What’s it like to own a classic 911 G-Series model? Find out from an owner
Thomas Walk on the joys of 911 G-Series ownership
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After spotting a classic 911 hidden in a makeshift shed outside a house in Sydney, Thomas Walk explains how it led to him embarking on a fascinating journey of discovery and fun
Owner’s Guide: the 911 G-series• The 911 G-Series was produced between 1973 and 1989• At 4291 mm, the 911 G-Series was 144 mm longer than its predecessor • The 911 G-Series was launched with a 2.7-litre, six-cylinder engine with a variety of power outputs• The 911 G-Series was the first 911 model range to introduce a turbo-charged engine option• Over the lifespan of the G-Series, 198,496 vehicles were made• 911 G-Series owner Thomas Walk is a creative director and photographer based in Sydney, AustraliaWith more than 60 years of history in its flowing curves and lines, the 911 is one of the world’s most recognisable and beloved sportscars. But while that iconic flyline has remained a constant, each one of its eight generations has its own characteristics. The best way, of course, to find out more about what it’s like to own a classic 911 is to talk to an owner. In this new series, owners of models from each of the 911 generations share their story. They’ll be offering tips and insights but also explaining exactly why every generation of this car continues to cast a spell on so many. Kicking it all off is the 911 G-Series. Produced between 1973 and 1989, the G-Series was the second generation of the 911 made. It launched with a 2.7-litre, six-cylinder engine with a variety of power outputs, but was later joined by ever more powerful models, including the introduction of the soon-to-be-famous 911 Turbo in October 1974.Based in Sydney, Australia, Thomas Walk is a creative team member at Type 7, a daily magazine dedicated to Porsche on Instagram, as well as a lead creative at publishing house, ERG Media. The owner of a 1977 2.7-litre 911 G-Series, he tells us his own unique story.Thomas Walk first spotted the 911 G-Series model that he now owns sat in a makeshift shed next to a house in Sydney, Australia Photo: Thomas WalkFinding the right 911 G-Series for you: be open to surprisesStarting out on the journey to become a classic 911 owner might look daunting, but the process of finding and buying the car for you is all part of the fun. For Thomas, his experience was “kind of a dream story” – because he feels like his G-Series model found him rather than vice versa.Owning a 911 had been a recurring dream for Thomas as long as he could remember. Then, one day, he pulled up at a set of traffic lights in Sydney while on his way to work. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a car parked beside a house, partially hidden under tarpaulin in a makeshift shed. Overgrown vegetation surrounded it, but the tarp’s positioning revealed enough of the car for him to see the unmistakeable rear grille of a 911 G-Series. “The alarm bells went off,” says Thomas. “Out of pure curiosity, I had to find out what the deal was with this car. I parked up, walked to the house, knocked on the door – but no one answered. So I came back the following day. Again, no one answered. On the third day, I went to the house again, which I by now thought was probably abandoned. All I knew was that this was an old 911 underneath the cover.”This time, however, a rap on the door reaped dividends. “A lovely lady answered it and told me its full story,” Thomas recalls. “The car was her husband’s. He was the second owner of the car but had fallen ill. She told me that the car had been sat there for two or three years.”At that point, mindful of the owner’s story, he didn’t immediately make a pitch for it. But after saying his goodbyes, he couldn’t get the car out of his head. Thomas’ dad was a former Porsche mechanic who had previously run a dealership in Europe, so he told him about his encounter. He immediately encouraged him to go back and make an offer to buy it. After speaking to the owner’s wife again, he left his details… and waited. A fortnight later, the phone went at which point things began to accelerate. Thomas’ dad checked the car over – which didn’t start and was leaking from the tailpipe – but gave the thumbs up to proceed with the purchase.Soon after, Thomas was a 911 owner and was carrying it back home on a flat-bed truck. Serendipity may have played a part in Thomas getting to this point, but a passion for Porsche did too, which had obviously been picked up on by its previous owners. When buying a classic 911, such a passion, mixed with perseverance, is likely to give you an edge when it comes to securing the right car for you.After buying his 911 G-Series, Thomas leaned on the expertise of his father – a former Porsche mechanic – to get his car back on the road after a lengthy dormant period