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But Marzouca saw something different — potential.
After countless failed attempts by others to buy it, he finally approached the owner at the perfect moment.
“I got lucky and asked on the right day,” Marzouca told CarScoops.
That one conversation turned into one of the most remarkable car rescues of the decade.
When the crew began towing the Porsche out of its forest grave, what emerged shocked everyone. Beneath decades of squirrel nests, pine cones, and rotting foliage was a remarkably complete 911 Targa — a model that’s skyrocketed in value in recent years.
And this wasn’t just any Targa. This one had a paper trail and a history the modern collector market drools over.
A Classic With a Pedigree Most Collectors Only Dream About
Long before it became a squirrel hotel, this 1970 Porsche rolled out of Vasek Polak, one of the most storied Porsche dealerships in American history. Its first owner didn’t treat it as a garage ornament — he drove it across the American West, through mountains, across state lines, even over the iconic Trail Creek Summit.
When Marzouca checked the gauges, he saw 101,000 miles — real mileage, honest mileage. The original 2.0-liter flat-six was still in the back, untouched, surviving years of Idaho winters and wildlife.
In a twist of fate, the restoration project also connected to Marzouca’s own family story. His father walked away from cowboy life in the 1940s to build the family business — a reminder of how America shifted from saddle leather to steel horsepower.
A Restoration Boom That Shows No Signs of Slowing
This rescue didn’t happen in a vacuum. Across the country, classic car restoration is exploding.
Shops are backed up for years.
Dealers are launching their own restoration divisions.
And young Americans — tired of disposable tech junk — are turning to machines built with real craftsmanship.
The 2025 Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge saw a record 73 entries nationwide.
“The standard of the cars, the obvious care and the fastidious attention to detail was just incredible,” said Jonathan Sieber, Senior Manager of Porsche Classic.
Even Porsche dealerships are joining the hunt. Porsche Monterey just revived a 911 GT3 that had been decaying under a tree for nearly a decade.
America isn’t giving up on real cars — not by a long shot.
A Rescue That Says Something Bigger About This Country
Marzouca’s plan isn’t to turn the Targa into a showroom queen. He wants authenticity with reliability — a survivor with scars.
He aims to keep the exterior’s weathered charm while restoring the hardware underneath. He already replaced rusted suspension panels, and the engine — unbelievably — “still turns by the crank,” even though decades of exposure froze the linkage.
His goal is to have the flat-six roaring again by New Year’s.
More Than a Car — A Testament to American Grit
While elites push electric mandates and disposable tech, regular Americans are doing what they’ve always done: preserving the machines that built this country.
The Porsche Targa’s stainless steel roll bar, open-air freedom, and old-school engineering represent an era when things were fixable, durable, and worth keeping.
This car sat abandoned, sinking into a forest floor while countless people ignored it.
But one man didn’t.
He saw value where others saw junk.
He saw a future where others saw decay.
He revived something that the world had written off.
That’s not just a car story.
That’s the American spirit — still alive, still refusing to let greatness rot under pine cones.
