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Sibling Rivalry
When car-crazy brothers modify sibling 911s, there’s bound
to be some rivalry. John Glynn decides whether someone
should be sent to their room
Words: John Glynn Photography: James Lipman
74 911 & PORSCHE WORLD

MODIFIED 3.2 CARRERAS
Born in Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands,
Shirish and Anil Patel are brothers, the
youngest of five, two years apart. I’ve known
both of them for a few years now, and they
are a credit to good parenting: intelligent,
well-spoken and always immaculately turned out (you
can stop reading now, mum).
Like many brothers, it was while they shared a
bedroom as kids that their mutual fascination with
classic cars kicked off. Also, like many brothers, neither
will say who started it. ‘It was always there,’ Anil declares.
‘Dad was a Ford man, devoted to Cortinas. With the blue
oval as the household badge of choice, we were RS
crazy, and the walls were plastered with hot Escorts and
Capris. We knew about 911s, but were never Porsche
obsessed. The 911 thing didn’t happen until years later.’
Older brother, Anil, was the first to bring a Porsche
badge to the party. ‘I was looking for a classic car up to
£10,000, and thought an Alfa Romeo might be the way
forward. Searching a few dealer websites, I found 911SCs
lined up alongside the Alfas. I hadn’t considered 911s
affordable, so I started digging about, to see what I
could find. The first few trade cars I saw were ropey at
best, so I increased the budget and started looking at
private examples.’
This 1987 Carrera Coupé, in shimmering Diamond Blue,
is what he ended up with. ‘The seller was a farmer who’d
owned the car for ten years. He loved it but hadn’t really
been using it, so the mileage was fairly low. I’d already
looked at a 25th Anniversary Carrera in the same blue
and liked the colour, so the paint was a plus. The owner
had changed the registered colour of this one to grey, as
he was convinced that, were it ever stolen, the police
would never find it if they were looking for a blue one.’
The bizarre logic did Anil a favour. The reluctant seller’s
lack-lustre ad for an old grey Porsche, being sold due to
lack of use, had aroused little interest. Big brother
bagged a nice G50 Carrera in his favourite shade for
sensible money.
Shirish’s path to Porsche ownership was a direct result
of driving the new arrival. ‘When Anil said he’d bought a
911, I shot straight over for a spin. After I’d had a go, no
way was I missing out.’ It took almost a year for Shirish
to find the right car: a minty fresh Carrera Club Sport.
Though the boys were clearly enjoying their shared
interest in Stuttgart’s sporting elegance, the rest of the
clan didn’t quite understand.
‘No one else in our family is all that fussed about cars,’
says Shirish. ‘When Anil and I started getting into 911s,
the age of our steeds caused some consternation.
My mum asked: ‘Why an E-reg? Why not buy a newer
one?’ They weren’t aware of how well older Porsches
911 & PORSCHE WORLD
75

Left: Shirish’s car was
found to be using a litre
of oil every 800 miles.
A top-end rebuild would
have done the job, but he
opted for a full 3.4-litre
conversion and rebuild,
carried out by Steve
Winter at Jaz
held their value.’
The Club Sport lasted a couple of years, before London
life took its toll, and the absence of a garage for the
cherished 3.2 forced Shirish to sell. An Audi RS2 filled the
vacant parking space. The Polar Silver 4wd estate, a
Porsche in all but silhouette, was a blitzkrieg-wagen par
excellence, but the lure of the flat-six never faded. The
RS2 was eventually advertised for sale, only to be stolen
Diamond Blue and Granite Green were both introduced
with the G50 transmission for the 1987 model year. They
stayed on the menu during 1988, before Granite was
dropped for 1989, the final year of the impact-bumper
cars. I confess to being a big Diamond Blue fan. Its
silvery sleekness shifts in sunlight to be sometimes
sky, sometimes slate, but always seductive over the
curvaceous flanks of a classic Porsche.
“
The colours of these sibling Carreras
complement the landscape and each other
”
the same weekend. It was found crashed and burnt out a
few days later.
Losing the RS2 convinced Shirish that, without secure
parking at home, another big-money Porsche was not
what was called for. Anil had started playing about with
his car, taking bits off and trying new stuff, so Shirish
followed his older sibling’s example and decided to
go for something more affordable, a car that could be
customised with a clear conscience.
First registered in August 1987, Shirish’s Granite Green
Carrera predates its Diamond Blue brother by eight
months and a day. The owner admits that the dark
metallic shade had sold him on the car before he ever
saw it in the metal.
Side by side here on the beautiful Berkshire Downs,
the colours of these sibling Carreras complement the
landscape, and each other. The Diamond hue harmonises
with the hazy purple horizon, while the green melts into
the subtle tones of this earthy environment.
As noted earlier, Diamond Blue was the colour chosen
for the Anniversary Carreras, built to celebrate 25 years
of the 911. The cars featured ruffled leather seats in
purple (in reality, more blue than purple), headrests
emblazoned with Ferdinand’s signature, and thick Silver
Blue carpets throughout. On body-coloured Fuchs, the
Anniversary cars are an attractive package, though Anil
and I agree it’s a while since either of us has seen one in
genuinely nice condition.
The younger car’s bodywork is in good shape,
following a bare-metal respray last year. Anil chose a
recommended bodyshop to do the work, but is not best
pleased with how it has worked out. One or two spots
on the car are showing clear signs of poor preparation –
frustrating having spent a substantial chunk of cash.
He’d like to take it back and get it sorted, but who wants
to send their pride and joy back to the crowd who
messed up in the first place? I know where he’s
coming from.
A classically understated
late-model 3.2 Carrera. It’s
not difficult to see why
these models are now so
sought after. That Granite
Green paintwork really
does work
76 911 & PORSCHE WORLD

