Phone Calls
As noted previously, since 356Restore sorts out at the top of the 356 Registry vendor list, we get a lot of calls.
Can you hear me? Yes.
I’m calling from Hawaii. Where about? Maui. Great, we vacation there every year. Well, I’ve got some 356 parts. So this guy found us on the vendor list, clicked on 356Restore and got to our website which indicates we buy 356 parts. Turns out he works at Maui Roadsters just down the road from where we stay. They rent plastic Speedsters.
He sent us some pictures by smart phone and he had quite a few parts but no details and he wouldn’t use the internet. We sent him some comments but he never got back to us. His problem is no market for these parts on Maui and the high cost of shipping. We will check out the parts on our next vacation.
The next call was from Michigan. He found a 356 in a barn. He knew nothing about 356s. We asked for a description and by the process of elimination discovered it was a Speedster. We told him it was a great find and about recent values. We told him how to locate the chassis and engine numbers which he did and which confirmed a Speedster. The 356 was disassembled and missing parts. He had made a $10,000 offer and the owner dismissed it. We told him his options, he could buy it and flip it as is or buy it and restore it. We talked about costs and he said he would get back to us. We also cautioned him not to post any barn find pictures on the internet as they are encoded with GPS data. A guy on 356 Talk lost his barn find when someone swooped in and bought the 356. Another call was from Florida and this guy had found a Cabriolet but he was Porsche savvy. He wanted to know how to confirm serial numbers. We talked him through the process.
Another call was from an elderly previously 356 owner who had some Weber carburetors left over for sale. We gave him some idea of value and how to sell them. His problem, he doesn’t have a computer or know how to access the internet and no one to help him. We said we would post an ad for him. The number of calls we get asking us to do a 356 restoration has dropped off significantly. Could be this activity has declined or knowledgeable shops are up to their ears in work.

Originality
In a past newsletter we commented on a rusty, crusty Speedster that sold for over $400,000. Our comment was “stupid”! Then at another auction an original Speedster sold for $665,000. It was not restored and showed its age. The buyer was Jerry Seinfield. And the 356 was featured on a recent Jay Leno show. In fact most car shows are making a big deal about original cars. “It’s only original once!” we see the enjoyment in getting an original car to run well and safe. We just don’t to see the high values. But, of course we get enjoyment from doing restorations.

Prices
We recently had to order a rubber tunnel mat for one of our projects. We didn’t think about the price as we remember they were about $40. Well the recent price was $160. We can’t fault the vendors for participation in the run up of 356 values but it is causing us to research prices when we sell parts. On the other hand, brake wheel cylinders used to be around $80 and you need six. The prices now are around $40 but there are some fit issues. We have on hand close to 100 356 wheel cylinders and we used to enjoy rebuilding them, now we just order new ones. We will be rebuilding brake master cylinders as they have really gone up in price and we have thirty four on hand.

Progress
Well, we finally got over the exhaustion from the move, setting up the shop and hosting our open house/shop and restarted on our projects. First up is the Shop ’56 Speedster. The major issue was windshield fitment. You may remember we did significant metal work in this area and used some reproduction sheet metal. Our major goof was only using the windshield frame when jigging parts, i.e. cowl, dash, windshield frame pockets. After the 356 was painted and the windshield with glass installed, it was obvious the windshield was wrong. Just a 1/16 of an inch at the base will then throw you off at the top. Also, the cowl was to low for the assembled windshield. We tried to work around the problem and finally realized we would have to modify the cowl and windshield frame pockets and repaint the cowl. Off and on we have about forty hours into making this area correct. We must have had the windshield off and on at least fifty times always being careful not to damage the $600 windshield. While we wait to take the Speedster to the painter, we worked on the problem with the fuel tank fitment. Again we used reproduction sheet metal in this area. The problem was that the tank sat too high. We dressed down the area under the tank and got some improvements and then discovered, the opening for the tank to sit in was to tight. We had to cut the sides of the tank opening and move and weld metal. Then the tank fit well but the tank straps had to be modified. Oh the fun of Porsche 356 restoration

Newsletter
Last newsletter we said we would send out this newsletter every other month rather than monthly. We have changed our mind! We will send out a newsletter when we have 356 things to say. This removes a scheduled commitment which at our age is a good thing.

Grandpa News
Both girls are doing great in school. Alex got straight A’s again. Sammie in kindergarten has reading, writing, and Spanish and was advanced and proficient.

