Progress

A lot of progress this month. I finished doing the test installation of all the parts on Rhomes ’61 Roadster. Only a few pieces didn’t fit due to the collision damage in 1963. Rhome was missing the side window glass and hardware. Roland loaned me a piece and I was able to get new glass cut. I didn’t go to the trouble to have SIGIA sandblasted on the glass. I used the bottom from some coupe glass to make the regulator slide and had to fabricate the side channel pieces. Turned out the regulator that came with the replacement driver’s door was for the right side. Of course I learned this after I assembled everything and the window wouldn’t go all the way down.

I found a driver side regulator on the shelf and with some modification got it to work. The next step will be to disassemble everything and get it to the painter. It will be Royal Blue.

Charlie brought his ’64 Coupe up from the Springs for a color change from Black to Auratrium Green. Since minimal bodywork was required BJ and I got it disassembled and to the painter within a week. The 356 had way too much bondo and paint which caused the black paint to crack and craze. We ground out those areas and refilled. The painter will sand down to the original paint before applying primer and color.

Scotty dropped off his ’53 Coupe which we disassembled and took to Blast Tech. The 356 is complete and it is fun to work on the early cars. Of course when I see Phillips head screws on a PreA I know somebody has been there before. Phillips head screws were not used until 1955. We will give Scotty a metal work estimate after the 356 is blasted but right now it looks like we can save the original floor pan. This is great as the reproduction Pre-A pan is not available.

Scotty knows this 356 as he raced against it in 1953 The dash plaques from the SCCA Continental Divide Rally in 1953, ’54 and ’55 are still in the car. There was a fire extinguisher in the 356 and it is the same one I have seen in the early Porsche accessory catalog and it still worked!

When we dropped of Scotty’s 356 at Blast Tech we picked up the shop ’59 Sunroof Coupe. It has the typical rust areas but should go fast as we have done this many many times. Do I get tired doing these repairs? NO, as each repair is a unique test of my skill. I’ve often said I solved more problems working on a 356 than I ever did working in an office. Solving problems makes you feel good.

BJ has his ’64 Coupe almost together and Les Long will bring the rebuilt engine down after the first of the year for installation and test run. Another 356 will hit the road after being stored outside for over ten years.

Project Cars

I’m still looking for shop cars. I enjoyed the calls on the Horsetooth Reservoir Cabriolet We got some laughs on that one. But hey! the RM356PC might end up with this 356 as a project. The club will assist the Sheriff in trying to find the owner. If it is unclaimed the club might get ft. A lot depends on what condition ft was in when ft went under water. The project cars I am interested in are complete cars, maybe disassembled, requiring rust repair. I usually pay between $3000-$5000 for Coupes and $8000-$10,000 for open cars. Again, my number is (303) 840-2356.

Decklid Survey

Brett Johnson will publish my survey in the next Registry and maybe I can solve this mystery. I thought the scope of the mystery was 1958 to 1960 Coupes. But I have found one Cabriolet and recently Ray Morgan drove his ’62 Coupe over and sure enough it had a letter on the decklid, an S. Ray’s ’62 is all original; his Dad bought it in Germany. Ray refreshed the undercoat and did some minor paint touch ups, other than that it is as delivered from the factory. A beautiful Ivory with green interior. Ray found a set of green seat belts his Dad had purchased in the early 60’s. I gave him some hardware so he can install them. Porsche didn’t provide seatbelts or a way to install them until the early 60’s.

Year in Review

All in all a good year. Lots of progress and a few disappointments. We worked on or completed ten 356’s ranging from complete restorations like the Vail ’64 Coupe, Basalt ’59 Coupe and three Speedsters. We did metal work on the Shop ’52 Race car and Roland’s ’60 Roadster. We also did quick repairs to customer’s hoods, doors and rust areas.

We took trips to the LA Swap Meet, Durango Holiday and San Diego Fall Festival.

