1972 Porsche 911S Targa: Preserved, Not Pristine 

I absolutely love unrestored survivor cars, but when they've deteriorated to the point that rust is eating holes in them, its time to do something.

I love how closed captions for these videos are saying "[Music]" when the engines are revving :)

Running, not Preserved. Preserved, not Pristine is one more up

I wonder if Mr. Drayson ever wondered about the irony of having a PhD in coastal geomorphology (a field which is largely about... erosion) and driving this elderly Targa, which is also in a state of ..... erosion. ;)

I love this!! You saved that car, even though purists say "It's rusty, and a wasted investment." You put your heart into that car and it I'll bet you smile every time you drive it.

There's a restored version of a '72 911s Targa on BaT right now. It would be awesome to have both the restored and original, unrestored versions of the same car parked in my garage. I also totally understand Alan (And others) when describing the feelings of/towards an unrestored car. I own my grandfather's unrestored yet immaculately kept "63 356SC. Although I think it's one of the nicest original models I've ever seen, it does have it's bumps and bruises. For instance, once when I was about 6 yrs old I was riding shotgun with my grandfather on a Saturday morning. We had stopped various places around our little town so my grandfather could do various errands, one of which was stopping at the package store so he could get beer for later in the day. The owner of the store always gave me a handful of bubble gum while we were there. Well even though I was supposed to wait until we got home to chew it, I snuck a piece in my mouth and of course my grandfather immediately said "I saw that, if you drop that on the carpets you'll be in big trouble !" (As if I could ever get in trouble with my grandpa!) Inevitably dropping it on the carpet is exactly what I did (it flew out of my mouth whilst trying to blow a bubble. ) I spent most of the rest of that morning digging the gum out of the carpet. The funny thing is that still to this day, over 35 years later, I still see the faint outline of where I dropped my gum on the floor mat. I often think "if I'd have restored this car, that little stain wouldn't be there. Neither would the slight dent on the engine lid where my grandpa hit a wayward golf shot into the parking lot, only to end up hitting his own car!" Yes, it's nice to see beautifully restored Porsche's but we also need to keep unrestored but mechanically sound Porsche's on the road as well. Thanks Petrolicious!

you get such good cars and locations, you should upload pics we can use as wallpapers in 4k resolution to your site, that would be great

The music is too loud compared to the narrator at times.

Love the video. But could you guys please turn down the music by 30-40% it was hard to hear all the words of the speaker clearly

What joy it's to see a car in that state sometimes for me it's not the rarity of a car or watch that make it special but the life it has lived. A lot of the time we forget that these things are tools and should be used and not overly protected

- Of course I rebuilt the engine and did all sorts of mechanical work, but I also said "well, I'm going to leave this rust eating the car and go on bragging about it being unrestored as if letting a classic car rot away proves how special it was and how much I loved it" - Wow what a cool story dude

Turn that music down

I love the patina, very unique on a Porsche!

These well done videos are driving up demand for these old 911's, which are through the roof as it is.

The older I get the more I like patina cars . Perhaps there is a phycological reason for this . Perhaps as I age I want people to appreciate my patina to see value in my scrapes and scars .

The good thing of keeping a car like this is that nothing bad can happen to it. You can use for whatever you want and don’t have to worry about scratches or dents or jealous people keying the whole side of it. It is great if you want to enjoy it.

FANTASTIC. Absolutely beautiful car. So nice to see it untouched. There’s enough people restoring the marque, but not enough giving us the patina of life. Thanks for sharing.. Gordon (Porsche 981).

The audio is a bit loud and hard to catch everything he’s saying but great video nonetheless!

That is the coolest old Porsche, it nice to see someone respect the car and what it has been through in life. I love a survivor!

but at least fix the rust? Sure, it looks much more interesting with the patina, but I have a feeling of leaving a sick person and not treat him with any medicine...

