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I'm Sander
I'm 39
I purchased this car..
..two years ago in England.
My love of Porsche started..I suppose around 13 years ago.
I started as a Citroën enthusiast, but switched to Porsche after a tip from a friend..
...he'd heard about a 912 for sale.
The first 911 model, but a four-cylinder.
Subsequently bought...
..years of tinkering, refurbishing...
..but my greatest love was the 356. The primal Porsche..
..the very first..
..with actually the same engine as in the 912.
But after 12,13 years I decided to get rid of the 912..
And buy a 356. Actually, I've altered it ..
..quite considerably. I love driving especially in a sports car.
The best thing about Porsche is..
..it is light and quick..
..I've even made it quicker by putting a later engine in it.
Fitted Disc brakes, adjusted the suspension...
...& now drives like a dream.
Every time you drive this care it conjures up a smile on your face..
..and sometimes on the faces of others.
But as you make a trip to say the south of France, A trip I often make..
..with a couple of friends to..
..burn a little petrol in the alps, now that really is hard work.
But that's also the beauty of a car like this..
..now that's playing, you can throw & fling it around and is amazingly fast..
..for a car build in '59...60.
I bought this car..
..because well actually I think it's the most beautiful Porsche and as I..
..think rationally, solely about
..it's user friendliness..
..and also the costs involved, I should have really kept my 912.
It was far more practical & you could take things along with you...let's be honest though...
.. the handling was better, but I prefer this car simply because..
..it's the prettier of the two.
Driving this car..you feel everything.
There is no spring suspension in these seats.. Steering is light, engine in the rear of course..
..so as you drive through the mountains..
..you can push him anyway you want. The nicest thing about a car like this..
..compared to a modern car: Is that you..
..can exactly feel the machine working for you.
You can actually feel the car slipping into gear..
..the gearstick enter the gearbox, & you can actually feel when you open the throttle the gas rod slip backwards.
You can feel exactly the mechanics..
..to send you on your way with the speed you desire..
..it is also a car you could call 'maintenance friendly' which I have always thought...
..a blessing.
One disadvantage...
...what should be mentioned are the costs involved.
The maintenance..
..I do everything myself..but the prices of the spares..
..are extremely expensive.
And always a gulp before ordering anything.
Often via the internet, because most spares..
..come from America.
The camera will probably shake a bit; Amsterdam isn't the best place..
..to go out for a drive, because of the many traffic lights, traffic calming ramps & speed cameras.
We're out of the urban areas, so I think we can push the gas pedal down a little further.
Sun is shining..
..a lovely day for fun and games..
When I picked this car up from England, on a trailer..
..it was a snowy December day
The car was totally original and had a reconditioned engine with matching numbers.
I took off with a friend to France, drove through the alps
..but then..
..the performance began to irritate me a little 75 horse power.
Wasn't enough I thought.
So I was in a bit of a quandary..I wanted a bit more speed..
..so, we were driving home, when a friend of mine, the passenger..
..leaning with his knee on the gear stick..
That was in hindsight not a good idea By the time we'd reached Belgium..
..the car wouldn't change gear anymore & it transpired that..
..the gearstick had broken off from the gearbox.
So, engine out, gearbox out..
..the gearbox I sent to England for an overhaul, & then started..
..basically the whole rebuilding, & then it dawned on me..
..while we're at it, let's replace the engine, I picked up a 912 engine, specially adjusted..
..everything overhauled, replaced & now a bit faster & the gearbox..
..ratio's calculated with a computer, also overhauled, brakes adjusted..
..until it's finally ended up as I wanted it to be, as it is now.
I have a turned it into a bit of a racer for the non connoisseurs out there..
..the rear is from a 356 BT5.
The bumpers from the front and rear removed..
..the holes for the bumper mountings..
..welded shut & I've fitted a racing exhaust system underneath.
The engine has been modified, and is fitted with a 'Big Bore'
..more torque..
... sharper camshafts. Carburetors that I had overhauled in America.
Now there's like about 125 horsepower under the bonnet
Then we're off..
..& I can honestly say, it can now really kick ***.
My love of engineering started, I reckon when..
..I was around fourteen.. When my cousin pulled up in..
..his very first car, I sat for hours in that car..
..and then you turn 15, 16 & you buy a moped I bought at that time a 'Tyfoon'
..a jalopy built in 1958, so you could say I've always been a partial for old technology..
..it's to do with 'the looks'.
This car was drawn by the hand.. ..built.. designed..
..built.. designed..so if you love engineering, you love Porsche.
It's fast.. it's..
.. easy to tinker about with and it is beautiful.
Actually, there isn't a part, electronic or mechanical, which hasn't..
..passed through my hands.
Except for the little 6 volt radio, which I disconnected..
..the valve radio still works though..
..but that is just about the only part of the car I haven't tinkered with, and the rest...
..has really all been renewed..
..to make the car faster.
Sometimes I think..
..who's ridden in this car, & where has the car been?
I am the third owner, the first owner was..
..someone on the board of 'Porsche club America' He'd also raced in the car..
..in the States.
Then the car was taken to England, where I picked it up.
I often ask myself if people would be shocked if they heard..
..that the car isn't..
..totally original..
...the real purists wouldn't be happy but ultimately for me it's about..
..speed in combination with reliability..
..is important & that is exactly what this car is.
This car is dependable and fast.
And that's nice..