1977 Carrera 3.0 Rejuvenation Project

Like so many others, my passion for Porsches started at a young age. Mine started at 15, when Len my elder brother was kind enough to take me along to the 1976 Dutch F1 Grand Prix at Zandvoort. We were living in Holland at the time, he was 25 and I was 10 years younger. That day, I can remember how proud I was to be invited into the cool car world that my big brother seemed to inhabit.

We arrived early at the circuit and were immediately mesmerised by a brand new, ice-green over black (MY ‘77) Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0, prominently parked in the car park. For me, this was the first time I realized just how stunning 911s were. For Len, this was just confirmation of what he already knew… he’d had an eye for 911s for many years. In fact, we were both so distracted by the 911 that we missed the start of the F1 race. Looking back now, I can’t even remember who won the race, but I still have vivid memories of that beautiful car!

Fast-forward 40 years, now living in Victoria, Len and I have 993’s which we both love. However, for the past year, we’ve both experienced a need for a project… a car to rejuvenate & renew. So, early 2016, the search for a Carrera 3.0 began. We first became aware of an opportunity to buy one, when I got a call from Rob Raymer at RSR Garage in Richmond. He’d posted a blog entry, on his RSR website on August 15th, as follows:

1977 3-Litre Carrera
Australian delivered beauty – needing a little paint… will be worth big $$$$ when done. Call Rob Raymer for details.

I quickly called Len and we arranged to get to Rob’s that afternoon. Both Len and I were immediately taken with how good the car looked for its age and kilometers. We decided there and then to figure out a way to own and rejuvenate this lovely car. Given that we had been talking about the desire to restore a car for so long, it took only a brief conversation to convince our better halves of the obvious benefits of our mad plan. We reached agreement on the price with Rob and the 911 was ours. We were now on our way!

Just so you’re not thinking Len and I are impetuous, we have always checked the history of our 911’s before making a purchase. If you’re considering an Australian delivered 911, and you want some certainty, the quickest and easiest way to get the required confirmation, is by calling the Technical Competence Centre – Porsche Cars Australia and quoting the chassis, VIN and engine numbers. As it turned out, Rob had already contacted them and they confirmed that our car is an Australian delivered, matching numbers 911551 type, 911 Carrera 3.0 Coupe Sportomatic.

The car was delivered new on Tuesday September 6th, 1977 through John Newell Porsche in Sydney, as follows:
• Paint: ‘Platindiamant’ (Platinum Diamond) – colour code 944,
• Interior: ‘Kork’ Leatherette,
With the following options:
• C23: Australian Specification,
• 009: 3-Speed Sportomatic Transmission
• 058: Impact Absorbing Bumpers,
• 261: Passenger Side Mirror,
• 399: Air-conditioning,
• 401: 15” Light-metal wheels (Fuchs),
• 590: Centre Console,
• 650: Electric Sunroof,

For the record, here are the production numbers of the Carrera 3.0.

We don’t know numbers of Carrera 3.0s that Hamiltons imported into Australia, but they would have been quite small, making an Australian delivered Carrera 3.0 quite a rare car. As a comparison, the total world-wide build numbers of the subsequent models are:
911 SC (1978 – 1983): 58,914 cars
911 Carrera 3.2 (1984 – 1988): 76,473 cars

Stay tuned for the next post, as we take the car to the team at NINEAUTO to begin the restoration process…

By Peter Bosland