Porsches and Pastries
We enjoyed having all of you at our event. We had about forty 356s, it was difficult to count as with the open house/shop plan, 356s would come and go. However we were able to count pastries and Jen had prepared 1600. Only about 200 were left so we know those were enjoyed. (If you stayed late, you got a pastry goodie bag). We received many favorable reviews on our new home and shop. It is everything we wanted. As we get older we will be living on one level as opposed to four levels at our previous home. While Jim designed the basement shop, Barb designed the rest of the house. We were supposed to downsize and Jim filled a large trash container with old sheetrock, lumber and old parts he had saved.
Barb, however, her version of downsizing was to have the contractor build storage areas under the eves. So she has a closet under the eves for Christmas stuff and one for seasonal decorations, another for luggage and another for stuff. Thank you for coming to Porsches and Pastries; we enjoyed it and hope you did to.(One advantage of having a gravel driveway is that it is easy to pick up oil drips from Porsche 356s).
Progress
Not much to report. BJ continues with the metal work on the Shop ’64 Coupe “808”. The front end has been restored and he has started on the rear. We had a good T-6 rear clip he will use, which will save us about $1200.
Jim has restarted work on the Shop ’56 Speedster. The issues is getting the windshield to fit correctly. Almost all the metal in this area is new and correct fitment is taking time. Plus, Jim also needs time to get pasture grass to grow on the bare areas used during construction. Jim wants to get this established before winter. Plus the county requires it as part of the Sediment Erosion and Drainage Control Plan (SEDP) And then we woke up Saturday and we had no water and the well pump guys couldn’t get here until Monday. So Jim was hauling water from our previous home to keep the commodes working. The pump guys came Monday and determined that Jim had run the well dry with all the watering he had been doing to get the pasture grass to grow.
With little new progress to report, we will have some Random Porsche 356 Thoughts. Recently a 1957 Porsche Speedster sold at auction for $341,000. Why is this of interest?
Well, because it was a project 356. It was tired and probably rusty. Discussion revolved around why would someone pay so much for this Speedster. Most thought the buyer had lots of money and just wanted a Speedster to drive and not worry about dinging it. Jim’s opinion is it is just stupid! We think Seinfield’s Coupe sold for about the same amount and it had provenance. It was Otto Mathe’s 356, the one with the roof rack for race tires. Otto had one arm and raced this 356. We saw this 356 at the East Coast Holiday at Williamsburg in 2004. It had a sympathetic restoration which means they cleaned the 356 and made it mechanically sound. So it was not over restored and had a nice patina. One thing we noticed on Jerry’s 356 was that all the slotted screws on the threshold deco were pointed in the same direction. It sort of bothered us as we doubt it was factory but then again, if you were at Porsches and Pastries and checked out the switch plates at our new home, all the slotted screws are in the same direction. The electrician’s helper was German so it could be a German thing.
We had a local guy find us on the Internet and E-mailed us about Porsche seats for sale. He had a VW convertible and wanted to put 356 seats in it. He knew it would take some engineering but said it was the type of thing he enjoyed doing. He was doing a restro-mod on his VW, fitting later parts and features to make it more contempory and different. He mentioned he was with a group of fourteen riding their bikes to Sturgis when they were stopped in South Dakota because they had Colorado license plates. The highway patrol wanted to make sure they weren’t bringing marijuana. While stopped, some outlaw bikers rode by and they said there goes your marijuana.
At Porsche and Pastries, Tom Conway brought Larry Meyers display of dash plaques he had received at SCCA races in the sixties and seventies. Larry was the Midwest Division Champion racing a E-Production Speedster. We saw Larry at the West Coast Holiday in Sedona, Arizona and he was carrying the display. He said he was going to sell it at the swap meet. Jim said No Way! it’s going to stay in Colorado. Jim talked Tom Conway into buying it jointly and displaying it in our shops. So it is now at 356Restore and you must see it. Dash plaques from Continental Divide Raceway and other tracks in the Midwest. For those of you that have been in the new shop you would have noticed we have a lot of 356 parts. Most of these we have acquired with the project 356s that we have bought. Somebody would buy a Project 356 and acquire parts for the project and then never finish it. This also holds for finished 356 projects. A large classic dealer in Canada had bought restored 356s for resale and they came with parts. All parts are reproductions that the seller no longer needed and the reseller doesn’t need. 356Restore has been getting these parts for twenty five cents on the retail dollar.
Newsletter
This month starts our twenty fifth year with this newsletter. We enjoy doing it but as we get older we are not working at our previous pace so less to report. So we will go to every other month. The subscription price will be cut in half (a joke)
Grandpa News
A great fall school break in Seattle WA

Porsches and Pastries

The weather forecast looks good for this Sunday September 18. Come whenever you can. We know there are other weekend events. We will start at 0900 but this is a open house/shop so come anytime and stay as long as you want. Plenty of 356s to admire and plenty of 356 parts and 356s in the shop.
September 18 is Drive Your 356 Day in memory of Dr. Porsche. We will take pictures to submit to the 356 Registry.
We will have 356 workshop and parts manuals for sale as well as Porsche and non Porsche books. There will also be freebies, mostly Porsche art work. We will use the circular driveway for Porsche 356s, non Porsches can park on the graded area to the west of the driveway. If we get real crowded you can park next door at our old house and walk over.

