HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Happy Holidays to you and yours from356RESTORE.Yours means your 356 Porsche. (Did you change the oil before storing yours for the winter? Did you bleed the brakes this year?)

SHOP UPDATE

Shop hours are 8:00 AM to 3:56 PM Mon.-Sat. Saturday afternoons are Open Shop. For the last three years we have had folks drop by for Open Shop. I’m almost always here but call to check. During Open Shop we kick tires, bench race, check out 356′                                                                                                                              s in progress, sell some parts and maybe have a beer. Also, the shop has had 356 owners drop by for a few days during their vacations. We give mini-seminars, teach restoration procedures, evaluate their 356 and give advise. We enjoy doing this (ego stroke), so if you have time off during the Holidays, drop by.

Scot found a job! It was great having him on the payroll the last six months during his job search. He learned a lot, contributed a lot and now is starting a career as a mechanical engineer. He, as well as his Dad, is a real enthusiast and we will hear more of their 356 endeavors in the future.

Shop procedure have changed a little bit. With the new storage space we are doing evaluations, disassembly, parts cleaning, and re-assembly here; heavy welding and body work at the storage space and finish and painting at the paint booth. The 356’s are moving from place to place. This allows us to be more efficient; however right now we have eight 356’s in process. Barb is very happy that the noise and smell has moved from the basement to the storage area.

PROGRESS

Most of my time this month has been spent on the ’52 Split Window from Lincoln. This has been fun, as many parts (Pre-A) had to be fabricated or modified to fit the later engine/tranny configuration. For example, this is an attached bumper car and rubber decos and brackets are not available. I think I came up with a solution that reflects the character of the early 356’s. Let me tell you this was more fun than welding in a battery box floor.

Ryan has been finishing the “bottom everything” on Mike’s ’65 Coupe and also got the Shop ’64 Cab ready for paint. Before Scot left, he got about three fourths of the finish work done on Scotty’s ’53 Cab. (Nice job Scot!)

Work in Progress

I also accepted another Cabriolet project this month. Since I had space available at what is now the assembly area (my basement), I got talked into an assembly job on a ’60 Cab. While the owner, Ron and his twin brother, Rick, are a kick, the ’60 Cab needs a little more than assembly i.e. hood/door seams, underneath grinding, straightening and cleaning. Well I didn’t make any schedule commitments on this 356. In fact, I believe I only have one outstanding commitment and that is to restore Dr. Jack’s ’64 Sunroof Coupe. Now that I don’t have a list of commitments and schedules, I am a lot more relaxed. I get to do 356’s that I want to do for folks I enjoy working with. Life is good! (If you believe you have a commitment with me let me know.) With the seven Shop cars and the folks that have requested future work I would guess we have a two-three year backlog! However, this is flexible. I recently agreed to look at a windshield restoration on a Twin Grille Roadster. There is nothing like another Twin Grille Roadster project to get my attention.

PARTS

We recently bought some additional parts both NOS and used. While I’m still struggling with completing an updated parts list for future publication in this newsletter, give me a call if you need something. This week I sold a set of T-6 front bumper brackets ($30), two longitudinal bulkheads ($10) and a window regulator stop ($5). Not much money but I enjoy knowing these parts will help get another 356 back on the road.

I have a lot of doors, hoods, bumpers and both new and used exterior panels. While I intend to use these on restoration projects, they are available to those of you doing your own restorations. Prices are at least 50% of catalog. I also have a lot of mechanical parts i.e. engine and transaxel. Since I don’t do mechanical work you can steal these from me. You have to be able to evaluate condition because I can’t. If you need brake wheel cylinders, I have at least sixty on the shelf. Also lots of backing plates. Looking for oil temp senders? Stoddard wants $202, I’ll take $75! Just came in, a set of A short bumper guards-$150. How about rubber? I’ve got lots of new rubber pieces. Also lots of reusable aluminum deco strips.

NOTE

We now have over 300 356 owners on the distribution of this newsletter. Most are in the five state area. Next month we will switch to 2nd class mail. Costwise my break even will be at about eight months. There are startup and permit costs and we only save 10 cents on the stamp. I try to mail this by the 15th. If you get this late next month let me know.

Tech tip #1

3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner Part No. 08984 is the best rubber cleaner and general cleaner available for a 356. It gets grease and doesn’t harm paint. I use it everyday. It comes in a red and white one quart pour spout can.

Tech Tip #2

Bleeding the brakes is important. It is a two person job and a good way to get the other involved. Just don’t break the bleeder valve! Call me if uncertain of the procedure.

OLD BUSINESS

I also accepted another Cabriolet project this month. Since I had space available at what is now the assembly area (my basement), I got talked into an assembly job on a ’60 Cab. While the owner, Ron and his twin brother, Rick, are a kick, the ’60 Cab needs a little more than assembly i.e. hood/door seams, underneath grinding, straightening and cleaning. Well I didn’t make any schedule commitments on this 356. In fact, I believe I only have one outstanding commitment and that is to restore Dr. Jack’s ’64 Sunroof Coupe. Now that I don’t have a list of commitments and schedules, I am a lot more relaxed. I get to do 356’s that I want to do for folks I enjoy working with. Life is good! (If you believe you have a commitment with me let me know.) With the seven Shop cars and the folks that have requested future work I would guess we have a two-three year backlog! However, this is flexible. I recently agreed to look at a windshield restoration on a Twin Grille Roadster. There is nothing like another Twin Grille Roadster project to get my attention.

