First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parade

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Benjamin Abraham
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First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parade

#1 Post by Benjamin Abraham »

Hello Everyone,

We are the proud third owners of VIN# 105757 a 1958 ('59 model) Porsche 356A Super Coupe.
This post is long overdue. I finally had some time to decompress and write about the Porsche Parade 2018 and our experience driving our 356A for the first time on a road trip.

4 months prior to the trip
In anticipation of this event, I dropped the car off at what I believed to be a reputable shop to get the car roadworthy (boy, was I wrong!... more on that later). At the end of this post, I will put a checklist of things I believe one should have on a road trip. Please feel free to add to the list, and I will update it with everyone’s input.

1 day prior to the trip
We received the car 1 day before our road trip, and that left me with one day to get everything ready and loaded. We did not have any time to drive the car or to make sure all the work was done and working properly.

Day 1 – July 6
For my wife Tania and I, this would be our 5th Porsche Parade. We started our trip on July 6th, From NYC. Packed everything we thought we would need into the car including loading the luggage rack with vintage skis, tennis racket, and luggage. No Air Conditioning… no problem… we bought two rechargeable clip-on fans. Attached Lereyn Company’s impeccably made cup-holder and my wife’s iPhone to the dash and off we went!

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Almost immediately we realized some problems that we did not anticipate. With the luggage on the rack, and only one mirror…visibility out of the 356 was challenging at best. Changing lanes would require at least two people. Our Fuel Gauge started bouncing around, so we felt we could not rely on it. We started calculating our fuel consumption based on mileage traveled and fuel replenished. If my calculations are correct, these cars get nearly 26 mpg if not more!


Day 2 – July 7
The next morning I found some oil on the ground. I kept this issue and others from my wife… most of which she will discover in this post ;) Most of the time we were cruising at 80+ and we saw 90+ on the speedometer a few times. I noticed that many times on the drive, the car would all of a sudden lose power. This was most noticeable when traveling uphill….and I would move over to the right lane to let the other cars pass…until the power came back on. This happened frequently enough that I realized all I had to do was pull back on the throttle until whatever issue the car was having would resolve and then the power would come back. I did not tell my wife for fear she would end the trip before we started it, with one quick phone call to AAA. On the way, we decided to stop by St. Louis to try their world famous BBQ, needless to say, we were NOT disappointed!! We finally arrived, Skis and all to the Porsche Parade.
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Day 3 – July 8 – Concours Prep
Anyone that enters the Porsche Parade Concours event, will know this day in one of two ways… Either it is the most stressful, or it is the most fun. For my Wife and I, it is one of the most fun! This is where we can meet other people, make new friends, get tips and pointers, see old friends, and just hang out until we are completely exhausted.
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Day 4 – July 9 – Concours Judgement Day
Finally! The cleaning is over, the Judging can begin!
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We took second place in class.
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Day 5 – July 10th – No throttle response and Misfire
We started on what was to be our first outing of Parade, after an hour of driving in an attempt to keep the power down on an uphill, the car lost all throttle response. I pulled over and realized immediately that this must be due to a problem with the throttle linkage…car was still idling. We pulled out our vintage hazard triangle (safety first), and tool kit and got to work. Reaching blindly behind the Fan Shroud, I found the problem, a disconnected throttle rod. After several attempts and small burns to my hands, I was able to attach the linkage. My wife and I celebrated our small victory.
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Car: 0
Abrahams: 1

Misfire
On the way back to the resort our car started to misfire… We saw a few people working on their 356’s. Enter Steve Moore. Steve heard the car misfire and immediately jumped into action. Steve showed me how to clear the spark plugs and distributor cap as well as put oil on the distributor to free up the binding flywheel. Interesting, since my mechanic already charged me for rebuilding the distributor and changing all plugs and wires.
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Car: 0
Abrahams (w/Steve) : 2

Panorama Photoshoot
I took the car to a photoshoot for Panorama magazine. We went to an airport. The temperature was the closest to Hell I would ever want to be. I really felt sorry for Mike, the photographer. I have been sworn to not post photos of the photoshoot, but I have been given the clearance to post these:
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Day 6 - July 11 – no gas
What was supposed to be our second outing quickly ended when the car refused to start. I noticed a puddle of fluid on the ground. Enter Rick Zinda. Fuel Filter was bone-dry. Gas tank almost empty. Walked to the gas station with our vintage jerry can. Filled the car with gas, primed the fuel filter, and got the car started, but we did not solve the problem completely, as you will soon see.
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Car: 0
Abrahams (w/Rick): 3