Notable events were the Chanty Concours, Nostalgia Racing, social with Brian Redman and Porsches and Pastries. A disappointment was the cancellation of the Silver Creek Race. Vintage Racing was mixed, with three races and limited track time due to brake and engine problems. A disappointment was not racing my ’57 Carrera Coupe.

A major loss was the death of Dave Lindeman, a true 356 enthusiast.

The best deal was the $800 ’52 Coupe race car!

All in all a good year!

As great as the cars are, the best times of 2000 were spent with the owners of these special cars. Happy Holidays to all.

Fall Festival

Barb and I had a good mini Holiday in San Diego. The venue was on Shelter Island. It was also Navy weekend so there were lots of ships on parade. There were 75 356’s in attendance and the concours was held on the grass right at the edge of the bay with the ships and North Island NAS as a backdrop. There was an all original ’64 coupe with 55,000 miles. I spent a lot of time with this 356 confirming what I know of originality (of course what is original on a ’64 may not apply to earlier 356’s). This ’64 had the original paint and I questioned the quality particularly over the leaded areas which was quite rough. The owner said original paint but it is another mystery as I can’t imagine this quality lapse by Porsche (but then they had just acquired Reutter and maybe they had new paint procedures).

I also did my decklid survey and found four out of 75 356’s with the characters stamped on the rear decklids. These are found only on 1958-1960 Coupes. After the event I received some more via e-mail. So the survey so far looks like this (can you break the code?):

• G, G, G, G
• K1, K1, KE, K
• H1, H, H
• S1, S1
• EA, E2
• W, W,
• B2
• F
• J

Newsletter

After last month’s newsletter I was able to hook up some buyers and sellers. I don’t broker these deals just try to help keep 356’s on the road.

I also got a call on a possible shop project. This was a ’58 Cabriolet, complete but needing metal work and restoration. The owner had additional parts and wanted $15K for the package.

BJ and I went for a look. The chassis was stored in a one car garage flat on the floor, no engine, tranny or suspension and covered with a 3 foot high pile of other car and motorcycle parts. The disassembled engine, tranny suspension and other parts were in a garage next door, also mixed in with other car parts. While it was very hard to do an evaluation this is how I approached making an offer:

A driver level restoration of a ’58 Cab should sell for $30,000.

I would have to spend $800 on blasting the chassis and parts; $2,000 on metal work, $5,000 on paint, $5,000 on upholstery (top alone is $2,000), $1,000 on assembly and parts and $5,000 on engine/tranny.

This adds up to $18,800 restoration expense. Since I would like to make a profit on the restoration, I offered $9,500 for the Cab plus $1,000 for the extra parts. The owner passed on the offer saying he would eventually do the project himself. I am still looking for project cars; give me a call if you know of one (303-840-2356).

Vintage Races

The Vintage races at North Island NAS were part of the Fall Festival event. We had special spectator passes and a 356 corral. This was a big event; as big as Monterey. It got lots of advertising as part of Navy week and you could hear the cars practice from many parts of the city. Attendance was huge and there were hundreds of vendors on hand. The 356 racers were all in one group. There were about twelve including an Abarth Carrera. They were mixed in with early Corvettes and Morgans. The 356’s made a good show but it was a Corvette track; long flat straights with few twisty parts. Since I lived in San Diego for twelve years this may become an annual event for us. Barb and I skipped the rally and went and looked at the house and neighborhood I grew up in. It all seemed small and close together. I remembered it as big and adventuresome. Then I was a kid, now I’m older. In fact I just turned 60!

I checked the progress board in the shop and I’ve restored 60 356’s!! Yes, I am doing what I enjoy the most and no, I won’t return to the corporate world or take up golf. As Scotty Knox told me when I said there was not enough time to do all the car projects we want to do- “Jim, there is not enough life”.

Progress

BJ’s ’64 Coupe came back from the paint shop, getting a race car level paint job i.e. not as expensive as a restored 356.