under the previous owner Photo: Thomas WalkLean on know-how when you buy a classic 911The oldest G-Series models are now over 50 years old but keeping them on the road is often more straightforward than you might think. However, it’s likely that you’ll need to lean on some know-how.Fortunately for Thomas, his father’s history with Porsche came in very handy once he got the car home. But even with access to a knowledge base like this, Thomas was determined to learn as much as he could himself, whether that was hunting down books, watching endless videos… whatever it took.As Thomas explains, his G-Series is about as basic a model you can get. Even for a Porsche 911 produced back in 1977 – it’s a 2.7-litre model, not the more powerful 3.0-litre of the 911 Carrera of the time – it’s decidedly unflashy. Its interior reflects that, with a surfeit of vinyl. This is not a car that shouts loudly, despite its bright paintwork.“If you went into a Porsche dealership back in 1977, before you put the cash down you were probably given a sheet of options,” Thomas explains. “My car is one where no boxes were ticked, with a vinyl dashboard and vinyl seats. And it’s got the standard four-speed gearbox, rather than the optional five-speed.”The first task for Thomas and his father was to drain the fluids, which hadn’t been done for some time. “It had been sitting there for three years. Prior to that, it probably didn’t run that well,” says Thomas. “There was quite a bit to do, and it had been sitting outside and not in a nice, dry garage. My dad’s quite methodical when it comes to working on these cars, whereas I was just so giddy to have a Porsche. I couldn’t believe it.”Following advice from his father, Thomas decided to keep his G-Series model looking as close to its factory condition as possible Photo: Thomas WalkWhile Thomas was excitedly trawling specialist websites for parts, building a lengthy wish list, his father encouraged him to take a deep breath and get the basics sorted first. They ripped out the old brake lines and put new ones in, installed a new steering rack and replaced anything made of rubber on the car. This, says Thomas, was a big learning for him. Vital steps that needed undertaking, before you even consider addressing its looks. Concentrate on the things that get your 911 roadworthy first, is his advice.“There’s a natural knee-jerk reaction when you buy a car like this. You want to make it cool,” adds Thomas. “These cars are simple, but everything needs to work well together at once. You need to make sure that everything’s squared up before you start thinking about the cosmetic side. Because if you can’t stop your car or steer it well, then what’s the point?”What’s it like driving a 911 G-Series? Eight years have passed since Thomas bought his 911 G-Series. The suspension has got a lot of attention in that period, as well as fitting the correct wheels (something that Thomas is keen to point out was a significant difference maker when it came to maximising driving pleasure).“You eventually understand that it’s the stuff below the surface that really makes the difference,” he says. “I’ll never forget the day that I got the wheels properly aligned, with the correct tyres, to set the car at its proper ride height. It was like adding horsepower without touching the engine. Suddenly it felt like a new car, four years into owning it.”This is a classic 911 that demands to be driven every day, whether that’s heading to the beach, used for shopping trips or simply hitting the open road for the sheer driving pleasure of it Photo: Thomas WalkOver time, Thomas has learnt how to drive it in order to get the most out of it (“Today, I know it like the back of my hand”). As a result, with the wheels properly aligned and wheels and tyres just as they should be, he says he can take on a bend in the road at speed with confidence.“It handles like a Porsche should,” says Thomas. “It may not be the fastest car, but I can push it confidently around corners and know exactly where it will go.”Embrace a classic 911 as a daily driverThomas’s 911 G-Series has become, he says, “a joy” to drive. And that’s exactly what he does with it. It’s not a car for showing off – although its understated appearance inadvertently turns heads – it’s a car to drive as often as possible. While he owns two other ‘modern’ cars, he says that the 911 is now more reliable than the both of them. Those days sat dormant, shrouded by a loose cover, outside a house are now well and truly over. This is a classic 911 that gets properly driven. Not for show, but a car that fits in with everyday life.