Over the past six years, I’ve been on a journey through the land of collector cars with two pedals. I can no longer comfortably operate a manual transmission but didn’t want to give up driving classic sports cars. I have discovered that while an automatic may not be as engaging as a manual, in the end old cars are just excuses to get together with family and friends to enjoy various road-trip experiences. I’ve also come to appreciate classic cars that offer a slightly more pampered motoring experience. By that I mean that I enjoy things being just a bit easier, […]
Over the past six years, I’ve been on a journey through the land of collector cars with two pedals. I can no longer comfortably operate a manual transmission but didn’t want to give up driving classic sports cars.
I have discovered that while an automatic may not be as engaging as a manual, in the end old cars are just excuses to get together with family and friends to enjoy various road-trip experiences.
I’ve also come to appreciate classic cars that offer a slightly more pampered motoring experience.
By that I mean that I enjoy things being just a bit easier, and not so raw. “Options” such as power steering, power brakes and air conditioning matter more than they used to. Also, a decent Bluetooth sound system never hurts.
I drive my classic cars. Since we acquired our 54-year-old 1971 Jaguar E-type V12 coupe five years ago, I’ve put 10,000 miles on it. We’ve put 5,000 on our 1991 Alfa Romeo Spider S4.
I want driving experiences to be pleasurable, not punishing.
Enter the Sportomatic
It was a little more than three years ago, on October 5, 2022, that we purchased our 1975 Porsche 911S. It’s a nice car, with what appears to be a genuine 50,000 miles. (There’s a service stamp in the owner’s handbook from July 2006, for the 45,000-mile service.)
Painted Desert Beige, it was delivered at Al Holbert’s Porsche Audi dealership in Warrington, PA, to buyer Ronald Andrews on July 16, 1975. Clearly, he knew exactly what he wanted, as the car had a Sportomatic gearbox, no sunroof, factory A/C and power windows. This was about as luxurious a 911 as you could order in those days.
Most appealing is its rare original tweed-and-twill cloth interior. Most of these cloth interiors have worn out and been replaced long ago.
The seller of the car, a longtime SCMer, had the car for over a decade. According to him, it has had one sympathetic, glass-out repaint, and has never been rusty or hit.
Since acquiring it, we had Al Blanchard of A&P Specialties here in Portland go over the car. He tuned it, sorted the electricals (including a new alternator), did the brakes, installed new shocks and tires, and set the suspension to Euro specs. We had the clock rebuilt and made sure all the switches and lights work, although the driver’s side power window will not win any races.
We also had Al add an Elephant oil cooler. (Sportos are notorious for having hot oil, as the torque converter shares the oil with the engine.)
The 3-speed Sportomatic transmission has an extremely flexible second gear, going from standstill to over 70 mph.
The car performs well on its skinny tires. The sound from the 2.7-liter engine is intoxicating, and with a curb weight similar to that of a Carrera RS at just 2,500 pounds, it has a snap to it when you accelerate.
Finishing touches
Good friend Matt Crandall (911r on Bring a Trailer) has been fond of this narrow-bodied car since it arrived in Portland. We initially had it shipped to his dealership, Avant-Garde Collection, to handle titling and registration, and he’s been following my progress with the car in my blog and on social media.
This summer he made me an offer: “This car deserves a better engine. Let the specialists at my company make it right.”
How could I say no?
So the Porsche got an engine freshening, with new studs, liners and Mahle pistons. It was also upgraded with Carrera tensioners. I look forward to picking it up this week.
And then I’ll ask Matt to sell it on BaT.
Why? Simply put, as I move deeper into my seventh decade, the car is a lot of work to drive. It has no power steering, no power brakes and the inoperative A/C has been removed. On warmer days, the 911 gets pretty toasty, and on long summer tours it’s easy to get fatigued.
Of course, its direct, live-wire response is why some enthusiasts prefer these early cars. While Porsches are far better cars today than they were in 1975, in a modern Porsche the driver is more isolated from the road, with far less feedback.
On the hunt
Considering how much I enjoy our Jaguar and Alfa, both with power-everything and A/C, I’ve come to the conclusion that I will be better off just buying a different 911. And I’ve decided what that is: a 996 Tiptronic.
This should be an affordable and easy-to-find car, and allow me to continue going on Porsche events in greater comfort (not to mention safety).
I’ve owned a 996 before, a 6-speed, and enjoyed every aspect of it. (No, I can’t see the fried-egg headlights when I’m driving.)
Although the Tiptronic is primitive compared to a PDK, I’ve spent plenty of time with both. After the first day of playing boy-racer in a 997.2, like most drivers I just left the selector in D and let the PDK do a better and faster job shifting than I ever could.
In the end, a more-modern car will let me drive more. I’m not giving up on adventure, I just want a little milder dose of it.
I’m looking for a coupe, with the IMS bearing handled, no stories and no projects. I want the car you would want to buy for yourself. If you’ve got a lead, I can be reached at keith.martin@sportscarmarket.com.