I found a 356 and bought it!

[Jerry Hynes]

Excellent! Enjoy it in good health. However, you should be careful driving it until you've taken it apart and put it back together, or delivered it to Al to do it for you

[Jim Clement]

A good lubrication will be good as well.
This is the chart for a 356 A - I am sure you can use this link to find one for your car as well. It provides a good check list.

Edit by Admin: 356B chart... https://porsche356registry.org/docs.ashx?id=1081005

[William Whited]

You guys are funny. Well Al certainly knows his 356’s but he has gotten me a bit anxious. I sent away for the Blackstone oil analysis kit, which is a great idea. I’ll take my time learning as much as I can with this car and be sure to check everything over. But I’m still driving it as much as I can, don’t worry Al I’ll wait for the analysis before driving 70 mph again.
All the best to all of you,
Bill

[Ken Tuvman]

You guys are funny. Well Al certainly knows his 356’s but he has gotten me a bit anxious. I sent away for the Blackstone oil analysis kit, which is a great idea. I’ll take my time learning as much as I can with this car and be sure to check everything over. But I’m still driving it as much as I can, don’t worry Al I’ll wait for the analysis before driving 70 mph again.
All the best to all of you,
Bill

Hi Bill - I thought I’d read in your previous post that engine temp gauge is inoperable- if so, I’d get that sorted out before driving it any more than you already have.

It’s a pretty car - I like it!

[Jules Dielen]

Bill, i am with Ken. Fix the temp gauge and enjoy. Change the oil, make it safe to drive and have fun with it. Who cares about an oil analysis on a 60 year old engine. What if it tells you it has some wear, which is to be expected. You are probably not going to rebuild it based on that. If it runs well, has good power and does not smoke too much, just drive it. You will get used to the engine noise and the car and then you will know something is wrong well before it sounds like there is a guy with a hammer whacking on your engine.

[William Whited]

Thanks Ken and Jules,
Ken Next on the list is the engine temp gauge.
Jules you’re right it does not smoke or leak and has good power for what it is, and it sounds good too. Considering it was rebuilt back in 2006 and less than 2000 miles on her it should be ok but I’ll do the oil analysis anyway, just to add to its providence and all the receipts and it can’t hurt.
I’ll keep you all posted on my car.
Bill

[Michael Branning]

In the aviation world oil analysis is very common, but if I recall they use it more as a trend analysis than as a diagnostic without a baseline. (I haven't flown in 20 years so my info may be out of date). If the % metal in the oil increases suddenly then something is going wrong...

[William Whited]

Thanks Michael,
Bill

[Jerry Hynes]

Looks like a great car. If it has been sitting for a long while and not regularly driven I'd suggest proactively changing out the soft brake lines and rubber fuel hose as part of your refresh. I'd also want a look inside the tank to see if there is any rust in there. I just started taking apart a 914 I bought last august that was largely restored in the early 2000's and not used much in the last 15 years. It ran ok, compression is good, but the tank is rusty. I'm replacing all of the soft bits in the fuel and braking system because they are relatively cheap and it eliminates a failure point. Congrats again, looks like a great car.

[Tony Madsen]

Jules! great photo of you that have as your avatar! wink
wink. quite a famous speedster! I never tested any oil before or after a purchase of a 356; most of the ones I buy have no engine in them or have been off the road for decades either due to rot, neglect, death in family, or stalled project. I hope you'll watch White House Plumbers and look for me and my Yellow C with blue/white 1971 Maryland plates. I do not know Al, but he is quite well-known and I am sure he has good advice; time is usually of the essence and you have to buy the 356 when you see it, not wait two weeks, because undoubtedly, someone could snake their way in and buy it out from under you, even if you have a gentleman's agreement or have given a deposit. It just happened to me, actually.

[Bill Tate]

Bill, In repairing your oil temperature guage be aware that the replacement new senders require a recalibration of your dash gauge. A search on this 356 talk list will uncover the details.
Enjoy both the rebuilding projects and the resulting carefree driving.
KTF, Bill

[Greg Bryan]

Bill is correct re repairing the oil temp system. The original senders worked opposite of how the modern senders work. Not only will you get a new sender, the gauge movement is also replaced in the instrument. And it’s kind of expensive too.
I had North Hollywood repair the original gauge in my C and it always ran hot - almost always in the overheated range - I learned to ignore it by rationalizing that if it was a VW I wouldn’t even have a gauge. I had another gauge that I picked up on eBay and sent it to Palo Alto and after rebuilding, that one would barely move off of cold. Sent them both back and they now work properly so I have a temp gauge that works for the first time since I bought the car.
By the way, both companies promptly repaired the gauges at no cost to me.

[Al Zim]

Situations sometimes appear with disc brake cars. al zim

[Jim Clement]

My car for the first 10 years had the non working oil temp gauge.
I sent the sender and the dash gage to Palo Alto - came back and then worked great !!
to Al's comments above..
I also found that when I inspected my front end, after the restoration, it had excessive play.. ( I was the person that put it back together) I figured out that I had not put the correct number of shims back in..
Got it figured out and fixed, good to go !!

[Tony Madsen]

hey Dave--figured you'ld like to see this photo. Tony