Sadly, 1970 wasn’t the year for Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. After taking pole, a drop in oil pressure on the 22nd lap forced the Porsche 908/3 they shared out of contention. But damn if they didn’t look good doing it.

Yes, I do want to cuddle a 917. No, I’m not ashamed of that. Previously. Also this.

The late 60′s were a fascinating time for racing. I think I’m most drawn to the era because—for better or for worse—it was such a transformative period. Perhaps nowhere was this more true than in Porsche’s Le Mans pits. We were, after all, on the verge of a ridiculous procession of Porsche Le Mans wins throughout the 70′s and 80′s.

But look at this photo from the Porsche garages in 1969. The boys from Stuttgart had their hands full with the early 917s and the holdout 908s. These were state-of-the-art machines from a racing workshop that was starting to share more with the aviation industry of the time than the auto industry.

But look at these tools! My grandfather’s mower repair shop was better equipped than this. No pneumatics. No carefully sorted trays of perfectly polished stainless. There’s no apparent sorting of the wrenches by size. Hell, the sockets are just laying out! It’s just a pile of mismatched tools on an old plank of wood.

It’s part of why I love this transitional time so much. In many ways, it was old dogs with new tricks. Fresh technology and traditional skills. New engineering by old shop-hands. I’m sure, like always, I’m romanticizing things too much but this image strikes such a chord with me about the era. And it doesn’t even have a car in it.

Also, what I wouldn’t do for one of these jackets.

Clothing entrepreneur and car guy par excellence Magnus Walker has the early Porsche 911 bug. Bad. Real Bad. Thankfully, he’s created a pair of threads on the Early 911S Registry and on Pelican Parts as a sort of support group for the rest of us afflicted with this dreaded obsession to help him through it. If you’re a fan of early 911s—and why wouldn’t you be?—head on over to both threads and marvel in the glory.

When I started The Chicane, it was mainly as an outlet for all of the vintage racing research I was doing. A way to do something productive with all the hours I’d spend Googling obscure racing drivers or collecting images of favorite racing machines. What I didn’t count on, though, was how much I would enjoy the commentary and conversations that arise in the comments section of many of the posts. I’m consistently delighted when a post will prompt someone who raced in the discussed event; or owned the discussed car; or had photos from a discussed race meeting; will comment on a post and takes the conversation in a new, thrilling direction.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about a set of photos that reader Brian Goldman sent in of the Put-in-Bay races. The comments, though, are why I love the post. Several of the racers checked in or enquired about particular cars. One of whom, Edward Eichenlaub, was looking for any photos that might include his own winning run at that event. Only a short time later, Manley Ford delivered—emailing me the photo you see above of Ed’s victory.

When I see Chicane readers connecting and fueling each other’s love for vintage racing, I… I don’t know how to describe it… It just makes it all seem so much more worth doing. Thank you all for that.

We don’t often think of the rallying successes of the Porsche 356. Maybe we should reconsider the little beauty’s abilities off the tarmac. After all, if scores (hundreds?) of Beetles can run the Baja, then certainly its cousin can, and did, hold her own.

Speaking of Rennsport Reunion IV…

Porsche Rennsport Reunion IV. After this weekend I’ve learned that no other manufacturer has earned more endurance racing victories than Porsche. Was this new knowledge? Not really. I like Ferraris and Alfas (had a 1974 Alfetta GTV) but I love Porsches. Nothing could prepare me for what we were about to witness. Being in the midst of the legendary winning vehicles and their legendary drivers was total nirvana.

We rolled up Saturday at Mazda Raceway at 7am and directed to the 993 section of the Porsche corral. There were a few cars there already but pretty empty that early. Foggy and cold we slowly made our way to the track. Vendor stalls started opening as we walked past. Once across the bridge and past a few more stalls, through the fog there they were. 935 Moby Dick and the amazing RSR in front of the Porsche Paddock on the asphalt. No ropes, no “do not touch” signs, just sitting there for anyone to touch, which I did. These and 54 other of Porsches finest steeds came directly from the Porsche museum in Stuttgart. That museum must have looked very empty during the week.

Could it possibly get any better than this? Hell yes it could. Just walking past the Brumos staging area nearly gave me an aneurysm. Hurley Hayward’s Daytona winning 914-6 was sitting there. At Canepa’s, multiple 917′s in Gulf livery. In the pit paddock, racing Porsches from every era, all in chronological order! In the “tent” there must’ve been no less than 8 550s a 356 Abarth Carrera, with Carrera Panamerica livery, a Martini 917, and a lot more I’ve leaving out. It was like walking into the history books of Porsche racing. Shortly after checking my pulse to see if I was really alive still or not, we discovered the Porsche Corkscrew shuttle. Porsche set up a free shuttle service with brand new Cayennes to the Corkscrew. Nice marketing.

At the Corkscrew the fog started rolling in. I feared they’d delay first practice session. I was wrong. First thing we saw was flashing lights of the pace car (Panamera Turbo) leading the group, and then the sound. The sound of wailing 4 Cam Carrera motors bombing down turn 7 and up throttling in before turn 8. RSK, RS60s, Abarth Carrera, Speedsters. I couldn’t talk at this point even if I tried. Next up Eifel Trophy: 908, 904, 914-6s, 911s. One car I did recognize in this group was Hurley Haywood’s Daytona winning 914-6, only to learn later who was driving this car. Hurley Haywood!

Now next group is really what I came to see. The Weissach Cup cars. I could nearly feel tears swelling up in my eyes hearing the flat 12s of the 917s, followed by 910s, and 906s screaming down the screw, spitting fire on the overrun. Oh look, there goes Brian Redman in the Gulf 908. Hi Jeff Zwart, I sure like that 906 you’re driving. It was that surreal to me. Still is.

I could go on and on about which cars we saw and which drivers I talked to, but the auto rags have done a much better summary than I possibly could. The most important thing I came away with from this event is Porsche has endurance racing DNA in spades. Nothing even comes close. My first memory of a Porsche was in 1976. I was six. We bought our first Mercedes that year. A 1976 240D. Mustard yellow. Slow as molasses, tough as iron. Next door was a Porsche dealership. I asked my parents, ‘why can’t we get one of those?’ ‘Because mom can’t drive stick’ was my dad’s answer. Super. So after years of growing up with Benzs, I still coveted Porsches. I still covet aircooled 911s and 33 years later I now have my first one. Rennsport Reunion confirmed I made the right decision. DNA really is everything in racing.

Thanks again for sending this in Steven. See more of Steven and Heather’s photos from the Reunion here.