Andy Brookes Poole, UK
9WERKS Radio
Model 993 CARRERA Year 1995 Acquired SEPTEMBER 2018
Model 911 SC Year 1978 Acquired MARCH 2023
My wife has been on the look-out for a fun car for a while now, and we’ve been considering a few makes and models. A Mercedes R107 SL, a 1975 Targa and a few other things have been viewed and subsequently discarded.
On a Thursday evening I decided that a search on the Car & Classic website might be worth a try, because I hadn’t been on the site for ages. I’ve been feeling the love for a G-series car for a good while now – the simplicity and robustness of the design and engineering really appeal to me. So I searched for 911s from 1974 to 1989. I don’t know why, but I didn’t narrow down to just Targas.
The third car on the list was a 1978 SC Coupe in a dark grey. “Oh, that’s a pretty car,” I thought. A flick through the photos showed the most magnificent 1970’s interior: Red lobster vinyl with orange pinstripe velour inserts – what a combo! I haven’t had the opportunity to buy a new car, but whenever I’ve played around in configurators I invariably pick a dark grey exterior with red interior, so you can see the draw for me.
The advert had only been placed that evening and the car was in Dorset. Was this meant to be? Car & Classic is a bit of a strange place. I’ve sent emails before to enquire about cars, and unfortunately I’ve not always received a response. The site feels a bit old-school, really. Nonetheless, I sent off my message.
Sometime on Friday I got a reply. Yes, the car was still available and I could view it in Ferndown. That’s just a 15-minute drive from my house! I phoned the number provided and spoke to Phil, the owner. We had a great chat about the car and I booked a viewing on Saturday morning. I didn’t plan or expect this to happen! Then the sweats started. Would someone else get to the car first?
I turned up on Saturday morning to view, and it didn’t disappoint. The photos of the car were fantastic, but this is the first car that I’ve ever viewed that looked better than the pictures. Phil took me through the car’s history: it had spent its first 22 years in Switzerland before coming to the UK in 2000. There have been two UK owners before Phil, who bought the SC 18 years ago.
Phil is the same sort of guy as me. Engineer by
