TRAVELS

We had a great time at the Holiday in Clear Lake, Texas. Barb and I drove the ’62 Twin Grille Roadster and had no problems. We did it top down until we started to roast.

There is no better way to see the USA than in a Porsche 356 open car! We only took small parts to sell at the swap meet and sold $300 in 1/2 hr. So those of you who consigned parts, the check is in the mail.

Barb and I will also attend the Calif, 356 get-together Sept. 23-26, but unfortunately won’t have time to drive (we will fly). Let me know if you have small parts you would like me to sell (80/20).

PROGRESS

We still have a full shop! Cleve’s ski car was returned with a new pan and front and rear struts. We had some problems with this car as we tried to do it dirty to keep the cost down. As a result, both Ryan and I breathed some bad fumes and got sick. So the shop policy is no more unblasted cars! If you won’t pay for proper metal preparation we won’t do your 356.

We picked up a C Coupe from Stormin’ Norman in Fort Collins and will do quite a bit of metal work over the next few months; floor pan, longitudinals, threshold, rockers, closing panels battery box and engine tray need to be done. This car was media blasted and we were able to give a firm, not-to-exceed estimate for repairs.

Jim Rodgers drove his ’55 Speedster back to our shop from the Holiday and we will redo some poor previous repair. It looks like when they put in the pan, the car opened up and they had to extend the top bow and cheat on the doors. It will be an interesting restoration.

Abby’s Coupe is just about ready for paint. All the extensive metal work is done and the bottom and interior primed, caulked and undercoated. Next is to clean, repair and paint all the suspension and turn it into a roller. John Jenkins did the cosmetics on Abby’s engine and it looks concours. Ask John what it takes to detail an engine (he didn’t make much as a subcontractor on this job). We also evaluated a few cars this month. Don had us look at his ’53 Cabriolet and ’62 Cabriolet. We were able to tell him what they were worth as is and as restored. There are buyers and sellers in the market now but everyone is conservative.

Hal also had us evaluate his ’64 white Coupe. He is the original owner and just caught it in time. The front floor is weak and left longitudinal is just about ready to go. Fortunately, the rust is not into the rear strut (I hope!). With all the work, Ryan and I are a the point of having to schedule 356’s. We have three full restorations going but the owners have given us time. That means, we will have to schedule the metal-work only cars. You can’t believe how much time it takes to re-assemble a 356! So, if we talked to you about metal work this year, give us a call, we probably have to set a schedule.

PARTS

I keep promising to talk about parts but don’t have room. Actually, I could make more selling parts than restoring 356’s. So, your best bet is to give me a call, if I don’t have it, I can tell you where to find it.

TECH TIPS

I’ve mentioned this before but it is still important and from the garage visits I’ve made often neglected. There must be a disciplined process to the disassembly of a 356. You need a project notebook, camera and plenty of zip lock bags of various sizes. It takes me 60 hours to properly disassemble a 356. The most important step is marking and inventorying the parts. Next is making drawings and/or taking pictures of tricky parts. Storage is also important. Put the parts where they won’t be disturbed until you pick through them. And always put them back the way they were originally organized.