PARTS

We recently bought some additional parts both NOS and used. While I’m still struggling with completing an updated parts list for future publication in this newletter, give me a call if you need something. This week I sold a set of T-6 front bumper brackets ($30), longitudinal bulkheads ($10) and a window regulator stop ($5). Not much money but I enjoy knowing these parts will help get another 356 back on the road.

I have a lot of doors, hoods, bumpers and both new and used exterior panels. While I intend to use these on restoration projects, they are available to those of you doing your own restorations. Prices are at least 50% of catalog. I also have a lot of mechanical parts i.e. engine and transaxel. Since I don’t do mechanical work you can steal these from me. You have to be able to evaluate condition because I can’t. If you need brake wheel cylinders, I have at least sixty on the shelf. Also lots of backing plates. Looking for oil temp senders? Stoddard wants $202, I’ll take $75! Just came in, a set of A short bumper guards-$150. How about rubber? I’ve got lots of new rubber pieces. Also lots of reusable aluminum deco strips.

NOTE

We now have over 300 356 owners on the distribution of this newsletter. Most are in the five state area. Next month we will switch to 2nd class mail. Costwise my break even will be at about eight months. There are startup and permit costs and we only save 10 cents on the stamp. I try to mail this by the 15th. If you get this late next month let me know.

Tech tip

3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner Part No. 08984 is the best rubber cleaner and general cleaner available for a 356. It gets grease and doesn’t harm paint. I use it everyday. It comes in a red and white one quart pour spout can.

Happy Holidays to you and yours from356RESTORE.Yours means your 356 Porsche. (Did you change the oil before storing yours for the winter? Did you bleed the brakes this year?)

SHOP UPDATE

Shop hours are 8:00 AM to 3:56 PM Mon.-Sat. Saturday afternoons are Open Shop. For the last three years we have had folks drop by for Open Shop. I’m almost always here but call to check. During Open Shop we kick tires, bench race, check out 356’s in progress, sell some parts and maybe have a beer. Also, the shop has had 356 owners drop by for a few days during their vacations. We give mini-seminars, teach restoration procedures, evaluate their 356 and give advise. We enjoy doing this (ego stroke), so if you have time off during the Holidays, drop by.

Scot found a job! It was great having him on the payroll the last six months during his job search. He learned a lot, contributed a lot and now is starting a career as a mechanical engineer. He, as well as his Dad, is a real enthusiast and we will hear more of their 356 endeavors in the future.

Shop procedure have changed a little bit. With the new storage space we are doing evaluations, disassembly, parts cleaning, and re-assembly here; heavy welding and body work at the storage space and finish and painting at the paint booth. The 356’s are moving from place to place. This allows us to be more efficient; however right now we have eight 356’s in process. Barb is very happy that the noise and smell has moved from the basement to the storage area.

PROGRESS

Most of my time this month has been spent on the ’52 Split Window from Lincoln. This has been fun, as many parts (Pre-A) had to be fabricated or modified to fit the later engine/tranny configuration. For example, this is an attached bumper car and rubber decos and brackets are not available. I think I came up with a solution that reflects the character of the early 356’s. Let me tell you this was more fun than welding in a battery box floor.

Ryan has been finishing the “bottom everything” on Mike’s ’65 Coupe and also got the Shop ’64 Cab ready for paint. Before Scot left, he got about three fourths of the finish work done on Scotty’s ’53 Cab. (Nice job Scot!)

PROGRESS

Well, the new storage area is filling up fast. We’ve got Mike C’s ’65 Coupe in there on the second rotisserie and Don R’s ’59 Coupe which just came back from the blasters. In addition, Ryan picked up an A Coupe which was hit in the front but I’m sure he can turn it into a vintage racer. There is also the back half of an A Cabriolet that I picked up for a few hundred bucks (anyone have the front half?) and all the OEM sheetmetal I bought. And of course my latest purchase, a ’56 Sunroof Coupe, fairly complete and not too bad body-wise. The ’56 came without an engine but sitting downstairs in the shop is a real nice super ’56 engine. So we will have a marriage!

Ryan has been using the storage area to prepare the ’65 Dolphin Gray Coupe I recently sold for some refit and repaint. The new owner wanted it to be a little bit better than just a driver.

We have four more 356’s to fit in the new storage area and then it will be full until we can move some cars. I also moved all the parts stored above the garage as Barb wanted some of the space for her master bath remodel. Since I’m moving parts, I’m taking time to inventory so I should have a new parts list to distribute with the newsletter in a few months.

Meanwhile, back at the shop. Tom’s ’52 Coupe has a complete new bottom and is ready to be picked up. Tom plans to do some engineering for a Type 4 engine and new tranny and we should get the 356 back for final body work.

Most of my time has been spent on Scotty’s ’53 Cabriolet. The first repair was to restore the engine compartment and tunnel/rear seat area. These areas had been cut up to fit a Corvair engine. The repair has been done but not without some struggle as the remaining engine compartment sheet metal had been bent out of shape. It took the stud gun and a come along to pull the remaining metal to fit the new inner clip. I was able to match the original Pre-A weld seams (having Tom’s ’52 sitting a few feet away helped!) and few will know this early Cab had been modified. This car also had 3/8 inch wire welded around the edges of the outer skin, around the wheel wells, across the lower nose and rockers. I’ve seen this done on sports racers so I believe this car had a race history. I also replaced the rear floor pans (preserving the unique Pre-A tunnel piece) and repaired the longitudinal, replacing the jack spurs.

