1981 Porsche 911 3.0 SC

Nothing, but nothing, screams 1980s like a Guards Red 911 with a whaletail and a set of Fuchs, does it? It’s even fitted with a black leather interior complete with contrasting red piping.

Yea, you’re already in love too, aren’t you?

The seller hasn’t had it long. He bought it three months ago from a dealer who was selling it on behalf of a bereaved family. It had been kept in a heated garage for the ten years prior to that, barely used and with only sparse use before that. The vendor states "the car is matching numbers and only 6 owners from new, quite low for 42 years!".

In need of some recommissioning, it’s only being sold because he finds himself unexpectedly busy at work and doesn’t have the time to do the car justice.

With a fantastic stance, this 911 presents very well indeed – but then it’s been sitting in a heated garage for the past decade, so that isn’t the biggest surprise of the year.

Nonetheless from the images, it’s a handsome example of Porsche engineering with seemingly consistent shutlines and panel alignment, and a great sheen to that iconic red hue.

From what we can tell, it’s largely free of cosmetic imperfections with only some slight wonkiness to the black rubber bumper inserts and the odd faded badge drawing your eye.

The rest is strong, with clear and bright lamp lenses, unmarked side and rear window glazing, and black rubber trim that’s still black.

The iconic 16-inch Fuchs alloy wheels are in a decent condition too, but the tyres they fitted with are old, cheap, and don’t match, so you will need to budget to replace them with something in keeping with the Porsche’s performance potential.

The whaletail is evocative, the sunroof fits the aperture well, and the lower front spoiler is in good shape.

There is, inevitably, work to do. The base of the offside windscreen pillar, the lower section of the rear wing and sill just aft of the offside door, and the top of the nearside door are all corroded, so will need investigation.

The windscreen is cracked too, and there is some lacquer loss here and there.

In line with the usual 911 cliché, the interior has weathered the years very well. Sure, there’s some cracking to the seat leather and the odd seam has popped but the overall condition is strong.

The front seats are both look comfortable and if you don’t mind a car wearing a patina you could leave them as they are and concentrate on enjoying that peerless engine and chassis combination.

The rear seats are even better, but then they will have seen far less use, of course.

The headlining and door cards are both very good, as is the dashboard.

The instruments and minor controls might be somewhat scattered but they’re there, in good shape, and working as they should bar the speedo, which can be a bit recalcitrant sometimes.

The floor shows remnants of the old soundproofing, which we are told was extensive. The carpet above it is good but could do with some tidying.

Speaking of which, the carpets will need replacing in the front footwells and the frunk, although the seller tells us that the latter is only £120 from Germany for a new one, so that won’t break the bank.

Other faults? Well, since the alarm was removed the front windows don't work and while the sunroof seals well it won’t open. The seller says he can hear the motor working but it won’t actually move.

Oh, and the Momo steering wheel obviously isn’t original, something that may or may not bother you.

The car’s mechanical condition is a bit of a guess; it’s been standing for ten years so will need some recommissioning but the seller has given us the following notes:

“I put some new bonnet struts and wiper blades on, and pressure-washed the inner arches to see what was under the dirt. I noted there are no oil leaks under the engine. On driving the car, the brakes bind slightly at the rear, but the car changes gear and stops. The indicators work, as do most of the lights. It does need some tuning and fettling; but have no idea what that would entail.”

As you can see in the video, it starts and runs. It’s got a steady tickover and good oil pressure on the gauge. The seller has advised that he noted that the engine does seem a bit off-tune which I am sure any winning bidder will have checked out accordingly.

There’s a bill for over £2,000 for a gearbox rebuild in 2008. This might be a while ago but the Porsche has barely turned a wheel since then.

The underside looks good and strong, included the aforementioned wheelarches.

The seller believes the car may have been a demo vehicle for an audio company at one point given the complexity of the speakers and alarm systems he had professionally removed.

He’s kept photos of the wiring that came out of the car and the removal of the large speakers in the front footwells has left the uncarpeted area we mentioned earlier.

The 911 doesn’t have a current MoT certificate, with the last one being recorded in 2009. This, like the four before it, was a good ‘un though, which might tell you something.

As for paperwork, we have posted what we have so far. The seller has said: “There is more paperwork with the car but I am waiting for it to come through, but haven’t had anything yet - no promises that it'll ever turn up, but if it does, its getting forwarded to the buyer”

We’ll post that if/when it appears but it would be safest to set your bids according to what the car has now rather than relying on an unknown.

If you’re going to buy a classic sportscar then you really ought to get the OG and there are few cars with a better claim to Original Gangster status than a Porsche 911.

Always in demand and never disappointing, a well-fettled 911 is one of your heroes that lives up to every one of your expectations – and the quality of the fettling here in in your hands; with a largely rot-free bodyshell, the tinkering could be commissioned out to a specialist or you could spend many happy hours in the garage doing the work yourself. A good candidate for a 'back-date', we think.

How much is it going to cost you? Well, we think it will sell for somewhere between £20,000 to £30,000, which should give you plenty of headroom to fix the niggles it presents, even if it ends up selling at the upper end of our estimate.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.