Orange 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Emerges After 50 Years in One Owner’s Hands

A 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS with a documented racing record and an unusually long single-owner history is coming to market for the first time in decades, carrying a presale estimate of $1.8 million to $2.2 million.

Chassis 904-043 rolled out of the factory on March 6, 1964, finished in orange over blue velour — a combination almost nobody ordered. Of the 107 production 904s built, just three left the factory in orange, and the other two went to buyers in the Netherlands. This one went to Florida, delivered through Brumos, the Jacksonville dealership that would become synonymous with Porsche racing in America.

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Its first owner was Jack Ryan of RBM Motors, a Volkswagen dealer in Griffin, Georgia, who bought the car with help from Brumos associate and amateur racer Bill Bencker. The two had wanted a 904 in hand for the 1964 Daytona Continental, but their allocated car went to a European customer instead. When 904-043 became available, it was flown into Atlanta and trailered to Jacksonville only days before making its competition debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

That first outing was rough. Wearing No. 39, the car took front-end damage early and later lost a rod bearing, though Ryan and Bencker covered enough distance to be classified 31st overall. Ryan kept campaigning it through the year in SCCA and USRRC events across the Southeast, finishing fourth overall in SCCA E-Modified and closing the season with class wins at Bahamas Speed Week.

The 1965 season brought better results. Ryan added powerboat champion and hill climb specialist Ted Tidwell to the lineup, and the trio took ninth overall and third in class at the Daytona Continental against Cobra Daytona Coupes and Ferrari 250 GTOs. A return to Sebring, this time with flared front fenders and magnesium rear wheels, produced a 28th-place finish.

Ryan advertised the car in 1966 for $7,500. It passed through several hands, losing its original four-cam engine along the way to a 911 T unit, before ophthalmologist David Stinchcomb bought it in January 1973 and drove it 1,200 miles from Chicago home to Albuquerque, New Mexico. He wrote about the trip for Porsche Panorama the following year, describing the car’s reliability and its unmatched purity of line.

Stinchcomb kept it for more than 50 years, repainting it silver and showing it regularly at Porsche Club events. At one gathering, he met the owner of the car’s original engine, and an agreement was struck to reunite the surviving pieces. The case, cylinder heads and crankshaft accompany the car today, along with its matching-numbers transaxle, chassis tag and data plate.

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Images Via: Goodingco