Day 7 – July 12 – leak, and change in plans
This was the turning point of the trip for my wife and myself. This is when we realized that we could no longer depend on the car. In fact, we started to expect that the car would not start. We canceled all our plans. So, in the morning, when I went to start the car, the car did not disappoint, it did not start. No one around to help. I power-read as many articles on the forum as I could the night before, and with this new knowledge at hand I decided to tackle the problem myself. We methodically prepared to work on the car, we assumed our roles, toolkit out, travel kit out, hazard triangle out (safety first), skis, luggage off… (my wife and I became pros at this, it is a real PITA!), phones out for reference articles (how did you guys manage all these years without smartphones?). I opened the engine lid to find fuel pouring out of the top of the fuel pump (also allegedly rebuilt by my mechanic). Now, yesterdays problem makes sense; the puddle on the floor must have been gas. A quick repair to the top seals of the fuel pump and the problem was solved! We wanted to make sure that the car would be road worthy for any of the other outings we had planned that week. We called all the mechanics in the Porsche Parade directory to find that no one was able to work on the car, because of this, we decided to throw in the towel, and head back home to New York.
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Car: 0
Abrahams: 4


Day 8 – July 13 – Memphis, On the way to see the king
After a quick breakfast, we decided to go to Graceland. 4 blocks into our drive, I heard a metallic sound… quick look at the rearview mirror and saw something shiny fall on the ground. Made a quick u-turn…searched the road and found a washer. Maybe I just ran over it and it hit the underside of the car? We continued for a few blocks only to hear another loud metallic banging sound from the front left of the car. I pulled over… searched the road, and found a bolt. Hmm. We looked for a repair shop to put the car on the lift. The temperature was 105 degrees. First, second, and third place … no luck. Finally, Meineke service center put the car on the lift, and ID’d the problem immediately. Upper Shock bolt sheered off. They told me to take it to a specialist shop because they did not want to be responsible. We found a place, Memphis Motor Werks. They told us to bring it over. Keep in mind it was 12pm on a Friday. We started on our way… and in traffic, the car stalled, and would not start again. Opened the engine compartment, fuel filter was bone dry, gas was leaking out of the carburetors.
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I called a tow truck and waited almost 2 hours for the driver to show up. The guys at Memphis Motor Werks, welcomed us in and freed up a lift for us immediately! Gave us a tour of their amazing place and engine shop, and allowed us access to all areas of the shop, talk about southern hospitality!
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What they ended up doing:
Rebuilding the fuel pump (Allan taught me how to do this... Allan is the one strapped with a piece while working on my car)
Clearing all the spark plugs and connections.
Tapping the shock mount and repairing the attachment. The shock mount bolt that sheered was too small, and we suspect that it was allowing the shock too much play. It was only a matter of time before it snapped!
Car: 0
Abrahams (w/Memphis Motor Werks): 5

2 HP and a "mild" electrocution
Finally on our way to Nashville… but, the car started stuttering and misfiring. We stopped by Mike of Memphis Motor Werks’ Ranch. We figured out that the Idle was too high, and that the throttle rods were not adjusted properly, nor were the idle jets, and misc. adjustment screws on the carbs adjusted properly. Mike taught me how to use the carb tool to adjust both sides. Bc the throttle rod was too long on one side, we decided to bend it to shorten it so that the carb would go to “zero” point. At one point I was completely exhausted and decided to walk over to the fence to look at the horses. I leaned on the fence, and received a nice 60,000-volt shock to my system! OUCH! Keep in mind, I had some hesitation touching the ignition coil and clearing out the spark plugs… and that is only 10,000 volts. No need for coffee, I was now wide awake. The car started beautifully and we continued our trip to Nashville. Thank you, Mike, for your hospitality and help!
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Car: 0
Abrahams (w/Mike of Memphis Motor Werks): 6

Day 9 – July 14 – On the way to Nashville
A quick breakfast, and then a nice surprise in the parking lot: a 1958 VW Bus parked right next to us!! I did not realize this before, but the headlights are exactly the same, just turned horizontal lengthwise.
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For the sake of speeding this story up, I will briefly describe the next mishaps on our way back home:
Multiple Misfires… With help from my friend Bryan, we tried multiple options to make repairs (he helped us source parts, and tools as we were driving... He was a GREAT HELP!!)
Ignition Distributor kept advancing, keeping idle high. Flywheel sticking.
Sanded down the rotor, distributor cap connection points to get better conduction (we tried everything to solve this misfire problem)
Fuel Bone Dry, the car was vapor locking like crazy. We kept pouring cool water over fuel pump, and this would work to cool down the fuel pump.
Corrosion on the distributor cap. Noticed the points are not lining up.
Water in the fuel system? Treated with Isopropyl alcohol and HEET.
By this time, we became seasoned veterans at problem-solving the car. The misfire was escaping me. I felt like I had a dead cylinder. And when I pulled off spark plug#4 I saw no difference in the engine power.
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After constantly having to make multiple stops on the side of a heavily trafficked highway and putting our lives at risk, my wife told me what I already knew, we need to tow the car. It was 4pm on Saturday. We were 1 hour away from UHaul of Knoxville, and they close at 5pm. We decided to try to make it there and get the last Truck and Trailer they had.
We Made it. My ego was hurt, but we were safe.
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Car: 1
Abrahams: 6