Scott removed the rusted battery box floor and fit the replacement panel. I have to wait for Ryan to give me a hand with this as I can’t get my welding helmet down in there to see. I have to work within 12 inches of my weld (it’s age). While I’ve been working on Scotty’s ’53, Scott has been cutting out the battery box floor and floor pans on the shop ’64 Cabriolet. I should get these welded within a week. This C Cab had a flat piece of sheetmetal for the driver side battery box side panel. It’s supposed to have a bump out for the optional gas heater. You don’t get this piece when you order the battery box side. The Stoddard catalog says “Part is flat, not indented as original, some modification is required.” Well, the modification I’ve come up with is to shape a headlight bucket to fit. I’ve done three of these fabrications now and I get better each time. Of course you can hide minor flaws with undercoat but the idea in fabrication is to come close to factory original. I think Friedrich Weber would be proud of the bump out I fabricated for the ’64 Cab.

Backup

There have been quite a few folks added to this newsletter distribution since I last commented on the dedication to Friedrich Weber. Friedrich was the best body man at Gmund. He had formed the early aluminum 356 bodies. He did drink a lot but when sober could do more in three days than others could in five. I’ve worked on a few early 356’s and it is obvious they were built by hand. My approach is to restore 356’s to the way they were. If measurements are not symmetrical I go with what fits. The 356 may not be a show car but it will have the original character.

TECH TIP

Develop the habit of putting lugnuts back on the brake drums after removing a wheel. Who knows where they will go when kicked around the garage.

This leads to me to a restatement of the 356RESTORE philosophy. We want to get these great cars back on the road. We prefer to do customer 356’s in stages i.e. get it back on the road, enjoy driving it, decided on improvements and continue refinements. We can do show quality work but it takes a lot more time and money than driver level restoration. We also do not do shop cars to customer specifications. We do our shop cars to my requirements and price them accordingly. I finish shop cars to the original factory paint and interior. Sometime, I would like to do a customer car to show quality restoration. This means we start with a near perfect old 356. Anybody have one (and lots of money)?

NEW LOOK

Welcome to the new look of the newsletter. To keep up with the changing times and because the editor is tired of trying to fit all of Jim’s profound words onto a template for plain ol’ Word Perfect in addition to cutting and pasting (taping!) our logo each month, we have jumped into the new age by purchasing a real publishing program. So bear with us for a couple of months and we will slowly change the look but hopefully keep the same information coming to you. Our other great news is that 356RESTORE has acquired a new shop area (thanks guys) and now 356RESTORE will share the noise and smells to another part of town. Our phone number and address will remain the same so you can continue to reach us at the following: 840-2356 or 8356 N. Sunburst Trail.

OLD BUSINESS

The May Newsletter had a contest to find a significant error in April’s Newletter. I had a few calls but no correct answer. The error was in the return address which indicated 386RESTORE.

The distribution of this newsletter is now up to 280 Porsche 356 owners and enthuiasts primarily in the five state area. I continue to get positive feedback so will continue.

PROGRESS

We finished Rhome’s ’61 Roadster in primer and he picked it up to work the mechanicals and dry fit parts. I am most proud of our work on this 356 which had major collision damage, was used as a hay bin for horses and now will soon be back on the road. With Rhome’s 356 delivered that left only Tom’s ’52 Coupe for completion. Every panel on the bottom of this 356 was replaced or repaired. I need to finish caulking and finally this neat car will be off the rotissorie. With only Tom’s 356 in the shop, I took the time to reapint the floor. We used the same gray two part epoxy primer on the floor that we use on the 356’s. When I did the first paint job on the floor it was recommended using sand to provide a non skid surface. Wrong! For the last two years we have had difficulty sweeping and moping due to sand particles catching the dirt.

Finishing cars doesn’t mean progress has slowed. I bought a very nice complete ’64 Cabriolet as a shop project. While we were working on Rhome’s and Tom’s 356’s, it was at Blast Tech. Having a 356 blasted is like Christmas. You never know if you will get coal or candy. This is a sweet Cabriolet. A little work on the right rear, the left front, driver side front floor pan and a right rocker will make it like new. The Cab was yellow when I picked it up but pulling the dash cover, I found the original Ivory paint.

So the car will be Ivory and Black. It has the white/black check pattern on the seat inserts, which I’ve seen before, and hope is original as I like the look. The top is complete with the original headliner and the engine was rebuilt and powder painted. I hope to have this ’64 Cabriolet for sale by year end as it is obvious to me I can make more money selling shop cars than I do on metal work and paint.

Planning ahead, we picked up Scotty’s ’53 Cabriolet and got it to Blast Tech. We may get coal on this one as it had a Corvair engine in it at some time and a lot of metal has to be replaced. Following Scotty’s Cab will be Don’s ’64 Coupe and then I hope to pick up Dr. Jack’s ’64 Coupe in Vail before the snow flies.

Warren’s ’65 Coupe will be painted after we repaint the paint booth. Mike’s ’65 Coupe is also at the paint booth but we are doing metal work on it while cleaning the shop.

