Gas Problem

Let me change last month’s recommendation. Rather than shutting off your gas and running the engine out of fuel, just use a Stabil gasoline stabilizer. This will keep your gaskets, seals and pumps from drying. And don’t forget to change your oil before storing your 356 and again in the spring. So you waste four quarts of oil during storage. It is not that expensive compare to what moisture in the oil can do.

Bretts Book

One of my reference books in the shop is Brett Johnson’s “The 356 Porsche – A Restorers Guide to Authenticity”. Brett has just come out with revision 3; the most recent update in five years. It is great! Better pictures, more authentic detail and a must for every 356 owner. (Brett now agrees that rear cushions were an option in Roadsters!) Order it from TPR Inc. at (800) 553-5319 for $24.95. Makes a great gift.

Happy Holidays and the best in ’98.

Aha!

I pride myself on knowing all the parts on a 356 Porsche. After disassembling close to fifty 356’s I should know all the parts. However, when I bought a lot of parts out of Arizona, I had one bag of half circle wedge shaped fibre board pieces. Each had three holes. Similar to the backing piece for the door lock receiver, but a lot smaller; plus they were wedge shapped.

I puzzled over these for the last jew months and was about to declare them unknown (i.e. 911). Today, I looked at them again and at the same time happened to look at a Cabriolet toplatch on the same shelf. That’s what they are! Shims for adjusting the top latch to fit to the windshield frame. And I just happen to need a shim for the center latch on my shop Cabriolet which pops off at 60 mph.

When I first evaluated Peter’s ’62 Notchback Coupe, I saw the non German carpet and some funny interior pieces and concluded someone did a poor job on the interior. The rear seat luggage strap holders ent right thru the bottom of the vinyl rear seat cushions rather than thru the carpet on the rear verticlal sheet metal. Also there were chrome pieces similar to T-6 gas tank hold downs securing the tranny linspection plate cover. I never saw this before; must be wrong. However, when looking through Brett Johnson’s Restoration Guide (see last month’s reference:, there it is, a picture of the Darmann Notchback interior exactly like Peter’s. That’s what I enjoy about restoring 356 Prsches, every day, new knowledge.

Progress

Well, Peter’s Notchback is all together and he can drive it home. The Notchback look grew on me while it was here. It really is a Cabriolet with a welded on hardtop. Norm’s ’54 race car is at the painter’s and should be back in a few weeks. This job is welding including pans, longitudinals, front of door, inner ledge, top of fenders and lots more. I also got all the seams correct and the underneath cleaned, painted, caulked and undercoated. I cleaned and painted all the interior compartment. It seems I’ve been laying on my back welding on 356’s for the last three months. It will be fun to start the reassembly of Peter’s Notchback Coupe. Then I will work on Norm’s ’54 race car, my race car, Barb’s Twin Grille Roadster (watch Barb hold me to this) and Greg’s ’64 SC Coupe (yep! another one arrived).