What we learned:

(1) Make friends in the 356 world...even if your friends do this to your car:
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but seriously, What I learn from all you guys out there in 356-world is pure gold!
(2) There are always people willing to help at Porsche Parade
(3) Be prepared to talk to everyone about the car, people will approach you at ALL times, even when you are at your wit's end trying to fix the car. This car is a classic after all!
(4) Be prepared, have tools and spares (list to follow)
(5) MUST HAVE: Workshop manual. I did not have this on the trip, but I have it now
(6) Enjoy your triumphs
(7) Be Safe!
(8) Do not trust your mechanic, trust yourself. These cars are “Easy” enough to work on, they only need Fuel and Electricity.
(9) Our marriage is sound and we still love the car!!
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My list of “must haves” (please feel free to help me add to this list)

Battery Charger

Clutch items
clutch 6mm nut
clutch cable
clutch clevis pin

complete distributor (or parts listed below)
ignition brown distributor cap
ignition rotor
ignition condenser
ignition points

complete fuel pump (or parts listed below)
fuel pump rebuild kit

Duct Tape
fan belt
fire extinguisher
fuel filter
ignition coil
ignition wire set
isopropyl alcohol, HEET (just in case water in fuel system)
Oil
Rain-x (proved to be a great idea for this trip)
spark plugs
Tools Short flat screwdriver
Tools Long flat screwdriver
Tools Vise grips
Workshop Manual


I just want to say thank you to: Steve Moore, Rick Zinda, (I forgot one of the members that helped me, he has a canary yellow 356B or C, can you please write me so I could properly thank you) also, the Guys at Memphis Motor Werks (Mike, Dave, Allan), Bryan, and My Wife!!


The difference 60 years can make....honestly, the only similarities are the front Porsche Crest ;)
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We found this really cool old gas station on our trip:
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Last edited by Benjamin Abraham on Sun Sep 23, 2018 10:51 pm, edited 6 times in total.

Ed Lawrence
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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#2 Post by Ed Lawrence »

Wow, great story!
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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#3 Post by Jeffrey Leeds »

Thanks for sharing your odessy, Ben.

As you get more acquainted with the Registry and this Forum, you will discover that most of us have experienced your challenges during our ownerships, but we have experienced them over time, not just all in one road trip.

And now that your car is all shaken-down I hope you will join us at the ECH in Ocean City, NJ in October. The drive there, for you, will be a piece of cake!

Jeff
< Jeff >

Registry Member Since 1978
1963 356B T-6 Super 90 Coupe
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David Jones
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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#4 Post by David Jones »

Ben first a tongue in cheek criticism. You should have joined the TAN (Travel Assistance Network) and then posted your proposed travel itinerary to the forum before you left. There were probably many folks on the route who could have helped and some would even know what to do no matter what the problem.
Apart from that you did a fantastic job keeping the car running. My wife would have left at the first failure if she had even started the trip in the first place. You are a lucky man.
When it comes to spares there are not many and you will have it more than covered as you gain more experience with the car. Some parts are nice to have and some are must haves. My criteria is to carry plenty of tools and any part that can be changed at the side of the road and would otherwise leave me with an inoperable car. One example is a starter motor as you can usually bump start the car. Likewise a generator as a fully charged battery will run the ignition for about 10 hours. Carry a battery charger and you can always charge it overnight. I also carry a small 6 volt SLA battery in the glove compartment for test purposes and to run the ignition for about an hour in event of catastrophic electrical failure.
Do not ever use that mechanic again not even to shine your shoes.
I would not carry a fuel filter as there are already 3 in the system and another one is just something else to go wrong.
Some parts are not likely to fail so I do not carry them, but that is a matter for your own piece of mind.
As a by the way I have 105955 in aquamarine blue but with a normal engine though running an SC equivalent while the original rebuilt engine gathers dust.
Some years ago I ran 840 miles round trip to the ECH and the only failure was an accelerator pump rod locknut came loose causing that accel pump to fail so as I lost a lot of time off the line on the hill climb competition. With regular maintenance these cars can be very reliable.
If I had known I would live this long I would have pushed the envelope a little harder.
Cymru am byth
David Jones #9715

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Martin Benade
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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#5 Post by Martin Benade »

Personally I would carry a generator as I had one throw the windings in Wyoming years ago. I had to remove it, rip out the wires, and reinstall it so my fan would spin. Then drive 6 hours on the battery until I could get a used VW one to install.
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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#6 Post by Thomas Sottile »

Hi Benjamin, I feel your pain. I live in Stamford ct and if I can help you or point you in the right direction please give me a call. there a few good shops fairly close to NYC . one in Paramus NJ. Gaswerks classic garage in Paramus would be my choice. but if you would like to come to Stamford I can help. Phone 203 322 1938. stay well Tom

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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#7 Post by Ashley James »

Great story and pretty much what happens until you become the master of your own maintenance. Glad you still love the car and Porsche types.

