History
According to Bill Cooper, the impetus for the DY356 Day was likely the death of Ferry in the spring of 1998, which coincided closely with the production of the last air cooled 911. The original idea to have everyone get out to drive on a certain day was from Dick Douglass at the Monterey West Coast Holiday in 1998. In 1999 Dick posted it on the 356 Talk List and Jeff Gamble suggested "How about September 19, Ferry Porsche's birthday?". The idea spread world wide. The Registry first published DY356 Day from all over the world in Volume 23 Number 3 and 4. Dick was presented with a plaque for his idea by Wes Morrill.
The first DY356 Day took place on September 21, 1999, in multiple spots around the world. In Tucson AZ, six 356s from the Arizona Outlaws made the drive. According to Rick Woltz, President of the Hawaii Porsche 356 Group, they organized a breakfast meeting for the inaugural "Drive Your 356 Day". The first DY356 Day Hawaii event was at Luana Hills Country Club with 6 people and 4 cars showing up.
Gordon Maltby, who served as editor of the 356 Registry magazine until 2018, was instrumental in perpetuating the event by requesting 356 owners to submit DY356 Day photos. He published dozens of the photos in a special issue. The photos that aren’t chosen are made available online. Gordon received “several hundred” submissions within 24 hours of the event! Jeff Gable made the comment several decades ago: “It is wonderful that through the efforts of Gordon, this is now a worldwide event that has taken on a life of its own.”
This page is dedicated to those drives. Enjoy the photos!