Andy Brookes

Model 993 CARRERA Year 1995 Acquired SEPTEMBER 2018 Model 911 SC Year 1978 Acquired MARCH 2023

My purchase of an SC last month was a surprise! It won’t be a surprise to hear that I’ve already started with a few tweaks. I left you on tenterhooks last issue, because I was about to pick the SC up the morning of writing my previous column. I waited until there was a break in the weather, because it would have been rather rude to collect the car in the filthy weather we were having, and subject it to the salty roads that were still lingering.

Tuesday morning was billed as bright sunshine, and thankfully it didn’t disappoint. Phil, the previous owner of the SC, had rolled the car out of the garage. The exterior ‘special wishes’ Dolomite grey metallic paint glinted in the sun, and the interior positively glowed hot orange. It was a proper “ta-da!” moment.

I’d already done the paperwork a few days beforehand. Phil and I had spent a couple of hours going through the paperwork that came with the car and discussed all that I needed to know to assume custodianship of this great car. So it was with a good, firm handshake and a passing of the keys that I took over its ownership and departed. I felt for Phil as

I drove off, because he’d put in many hard hours looking after the car over his 18 years of ownership. Thank you, Phil.

So, first driving impressions under my ownership, which always seem different to a test drive. It’s yours, and you can drive it as hard as you like. You can start to get comfortable now that it’s yours to break! I didn’t break it thankfully, but I did grind a few gears now and then. The 915 gearbox is notorious for being a little difficult!

I felt high in the seat compared to my 993. The steering wheel is very close to the dash and a little of a stretch from the seat. The gear lever throw is long and, let’s say, rather imprecise, while the gear knob is tiny and feels delicate. The car’s light on its toes and really rather quick when you give it some throttle. Overall, it feels more vintage than the 993, but still doesn’t feel like it’s 45 years old. It’s clearly a wellmaintained and solid example of a 1978 SC. And I bloody love it!

I can’t stop myself from having a tweak. That’s the engineer in me, after all. I really do love the look and the feel of the car as it is, so the tweaks will be small: no body mods, no change of wheels.

My first modification was in memory of the car’s first 22 years in Switzerland. I tracked down a grill badge for the Touring

Club of Suisse – I love the small Swiss flag. I’m then concentrating on the car’s touch points.

First up is to rebush the gear lever mechanism: new inserts in the coupler at the end of the gear selector rod; a slide bearing in the gear rod support rather than the awful standard rubber bush thing; and the addition of a return spring that now ensures the gearlever always returns to the 3rd/4th plane.

The gearlever now feels connected to the gearbox rather than the proverbial wooden spoon in a porridge bowl. I’ll be commissioning a wooden gear knob from Builtbybasil as I really like the one I have in my 993. I’m also thinking about what steering wheel I want to go for.

I don’t want to be obvious with a MOMO Prototipo. Any ideas?

My 993 has a name, so it seems customary that the SC should have one, too. The wonderful mind of Kyle Fortune conjured up the name of Thermidor with reference to the amazing red lobster interior. An inspired choice, good sir! Thank you.

Unfortunately I can’t keep both cars, so it’s time for Gustavo to spread its wings and find a new owner. Please drop me a line if you’re interested.