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.