356 for the Memory of my Father

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Vic Skirmants
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#16 Post by Vic Skirmants »

Eric Marshall Green wrote: As far as I know, absolutely no VW platform or parts. 356s never look quite right built that way, do they?
Really???

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Eric Marshall Green
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#17 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

And just to drive the purists crazy. But how annoying is it spilling gas all over your luggage?
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I'd rather drive a plastic junker than be a prig.

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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#18 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

Vic, REALLY! Why would you doubt me? Besides, I have about 500 build shots.
I'd rather drive a plastic junker than be a prig.

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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#19 Post by Vic Skirmants »

Eric Marshall Green wrote:Vic, REALLY! Why would you doubt me? Besides, I have about 500 build shots.
I doubt you because you are representing a VW-based plastic replica as a 356. It's a beautiful car and a great tribute to your father; it's just NOT a 356. Prove me wrong.

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Eric Marshall Green
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#20 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

Vic, I was conceived in a 356. I was driven to the hospital in my mother's stomach in a 356. I was driven to the bus stop (15 minutes) every day in a 356. Ferry Porsche carried me around through the Reutter factory and sat me in a new 356 seat when I was 6. 7 days after I turned 18 I bought my first 356 with money I had earned selling paintings. Luckly, I did not conceive in my 356 because I always pulled out. But the LAST thing I would want is an actual old 356. They are slow! They are WAY too expensive. Once they rust the unibody distorts and even with new floor pans they never track correctly unless rebuilt on a factory jig. Therefore I made my own. It weighs exactly the same as a Type 35 Bugatti—1680 pounds. It has full 911 disk brakes and steering, incredible suspension, the engine puts out around 150 hp with about 160 foot pounds of torque. It sounds like a 1960 Spyder and is similar in performance. YET the tires are the same size as they would've been in 1956. I built it for looks, as a work of art, a monument to my father who I have missed every day for 37 years.
I'd rather drive a plastic junker than be a prig.

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Eric Marshall Green
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#21 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

Vic, besides, once a 356 has been restored it is no longer a real Porsche. It is only equal to the restorer. If the paint all falls off the Mona Lisa, and some hack artist repaints it using photos of the original, is it still by Da Vinci? Of course not! Only a factory original car is worth anything, the reconditioned cars are just fakes. My interior is custom created by the best guy in the world. Everything is hand-fitted, just like Reutter did it. Every texture and color was considered carefully by me over a 40 year period. I spent 4 months formulating that body color. The leather was custom dyed and carefully chosen. The badging and engine detailing is being done by DK, the best detailer in the business. The last great pin strip artist in the Valley is going to paint my father's signature on the dash, which I also custom designed. Blah, blah, blah. But hope you understand my point. Besides, I will never attend a car show. I will just drive the living piss out of the thing!
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Jules Dielen
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#22 Post by Jules Dielen »

Eric Marshall Green wrote:Vic, besides, once a 356 has been restored it is no longer a real Porsche

tell that to the guy that just plunked down a million dollars for the restored split window coupe or even 5 million dollars for the restored 550 last week. A plastic 356 will never be the same as any real 356, restored or not. Just enjoy your car, call it whatever you want it, and as far as I know Reutter never worked with fiberglass, but I could be wrong.

In my opinion, you have really picked the wrong forum to call a "restored 356 no longer a real Porsche". Maybe you use the wrong restorer, but if restored correctly, they track just like new. maybe even better. I own both.

Welcome to the 356 registry.

p.s. i was also conceived in a 356 :)

p.s. 2 i meant repop in regards to the gauges, not retro. retro = cool, repop = cheap.
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#23 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

Jules, thank you for the warm welcome. It certainly is a warm friendly place, and almost exactly what I expected.

What people pay for things hardly establishes true value. Van Gogh couldn't sell a painting to save his life, yet many of his contemporaries were selling wonderfully. Funny how we can't seem to remember their names now.

What Porsche were you conceived in, a 914 with a VW engine?
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#24 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

Jules, and if my gauges bother you so much, send me better ones. What looks cheap to you?
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#25 Post by Jules Dielen »

Eric, I did not dare ask my dad before he passed away. It was either his convertible D or his T6 coupe. I really hope it was the convertible D, as i just spent 4 years restoring that car, and I hope my dad would have been very proud of the result (see pic). He bought it in 1968.

