Tarp find !!!! (poor thing wasn't even IN a barn)

[Greg Stout]

Bringing 108970 back to life, has been a long journey....and has been done bit by bit, as time allows. ( I am building our house, and my wife deserves to have it pretty well finished/useable, before I could spend long hours on the coupe) I traded my 911 Targa and $ for this T-5 (Harry Pellow's least Fav 356...) for two good reason. One, I was damned near getting myself killed in the light 'mid year' Targa with a built 3.2 Carrera motor....(scary fast) and two, I REALLY wanted another 356, and the chance to save this coupe from being 'morphed' into a HotRod Outlaw....I love Outlaw 356's, as long as a really nice original car wasn't sacrificed to build it. (Just an opinion, don't flame me for it}
This coupe had been sitting here and there, for years...traded and sold stored, but NOT driven. And, ended up sitting next to a house, under a tarp for several years (thank God, in Calif....Not anywhere that actually has a winter...) This coupe had spent its entire life in sunny, dry California's "central Valley" and the Bay area. The gaps, all factory, the body nice and straight, surface rust where the factory undercoating had come off, but no 'real' rust, anywhere. The battery box floor, original factory, and robust enough for me to hammer/dolly out a dent from a big 'ol tow hook being used at one time, on the tow loop. Doors, "clunk" as they should, hood never bent...you get the picture. This car deserved to be preserved, not 'outlawed'.
Drop the motor to unfreeze the stuck (but luckily, new) clutch disc from the pressure plate. Carbs, fuel pump, complete brakes/slaves/master had been done by a P.O. I did: fuel tank removed/cleaned/petcock rebuilt, electrical gone through (lights,gauges,etc) install original seats, rebuild shifter, redo all factory seams underneath with new seam sealer/zero rust/undercoating.... the list goes on and on, BUT then I was able to to get it to fire up....so, it not only turned freely my hand, IT RAN....so off with the sump plate (no 'bad news' there)...new Swepco 20w-50, Bosch plugs ( I agree with Pellow, ' German pugs in German cars, Japanese plugs in Japanese cars...) new Beru cap rotor points and wire set. Adj valves and fire it up again, sync carbs, set timing...New Vredistien Sprint Classic 165's on Brazilian 6" chromes, and off I go.
Then slowly but surely, the old Bosch style header exhaust, fell apart and she backfired like a WWII movie soundtrack.....So Back in the garage, and install the really nice original stock exhaust system, that I luckily HAD....throw the 'header' in the metal recycle bin.
Now she is actually roadworthy, for the first time in YEARS and YEARS.... Got the C.O.A. and she is all #'s matching....and the Koni shocks had "Jack MacAfee Motors" stickers on them.....
It's a really good feeling

[Mike Wilson]

Congrats! Sounds like a great car.

Mike

[Vic Skirmants]

T-5s are my second favorite after As. The T-5 is an A with higher headlights and bumpers and later mechanicals.
Photo please.

[David Jones]

Here's a T5 for you Vic. A very early one.

[Adam Wright]

I think T5's have always gotten a bad rap because some saw it as a transition car, still had a lot of A stuff, but was a B, unlike the T6 which was it's own beast.
My attitude, SAVE THEM ALL!

[Greg Stout]

Well now Dave....that is a tastefully done 'outlaw'.....
I agree with you Vic, just a rebodied T-2 !!!! Mine even has "356 A" on the aluminum VIN plate, down in next to the gas tank....I assume the factory boyz were not going to waste anything, so they used up the rest of the A tags on the first T-5's, and the motor is stamped "1600", not 616/1...Mine is the 52nd T-5 built, Sept 29, 1959...single mount trans and all...(sorry Harry....miss you! )
Mike, thanks for your kind words. This is the only place I can go to explain what has been accomplished with this sweet 'ol girl. Most people are to busy wondering how to afford their next i-phone, to appreciate a classic car.
Now that she is roadworthy, I will start on the next project. Getting her back to her original color of 'Condor Yellow'. She was bare metal/windows out repainted in the 1980's to a boring medium blue metallic.....BUT, the dash is still original yellow. Should be might purdy when she's in her original color......Now...If I could just figure out how to post pictures here......

[Adam Wright]

.Now...If I could just figure out how to post pictures here......

If you're trying to do it from a tablet, they may be your problem, switch to a different device.

[Eric Lenius]

Looking forward to some pictures. I assume it has the front Porsche logo being that early? The T-5 that I have disassembled is a July 60 build and does not have the cool front logo. Also, dual mount on the trans by that time. It is time to appreciate the T-5s.

[Doug McDonnell]

Tarp Hunting here in Michigan is pointless almost. I envy you.

[Greg Stout]

Yes....it has the support plate up inside the nose, and the holes....but when it get repainted blue in the late 80's ??? ( I'm guessing here, but the clear coat has almost completely flaked off, which makes me think, water base paint....) the current owner at the time, decided to 'shave' the car of all its badging....filled the holes with bondo.... the rear 'PORSCHE" and "1600" and the nose "PORSCHE".... I have reached up in there and poked the holes back out. AND....more proof of 'stupid is as stupid does'.... they decided to put the Reuter badge back on, and instead of using the EXISTING FACTORY RIVIT HOLES !!!! they drilled two new ones, off by about 1"....DOH !!!!!! so again, I have cleared the factory holes and will weld up the 'stupid' ones. It never stops amazing me just what butchers, 'body shops' are......

[Doug McDonnell]

If you need reminding Greg just look at the interior work on this "Outlaw": https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1961- ... er-outlaw/

[Greg Stout]

Wow....RED !!!!! as is the interior of my "D", but sun faded. That red looks great with the grey.
Speaking of interiors....I've seen Green with red, Blue with red....also stunning 356's.
I saw a Talbot yellow 912E with red, and it really did work. Lot of folks don't like red interiors, but I love 'um.

[Eric Lenius]

pics?

[Ashley James]

FWIW I post pictures from an iPad using Flickr and find it easier than having to dig out a laptop and boot it up to be told it’ll need the rest of the day to update.

I’d love to see pictures too and I’m happy for you to have found a 356, albeit a lesser model (not my opinion, I like them all).

I hope it’s a success for you, I’m envious even because my C is in the paint shop being made perfect at a leisurely pace. I’m hoping I get it back before I peg it.

[Martin Benade]

Clear coat has been peeling off of basecoat since long before they even thought of waterborne paints. There are lots of routes to poor adhesion. In the 80s GM had it down pat.