Porsche 911 2.7 updated

The Rolling Road blog is now over 5 years old and the most popular post over the five years by far is a post I wrote on my 2.7 911 in May 2013 see- Porsche 2.7 which gets a few hits every day-yesterday there were 9. The reason I suspect is that if you Google Porsche 911 2.7 the 6th result is my story.

The values of all classic Porsches-except the still unloved 928s-have risen spectacularly in the past two years. Even values of the previously unloved 924 and 911 2.7 models have gone up -this rising tide has lifted (nearly) all boats.
So the 2.7 model is no longer a cheaper entry point into 911 ownership.
I am disappointed at the way prices have escalated recently. They are locking out genuine enthusiasts from owning early 911s and resulting in interesting cars going into collections where they are rarely if ever driven. Many are even being bought as investments with the buyers having absolutely no interest in them as cars.

In the nearly three years since I wrote the 2.7 story the car has done another 8000 kms. It has been serviced regularly but nothing mechanical has needed to be done to it although I did have the paintwork restored in July 2013 see PAINT.

Over the past few months it has not been driven due to the very hot weather and the crowded local roads over the summer holiday period.
I did give it a good run last week but when I started it the garage was filled with oil smoke. Old and even not so old 911s are smokey when they start after a long lay- off but this was the worst I had ever seen for my car. After that little episode which had me worried for a few minutes it ran beautifully in very hot conditions but it was a reminder that the engine is getting worn and that I need to start it regularly even when it is not being driven.

I have thought about replacing the headliner which is badly stained as the second owner was a heavy smoker. This would cost nearly a $1000 using original material and this helped me decide that it would stand out in contrast to the worn look of the rest of the interior and would detract from the originality of the car. So it stays as it is.
There are a few small dents in the doors due to contact with other car doors and probably shopping trolleys during its hard early life as a daily driver for an advertising executive in Sydney. It would be nice to have those taken out but that would mean a respray of the doors so I have decided to continue to live with them as well.

The car still has the original spacesaver tyre which inflates normally however I would not ever drive on a 38 year old tyre which has been scrunched up so I carry an aerosol can of tyre repair gunk and hope for the best. New spacesavers of that size are no longer made and as friend Warren has found out it is impossible to get the spacesaver off the wheel on his car without resorting to using a saw. Best to let that sleeping dog lie as well.

The driving lights dangling under the front bumper were factory fitted accessories. Given how bad the headlights are they are very useful.
About ten years ago I took them off when I was running the car in regularity events and hillclimbs but it looked odd without them so I put them back on after 6 months.

Sometimes I am envious of others with their always immaculate concours standard cars but in truth my slightly scruffy but very original car with its old style original number plates,well worn look and oily smell suits me down to the ground. I would find all that cleaning and worrying about stone chips very tiresome if I owned one of those pampered cars however good it looked.

The photos were taken on the Old Pacific Highway north of Brooklyn last week.This stretch of the Old Pacific Highway runs parallel to the M1 motorway for 30 kms between Somersby and Cowan north of Sydney. It is now only used by tourist traffic and on a weekday it is very quiet-just a few motorcyclists,a few cyclists,and the odd old guy in an old Porsche.
It was a great driver's road with almost continuous sweeping bends. It has been recently resurfaced and kms of armco barrier erected.There are glimpses of the Hawkesbury River but otherwise it passes through typical scrub and gumtrees. It is/was a very challenging road and sadly many motorcyclists have died on it in recent years. In response the authorities have applied blanket low speed limits which they strictly enforce with a strong mobile speed camera presence even on quiet days like last Wednesday.
It is all rather sad and I find it very frustrating to drive the road at the posted speed limits but last week a motorcyclist who thought he was Valentino Rossi riding a Ducati and leaning hard right over the centre line on a fast bend and so very nearly hitting his head on my side mirror was a reminder of why the speed limits had been imposed. We live in interesting times. Sometimes too interesting.