I also started on Rhome’s Roadster. This is going to take a lot of work as all the parts were stored outside at some time and are rusty. If you have been by the shop you may have seen pictures of Rhome’s Roadster. Purchased in 1961 it was crashed in 1963. The owner was killed. The car was salvaged for the transmission and stored outside for thirty years. We did the metal work five years ago and now we will finish it. It will be a candidate for the title of “Lazarus” award.

Deja Vu

I didn’t think it could happen in this day and age. A 356A that I restored three years ago recently had its hood kinked. The owner received a gift certificate from his wife to have the car detailed. When he left his 356 at the detail shop he explained how the front and rear lids worked. But the info must not have trickled down because someone used brute force to close the hood. The kink wasn’t too bad but the paint on the hood was cracked. It only took a few hours to make the repair. The problem was getting a good color match. The job cost $343, mostly for the paint (a quart is $98) and supplies. The detail shop fortunately paid for the repair.

Newsletter

You have to turn the back of this Newsletter upside down to read. This is because we want the folded bottom to go through the Post Office machine. Many of you have received ripped up Newsletters. Let me know if this is still happening.

Last month I wrote a rather basic procedure on changing the oil in you 356. After I wrote it I thought it was pretty dumb. But I received a letter thinking me for the procedure. He said he was going to frame it and put it in the garage. While I’ve received positive verbal responses to this Newsletter, this was my first letter. I’m going to frame it and put it in my garage!

Congratulations!

To Bruce Lasch, who drove his 356 to our shop. This was the first drive and the culmination of a five year restoration. Bruce had plenty of ups and downs but persevered

Progress

I spent most of the month turning sheetmetal into a Roadster for Roland. BJ finished his ‘64 Coupe project and the Basalt ‘59 Coupe finally came back from the painter.

Roland’s ‘60 Roadster had just the rear bulkhead and engine tray attached. The other sheetmetal panels were a mix of replacement panels and original skins. The rear fenders had been heavily brazed and warped. Plus Roland had obtained a rare A-model twin grille deck lid.

The first job was to build the inner engine compartment using the deck lid as a jig. I tack welded the pieces until it looked OK. But when I put the outer skins on, it was off. So, I ground out the tack welds and redid it.

To position the outer sheetmetal I used the deck lid and the lock posts. But you can’t get Roadster lockposts so I had to modify Coupe lockposts. I used the doors as a jig. The hinge plates for the soft top are right behind the lockposts. So I used the top as a jig to position the rear sheetmetal and the doors to position the lockposts at the same time.

This is one big jigsaw puzzle but it all came together. Once everything was tack welded I cut out the warped metal at the fender seams one small section at a time. I hand shaped the fender curves and checked with a carpenter’s contour gauge. Fortunately I had Rhome’s ‘61 Roadster here to serve as a reference library for measurements and curves.

Once the rear was together I repaired some poor work on the front fenders. Someone missed the right side wheel opening connection to the rocker panel by one inch. One way to fix this would be to cut loose the whole front outer skin and drop it down to get the proper opening curve to the rocker panel. This appeared as if it would create more problems so I just cut enough metal on the fender to get the opening to match to the rocker. Not a perfect solution but hey, 356’s were made by hand!

We will return Roland’s Roadster to him so we can finish the Basalt ‘59 Coupe. Roland can work on the mechanicals and bring it back for finish work. BJ’s 64 Coupe will go to the painters so we both can work on the Basalt Coupe. It is a very pretty and rare color—Auratium Green. When I first saw it I didn’t think it was a 356 color. But it is. At the 1998 West Coast Holiday where we had close to 400 356’s there was only one other car painted Auratium Green.

The owner wanted the wheels painted body color which we did. I use to think this was only done up to 1955, but talked to an owner of a ‘64 Coupe that had body colored wheels which was documented on his Kardex.

Dog Races Follow Up

Last year at this RMVR Race Event we raised $40,000 for Freedom Service Dogs. This year we hoped to raise $50,000. We raised $83,000! Thanks to all who supported this event. The races were as hot as the weather.

