Andy Gaunt
Melbourne, Australia
Model 964 C4 Year 1990 Acquired MAY 2017
When I first began writing this column, I wanted to ensure the positivity of 911 ownership came through in every piece I wrote. This month, it’s a little bit positive and a little bit… less positive.
Midway through April saw the beginning of the school holidays, including the Easter break. Like many Australian families, we decided to head away for a few days and found accommodation at Phillip Island, an easy 90-minute drive from the suburbs of Melbourne. I couldn’t get away as early as my wife, so she and my daughter headed off a day before my son and me. As we readied ourselves and packed (reasonably lightly) we both decided it would be a wasted opportunity to not place our things into the 964 for this trip. The drive to Phillip Island isn’t exactly exciting, but even a highway is interesting in a 33-yearold 911. Plus, in the back of my head, I was formulating a plan to take a long cut on the return journey. One that would see some stunning scenery and glorious, sweeping twisties, which would likely be carrying very little traffic.
So, we set off in the 964. Even given its age, the 964 sits on the highway comfortably, and my son and I chatted away about this and that without complaint. Truth be told, the seats (once charming with their patina) are beginning to lose their spring and support, forcing my long-held desire to refresh the interior back to the forefront of my thinking. But overall, it was a great trip to the coast.
Parked in the driveway of a very cool minimalist beach house, the car looked right at home. So much so that I received a message on Instagram from a young enthusiast who’d walked past and noticed the car. He asked if he could come and do a bit of filming for Tiktok, and I obliged. It was great to meet a young car enthusiast!
On day three, my wife and I cruised to a local winery and, as always in that kind of setting, the little 964 was perfection. So, over four days the experience was positive. It was very positive.
So, on to the less positive. On the last morning, my son and I were up early, keen to pack and get on the road. We stopped to put some air in the tyres and then set off. Instead of heading directly for home, we headed east, along the coast to the small town of Kilcunda before turning north to drive a series of B roads that snake their way through regional Victoria, roughly parallel to the main highway.
Being mostly unfamiliar with the roads and having my son with me, I cracked along at a good pace without pushing too hard. Most of the time when we drive twisties here in Victoria it’s through bushland, and so it was a pleasant change to be driving elevated roads with views of rolling hills on each side. The road wasn’t particularly technical; however, the surface was poor, with potholes and patches everywhere.
It was this surface that had me noticing every time I turned to the right, the car felt unsettled, sometimes understeering. I’ve noticed this from time to time over the past few months, but had just chalked it up to getting too accustomed to the razor-sharp turn-in of my GT4. But on this journey, it was bad enough to have me back off, particularly when approaching a right-hand turn.
When we arrived home, I jacked up the car and removed the left front wheel to see what I could see. I was greeted with the sight of a leaking KW V3 shock. To be honest, I was relieved. There’s nothing worse than experiencing something, trying to explain it to a workshop and have them go hunting for the problem. Unfortunately, it’ll mean the car is off the road for some time. My friends at Nineauto can’t get the car in for a few weeks and then the shock will need to be removed and sent to Sydney to be rebuilt.
When you own an older car and you use that car regularly, things happen.
You do need to have a mindset of being ready and willing to be constantly fettling. I won’t lie: as much as I love the car, sometimes it gets tedious. But the escape with my son, the winery drive with my wife – neither of these would have been anywhere near as enjoyable in my daily. So, I’m not going to let a suspension issue diminish my love for this amazing car.