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Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 4:21 pm
by Doug McDonnell
OK So pretending I am young and still able to get up from under the car I bought a project Outlaw for the winter. Drove well but with a VERY hard ride. I was told a previous owner was a racer and this was his street car and bushings had been changed to harder. Got it home and tires were 24 years old and figured that was a lot of the hard riding. So after a 5 mile drive on the old tires I decided that 1st up was new tires. So on the jack stands it goes and all 4 minilites removed. Off to Tirerack for new tires. So for completeness sake here is more info on the car a Karmann 221045. I saw the car on Ebay go unsold so Idid some checking. Owned for 8 years but only 4K miles during the 8 years owned and a complete transmission rebuild by Willswerks. So from the old VinDb I found out 2 previous owners in Detroit Motor Cities Group. The car was originally Dolphin Grey with Blue interior but the 1st Motor cities group owner Richard Beecher removed the bumpers and installed nerf Bars, 6 x16Minilite wheels and tires he bought from Tirerack and painted it red. The 2nd Motor cities group owner Bill Demeter blew up the engine and replaced it with a 1720 912 motor. The Pennsylvania owner bought a spare engine lid and had it louvered.

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 4:36 pm
by Doug McDonnell
Front sway bar removed to replace the bushings. Unusual to say the least I found what appear to be solid PVC tubing, bisected and held on the bar for mounting with black friction tape. The usual sway bar positioning clip was present as well as a screw clamp-I guess to make sure the bisected PVC pipe stayed in place. 24 year old tires, solid sway bar bushings. It is going to be interesting what else I find in the suspension.

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 4:46 pm
by Doug McDonnell
Pan looks good and solid. I was told it was replaced in the late 70s and garaged and not driven winters since. It was Detroit area car except for the last 8 years and 4K miles when it lived in Pennsylvania.

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 5:03 pm
by Dan Kalinski
Cool Car! Enjoy!

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 5:39 pm
by C J Murray
Looks good Doug. Maybe it has Konis set real hard?

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 5:51 pm
by Doug McDonnell
After I paint the hardware I am going to reinstall the bar with new bushings and put the new tires on and try a drive to evaluate the difference. Peeling the onion CJ. No Konis. Shocks are KYB which some refer to as Kill Your Back.

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 12:09 am
by John Standish
First Minilites I've seen on a 356. Love Minilites!

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:54 am
by Adam Wright
John Standish wrote:First Minilites I've seen on a 356. Love Minilites!
I think Mini-Lites were big in the 70s.

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 10:07 am
by Doug McDonnell
Owner who hated Dolphin grey and 1st painted it red bought the Minilites as part of a wheel/tire package from Tirerack so would have been somewhere between 79-84 as he sold the car in 84.

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 11:18 am
by Doug McDonnell
Car has White KYB shocks which from my reading means they are the old gas adjust shocks which are hard riding. I think I will just get new Boge shocks and be done with it unless someone advises otherwise. I have Bilstein's on my other 356 and like them but after reading multiple threads it sounds like the Boge are the best bang for the buck if not using modern KYB. I talked to the old 356 racer who owner this as his street car for 24 years. It has solid Teflon rear torsion bar bushings so I know when I make it to the rear of the car I will be changing those back to stock. Good thing I am only paying myself 2 cents/hr so Labor charges will be decent. I would hate to think what this work would be costing at a shop. No wonder the last owner didn't do any of this since he didn't do any work himself. It helps that I grew up with a dad who was a mechanic and that this is my 4th 356.

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 12:34 pm
by C J Murray
I became aware of Minilites in the very early '70s when 2 friends put them on their lowered 240Zs. Other than some exotic Italian wheels there is no wheel that looks better or is more functional. Penske and many other racers used them and they were a quality product which is rare in the aftermarket wheel world. There are many nearly correct copies available but you need to be cautious about the quality. I would like a set of vintage Minilite 15x6 Porsche wheels for the Devin racer but I will probably have to settle for replicas.
IMG_1008.JPG

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 12:36 pm
by Doug McDonnell
Mine are 6.5x15 and "England" is on the rim so the real deal.

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 12:55 pm
by C J Murray
Doug McDonnell wrote:Mine are 6.5x15 and "England" is on the rim so the real deal.
You can tell they are original by the shape of the hub area which has a raised outer circle.

I thought you must have shock issues. Boge shocks are great. They feel perfect on my '59 sunroof. My other cars have Konis that are set very soft and they work well too. They are especially good if you want to make the car ride to your taste or if you want to use the shocks to set the front to rear handling balance.

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:26 pm
by Eric McKinley
Doug,

Well bought.

However those front Nerf bars look terrible, you should take those off and place them on the classifieds!

You may get lucky!LOL

Re: Winter Outlaw Project

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:27 pm
by Doug McDonnell
If I had both bumpers I would send them off to you Eric but alas I only have a rear bumper for the car.