Petrolicious,, what you’re doing on this platform is simply brilliant beyond words! You revive in us the passion, the reason why we spend our hard earned cash on a depreciating piece of metal. I’m not a race car driver nor will I dear pretending to be anything else than just your average person. But I simply love driving my manual GT3. It will most likely never see a track day with me but it doesn’t matter because the sounds, the smell, the sensation it delivers the moment I crank its racing motor gets me out of bed every time at the crack of dawn simply to reconnect with my inner child.

He’s the only one that the car’s visual appearance has to appeal to and, because he could easily afford to, I love that he hasn’t. 👍🏼👍🏼😁 Thanks for sharing this with us.

These old Porsche cars are way better appealing than ANY new one!

Saw this in the flesh at bicester heritage show summer 2019 ....it is what it is , bags of character and its survived life .

Absolutely perfect! I love what you have done and not done with it. Thanks for sharing.

Love it, gives lots of food for thought on my current project. I guess it can always be restored, fake patina added but what's lost is lost. Fenders, whose seams have never been opened....Thanks.

These Petrolicious videos get me everytime. Everytime i want to check the ads for the car of the video. Keep up with this great work !

I had a 1971 911T Targa for a few years back in the late 90’s. Damn I regret selling that car still to this day 😖

Love that you kept it original

Lovely story. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Great looking ride, That windshield wiper in the rear window is very cool looking, just keep it up !

@Petrolicious : This just goes to prove you guys can take a rusted, old car with it's mirror taped on, and make people drool over it by the way you present it . Excellent videography. Art. Well done.👏👏

Rust never sleeps

“Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining”...fix that car!

Very cool, not often taken, road to Porsche enjoyment. Thx man.

Thanks for this. That first front view of the car at 0:40 made me LOL, in a good way.

I love this as an 'oily rag' restoration. You don't feel bad using it daily

One of my favorite Porsches is the targa in the movie The Big Chill. Beat up but beautiful.

As much as I love Porsche and a 1972 911 specifically is a dream car... really Petrolicious...another 911 video?

항상 마음에 준비를 하고 보는 페트롤리셔스! 항상 좋은 영상 감사합니다.

Wabi-Sabi. thank you for coming to Japan.

Music was poor on this. Also too loud. Levels were off with the voice. Car is cool! Will have to be restored someday though.

What a loverly human. Thanks for making this vid...

Although I prefer prístine cars, I like this one because of it’s story. Very nice vídeo.

From the moment I got somewhat involved in few immaculate restorations of old 911s, my dream 911 I would like to drive daily is mechanically sound visually neglected G modell Carrera 3.2 Motronic with G50 transmission. I love this car and the whole idea behind it.

I love junky Porsches, i have a junky 996 and to be honest it was so fun because you dont have to worry about messing it up when is is already dinged up.

I always dream with a barnfind like this! Its The ultimate connection with The history of The car, and way respectable compared to an over restoration! Beautiful! 👏💎🇧🇷

Funny and somehow nice as well to see the 911 in this condition. Usually it's the over-restored versions that my eyes are used to.

The roads would be a much more interesting place with cars like this running around.

I don't think enough people appreciate how freeing it is to have a car that you can just get in and drive somewhere without worrying about the paintwork, getting it dirty or putting miles on it. Liberating

IM SURE IT LOOKS VERY COOL ON THE ROAD, EVEN IN THAT CONDITION

This to me is like an old Rolex Chronograph, well oiled but with the great patina on it.

Wonderful story. Thanks for sharing

Great car and a great story. Thanks for sharing Alan.

A great story and the čar for its age is great.

This is pretty much my dream car - it’s perfect 👌

This is just the beauty of motoring

A fascinating idea it really is ; this car represents just something different I would absolutely drive such icon

Like Magnus said, there are no two identical Porsche cars. Every one is unique and has its own flavor.

Good video but as always the lame music drags it down. Let us hear the car and let us hear the speaker speak.

I agree that leaving a car's history all over it is much appreciated. when I've been to shows eg Hedingham it's the unrestored cars that everybody is pouring over, while the "perfect" cars leave people cold

Honestly, I love it, I always wanted a beater E type as well, so I guess I'm that kinda odd. I drive sports cars year round, and have since my first car. (A triumph spitfire.) At first it was due to being broke, and only being able to afford one car, now I do it because it reminds me of how fun the are.

