Correction

You got me! No I didn’t make sixty five thousand dollars at the Swap Meet and then take off for Maui, Hawaii. I made sixty five hundred dollars and then took off for Maui. (The typist and her proof reader stand corrected.)

Progress

Even with the ten day vacation we did make progress this month. The ’59 Coupe from Basalt has been blasted and is back in the shop. No collision damage except for a rear clip. And no major rust. Ran, longitudinals, struts and closing panels all OK. Major work is to replace and refit the damaged rear deck lid and some minor dent and rust areas. Then it is off to the painter.

BJ and I finished the metal work on the Shop ’52 race car. It was mostly some pan and battery box repair. A major front dent, dents and pull holes in the rear and fitting a replacement driver door. Pan, longitudinals, closing panels and even jack spurs are original and undamaged. Not bad for a 50 year old car!

We took the ’52 up to Brighten for roll cage installation and will pick it up this week. We will then store it until we finish other projects.

Les Long be delivered the rebuilt engine for my Black ’63 Sunroof Coupe. We started installation a 0800 Sunday and by 0930 I was driving it around the block. Les does excellent work as does Trevor Sewell. Les is in Ogden, Utah (retired F-16 pilot). He can be reached at (810) 721-7919. His shop is Air Power Racing. Trevor’s shop is Trevor’s and he is at (303) 297-2498. He recently did the rebuild on “The Company Car”; 356RESTORE’s ’58 Coupe race car.

Barb’s Twin Grille Roadster came back with new Ruby Red paint and has been reassembled. I contacted Maguires on the Internet and they recommended their No.7 Show Car polish for fresh paint. This really put a glow and depth to the paint. They also said not to wax for 60-90 days.

We received the Kelate brake shoes for the ’58 race car and they will be installed along with the rebuilt engine this week. With a week’s worth of cleaning, safety inspection and tuning, we should be ready for the first race on April 29th.

We should pick up the shop ’56 Speedster from Autowave this week. Then it is reassembly and engine installation. But the engine is in Cal’s Speedster while he builds his engine. So we have to finish Cal’s 356 before we pull the engine. (Ever notice how I get 356’s 95% complete then go on to other projects.) And of course we have to finish installation of the New Jersey Speedster and the Vail ’64 Coupe (also 95% done).

Saturdays

Saturday afternoons are still Open Shop but call first as some weekends we may be racing or at an event. A recent Saturday went like this: off at 0800 to evaluate a ’59 Coupe for a guy in Wisconsin. The 356 was at a shop in north Denver that buys and sells restored and project sports cars. He had about forty cars in various conditions, Aston Martin, MG, Hearleys, Porsches and others.

The owner, Steven, was honest and knowledgeable. He opened the shop to me for the evaluation. The ’59 Coupe turned out to be a clean, minimal rust driver with brown metallic paint and tan leather interior. There were a few things wrong and I documented everything and wrote the evaluation to send to Wisconsin. I charge $50 plus travel for this service. Back in the shop after a stop at Sugar and Spice Bakery in Parker to visit with Barb and Jen and of course steal a few pastries. Friends of BJ and Jen from Minnesota dropped by so it was off with the car covers for show and tell and then BJ took them for drives in the ’63 Sunroof Coupe. No sooner were the car covers back on then Bob, a new neighbor dropped by in his classic Lincoln continental. The one with the top that drops into the rear trunk. He had been driving pretty girls in the St. Patrick’s Day parade and dropped by to see the Porsches. So off with the car covers! Then, Bill came by to return a radio and buy a generator stand. We bench-tested another radio and it worked and found the correct generator stand. Also showed him the cars as he hadn’t been here in a while. So off with the car covers again!

Next was a guy from Colorado Springs who hadn’t been here in four years. He remembered we were just pouring the floor for the storage building on his last visit. he had a small list of engine parts he needed, and while I told him I didn’t have have much mechanical stuff, we found everything on his list. He was very happy, and the price was more than reasonable (he will be back for restoration items). Of course, he had to see the cars, so off with the car covers again. While looking for Bill’s generator stand, we found a very rare part on the shelf. This is so unique we will have a contest in the hospitality room at the Durango Holiday. Winner will get $50 of 356RESTORE parts at the swap meet.

Events

The big Concours for charity will be June 11th at Arapahoe Community College. Please plan now to bring your 356. You don’t have to be judged (although judging gives you a great feedback). The crowd loves the 356 Porsches, so mark your calendar now. More details later. get your registration in for the drive of the Millennium in Durango. We really need to have all the CO 356ers here to the drive, play and help.