I had planned on driving my ‘57 Carrera in the Historic class. First I had to apply for eligibility and get the vehicle log book, next I had to request a car number and have them made. And most important get the car running and checked out. I trailered the Carrera to Trevors for checkout. On the lift we saw plenty of problems. Both front struts were rusted through with a piece of metal tack welded over and covered with undercoat. Same for the diagonal member. At the rear the tranny hoop was not attached correctly. Trevor fixed the shift linkage and clutch adjustment and I took the Carrera home for welding. There were only three days until the race. After I finished the welding repairs, Trevor came down and started and tuned the engine. What a sweet sound! We drove it around the block and it pulled to the left under breaking. Checked the fluid level and there was none! Added fluid and bled and adjusted the brakes. Drove it again. Everything OK. Drove it some more to practice left hand shifting (it’s a RHD 356). OK, almost ready. Cleaned both cars, (Jen and Bill will drive the ‘58 Coupe), buy race gas ($4.00 a gallon), filled out the tech sheets and packed up the tools.

At the track, I got in line for Tech Inspection. Everything was fine until the last check which was for brake lights. The pedal went to the floor! The right front steel braided brake line had broken! Brake fluid everywhere. Drove back to the pits without brakes, slowly. John McConnel had a spare brake line. Started the repair then I said to myself-“Jim, you rushed this car. You haven’t checked the complete car nor have you pulled the drums and checked linings, shoes and bearing”, I decided not to race. I might take a chance with another car but not with my first Porsche.

So the ‘57 Carrera Coupe served as a static display while Jen and Bill got to race. BJ worked the corners and I worked the pit.

One spectator said I had the ‘coolest” car a the event. (Does cool still mean what it used to or was I being slammed?)

I also reached a decision on steel braided brake lines. I now recommend good German Rubber brake lines which you check annually and replace every three years.

Porsches and Pastries

Some folks asked if we would do Porsches and Pastries again. Jen said sure! So plan to bring your 356 (or other car) to Kelloggs on Sunday, Sept 10th from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Call for directions (303) 840-2356 if you need them.

Progress

I spent most of the month turning sheetmetal pieces into a Roadster for Roland. BJ finished his ’64 Coupe project and the Basalt ’59 Coupe finally came back from the painter.

Roland’s ’60 Roadster had just the rear bulkhead and engine tray attached. The other sheetmetal panels were a mix of replacement panels and original skins. The rear fenders had been heavily brazed and warped. Plus Roland had obtained a rare A-model twin grille deck lid.

The first job was to build the inner engine compartment using the deck lid as a jig. I track welded the pieces until it looked OK. But when I put the outer skins on it was off. So, I ground out the tack welds and redid it.

To position the outer sheetmetal I used the deck lid and the lock posts. But you can’t get Roadster lockposts so I had to modify Coupe lockposts. I used the doors as a jig. The hinge plates for the soft top are right behind the lockposts. So I used the top as a jug to position the rear sheetmetal and the doors to position the lockposts at the same time.

This is one big jigsaw puzzle but it all came together. Once everything was tack welded I cut out the warped metal at the fender seams one small section at a time. I hand shaped the fender curves and checked with a carpenter’s counter guage. Fortunately I had Rhome’s ’61 Roadster here to serve as a reference library for measurements and curves.

Once the rear was together I repaired some poor work on the front fenders. Someone missed the right side wheel opening connection to the rocker panel by one inch. One was to fix this would be to cut loose the whole front outer skin and ddrop it down to get the proper opening curve to the rocker panel. This appeared as if it would create more problems so I just cut enough metal one the fender to get the opening to match to the rocker. Not a perfect solution but hey, 356’s were made by hand!

We will return Roland’s Roadster to him so we can finish the Basalt ’59 Coupe. Roland can work on the mechanicals and bring it back for finish work. BJ’s

64 Coupe will go to the painters so we both can work on the Basalt Coupe.

Progress

Last month I said I had plenty of work to do before the Charity Concours. Did I ever!