With 356’s piling up at the paint booth (Ryan also works on Alpines and Bugeyes) and the shop filling up again, I decided we needed more space. So I leased 1,500 square feet of storage in Parker. This will be primarily for shop car storage which are presently stored in various barns in Doublas County and for customer car staging i.e. we might do finish work at the staging area to preclude filler dust at the paint booth.

Looking at the plans for the rest of the year, it looks like Cabs and C’s. Oops! I almost forgot the ’57 Coupe shop car which I also want to complete by year end (year end is when people recieve bonuses and really have to have a 356!) I had Ron assemble and check out the engine and it is good. So I will pull the 356 from storage and start on the mechanicals and interior. The ’57 Coupe is painted in Linen Gray which is a 911 color but very attractive.

FOR SALE

I’ve had calls in the past for a complete disc brake setup. We recently got a set in on consignment for sale. They will probably be priced about $800-$1100.

PROGRESS

August 9, 1995 a red letter day! This was the first day in eight months that both Barb’s car and my truck were inside the garage. We have had up to nine 356’s in the garage and shop since the first of the year. We keep Barb’s Twin Grille Roadster and my Black Sunroof Coupe in the garage, one behind the other. (It’s neat to own small cars). This leave two stalls open for our daily drivers but the last eight months we have been doing final assembly in the garage and welding in the shop.

With the help of Miles, Scott, and Ryan, we moved out five 356’s this month. John’s Speedster got some final finish work and was returned to him in primer for dryfit assembly. Alan’s ’60 Roadster in its new Slate Gray paint and Burgundy interior was driven home but with some problems. He had a ball joint break on the carb linkage and got home on one set of carbs. I felt bad but since I hadn’t touched the linkage I can only recommend that 30 year old parts be inspected and replace as needed. (see me for parts!) Jim’s ’55 Speedster was also repaired and returned to him in primer. He will bring it back for paint after his tour in Korea. The Speedster had previous repair that was incorrect. The whole front section was too low and the fenders were flared. Similar to Joe’s Speedster problem. Well, we made the appropriate cuts and welds and this early Speedster now looks right. Jim drove it back to Michigan. This Speedster has a roller crank and When I test drove it, I learned you really have to keep the rev’s up. At low rev’s it’s a dog, at high revs you can kick the rear end out with the throttle. Some power!

The next 356 out of the shop was the Shop ’65 Dolphin Gray Coupe. I sold it to the second person that answered the ad for the asking price of $15,000. This guy borrowed it for the weekend and when he came back with a grin, I knew I had sold it. I spent a few days upgrading parts and detailing the car and the buyer got one of the best driver 356’s in Colorado.

The last 356 to be delivered was Jon’s ’59 Sunroof Coupe. This was that simple assembly job that should have taken a few weeks. But with all the missing parts, the repaint job and the big problem with the rear suspension, this simple job took five months. However, the 356 is beautiful. Jon chose a Ruby Red with some blue in it and while 356RESTORE didn’t do this paint job it is the nicest we’ve seen. We plan to repaint Barb’s Twin Grille Roadster the same Ruby Red. So the 356’s left in the shop are Rhome’s ’61 Roadster which is finishing out great. Scott is learning how to use a long board on this job. Tom’s ’52 Coupe which has been on the rotisserie for over a year is also nearing completion. Almost everything on the bottom of this 356 has been replace. We are paying special attention, as this early Coupe will be a street rod. Tom will put in a really powerful engine and we want to ensure the forty three year old body will handle the torque.

Mike’s ’65 Coupe sits in a corner needing a major front end repair and a lot of work on the rear. However, we stumbled over a cache of used and OEM 356 body parts. The body shop in Denver that did most of the 356 repairs in the 70’s and 80’s has to sell its building. As a result all the sheet metal accumulated over twenty-five years became available and 356RESTORE bought it.

We got front clips, rear clips, doors, hoods, eight OEM rear fenders, four OEM front fenders and two OEM left front A clips plus bumpers, decos and other parts. So instead of just repairing Mike’s ’65 Coupe, we will clip it just like they did in the days when insurance paid and the Porsche dealers had 356 sheet metal.

Some of these OEM Clips we bought deserve to go on the more valuable 356’s. So we may reserve them for open and early 356’s.

Miles went back to working full time on real estate appraisals and we miss him. He did some great work on Alan’s and Jon’s 356’s. Scott is working part time while actively pursuing a career as a Mechanical Engineer. Scott recently graduated from Colorado School of Mines and is a hands-on engineer. He drives 356’s (since age 14) and has started vintage racing. I would recommend him highly to anyone who receives this newsletter and could use a qualified Mechanical Engineer. Ryan is still helping out and recently got a great deal to finish a Bugeye Sprite in exchange for an enclosed trailer. All in all its been a great month. There is no better feeling than getting 356’s out of the shop and back to their owners.

Newsletter Update

As expected, there was no time to get a newsletter out last month. The 356 Holiday took precedence. Actually, it took all of Barb and my time in early June. As Registrars, we were receiving up to 16 calls a day. We had volunteered as Registrars thinking we could get everything done before the event and have time to visit with new friends and customers. Well it turned out, registration was the focus of the event and we had little time to participate. The feedback from the over 300 attendees (160 356 Porsches!!) was it was the best Porsche event ever! Not just 356 Porsche event but any Porsche event! We provided a challenging rally, coasting contest, autocross, concours, and some of the best of Colorado’s mountain scenery. The fact that participants had to drive between Snowmass and Crested Butte was a first and hopefully a drive between venues will be repeated in the future. These cars were meant to be driven! However, there were some problems. I looked in many engine compartments and saw neglect. Come on folks! No fiber washers on gas lines! Old dirty fuel filters! No oil! Loose air cleaners! These are strong cars but they must be maintained!

