Original Outlaw - Dean Jeffries Carrera Coupe
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
Original Outlaw - Dean Jeffries Carrera Coupe
The 356 Registry membership will probably remember the article on my car in the Registry from a few years ago - just thought I'd post an update on the Carrera. I've started the long overdue restoration process after first selling off a few of my other distractions (a nice 1956 sunroof coupe and an Inka Orange 1972 BMW 2002 Tii) and finally finding someone who I felt comforatble with doing the body and paint work to the standard that the car deserves.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the car it's a 1956 Carrera coupe that was customized by Dean Jeffries back in 1957. He removed the front and rear bumpers, extended the front fenders and added frenched headlights and driving lights, rolled the front and rear bodywork, built custom taillights and intake grill and added roof vents like those on a 300SL gullwing. The car has appeared in at least twenty magazines and was on the cover of Rod & Custom in October 1959. Dean Jeffries painted James Dean's 550 Spyder and later went on to paint the first Cobra (several times) for Carroll Shelby. He also used to paint about 2/3 of the field of Indy cars at the track in the early sixties. He later went on to build the Mantaray. the Monkeemobile, Green Hornet's Black Beauty, the Landmaster from Damnation Alley and many other movie cars. He has 4 cars in the petersen Museum in Los Angeles. He's semi-retired but still has his shop on Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood and is working on projects like his 4-cam Indy V-8 powered Ford GT Roadster (one of six ever built).
I've got the car stripped to bare metal and Mike Marcelic has started the bodywork. He's got the back of the car in primer and ready for paint but there are some repairs required on the nose to remove the evidence of an accident the car suffered in the late sixties. I'm working on rebuilding the suspension, brakes and transmission while Mike relocates his shop to a place with room for more than three cars and we hope to have the body straight and painted by the end of the summer. I'd like to get the car finished in time to see it on the cover of the October 2009 Rod & Custom - 50 years since its last appearance.
I'll post updates as the restoration progresses. See pictures of the car in the Members Gallery - I've been a Registry member for thirty years.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the car it's a 1956 Carrera coupe that was customized by Dean Jeffries back in 1957. He removed the front and rear bumpers, extended the front fenders and added frenched headlights and driving lights, rolled the front and rear bodywork, built custom taillights and intake grill and added roof vents like those on a 300SL gullwing. The car has appeared in at least twenty magazines and was on the cover of Rod & Custom in October 1959. Dean Jeffries painted James Dean's 550 Spyder and later went on to paint the first Cobra (several times) for Carroll Shelby. He also used to paint about 2/3 of the field of Indy cars at the track in the early sixties. He later went on to build the Mantaray. the Monkeemobile, Green Hornet's Black Beauty, the Landmaster from Damnation Alley and many other movie cars. He has 4 cars in the petersen Museum in Los Angeles. He's semi-retired but still has his shop on Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood and is working on projects like his 4-cam Indy V-8 powered Ford GT Roadster (one of six ever built).
I've got the car stripped to bare metal and Mike Marcelic has started the bodywork. He's got the back of the car in primer and ready for paint but there are some repairs required on the nose to remove the evidence of an accident the car suffered in the late sixties. I'm working on rebuilding the suspension, brakes and transmission while Mike relocates his shop to a place with room for more than three cars and we hope to have the body straight and painted by the end of the summer. I'd like to get the car finished in time to see it on the cover of the October 2009 Rod & Custom - 50 years since its last appearance.
I'll post updates as the restoration progresses. See pictures of the car in the Members Gallery - I've been a Registry member for thirty years.
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
The car was originally pearlescent silver and then Jeffries repainted it gold just before he sold it. I'm going back to the pearlescent silver when the bodywork gets finished. It was white when I got it in 1971 - I repainted it with a bright white Imron type paint in 1974 and added the "goofy spear stripe" (Dean Jeffries description) - hey it was the seventies - I didn't do the Disco scene and I never owned a leisure suit so if that was my worst transgression in taste I can live with it.
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
I've had a couple of folks ask if I have the original engine for the car - it was removed sometime during the mid-sixties somewhere in the central Florida area (around Orlando). I'd love to hear from anyone who might be able to fill in any history of the car between 1963 and 1968. Sometime during that period it was repainted white (from gold) and the Carrera motor was removed and replaced with a pushrod engine.
The car was originally equipped with a TYP 547/1 Serial # 90634. Dean Jeffries had the fan shrouds chromed so it should be easy to spot.
Back in 1973 I bought a Typ 547/1 Serial # 90009 so I would have a 4-cam to put in the car after the restoration. Since it's such a low serial number (ninth production engine) I think its from a 1955 Carrera Speedster. It has the original sand cast Solex carbs.
I am looking for set of the four pieces of sheet metal that form a "tray" around the engine to seal the engine compartment from the road - if anyone has any lying around I'd appreciate any leads.
The car was originally equipped with a TYP 547/1 Serial # 90634. Dean Jeffries had the fan shrouds chromed so it should be easy to spot.
