This is a 1982 Porsche 911 SC that Mike Brewer bought for himself in California, after finding that he was spending more and more time stateside and hated being stuck driving rental cars.
After buying the car and being a little underwhelmed by the performance, he sent it off to Porsche specialists Rasant Products who added a number of bolt-on mods to significantly increase power, and transform the car.
Fast Facts – A Porsche 911 SC “Hot Rod”
- Mike Brewer, known from the show “Wheeler Dealers,” purchased the 911 SC in California to avoid the inconvenience of using rental cars during his extended stays in the U.S. Initially underwhelmed by its performance, Brewer had the car upgraded by Porsche specialists, Rasant Products.
- The Porsche 911 SC, introduced as potentially the last model in the 911 series, played a crucial role in the continuation of the 911 lineage. Originally marked for discontinuation in favor of the Porsche 928, strong sales of the 911 SC during its production years from 1978 onwards led Porsche to reconsider.
- The car has now seen its power boosted from 170 bhp up to 200 hp at the rear wheel thanks to the addition of a 964 plenum chamber, individual throttle bodies, MOTEC engine management, a custom engine harness, and M & K mufflers. It was also given lowered suspension and the front and rear bumpers have been re-profiled.
- The car is now being offered for sale by Iconic Auctioneers and it will roll across the block with them on the 18th of May with a price guide starting at £60,000 or approximately $75,360 USD.
The Porsche 911 SC – (Nearly) The Last 911
The Porsche 911 SC is often overlooked by enthusiasts in favor of either the earlier pre-impact number 911 models, or the later 3.2 Carrera version of the 911. This isn’t altogether fair on the 911 SC as it’s always been a great car in its own right, and it could be said to be the car that saved the 911 from being axed in favor of the Porsche 928.
Above Video: This is video stars Mike Brewer and his 911 SC, it shows the modification process and he discusses his reasoning behind having some work done, then shows the results.
When the Porsche 911 SC was in development it had been planned as the final 911, the “SC” in the name stands for “Super Carrera”. The model series would essentially end after the SC left production, and be replaced by the far more modern Porsche 928 which had debuted in the same year at the SC – 1977 (the 1978 model year).
The sales of the 911 SC were so strong that Porsche realized it would be foolhardy to remove it from production, it was outselling the 928 by as much as 50% in some markets, and it was clear that public demand for the 911 was far from waning.
The development of the 911 SC had not been particularly exhaustive as it was only intended to be in production for two to three years to see out the 1970s. The production model was based closely on the galvanized steel unibody shell of the earlier Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0, and it used a variation of the same engine.
The engine, an alloy 3.0 flat-six, was a marked improvement over the earlier trouble-prone 2.7 liter engine. This 3.0 liter unit was a naturally-aspirated version of the engine developed for the Porsche 930, the 911 Turbo, as a result it was largely bulletproof from a reliability standpoint being over-engineered and under-stressed.
Power was considered good by the standards of the late 1970s, with the first 911 SCs producing 180 bhp. This was increased over the production run, first to 188 bhp, and finally to 204 bhp from 1981 onwards. Power was sent to the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual transmission, the 915 unit.
The 911 SC had independent front and rear suspension and disc brakes at all four corners. As with other 911s the SC had 2+2 seating, a front fuel tank and battery, and a modest front trunk suitable for soft bags.
This was part of a series that showcased the engineering innovations included in the Porsche 911 SC, in this case the torsion bar rear suspension. Image courtesy of Porsche AG.
The 911 SC would remain in production from 1978 until it was replaced with the Carrera 3.2 in 1984 (model years). Today, the SC remains one of the best value for money options in the air-cooled 911 market, with better reliability and lower maintenance costs than the earlier 2.7 liter cars and less demand than the later Carrera 3.2.
Mike Brewer’s Porsche 911 SC “Hot Rod”
The Porsche 911 SC you see in this article currently belongs to one of the most recognizable faces in the modern world of automotive television – the man behind Wheeler Dealers and a slew of other shows. As his television work has continued to expand, Brewer has found himself spending more and more time in the USA, which meant driving around in hire cars.
After a while, the perpetual generic hire car experience became too much for him, and every the one with an eye out for a bargain, he found this 911 SC for sale in California. It came with full service history and was a good buy for the money, so Mike nabbed it and began using it regularly.
A chance encounter at a car meet up saw Mike get chatting to a man named Andrew, who’s the head of Rasant Products, a Porsche specialist that offers a range of bolt-on mods to improve the power output of air-cooled 911s.
Mike and Andrew got on well, so the decision was made to send the 911 off to Rasant to see what they could do with it. This build process was covered in a video (embedded above), but to cut a long story short, they added a 964 plenum chamber, individual throttle bodies, MOTEC engine management, a custom engine harness, and M & K mufflers.
This work resulted in a power boost from ~170 bhp to 200 bhp at the rear wheels, a significant gain considering no major or internal engine work was required. The car has since been lowered slightly, and the front and rear bumpers have been re-profiled.
The Weissach was a special edition of the 911 SC named after the town in Germany where Porsche has their engineering and technology research center. It was internally called the M439 and offered in two colors with the turbo whale tail, front chin spoiler, body color-matched Fuchs alloy wheels, and other convenience features as standard. Image courtesy of Porsche AG.
Mike calls the car his “Hot Rod” and after keeping it for a number of years and importing it into England, he’s now realized he needs to sell it, and two other vehicles, in order to raise funds for a new (and very expensive) project.
As a result, the car is now due to roll across the auction block with Iconic Auctioneers on the 18th of May with a guide price of £60,000 – £80,000, or approximately $75,360 to $100,480 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Chris Wallbank via Iconic Auctioneers
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
