trying to shake one of these off on an Autobahn).In 1967 a semi-automatic gearbox was introduced this was named 'Sportomatic' it was introduced for easier driving, there was no clutch pedal this was actuated by a
switch fitted to the base of the gearshift and worked the clutch when you shifted gear, this took some getting used to, it was disbanded 12 years later (Hurraaaaay!!).
In August 1968, (69 model) on all 911's they
lengthened the wheelbase by 57 mm ,, this extended the wheelbase to 2,268 mm and the rear arch was redesigned, also some of the rear suspension. The gauges and some switch gear also changed at this time, front and rear
wings had a slight flare fitted to the 1969- models, also other small changes like front and rear side lights, and horn grills were different ( the 65-68 911's came from the factory with rust).
For the 1972
model year they refitted the oil tank to a different position just rear of the 'B' post and what looked like a petrol filler flap was fitted on the rear wing. This was changed after just a year and put back to the
original position.(some pump attendants thought this flap was for petrol. (Daa!!)!!)
For the 1973 model the '911 Carrera RS' was introduced, this was a flying machine in it's day (and still is) remember this was
before the Turbo came out. 1600 Carreras were to be built, of these 1,036 were lightweights, and about 600 plus had normal 911S road trim installed after production. About 100 were imported to Britain in 1973. The 2.7
Carrera RS was only produced for the 1973 model year, although the RS 210 hp engine was used in both 1974 and 75 (in the guise as the all new "Impact Bumper" model) and just named 2.7 Carrera, still a nice car but not
the same by any means.
For the 1974 model there was a massive change in all areas, the new impact bumper model was introduced, this was to comply with the American safety regulations, and with new fuel injection for
the air pollution laws mainly in California, so many 911's were exported to California the factory had to take notice of these regulations. The new 2.7 engine (not counting the Carrera RS) was rated as 150 hp, and
latter to 165, in "S" form 175 hp, it had a different fuel injection set up "K- Jet tronic", it was mostly mechanical but totally different to the earlier Bosche mechanical set up, again this was to satisfy the US and
Japanese air pollution regulations, as it turned out it was a pretty good compromise ,and there wasn't much to ware out.
The 2.7 engine was 150 hp and there was a 2.7S at 175 hp. the later 2.7 was 165 hp which was
dropped in the UK in 1975 and the US in 1976, (I think).
In 1975 the 3.0 ltr Turbo was introduced , 260 hp the most powerful road Porsche of the time, the braking system was the same as the 911S.( the owners of these
projectiles had my utter respect, after a while they had to have their brown trousers tailor made with a larger top of the right leg).
In 1976 the entire body Shell, Doors, Wings, Bonnet were made of galvanised
steel. A bare unpainted chassis had stood outside the factory for many years without any sign of deterioration.
Again in 1976 the 'Carrera 3' came on the market, this was a very nice 200 hp 3.0 ltr joby, It was the
first 3.0 ltr non Turbo production 911, the predecessor to the 3.0 ltr SC, it might be the one before the S/C but I have had both of these and I can tell you that the Carrera seemed a much nicer and quicker car to
drive, their was only 20 hp difference (180 hp 1978 S/C model) but seemed a lot more. The Carrera 3 had a 5-blade fan on the engine instead of eleven as on the rest. (I wish I had a nice condition one today!!).
The
1977, L.H.D. Sportomatic cars were the first 911's to be fitted with Servo assisted brakes (Power Brakes). It only took a year before all the 911 range were fitted with these, many enthusiasts didn't at first like this
idea ,but it wasn't long before everyone wanted power brakes on their 911's. (You could always tell if the customer's car didn't have power brakes, by his massive right thigh muscle and a screamy voice).
The 1978
Turbo had some great improvements, from 3.0 to 3.3 ltr engines, power up to 300 hp and at last a set of decent brakes, massive 4-pot calipers and huge discs, (although at low speed it felt like the S/C brakes were
better). The 16 inch Fuchs wheels with the then low profile tyres were introduced for the 3.3 Turbo with these massive discs and calipers. The 3.3 Turbo was a luxury car, not just an all out road burner, full leather
interior, air-conditioned, the 'full Monty.' Although a heavy car it had blistering performance, I remember when I was on an Autobahn in Germany on one of many trips looking for 911 parts to sell, (that was my excuse)
shifting into second gear from 15 mph then bashing the throttle to the floor, just a slight hesitation "then all hell would break loose" I felt that no other car would be able to overtake, they never did, only the
police Helicopters (Gits!!) The faster you went the quieter it got inside the car, when reaching 160 it was 'eerily' quiet. ( almost like a Tomb, "probably closer than you think to one").
For the 1979 model year the 'Sportomatic' gearbox was disbanded, (again Hurraaaay!!).
In 1979 some bright spark installed a pair 3.0 ltr S/C engines in an airship (this put a new meaning to 'Air Cooled') later the 3.2
lump was installed, this unit was also fitted to some light aircraft.
About this time a pair of German racers named Kremer ( Kremer Brothers) in collaboration with Design Plastics (D.P) introduced the slope nose
look for street cars, up till this time the slope nose cars were purely '935' racing machines. Porsche introduced its own slope nose in late 1981 as part of its 'Special Wishes Program' Porsche made theirs in metal with
only the front valance in fibre glass, it used 928 –style pop up headlights and the engine was also uprated to 330 hp by fitting a larger turbocharger, higher lift cams and modified exhaust, torque was similar to the
standard Turbo. ( this was certainly my 'special wish').