Progress

As mentioned last month, Jim was working on the Shop ’60 Coupe “Casper” which we left in the storage building at our previous house. While it is next door to our new house , it still meant driving back and forth with tools and parts. Jim was working under Casper installing parts and regretting that he couldn’t do this work on the new lift at the new shop.
We had to pull the engine out of the ’52 Racecar and had put it on the lift with the Shop ’63 Coupe “Barney” underneath. BJ was working on the reassembly of Barney and also on the metal work on the Shop ’64 Coupe “808”. Jim got most of the parts on Casper and took it on a test drive. The 356 was tricky to start. Pedal almost to the floor, turn key, turn engine over for a few seconds then key off, pump twice then pedal down a little bit, turn key and it starts. I had to call Trevor to find this out as the turn key and pump, pump, pump doesn’t work on this 356.
So some folks came to drive it and it would start but then hold a high idle until in gear. The folks drove the 356 but we told them that we needed to fix the idle and install the remaining parts. One of which is the heater cable and rods, this again under the 356. We told the interested folks to check back with us in a month.
So Jim got back to the “Gambler” the Shop ’64 Sunroof Coupe. The doors fit perfectly with good gaps but once we put the door seals on the doors were not flush. Remember someone had started the reassembly of this painted 356. Jim spent a few hours on the doors but they still needed work.
So, lets do the bumpers. Almost all of the parts were missing but we had some good bumper guards and trim. We bought new rubber seals. The front bumper was no problem. Again, laying on the floor and thinking about the lift upstairs. The rear bumper was a problem. At the ends of the bumper are captive nuts in keyways that allow them to slide so you can run a bolt through the black rubber support seals (doughnuts) and position the bumper to the body. Someone had brazed one of the nuts to the keyway and the other nut would not slide in the keyway as it had rusted out. With the bumper already painted, there was no way to make and weld in a new keyway. So we welded a nut to a large washer that kept it in place. Well, we spent three hours trying to fit the bumper but finally had to stop and move on to something else.
We made a lift for the sunroof. We mentioned last month that one of those was missing but it was fairly easy to make and no one will ever see it as it is hidden behind the headliner.
So back to the rear bumper, lying on my back trying to make it fit. BJ helping finally. FOOL IT! I am too old to be doing this on my back with a new lift upstairs. Lets move cars! So we rolled the ’63 Coupe outside, lowed the lift and attached its wheels so we could rotate it and roll the ’52 Racecar outside. We then flat towed the Racecar up to the old storage building and parked it along side “Casper”. Then we rolled the “Gambler” out of the basement shop and flat towed it to the upper shop carefully as it does not yet have brakes. We got it on the lift using a come along, then rotated the lift, raised it and parked the Shop ’63 underneath. We will also use the lift to do the heater connections on “Casper”. Jim will no longer work on the floor.
So, the solution to the rear bumper problem was to weld a nut forward of the brazed nut. This would get the nuts on the bumper ends in the same relative position. The rear bumper was attached in another half an hour using the lift. So about five hours to attach bumpers to a 356. Plus another hour to move 356s to use the new lift. So, the plan is to continue to work on the “Gambler”. The real issue is how good is the engine. It looks like it was left in the 356 during body work and paint. We have absolutely no history on it.
BJ has the new battery box installed in “808” and the new front clip installed. He took his time and three days to position the front clip. The major issue was hood fit. If the front clip isn’t positioned correctly the problem will be obvious.
We also want to get the shops cleaned up for Porsches and Pastries. See you there!

HORAY!

We sold a 356 rear deck lid. That’s the third in thirty years. We have about twenty deck lids. No one needs them as they don’t get damaged. If you are hit in the rear, the deck lid pops up undamaged.

Grandpa News

BJ and the family headed up to Breckenridge over the Labor Day weekend. They enjoy the mountains once a year before the snow flies. Alex is learning how to use the sound and light boards at church, she is becoming very good at it. Sammie received a bunk bed for her room from friends who were reorganizing their home. She loves it.