While I thought I had the 356 that I sold to Millie’s son Brandon in good shape, it had some problems with the fuel system. these were corrected by the 356 Holiday mechanic – Ron Appleton. Thanks Ron! Ron worked on a lot of 356’s that were not prepared for Colorado’s mountains. While he was contracted by the RM356 Porsche Club, he did more work than expected and much of it should have been done by the owners prior to the event. I strongly endorse Ron Appleton for any of your 356 mechanical needs (he does all my work). He is at Appleton Autowerks in Boulder.

Shop Update

Well, it’s been obvious for months that I am overcommitted, I like to think it is because I try to do quality work at a fair price because I really enjoy working on 356s. However, I tend to do more than estimated due to discoveries of poor previous repairs. This backs up the schedule. My solution; no more schedules. After I finish what I believe to be my commitments, I’m only going to work on 356s that will be a challenge or fun and only for customers that I want to work with. I have twenty four 356s on my to-do list so I won’t be hurting for work, I’ll just be more careful in selecting cars and customers. If you read into this some disappointment in past projects; you’re right. I will no longer work for investors, customers that won’t lift a wrench, or nit-pickers.

Progress

In the last newsletter, I indicated that Jon’s ’59 Sunroof Coupe was taking more time than expected. Well, over the last month it continued to take time. Many, many parts were missing from this “complete” 356. Plus, I could not fit a 5 1/2 ” wheel and 195 tire under the rear wheelwell. The problem was eventually discovered. Someone experienced oversteer and slammed the rear into a curb the transaxle yoke was bent 3/4 ” and both mounts were damaged. Replacing these parts got the 356 to roll without rubbing the fender but the wheel fit was still tight with 165-15’s and 4 1/2 wheels. Jon missed the Holiday but we got everything else to work and sent the 356 for alignment under the supervision of Tom Conway. Everything else to work was primarily electric and I have problems with 356 electrics. My solution, get someone who enjoys an electric challenge. Welcome Miles Christensen! Miles joined us as a part time helper after the Holiday. After three days, he had all the electronics on Jon’s 356 working. I would never have guessed that the brakes wire runs thru the turn signal switch and if it’s bad; no brake lights. When you think about it, the turn signal and brake share the same bulb. So Miles, who restored his own real nice ’56 Coupe is helping out with 356RESTORE’s commitments. Also joining us part time is Scott Petitt, the son of Norm Petitt. Norm owns one of the early 356 steel bodied race cars circa 1952. We will be getting this 356 ready for a big event next year! So, I’m teaching Miles and Scott body work and they are helping me finish up 356RESTORE commitments.

So, what progress have we made since the Holiday? Well, we got the shop ’60 Coupe and ’58 Cabriolet turned into rollers so we can put them into Bobby’s barn as we won’t get to them for a while. Oh! By the way, I bought two more shop cars, so I now own six. With the ’62 Roadsters and the ’63 Sunroof Coupe, this means eight 356s at 8356 Sunburst Trail! The plan is to store most of these 356s with the exception of a real nice ’57 Coupe which we should have for sale by the end of the year. I’ve been working on John’s Speedster which I planned on returning to him in primer so he could fit parts and let me know problems prior to paint. However, I rushed the project and as he pointed out, there is no use to fitting parts if the parts don’t fit. So while I worked on John’s Speedster and Miles worked on Rhome’s Roadster and Scott worked on Tom’s ’52 Coupe, Alan’s Roadster came back from the upholstery shop and Mikes ’65 Coupe was finished at Blast-Tech and Ryan has Jim’s Speedster just about done and Warren authorized the finish and paint on his ’65 Coupe and we still have to pickup Scotty’s ’53 Cab and Bruce has been hanging in the wind and I have a chance to buy back my first 356!

Sorry, no newsletter this month.

Progress

Most of the progress has been that Ryan finished his six credit Statistics course and should be back at 356RESTORE full time. He thinks he pulled a B or maybe an A depending on the curve. He has about 12 more credits to go for his degree. His absence on M-W-F for the last few months had slowed progress on the 356’s.

The simple reassemble job on Jon’s ’59 Sunroof Coupe took a lot more time than expected. Many critical parts were missing and I had to steal them from the Shop 58 Cabriolet. Fortunately, Carquip was able to replace most of the parts. Tom even allowed me to remove the special washers from one of his emergency brake assemblies. Without these washers, Jon would have had to pay over $200 for a complete assembly. One part Tom didn’t have and which I borrowed from the Shop ’58 Cab is the special steering wheel collar needed for the horn ring. This is the metal piece with the stand off screws and ground attachment. If anyone out there has one, please call.

We got Jon’s Sunroof Coupe almost finished and sent it to the upholstery shop. When it comes back we have some minor interior work and then have to get the engine sorted out.

Alan’s Roadster is also at the upholstery shop and when it comes back we have to install the engine and check it out.

