356 Restore Changes
On January 1, 2019 Jim will retire and BJ will take over ownership of 356Restore. BJ has worked with Jim for twenty years and has all the skills and knowledge to continue 356Restore and its mission to keep these great little cars on the road.

Jim will continue to do things he enjoys, like gardening and fishing and will be able to consult with BJ. BJ may continue these newsletters, how often is up to him. The newsletter has been 356Restores main communication for twenty-six years. BJ is more tuned into social media and will keep 356Restore viable with a new generation.

Rennsport Reunion VI
BJ and Jim have attended all six Rennsports. We have seen it grow from a small event at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut to a huge event at Laguna Seca with over eighty thousand enthusiasts. Rennsport VI was similar to Rennsport V but with more heritage cars and even a display of 356 Outlaws. They had a 919 Tribute car on its last tour before going to the museum. The tribute means Porsche took off all the FIA stuff required for Le Mans and let its true power shine through. This 919 Hybrid set a new track record at Nuremburg Ring and at Laguna Seca was clocked at 191 miles per hour in the speed trap. A crowd favorite at Rennsport VI was the Porsche tractor race. There were one, two, three- and four-cylinder diesel tractors to race seventeen in all. They did a LeMans start and went through turns one, two, three, four and exited at five. Of course, being tractors, many went off track through the corners. The crowd loved it. We might take our Porsche Junior tractor when they do it again. We are not sure when Rennsport VII will occur or where. They happen every two to three years. We suggest Road America as a venue to get more east coast participants plus the beer and the brats.

Snowmass
Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing (RMVR) held its second event at Snowmass. We hope to continue this event to replicate the fun we had for many years at Steamboat. The Snowmass track is a road course on Snowmasses main roads which means the course must be opened between races to allow folks to get to the hotels, condos and shops. The road course is narrow and is downhill and uphill. Driving skill and performance count.
We entered our 1952 356 racecar with Scot Petitt driving. It had been over a year since we raced due to engine problems. Trevor Sewell worked to finish the race engine that Bill Fey had started and the 356 was fast. It qualified third behind two Lotuses. Scott got caught off track when the track was open to traffic and got back to the pits to late to start third and had to start last in twenty-fourth. In four laps he was in fifth and closing on the leaders when he hit a hay bale. When Jim heard this on the radio he just thought hay would fly all over. Well hay bales are hard, and the right front headlight area was bashed in. We know a shop that can repair the damage.

Jim’s Best Buy
A few years ago, we were contacted by an owner in Utah that wanted a restoration of his 1960 Coupe. We told him that we were not doing customer 356s as we had six of our own to restore. We told him to check back, he did, and we were courteous and explained that our new shop was full, and we could not commit to customer work. He checked back with us a few times and then said he had some health issues and had to sell the 356. We advised him on how to advertise and where to sell it as it was a project 356. He did some research and said that he wanted to sell it to someone who appreciate it, but he needed an evaluation.

We said we would fly to Salt Lake City, meet him and evaluate the 356. We left Denver in 72 degrees and arrived in a blizzard! This slowed our drive and only left a few hours for evaluation before Jim’s return flight to Denver. Jim had his check list and the 356 was just old and tired and needed minor body work and lots of restoration. Jim went over the checklist with the customer and when he finished the customer said, “I want the 356 to go to someone who will appreciate it and that’s you.” He had read our newsletters and determined we were honest and knowledgeable. He said he would sell it to us at a price that was way too low. We protested, saying we just told you that your sunroof adds value to the 356. He doubled his offer, still very low and we took it.

BJ and I took the trailer and picked it up a few weeks later. It is a 1960 Super 90 Sunroof Coupe. All original with 74,000 documented miles. It had one Ruby red repaint which means we can’t call it an original survivor.

Our plan is to do a sympatric restoration which means, keep all the originality and let the patina show. No new chrome or reproduction parts. We will need new rubber and will try and age some carpet. This will be Jim’s retirement project. We told the owner our plans and indicated we would pass it on to our granddaughters. He was very pleased!

Certificate of Authenticity
Is no more. When the value of classic Porsches went up, it was important to have a COA if you were selling a car. The COA would provide the build information including the transmission and engine serial numbers. For one hundred dollars Porsche would provide this information along with a signed certificate. What happened was some sellers would get the COA information and change serial numbers to make their Porsche authentic.

Now the COA has been replaced with the “Porsche Production Specification” or PPS. You must tell Porsche your engine number and transmission serial numbers and they will confirm or indicate not known.

Grandpa news
Alex and Sammy would like to thank you for all the support you have given to 356Restore and Jim over the last twenty-six years. Grandpa will now have more time to spend with us. If you have gardening or fishing tips for Jim, his new cell phone number is 720.238.2632