Porsches and Pastries
Sunday September 18. That’s the day for Porsches and Pastries, and the day we can show off our new shop and home. We have had about six Porsches and Pastries over the years. BJ’s wife Jen, was the Executive Pastry chef at the Minneapolis Hilton. She is used to preparing large number of delicious and varied pastries. For this event she has Alex and Sammie to help. So we will start about 0900 but come whenever you can. It will be open shop and open new home. You can park along the circular driveway and street. Preferred parking for the Porsche 356. There will be great food and drink. The freebies include Porsche art work and there will be Porsche workshop manuals and other books for sale.

Prices
Excellence magazine just came out with their annual Porsche Buyer’s Guide. We have a hard time with the 356 prices. We have always considered the 356 an attractive and well engineered sports car. We have never considered them an investment.
At present we have nine 356s six of which we are restoring and will sell. We will keep the ’52 Racecar, ’63 Sunroof Coupe and ’62 Twin Grill Roadster. According to Excellence the six cars we will sell in good condition are valued at $730,000. Unbelievable! The three we will keep are valued at $345,000.
If you check the 356 Registry classified section you will see very high prices for 356s for sale. We doubt these prices are what is selling. Many of those 356 have been listed for a long time. But what is a realistic price? The only way to know is to ask a recent seller. We can’t find any.
We have some concern there is a market manipulation. The Excellence prices were prepared by Jeff Trask who is a principal at European Collections a major seller of Porsches. Our advise, consider your 356 for why you bought it not for what it may be worth.

Parts
Along with the increase of Porsche 356 prices, 356 parts are really moving up. We stopped selling 356 parts years ago when we found parts we needed for a restoration we had sold. Check out the vendors listed on the 356 Registry web site, you will be amazed at the prices for reproduction parts. Over $700 for a T-6 turn signal switch. $425 for the two chrome pieces on the top of the door. We recently had a request for some 356 A sheet metal parts. Left front fender and partial nose clip. We can’t understand why someone would want old used parts when new reproduction parts are available. Yes, the new parts are pricey but so is the value of the 356.

Progress
Most of the shop time has been concentrated on the Shop ’64 Silver Sunroof Coupe, The “Gambler”. This is the 356 we bought out of Salt Lake City that had been restored but was missing a lot of parts. Last month we mentioned the fun we had with doors. This month was the electrical and the sunroof. The first thing we noticed was that the 356 didn’t have the small two fuse block. Our ’63 Sunroof Coupe has it. It is for the sunroof and electric antenna. The C.O.A. says the sunroof is original, so maybe a Porsche change. While a lot of the sunroof parts were missing we had some and needed to find what was missing. The first thing to checkout was if the sunroof motor that came with the 356 was any good. The 356 had the sunroof rocker switch under the dash. According to Joe Leoni’s book, the switch should have a yellow, black and red wire (good German colors!). This switch had a loose blue wire instead of the red power wire. We ran a test lead from the bottom of fuse three to the blue switch wire and the motor works! The sunroof transmission was missing but we had one and installed it. But the pinion drive gear was missing. What to do? This is a rare part maybe we can have one made. BJ got online and the pinion gear is available for $24. Great, without this we don’t have a sunroof. The gear drives the two cables that move the sunroof. BJ also found that our spare sunroof motor is worth about $800.
So, the inventory of sunroof part yielded only one part was missing, the right side lifter which along with the left side adjusts to get the sunroof panel flush with the roof. We think we can make something work until we find one. We installed all the sunroof parts and are good to go once we make a lifter.
Meanwhile BJ spent time on the electrics. Jumping a lead from the top of fuse two to the bottom of each fuse, he got all the electrics to work, but only with the test lead not with the normal configuration. He thought the problem was in the turn signal switch or the headlight switch. Jim had to replace the spring on the turn signal switch to get it to function but there were still problems. BJ swapped out parts but he still had problems. He mentioned that he could not move the screws on the fuse block which looked original and still had the yellow inspection paint. We did a test and decided to replace the fuse block. It came out in pieces, completely frozen solid. A new fuse block and everything works. Jim is going to stop work on the “Gambler” to finish the small items on “Casper”, the white ’61 Coupe. The problem is this 356 has been stored in the storage building at the old house as there is no room at the new shop. So working on a 356 remotely and moving tools back and forth will be an issue. We have a potential buyer for this 356 so completing it and selling it will help with our storage problem.

Grandpa News
Both of girls started school this week. Alexandra started 7th grade and Samantha started kindergarten. They unpacked their suitcases and filled up their backpacks.

