Porsche in Atherton, CA.

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Peter Schueren
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Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#1 Post by Peter Schueren »

Friends,
my 1962 Coupe was delivered to someone in ATHERTON, CA. Name was Daniel Chapin.
Any idea what dealer in that region was nearest to Atherton in 1962 or (even better) who was Daniel Chapin....?


Anyone ever oome across my car in his early life????
Peter

119076 Kardex.jpg

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C J Murray
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#2 Post by C J Murray »

That is Northern CA but here is the list of Porsche dealers in CA around 1960 from a Book published by Porsche.
IMG_1528.jpeg
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Anderson Motors, San Jose?
'57 Speedster
'59 Sunroof
'60 Devin D Porsche Race Car
'63 Cabriolet "Norm"
'67 911 S Original Owner
'03 Ferrari 575M
'09 Smart Passion

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C J Murray
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#3 Post by C J Murray »

San Mateo?
'57 Speedster
'59 Sunroof
'60 Devin D Porsche Race Car
'63 Cabriolet "Norm"
'67 911 S Original Owner
'03 Ferrari 575M
'09 Smart Passion

Rick Wall
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#4 Post by Rick Wall »

Peter,
My 1962 coupe, built in October of 1961, was purchased new from Porsche Car Pacific, in Burlingame, California. Burlingame is just north of Atherton. Perhaps your car was purchased there also. I don't believe they are still in business.
Rick

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Wes Bender
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#5 Post by Wes Bender »

While one can assume that it would have been purchased by his closest dealer, that may not have been the case. Things were a little competitive among the various dealers or a car could have been sought out because of its options.
Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.....

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Peter Silten
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#6 Post by Peter Silten »

The subject heading caught my attention as I grew up in Atherton during the 60s (I was 10 when my family moved there), and moved back there several years ago. I recall a Porsche dealership in Palo Alto (Gus Mozart). I know there were many others in the SF Bay Area. I recall the names of Berkey-Lee (I knew a fellow who owned a 63 B that had the B-L license plate frames) and Neufeld. FWIW, the original sale of my 63 B, which I have owned since 72, was handled by Porsche Car Pacific, Burlingame, California (source: Kardex).

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Peter Schueren
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#7 Post by Peter Schueren »

What about the guy: Daniel Chapin ?

Anybody ever heard about him? Could be stll among us.
Peter

John Linden
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#8 Post by John Linden »

I note on your Kardex that the car was imported by Hoffman.

The importer in Northern California where Atherton CA is located was Porsche Cars Pacific which was owned by Reynold C Johnson who imported both Porsche and VW cars. I looked at some Google postings from the 356Registry which stated Porsche Cars Pacific was in business in 1959. I found another article about a 904 which said PCP was in business in 1954. I have no idea which is correct but both dates show PCP being in business prior to 1962.

For me, that raises the question of why the car was imported by Hoffman on the East Coast. Was there a West Coast Dealer involved??? Was the car even purchased on the West Coast? The Kardex states the owner lived in Atherton but with Hoffman doing the import, maybe the car wasn't purchased from a Northern California Dealer.

Could Hoffman import a car sold by a West Coast Dealer? Could a West Coast dealer sell a car for delivery somewhere on the East Coast? Sorry to be raising questions with no answers. Hopefully others know more of how the Porsche importing worked in the early 1960s. Maybe other guys have a Kardex with a Hoffman delivery to a West Coast owner that could shed light on why this would happen.

John Linden
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Al Zim
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#9 Post by Al Zim »

In 1962 I was 19 years old. I will be 81 next June. If you were in your 35's when you purchased a new 356 you would be 97 now. Us Kids were driving $50. cars.
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Peter Schueren
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#10 Post by Peter Schueren »

Al, yo are right. But there is a slight chance that someone here knew this person.
In 1962 I was sitting beside my uncle in his 356 Porsche. I was just nine... but it started something...
My first car was a Citroen Ami 6 with 20 Horses and two cylinders (it was in the $ 50 league)... the 356 came about 50 years later..
peter

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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#11 Post by Wes Bender »

Peter, there's a Daniel Chapin on LinkedIn that might be the one, although from his photo, it could be a son. He's in Santa Clara which is not far away from Atherton. Check this out:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dchapin

Oh, in 1962 I was recently married, 26 years old and was driving a '57 1600 Super with a roller-bearing crank (which I later replaced with a plain bearing one and rods). That's it in my avatar.
Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.....

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Peter Schueren
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#12 Post by Peter Schueren »

Wes,
thank you for the idea!!! I wrote him a mail. Maybe some familiy member was the owner.

Do you have picture from those days???
Would be fun to see.
peter

Larry Brooks
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#13 Post by Larry Brooks »

I noticed on the Kardex that the car was sold more than five months after it was built. Although it was a no-options car it was a red Super. I wonder why it took so long to sell? The kardex's I've seen for US delivery cars show they were usually sold within 30-45 days. Euro delivery cars were often sold within a week or two. I have seen couple were the car sold within a day or two of completion.

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Peter Schueren
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#14 Post by Peter Schueren »

Oh Larry, maybe it was troublesome in its youth too???
Last edited by Peter Schueren on Tue Nov 14, 2023 4:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Brian R Adams
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Re: Porsche in Atherton, CA.

#15 Post by Brian R Adams »

C J, interesting list there. I grew up in the small town (~12,000 population then) of Lewiston, Idaho, was 5 years old in 1960. Don't recall hearing about Porsches or seeing any in town before I left in 1973. The address in that listing, for Howard Wood Motors, is a suburban home about 6 blocks from the similar house I grew up in. Different times, still early times for Porsche in the USA.
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