The Awakening
I have to admit, I have a little crush on this car. You see, my first Porsche was a Moss Green ’86 911 Carrera. The colour was absolutely stunning but also incredibly rare. I had never seen another one other than mine since. Even on social media, I once saw one in the background of a photo but it turned out to be my old car. Seeing this one in the flesh for the first time really brought back great memories of my old one. This 1984 911 Carrera looks spectacular in its radiant paint work dressed in 15 inch Superlight wheels but there’s something a little special about this particular car. More on that later.
We’ve all read the stories about the childhood dream of owning a Porsche. The posters on the bedroom wall or some family member that had a long hood from brand new. The life long desire to own one of Germany’s finest. Well, this isn’t one of those stories. In fact, the owner of this beautiful ’84 Carrera, Andrew Whyment, had no interest in Porsches at all. That was until the first generation Cayman was released by Porsche. There was something about the lines, those hips, that grabbed Andrew’s attention. The timing wasn’t right to buy though and for the next 5 years, Andrew thought about those voluptuous hips of the Cayman. It wasn’t until he decided to close the doors on his business that he had been running for 21 years that he finally bit the bullet and treated himself to a 2006 Cayman S.
I first met Andrew two years ago on a trip to Tasmania organised through the Porsche Forum Australia. It was not long after he’d purchased the Cayman and was his first holiday in 15 years! There were 14 cars on that trip including a couple 911 SCs and 3.2 Carreras, 964s, a 996 GT3, the latest Boxster Spyder and even the Paddington Outlaw was there in his black Turbo! It was an amazing week but one thing became abundantly clear to Andrew on that trip. We were all going a similar pace but the guys at the back were ringing the necks out of their old air cooled cars and having a blast doing it. That’s not to say that the modern guys weren’t having fun but the capability of the Cayman was well beyond the legal speed limits and Andrew’s nerves. It was an awakening to the “greatness of the air cooled experience” as Andrew put it and it had him very inquisitive about owning a classic Porsche. Coming from a life of riding and racing motorbikes, mainly Ducatis, the air cooled concept jelled with him in a lot of ways.
Shortly after returning from the Tassie trip, Andrew started the hunt for a relatively cheap SC or 3.2 Carrera with the plan to hold on to the Cayman as he was still unsure that an air cooled car was the right decision. It wasn’t long before he’d purchased a red 911 SC. It was a bit of a roughy, but with a little TLC, Andrew had it running well and had plenty of outings in the Adelaide Hills to get familiar with the thrill of driving an old 911. It didn’t take much to get the bug and the decision was made to sell the Cayman and SC and find a better quality car. Andrew eventually hit the jackpot with this 1984 3.2 Carrera.
Merchandise and Prints
The car was built in 1998 by Weltmeister Porsche for a local Melbourne customer. The car is based on a club car concept developed by Weltmeister for competing in Group B racing, a category ran by the Porsche Club of Victoria. This spec was used for several club cars which took out race honours for 2 years in a row. The car specification had to meet rules as per Group B which did not allow the car to be modified too far from standard.
At the time Weltmeister were also the distributor for the RUF brand of Porsche improvement parts, the car had the front and rear bumpers replaced, a RUF tail added and RUF side mirrors, all to save weight. A RUF steering wheel and gear knob was also added to give greater driver feeling.
An engine re-build was carried out with several items upgraded including Porsche 964 cams, Carrillo connecting rods, valve spring retainers, lightened flywheel and a hi pressure aluminium clutch. A tuned length exhaust was built by Peter Starr.
Many hours were spent re-mapping the engine management by Chiptorque using an inhouse dyno to squeeze every last bit of power from the engine at critical areas through the rev range, especially between 4-6000 rpm. Larger front and rear torsion bars plus adjustable Koni front struts and rear shock absorbers were installed to improve handling. 15inch Superlight wheels were added, 7 inch up front and 8inch to the rear with R spec tyres ensuring the car has plenty of grip. The brakes had braided lines and cooling ducts added as well as a braking force limiter to help relax rear end lock up under heavy braking.
The interior took on a new look with RS door cards, RS carpets, roll cage, rear seat delete, 5 point racing harness, Sparco race seats and a Porsche short shift gear lever. To reduce weight further, all sound insulation was removed as well as all of the air conditioning parts. From the photos, you can see that Andrew has made some changes since it rolled out of Weltmeister all those years ago. The Sparco seats have been replaced with period correct Porsche tombstone seats to provide much more comfort when touring. The RUF steering wheel and gear knob have also been replaced with a Momo Retro wheel with eccentric hub and a matching gear knob to further improve comfort and aesthetics. You may have also noticed the car is no longer sporting a RUF front bumper as Andrew preferred the look of the standard impact bumper.
As we take off, it immediately hits you that this isn’t your average 3.2 Carrera. The ride is firm but not annoying. The sound is intoxicating! It’s not crazy loud but it’s a beautiful roar that tickles your insides. The thing that grabs me most though is the power. It just pulls hard all the way through the rev range until the joyous scream of the engine is momentarily interrupted to flick it up a gear and then it’s on it hard again. As a fellow 3.2 owner, it leaves me suitably impressed and a little jealous.
It’s no wonder Andrew is thrilled with the car. “Driving the car is an experience that awakens all your senses, all road surface changes are relayed through the steering wheel which, added to the sharp and precise steering, lets you know this is not going to be a mellowed out Sunday drive, bring it on. With the windows down you get a chorus of sounds from the recently added Fabspeed muffler and the elevated engine bay sounds put you in the mood for some spirited driving. This car represents to me what driving a Porsche is all about, loads of feedback, power and the ability to dance through corners. It always feels ready for action and when pushed, always rewards me with a visceral experience, my Sundays have never been the same since owning this car…”
Andrew has always been passionate about all things automotive and he recently directed that passion towards a new business venture in graphic design, producing custom decals, t-shirts, and hats. For example, customers can get vintage race decals reproduced for their vehicle. A recent order was for a group that attended the Bathurst 12 hour who ordered some custom t-shirts to commemorate the event. And yes, he created the script on his car. Check out his website at pistongraphics.com.au