With two 356’s at the upholstery shop, I have been fina1izing the Shop silver ’63 Coupe which I sold to Millie’s son. One of my philosophies is to sell shop cars to young folk who appreciate these great cars. I try not to do business with “investors”. Millies’s son, Brandon, is flying out from New Jersey to pick up his car and participate in the West Coast Holiday. After the Holiday he will drive the 356 back home. So I’ve been working on the mechanicals on his 356. The tach didn’t work and I found it broken at the rear connection. I was able to remove the core and replace it with a new cable. I greased it every few inches as I reinserted the eight foot cable, but once installed the cable kinked. I tried another cable but this time I tried a spare tachometer. Sure enough, the problem wasn’t in the cable but in the instrument. So I stole another part off the Shop ’58 Cabriolet. The tachometer works great. Tomorrow I get to find out why the speedometer cable broke, fix the heater system and solve a fuel leak.

One success was the windshield washer. I had spare parts on hand and with some plastic tubing from the hardware store and a foot pump from Tom Conway, it worked on the first try! The last time I did this I had a quart of washer fluid on the floor. There are T-valves and straight valves with arrows on them indicating which way the water goes. If you go with the flow–no problem. 356 owners seem to appreciate Tech Tips, so for the 356 Holiday, I’m putting together a book of 101 Restoration Tech Tips. If you can’t make the Holiday I plan to make these available to readers of this newsletter.

Barb and I went back to Minnesota for the wedding of our son BJ. I had planned to finish the Shop T -5 Coupe as a wedding present but this was when we expected them to settle in Denver. After seventeen years in Minnesota, I know what the winters do to a 356. Maybe they will get a 356 when they have our first grandchild and return to Colorado.

Holiday Update

I’m planning to slow down the shop during the first two weeks in June to get ready for the Holiday. I’ve yet to get our 356’s. prepared and I need to clean parts for the Swap Meet. I probably won’t get this newsletter out next month due to the Holiday but the July issue should have some great news on the world of 356 Porsches. We presently have 130 356’s registered for the Holiday and should top out over 150.

Parts

I did real good after the last newsletter. I sold the green carpet set to a guy in Cincinatti and the Conv D oatmeal carpet set to a local owner. I also sold a muffler and a bra. So this month I will feature backing plates. I have a complete set of A and B backing plates, powder painted and complete (even the brake wheel springs!). $80 a set!

Also on sale is a high tech 6 to 12 volt converter. The ones we used to get from Radio Shack are no longer available. The Radio Shack’s I sold for $30. This one I have to sell for $150. But I will throw in a new radar detector for only $75 if you buy both.

Contest

There was significant error in last month’s newsletter. If you are the first to call with the error you get $25 in parts or services (840-2356)

Progress

I feel the momentum picking up! Tony’s C Coupe was delivered; we did some work on Tom’s ’52 and Rhomes ’61. Alan’s Roadster was finished and delivered to the upholstery shop and Jon’s ’59 Sunroof Coupe should be assembled in a few weeks. John’s Speedster is in the body finish phase.

My new approach of taking 356’s to finish and primer and then returning to the owner for reassembly prior to paint appears to benefit both of us.

Dryfitting everything prior to paint allows the owner to ensure he/she has all the parts and they fit well. If a part doesn’t fit and since we are not in final (paint), it is possible to do additional body work to ensure fit. With today’s mix of used original and reproduction parts often we have to compromise for good fit.

As I’ve said before, I enjoy working on these cars because I’m constantly learning. On Jon’s ’59 I installed the side window frames in the door and everything fit well. The windows operated easily and the door shut well with good seams around the window. But when I went to install the chrome wings at the back of the window frames, the screw holes didn’t line up. What happened? Well a quick look at the three finished coupes in the garage indicated I reversed the window frames. When you don’t have vent windows it’s easy to make this mistake but to have them install and operate in the reverse configuration just shows the precision and symmetry of Porsche design.

While I solved this problem, Jon dropped by to do some work on his 356. I assigned him the task of installing and gluing the hood seal. I explained the installation process starting at the factory weld under the passenger side corner piece and pointed out that the mark of a good job is a smooth fit and an almost invisible seam at the comer piece joint. Well Jon is an orthodontist and must enjoy working with rubber and screws and glue because he did a perfect job! Better than factory, better than me. But it took him six hours! It takes me two hours and I still have trouble telling a customer it cost $50 to install a hood seal. Complete assembly of a 356 assuming all parts are available, cleaned, painted, sub-assembled and with the proper hardware available, should take between 80 to 120 hours. At my shop rate this is $2000 to $3000. I have trouble charging this much because I find the task enjoyable and a learning experience. This is why I encourage owners to do their own dry fit and assembly. At some shops you could spend $5000 for assembly and not learn a thing about how well your 356 was designed and assembled.

Tech Tip

When installing doors, lids and parts on a painted 356 use painter’s tape wherever there is a chance of parts touching. And if you have to use a drill bit to clean out filler and paint in a hole for a deco or script place the bit in the hole then start the drill, clean the hole, stop the drill and remove the bit. Adhesive tape over the hole will protect from paint chips and inadvertent bit scratches.

In this newsletter, the only person named who makes mistakes is myself. So without naming names, when I saw two 356 owners make the same mistake, it is worth mentioning. On 356’s with teardrop taillights there are two large holes at the rear of the engine compartment. These are access holes to the inner stud/nut on the taillight. These should be covered with large rubber grommots. They are not holes to route wires to the taillights. Wires to the taillights, backup and license light are routed under the engine tray. There should be fold over clips to hold the wires in place and off the muffler.

