Progress

By then I should have Peter’s Notchback back for assembly and I will start on the latest arrival – Bob’s Convertible D. I had helped Bob with the metal repairs on his C Coupe. While he was buying metric hardware at the local hardware store, the clerk asked what it was for. When Bob said he was restoring an early Porsche, the clerk said his neighbor had one a few blocks away. Bob checked it out and found the Convertible D. Bob disassembled it and had it media blasted. I would say it has average rust damage i.e. floors, closing panels, front/rear of doors, etc. It also has the unique Roadster/Convertible rust on the dash and inner pillars.

Events

The RM356PC Christmas buffet will be at the Brittany Hill Resturant in Thorton on Sunday, December 14th at 11 AM 356RESTORE will donate a 356 luggage rack for a raffle. Cost of the holiday buffet is $15; raffle tickets are $1; bring a gift for the exchange. RSVP would be appreciated by Dec 10th to either Paulette Haggan or Barb Kellogg.

Since next year is Porsche’s 50th Anniversary, you should be making arrangements for next years events The RM356PC will host the Steamboat 356 Classic July 16-19 1998 prior to the Porsche Club of America Parade. Now is the time to make reservations, headquarters will be at The Lodge. Call Phil Carney (697-1550) or Roland Lohnert (674-6454) and offer to help. Also the West Coast Holiday for next year will be in Monterey, CA August 7-11 prior to the Monterey Concours and Historic Races where Porsche will be featured. The Holiday hotel (Hyatt Regency) is sold out so try to make other arragements now. If you don’t start planning for Porsche 1998 now you will miss out!

Retrospective

Since we just had our fifth anniversary, it may be time to see if we have accomplished our goals. In Vol. 1 No. 1-3 I indicated free variable estimates. I also encouraged owners to participate in the restoration and I indicated we would measure our success by getting these great cars back on the road.

We.., all the estimates we have done have been variable, showing the owner phases of the restoration. Some owners have opted to have us do it all, others have gone for phases, spreading the work and cost over time. The other thing about our estimates is we have never charged more than the estimate. My belief was if I blew an estimate I didn’t understand the problem and it was my learning experience. Today, my estimate are right on and profitable.

We have also had many owners fully involved in the restoration. They may not know how to weld but have done the disassembly and reassembly. For 356’s that require a lot of metal work, we have returned these cars in primer so the owner can do a complete assembly and bring it back for metal adjustment prior to paint. You would be surprised what small metal problems show up during assembly