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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#8 Post by Thomas Sottile »

You should also have a electric meter to read 6 volts and a piece of wire about 3 feet with alligator clips on each end.

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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#9 Post by Thomas Breding »

Love your car, love the story. And it seems like Porsche 356 people are the same helpful bunch no matter where you are. :)

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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#10 Post by Randy Szczesny »

Your adventure is very timely for me. Purchased my 64 SC April last year. Had a very knowledgeable shop go over it after I got it home and corrected a few items. In this regard I am fortunate. In our 1st year we drove a little over 3K miles. The car ran perfect which is very important driving around with my wife. Prior to this I messed around with Austin Healeys for 20 years. But even after doing an ground up restoration which an excellent shop we still had unexpected road side maintenance adventures. The shop used the best components available. But it was always a brand new part that failed. When traveling with the Healey I always carried spares and lots of tools. Driving the Porsche I have become complacent. 2 weeks ago I was on a 4 day 500 mile trip with 6 other buddies touring the twisties of western Wisc. During this trip I developed an oil leak that covered the engine. It was small but messy. Added oil as needed and made it thru ok. Considering there was a new Shelby 350 on my bumper most of the trip we kept up the pace. He was on my bumper only because I had the route plan.

The point is I need to travel prepared. In a few weeks I'll have the car on a weekend with the Arizona Outlaws. Car will be transported on my trailer to south Utah then driving The SC from that point. Hopefully my choice of tools and spares outlined in the reply's will not be needed.

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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#11 Post by M Penta »

Great read, thanks for posting.

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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#12 Post by Dan Macdonald »

Benjamin,
Very fun story.
Hey, how did you get the iPhone to stick to the dash??
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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#13 Post by John Weyand »

Great Story--Gordon would have loved to use that in the Registry Mag. Nancy and I made the Holiday in Fontana our first trip from Ohio to NC. I had spent three years restoring my project (64C coupe) . The only issue was decanting the oil every evening from the 5 quart container to single quarts. On my used engine I was putting in a quart with every other tank fillup. It turned out that cyl #3 was using it as fuel additive and sending out a trail. We made two trips that summer (the second trip to Hot Springs, Ak) during which the three convertibles insisted that when tops were down, we traveled at the tail. Needless to say, the following winter was an engine rebuild. Now we have a bit over 13,000 miles on the car since the Fontana trip.
John W
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Benjamin Abraham
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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#14 Post by Benjamin Abraham »

Ed Lawrence wrote:Wow, great story!
Ed, David, Martin, Ashley, Thomas, Randy, Penta, John thank you for your kind words and input.
Thomas, thank you for your offer…. I heard of Gaswerks…

Jeffrey Leeds wrote:Thanks for sharing your odessy, Ben.
As you get more acquainted with the Registry and this Forum, you will discover that most of us have experienced your challenges during our ownerships, but we have experienced them over time, not just all in one road trip.
And now that your car is all shaken-down I hope you will join us at the ECH in Ocean City, NJ in October. The drive there, for you, will be a piece of cake!
Jeff
>> Since I wrote this story I had my Carburetors fully rebuilt by 356 Carb rescue. I also decided to take the car to a more reputable mechanic in CT to do some further investigation into the engine issues... Needless to say, the compression and leak-down tests were very disappointing…I’m debating whether or not to drive the car to ECH (we were really looking forward to going) And I am leaning towards taking the motor out for a full rebuild and sending it to EPE Performance (Jerry Pellegrino) or TYP356NE (George Nelson) or Meister Restorations (Rainer Cooney) for rebuild. Anyone have any recommendations they would like to share regarding rebuild? Or who to send it to for rebuild? My friend Bryan had a great suggestion of getting harder valve seats put in.

Dan Macdonald wrote:Benjamin, Very fun story. Hey, how did you get the iPhone to stick to the dash??
>>I put a slim magnet between my phone and the phone case. Sticks perfectly to our metal dashboards

Benjamin Abraham
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Re: First road trip in a 60 year old car... to Porsche Parad

#15 Post by Benjamin Abraham »

John Weyand wrote:Great Story--Gordon would have loved to use that in the Registry Mag.
Story is available with a lot more juicy bits and photos, let me know.

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