Terry’s Porsche – The journey of a 911 T from Zuffenhausen to the USA and back

In 1973, Terrance “Terry” Pickett picked up his new Porsche in Zuffenhausen. In one month, he drove almost 4,000 miles through Europe and then took it with him to America. Five decades later, this patinated, original 911 T still tells its story – in photos, invoices, handwritten notes and every trace of the life it lived.

Today, the Porsche is back in Europe. Since 2022, Robin Vogl and his team from BoxerKult have been accompanying the second European life of this 911 T as a mechanical preservationist. What was necessary and sensible was done. What was allowed to stay, stayed. Together with Robin, I was able to reconstruct the unique history of this very special vehicle.

A Porsche 911 with its own archive

The history of many a 911 can be summarized in a few more or less boring data points: Year of manufacture, color, engine, mileage, maybe a few invoices. But then there are cars like Terry’s 1973 911 T. Its history is not based on legends, but on patina and lots of historical documents. This 911 looks like a driving extract from a very personal archive: yellowed photos, stamps, service books, bank receipts, handwritten notes, freight documents and the original on-board folder – all decades old, all preserved, all part of the same life.

The first visible moment of this story takes place in Zuffenhausen. Old photos show a sea-blue Porsche 911 in a hall, with Terrance B. Pickett, known as Terry, and a Porsche employee standing next to it. It is June 1973 and Terry is taking delivery of his new 911 T – presumably as part of the so-called Tourist Delivery. At Porsche, this stood for a factory collection including vacation in Germany and subsequent shipment to the buyer’s home country.

Terry obviously made the most of this opportunity. Eight days after delivery, the first Porsche invoice already shows 523 miles. The 1,000-km inspection in Zuffenhausen costs DM 193.97. One month after delivery, when the car was exported via Emden on July 18, 1973, it already had 3,967 miles on the clock.

Almost 4,000 miles before America begins

Its documents do not reveal what exactly happened during these four weeks. But perhaps this small gap is the best part of the story. Almost 4,000 miles in a new Porsche 911, somewhere between Zuffenhausen, Alpine passes, Black Forest roads, Autobahn stages and the road to the North Sea port. Covering around 200 kilometers a day, Terrance got to know his Porsche and Europe in the same breath. He drove it in, traveled with it, made Europe the first chapter of a car life that would later lead back to Germany via the USA’s west coast and Austria.

Hard to imagine from today’s perspective: a customer buys a new 911 Carrera, takes several weeks vacation, picks it up in Zuffenhausen, explores Europe and then has the car shipped home. Terry Pickett did just that in 1973. And because he kept the documents, because invoices, notes, photos and receipts remained together for decades, this journey can still be traced with astonishing precision today.

Patina instead of perfection

At the beginning of the seventies, the 911 T, or T/K because of the K-Jetronic, was not the glamorous top model of the series. It was clearly overshadowed by the E and S models, but was the more accessible 911 thanks to its price, which was up to DM 5,000 lower. This is precisely why many 911 T/Ks were used for decades, modified, worn out, restored at some point or simply neglected. Good, original examples with a traceable history have become correspondingly rare today.

Terry’s 911 T is one of those rare examples that are exceptionally hard to find on the market. It is not a perfectly restored exhibit that has traded its history for a flawless appearance. But it is also not a project with an uncertain future. Terry’s 911 is an original survivor that has been meticulously maintained. Its documentation almost pedantically documents when, where and why work was carried out on it.

This makes it collectible without taking away its character as a driver’s car. On the contrary: precisely because it has not been over-restored, it is inviting. Small scratches do not need to be explained or hidden. They are part of the car – like scars that are not distracting, but tell of a life lived. At the same time, the work carried out in recent years ensures that this 911 not only functions as a contemporary witness, but also on the road.

The 911 was Terry’s faithful companion on the west coast

After its long journey through Europe, the long American chapter began for the 911. The route can be reconstructed exactly from the papers: It led via Emden in Friesland to Vancouver in the state of Washington. The Porsche was imported on August 22, 1973. There, in the northwest of the USA, it spent most of its life to date. For more than three decades, it was Terry’s daily companion.

In neighboring Portland, Oregon, Terry had most of the work done by a specialist. He kept the small handwritten notes to his mechanic with instructions and details of upcoming work, as well as the corresponding invoices. Other side traces in the archive are the collected paddock passes from the SCCA races in Portland. Terry drove there every year – in the 911, of course.

This creates a picture that goes far beyond classic vehicle history. An oil change here, an engine adjustment there, later fuel lines, warm-up regulator, chain tensioner, fan motor, radio or light switch. These typical traces of a real car’s life show how important this Porsche really was to Terry. Sometimes it’s about maintenance, sometimes about small worries, sometimes about improvements. Everything is documented down to the last detail – handwritten, with invoices, via a checkbook entry and not as a digital maintenance record in the manufacturer’s system.

Terry wrote in when his 911 had issues

These small, handwritten notes also make you feel particularly close to Terry. They are addressed to Nick from Performance Unlimited in Portland and show an owner listening to his car. Terry wrote down what he noticed: the clutch needed adjusting, the clock or windshield washer didn’t work, the needle on the tachometer fluctuated below 3,000 rpm. At one point, he asked mechanic Nick if the brakes were a little too weak – or if he was perhaps expecting too much.

