Browsing the internet, the dad of two from coastal Southern California had a choice to make, as he scrolled through Craigslist in search of what was to be his next daily driver.
The car had to be simple and reliable yet sporty. Michael Gideon, 34, a former competitive golfer-turned content creator, was no mechanic but he meant to overhaul a vintage sports car himself. His dream was to drive a Porsche everywhere—from trips to Trader Joe’s for groceries to camping with his family.
In July 2022, he found a 1968 Porsche 912 that perfectly fit the bill.
“It doesn’t matter if I go to the grocery store to get milk, or if I’m going to see a friend who lives 65 miles away, or I’m going camping, or whatever I’m doing—I would much rather drive a vintage Porsche,” he told The Epoch Times.
“It’s such an iconic-looking car,” he said. “I was just reading about how reliable they are and how simple they are, pretty much. It just was everything I was kind of looking for.”
Compared to the legendary 6-cylinder Porsche 911, the smaller 4-cylinder 912 is less powerful, more utilitarian, and far lighter. The robust, sporty Porsche 911 is often billed as the 912’s big brother.
Mr. Gideon found out that the car’s former owner had died in his 70s. His name was Duffy and the Porsche 912 had been his daily driver—it was also his racecar used in light competitions. The suspension had been lowered and there were racing seatbelts installed. This had been an aficionado’s object of affection.
Duffy had loved and taken excellent care of this Porsche, it was plain to see. All its original parts and paint survive, and there is no rust. This was a rare jewel indeed.
As the Porsche hadn’t been driven since around 1980, it had issues, however. It had gathered dust in the garage for decades before eventually being inherited by Duffy’s grandson. It was then moved outside while work was done on Duffy’s house, and the Porsche was left to bake in the California sun, garnering it a distinct patina. It wasn’t maintained, and the engine hadn’t started in over forty years.
Yet, despite all this, Mr. Gideon saw huge potential in the sporty little ’68 Porsche 912.
“To find in these early Porsches a car that’s really dry that hasn’t rusted out, and also a car that has original paint, is very, very difficult,” he said. “It sure looked original to me.”
It instilled confidence in him to know that Porsches are, at their core, heartily built racecars. Porsche engines are overengineered to perform in 24-hour endurance races. Their older design also meant they were simpler, making them easier to work on and maintain.
But he also knew the challenges he would face in making this Porsche roadworthy again. Mr. Gideon disassembled every mechanical part on the car—from the brakes, to steering, to suspension—to make it like-new and safe. As the engine wouldn’t start, he had it entirely rebuilt, taking several months to complete (in the end, he learned, only a faulty flywheel was to blame for the original engine’s woes and simply needed replacing).
In all, it took about a year and a half, but in early September 2023, the ’68 Porsche 912 fired up again.
“I brought this car back to life, and I’ve never done that with a car before,” Mr. Gideon said.
However, the real test for his daily driver still lay ahead. How would it fare on its first road test?
On the first day of driving, there were only a few mechanical hiccups that were quickly ironed out. On the second day, though, the Porsche broke down in the middle of a desert canyon, leaving Mr. Gideon stranded where there was no phone reception.
After hitching a ride and getting a tow truck to haul his car back to the shop, however, things were soon back on track.
The Porsche “just had a wiring issue that killed my battery,” he said, adding that the electrical problems have now been sorted; the car has been driving smoothly for the past four months, crossing thousands of miles on road trips.
He added that the experience of driving it has been “more fun than I thought it would be,” exceeding all expectations.
“Even though it has a smaller engine, the car is really lightweight. It’s got this big, giant steering wheel,” he said, adding that Porsches are made for handing tight turns on the racetrack. “It feels like you’re driving a really refined, small little tractor.”
The Porsche 912 is now Mr. Gideon’s daily driver, as it was Duffy’s before him. Now, on having realized his dream of driving a vintage Porsche everywhere, Mr. Gideon says he gets “lots of thumbs up when driving.”
But most importantly, perhaps, the iconic leisure car has proven safe for taking his wife and 4-year-old daughter along on future journeys (he informed us that their son is still too small to ride along).
“I’ve taken my daughter camping,” the dad said. “Just a tent in the front trunk and our camping gear. We both love it. Many more trips in the future.”