West Coast Holiday

We have 115 356’s registered for the June 14th – 18th Holiday in Snowmass and Crested Butte. We will probably top out around 150 for the biggest and best Holiday ever. If you haven’t registered or just want to drop by to check out the finest Porsches ever built, call 356RESTORE for the information.

Parts

Due to a customer changing their mind on a car color, I have a brand new green carpet set for sale at a great price. I will sell it for $200 or $300 installed. Half Price! I also have a Conv D/Roadster oatmeal carpet set for $250 or $400 installed.

Also if you don’t want to spend the big bucks for rubber floor mats I have used charcoal mats for $50.

At the last swap meet the over 100 folks attending I sold $65 of 356 parts. There must be a message but I will still have good used 356 parts at low prices.

Progress

Not as much progress this month as we had hoped. Ryan is taking classes three mornings a week and has been spending extra time on a perfect paint job. I’ve been restoring parts and putting 356’s back together and this takes time, time, time. Doing metal work goes fast once you’ve done it a few dozen times. So when we can get back to welding we should pick up the schedule.

I reassembled Tony’s 65 Coupe after we repaired the left rear and repainted. I was quite pleased with the work I did on the damaged rear bumper. As many of you know, a T -6 rear bumper with it’s four mourning points can be a real bear if anything is out of alignment. When in this case the bumper went on like factory. It only took a few minutes to attach. Hopefully, Tony will stay out of the trees with his 356.

After Tony’s car was reassembled, I decided to give it a cleaning. I removed the floor mats and was impressed that they were original. Even the floor boards were original. But there seemed to be some packing material behind the floor boards. I removed them and discovered where mice had been living for years. Both footwells and tunnel were packed with the mouse house. As I removed the material to check for damage to the wiring harness, it suddenly occurred to me! This 356 has New Mexico plates and here I am cleaning up mouse droppings! Well, if the owner hasn’t developed Hanti virus, I probably won’t. I finished up the cleanup with a mask, gloves and showered and washed my clothes. The only damage to the 356 was mouse urine pitting the fuel line. I advised the owner and the 356 sure smells better!

We got a little work done on Tom’s ’52 Coupe; the right side longitudinal and closing panels. Only the left side and rear plus a few dozen small rust areas remain. No progress on Rhome’s Roadster but we have decided on how to install the replacement driver side mid section that was crushed. The Signal Red ’59 S/R Coupe that was going to Fjord Green ended up Ruby Red. This 356 should be ready for assembly in a few weeks. I finished up the paint, cau1k and undercoat on John’s Speedster and hope to get the right fender and cowl back to specs shortly.

We made a few house calls this month. Two trips to Bob’s to assist in wiring and installing a front windshield. And one trip to Abby’s to replace a broken clutch cable. Not many glass shops will guarantee the installation of 356 windshields. They’re smart; particularly on open cars as Speedster and Roadster windshields are not the same as the original and may have to be ground to fit. Coupe windshields usuaI1y fit but have really gone up in price, from $120 a few years ago to $360 today. Bob had broken one windshield by hitting some furniture in his living room while installing the rubber seal and deco. This time he was more careful and together we got it in his Coupe perfectly.

Abby’s clutch cable broke because it looked like someone used vise grip pliers on the cable not the shank to hold the cable while installing the stop nuts. Tech tip it only takes a few minutes to remove the seats. Save your back and frustration level when working on the pedal cluster area. Remove the seats and give yourself room.

Parts

We sold quite a few parts this month. Probably because we don’t mind breaking up sets or removing small parts. We still sell parts on consignment (80/20) and have been fairly successful. Usually, if consignment parts don’t sell within a year, we buy them for our inventory.

Open Shop

Saturday afternoon Open Shops have been well attended with as many as ten folks dropping by one warm Saturday. To get to 356RESTORE, find the town of Parker (take Lincoln off I-25). Turn south onto Parker Road.

One block south of Main Street is Parker is Hilltop. Take Hilltop east a mile and three quarters to N. Sunburst Trail. Turn right on Sunburst and go exactly one mile to 8356 N. Sunburst Trail.

Progress

Lets take inventory. Today we have five 356’s in the garage and four in the basement shop. No! We moved Tony’s ’65 Coupe to the paint booth so we only have eight 356’s at the shop (this makes our address – 8356 N. Sunburst Trail legal). So at the paint booth we have three 356’s. Then there are three in the barn and one in the Black Forest. That makes fifteen 356’8 under our supervision and let’s check the schedule board. We have twenty two 356’s that need work in the future. It adds up to thirty seven 356’s. So as we have said before, we really have fun restoring the 356 model Porsches; it looks like we have a few more years of fun.

This month, we got Alan’s ’60 Roadster ready for Slate Gray paint. He wanted show quality so we have to spend another week, slowing down other projects (356RESTORE does not recommend the over restoration of 356’s).

John’s Speedster still is being fixed. The real solution to this problem would have been to replace every panel due to poor previous repair. But this would have really increased the cost of restoration, so we will continue to work around the previous repairs.

Tom’s ’52 has been idle while we waited for him to do some special insulation in the longitudinals. This is another 356 that needs every inner panel replaced or repaired but it goes easy on the rotisserie.

