Some months back I was cycling towards Tower Bridge from Surrey Quays when I stumbled upon this innocuous signage.
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| The discrete signage that piqued my curiosity. Photo Credit: Google Maps Screen Grab |
I thought surely this place could hold some hidden treasures given the understated no-frills claim to be Porsche specialists. Returning to the site a good four times I never found it open. Until, on my way to the delicious Tapas bar Jose last night when I wasn't even paying attention, (I was racing my sister and her partner who'd taken the bus) I did a double take when I saw some beautiful classics inside. Deciding it was worth losing the faux race, I stopped to chat with the incredibly nice co-owner mechanic whom I never got the name of - I shall refer to him as Mechanic Friend (MF). MF was closing the shop for the evening and it was half in darkness, but without much coaxing he took me right through and when he hit the light switch, this was revealed.
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| Previously in darkness these Porsche classics were all Left Hand Drive (LHD). Photo Credit: Paul Joshua |
Giggity. Among the stable were vintage 911's in various states of restoration, a stunning 356 C Cabriolet, a couple of newer 997's, a 944 and a Boxster S; most notable though was this Gemballa Avalanche varient 930 flatnose.
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| The Gemballa Avalanche Porsche 930 is a relic from the outrageous 80's. Photo Credit: Paul Joshua |
Gemballa is a tuning company that focuses primarily on Porsche's and this example is about as extreme as it gets. This is a rare car as only 13 were ever sold in the 8 years of production, the power came from an RUF (another Porsche tuning company) engine upping the output to 370hp (276kW) from the stock 300hp (223kW). Later models were some of the first production vehicles to utilise rear-view side camera technology, saving the driver literally centimetres of head and eye movement to view their surrounds... It's a wonder the expensive technology that could be somewhat more-prone-to-failure-than-a-mirror never really caught on. Alas the massive side strakes, wide-body kit and extreme wing were enough for 'acclaimed' rapper Vanilla Ice to have bought this very car! (MF said Vanilla Ice used to own this, struggling to clarify with le internet whether it was this exact car but it is quite possible given only 13 ever existed)
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| A Porsche 356 C Photo Credit: Paul Joshua |
Anyhow, back to the unmolested classics. While not as desirable as the earlier speedster this 1964 Porsche 356 C was the final revision of the model and is the most usable because of this. It included disc instead of drum brakes, and this cabriolet variant had a much more weather and soundproof 3-layer canvas roof. This vehicle belongs to the co-owner of Tower Porsche who also has immaculate taste but I'm not sure the broom handle holding up the 'trunk' came as standard. An oddity in the ethos of The Porsche Specialists who go to painstaking lengths to ensure their cars are restored to original spec. A perfect example is this complete rebuild of a 1960's 911 which has just came back from a paint-dip.
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| The still quite barren 911 Photo Credit: Paul Joshua |
As you can see they've stripped it right back to the shell. MF said they didn't have to do too much work to this body but there were some rust repairs along the B pillar. He says the complete rebuild with all the looming etc. will take 80 man hours.
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| The painted area beneath the vent. Photo Credit: Paul Joshua |
This above photo shows the engine cooling vent, where if you look closely there's a small painted area around the edge beneath the grills. MF tells how other less fastidious restorers paint this area black, whereas MF did the research to get the specific 'dark grey' original tone of the factory.
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| Front of the 911 Cabriolet. Photo Credit: Paul Joshua |
I'd asked MF if customers were more willing to spend big money on restorations since companies such as Singer came along, creating a new market for extremely expensive mod-con reinterpretations of the classics. He was of the opinion that prices in general have been steadily skyrocketing since the Global Financial Crisis and customers know they'll get their money back and more. One of the downsides to the phenomenal prices Porsche's are now selling for is that he has stopped doing track-days in his 993 RS because it's simply too valuable now!
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| Another LHD vintage 911. Photo Credit: Paul Joshua |
We discussed the 944 as a good, affordable old Porsche but MF's pick of the affordable bunch would be an early Boxster S. For as little as £4k ($8k AUD) you get a turn key and go convertible sportscar with modern reliability, a beautifully balanced chassis and an engine with the ability to overpower it, whereas the standard non 'S' version you don't quite have the power to do so. His current daily driver is a 997 Carrera 4S which has a lot to do with his wife's influence and less than eager views on the smells and comfort levels of the classics that he so prefers.
All in all I would say this was a tremendous ten minutes where I was like a kid in a candy store. A massive thanks to my very kind mechanic friend who I'd recommend in a heartbeat as he seems a very knowledgeable, generous and humble fellow who's ran this place in it's current location for 21 years! Also to my sister who must have thought I'd been hit by a car when I was quite delayed.
