1959 Porsche 356 Project

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Vick Tagawa
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1959 Porsche 356 Project

#1 Post by Vick Tagawa »

Hi All, I inherited this 356 coupe (VIN 105309) in 2006 when my Uncle passed away. It was his daily driver for several years until he retired it in favor of a new 911 he picked up in 1972. Sometime in its life, my Uncle swapped the original engine out for a newer, larger engine, and my Dad took that original 356 engine and put it in his VW Bus! We don't know what happened to that engine as the Bus was traded for a new 1968 Dodge van. In 2006 we put the 356 on a truck with my Uncle's 1973 911 S and brought them out to Colorado. The 356 sat for so long that the wheel cylinders leaked and froze the brakes to the drums and the master cylinder, battery and gas tank all had long since lost their fluid holding capacity requiring quite a lot of work to get the car running again. The body was straight, with no rust as it was a garaged CA car, but there were some signs that it had had a few minor scrapes - to say my uncle was an aggressive driver is an understatement - he loved to drive fast.

With all the necessary mechanical work that had to be done, I started on the pieces to get the car rolling, and while researching where to acquire parts I ran across this forum. It was then that I learned about Jim Kellogg, and was amazed that he and his restoration business were just a few miles away from my house. I called Jim and he graciously agreed to stop by and look at the car, and we discussed options for what to do with it. While I was deciding what to do I took Jim's advice and had Trevor, our local Porsche mechanic, go through the engine and rebuild it. I knew that if I wanted to restore the car I would have to find a great body shop that had Porsche expertise, so while visiting relatives in CA I visited three shops that specialized in restoring old 356s. While touring the last shop and talking to the owner, he asked me why I was talking to him when one of the best Porsche body guys was back in Colorado! Upon getting the engine back from Trevor, life kicked in and I didn't have time to work on the car, so sat until 2012.

That year, while getting ready to move into another home, even closer to Jim - in his same neighborhood, I finally decided it would be a great time to have the Porsche restored since I didn't have room for it at the new place right away and I also didn't want it to get damaged in the move. I called Dave at Vintage Car Works and he came and picked up the Porsche. Dave warned me up front that it would be at the back of the queue and not to expect it back anytime soon. I told him that was fine and just to let me know when he got started on the car. In 2015 Dave and his team started working on the car, and did an amazing job of rehabilitating the metal work where my Uncle had introduced some character into the body that was well camouflaged by some outstanding body work back in the day. Fast forward to two weeks ago, the paint is on the car and it will shortly be reassembled. We are hoping to have it back on the road by June.
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Last edited by Vick Tagawa on Thu Jan 02, 2020 12:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Vic Skirmants
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#2 Post by Vic Skirmants »

Beautiful! Was black the original color?

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Vick Tagawa
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#3 Post by Vick Tagawa »

Hi Vic, Thank you! Yes the original color was black with a red interior. The top two photos are pre-restoration.

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Vick Tagawa
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#4 Post by Vick Tagawa »

Here's a shot of the interior before restoration work started...
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Neil Bardsley
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#5 Post by Neil Bardsley »

Looked pretty good before the work started!

Martin Bruechle
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#6 Post by Martin Bruechle »

Very cool, black is the best...

Dan Epperly
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#7 Post by Dan Epperly »

neilbardsley wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2019 8:26 am Looked pretty good before the work started!
My thoughts exactly. A nice driver.

tom collingwood
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#8 Post by tom collingwood »

hot car!

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Vick Tagawa
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#9 Post by Vick Tagawa »

Thanks All, here is what the floor pan looked like after having all the old undercoating stripped - this really is a rust free car. The old undercoating was brittle and had some cracks so I opted to have it all replaced in order to preserve the integrity of the chassis.
356_Floor_No_Rust.JPG
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Ronald Sieber
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#10 Post by Ronald Sieber »

Vick:
I hope that you treat that bare metal before you undercoat it with something that will not really prevent any oxidizing. I use ortho phosphate solution - spray it on, let it dry, lightly sand down any bubbles, and then overcoat. I've had good luck with ortho.
=rds

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Vick Tagawa
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#11 Post by Vick Tagawa »

Ron, thanks, I'll see what the process was on the bottom, on top they went with an epoxy primer followed by an acrylic primer and then paint.

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Vick Tagawa
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#12 Post by Vick Tagawa »

Getting close - wheels out for re-chroming, interior and back on 4 wheels!
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Vick Tagawa
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#13 Post by Vick Tagawa »

Dan Epperly wrote: Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:52 pm
neilbardsley wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2019 8:26 am Looked pretty good before the work started!
My thoughts exactly. A nice driver.
The car was in very good shape considering that it was parked in a garage, covered, with a full gas tank, battery and fluids for over 30 years - the problem was that it was parked with a full gas tank, battery and fluids for over 30 years. The liquid part of the fuel, battery acid and brake fluid left the car years ago leaving behind some pretty nasty deposits. The fuel tank had small rust pinholes in the top and it was full of rust and debris, I am sure you all would recognize the incredible smell that the fuel left behind - it took years for that smell to leave the car. The bottom of the aluminum master brake cylinder reservoir corroded through and the wheel cylinders leaked out long ago freezing the brake shoes to the drums (all 4 wheels were locked), the battery was just dry, no corrosion in the battery box thankfully, the rings had seized to the cylinder walls, and a rodent of some sort had made a home in the muffler. It was a hard decision that I put off for several years with regard to doing a full restoration, or just doing enough to get the car running and drive it, but I finally decided to go the restoration route. I would recommend emptying your fuel if the car is going to sit a while:)
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Jim Clement
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Tag: 1957 356 A Coupe
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#14 Post by Jim Clement »

Did all of that come out of the gas tank ?

My gas tank had numerous pin holes on the bottom, leaked for years .. always a dizzy drive. I finally took it out and did a reseal, when i looked at it in a dark room with a light on the inside, it was obvious what / where the problem was. The local old school rad shop did a great job, knowing it was a gas tank. I did not go for the liquid liner.. not sure iof that was the right choice, but it does not leak anymore, so I am happy. I also took the opportunity to do a nice gloss paint job on it. It turned out well.
 

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Vick Tagawa
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Re: 1959 Porsche 356 Project

#15 Post by Vick Tagawa »

Yep, that is all from the tank. The tank Looked good, but there were holes everywhere. I guess the lesson here is to drive your cars!

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