Progress

Rob finished the reassembly on his newly repainted Cabriolet and drove it home. It started right up after a year of not running. Just had to prime the carbs.

Vern should be finished painting the Shop ’64 Coupe shortly and then he will tackle Gene’s Cabriolet.

We painted over the overspray on Chris’s ’59 Convertible D and installed the doors, lids and windshield. We delivered the ’59 to Chris and he will do the reassemble. We will assist as needed.

BJ continues with the extensive metal work on Ted’s Cabriolet. The rear floor has been patched, the front floor replaced and he will be starting on the battery box and front clip. I finished the reassembly on the Shop ’61 Roadster and we will pull it out of the shop to see how it runs. Ron Appleton rebuilt the engine but that was six years ago. Hopefully, there will be no problems with it setting for so long.

We will be sending the 356 Restoration book to the publisher this week. We still need a few pictures which we will take of work on Ted’s Cabriolet. But it is time to start the edit, layout and cover design process. I’m sure I have over two hundred hours on the book project and it seems everyday I think of something to add. But we need to get on with actual restorations; we can always plan on a second edition.

Internet

The Internet is something else! Last month I mentioned how I found the grandson of the original owner of my ’57 Carrera Coupe in Bangkok, Thailand. This month I was reading my E-mails and there was one from a guy who had been to my website and wanted us to restore his ’61 Coupe. The amazing thing was he was writing from Iraq! He is a Lt. Colonel in the Medical Corps and while he said things were a little “intense”, during his downtime he would think of restoring his 356. While we have been avoiding commitments on future projects, we thanked him for his service and told him we would be glad to help.

Interest in the 356 Porsche continues strong. We continue to get calls and E-mails almost daily from potential buyers. Many of these are from previous owners who want to enjoy again the 356 experience.

We are also finding that some people are taking advantage of the 356 interest by misrepresenting cars and doing shoddy work. If you know of anyone thinking of buying a 356 make sure they have the car evaluated by someone knowledgeable of the 356.

In Memoriam

It was sad to learn of the passing of Harry Pellow, also known as the Maestro. Harry took the time to prepare books and videos on 356 engine rebuilding. He was active in the 356 Registry; he wrote amusing articles and always had time to answer questions.

It is also sad to note the passing of Norm Petitt’s father Claude. You may remember Claude at Porsches and Pastries. He was that tall good looking guy with plenty of stories. He was 94.

Annual Charity Concours

The 20th Annual Sports Car Show and Concours d’Elegance will be Sunday, June 8th from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Last year there were over 200 classic cars and nearly $36,000 was raised to benefit Cerebral Palsy of Colorado.

Please enter your 356 in either the judged or display class. Registration is $25 due by May 23rd. Having your 356 judged is great fun. You get your score sheet back so you can tell what could improve your 356. Last year we had more 356’s entered than Porsche 911. Let’s try to do it again.

Entry forms are available from Sandy Dumcum at (303) 691-9339 or call us at (303) 840-2356.

Tech Tip

The charity concours is basically a clean car contest. There are so many varied cars, originality and authenticity cannot be judged. Some products we use for concours preparation include 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner part #08984.

This is a general purpose cleaner and does an exceptional job on rubber. You can find it at office supply stores and some hardware stores.

We also use a lot of McGuirres products. They have a system of products from freshening up dull paint to waxes. Their tire products do a great job.

Cleaning your 356 means getting to any area a judge’s hand can reach. Behind the fan shroud, under the threshold rubber, under the dash, behind the sunvisor, etc. At the local concours all judging is done above the chassis-no wheel wells or under carriage scoring. If asked to judge I usually do engines. On a 356 I look for grease, dirt, water spots and the condition of wires, rubber and hardware. One time I spent almost the entire five minutes allowed for judging and could not find a problem. Finally, the sun came out from behind a cloud and I saw a small piece of dust.

Barb has done the interiors for some of the concours in the past and she also looks for dust, grit or lint in the seat seam stitching. It all comes down to squeaky clean-no leaves or lint in the door side pockets. Most cars are cleaner that some kitchens!