YOU AND YOURS
Following the birth of his first daughter back in 1989, like somany Porsche owners, Martin Addison soon learned that a 911 is not exactly the ideal family car. As there was no roomto fit in a pushchair and all the other childrelated paraphernalia, he had
Martin Addison and his second time around martini-striped 911SC
Back in 1986, Martin Addison was a hard-working 21-yearold who had saved all his hard earned cash to purchase his dream car, a Porsche 911. Martin commented, ‘I spotted a silver ’78 SC advertised for sale and immediately fell for it. However, it was priced at £10k, which was absolutely all I could afford...and then some!’ He continued, ‘To put things into perspective, you could buy a decent house here in Essex for £30k back then, so a £10k used Porsche was quite an investment for a young guy!’
The SC model was launched in ’78 and essentially replaced the outgoing 3-litre Carrera 3 and 2.7-litre 911 models hence, despite being 8-years old when Martin picked it up, this was still a relatively freshlooking 911. And, thanks to the 180bhp, 3- litre motor, the SC was capable of outrunning all but the most serious of sports cars – in short, this was a whole lot of awesome for a 21-year-old!
Over the next few years Martin enjoyed driving his SC as often as possible and maintained it exactly as any doting enthusiast would – it was a well-loved car, which was always polished, buffed and kept in tip-top order.
Martin told us, ‘My first daughter, Kirsty, was born in ’89 and, despite my best efforts, I simply couldn’t make the Porsche work as a family car’. And so, in 1990, Martin decided that he had no option but to sell his beloved Porsche, and to purchase a more sensible vehicle in which to transport his growing young family.
Martin often thought about the Porsche he once owned and always promised himself that he’d own another one day – perhaps when the children were a little older and he could afford to run a 911 as a second car. Martin explained, ‘Some years later, I was by chance having my family car serviced at a local garage when the mechanic said, “Martin, I hear you once owned a Porsche? Well, the guy you sold it to still owns it and is thinking of putting it up for sale” – I was speechless!’ He continued, ‘This was in August of 1998, which just happened to be when the new ‘S’registration had just been launched…and there I was, buying back my ‘old S’ registration vehicle!’ Martin hadn’t ever considered the fact that one day the very same car might become available again – and he certainly wasn’t actively looking for a Porsche at that point – but faced with a once-in-a-lifetime chance like this, he simply couldn’t let it pass.
Back at his home in Hornchurch, Essex,
Martin parked the SC in his garage and reflected upon his good fortune. He’d always regretted selling the car and now he had been given the opportunity to pick up where he’d left off, hence he was adamant that it would not be leaving him again!
Over the next 15 years Martin continued to enjoy the car and even treated it to some engine work and a stainless steel exhaust etc, however, the bodywork was beginning to show its age, hence he decided that it was time to call on the skills of Bruce Cooper at Sportwagen in Southend. He commented, ‘The original plan was to tidy it up and maybe leave the roof in the original paint but, as things progressed, I decided that the car deserved to be treated to a full exterior repaint instead’.
The SC had a few minor rust issues, therefore Bruce fitted a fresh pair of sills and replaced the offside front wing (as the original had some corrosion just below the headlight bowl). Once happy with the metalwork, a fresh coat of the original Z2Z2 silver metallic basecoat was applied prior to several coats of clear, which was buffed to perfection. The paintwork was completed in 2013 and, 5-years on, it looks as if it has just rolled out of the ’booth.
By now you’ll have noticed the Martini stripes, which certainly make this car stand out from the crowd! Martin explained, ‘I really liked the old Martini stripe kit hence I was keen to include them second-time around’. He continued, ‘A guy by the name of Rick Cannell at Highgate House came down to Sportwagen and made a complete set of templates around the body of my car, which he used to replicate the 1978 M42option stripe kit’. Sportwagen carefully fitted the fresh decals, which are most certainly the key talking point whenever Martin bumps into other Porschephiles today!
Martini Racing has been an active motorsport sponsor since the late 1960s, and the link with Porsche was secured thanks to the iconic Porsche 917 race team in the early ’70s. When it comes to roadgoing Porsches in Martini livery, most people immediately think of the iconic 911 Turbo cars of the mid–late ’70s. However, Turbo models aside, between 1978 and 1983 it was also possible to order a new Grand Prix White or black 911SC with the M42 (World Championship stripes) option. Interestingly, Porsche also listed the stripes as a retro-fit option, hence dealers and
You could buy a house in Essex for £30k, so a £10k Porsche was quite an investment for a young guy back then
private owners could fit them to vehicles painted in other colours, too.
One thing is for sure, the stripes look great over the silver paint on Martin’s SC and really add a unique touch to the overall package. We certainly can’t remember the last time we spotted a Martini-striped car on the road and, given the reactions of other road-users as we followed Martin through “Hornchurch, it would appear that we’re not alone, as this car really turns some heads!
Chatting with Martin, we were surprised to learn that the 16-in Fuchs (6-in front, 7-in rear) have not been subjected to any restoration or refurbishment work since they were first fitted to the car 40 years ago. Similarly, the interior of this car is practically all original and in very good shape throughout. Slipping into the car is like entering a time capsule – it looks, feels and even smells just like you’d imagine it would have back in the late ’70s/early ’80s. And that’s a unique trait of a wellmaintained survivor, which you simply can’t replicate when overhauling a project from the ground up.
Sure, the seats are clearly used, but the leather is in great shape for a vehicle of this age with precious little wear to the bolsters etc. Similarly, the Pasha (also known as ‘Schachbrett’ or ‘checkerboard’) seat inserts are far from thread-bare, and that vivid (almost mind-altering!) black and white trim is every bit as alluring as the Martini stripes on the exterior.
Martin said, ‘When I bought the car back, the original radio had stopped working and I didn’t want to alter the dashboard or fit a more modern unit’. He continued, ‘Fortunately I was able to find a local electronics specialist that managed to fix the radio, although the cassette deck was deemed to be beyond reasonable repair – but who listens to cassette tapes these days, anyway?’ Better still, the original head unit was retro-fitted with an ipod cable, i.e. 53-year-old Martin now has an ipod playlist featuring the same nostalgic ‘driving tunes’ that 21-year-old Martin had once recorded on a cassette mix-tape...hence, with the windows down on a sunny day and with music playing through the original sound system and speakers, this retro-ride looks, feels and sounds just like it did back in ’86!
In closing we asked Martin if he had any future plans for his SC. He told us, ‘I think I’ll have the fan polished and detail the engine a little, but that’s about all…oh, and it’s definitely not for sale – this one is a keeper...’ PW
This retro-ride looks, feels and sounds just like it did back in ’86