The Official 356Talk Forum

Hello! I have not been on here for a while, since I sold my last 57, though I have been the lucky owner of a 912 in the interim. Recently the opportunity came up to purchase this little car and I was in a position for a change to take advantage.



The car came into the UK a while back (not quite sure how long ago) but has not been registered or driven. That is all changing. Registration documents came through last week and the recommissioning work has finished. For now it's been serviced, some lenses changed from yellow to clear (which I prefer giving it a simpler look) and it's ready to go.

I always have a rule that I don't make any (well too many) changes in the first 1,000 miles so I can understand how it got to where it is now. Delivery is Saturday so first proper road drive will be coming up over the Easter holiday, for now I just had a blast around on trade plates. The seat however was stuck in position (it is a later style seat and seems to be snagging on the runners) and my short legs couldn't quite get the clutch all the way to the floor!

The engine is a 75 from a B and it is on C discs all round. Whilst I love having discs I much prefer the Outlaw look of stock wheels, no hubcaps over drums. We'll see if I can compromise on this.









The previous owner has done a great job of balancing preserving and customising the car and I just love it. If anyone knows the car or anything of its history I would love to hear more - it is obviously a registry member or ex-members car.

Cheers

Mark

Great looking car.

I think the rear luggage brackets are upside down though.

EricMcKinley wrote: ↑Thu Apr 04, 2019 5:40 pm Great looking car.

I think the rear luggage brackets are upside down though.

Thanks Eric, I’ll get those fixed!
Cheers
Mark

Hi Mark
It's absolutely lovely.
I will take it off your hands if you don't love it!
Bring it down to Pevensey bay for a day out.
It's our 356's turn to head on down in June to this years Le Mans 24hrs
A mild RHD outlaw running with a 912 engine and EMPI wheels
Cheers Jay

John Clarke wrote: ↑Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:50 pm Hi Mark
It's absolutely lovely.
I will take it off your hands if you don't love it!
Bring it down to Pevensey bay for a day out.
It's our 356's turn to head on down in June to this years Le Mans 24hrs
A mild RHD outlaw running with a 912 engine and EMPI wheels
Cheers Jay

Thanks Jay
Hoping to get out and about a lot this summer. We did Le mans classic last year which was great. My company is sponsoring an F3 driver this year so will do a lot of the European tracks over the summer.
I’ll check your car out, sounds great.

On the basis that more is more and having a fetish for period accessories I have been doing so bling adding to the 356.

First off fitting some, relatively, period Marchal spot lights.







I've bought an original Leitz rack and some headlight mesh grills too which have not yet arrived.

All this has been going on as I don't have the car with me right now - after its' first run the carbs and fuel cock were dripping fuel, so much so the engine had started taking fuel into the oil. Luckily I only did a mile or so first time out but all flexi fuel lines are being replaced and the carbs and fuel cock being rebuilt and jetting checked for UK fuel.

Next on the list is to order some Blockley's for the original torque thruster wheels I think will look good on it.

Wonderful looking car. I totally agree about drum brake wheels. Just getting rid of those stupid alloys and putting on 5.5” steel wheels will look way more the way you want it. Just being obnoxious about the Fuchs, excellent wheels that most love.

Having owned the car for some time now and having inevitably researched it I discovered that it was originally a German car sold in Munich in 1956. The original colour was Graphite Metallic which when I investigated looks to be an amazing color. So ...

We decided to go bare metal to ensure there were no nasties. Thankfully this the base car is in incredible condition and required very little metal work.









So, this is more of a color change rather than a full restoration.

I'll just leave these here ....











To say I am happy with the work is an understatement, the quality of the work is off the chart and the speed in which they have got on with the work has been incredible. And, as I think can be seen, Graphite is a great color!

Incidentally, through a lot of calls and investigation I have managed to find a decent set of A drums and backing plates, it was a real mission. The fronts are off a Baja Beetle from California and the rears came from a long forgotten parts bin at a 912 specialist in the UK with the final piece of the jigsaw, rear backing plates, being found on eBay.

As you can see from the pictures above the original bumpers ran over-riders which I won't be putting back on for now so will replace the bumper inserts.

The car is now going off for trimming. The current interior is from a B model. It is in very good original condition and I think it would be a real shame to recover this. As such I am considering my alternatives.

That’s looking great. I like that color a lot.

Beautiful Car! I once had a '56 "A" coupe with a "B" engine. Loved it! Great driving car.

Thanks guys. The color is amazing. I have decided to go with the beige interior which is on the Kardex but will be in leather with GT seats.

The dash did get painted by the way.



One question - I believe the door caps should be body color? Currently they are trimmed but should just be painted, right?

I have a 1957 T1 Coupe - they are painted to match the body