During the time I worked for two different restoration shops in Brazil, I had the opportunity to drive some interesting cars and bikes.
A couple of days ago I was going through hundreds of digital pictures that I have scattered all over Google Drive and found a few shots of one of those cars, a 1983 Porsche 911 Targa that came to be part of the Powertech collection back in 2012.
The previous owner didn’t care much about the originality of this car, the rims are from a modern Porsche, and when the fuel injection gave up, he replaced it with a cheaper, made-in-Brazil, EFI. Since it was an injection system designed for competition and non-sequential, the 3.0 flat-six was kinda rough at low rpm. It was only above 3,000 that little bastard would sing happily.
Besides the EFI problem, which could be easily fixed, this Targa was a very nice car. I used to say it was the perfect bachelor car.
It was not the first vintage Porsche I drove but it confirmed a feeling that I had before. I don’t quite get all the fuss about those older Porsches. To me, they behave like a VW Beetle on steroids, they sound like a Beetle, and they even smell like one. All those similarities came as no surprise since the two cars share the same DNA
Don’t get me wrong, I am not bashing the 911, the car has heritage, for sure; otherwise, it wouldn’t have thousands of devoted fans around the world. I just fail to see it on a pedestal, placed much higher than other sports cars.
By the same time this 911 was at Powertech, the team had finished a Brazilian built 1976 Dodge Dart for a customer. The car was equipped with spiced up 318 small block and a four-on the-floor transmission, it was a delight to drive. One day we were scheduled to take both cars to the Detran (equivalent to DOT) for an inspection. The manager tossed me the Porsche’s key and said:
– “Rubens, I am gonna be nice to you, take the 911”.
I looked at the key, then I looked at the white Dart at the parking lot and said:
– “Nah, let me drive the Dodge”. And at this moment A Matter of Feeling, by Duran Duran was playing on the radio. I pointed to the speaker and said:
– “It is just a matter of feeling”.
The Classic Machines 
I’ve always liked the look of the Porsche 911, but I’ve never been in or driven one. Sounds like you had a fantastic job with restoring vintage cars!
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It was the best job of my life. Every day was a different challenge but when you do what you love, you just face the challenges with a smile on your face.
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Your article came up rightbas I started lunch. I read it line bybline and enjoyed it thoroughly. But two questions.
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You mentioned that the owner of the 911 didn’t care much for originality. How abou yyou, Rubens? As a guy working in a car shop, did you look down on hom because he didn’t buy Fuchs wheels?
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You said that 911s were like Beetles on steroids, but didnt smell right. What did you mean? Like…none of that lovely gasoline smell?
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Hey, Chris. Thank you, I am happy you enjoyed the article.
No, I didn’t look down on him, actually I like his choice. I think the 911 looks better with bigger rims and low profile tires.
I didn’t mean about the gasoline smell that some Beetles have. What I mean is that peculiar smell that most of older cars have, it is something that comes mostly from the seat trims and pads. I just noticed that old Beetles and old Porsches have the same interior smell LOL.
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Yeah, your timing was perfectl. Sat down for lunch and a Classic Machines article.
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Some people feel very strongly about originality. But theres so much room to improve classic cars with new parts… it just cant be ignored. I met a guy in Scarborough last week with an 82 Mustang convertible. Told him I’d noticed his car cruising along Eglinton because it had factory LOOKING wheels in a larger diameter and a huge lip (on the rears). I respected that he kept it stock looking while also adding a custom / performance enhancement.
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And I think I know the smell of the interior. Maybe its the foam in the seats aging, or the vinyl deteriorating. It smells like old cars in the hot sun.
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Please remove me from your mailing lists.
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I believe only you can do it. You must go to subscriptions, edit, and then unsubscribe.
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You know your stuff, Rubens. I think you have oil in your veins. 🙂
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Thanks, Nancy. I think I do have oil running in my veins. I am the third generation in the family making a living around cars. We have a few mechanics, a painter, and a used car dealer in this gearhead family.
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