Porsches and Pastries

We will have Porsches and Pastries on Sunday September 18, (Rain Date 9/25). This will give us the opportunity to share our new home and shop. This is a open event starting at 0900. Come whenever and leave whenever. We may have BJ’s cousin who has won some major events for his barbeque. There will be freebies and some Porsche stuff for sale.

The Move

We are settled in. Only the landscaping needs to be finished and this is underway. Jim’s 356 time has been limited as he is maintaining two homes. Our previous home still needs mowing and maintenance to keep it attractive for showings. The new home also needs work to keep it the way we want it.

Progress

BJ stopped the metal work on “808” the Shop ’64 Coupe to do the reassembly on “Barney” the Shop White ’61 Coupe. Jim is doing the reassembly on the “Gambler” the Shop ’64 Silver Sunroof Coupe. Now, Jim hasn’t named Shop 356s in the past as he leaves that to BJ. But the “Gambler” is a neat story we may have told before.
We got an E-mail from a guy in Salt Lake City that was selling a ’64 Sunroof Coupe for the owner. E-mailed back and forth and he sent pictures. The 356 looked good and had been painted and partially reassembled but parts were missing. A important part missing was the sliding sunroof panel. But we had one from a sunroof clip we were going to use on “Barney” which according to the COA was originally a Sunroof Coupe, but had its roof replaced (poorly!). We decided to leave Barney as is and repair the roof. We could use the sliding panel from the clip on the ’64 Sunroof Coupe if we got it. We went back and forth with the supposed broker who would meet with the owner as we negotiated.
We made a big deal about the missing panel (supposedly stolen) as they are not being reproduced and would be very expensive to make. We finally settled on a price of $24,000. We considered this a good deal as a Sunroof adds $10,000 to the value of a Coupe. So we would be spending about $14,000 for restored 356 needing no metal work, painted but missing parts. Now we have a lot of parts as you will see at our September open shop/house. We previously documented our trip to Salt Lake City in a blizzard to pick up the 356. The day we returned we got a call from the owner who we had never talked to . He wanted to know what we had paid , we told him and the number was more than he had been told by the broker. He went on to say the broker was an ex con who ran an illegal gambling room in his warehouse. The sale of the 356 was to cover a gambling debt from the owner to the broker. Jim thought it was a neat story so he named the Shop Silver ’64 Sunroof Coupe “The Gambler”.
So where to start on finishing the reassembly of the “Gambler”. Well, the interior had been partially reassembled. The red vinyl interior was well done but the rear panel had not been installed. So we would start with that panel. First, you have to find and open the holes in the firewall that the studs on the panel go through. But don’t forget to make holes in the panel for the rear luggage straps hardware. On earlier 356s the luggage straps have bolts that go through the firewall and you can see their location. But on the 356C the luggage strap is attached to weld nuts on the interior firewall. (We learned this the hard way). No way to do this without removing the rear panel a tedious job). We got the rear panel in and it is a two man job as someone has to hold the panel from the inside as the studs are fastened behind the engine. Fortunately the rear windshield was not installed; with it installed this job takes a bit longer.
So now we check to see if the rear garnish rail pieces will fit on the side panels.
We notice right away that the hole in the chassis for the screw
to secure the garnish rail has been covered over. We make a template from “Barney” and drill new holes; right on the money. But the rail won’t fit because of the weld material from the bodywork. So a little dremel work (careful of the paint!) and the rail fits but is too high! The side panel was installed wrong and of course it fits partially behind the rear panel we just installed. So take off the rear panel, correct the side panel, reinstall the rear panel and fit the garnish rail. Isn’t Porsche 356 restoration fun!
What is next on the “Gambler”? Well the doors are hung but missing all the parts. We check our parts and find the regulators, door frames, glass, latches and hardware. What we are missing is the chrome pieces that go on top of the door and are installed first. We had a bunch chromed years ago but must have used them all. We decide to steal them from the parts that came with “808”. It will be a while until this 356 is reassembled and hopefully we can replace them then. We start reassembly on the driver door. It is going good until we notice the glass we picked had scratches. We replace it but selected one for the passenger side which goes in but is wrong. Then we have to dissemble everything to drill a hole in the latch for the cotter key that secures the wire to the opener. So after five tries the driver door is assembled and we fit but don’t secure the door panel and garnish rail. We roll the window up and it comes off the track! OK, six times. We secure the glass to the track with gorilla glue. Hadn’t use this before as the glass shop has special glue but we tried it and it works. Isn’t Porsche 356 restoration fun?

Grandpa News

The girls have not had a lot of time to be bored this summer. Swim lessons, church and camps have been fun.

