I've got a feeling we may have done this before but so what...
Prompted by a Facebook post by our very own Jon Miller and also a chat I had in a WhatsApp group the other day I thought it would be a great thread to get going. What was the Porsche that started it all off for you? Probably the first one your purchased or maybe it was a later one which confirmed your passion?
For me it was this 1972 911T which now belongs to Ron Vincent.
I was turning 25 and wanted to fulfil the promise I made to myself as a 13 year old to own a 911 by the time I was 25.
I sold a 1966 Karmann Ghia and 50s Oval Beetle to fund it and bought it off of Ivan McCutcheon the then editor of Volksworld. I'd seen the car a few times at shows and was friends with Ivan so had seen it when staying at his on a few nights out.
For me, seeing Jenks drive past me in his 356, then driving a Martini 930 Turbo belonging to Geoff Thomas who ran Autocavan. That was the first 911 I ever drove. The second was a 934-styled 930 Turbo built by Kremer for Harry Hyams, the property developer famous for building Centre Point in London. It was downhill from there.
This was my first one.
My dad had suggested we go look at it as he had made me sell my 68 fastback Mustang.
It was orangey yellow and the front was all smashed.
So being 19 I took everything apart and off and renewed.
1957 A T1 with B engine and brakes. 1720 big bore.
I believe the car is now light blue and a Carrera rep.
After many years of VW’s ,I was determined to get a Porsche .... at the time was either going to be an early Targa ( it was the formula Fuchs adverts ) or 964 C2 ...... with help from Brian Burrows he pointed in the direction of what was to become my first ever Porsche .... my 2.4S that I have now owned for over 17years ( still remember the first I drove away m where I bought it and redlined it in 2nd ) Many cars have come and gone but this car is still the one the excites me the most
I guess what started it for me was purchasing a Triumph TR6 from the East Finchley Car Company when I was 18........they had a handful of British classics although the company dealt primarily in early Porsche's and the owner told me I'd back for a 911 within a year......I dismissed it then but it did sow a seed.....
....that seed took 27 years to germinate when I acquired this beauty in 2010.....
....a glorious car, I should never have sold it but I'd already started looking for an early car and just a few months later found my 2.4E......
.....although my appreciation of early cars has matured over the past 10 years I absolutely loved those days when I was totally green, enjoying the journey and before the whole Porsche scene went a little silly.
I left school to work in a local garage bodyshop. Volkspeed. The owners had a Formula vee background and both owned older 911s. But it was the foreman who gave me a proper introduction to the brand one afternoon during a terrifying ride in his ‘76 turbo. Shortly after I bought my first 911 a partly restored ‘69 911T. I finished it off. Looking back now there are many incorrect details for the year and model but back then no-one was bothered.
It occurred to me today that I owned this car around the same time that my 964 was leaving the showroom floor for the first time.
Looking back now there are many incorrect details for the year and model but back then no-one was bothered.
Those were the wonderful years, 1988 to 2005 for me, they were cheap then, you did what you wanted and nobody, but nobody got on your back about any of it including DIY RHD!
Good years.
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
Boxster 987 Gen II 2.9
I would love to say this photo started it all, but who knows...I was probably pointing at the Fire engine just out of shot. My dear Nana doesn't seem too interested in the Yellow Targa either.....Local car show, circa early 80's, I do remember my Grandad always telling me to own/aspire to own a Porsche one day...
Fast forward to 2006 and bought my first car, I went out to buy a BMW 2002 but managed to get the 912 which I still have.....though I had to push my budget to $9500!! (grumbles about wanting a time machine etc)...
Met many people and made many friends along the way.....The scene has changed a lot, but thankfully there are still some genuine folks out there
Fortunate to now own 3 cars, with space for one more ! (grumbles about wanting a 904 )
Chris
# 465
1967 912 Polo Red
1968 912/11 RAL 7001 ' MOD ROD '
1990 964 C2 Velvet Red
1991 VW Vanagon GL (SOLD - Vanagone)
2017 Coleman CT200U
“It’s not where you’re from, it's where you’re at”
Settling down, getting married and starting a family meant the 246 Dino had to go, so what better option for a 2+2 than a 3.2 Carrera!
cheers, Mike.
previously..
1994 968 Club Sport Riviera Blue
1994 993 C2 Carrera Riviera Blue
1972 911S to Martini RSR Prototype Spec
1973 911E to RS Lightweight Specification
1981 924 Carrera GT ex Mexborough car
3.2 Carrera Sport x2
Back in 2002 I borrowed £5k from my father-in-law to get a used Focus for the wife to use as a family car, my son was 6 months old and my daughter just an idea!
After a few weeks of searching I couldn’t find one with ABS (being a safety conscious chap) so was planning to give him the money back.
At the same time a friend at work showed me a tiny little ad in the old school paper Autotrader with an early 911 in Leicester. Wrongly advertised in terms of year and spec, but I didn’t know what I was looking at anyway!
Needless to say I bought it from the side of the road without proper inspection and scared the crap out of myself driving home on 4/5 cylinders two candles and three gears.
The rest is the last 18 years of history!
Seed was sown way back in the 80s, by the 930 turbo. Athena posters etc. Story from my Dad of going out in a colleagues brand new Turbo at hair raising speeds only for it to catch fire and burn to the ground shortly after.
Matchbox models....and then the classic bug hit later in life (advent of ebay etc) and Italian cars came and went. Then I decided I wanted a 356. And bought a 911 instead. Then bought the 356. Still have both. Over 6 years now with both. 356 was a great buy from PR Services. I love that car, it just works and everyone smiles when it goes by. The 911 is special...but it carries with it some bad resto memories and nasty bills so I cant say I feel the same as I do about the 356 (the advice "buy the best you can" is absolutely 100% good advice!)
) Many cars have come and gone but this car is still the one the excites me the most 