MODIFIED 3.2 CARRERAS
Still, the car looks amazing. The silver bonnet badge
sets up a smooth theme that flows through the front fog
and headlight washer delete, to the deleted rear wiper
and badgeless rear end. The bright-petalled 16-inch
Fuchs work well with the colour and the ride height,
emphasising this Porsche’s thoroughbred profile. The
whale-tailed engine cover cements the flowing motif.
This car looks fast, even when parked.
Big brother has made a few changes since buying his
Carrera back in 2001. Bilstein HD dampers were one of
the first purchases, but the suspension is otherwise
pretty stock. New Neatrix bushes sit in the spring plates,
with standard torsion bars all round. The front end
features Turbo tie-rods, an ERP bump-steer kit to correct
steering angle on the lowered ride height and a Steve
Wong strut brace, replacing the previous Weltmeister.
The car was lowered by Steve Bull in Devizes and aligned
by GT One in Chertsey.
Anil believes in evolution not revolution, and changes in
the engine compartment are true to that philosophy. The
ECU received a custom Steve Wong chip, with Magnecor
plug leads taking the sparks to the internally stock
powerplant. Drilled airbox, Club Sport engine mounts and
a rear heater blower delete pretty much cover it in here.
Underneath, the exhaust has been modified with a
H&S cross-over, pre-silencer and silencer, but Anil is not
convinced that this set-up was the right decision. ‘You
can’t do the valves without taking the exhaust off. This
adds to the cost of servicing, plus I’m not sure about the
additional heat on the heads. Also, we recently
discovered that the gaskets they fitted were hand-made
efforts, with holes the size of two-pence pieces –
nowhere near big enough.’ The restrictive metal gaskets
physically melted under the pressure; factory parts now
seal the joints. Finally uncorked, the car runs a lot better,
though further engine developments are on the cards
when top-end rebuild time comes round. A look in the
back of baby brother’s motor gives us a clue.
Shirish’s second 911 was sourced through an
independent marque specialist. Following a litany of
post-purchase issues, he’s been left unimpressed by the
dealer experience, but money spent in the right places
has since brought the car on leaps and bounds. The main
reason for the gaping chasm in SP’s deposit account is
hidden from view: an engine rebuild to 3.4 litres that was
done by Winter. Steve Winter that is, at Jaz, in Wembley.
Soon after taking ownership, the 3.2 was found to be
using a litre of oil every 800 miles: time for a top-end
rebuild. A 3.6 transplant was an option, but that is not so
much building as swapping, and the costs only make
sense if the 3.6 never goes bang. Shirish took the
decision to keep the bomb-proof 3.2 bottom end, and
increase capacity with a big-buck Mahle 3.4 conversion.
Anyone who has ever investigated this upsize knows
one thing: it’s not cheap. Consider the cost of putting
an upstairs on a bungalow, relative to the value of said
bungalow, and you’re in the right ball park.
Build time for the mega motor was initially estimated
911 & PORSCHE WORLD
77

