A fitting backdrop for Rob's ace-looking 1988 Carrera 3.2
Torn between a Detroit V8 and a Stuttgart flat-six, Rob Styles (aka
vettera
) did the only decent thing and got one of each...
Back when he was thirteen, our man Rob queued patiently for 20 minutes to be allowed access to the Porsche motor show stand at the NEC. Once there he grabbed a brochure (which he still has in his possession) and made straight for a 911. Just a small amount of pleading later saw him granted access to the driver's seat, and it was there that he vowed he'd one day own one.
'Actually the 911 thing started a few years earlier when I was ten and my dad bought a 1500 Beetle. My next step after the NEC was to build a plastic model - which I still have - but that was as far as I got until I was thirty when my wife hired me a 964 Carrera 2 Cabriolet as a surprise birthday present. It was a cold March day but the roof stayed down! I even took some video footage to remind me of what I was missing.'
Towards the end of 2000 Rob was finally at the stage where a lot of hard work and careful saving saw him in a position to buy his dream 911, but there was still a lot of hard work ahead:'For starters I couldn't decide between a Turbo, a Carrera, or a turbo-bodied Supersport. In the end I decided that I didn't want the extra servicing expense of the Turbo or the extra weight of the Supersport without the extra power, so a Carrera 3.2 Coupe was the one for me. I started looking far and wide for a car to buy but a lot of the supposed quality examples I went to see were more like sheds. It was a nightmare.
After several wasted journeys I decided never to travel again to view what was always claimed to be an immaculate car and that I would wait for one to become available locally. Then in early 2001 I saw a white 1988 3.2 advertised with a Porsche dealer in Cardiff, which I thought must be good if they were prepared to offer it for sale.'
He was right. After some negotiation Rob owned his very own 67,000 mile 911 Carrera for a price which was no more then the other shed-like 'immaculate' examples he'd seen previously. That was ten years ago now and in that time he's added 22,000 miles. The car had a full service history when he bought it and other than keeping the routine servicing up to date all it's asked for is a set of tyres, a set of brake pads, and one front and one rear wheel bearing. Oh and a battery too. Inevitably though, you can't discuss owning an Eighties 911 for long before the topic of handling comes to the fore.
'They do have a reputation for unpredictable handling but I always keep a minimum of half a tank of fuel in it, brake in a straight line and then power through the corners. This seems to result in plenty of grip - within the confines of ordinary roads anyway! The rear end has stepped out a couple of times but if you stay committed it tucks back in nicely again. It may however get a bit more hairy on a track as you push the boundaries I suppose but I haven't taken it to that level.'
To enhance the sonorous bark of the flat six Rob fitted a Dansk twin-outlet silencer, but there was still something missing which no 911 could ever deliver.
'I've always loved the sound of a V8 and even thought about parting with the car at one stage for a '65-'66 Mustang fastback. My son Sam talked me out of it though by demanding that the 911 be left to him in my will, so that was the end of that little idea! But I still craved an American V8 so I just had to start saving hard again, the result of which was the purchase of a 1975 Corvette Stingray - so now I have the best of both worlds!'
So would Rob recommend classic 911 ownership? 'Oh yes, no question. All I'd say is that you should think carefully about paying as much as you can afford to get a good one and then keep it that way, rather than be tempted by a "bargain" which needs work - unless of course you're good with the oily bits.'
And the 'Vette? 'Again yes, but I still want a GT350 Mustang too... and a '57 Chevy Bel Air... and an Enzo... oh and after the last Sunday Service I could go for a white Aventador as well! Maybe I should just be content with what I already have.'