In 1983 Porsche bought out a Cabriolet body (the first since the '356' of the fifty's and early sixties. Everybody wanted one of these ,to my mind like the
Targa these looked far better without the spoiler of the Sport model. ( for me a Wide Body 911 Coupe without rear spoiler looks the 'Dogs').
Also for 1983 the torque was increased on the Turbo, this went from
303 lb/ft at 4000 rpm - 318. This was achieved chiefly by rerouting the waste gate's 'dump pipe' past the silencer so that it ejected straight into the atmosphere. Modifications also had to be made to the
injection and fuel injection settings, the warm-up regulator and distributor were changed and a new fuel distributor was fitted, their was no change to the horsepower.
For the 1984 Cabriolet, Porsche
introduced an expensive alloy hard top ,this was fully trimmed including sun visors and bolted to the body, but the exact dimensions were so critical that the car had to be returned to the factory for hand fitting, and
cost the earth!!.
The 3.2 Carrera was introduced as a 1984 model, they reckoned this model had an 80% change over the S/C. Better brakes, larger rear torsion bars, different rear spoiler and front valance
(flush fog lights) In 85 the front oil cooler was a more efficient design, (like a small radiator "better cooling") A stronger 915 gearbox with it's own oil cooler was also fitted, ( I believe the forth and fifth gears
were slightly higher). The engine was a gem with an engine electronic management system to control the ignition and fuel injection, and just about everything else, the Crank Shaft was stronger ,larger journals etc., the
same Crank was installed in the 3.3 Turbo, except the distributor gear was reversed (the distributor turned in the other direction) remember this when buying a used crank shaft for either model. (I didn't!!).
If you
are thinking of buying a 3.2 , it would be worth spending the extra and going for a post 85 model, these had better heating and ventilation, and tweaked suspension and possibly power hood and /or seats.
Also in
1986 (I think) the 911 Super sport was introduced as an option on the market, this was a wide body (Turbo look) 3.2 Carrera with the suspension and brakes of the 3.3 Turbo, (except the Turbo had sport shock absorbers
and thicker rear Torsion bars) but it was slower than the Carrera because of the extra weight and the wide body, (it was said at the time that the extra price over the standard 3.2 Carrera was as much as buying another
car) I never did understand why they bought this model out , I'd go for the Turbo anytime, and in the used market the Carrera was about the same price. (make sense of that if you can!!).
In 1986 12 R.H.D. Turbo 'Sport Equipment' (slope nose) were imported to Britain for the lucky few.
In 1987 Porsche bought out a much stronger gearbox, it had a hydraulic clutch and was much more user friendly, this
was the first time Porsche had used a hydraulic clutch mechanism on the 911, this was the beginning of the G50 series gearboxes, the G50 box was to continue up to the 993 in various guises.( the G50 was also damn good
for power shifting whilst having a burn-up.)
Also in 1987 the development of the 911 look a massive step forward with the introduction of the 959 early in 1987, production was limited to only 250. The low-drag
body which had a coefficient of 0.31, used a Turbo galvanised steel floorpan clad with Kevlar plastic and aluminium external panels. The roof mounted on a steel structure, wings ,engine lid, spoilers, and
underbody paneling were made from the immensely strong Kevlar while traditional aluminium was used for the doors and luggage boot. The roof was further stiffened with hard foam and the floor with Nomex cloth. The
engine was derived from the competition 935, 956, and 962 cars. The engine basically was a 962 which had water cooled heads, this made the task of operating the heater and air-con unit far easier than with the normal
air-cooled unit. The car had four-wheel drive system, with power steering, the interior was remarkably like that of the normal Turbo,( that was where the similarity ended). Two-stage sequential turbo charging (two turbo
units) with twin inter coolers, one in each rear wing minimised lag and help produce 450 hp at 6500 rpm. The 911's normal fan cooling combined with the alternator was supplemented by a water radiator and twin oil
coolers in the nose. (I've got to stop now I'm drooling all over the key board).
For the 1988 model year a new lightweight Carrera for the enthusiast was introduced 'The Club Sport' for short
CS, this was made significantly lighter by about 180lb's by doing away with such options as passenger sun visor, rear seats, rear side panels, heater fans and electric heater controls, glove box lock, door pocket lids,
electric window winders, Boot and engine lights, and electric seat adjusters. Even lighter carpets and deleting much of the sound-deadening material was the order of the day, as was slightly higher forth and
fifth gear ratios and stiffer shock absorbers.
In 1988/89 the only noticeable change was to the front and rear screens, they used the same screens as the next year C/4 and C/2's, they were slightly larger, the rubber
seals were not so wide and didn't use a bezel in the middle, (not many people know that, 'thank you Michael').
The last of the old look 3.3 turbo's in 1989 came with a Hydraulic clutch, two years after the 3.2
Carrera, this was a rare Turbo in as much as it was the only Turbo from 1974-89 (impact bumper models) with a hydraulic clutch, then the Turbo 2 came out in 1991, which was an entirely different animal. ("I'd kill for
one of these").
The 911 cars that followed were superb in every way, and became very sophisticated, so much so, that the back yard mechanics with these vehicles became almost non existent, I suppose that this was the
end of an era, I've certainly noticed that not so many enthusiasts (punters) are buying the parts as they did a few years ago, it's the professionals running the Independent workshops that we deal with more these days,
whether that's good or bad I am not sure. One thing I'm sure of is that Porsche will carry on building wonderful vehicles for many years, but you won't see many in private garages with the engine lid open and a guy with
a spanner in his hand and a smile on his face. (Boo Hoo!!)
