As is the coachwork, which is still pretty much as it was when the seller took delivery of it back in 1981. Yes, there are a few marks here and there (which we’ll come to later) but it still sports factory shutlines, perfect panel alignment, and even wears the same numberplates it left the showroom with.
The rear spoiler is both eye-catching and in a fine condition. Our man in the office describes it as a ‘whaletail’, something the seller gently challenged; he and his wife used their beloved Porsche for “high days and short holidays” which included taking it to the races, where, he joked, the wide, flat rear spoiler made a very useful tray for the glasses of Champagne they both enjoyed.
Clearly not one to skimp on the finer things in life, the seller wisely splashed on a set of good tyres for his newly recommissioned car, opting for Pirelli P6000s. Still like new, we applaud his choice.
Especially because the ones that were taken off were also “still like new”. Nonetheless, he opted to fit new tyres so that potential buyers could see the date-stamp on them and so be assured that they are safe and not age-perished.
Despite being exempt, he also had the car MoT’d to give potential buyers further reassurance – and he did this after putting the car through a light recommissioning, even opting to have the whole braking system refreshed even though only one caliper was a bit sticky.
We have always argued the best cars come from nice people, and that he went to the expense of doing all this speaks volumes about his character.
And this character is also evident in how well he’s curated it over the decades. Always garaged and stored under a soft cover, the badges are bright, the window glass is unmarked, the fuel filler cap has its soft cover, and the rear window still has the sticker on it from Dick Lovett, the supplying dealer, the same chap who supplied the tax disc holder that’s stuck inside the windscreen.
(Speaking of the windscreen, even the yellow sticker the factory applied is still there.)
The rubber overriders on the rear bumper are free of rubbing marks and scuffs too, and the bellows at either end look to be in good shape.
All of the lamp lenses, including the optional front fog lamps our man paid £67 for all those years ago, are free of cracks and other damage. The clear red ‘Porsche’ plastic infill between the rear lights is also free of damage, sun-induced or otherwise.
Of course, no car approaches a half-century untouched and the 911 is no example. Our in-house assessor, a man who could double as a CSI if we ever gave him any time off, came up with the following things you might like to attend to: some bubbling starting underneath both front headlights, the front plastic strip at the base of the bonnet is lifting with signs of corrosion underneath, and the paint is bubbling on the leading edge of the nearside front wheelarch.
The 15-inch ‘cookie cutter’ alloy wheels also show some light surface corrosion but they’re free of scuffs and scrapes, so refurbishing them would be straightforward.
As for the targa roof, the panel itself in in great shape and fits well. However, the seal has perished on the offside, so that’ll need replacing.
More minor stuff includes a couple of marks on both mirror caps, a few small chips to the leading edge of the bonnet plus some tiny touched-in stonechips on the same panel, a couple of very light scratches on the scuttle panel beneath the front windscreen, a few noticeable chips around the edges of both doors, a few marks and a crack in the paint on the driver’s door.
There’s also a paint run on the whale tail, a noticeable touched up paint repair to the offside rear wing, and there are some orange marks on the nearside rear wing and on the whale tail, which look like some kind of residue.
If it were ours, we’d sort the corrosion we mentioned and then pay a professional to machine-polish the rest before chalking any residual marks down to a developing patina – and err towards preservation rather than restoration.
