RMVR
Speaking of racing, I just got back from the Vintage Race at Second Creek. This was a charity event and again we raised over $40,000. (Had hoped to see more of you there. Do it next year.) We were trying to get Norm’s ’52 steel bodied factory race car sorted out for the Monterey Historics. However, we are having problems with oil pressure and need to adapt a deep sump to the 2-piece case engine.
SALES ACTIVITY
At present, there is a lot of sales activity for 356’s. I get a lot of calls. Must be folks are happy with their 401K’s and want to invest in a little fun. Anyhow, a newsletter recipient wants to sell a ’64 C Coupe, Black/Black, engine/trans rebuilt, minor rust, needs carb work, $11,500. Contact the owner at (303) 773-2376 evenings. I believe there were only 50 or so Black/Black C Coupes produced.
NEWSLETTER
In last month’s newsletter I said I had Barb’s Twin Grille Roadster running. Well it did but when I went to start it a week later-dead battery. Now I had just bought three new NAPA 72000 series 6 volt batteries. I like them because they are bigger than the Interstate and fit the T-5/T-6 battery area without shimming. I put the batteries in Barb’s Roadster, my Sunroof Coupe and the shop ’64 Cabriolet. All started and ran fine. (By the way I sold the shop Cabriolet. When I told a guy there was still weeks worth of effort to finish it and I didn’t have the time; he said he would finish it in exchange for credit against the sale price. I checked out his garage complete with lift and gave him the 356. He did a great job on finishing it and I sold it to him for the asking price less the credit for his work.) Anyhow I recharged the Roadster’s battery and when touching the ground strap to the battery I heard a relay click. It was the horn relay. Aha! That’s the problem, the horn is always hot and I’ve got a short. Sure enough, I hooked up the recharged battery and next day it’s dead. But the Twin Grille Roadster has a new wiring harness and new relays. So I disconnected everything horn related and again the charged battery is dead in a day. So I walk away from the problem (highly recommended trouble shooting technique). Could it be the new battery? I start up my Coupe; battery is still good after a week. Put the Coupe battery in the Roadster. Roadster starts; wait two days; Roadster starts again. Take suspect battery to NAPA; sure enough, good 12 volts but minimal starting amps. They replace battery. Problem solved.
While on the subject of the newsletter, we will skip next month as we will be in Monterey for the Holiday and Historic Races/Concours. I hope to put out a two page newsletter with pictures in September. Right now over 800 356 enthusiasts are registered for the 356 Holiday. So expect we will see over 400 356’s in one place-Monterey the place to be for the 50th anniversary of Porsche.
PROGRESS
We picked up Jim H’s C Coupe and had only to disassemble a few pieces as Jim had done the major disassembly. Then it was off to Blast Tech. Man are they busy! Not just the restorers but they still have contracts with the GM dealers who get priority. (Call me if you need to know about the hidden warranty on GM paint problems). Anyhow, while waiting for Jim’s 356 to get blasted, I picked up Cal’s 1955 speedster. This is the guy who owns three and wants to get at least one done. We agreed I’d restore one for him at my expense and labor in exchange for another. Since this Speedster was stored outside since 1977 I knew I might find serious rust. But it’s not too bad. It had a hardtop on with plexiglass side curtains, but still there were leaks. The passenger door bottom is gone, most of the dash is gone, the rear pan is gone as is some of the tunnel and inner longitudinal. But the body is straight, gaps are good, rockers good (great! as these Pre-A pieces are NLA), longitudinals not too bad and even one jack spur is good. But just about every trim and interior piece is shot. So, I will spend a lot of my money and labor restoring this Speedster but this buys me one that I will also spend a lot of my money and labor on. So, it’s not a freebie. Disassembling the Speedster I used a new penetrating solvent. It’s called In-Force and sure is better than Liquid Wrench. I only broke one bolt during the disassembly. Of course I have to replace all the hardware but it is nice not to have to drill out and re tap numerous bolts/screws.