I entered four 356’s and at the time I sent the entry forms only Barb’s Twin Grille Roadster was running. My Black ’63 Sunroof Coupe needed an emission check with its rebuilt engine and some door adjustments.� The New Jersey ’58 Speedster needed to be reassembled and this was a priority as the owner was flying out for the event. Then my ’56 Speedster needed to be reassembled. Both Speedsters had the engines in but were weeks away from being finished. So we got the brake lines hooked up on the ’58 Speedster but had problems with the emergency brake.  We put new axle boots on it and fill the tranny.  And of course the boots leaked. We got the rebuilt instruments in but still had electrical problems.  Joe Leoni’s books helped a lot.

Then it was time to fire up the engine; we primed the carbs and it fired right up. Then died! Tried it a few times; same results.  Checked for fuel at the fuel pump. Nada! Checked at the exit from the tunnel. Nada! Checked at the petcock. OK! So it has got to be in the tunnel. Ran some wire up and down the tunnel line and finally got fuel flow. Ran out about a cup till it ran clear.  Hooked everything up and the engine ran.  Did a rough adjustment on the throttle, clutch and accelerator linkage and it actually went forward ten feet and back ten feet.  Good enough; time to work on my Speedster.  But the next day I smelled gasoline and checked the New Jersey car. Saw the new petcock was weeping. Not unusual until the cork seals get wet.

So off to my Speedster. Same routine but significant electrical problems.  Had to request Joe Leoni’s help.  The man is a genius. Got most of the problems solved but upon starting the car I couldn’t get a gear.  As I was working on this I notice the New Jersey Speedster still smelled of gas.  I opened the door and could see the new floor mat had big bubbles. Gasoline had gotten underneath and softened the rubber.  So I took everything out to dry in the sun and put clamps on the petcock hose.

I made an appointment to have Trevor do some adjustments and check my mechanical work. (I don’t profess to be a mechanic and wanted a professional to check a customer car.) Trevor did the adjustments and checked my work but couldn’t run the engine as there was a fuel leak in the tunnel. Got the ’58 Speedster home and pulled the fuel line. There was a split in the line and lots of rust. Replaced it with some 5/16 inch copper tube. The car fired right up; the floor mats dried out and everything went back together.

Back to my Speedster. Running out of time. Pulled the shifter. Someone had lengthened the lever to shorten the shift. The alignment at the pin was off. Found a better shift lever, But to replace the lever you have to loosen the tunnel shift rod at the back of the tunnel.  It was difficult but finally came loose.  Installed the new lever but the rod wouldn’t go in.  Spent two hours but it still wouldn’t go Called Trevor.  He said it should just slip in.  It was obvious I would have to get the rod out to find the problem.  The workbook says pull the engine and tranny.  No way Jay! I grabbed my metal shears and cut the top off the tunnel.  I can weld it later. Just get the shift rod out! Sure enough there is a little burr in the bottom of the shift rod opening. I remove this and the shift rod goes right in. But I still can’t get gears. Just like the problem with Cal’s Speedster.  One day to go till the New Jersey customer arrives and I have to help sort out his leftover parts. Fired up his car-only running on three. Crud got in the carb from the fuel line.  Worked on my shifter. Could only get second gear.  That’s it.  We are done by definition.

The Show

The New Jersey customer arrives two days before the show.  He loved his car! I made arrangements to trailer both Speedsters to Allan, the painter’s, shop which is just across the street from the show.  I figured we could somehow drive or push the cars to the event.

The morning of the event:

• Barb drove her Roadster.
• Jen drove the Black Coupe.
• BJ and I drove the truck and trailer to the paint shop.
• Both Speedsters fired up. I made it to the show in second gear and the New Jersey owner made it on three cylinders!  This was the first time he had driven it since 1963!
• At the show Cal said the fuel pump failed on his new engine the night before. So I got the trailer, went to his house and brought his Speedster down to ACC and we pushed his car onto the grass for the show.

What a show!  Over 250 cars.  Twenty six were 356’s and thousands (it seemed) of spectators.  Mel Shapiro got Best Porsche for his ’56 Black Speedster. (I had the honor of having that traveling trophy for a year with the Carrera. and am pleased to see it pass to him.)

