1967 Porsche 911S Lido Gold (Totally documented unrestored example) SOLD

Love Affair With Lido

Our Lido Gold 1967 911S is the best love story/car story we’ve ever heard. The original owner has a great tale about ordering, buying, and caring for this special 911S. The only way this car could have survived is the love story; the fact that it’s sitting here is the story of the man and his car.

Jerry Sturm is a car guy’s-car guy. He was living in San Diego, CA, in the mid 1960’s. Enjoying his 1963 Corvette drenched in the southern California sunshine, he occasionally showed off his driving skills at local autocrosses. In the fall of 1966 Porsche was a-buzz with the all-new sport model of the 911 called the “S” model. Jerry knew he was going to need to save every dime he could to afford one so selling the Corvette had to be a good start. The next step was ordering the car.

Jerry became aware that if he ordered it through a dealer in The Netherlands and then had it shipped to the U.S., he could save even more. Transol Car Sales placed his order on November 15th, 1966, after Jerry did a lot of soul searching on just how he wanted it. The outside color was the first big decision. Dark colors are hard to keep clean and maintain in the glaring southern California sunshine. A lighter color seemed to be his only choice and those were thin pickings indeed. Light Ivory and Sand Beige were no-charge colors (and very popular for that reason). Medium Ivory, Champagne Yellow, and Lido Gold were less so, being a $100 option. Jerry liked the Lido Gold for the reason it had a green tint so it wasn’t white like many others. The next few options were much easier to select. Tinted glass and an outside rear view mirror finished off the exterior. The interior needed only a wooden steering wheel, luggage straps and a Blaupunkt Bremen (Am/Fm) radio. Then he turned his attention to performance options. The Limited Slip differential took care of any performance demands, so the order was placed.

Good News by Telex

January 26th of 1967 was an exciting day for Jerry. A telex arrived stating his 911S was being loaded and shipped. The arrival date was 5 weeks later in Los Angeles, for March 2, 1967. And so, in early March of 1967 the love affair began. The first year of dating Jerry drove his 911S everyday and he used her for autocrosses when his spare time allowed.

The next year Jerry moved her to the garage, essentially placing her on a pedestal. He and she emerged on weekends and they occasionally did an autocross together, or a Drivers Education session (the closest thing there is to a Prom for a 911). Over the years he gave her some upgrades – replacing the 4.5-inch wheels with 6s, and increasing the diameter of her sway bars. And the love affair continued. A doctor’s visit in 1971 (to the experts at San Diego Speedo-Tach) revealed she hadn’t covered as many miles as he thought when they told him the speedometer was running 5 mph higher than actual. (That diagnosis is still in the glove box.)

Jerry was a mechanical engineer by trade and he enjoyed working on the 911 himself. Early on, one of the Nadella drive shafts failed so he replaced both with lightweight ones like a friend was running on his 906. In the mid 70’s he broke a camshaft with about 45,000 miles on the car, so he rebuilt the engine himself with the help of a few friends. They paid special attention to the heads and internals so she could breath better. Cosmetic surgery was never necessary for anything more than a little Botox on the driver’s door and rear deck lid. These took take care of the few wrinkles, with the rest of her remaining beautiful and aging gracefully.

The Love of a Lifetime

After well over 45 years the love of a lifetime doesn’t ever really end. But sometimes it becomes prudent to pass it on to the next caretaker. Jerry never wanted to see his Lido go, but she needed to be taken out on the town once in a while to see her light up and sparkle.

This may be your only chance to own and cherish a one-of-a-kind 1967 911S in a special color. She is expensive and she is absolutely worth it, and she’s thoroughly documented.