1977 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0

This 3.0 Carrera was supplied new on the 5th of August 1977 by Motortune of Brompton Road, London. It was serviced by the supplier a number of times and by the following respected establishments as per the recommended service intervals up to the year 2000 when the mileage read 148,856: Charles Follet Ltd, Autofarm, Dick Lovett, Machtech and AFN Heritage. Refer to the photos to see service stamps from the above in the maintenance record book. See further information regarding works completed in the History Highlights section. 

In 2006 it was imported to Ireland by a Dublin-based classic car dealer. The seller bought the car in August of that year with UK plates but waited to register it the following August as a classic (30-year-old requirement). It has remained in the seller's ownership and care since then. The car did once have a small file of MOTs and invoices detailing works completed, aligning to the service record stamps referenced above, but due to house moves and life it has been mislaid. 

The vendor tells us that a reputable source in Germany confirmed that the chassis and engine are original to the car.  It left the factory with the Sportomatic transmission but like many it was subsequently retrofitted with the 915, 5-speed manual five speed gearbox.

The vendor registered the car on the Carrera 3.0 registry www.carrera30.net, according to which this car could be the youngest remaining Carrera 3.0 Coupe. Its chassis number ends in 1469. 1473 Coupes were produced in total in 1977, its final year of production. (Reference index # 293 via the website above)

This Carrera generally looks very smart but it does have the odd defect on its silver coloured bodywork, but after 47 years that is to be expected. There’s some bubbling at the base of the nearside windscreen pillar (which the seller says has not progressed since it was purchased), and an area on the rear panel adjacent to the bottom corner of the driver’s door that looks like it requires attention. The driver's side B pillar has a hole beside the door latch and the sill panels are showing some signs of rust which will require remediation works. The near side B pillar and sill present better but would need remediation work to put right.

Elsewhere, we can see that there’s some minor paint damage on the front and rear bumpers at the nearside.

In addition there are minor panel scratches here and there, but on the whole, and solely from the images, the car seems to be solid. 

The seller reports that the sunroof needs to be restored, as the motor runs but the panel has become derailed and does not slide back and forth. He also says the car needs a new passenger side external door handle because the catch for opening the door has broken off. 

The seller has also pointed out that the accelerator is sticking and not springing back. The likely cause is that the bushings in the pedal cluster have broken down and need replacing. 

You’ll notice that the car has polished rim/black center Fuchs five-spoke alloys on one side, and ATS Cookie Cutter alloys on the other, for illustration purposes only. The car originally came with the Cookie Cutters and will be sold as original. 

Black vinyl and velour is the order of the day inside this wonderfully simple 911 cabin.  Whilst the original pin stripe velour seats have faded to a consistent deep green from black, the velour and the seats overall are in remarkable condition.

The original black shag-pile black carpets are also in strong condition, save for the reverse side that has somewhat hardened with age.

The dash seems to be undamaged by sun, but it is a UK car, afterall.

The original pinhole roof lining is still in place, but has sagged a little and is somewhat discoloured from its original cream-white colour, so it could be restored at some stage.

The electric windows, at time of writing, are working fine. The electric mirrors are not and require attention.

From the images, everything really looks very original. The period correct radio-cassette player needs to be reconnected.

As you can hear in the video, the exhaust is blowing, which will need sorting, but the engine itself seems to  idle smoothly once up to temperature.

The engine bay is generally tidy, complete and everything seems to be where it should be. The seller tells us that the factory fitted air conditioning wasn’t working when he bought the car, so he removed the unit from the engine bay, but still has it. 

The car is fitted from new with cruise control which the seller said, at time of asking, still works.

The car’s condition underside, and in particular the floor, appears to be good and solid with the original sealer still intact, save for a rear wing stay that has rusted through, which is a minor concern. 

As mentioned earlier, this Carrera 3.0 comes with a stamped service history on its original maintenance record handbook.  The service stamps are from Motortune,  Charles Follett Ltd, Autofarm, Dick Lovett, Machtech and AFN Heritage.

The vendor confirms that historic works included a top-end rebuild and a switch from Sportmatic to manual transmission at some stage in its history, but the documentation supporting this has been mislaid.

In addition, the vendor confirms that the work done in Machtech in 1991, unsupported in the history file, was as follows;

• Replace heat exchangers
• Replace oil pipe to engine and to oil tank and N/S tensioner oil pipe
• Replace leaking oil tank gasket
• Adjust tappets
• Replace ignition leads and rune engine. Change oil and filter
• Replace sunroof seals
• Recondition hot air blower motor

And again, the following work by Machtech in 1994:

• Ignition Diagnosis and static tune
• Lube service inc. electrical diagnosis, tyres, coolant, washers, battery maintenance.
• Adjust tappets
• Overhaul seized rear calipers
• Replace all metals and flexible brake pipes
• Replace bonnet/engine lid rams
• Replace handbrake mechanisms in brake drums

J M Moyes, manager of AFN Heritage, completed a written appraisal/valuation, still on file and viewable in the gallery, for a previous owner of the car in March ‘95 stating, “this Carrera 3.0 is in very good condition for its age”. He goes on to say that “the C3 was not imported into the UK in very large numbers so these cars are something of a limited resource”.

The seller always dreamt of owning a Porsche 911 and being a mid Generation X kid, he decided the impact bumper model was the one for him. After purchasing the car in 2006 from a classic car specialist in Dublin, for the next year, he and his father (a former motor mechanic, light aircraft builder and restorer) stripped down the front of the car to restore the inner wings and replace the bumper shock absorber iron mounts (an invoice for these parts from FVD in Germany is with the car and in the photographs). The ATS Cookie Cutters were also removed and sent away to be restored. They also reconditioned the brake callipers, replaced pads and fluids and changed the engine oil and all the filters. Then in 2009 he says that they fitted a new clutch kit. 

Subsequent to 2009 and up to today the car has been serviced by respected Porsche and Mercedes motor engineer Terry Jackson, in Shankill County Dublin.  

The seller has made the difficult decision to put the car to auction for a number of reasons; the garage it was stored in is no longer available, since starting a family in 2015 the seller does not have get to drive the car as often as he’d have liked/as much as it needs to be driven nor has he time to devote to the various remediation works that the car needs. 

"Overall I would say it’s a good car that needs some refurbishing in some of the usual impact bumper areas plus some general TLC.”

A rare 911 Carrera 3.0 Coupe RHD which appears fundamentally solid, and in lovely original condition. It will require work to bring it up to the standard such an iconic car deserves, but it’s an excellent starting point, and you’ll probably have to wait a long time for another one to come along. We see a lot of LHDs on the market but the RHDs are far rarer. We estimate that it will sell for €45,000 - €65,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located with the vendor in Dublin, Ireland. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, 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, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.