Rosemarie Lohert got first place in the 356 class.  Congratulations to Mel and Rosemarie and thanks to all who supported and attended the event.

Progress

The ’59 Coupe from Basalt had its metal work done and is at the painters.

The Shop ’52 Race car had a roll cage installed and is in the back of the shop for future assembly. We will hopefully work on this project next winter. Meanwhile I’ve been thinking of paint schemes. I think I will repaint the ’58 Race car, since with its Mexican cream and red and green stripes everyone still thinks of it as Tico’s Coyote. I saw a Porsche historical clip on Speedvision and they showed the 908-3. This was a solid color with a big arrow on the left front fender. So maybe we will paint the ’58 Aquamarine Blue with a white arrow and the ’52 White with a Aquamarine arrow. When I mentioned this to Trevor he suggested arrows on the opposite fenders. What do you think? Future projects, so plenty of time to think it over.

Barb’s ’62 Twin Grille Roadster was finished and we drove it to Prestige Porsche to be featured at the Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing (RMVR) season kick off potluck. Got lots of nice comments. When you see pictures of the 356 in pieces and then see it running it is quite a difference.

My Black sunroof Coupe is also running (spring is here!) and just needs some minor adjustments. The Shop ’56 Speedster is back from Autoweave and one Speedster seat is installed and the windshield, other seat and electric’s have yet to be done.

Speaking of electric’s, I put a battery in the New Jersey ’58 Speedster and started to check it out. Nothing! Only the generator and oil lights. Checked the fuse block and was convinced I was missing wires compared to other A’s in the shop. You know how I have problems with 356 electric’s so this time I called Joe Leoni.

356 Electric’s

This is not just a column heading, but also the name of Joe Leoni’s project to document the 356 Porsche electric’s. He has recently published books on the A and B/C electrical schematics and trouble shooting. I only had the B/C books and was at a loss on the ’58 Speedster.

So I called Joe and he came over. Within an hour and half we had everything working or the problem identified. He started out with a debugging tip that will save me hours in the future. With the battery connected, we put a jumper on top of the No. 3 fuse. This is the hot battery post. Then I touched the jumper to the bottom of 12, 11,10 and 9 fuses. This caused the headlights and the running lights to work or not. This bypasses the headlight switch. All the lights worked except for one running light which was a loose connection. Then we tried the headlight switch and it didn’t work. Did a continuity check and it was bad (but can be disassembled and cleaned-can’t understand why forty year old parts don’t work!). A replacement switch and everything worked. Tried the turn signals and the backs worked but not the fronts. Need to disassemble the turn signal switch and clean contacts (another forty year old part); held the two brake light wires together and the brake lights worked! Tried the starter. Nothing! Found a bad connection, fixed it and the engine turned over!

Joe you are a genius! For years we have struggled with black and white factory wiring diagrams that tell us little. Your expertise and books I consider a major breakthrough in Porsche 356 restoration. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Vintage Racing

Big News! Many of you remember the fun and excitement of Vintage Sports car racing at Steamboat. For fifteen years RMVR did this and had great fun every Labor Day. We had great crowds and racers from all over the country. This ended in 1998 with the development of condominiums around the race track. But a new venue has been found and we will race the streets again this Labor Day!

The location is Silver Creek up by Winter Park and Grand Lake. I don’t have the exact location yet and haven’t seen the track layout but it is a definite go!

Storage

I will not have my secondary storage location as of May 5th. This is why I’ve sold or traded some of my 356 project cars. So why did I buy another project 356? Because the car is complete but rusty and priced right-$3,000. It is a ’64 Coupe and was stored outside in Elizabeth for the last ten years. The owner got my name from Blast Tech (thanks Gary) and called. I thought he wanted restoration work and said it would be at least a year. But he said he wanted to sell and BJ and I checked it out and bought it. This will be BJ’s project from start to finish. After a year at 356RESTORE he has the skills to do one on his own.