Allowed to wear its scars. Beautiful.

Beautiful story

I absolutely get it...full marks for keeping it like this 😺

Nice , mechanically sound , 70s targa, proper 👍

It really hurts, my eyes and heart, watching this video!!! Patina is good.... Rust, not!!! :((( . It's simply not a conserved car, so that u say: I keep it as is! They rebuilt this and the rebuilt that... But the rust NO!! We can't touch that! :((( HIPSTERS BULLSHIT! Well, it's ok! They got the attention they needed.... U guys did this video.... It's over! Now save the poor car! PRETTY PLEASE

Please restore it. Rust is not patina. It's corrosion.

I can understand. I think its beautiful. I have my Porsche 88 S4 in good shape. But its the idiosyncrasies that make is special. The Blaupunkt radio Cassette doesn't play, and it has some quirks. However. smelling the 80s leather, the sound of the v8 and keeping it pure makes my time capsule special.

I love the patina on this car.

Great video. Love the car! Plenty of character! Can't wait to stop by Canford one day soon!

This car is a desaster! It need to be restored! Holy sh*t

Perfection, love it the way it is, just seeing this made my day! Thank you!!!

At Simply Porsche this year - star attraction.

This is sick on all the imaginable levels. :D

So you're gonna let it rust to the bone. Its torture for me to watch it decay but I respect your decision.

I guess if you have any number of pristine examples at your disposal to drive, I can see just leaving this one well alone. However, I like most others here don't have that luxury. PS, clearly the suspension has had some work as well. Infact, with the exception of the cosmetics, the whole car has been thoroughly gone through. What inquiring minds really want to know... What ridiculous ask was required to purchase this "old car"?

I am 20 and my first car is a car close to twice my age, a Ford Granada Mk2 from 82, I don't ever want to get rid of it and I want it restored to full and I want to work on it and get to know it. Very interesting old Porsche, I do hope you will restore the cosmetic parts if they start turning to dust so it won't disappear. Apart from that I see why you would want to keep it entirely original, again, I just hope you won't let it turn to dust from the bear rusted metal...

One of the best vids you’ve done ✅

wabi sabi!!!! in japanese, the beauty of imperfection.

Come on man.........really .

What a great video.

There are so many interesting stories to tell out there. And you chose THAT. Sad video, Petrolicious. Holden? Jensen? Daimler? Something about a forgotten racetrack maybe?

Steam cleaner is. A tool a restoration shop should have ... Use it then you have and as is condition . mould crude grime is not "COOL"

Great job 👍

Please get rid of the bad bits of rust and then you can leave it alone

god it sounds AMAZING

I love the work you do but I'm really struggling with this story, the bodywork condition is a shocker; it may have come from Japan but it looks like it was stored in a salt mine

I like the car, and I like the story. But I don't think I could leave it like that. Have to think that the rust is just going to get worse and worse, and once that metal is gone, you can't get it back. Cleaning it up and re-painting it would *preserve* what's left of it. Keep driving it in those moist climates and wet roads and that rust is just going to compound, imo.

Cool car! Love the video like always!👍👍

Was this car privately imported into Japan? It's left hand drive and Japan is like the UK being right hand drive! Love everything about this car. I agree with you about leaving it as is. Great sound too. Thank you.

If watching rust eat giant holes in a classic car is your thing, guess you found the right vehicle! Between UK weather conditions and the fact you're out driving this regularly, you might have a couple years left before this car completely disintegrates.

Reminds me of my 76targa I pulled from a barn last year

excellent - and beautiful

"Japanese Market Car" and Left hand Drive ? a little hard to believe - we need to Google that...

no different than the patina on your body....the patina on a car tells the story of life...

Well done

Love!! Cheers for those cars with soul!

man, they need to restore that fully/properly

Sounds awesome. Love it.