Reader Submissions: This Porsche 911 Is The Realization of a Dream

This Porsche 911 Is The Realization of a Dream

By Petrolicious
May 14, 2015

Photography by: Aadjan van Holst

Hello everyone, my name is Aadjan van Holst from Northland, New Zealand, and this is the story of my old Porsche. I became interested in cars and motor racing at a very young age. I fell in love with the a Porsche 911 at age 10 when I saw a black Carrera outside my dad’s workshop. The shape, the dimensions and the sound and the look of these cars was incredible to me.

From that moment on I was hooked. I knew I had to own one some day!

After leaving school and developing my career, the passion for these cars grew. I started to work as much overtime as I could and save every penny. After getting married, I decided the time was right to buy. After several months of searching, a car came up on a New Zealand site. It ticked all the boxes: originally delivered here, non-sunroof, and in special order silver. I rang the owner immediately and the car sounded good.

My ever-supportive wife drove with me to see the car. It was 500 km (510 miles) from where we lived to Taranaki to see the car. Leaving at 6 am, we set out to buy a Porsche. We arrived early afternoon and there it was, sitting on the driveway. My wife and I looked at each other and smiled: we both fell in love with it instantly!

After spending two hours looking over the car, I was happy. All the boxes on my list ticked. It was a solid car. We did the deal, and started the 6-hour journey back home. The drive was a mixture of nervousness and excitement: I had just handed over a large sum of money for a 30 year old sports car with nearly 300,000 km on the clock!

Later on in the drive, my wife and I pulled over and had moment to reflect. We couldn’t stop smiling! I was now so happy with the car, and as we drove in the pouring rain through the twisty roads home, all the worry went away.

Every time you step inside and go for a drive, you are reminded that you’re in something special. The sound, the steering, the view over the headlights. So much soul. It’s character very much lost in modern cars.

Soon after getting the car, I wanted to tidy the exterior. It had a small amount of rust in the A pillars so I wanted that clean up. As we stripped the car back, we found more signs of light corrosion. At that moment, I made the decision to go for a full bare metal re-spray. So started 6 months of completely stripping the car, painting the body and re-building. It was the most testing and rewarding project I have undertaken. It was all made possible by my ever-supportive wife Emma, family, and great friends.

The results are amazing. The car is now like new, and ready to pass onto my son one day. I love this car because it was the realisation of a dream. Countless hours of work and saving, and reaching a big goal I had set at age 10.

For me, owning an old 911 has become so much more than just realising a dream. The friends I have made through the various groups and clubs has been phenomenal—friends for life! We often go driving on the amazing roads here in New Zealand. The road from Waipu to Langs beach is one of my favourites. We stop for lunch, and a swim, and plenty of laughter.

To me, this is what makes owning a classic Porsche so enjoyable!

 

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Aadjan van Holst
Aadjan van Holst
9 years ago

Thank you all for the kind words! I’m happy you have enjoyed the story.

Dennis Lucassen
Dennis Lucassen
9 years ago

Hi

Beautiful car you have there, and a great story. I have almost the same storie as you, and my wife and I just found our new love. A 1980 3.0 SC Targa. I can’t get my arms down, and stop smiling

RFLG
RFLG
9 years ago

I had just about the same experience with my ’86 911 targa. Got mine with 160.000 km on the clock and a bunch of scuffles, damages and small cosmetic issues all over the place. Five years later It’s almost brand new and I love it. Me and the wife have countless memories with this car, from nice joyrides/roadtrips to romantic nights spent with the roof down gazing at the stars (we were young then 🙂 ). It’s a pleasure to drive, being it fast or just cruising around, it never lost that leather seat scent (which I love) and it incredibly reliable! I used it as a daily driver for a while, since I had a 40 km commute via freeway to work and it was amazing! Got it certified as a historical car last year 😉

Andrej Waltenburg
Andrej Waltenburg
9 years ago

Thanks for a nice story and great pics. The 911 is certainly a true automotive icon!

Riccardo
Riccardo
9 years ago

What a beautiful car, congratulations! I can see why you fell in love with the 911 if your first “taste” was with a Speedster no less.

Would be curious, given the pic with 964 and 997 (which, btw, is my favourite of the pics), how you compare the “character” side of things with the 997.

Ray Jay
Ray Jay
9 years ago

I have an 86 and I am constantly entertained by the sounds and smells of this car. It has the feeling of substance that I find reassuring as I get older. It has lost a step over the years and can’t compete with modern sporting cars, but it remains a very competent highway cruiser. With the aging long hoods going into storage, I believe the 3.2 is the now the model people most identify as the classic P-car.

Jimmy Arata
Jimmy Arata
9 years ago

Beautiful car and a great story. Loved the pictures. My wife and I have the same love of these cars, nice to see we aren’t the only couple with this shared passion.

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