at two weeks. The case was leak-free, so the decision
was taken to leave it together, refurb the heads and
assemble the new parts. Two weeks became six and, in
hindsight, Shirish would rather have split the case and
balanced the bottom end.
Brand spanking new Mahle pistons and 98mm barrels
were not the only bits little brother bought. A pair of
Dougherty Racing DC20 cams were found, and a 3.2
throttle body was bored out 3mm to increase the
charge at wide-open throttle. A lightweight starter was
added, as well as Club Sport mounts and an upgraded
K3 alternator.
The list goes on: Smart Racing valve springs, 993 head
studs and rod bolts, refurbed injectors, new ICV and
crank sensors, gearbox sensor, oil pressure switch and
new seals everywhere. The transmission was given a lift
with the G50 clutch fork mod, and new master and slave
cylinders fitted. The clutch was replaced with a 930
clutch disc, new release bearing and a Kennedy
lightweight aluminium pressure plate.
Mothy heat exchangers and cross-over pipe were
replaced with standard Porsche items, flowing into a
Scart pre-silencer and a DP Motorsport muffler. The
engine fittings were replated, tinware was replaced and
powder-coated, and new rear wheel bearings were the
final ‘while-you’re-in-there’. Phew!
As the car arrives at our meeting point, the sound is
impressive; the engine exudes unadulterated authority
through the chunky DP silencer. This muffler is heavy –
Shirish reckons 12 kilos – but the noise is anthemic.
So it should be: new ones cost circa €1200.
The chorus of both cars on the move is intoxicating.
The 3.2 has a lighter tone than its bigger brother; the
sweet spot of that air-cooled thrum meets the ear drum
lower down the rev range. The 3.4 is understandably
louder through its bigger pipe, but volume is not the main
ingredient. The DC20s lend a bass-heavy burble to the
tune played at tick-over, which carries right through
the revs: it’s race-car sound at sensible decibels. At
wide-open throttle, it rocks the casbah.
Shirish loves the noise it makes, but he has not really
heard it yet. Just as an acoustic guitar is never properly
heard by the guitarist (the sound exits away from your
ears, set behind the sound hole), so the sound of a 911
can only be appreciated when standing behind it. Now
curious, he hands me the keys and I take off.
Take off is the right expression; this is a rocket ship.
I am expecting the bigger capacity to slow the revs
down, but the reverse is true. Similar piston area with a
slightly lighter rotating mass means the motor spins like
78 911 & PORSCHE WORLD

MODIFIED 3.2 CARRERAS
Left: Detailed Fuchs in
Anil’s car look good. Engine
is largely stock, save for
Steve Wong chip, drilled
airbox and custom exhaust
a cartoon Tasmanian devil. Flooring the throttle, I quickly
hit the limiter in first and second: it revs that much
faster than my Carrera 3.0. What the owner has spent
is immediately justified by what has been gained: this
missile is ballistic.
In a few seconds, I am knocking on big speeds and
wishing Shirish had never swapped the tail for a flat lid.
Standard ride height and all-original suspension mean
this new-found grunt really gives the chassis something
to think about, and the underpinnings are the next job
on the list. The engine was recently remapped, making
269 flywheel hp, but that’s unlikely to be ultimate power.
With the engine and suspension upgrades Shirish has
removed a lot of weight, and the RS carpet set and door
panels are pointers to more purposeful intent. Big
brother will receive the same treatment some day soon.
Apart from the Momo steering wheel, the red-piped
grey-green sports trim of Shirish’s car has rightly been
left unchanged. RGA in Vauxhall recently resprayed one
side of the Carrera, partly thanks to an errant Land Rover
driver. A new near-side wing and fog delete front panel,
smooth engine cover, work to the passenger B-post and
fresh paint over the lot cleared out what was left in
Shirish’s piggy bank. The driver’s side will be done
when funds are replenished. ‘No rush,’ says Shirish, ‘Anil
and I have plenty to keep us busy in the meantime.’
“
What the owner has spent is immediately
justified by what has been gained
”
planned, this car will be off the scale.
Anil’s car might have fewer horses pushing it along, but
a sharper, lighter chassis and highly-effective brakes
mean that what it loses on the straights, it makes up in
the bends. The middle pedal benefits from new calipers
and genuine discs front and rear, with Goodridge lines
and ATE fluid working Porterfield R4-S pads.
Both cars run Bridgestone SO2s on their 7- and
9x16-inch Fuchs, with 225/50s on the rear of the green
car as opposed to 245/45s on the blue. On these slightly
damp country roads, I can discern no difference.
Driving Anil’s car is a delight: gorgeous red-backed
Recaros from a 968 Club Sport and a Martini Racing
Momo wheel give the Carrera real sporting comfort.
Deleting the electric seats and internal sound-deadening
‘Us’ is the operative word. On the subject of rivalry, the
great Luciano Pavarotti once wonderfully observed: ‘The
rivalry is with ourself. I try to be better than is possible.
I fight against myself, not against the other.’ The same
can be said of so many of the brothers I know who share
this love of classic cars.
My own younger brother lives in another country, but
his friendship, support and opinions are very important to
me. So it is with Anil and Shirish. If there is rivalry, it is
low-key and outside the core relationship; differences are
accepted with mutual respect. This is brotherly leapfrog:
co-dependence based on the realisation that the key to
all successful friendships is to keep them moving
forward. If there’s a better case to be made for sharing
classic Porsche ownership, I’ve not seen it yet. PW
Lowered and on fat Fuchs,
Anil’s 3.2 Carrera is a
classic. Suspension is
largely stock, but
augmented by Bilsteins,
urethane bushes and Turbo
tie-rods
911 & PORSCHE WORLD
79