Only 4 “Porsche 912” based patrol cars were built in the 1960s in Japan

The “New Year Classic Car Meeting in Kiyasse Hanyu” was held on January 8, 2023. The qualification for participation was cars produced between 1946 and 2000, and this year there were 170 cars entered. Among them, we would like to introduce a Porsche 912 with police car specifications that stood out.

A Porsche on the verge of being dismantled was saved by the man, who knew what it looked like in its earlier days

In the 1960s, Mizwa Motors, an authorized importer at the time, built only four police cars based on the Porsche 912. One of them was donated to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police in 1968 and was used for speeding on the Tomei Expressway, etc. In 1973, it was retired due to engine failure after 155,943 km. It was displayed in the lobby of the Police Academy for 26 years before being scrapped in 1999, along with three other vehicles (Kyoto, Aichi, and Shizuoka). Miraculously, however, it was saved and restored over the next 20 years.

The owner, Mr. Kurabayashi is a former police officer, and when he entered the police academy, he saw this car on display in the lobby. Therefore, he is very attached to this 912 and asked several times to sell it for preservation but was unable to get it. Eventually, his wish was granted, and it finally came into Mr. Kurabayashi’s possession, but the condition was bad.

“It was terrible,” he said. “There was a lot of rust, the gas tank was rotten, it smelled terrible, and the tires were crushed.”

Restoring the car bit by bit with his own hands

Mr. Kurabayashi decided to restore the police car he had purchased, but he wanted to do most of the work himself.

“I consulted a professional and he told me to polish the body with 3000 grit sandpaper. That’s how I remove the dirt, and then I apply the polisher. I use Bonstar’s items to remove rust on the plating, then I polish it.”

While repairing the body, he decided to collect parts that were missing from a police car. First, the front part of the red light had been replaced for display and the rear part was missing, so he purchased several of them from Yahoo auctions and other sources. After checking them against photos taken at the time, the fire department lights were installed. The wiring was rewired, and the microphone amplifier was rebuilt. The police meters were also rebuilt.

Future focus on dynamic preservation

Mr. Kurabayashi spent about 20 years restoring it. He asked a professional to work on the engine only, but when he tried to drive it, it was not in good condition. When he checked it out, he found that it was because the carburetor jets were for high-speed use, as it had been used for highway patrol.

The restoration was completed, but he said he would like to dismount the engine himself and fix the oil leak.