INTRODUCTION
I made two mistakes in last month’s newsletter. First, I referred to Tom’s ’65 Coupe as the 356 on which he and his father would do the finish welding. Well, it’s true they will do the finish welding but it’s not Tom’s 356, it’s Ed’s. Sorry Ed!
My second mistake was mentioning that we have fourteen 356’s in backlog. As soon as this newsletter hit the street, four more 356 owners called to get in the queue. They were worried that 356RESTORE might not be able to get to their cars in the near future.
So Jim! Why don’t you get a shop in Parker, hire some more help, train them and finish all those 356’s. Well, I thought about this, even checked into leasing space in town. But I’ve decided to stay a home shop for two reasons. One, the physical constraints prevent 356RESTORE from over committing on work to be done. Second, I know a lot about OSHA, workmen’s comp, EPA, insurance, employee turnover and the reasons small businesses fail. Believe me, we are better off the way we are and so are you, as the shop rate remains $22.50/hour.
PROGRESS
Ed’s ’65 Coupe (not Tom’s, Ed’s) was finished to his requirements plus a few extra’s and he picked it up. We will have to make a housecall to weld on a jackspur which was out of stock when needed (no charge Ed, since I referred to you as Tom).
Ron and Marcia’s ’64 Coupe has been sitting waiting for the paint booth to be completed. The paint booth has high intensity lights and will really improve our finish work. It should be ready next week.
Abby’s ’63 coupe is almost done. The engine is in and turns over, the instruments are in, the gas tank is in and so is the headliner. All that remains is the carpet, windshields and final upholstery (and a bunch of small items, like horns, mirrors, etc.) While we wait for the upholstery, we will tow the 356 to Boulder and have Ron make all the adjustments and tune the engine. Then we will take it to Tom’s for alignment. After Don installs the interior, we will give Abby a test on the contents of the owners manual (i.e. what does a green light on the dash mean? And how do you check the oil?). When she passes the test she gets here 356 back. We entered Abby’s 356 in the Concour at West Fest to get feedback on how well we did on this major street restoration. Look for her 356, we think you will like it. She does!
Joe’s Speedster has been sitting waiting for Joe to find some parts so we can check out the top fit. Right now, the top doesn’t quite reach the windshield.
So almost all the welding attention has gone to the shop ’63 Coupe which we pulled out of storage and put on the rotisserie. It needs a bottom everything and so far, we’ve done the lock post, closing panels, longitudinals, thresholds and rockers. We should get the floor pan in this week and then its just headlight buckets, battery floor, engine tray and numerous repairs. This should be a real nice driver 356. We already have a deposit for the first right to buy, so another 356 will hit the ground running soon.
TECH TIPS
Save your old rubber parts to use as patterns. We get our rubber parts from International Mercantile. They have been of consistent high quality but must be trimmed to fit using the originals as patterns. Its also nice to mark your originals as to right and left side but if you forget you can always dry fit the original before trimming the new piece. If you’ve lost your rubber, see 356RESTORE as we have plenty of A-B-C rubber originals to use as patterns.
OPEN SHOP
Saturday open shop from noon till four is still on. Somebody drops by just about every week to check out the 356’s and maybe have a beer or two. It’s best to call though (840-2356) as some Saturdays we are out of the shop.
To get to the shop, find Parker. Go past Main Street on Parker Road to the next stop light at Hilltop. Go east on Hilltop a mile and a half to North Sunburst Trail (the first right off of Hilltop). Go exactly one mile on N. Sunburst Trail to 8356 North Sunburst Tail. We will look for you!