No newsletter this month as we are moving!

We’ve Moved
Finally! The Kelloggs and 356Restore are in their new home. It took six months to close on the property and eighteen months for the remodel. We went with a Mediterranean design and it turned out great. Barb did all the interior design and it is also great.
The new address is 8310 N. Sunburst Tr., just east of our previous home at 8356 N Sunburst Tr. So we have lost the 356 in our address (which was a fluke) but our new home is a basement and one living level with a second guest and exercise/storage level. The previous home which we lived in for twenty five years was a basement and four levels. Living on one level will be more convenient as we get older. The move in date kept changing leading to anxiety on our part. Everything was boxed and ready to move and all we were waiting on was the railings for the balconies. “At the powder paints” said the railing guy. One week went by then another. After a third week we told the contractor this was ridiculous. The railings had been fit previously so let’s pull them from the painter and get on with it. So we pulled the railings and they were installed and the next day we had the final inspection and permission to move in.
As the railings were being installed we noticed they had not been completed. So the powder painting story was a fib, but the quality of the railing work is excellent so we have mixed emotions about the delay.
So, with the OK to move in on a Friday, Cowboy Moving and Storage showed up the following Tuesday and we spent that night in our new home. The movers also needed Wednesday to get everything moved over. So we were living with boxes for a few weeks and now we are settled.
Fortunately, Jim was able to move all the Porsche 356 parts to the new basement shop prior to move in so all we needed was the cars. Larry Becker of Larry’s Towing moved seven of our 356s. Three are in the basement; two are in the upper fab shop and two in the new two car garage until we can sell a few. We also have one at the painters. One at the mechanics and left one which we have sold at the old address as we have a little work to do on it before it is delivered to the new owners. Plus having a Signal Red 356 in the garage while the house is for sale may close the deal.
With Barb arranging the new home, Jim concentrated on getting the old home ready for sale. The basement shop took the most work as all the walls had to be painted and we planned to put new vinyl flooring over the beat up black and white square floor tiles. We ended up pulling up all the floor tiles to make for a smoother new flooring. The floor guy wanted the shop sink removed so Jim removed it forgetting that once a week at 2am the water softener back flushed into that sink. So water in the old basement and a delay on the new flooring. Prior to this flood, the septic tank at the new home backed up; fortunately just water from the clothes washer. The only loss was a few issues of Excellence magazine. But the backup resulted in digging up the septic which was completely full as it had never (?) been cleaned. With it pumped we were left with a big hole right on the path to the basement where we wanted to move the 356s. So we filled in the hole and will have to dig later to discover why the tank didn’t drain to the leaching field.
So with cars in the new shop BJ could get back to work on the Shop ’64 Coupe called “808”. BJ found a Colorado license plate on the Internet for ten bucks. It says 808 OKC. While this C Coupe is not yet OK, it will be.
The weather had delayed completion of the front portico and landscaping but they are now underway and we should be completed in a few months.

PCA
If you remember we bought a White ’61 Coupe which BJ named Casper. The family of the elderly owner didn’t want him to drive it anymore. The son in law is a PCA guy and had visited our old shop when we did the deal. He also organized this years Rocky Mountain PCA’s Gimmick Rallye stops. We had thirty three Porsches visit the shop including one 356. The gimmick took about five minutes so folks waiting got to tour the shop. We were quite pleased with the feed back “Awesome” and “Blown Away” were favorite comments. We were one of the five stops on the rallye and the stops we staggered. The gimmick was to reach into a cloth bag and identify six objects. But there were 3 similar objects for each choice. For example, find the 13mm combination wrench but there were also a 12mm and 14mm in the bag. Or find the pine scented auto air freshener and there were two other exactly alike but different scents. The participants seemed to enjoy the gimmick and two couples got five of six objects correct. Jim tried the gimmick after the participants left and got three of six; yes he got the 13mm wrench.
So the plan is to get 8356 N. Sunburst Tr. on the market, continue to settle in and get back to restoring 356s.
Another owner got taken on a 356 purchase. He brought the 356 by our new shop after media blasting. It is probably one of the worst for required metal work. He was told it had an engine but there was just two case halves. Of course he didn’t do a PPI and paid $37,000 for what we would consider a $5,000 major project.

Grandpa News
Alex and Sam are also getting moved into the new house, toys are being arranged upstairs and wifi pass codes are being obtained. Sam and Alex both have summer camps in June then a trip back to Minnesota in July to visit the Minnesota grandparents. It is going to be a busy summer.

