Progress

Not a bad month. Quite a bit accomplished. I finished all the metal repair on Dr. Jack’s ’64 Sunroof Coupe. There were 25 areas that needed repair. Almost all were on the lower body. it was obvious the 356 had been stored wet, with mud and snow packed on the under curves and trap areas. There was also the traditional damage in front of the doors.

When I first had this 356 blasted I left on the doors, lids, and glass as I did not want blasting material inside what I thought was original material. I was correct. This is an all original 48,000 mile 356. it had not been previously disassembled or repaired i.e. no collision damage. My intent is to restore this 356 using all the original parts including carpet and interior. Only a few pieces of the carpet and interior need to be replaced. All the chrome and aluminum trim can be reused. The 356 had been repainted (Ivory) once but it was probably with Imron. This paint was so hard I couldn’t hand strip it. So I sent it back to the Blasters to have the door jams and openings blasted.  With Dr. Jack’s 356 back in the shop, I’ll do body finish and wait for an opening at the paint booth.

In the paint booth is Bruce’s Convertible D. Bruce is going to a color change from red to Aquamarine which is a beautiful blue/gray. (I agree, there are too may red sports cars.) Plus, Bruce has opted for lots of trick accessories so this will be one mean road machine.

Webb’s C Coupe was also blasted and I’ve started on the metal repair. Most of it is longitudinal, thresholds and previous work that failed. This 356 had some of those rubber buttons indicating an attempt at interior panel rust proofing. What I could see, whatever was sprayed inside didn’t work. Whenever I open a cavity for repair I clean and paint inside before welding it shut. (I once saw a 356 with new longitudinals that weren’t even painted on the outside; they were already rusting six months later._ When I finish the metal work on Webb’s 356 it will wait on the paint booth. Meanwhile, Jack H’s C Coupe will come back from blasting and we will start the metal work on it.

So we will be working on three C Coupes, plus Bruce’s Convertible D. but what happened to the shop cars and Ron’s ’60 Cabriolet? Well, Ron will take the Cab back to Cheyenne for paint and then back here for assembly. The shop ’57 Coupe is on loan to a potential buyer who decided he really wants an open 356. Meanwhile he is detailing the car and storing it while advertising it for sale. He spent hours rubbing out the paint and it glows like an Ivory jewel.

The Shop ’64 Cabriolet hung up in the upholstery shop waiting for a new front top bow. The guy that was making these died and it took a while for the vendor to find a new woodworker. But he didn’t have the steaming form. So we had him buy it from the window. he made six top bows before the form broke. We expect one for the Shop ’64. When he gets back on line he has an order from Stoddard for 200 top bows. Guess there are lots of Cabs waiting on top bows.

So if you are counting, I have five or six 356’s moving through the shop this winter. Since the shop really only holds three 356’s, I’ll be playing the logistics game. Since I gave up my storage area, I now have three Shop 356’s in a nearby barn, one in Greeley, one in Layette, and one in Vail. So I met with an architect and will soon start on my own storage building which we call the Carriage House and it will be on the east side of my driveway. This will be strictly for storage not shop work. it should hold eight to ten 356’s. Most of the storage areas in my neighborhood are for horses. Mine will be for horsepower.

During the month I also detailed Warren’s C Coupe and he drove it home. We had this 356 for almost two years and it always got low priority as Warren was in Florida and in no hurry. Since I felt bad about having his 356 so long I gave him lots of extras. The 356 looks great with its fresh Emerald Green paint and gold wheels. A little but of chrome and interior work and this will be a sharp 356.

YOU KNOW YOU’RE GETTING OLD

I had to renew by driver’s license. When asked my hair color I said “you decide.” So I now have gray hair by hey! I’m good to the next century.

FUTURE EVENTS

Barb and I will host the RM356PC Christmas party on Sunday, December 15th from 12:00-4:00. You don’t have to be a club member to attend. Please drop by and meet some great people. RSVP to 841-6475.

Also looks like the 1997 356 Registry West Coast Holiday will be the weekend  in August prior to the Monterey Historics which will feature Porsche. With the Holiday, the Concours, and the Vintage races, this will be the biggest Porsche event next year. Plan now! Coming up are Vintage Races in Las Vegas at the new race track and also in Phoenix. I hope to make one of both. More details later.