But i guess it is not really a Porsche anymore, shame on me for spending all that time and money on it, feel free to call me an idiot for restoring a 59 convertible D that has been in my family for 50 years, what was I thinking. Come to think of it, it was part of the family before there was even a family! I do plan to pass it on to one of my kids.

The T6 coupe was so rusty by the mid 1970s it was hauled off to the dump.

For someone with an IQ of 147 you sure make some dumb statements.

I used my gauges in the D, but you can buy nice original gauges on this site, or Ebay. The ones in your kit car look very... kit car-ish. But I commend you for building such a cool car in memory of your dad. But what if he had kept his beautiful 52 coupe to the point where it needed a restoration? Would he not be a Porsche anymore?
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#26 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

Jules, I'm starting to like you—careful. I did NOT say restoring a car necessarily ruins it, I said it was only the equal of the restorer's abilities. Look at Rod Emory. He builds amazing cars from old Porsches. Are they Porsches? And why does it matter? My point was simply that calling my work of art a VW-based plastic piece of junk is not a logical assessment. I know A LOT about 356 Porsches from 1952 to 1959. I have no interest in Bs or Cs, never liked 911s although I owned about the most perfect 1970 Targa in the world, which was COMPLETELY original, but virtually too nerve-racking to drive. I still drove the living piss out of it although at around 125 the front end felt "funny." And what I sold that car for would make us all cry. I even had the original wipers, never used, fully factory manuals, ever other manual mint and in duplicate. OUCH! And the guy that bought for what was considered a high price then, weighed over 300 pounds and could not drive the car up into the car carrier.
I'd rather drive a plastic junker than be a prig.

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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#27 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

Jules, I also think Speedsters are the least appealing 356. I like the Drauz bodied car you own WAY more than those damn Speedsters. The windshield is too damn small, and ruins the balance of the car visually. That stupid Hoffman chrome strip is a travesty of poor design. At least the strip could've curved down at the ends and been a bit shorter.

Tell me about your car color. Unusual. But, yes, I had already checked it out. But here is a little secret. Ferry placed the ignition key on the right side of the steering column only on Speedsters and related cars. Do you know why? All "real" Porsches have it on the left to honor their Le Mans heritage. Do you know Porsche lost money on the Speedster. Do you know Porsche had to buy out Hoffmann and he still received payment for EVERY 356 made? Even the last Cs.
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#28 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

Oh, Jules, and please explain how the instruments are lacking. Are any reproductions out there any good?
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#29 Post by Jules Dielen »

Eric Marshall Green wrote:Jules, I also think Speedsters are the least appealing 356.That stupid Hoffman chrome strip is a travesty of poor design. At least the strip could've curved down at the ends and been a bit shorter.

Tell me about your car color. Unusual. .
A speedster is not practical for me at 6'4". The D is marginal at best, but i will suffer through it. On A cars the side spear actually curves down at the ends, on B and C cars it is straight because the headlights and bumpers were lifted. That way it flowed better with the rest of the car. My car is stone gray, a period correct color. It was originally ruby red but i dislike red cars.

Eric Marshall Green wrote: My point was simply that calling my work of art a VW-based plastic piece of junk is not a logical assessment.
Where did I say that? Feel free to use the quote button. I actually really like the looks of it, it is just not a real 356, or a Porsche, that is all.

There are no 'good' reproduction gauges as far as I know. There are some very nice used original gauges on the samba. They will look great in your car. Or buy some crappy original ones and send them to Palo Alto speedometer or North Hollywood and they will look spectacular.
speedster cluster1.JPG
As to the position of the ignition switch - i believe that to be a myth, as even the 550, Porsche's first 'real' race car had the ignition on the right (first button, then key)
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Re: 356 for the Memory of my Father

#30 Post by Eric Marshall Green »

Did you notice my car has a push button starter? Do you know why Stirling Moss was always first in Le Mans starts? My dad and Stirling hung out during the early 1950s, and Stirling told my father the secret. My father died 36 years ago on January 22, 1982. Did you notice which day Stirling retired from public life.

Stone gray? Who in the hell sold you that paint as stone gray? Unless the photo is REALLY wacked, that is not stone gray.
I'd rather drive a plastic junker than be a prig.

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