Newsletter
We apologize that you did not receive a newsletter for a few months. One month we had nothing to say about 356 restoration as we were involved in setting up the new shop and BJ was still working on the body work on Barney the Shop ’62 Coupe. Another month we were on vacation -Aloha!
The newsletter started in October 1992 when we first started 356Restore. We borrowed readers from the Rocky Mountain 356 Porsche Club membership and from the 356 owners in the Rocky Mountain PCA. We take the cost of the newsletter as advertising on our shop taxes. The cost of the newsletter is about $45 for printing a month plus $60 to the post office (also an annual $200 fee). At present we have about 200 readers that receive the newsletter by mail and another 85 that receive it by email.
In the last 23 1/2 years we have distributed a little over 250 newsletters. The most commented part of the newsletter is Grandpa news. We enjoy writing as evidenced by our “Porsche 356 Do-it-Yourself Restoration Guide” book which by the way has sold over 4,000 copies. We like to think we contributed to quite a few 356 restorations which was our goal. We doubt we will run out of 356 topics as there is always something new to learn about the design and engineering of these great little cars.

Progress
Well, BJ finished Barney the Shop ’62 Coupe and it went off to the painter for its original Ivory paint. The interior will be Black vinyl with Mouse Grey corduroy inserts. Both COA noted. We are doing all of our Shop 356s as noted on the Certificate of Authenticity (COA). With the current value of the 356 we stick with the COA even if we do not like the color. In the past we would change a color to one we liked. Aquamarine Blue Metallic, Slate Grey and Fjord Green were a few of our favorite colors.
Another issue with the value of the 356s is how we restore parts. In the past we would restore original parts as they would fit perfect, perhaps show some age but it would be in character for a forty- fifty year old vehicle. Now, restorers will buy all new reproduction parts as they look newer and the parts cost versus 356 value is not an issue. We recently did this with the Shop ’62 Coupe. After spending time trying to make the original rear clip back to new, we decided to just buy a reproduction rear clip; a $1200 decision
The Shop ’64 Coupe we called Casper because of its White paint was taken to the mechanics for brake, suspension and engine installation and tuning. We could have done most of this work but with parts and tools spread between two locations it was easier to get it out of the way for awhile. So BJ started on the next project another ’64 Coupe. We were going to do this for a customer who had paid too much for the project. We are seeing a lot of this, a lot. Maybe most of the 356 projects for sale are way over priced. Someone with their eyes only on the future value will overlook the cost of the restoration.
The customer decided they would trade their project 356 and some cash in exchange for our recently completed ’64 Coupe-Viney. This gets the customer on the road to 356 driving enjoyment sooner.
BJ is the one who names our Shop projects and when he discovered the last three digits of this 356’s serial number was 808 he decided to call the project 808. Which is the area code for Hawaii. The Kellogg’s favorite vacation spot.
So progress has slowed until we move and will get back to the Shop ’57 Speedster, Shop ’64 Sunroof Coupe, Shop Outlaw project and even Barb’s Twin Grille Roadster. Yes we will do our first concours level restoration on the ’62 Roadster. They only made 249 Twin Grille Roadsters and it will be our legacy to leave to our granddaughters.

The Move
We thought we were almost there. The house is done except for the front portion. This would not be needed for occupancy and had been delayed by frozen ground. This area will be covered with stone tiles and the dirt had to excavated and then replaced and compacted
So all we thought we needed was the installation of the railing on the balconies. But then the county wanted the final grade around the building and lot to ensure drainage. They provide the detailed plan and you have to have someone familiar with the process. Of course, our landscaper was on vacation. These two remaining items should be completed this month; we will have a final inspection and get our Certificate of Occupancy. Jim has been anxious to get the 356s moved but the contractor says that will look like we are occupying the home and you do not want to p_ _s off the county inspectors. The move delay has allowed us to go through closets and storage areas and throw out what we won’t need. At least Jim has done this, Barb’s approach has been to have the contractor build multiple storage areas under the eves. The delay has allowed us to get our existing home ready for sale, the old shop has been repainted and looks good. The ramp in the basement will remain and if a buyer doesn’t want it, we’ll correct it. We are hoping the buyer will be a car or motorcycle person or even a horse person as the storage building could be used as a stable.

Grandpa News
For a Christmas gift to the family, Jen got us all tickets to the recent Harlem Globetrotters game. The tickets were courtside where all the action is and the girls had a ball. This is the ninetieth anniversary of the Globetrotters and they still put on a great show, particularly for a kid. Oh, yes they won!

No news letter, we’re on vacation- Aloha!