“Sure, there’s a little oil leak here and there – it marks its territory when it wants to,” says Thomas. “But I know that whenever I start it, it starts. One of the amazing things about the story arc of this car is that the longer that I’ve owned it, the more reliable it’s become, because I’ve ironed out so many of its little bugs.”This is a 911 in which no boxes were ticked when it came to options when ordered in the mid-1970s. Its original Talbot Yellow paintwork might catch the eye from the outside, but the vinyl dashboard and seats are the epitome of function and understatement Photo: Thomas WalkThomas’ love for his 911 is already rubbing off on the next generation. It’s become his young daughter’s favourite car; a car that they use to run errands and to head to the beach with too. As you might expect, the latter is an important rite of passage for any young Sydneysider.“She’s at that age now where she can sit in the front because she's too tall for the child seat to go in the back,” Thomas says of his daughter’s passenger rides. “It’s the only car where she can sit in the front, which makes it a very special, cool car to her.”How a classic 911 brings joy to others“A bright, Talbot Yellow 911 G-Series was not the poster that I had on my wall as a kid,” admits Thomas. “It would have been a white, 911 Carrera 3.0 – that was the one for me. But I got thrown a bit of a curveball with this car.”Before he bought a 911, Thomas already had ideas spinning around his head about what he would do with it once he eventually took the plunge and bought one. But the ‘curveball’ nature of his 911 G-Series meant adjusting his response accordingly. When he told his dad that he was thinking of repainting it black, he was quickly reproached.“My dad said to me, ‘You know, this car has been around 45 years. It's still exactly the way it was when it left the factory. What gives you the right to do anything to it but preserve it?’ And that really stuck with me,” says Thomas. It was sage advice from someone who really knows, and Thomas couldn’t be happier to have shown restraint and taken his dad’s advice on board. It was given its colour for a reason, the same for its deliciously retro interior, with all that brown vinyl and its ‘shaggy’ carpets. It’s very much a product of the 1970s. All that he’s really touched on its interior is fitting a new black rooflining to replace the sagging original. “I appreciate it for what it was intended to be,” says Thomas.Owning a classic 911 G-Series is a “joy”, says Thomas. It’s a feeling that, seemingly, is shared by everyone who comes into contact with it Photo: Thomas WalkIt’s had a similar effect on many of the people who encounter it. Ironically, perhaps, its somewhat understated nature garners as much attention from passers-by – if not more – than ‘showier’ cars.“I’ve never been the show type,” says Thomas. “I find all that a little embarrassing. When you’re in a car park somewhere, people will ask how much is this worth. But to me, it’s not worth anything because I’ll never attempt to sell it. It’s got 174,000 original kilometres [108,000 miles] on the clock, leaks more oil than it burns and is a little bit tired in the bottom end, but still drives great. And a lot of credit for that goes to its previous owners, who were gentle with it.”Thomas’ 911 G-Series is a bringer of joy. No one asks how quick it is off the line or how fast it goes, he says. “All of that is beside the point,” Thomas adds, “because this is such a happy-looking little car.”Thomas Walk’s top tips for 911 G-series owners• Drive it regularly “The good Dr Porsche [Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of Porsche AG] prescribed driving to be a daily affair. Drive it regularly and with some spirit. Give in to the siren song of the flat six and don’t let it sit for long as rubbery bits get stiff, fuel goes bad and tyres get flat spots. As Jerry Seinfeld once said, ‘When you get to heaven, if you've got the lowest mileage Porsche, you lose’.”• When it comes to servicing, keep it simple “I’ll confess to not being a log book guy when it comes to oil changes. We keep things simple around my parts. Once a year does the trick, and I’ll get the timing and brakes checked while I’m at it too. The big one is the valve guides and head studs. I get those checked by someone with more mechanical talent than myself – every 10,000 km [around 6,000 miles] for good measure.”• Don’t stint on choosing the right oil “These old-timers are air-cooled cars, but that name is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Truth is that the oil within will do more cooling than the breeze underneath. So don’t cheap out, get the good stuff – and the good stuff only. For me, 20-60W is the choice, and that of most 911 G-series owners. Bonus points if you can score some with extra zinc to lube up those valves.”• Listen to your 911 “Be at one with the G! That means drive and listen. The best way to know the health status of an older Porsche is to drive it. Good oil pressure, responsive throttle, no blue smoke, no unsettling rattles. Tick all these and you’re A-OK. Just enjoy it.”
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