Employee Handbook
I recently had a birthday and checked the latest revision to the 356RESTORE Employee Handbook. I discovered that I was entitled to a day off with pay. So, I took Friday off. I enjoyed it so much I decided to take all Fridays off.

After working six days a week for fourteen years on 356 Porsches and reaching my 65th year, I decided to cut back.

We will still have open shop on Saturday afternoons. We recently had a visitor from Sweden. Steffen enjoyed the tour and cars and bought my 356 Restoration book. We both commented on his last name which is Kjellshog. Pretty close to Kellogg in spelling but I can’t pronounce it.

Progress
While the Shop ’57 Carrera is at Paragon Motorcars and has received much acclaim, we have not had any offers yet. I used the lift at Paragon to reseal the valve covers which were leaking oil. With the 356 on the lift, we could see some areas that needed attention. So we are bringing the Carrera back to the shop to do some more work.

I took the Shop ’58 Cabriolet to Trevor’s as we were having trouble starting it and we needed to know if the engine whine had been fixed with the rebuilt generator. Trevor found the linkage hanging up and not allowing the carbs to get enough fuel. Once fixed and started, the engine whine had also been fixed by the rebuilt generator. (Thanks Joe!) So we took the ’58 Cabriolet to Paragon Motorcars and they put it on the showroom floor and on their web site. It sold in one week!

BJ is almost done getting Rob’s ’61 Cabriolet ready for paint. The major issue was the missing hood. T-5 hoods are different than A hoods but look similar. They also have a T-6 like hood handle but the curvature is different. T-5 hoods and hood handles are very hard to find. Even A hoods are hard to find. We have six T-6 hoods but had only one A hood. Note: T-6 hoods differ between B and C as the latch is different. BJ was able to repair the one A hood we had and get it to fit the 356. We will have to fit a T-6 hood handle before paint. So since Rob didn’t have his original T-5 hood and hood handle he will get our best effort and we doubt that anyone will know we made the modification.

I finished the paint in the front, interior and rear compartments on the Shop ’57 Speedster. Speedsters are easier than other 356s as they have no sound deadening insulation. I also finished the paint, caulk and undercoat underneath the Speedster.

Rob’s ’61 will go to the painter after Andy’s ’62 is done and then the Speedster. The Speedster’s original color was Signal Red and also referred to as Fire Red on the Kardex. We think the early Signal Red is different than the latter Signal Red. Andy’s ’62 is being painted the later Signal Red and we have the PPG paint code. We found a section of the original Signal Red paint on the Speedster underneath the id tag on the door hinge cover. We will compare this to Andy’s color and make adjustments.

We always try to find some of the original paint on a 356 as we prefer to have 356s painted in their original color unless it is Togo Brown.

The Shop ’57 Sunroof Coupe is at Blast Tech and we will start on the metal work when it comes back. This will go slower than usual as we have to take pictures for the second edition of our 356 Restoration Book.

We have received nothing but positive comments on the first edition. When we wrote it, we got to a point where we thought “Is anyone going to appreciate this?” and we wrapped it up and sent it to the publisher. We knew a lot more detail could be provided and we are doing this in the second edition.

The ’64 Coupe we recently bought came with lots of other parts and we recently sorted through them to determine what was require to restore the ’64 and what was spare. There was one spare fan shroud but it looked like it had been modified. We found an id plate on it that indicated it was for a Type 729 engine. A little research discovered this fan shroud was for a 356 engine used in inboard motor boats! We also found that not many marine engines were produced by Porsche as getting air to the engine was a problem.

Lift For Sale
A few years ago we purchased a Kwiklift and find we seldom use it and it is for sale. It has two ramps sixteen feet long in four sections. The lift can remain flat on the ground with a car on it. When in use the front is mounted on two pieces that lift it two feet high. The car is driven on and a floor jack is used on an eccentric device to lift the car and the lift is secured by a locking mechanism. We have used it for the 356. Weight of the lift is 500 pounds. Purchase price was $1,100; we will sell it for $750.

Events
People are starting to inquire about next year’s West Coast Holiday. It will be held here in Colorado hosted by the Rocky Mountain 356 Porsche Club. As in past Colorado Holidays, we will require the participants to drive between Holiday locations. We will start the Holiday in Snowmass and then drive to Steamboat Springs. The Holiday dates are September 6th through 10th; mark your calendars.

Grandpa News
I swear she had grown two inches in the last month (and her last doctor’s appointment confirms that!). She has lost her chubbiness and is close to walking on her own. She has learned to wave whenever she sees me and can blow kisses.

Editor’s note: Can you guess who is smitten?