Sorry no newsletter this month

356 Parts Prices
We’ve mentioned before that we don’t do engine work. So why do we have so many engine parts? We think the reason is that the Porsche 356 appealed to men with an engineering background. It was unique, air cooled and rear engine. Plus, it was German.

Many of these early buyers would do more than just specified maintenance. They would buy parts to improve performance or have spares. These parts would follow the 356 when it was sold. Almost every 356 we have bought came with extra parts including engine parts.

Recently, Stoddard announced a new reproduction part, valve covers. Their price for one valve cover, $320. We have 52 valve covers. We have sold them for $100 a pair and have sold very few.

Thom, the painter is doing a repaint for one of our customers and the customer wanted a new rear windshield. We told Thom we had never bought one as the weren’t being reproduced and were seldom damaged. We would just use new seals and perhaps decos. We have eleven rear windshields. We told Thom to come and pick one. Then I remembered Stoddard is now selling 356 rear windshields. Their price is $928. Thom and I agreed on a fair price for the customer.

So have Porsche 356 parts prices gone up? Have they gone up as much as the 356 prices?

We have Stoddard price list from1985 and 1995 and today’s prices are on their website. A B/C ashtray sold for $18.50 in 1985, 22.65 in 1995 and today it is $77.00. A “Porsche” emblem sold for $23.50 in 1985, $50.40 in 1995 and today is $81.00. An A rocker deco was $46.75 in 1985 and $52.95 in 1995 and today is $77.00.
On the other hand, a teardrop taillight was $109.00 in 1985 and $190.00 in 1995 and today it is $77.00. We think this is because the poor design of the teardrop taillight creates a big demand for replacement. Big demand means larger quantities to reproduce and lower cost.

But how to explain windshields? An A Coupe was $150.00 in 1985, $390.00 in 1995 and $648.00 today. And then there is a baby moon hubcap, $13.00 in 1985, $46.00 in 1995 and $40.00 today.
And finally, a C crankshaft in 1985 priced at $299.00, $1,188.00 in 1995 and either $2.,704.00 for a crankshaft from Porsche Classic or hard to believe an NOS factory crankshaft is available for $4,242.00.
So, the net is mixed, some parts have gone up significantly while others have been stable or gone down. Competition and offshore reproduction has a lot to do with this. In 1985 it was mostly Stoddard, Tweeks, NLA and Doc and Cy’s. Today there are more Porsche parts vendors and we have the Internet.

Progress
We picked up the Shop ’64 Sunroof Coupe from Juan the upholster. We have been doing carpet and headliners on Coupes but on the higher value 356s it is best to have a professional job. Years ago we said a sunroof adds $3,000 to the value of a Coupe. Then we said $5,000. Now we say $10,000 but others argue for more.

BJ thought he was done with Barney the Shop ’62 Coupe but then he positioned the rear bumper. The hole in the fender where it attached was in the wrong position! It was too far forward. So whomever did this rear clip in the past really got it in the wrong position. BJ had been making repairs so the decklid fit and the rear teardrops lights were in the correct position. But with another repair we decided to just put a rear clip on the 356. We had one that matches to the factory welds. This will be a better solution that patch repairs.

Jim has not done much 356 restoration as he has been setting up the new shop. The parts cleaner and blast cabinet will not be needed, FREE to pick up.

The Move
All the parts are in the shop except for the parts for 356s being restored. These parts will go over when we move the cars. We have a temporary path to the basement door which has been enlarged to seven feet wide. However the path is mud and gravel and will only be safe when it is frozen. While BJ and I were going to trailer the 356s to the new shop, we decided to use Larry of Specialized Towing to move the 356s.

Once the shop is up and running, we expect to move only one or two 356s a month in or out of the basement shop. When we do landscaping the path to the shop will not be obvious as it is now. The rest of the remodel is progressing but is doubtful we will move in by Christmas. The kitchen is in and the appliances due this week. The tile floor is finished but the carpet is not yet installed. The final plumbing and electrical has been started but not yet completed. There is a lot of finish work but in general we are very pleased with the work. This is the first home that we have designed.
Barb is very good at design and there are hundreds of decisions to be made. She will ask Jim about knobs and pulls for cabinets and about paint colors and her choices are right on. Jim did decide on the various plaster options and went with a subtle stucco effect which really blends with the Mediterranean style of the house. Jim of course designed the 356Restore shop and received very positive feedback. Barb refers to it as a museum. Hey, I think there are some tax benefits to a museum!

Grandpa News
Did you know that Christmas is coming up soon!!!
The Santa lists have been rewrote almost everyday and the plans with Minnesota Grandma and the cousins over Xmas break is exhausting.

No Newsletter for November- We’ll be back in December!