Newsletter

Sorry, there wasn’t a newsletter last month. Just not enough time. BJ and I spent the latter part of January cleaning, painting and pricing parts for the big Swap Meet in Anaheim, CA. The Swap Meet was February 10th, and upon our return, Barb and I left for our annual vacation in Maui. There just wasn’t enough time to write the newsletter.

Swap Meet

This event gets bigger each year. Hundreds of vendors and thousands of buyers. It is more than a Swap Meet. It is a Porsche “happening”. Hundreds of 356 Porsches in the car corral. There is always a large selection of Carreras and special exhibits. This year they had a 356 hanging in a tree.

BJ and I loaded the truck. We take out the rear crew seat and pack the area with small parts and of course the travel refrigerator and snacks. We took the northern route this time and did the long haul to Las Vegas. Stayed at the MGM Grand and recovered the money we left there last year.

Arrived in Anaheim Saturday afternoon, washed the truck then went to the site for a buffet and tour of the museum. There was also a roast of racer, Milt Minter. There was a good crowd as many folks go to the Literature and Memorabilia meet at the L.A. Hilton on Saturday. then drive over to Anaheim to get ready for the Sunday Swap Meet.

Sunday was clear and sunny. BJ and I unloaded and started selling at 7:00 AM. Folks were grabbing parts as we unloaded. We were busy all morning and sold over $10,000 of parts. We met buyers who have bought from us before. They are now friends from the Netherlands, Mexico and Australia. One thing I noticed at the Swap Meet was there was very little haggling. While my parts are priced fairly, I sometimes have to dicker. I think this is because prices on E-Bay are so high people’s expectation are higher. Thanks E-Bay! This is the largest 356 event and you should plan to attend. Next year it will be on February 2nd.

Progress

As a result of the Swap Meet preparation and vacation not a lot of shop work got done. We did get the Shop ’61 Roadster to the painter and picked up the Shop ’56 Sunroof Coupe.

The Coupe is in Aquamarine Blue and the new painter did a great job. He has hired a helper as he realized he is taking longer than we hoped. He was working on the Shop ’64 Coupe but I told him to switch to the ’61 Roadster as I want to finish it for the charity concour on June 10th.

We started work on Rob’s ’58 Cabriolet. He has had most of the body work done over the years. We put in a diagonal and did some rocker panel repairs. Most of the work is getting the gaps correct for paint.

We picked up Chris’s ’69 Convertible D. He had done most of the disassembly and we took it to Blast Tech before vacation. We just picked it up and it looks like a straight forward job. A little less than normal rust repair and no collision damage. One neat thing is the hood is a virgin. No rust and no kinks. I think Chris got this 356 from the estate of the original owner. We also evaluated a ’60 Cabriolet in Colorado Springs. The owner had it at a body shop for two years and nothing got done. We hope to get to it this summer.

Observation

Interest in the 356 Porsche continues strong. The 356 Registry now has 7,100 members. There is a daily exchange of 356 information on 356TALK on the Internet.

Prices remain strong. Coupe prices have increased slightly. Restored Coupes are selling for $18,000 – $22,000 depending on engine, type and features. Open car prices remain high with Speedsters still at the top – $40,000 – $60,000 followed by Cabriolets at $35,000 – $45,000 and Roadster/Convertible D’s at $30,000 – $45,000. We have seen no decrease in 356 restoration work in fact, we have work for the next eighteen months. Parts prices remain steady as there are more vendors servicing the market yeilding good competition. I’ve checked with other shops such as Blast Tech, Autoweave, Painters Supply and even the specialty transport services. They all indicate continued strong interest in the classic car hobby.

Grand Prix of Denver

Checking the poster on the garage wall, the first Denver Grand Prix was in 1990. The second Grand Prix is this year; Labor Day weekend, Aug 30-Sept 1. I worked at the first one and have signed up to work the second. This is a CART Race and it looks like CART has been revitalized this year. The first one was fun; this could be better. 300 volunteers are needed. You can sign up for one, two, or three days. Last time we had some nice perks; shirt, caps, meals, beer. Hopefully the same this year. To sign up contact Tamela Cash at (303) 554-7464 or tcash@healthaxis.com or in the Springs, Jerry Cowan (719) 527-9141 or aardvarkgraphics@earthlink. net. You will get a form to receive additional information.

Events

April 20 – Hershey, Pennsylvania 26th Porsche Only Swap Meet info (717) 932-4673.

May 9-12 – Sweden 27th International Porsche 356 meeting. Contact 356RESTORE for info.

September 27th – Drive Your 356 Day – an annual event celebrated all over the world!