BJ is doing the disassembly and already found something neat. The shifter has a lock and the key was in the ash tray. The rust appears to be mostly in the battery box floor, some of the pan and front of the doors. Closing panels and longitudinal look ok. The door seams are good, hood is rough. All numbers match. The engine spun a rod bearing and was disassembled and stored inside the car. The engine pieces will be off to Les Long of Airpower Racing for evaluation.

When BJ finishes the project he can use it as a daily driver or sell it. It’s tough to keep my hands off but I learned on my own and so can BJ.

Correction

You got me! No I didn’t make sixty five thousand dollars at the Swap Meet and then take off for Maui, Hawaii. I made sixty five hundred dollars and then took off for Maui. (The typist and her proof reader stand corrected.)

Progress

Even with the ten day vacation we did make progress this month. The ’59 Coupe from Basalt has been blasted and is back in the shop. No collision damage except for a rear clip. And no major rust. Ran, longitudinals, struts and closing panels all OK. Major work is to replace and refit the damaged rear deck lid and some minor dent and rust areas. Then it is off to the painter.

BJ and I finished the metal work on the Shop ’52 race car. It was mostly some pan and battery box repair. A major front dent, dents and pull holes in the rear and fitting a replacement driver door. Pan, longitudinals, closing panels and even jack spurs are original and undamaged. Not bad for a 50 year old car!

We took the ’52 up to Brighten for roll cage installation and will pick it up this week. We will then store it until we finish other projects.

Les Long be delivered the rebuilt engine for my Black ’63 Sunroof Coupe. We started installation a 0800 Sunday and by 0930 I was driving it around the block. Les does excellent work as does Trevor Sewell. Les is in Ogden, Utah (retired F-16 pilot). He can be reached at (810) 721-7919. His shop is Air Power Racing. Trevor’s shop is Trevor’s and he is at (303) 297-2498. He recently did the rebuild on “The Company Car”; 356RESTORE’s ’58 Coupe race car.

Barb’s Twin Grille Roadster came back with new Ruby Red paint and has been reassembled. I contacted Maguires on the Internet and they recommended their No.7 Show Car polish for fresh paint. This really put a glow and depth to the paint. They also said not to wax for 60-90 days.

We received the Kelate brake shoes for the ’58 race car and they will be installed along with the rebuilt engine this week. With a week’s worth of cleaning, safety inspection and tuning, we should be ready for the first race on April 29th.

We should pick up the shop ’56 Speedster from Autowave this week. Then it is reassembly and engine installation. But the engine is in Cal’s Speedster while he builds his engine. So we have to finish Cal’s 356 before we pull the engine. (Ever notice how I get 356’s 95% complete then go on to other projects.) And of course we have to finish installation of the New Jersey Speedster and the Vail ’64 Coupe (also 95% done).

Saturdays

Saturday afternoons are still Open Shop but call first as some weekends we may be racing or at an event. A recent Saturday went like this: off at 0800 to evaluate a ’59 Coupe for a guy in Wisconsin. The 356 was at a shop in north Denver that buys and sells restored and project sports cars. He had about forty cars in various conditions, Aston Martin, MG, Hearleys, Porsches and others.

The owner, Steven, was honest and knowledgeable. He opened the shop to me for the evaluation. The ’59 Coupe turned out to be a clean, minimal rust driver with brown metallic paint and tan leather interior. There were a few things wrong and I documented everything and wrote the evaluation to send to Wisconsin. I charge $50 plus travel for this service. Back in the shop after a stop at Sugar and Spice Bakery in Parker to visit with Barb and Jen and of course steal a few pastries. Friends of BJ and Jen from Minnesota dropped by so it was off with the car covers for show and tell and then BJ took them for drives in the ’63 Sunroof Coupe. No sooner were the car covers back on then Bob, a new neighbor dropped by in his classic Lincoln continental. The one with the top that drops into the rear trunk. He had been driving pretty girls in the St. Patrick’s Day parade and dropped by to see the Porsches. So off with the car covers! Then, Bill came by to return a radio and buy a generator stand. We bench-tested another radio and it worked and found the correct generator stand. Also showed him the cars as he hadn’t been here in a while. So off with the car covers again!

