Tech Tip Update

I had a lot of positive feed back on the tech tip to put a safety wire on the hood latch. It’s a fairly easy addition to the A & B hood latch but for the C you will have to remove the latch assembly and drill a hole for your safety wire. The A & B latch assembly has a spare hole which you can use or enlarge. A braided wire is the best solution and you will have to drill “punch” a hole in the battery box side. Just tape the safety wire to the fender brace or rig up a handle.

After writing this tech tip I had a hood lock shut on me. What did I do wrong? Well, I removed the hood latch wire, blew out the crud, greased it and attached it with the proper tension. I adjusted the latch and greased it. I checked the hood piece on the latch before attaching it to the hood. I checked for alignment with a piece of paper. I was careful to remove the spare tire before closing the hood. The hood closed and opened perfectly. Then I drove the 356. After a few hundred miles I had to open the hood. Locked shut! Fortunately, the spare tire was still out, so I could cut into the battery box if I had to. But what had happen was the new hood seal had compressed and the hood part had gone too deep. I was able to pull the hood up a fourth inch and with tape on the paint, I used a metal ruler to knock the hood latch off the latch assembly. Once open, I readjusted the hood latch so it wouldn’t go so deep and everything is perfect.

Progress

Tom’s ’52 Coupe came back from the blast shop and needs a little more work than expected. Once the bondo on the tail piece was blasted off we found about twenty dime size pull holes plus four brazed patches over the taillight area. Plus the front closing panels (no longer available – we will have to fabricate) and inner longitudinals were worse than expected. The ’52 is on the rotisserie and the fun begins. What’s neat about this forty year old 356 is that with the exception of the tail piece, all the exterior panels are virgin. No hits, no dents, no problems; except of course in the front and behind the doors. It’s the first 356 I’ve seen with the original exterior panels.

Allan’s ’60 Roadster also got blasted and once again we discovered the sandwich floor pan. This is where a previous repair was to cut and place new metal over and under the rusted floor pan, pop rivet it into place and cover with tar. This repair was first class, they even fabricated the toe board mounts into the top piece. Anyhow, it all has to come out and be done right.

The Shop ’65 Dolphin Gray Coupe is finally finished! (Geez, putting these cars together takes time). See the For Sale section.

The ’63 Silver Metalic Coupe is also finished (Geez, putting these cars together really takes time!)

Joe’s ’57 Speedster is just about ready for paint. Ryan was working on the right fender which I had done and found some thin cracks in the filler. I had him take it back down to bare metal and we found some problems under Joe’s lead work. I feel bad when the Mig welder has to be taken to the paint booth. It means we have regressed on a project. But Ryan keeps me honest and he won’t paint over poor finish.

We’ve got another ’60 Roadster coming in at Thanksgiving and also another Speedster. So the attention will shift from reassembly (Geez, putting these cars together takes time) to basic metal work. If you are counting, we have four cars in for metal work and the shop only holds three. Drop by some Saturday afternoon and see how we solve this problem.

For Sale

1965 C Coupe S/N 22311. Dolphin Gray with blue interior and gray carpet, Konis, sport muffler, electric tach, Michelin XZX on chrome wheels, disc brakes, Blaupunkt radio, tool kit, even the clock works! A perfect Christmas present for that someone special. Absolutely no rust or poor previous repair. Mechanically excellent as it was previously owned by Jim M. a very good 356 Porsche mechanic. Asking $15,500 with the 356RESTORE guarantee. The 356RESTORE guarantee on all parts, service or restored 356’s is simple “we’re not satisfied unless you are satisfied” 100% money back guaranteed.

Come by and see it or call 840-2356 or 841-6475.