Elsewhere he describes hot start problems. After warm running and a short idle time, the 911 starts only reluctantly. When it does start, it initially runs rough, as if not all six cylinders were immediately awake. After a couple minutes, the engine calms down again. It is not a dramatic moment, rather one of those everyday technical stories that everyone who really drives an old car knows. In the overall context, however, they are a harbinger of what was to happen a few years later.

I ran two tanks of gas mixed with fuel additive in hope of cleaning the jets and I don’t believe I notice any improvement. I do have alternative transportation so take what time you need to fix the problem.

Terry Pickett in a handwritten note to mechanic Nick

For a layman, these notes may only be side notes. But they give an insight into the relationship between Terry and his Porsche – a car that has itself become a historical relic. An invoice documents a job. But these notes tell us why it was necessary, how attentive Terry was to his 911 and how important the car was to him.

Porsche 911 T

1973

Show listing

The engine is opened at 88,893 miles

In 1987, many small workshop notes become a larger chapter. At this point, the 911 had already covered almost 90,000 miles, a good 140,000 kilometers. Terry no longer drives his Porsche quite as much as he did in the early eighties. But after several attempts to get the hot start problems under control, an engine overhaul was finally scheduled for May 19, 1987.

The listed spare parts make it easy to understand the open-heart surgery on the 911. Among other things, timing chains, exhaust valves and valve stem seals are replaced. This is not a cosmetic measure, but classic mechanical maintenance at the right time. Cylinders, pistons or connecting rods do not appear on the invoice. Terry didn’t wait too long. This story can probably be interpreted as follows: This Porsche remained in such good condition not because it was spared, but because Terrance drove it – and, if necessary, had it repaired.

Even after the engine overhaul, the documentation remained tight. Further invoices, service entries and minor work accompanied the car through the late 1980s, the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Only then does the American chapter end. After four decades with Terry, the 911 found its way back to Europe in 2013 – as a seasoned classic car with an American biography and a large folder full of history. It was then allowed to enjoy a few years of early retirement in Austria as part of a collection.

BoxerKult prepares Terry’s 911 for its second European chapter

In 2020, the current owner bought the Porsche and registered it in Germany for the first time. After the Tourist Delivery, the long life on the American West Coast and the time in Austria, this marked the start of another chapter. For Robin Vogl and his team at BoxerKult, the task was clear: the special condition of the 911 T was to be preserved, but the car was to be technically restored to a level that would do justice to its history.

I picked up the 911 personally in Klagenfurt and drove over Austrian passes, with a stopover at my family’s home in Gmunden, all the way to Willich. After this long tour, we knew exactly where the car was – and were able to start repairing and optimizing it.

Robin Vogl, BoxerKult

In a way, BoxerKult took on the role that Performance Unlimited used to play in Portland: not as a mere workshop address, but as a technical companion for an exceptionally well-documented car. Between 2021 and 2024, much was done that was necessary and sensible after a long service life, age and use. The chain cases on the engine were resealed, the K-Jetronic with flow divider and warm-up regulator overhauled, the intake manifold and throttle linkage refurbished and a major service including valve clearance adjustment carried out.

Conscientious work was also carried out on the brakes, chassis, interior and drive. The brake callipers were overhauled, discs and pads replaced, new Pirelli P6000 tires fitted, seats upholstered and fitted with new spring baskets. This was followed by a complete gearbox overhaul, a new clutch pack with release bearing, a new flywheel and optimization of the suspension using a KW V3 coilover suspension. The result is not a rebuilt 911, but an old Porsche that once again drives the way Terry would probably have appreciated.

Terry’s spirit is still with us today

Despite all the documentation, there is one detail about this 911 that seems almost more personal than the handwritten notes: a small plaque with the Porsche crest and the inscription “Terry Pickett”, which the first owner once had made, still sits on the glove box. It has no function, is not an official Porsche part and of course does not change the mathematical value of the car. But it does have great emotional and historical significance.

Thanks to this plaque, a little reminder of Terry is always visible. It is the trace of the man who picked up this car in Zuffenhausen in 1973, drove it through Europe, took it to America and accompanied it for decades. At the same time, it reminds us to continue driving, honoring and caring for this 911 T in the future, just as its first owner would have done.

A 911 T that is allowed to travel again

Today, Terry’s Porsche stands for something that would be described as “endangered” in the animal kingdom. It is worth collecting because its history is exceptionally well documented. At the same time, it is not a car that you would rather lock away in an air-conditioned hall because of its value. It is too honest, too mechanically sound and too much of a driver’s car for that.

For us, this 911 is the perfect optimized time capsule from the seventies: authentic in character, but with handling that is much more modern and precise thanks to the KW V3, overhauled transmission and Bott Short Shifter.

Robin Vogl, BoxerKult

This is precisely what makes it so appealing. Anyone looking for a perfectly restored F-model will always find suitable offers on the market. The same goes for anyone looking for a restoration project. But an originally preserved 911 T with a history of tourist delivery, almost 4,000 documented miles before the first shipment, four decades with one owner in the USA, handwritten notes, SCCA paddock passes, a complete maintenance history and careful technical refurbishment in Europe – that is in a different category.

Perhaps it would therefore only be logical for this 911 to travel once again. Back to the country where it has spent most of its life to date. Not as a return home in the traditional sense – after all, it was born in Zuffenhausen. But as a continuation of a biography that has always been characterized by movement: Europe, America, Austria, Germany. And perhaps one day the West Coast again.

© Pictures: BoxerKult