not been driven for over 15 years at that time.
John’s niece and her husband were very close and also sports car enthusiasts. He is a board member of the Sports Car Racing Association of Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP), which runs Laguan Seca raceway in Monterey. When John passed away the family decided that the best home that the old Speedster could have was with his niece. As soon as they pulled the car out of the barn, it was decided a full concours restoration was in order. The car was completely stripped down to the bare metal. Although in very solid condition it was still a 40+-year-old car, and it was decided to make it perfect. All metal work was done to a very high standard; the chassis was totally restored and refinished to factory specifications. Each mechanical component was checked and if found to be under spec was replaced. The body and interior were refinished in the correct factory color combination, ivory with black vinyl and tan carpets. The seats are upholstered exactly as the factory had done right down to the white piping. Extreme care was taken to “get it right” with all aspects of the car. The result is a near perfect Speedster totally restored with period upgrades that takes the performance to new levels.
The 1958 Speedster is the best of the series. It featured improved and stronger front suspension components, steering box and transmission as well cosmetic improvements to the bumpers and lights over previous models. The Speedster was also the lightest car in Porsche’s line up and as a result the cars were highly sought after for competition use.