Next was a guy from Colorado Springs who hadn’t been here in four years. He remembered we were just pouring the floor for the storage building on his last visit. he had a small list of engine parts he needed, and while I told him I didn’t have have much mechanical stuff, we found everything on his list. He was very happy, and the price was more than reasonable (he will be back for restoration items). Of course, he had to see the cars, so off with the car covers again. While looking for Bill’s generator stand, we found a very rare part on the shelf. This is so unique we will have a contest in the hospitality room at the Durango Holiday. Winner will get $50 of 356RESTORE parts at the swap meet.

Events

The big Concours for charity will be June 11th at Arapahoe Community College. Please plan now to bring your 356. You don’t have to be judged (although judging gives you a great feedback). The crowd loves the 356 Porsches, so mark your calendar now. More details later. get your registration in for the drive of the Millennium in Durango. We really need to have all the CO 356ers here to the drive, play and help.

In Memorium

Dave Lindeman died February 7th. Dave was an early member of the RM356C and a good friend. He bought a 356 Porsche from a used car lot on Broadway and towed it home on a rope. He did the complete restoration including engine work and paint. When he was finished it was beautiful and fast. He always took the lead on the run to Santa Fe. Dave, we all miss you, you kept the 356 faith.

Road Trip

BJ and I took off Friday, January 28th for the big 356 REGISTRY Swap Meet in Anaheim, CA. We had the new pickup full of parts which we had spent the previous weeks cleaning, painting and pricing. Slow going due to snow at the beginning but then turn right at Albuquerque and on to California. There was a nice party at the host location on Saturday night but early to bed for the 5:00 AM wake up call. Even that early we were the 12th vendor in line.

We got into the site and set up with the help of Roland from CO. We immediately started selling and did well; over $65000 in sales. There were over 100 vendors and with all the competition we had to offer good deals to move the parts. There were over a 1,000 buyers. We will do it again next year as we still have plenty of parts on the shelf (now all clean and painted).

While driving into California I asked BJ to look for weird stuff. We thought we had it when we saw a stretch Hum-Vee limousine. But the weirdest was while on the freeway we looked over at a stripmall and between a doughnut shop and children’s clothing store was a place selling wholesale caskets. Only in California! (and I’m a native son!)

At the Swap Meet we met Toshiyuki Suzuki, the guy from Japan that bought all my 356 oil filter canisters last year. While his English is not too fluent, I think he saw

Progress

Rocky’s ’64 SC Coupe is done. He has been by twice and seems pleased. He has owned the 356 for thirty years and did some of the previous repairs in his Dad’s bodyshop. I told him that while the repairs may have been up to the standard of the day, they gave me problems getting it right.

We tried to reuse as many pieces as possible to keep Rocky’s 356 original. This means we may reuse a less than perfect original part rather than using a reproduction part which may look ok but isn’t just right. I mentioned before how the passenger door had a lockpost pushed back and the seams messed up plus the lower door skin was way out from the rocker. Well, even though I redid the metal, it still took a day and a half to make the door fit with the new rubber and original panel. The driver side door took an hour and a half! This is why some restoration shops go out of business. Twelve hours to fit a door! At $35-$50 an hour nobody would pay $450-$600 just to fit a door. But sometimes that is what it takes. Fortunately I’m in this for the enjoyment of working on great cars not to just make a buck. (Editor’s note-and he would not let the door best him!)

We picked up the shop ’52 Coupe from Blast Tech. As I hoped, there will be very little metal work. I will be able to save all the original metal. Floor pans, rockers, longitudinals, jack spurs and closing panels only need minimal repair. If this 356 had come with all the original parts it would have been a terrific restoration. But without parts it will become a racecar. Somebody had this idea before because the ’52 has a 741 transmission and B brakes

Since I have the engine and even disc brakes from the ’64 Cab I parted out I can build a neat race car.