WCSTA -07- 1958 Cabriolet

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Mark Pelkey
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WCSTA -07- 1958 Cabriolet

#1 Post by Mark Pelkey »

I have to admit, I have a problem. The first step in recovery is admitting it. I spend time with a group of similarly flawed individuals. We try to work through this, but none of us seem to be recovering.

I've been looking for an open car for many years. Rumor has it I'm not alone. My friend Alan in Florida heard of a car in Cincinnati that Adam hadn't uncovered yet. He passed the contact info along, and I moved as quickly as I could. My friend Chad made the run with me last Friday. We found the car in an old warehouse in an industrial district on the north side of the city. It was surrounded by old VWs, a rusty old Volvo with a new engine, a restored VW bus, at least 4 911 engines, 911 doors, hoods, piles of valuable parts, and one casket. The owner didn't know if the casket was occupied or not. We had help moving a Blazer and a dump truck, allowing us to load the car onto our trailer. It's now parked in my barn, amidst several other symptoms of my problem.

My new car is a 58 Cab. It's a numbers matching car, complete and untouched by much other than time and a little rain. 49,000 miles on the clock. It sounds like I may be the 4th or 5th owner. It spent many years in the basement of the Cincinnati Gardens sports arena. As I see it today, it's only missing the shift nob, hood handle, and the front Porsche script. One headlight lens has the VW stamp. Otherwise, everything's there. The shift nob was supposedly liberated while at the arena. Also note that the car is rough, everything needs to be restored. It has the special 356 ventilation system that allows fresh air to flow up through what used to be the floor. The longitudinals have relaxed a bit (i.e. gone away), tightening the upper door gaps. Feel free to ask for photos if anyone needs to see something specific. I don't see any sign that the car has ever been disassembled. It was painted once, but it doesn't look like it was pulled apart in the process.

On the plus side, the body is very straight, it doesn't look like it's ever been hit. The hood isn't kinked, it even has the 5 original wheels, including some ancient rubber. It should be light ivory with a red interior and probably a tan top. It should be beautiful when finished. It will take me a while, my day job keeps getting in the way, and the plan is to make sure it's 100% correct when done. On the way back to Western NY, we decided to stop at Stoddard to join the "We Can Save Them All" thread. It appears as though Per was impressed by the car. Bruce thought it would be a good idea for us to tour the warehouse, and see all of the sheet metal that I'm going to have to buy. It's an impressive inventory, I left with the latest catalog. All in all, it was the best Friday the 13th that I can remember. I'll post pictures as I make progress. The first step will be cleaning and documenting everything.
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Last edited by Mark Pelkey on Wed Mar 18, 2015 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mark Pelkey
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Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:22 am

Re: WCSTA 1958 Cabriolet

#2 Post by Mark Pelkey »

Stoddards visit and then home.
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Adam Wright
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Re: WCSTA - 1958 Cabriolet

#3 Post by Adam Wright »

Stopping at Stoddard is fun, those guys always like visitors and the guys who bring them!

Cool story.
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Greg Bryan
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Re: WCSTA - 1958 Cabriolet

#4 Post by Greg Bryan »

The competition is heating up ...
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Joris Koning
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Re: WCSTA - 1958 Cabriolet

#5 Post by Joris Koning »

Hi Mark, great car! I have some questions with regard to the original interior. I seems I can not contact you through the web site. Please contact me when you have a chance.

Thanks,

Joris
'56 Coupe
'57 Coupe
'59 Cab 
'60 Coupe

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Matthew Devereux
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Re: WCSTA - 1958 Cabriolet

#6 Post by Matthew Devereux »

Did you check out the casket?
Matthew Devereux
'00 Boxster S
'58 356A coupe

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Adam Wright
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Re: WCSTA - 1958 Cabriolet

#7 Post by Adam Wright »

Mark Pelkey wrote:
I've been looking for an open car for many years. Rumor has it I'm not alone. My friend Alan in Florida heard of a car in Cincinnati that Adam hadn't uncovered yet.
Ironically, the Roadster in my picture came from the same area, guess I need to start hitting Ohio a little harder.

Congrats on a cool car!
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Check out my Barn Find column in the Registry magazine, always looking for good stories.

Mark Pelkey
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Re: WCSTA - 1958 Cabriolet

#8 Post by Mark Pelkey »

Joris - I updated my profile so I can be contacted offline via email. I missed that step when I joined. Feel free to send me a note listing whatever you'd like to have me photograph. I haven't started disassembly yet, I'm still working on documenting the "as found" condition. - Mark

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Greg Bryan
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Re: WCSTA -07- 1958 Cabriolet

#9 Post by Greg Bryan »

Mark - we'd like to see some more pictures...
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Mark Pelkey
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Re: WCSTA -07- 1958 Cabriolet

#10 Post by Mark Pelkey »

Lots of pictures taken, I'm still in documentation mode. It snowed in Buffalo on Thursday, the weather's been pretty cold for the last week of April.
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Mark Pelkey
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Re: WCSTA -07- 1958 Cabriolet

#11 Post by Mark Pelkey »

I hope to start disassembly soon. She has to go on the rotisserie and get straightened out. The doors don't close well due to the amount of rust down low.
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Mark Pelkey
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Re: WCSTA -07- 1958 Cabriolet

#12 Post by Mark Pelkey »

A few more...
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Mark Pelkey
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Re: WCSTA -07- 1958 Cabriolet

#13 Post by Mark Pelkey »

Last batch...
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Mark Pelkey
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Re: WCSTA -07- 1958 Cabriolet

#14 Post by Mark Pelkey »

Does anyone know what belongs on the dash in the open spot? It looks like a round badge with a screw attachment point in the center. I haven't been able to track down a picture or spec yet. Thanks - Mark
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Adam Wright
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Re: WCSTA -07- 1958 Cabriolet

#15 Post by Adam Wright »

I think you are missing the Meistershaften badge.
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Check out my Barn Find column in the Registry magazine, always looking for good stories.

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