Rhome’s ’61 Roadster awaits replacement of the whole mid driver side where it got T-boned over twenty years ago. And of course a friend asked us to do the final assembly of a really nice ’59 Sunroof Coupe restored in San Diego. It sounded like a one week job, so we said ok, but when the 356 arrived, it was missing lots of parts. The metal work, finish and Signal Red paint on this car was excellent. We assembled the rear bumpers, installed the instruments and ordered parts needed to continue assembly. Then the customer called and said he was going to repaint to the original Fjord Green. So we disassembled every thing to get it ready for the painter. We won’t paint this one as we are fully committed in both the shop and paint booth.

Tech Tip

I mentioned we assembled the rear bumpers on the ’59 Sunroof Coupe. All of the restorers are having significant problems with the reproduction bumper deco available today. The deco is only available from one source and it doesn’t fit out of the box. It is best to fit the deco on your unpainted bumper. It may take three to four hours to get the contour correct. Remove the center rubber buffer to allow pounding on the aluminum without scarring the exterior. Also, replace the small carriage bolts with the proper metric size or you will find them spinning in the slots after a few tightenings. Right now it is best if you can salvage your origina1 deco’s perhaps just replacing the rubber buffer. If your buffer has pulled back from the ends just remove the bumper guard, cut the buffer behind it and slide back to the end. A little glue helps.

Swap Meet

We went to a Swap Meet last weekend but the weather was bad and few buyers showed up. I traded and sold some parts and found a real buy. I bought ten A-B backing plates powder painted and complete for $5 each. I saved at least $25 each and will also save hours cleaning and painting for future projects.

West Coast Holiday

This newsletter goes to 275 Porsche 356 owners primarily in the five state area. Some of you are not active in the local or national Porsche clubs and may not know of the big event to be held in Colorado this June. The event is called the 356 Registry West Coast Holiday. It is being hosted by the Rocky Mountain 356 Porsche Club

We will start in Snowmass on Wednesday, June 14th with events and parties and then drive to Crested Butte on Friday and conclude on Sunday, June 18th. We already have over 75 356’s registered and expect well over a hundred.

You are welcome to participate even if your 356 is not drivable. This is an excellent event to check out 356’s similar to yours and gain valuable knowledge. Plus you will meet some great people who share your enthusiasm for the world’s greatest sports car.

Barb and I are registrars for this event so just call us for details (303) 841-6475 or (303) 840-2356.

Happy New Year!

Barb and I celebrated New Year’s Eve with a sunset dinner cruise off of Maui, Hawaii. Quite different than last year at Breckenridge. We really enjoyed our week in Hawaii and would return in a minute.

I saw a Speedster on Maui and two B Coupes in Oahu. Plus we spent some time with Tom and Missy in Kanai. We did the metal work on Tom’s ’54 Cabriolet last year and hope to finish the project for Tom in the future.

Financial

In October, I indicated I would defer the 356RESTORE annual report to this month. As you may recall, the goal this year was to break even. Well, we didn’t make it. Expenses were $72,634 and revenue $27,444. However, I didn’t sell two shop cars which should have provided $26,000 in revenue plus I bought three other 356’s for a total of $9,000. So considering inventory expense the loss was about the same as our first year even though we raised the shop rate from $22.50 per hour to $25.00. We don’t intend to raise our rates this year so I am going to have to control expenses.

Progress

Joe got his ’58 Speedster back on Christmas Eve day and is now into the fun part assembly. 356RESTORE did a real good job on Joe’s Speedster; better than we expected considering the rough exterior. Ryan learned that A bumpers are a lot harder to finish than B/C bumpers. On the later bumpers you have three flat surfaces; on the early bumpers just one curved surface. If your A bumpers are real rough, you may want to consider repro bumpers which have dropped in price from around $500 each when they first came out to $200 or less today

Alan’s ’60 Roadster is ready for its Slate Gray paint. Alan saw Abby’s 356 last year and really liked the color. I detailed Alan’s engine and he should get a performance increase as I discovered he did not have any gaskets under his intake manifolds. I take intake manifolds and generator stands to Blast-Tech for soda blasting. The aluminum comes back like new and for $5 each it sure beats hours of hard work.

Rhome’s ’61 Roadster was pulled back into shape at Karosserie Fabrik. Tom Conway contributed his experience in 356 frame straightening and as a result there will be little metal work for 356RESTORE. Rhome found a driver side door for his Roadster so this 356 should be completed in short order.

Tom’s ’52 Coupe has almost all the bottom metal work done but before we weld in the new longitudinals, Tom wants to cover the heater tubes with a special sheathing. His concern is condensation in the longitudinal cavity. The heater tubes are easier to cover on the Pre-A cars as they don’t have the heater muffler that Porsche later installed in the longitudinal cavity to reduce engine noise.

John’s ’58 Speedster is progressing slowly. The problem is continuing trade-off’s between repairing previous work or replacing whole panels/clips.

Tony ’65 Coupe is awaiting metal work to the crumbled left rear fender and rust bubbles around the right headlight. The challenge after metal work will be to match the unique silver paint so we won’t have to repair the door cavities or under the deck lids.

1994 In Review

When we started 356RESTORE October 1992 we expected to do 2-3 356’s a year. In 1994 we completed:
– metal work on Tom’s ’54 Cabriolet
– complete restoration of Abby’s ’62 Coupe
– metal and paint on Ron and Marcia’s ’64 Coupe
– metal and paint on Joe’s ’57 Speedster
– complete resoration of the shop ’63 Coupe
– minor metal work, paint and restoration of the Shop ’65
– rust repair on Warren’s ’65 Coupe.