The low dollar means that bargains currently abound in the good old USA. One man’s passion for modified Porsches recently led him to look across the pond for his dream 911. John Glynn tells us more.

Astronauts often say that the most impressive aspect of space travel is seeing a jewel-like Earth set amongst the stars, and realising just how trivial our personal concerns are when viewed against the grand scheme of things. Today, we are only a few hundred feet up, but the increased elevation has a similar impact on proceedings. Under unfettered cerulean sky, glistening lacquer ignites in the ultraviolet, and worries fade away, as we focus on an iridescent hum of light and shade, floating atop this 911’s beautifully pressed metal like a Star Trek deflector shield. It’s silver Jim, but not as we know it.

This car began life as a 1978 911SC. Originally finished in Grand Prix White, it was supplied in lightweight guise: without sunroof, aircon or front fogs, and with manual windows. Little is known of the car’s early history, but in 1986, it left Charles Ivey Porsche in Fulham, bound for Florida. At the same time, a young Irishman, new to London, was working right next door to Charles Ivey Porsche. It’s amazing to say that, 21 years on, this may not be the first time our paths have crossed. Small world.

The original Florida title shows that the car was financed by a loan from the Kennedy Space Federal Credit Union. Google Earth reveals that the owner lived just across the bay from Cape Canaveral, in one of those beautiful canal-side bungalows with a mooring out back. It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate setting for a 911 in the late ‘80s: happily ensconced in the Sunshine State, with a speedboat-owning rocket scientist for an owner.

The car stayed at the Cape until 2001, when it was discovered by 911 enthusiast Noah Pollak, fresh from university and working part-time for Pelican Porsche Parts in Los Angeles. Noah had recently slid his beloved ’77 Carrera 3.0 (known as The Red Avenger) off the road and into oblivion, and was looking for a lightweight shell to serve as a new home for the C3’s running gear. $3k later, the spaceman’s SC was his.

The bargain 911 was well and truly distressed: cheap repaint peeling off, engine and transmission past it and trim totally beyond help. Once the car had arrived in Noah’s home state of Vermont, the first jobs were to disassemble the distraught little car, strip out the redundant aftermarket aircon and trashed running gear, and steam clean away those years of neglect.

For the rebuild, Noah was lucky enough to have the assistance of Porsche independent and good friend Rick Cabell, of Eurotech in South Burlington. The owner’s then budget did not stretch to a full repaint, so he prepped and painted the engine bay in the silver he had picked for the rest of the car. The C3 power train was installed, along with much of the Red Avenger’s trim. Repaint plans were mooted early in 2002, but career came first. The new paint was finally applied in June 2003, and the Silver Shark was born.

Noah describes the next few years of ownership in terms that will be familiar to all modified car owners. “The general gist of the car is the classic slippery slope”, he says. “A combination of a developing love of the track, combined with a severe case of “while you’re in there” syndrome, in which changing a wheel bearing leads to fitting 930 brakes”.

The following year saw a huge amount of work, as the engine and gearbox were refreshed, and a Megasquirt EFI system was fitted in place of the K-Jetronic injection. The aluminium-cased 915 transmission was stripped and rebuilt by Noah’s own fair hands, with the shorter 7:31 ring and pinion from a 1972 gearbox, a taller 29:21 fifth gear, Wevo one-piece bearing retainer and a factory upgraded differential cover. The 930/02 motor was stripped and the case split, revealing a pair of broken head studs, worn valve guides and serious wear in the intermediate shaft bearings.

The engine was reassembled with steel head studs and phosphorus bronze valve guides. The spec also included 930 lower valve covers, 9.5:1 JE pistons, 964 Dougherty Racing cams, SSIs with early muffler, MSD ignition box and coil, distributor recurved by Steve Weiner at Rennsport, Pertronix ignitor, Magnecor plug leads, Racor fuel filter with water separator, and a vented oil catch tank. A Rennline RSR engine mount crossbar, and a 3.2 Carrera oil cooler in the factory underwing location completed the installation. In March 2006, Noah made the decision to switch to wilder DC40 cams and 46mm PMO carbs, selling his EFI system and cams to another C3 owner: yours truly.

Over time, the car received innumerable other modifications, including the replica Ruf bumpers (Noah digitally captured the measurements from original photos and hand-cut the slots), Turbo brakes, 17” Lindsey wheels and suspension upgrades including Bilstein Sport dampers, Sander hollow torsion bars, Tarret adjustable anti-roll bars and three-point Rennline strut brace with monoballs. Further mods included a DAS-Sport roll bar, factory short shift, Big Red oil pressure light, Momo Prototipo steering wheel, Rennline pedals and floorboards, lightweight battery relocated to the smuggler’s box and countless other changes. For fans of sports purpose short hoods, this car is special.

In 2007, working in warmer climes convinced Noah that the stripped-out SC was incompatible with ever-dwindling spare time and the need for an air-conditioned daily driver, so the Silver Shark went up for sale. 3,500 miles away, the right buyer was about to enter the market. A Saturday spin behind the wheel of my lightweight Carrera 3.0 was enough to convince Andy Perks that he owned the wrong 911. Perks’ pristine 3.2 G50 Targa was advertised for sale, finding a new home almost immediately. The hunt was then on for a rust-free, non-sunroof, 3-litre project car. There could be only one.

Noah’s last drive in his SC was from the Green Mountain State to New York harbour, where Kingstown Shipping took control. Following a few delays, the Silver Shark finally set sail for Britain, and was renamed The Ark (Noah’s floating creation) somewhere in the North Atlantic. The Ark eventually docked at Chatham in mid-December, and our trip to trailer it back to Brum was one of the most enjoyable expeditions of 2007.

Fast-forward eight weeks to today, and the car is fully legal in the UK. Tuthills carried out some work to bring it up to code and pass the MOT: changing the headlamps, fitting longer wheel studs and new seat belts, overhauling the hand brake and reducing the idle jets in the PMOs to lower emissions. Registration was slightly held up by some missing paperwork, but the DVLA eventually accepted the Florida Space Centre title as evidence of the date of manufacture, two days before a letter arrived from Porsche.

Since the car’s arrival in the UK, the interior has been cleared out - stereo, speakers and wiring deleted - and the headlining has been dyed black to smarten it up. A keen karate expert, and former cycle racer for England who now specialises in the application of robotic technology in manufacturing, Andy is a methodical, mechanically-minded individual, so much work went into tidying the engine bay. The fan and housing were powder coated, the wiring was rerouted through conduits, and drilled coil and fan straps were fabricated. The engine cover hinges were drilled and powder coated, and the entire engine bay was thoroughly cleaned. There is much left to do, but the results so far are impressive.

On the road, the car is superb. The 250bhp engine is a pleasure-filled powerhouse, and the SSIs, M&K exhaust and PMOs work together to form the Porsche Symphony Orchestra. While the driving position and brake bite both need a bit of work, the seamless surge of speed from 2500 to 6500 revs is stupendous, and The Ark acquits itself beautifully on the move, easily losing my Carrera 3 in a straight line. The transmission is superb, that tall top gear terrific with the shorter final drive. Later in the day we weigh both cars, tipping the scales at an identical 1020kgs a piece.

Before my own imports arrived in the UK (from France and Switzerland), I made lists of things I had to change, things that the previous owner had done differently to how I would have liked. But, once I’d seen my cars in the metal, everything about them clicked into place, and all I wanted to do was drive. My impact-bumper buddy is now in the same happy boat. With his hot rod ready to roll, all Andy wants to do is rack up the road trips, and proclaim the lightweight gospel to all those ready to listen. Let me hear you say hallelujah!