Back in 1973 I bought a Typ 547/1 Serial # 90009 so I would have a 4-cam to put in the car after the restoration. Since it's such a low serial number (ninth production engine) I think its from a 1955 Carrera Speedster. It has the original sand cast Solex carbs.
I am looking for set of the four pieces of sheet metal that form a "tray" around the engine to seal the engine compartment from the road - if anyone has any lying around I'd appreciate any leads.
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
Some progress to report - I'm working on the underside of the car and have completed scraping and putting a first coat of paint on all surfaces. Now I'm trying to get the suspension back on the car so it can go back to the body shop and have he metalwork completed.
Today I had some help from Ernie Cabrera - we replaced all of the synchros in the gearbox. I bought these parts at the factory exactly thirty years ago while I was bumming around Europe. I'd been visiting the Porsche Museum and wanted to get a peek in the race shops in the old Werks 1 building. The guards wouldn't let you just go in and wander around but I'd heard that the parts department was in the same building near the race shops. I knew the second gear synchro was weak on my car so I told the guard I needed to buy some parts for my 56 356 and he let me in to go to the parts department.
On the way through the shops I saw a bunch of 935's being prepped, a couple of 917's, and a 356 Speedster up on a rotisserie getting a full restoration (wonder what that was costing!!!!)
Those synchro rings I bought in 1978 finally made it into the gearbox today.
Today I had some help from Ernie Cabrera - we replaced all of the synchros in the gearbox. I bought these parts at the factory exactly thirty years ago while I was bumming around Europe. I'd been visiting the Porsche Museum and wanted to get a peek in the race shops in the old Werks 1 building. The guards wouldn't let you just go in and wander around but I'd heard that the parts department was in the same building near the race shops. I knew the second gear synchro was weak on my car so I told the guard I needed to buy some parts for my 56 356 and he let me in to go to the parts department.
On the way through the shops I saw a bunch of 935's being prepped, a couple of 917's, and a 356 Speedster up on a rotisserie getting a full restoration (wonder what that was costing!!!!)
Those synchro rings I bought in 1978 finally made it into the gearbox today.
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
As if I didn't already have enough projects - I bought another Dean Jeffries car this weekend - its one of the very limited run of his original Kyote dune buggy. He built the original mold to create a dune buggy for the Monkees to use in their film "Head". After creating the first car he went into production of his Mantaray II Kyote dune buggy in 1968. He built somewhere around 120-150 of his original design with the headlights frenched into the front fenders. In 1970 the headlights moved inboard into pods in the hood area.
He used to laminate his business card under the dash so you know its an original Jeffries car and not a copy - this one has the card and it was acquired from its original owner. The car I bought has most of the rare optional body pieces - the side pods and nose pods, the windshield post covers and the custom front and rear bumpers. It will be a neat project to restore and display next to the Carrera.
He used to laminate his business card under the dash so you know its an original Jeffries car and not a copy - this one has the card and it was acquired from its original owner. The car I bought has most of the rare optional body pieces - the side pods and nose pods, the windshield post covers and the custom front and rear bumpers. It will be a neat project to restore and display next to the Carrera.
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
Some progress on the Carrera - its back at the body shop and getting the bent nose straightened out. We're trying to decide whether to use the new hood I bought or repair the original hood that came on the car. I'm leaning toward repairing the original hood just for the reason that its number matched to the car. I think that the "new" (relative term - I bought it back in 1974) seems to have a lower crown in the middle than the original 1956 hood. The "new" hood seems to be a T-2 hood and I don't know if there is a difference (Brett J - a little help here please)...
Doors are shaping up very nicely too - they were a mess but will be like new when they are done
Doors are shaping up very nicely too - they were a mess but will be like new when they are done
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
- Mike Klapac
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 690
- Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:41 pm
- Jack Walter
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 403
- Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 9:36 pm
The car in the background is Dean Jeffries masterpiece - The Mantaray.
It was built in 1964 on a pre-war Maserati Grand Prix chassis with a 289 Cobra engine that was given to Dean by Carroll Shelby. The body is a hand formed aluminum construction made of around 60 individual pieces all welded together. It was one of the very first asymmetric rods ever built and can usually be seen at the Petersen Museum in LA.
It was used in the movie "Beach Blanket Bingo" with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon and that led to Dean Jeffries getting he contract to build many cars for the movies and TV such as the Monkee Mobile, The Green Hornet's Black Beauty, and the Landmaster used in Damnation Alley.
It was built in 1964 on a pre-war Maserati Grand Prix chassis with a 289 Cobra engine that was given to Dean by Carroll Shelby. The body is a hand formed aluminum construction made of around 60 individual pieces all welded together. It was one of the very first asymmetric rods ever built and can usually be seen at the Petersen Museum in LA.
It was used in the movie "Beach Blanket Bingo" with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon and that led to Dean Jeffries getting he contract to build many cars for the movies and TV such as the Monkee Mobile, The Green Hornet's Black Beauty, and the Landmaster used in Damnation Alley.
- Mike Klapac
- 356 Fan
- Posts: 690
- Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:41 pm