PROJECTS BACK OF GARAGE FIND! PETER SIMPSON

We don’t just write about Porsches, we drive and live with them, too It’s yet another project for art boy, Peter Simpson, but this one is a 356C. But has he bitten off more than he can chew?

So it happened again! The hint of another Porsche project was in the air. I know, I know, it’s not as if I haven’t two on the go already, but this was/is different. Let me explain...

The story goes like this: There I was sitting chatting with my uncle Bob. He’s of the street rod world, having owned a steelbodied Willys at one point. He knows his street rods but, when it comes to Porsches, well, that’s where it goes a bit wrong. But he had a mate – Chris – who very sadly passed away suddenly. And Chris had an old Porsche in the back of his garage. Well, needless to say my ears pricked up. Usually these things turn out to be an old 924 or something, but Bob reckoned it was a 911. ‘Can you find out a bit more?’ says I. ‘Sure’ says my uncle.

After a bit of cajoling, the info starts to trickle in. Chris’s wife, Rene, had been offered £18,000 for whatever it is, so it must be something interesting, although the offer was turned down. Finally I learn that it’s a 356 of early ’60s vintage (although Bob’s opening gambit was a ‘365’!). At last, and talk about pulling teeth.

So, now we’re getting somewhere. It transpires that what we’re talking about here is a 356C stripped to its bare bones and surrounded by parts. The engine had been rebuilt some time ago, but that was about as much info as I could get. Better go and have a look.

I collected my brother (this is going to be a joint project) and on arrival we found a car-shaped blob at the back of a garage covered in sheets and with parts balanced on top of it. This is where it had been for about 14-years, and six years prior to that in another garage.

Time for the unveiling and see what horrors were hiding beneath the covers. Well, there’s no doubting what it was: a 356 as clear as day and surrounded by parts inside and out.

To be honest, it was a pretty standard sight to me – a project started and not finished, and one that had just got the better of its owner who was more at home with street rods and Harleys, so the Porsche had gone on the back burner.

Going through the paperwork, it looked as though Chris had bought it as a project in pretty much the same state. The previous owner had presumably run out of money, or enthusiasm, or both. The purchase price for this pile of bits 20-years ago was £1000. What’s it worth now? Well, that’s subjective, but I had a price in mind as did my brother

and so did Rene. Fortunately it was the same figure and so £20,000 changed hands. A cursory look at the 356 market and I could see that if it all turned to poop, then it was worth rather more than just its parts and besides, it’s a 356 and probably our one and only chance to get hold of one without having to get a mortgage or rob a bank. Yeah, sure, I’m now going to be on the receiving end of a barage of emails offering me a similar pile of 356 bits for £20k...

A few weeks passed and the cash was ready. It took a couple of van runs to pick up all the parts like the engine, gearbox, brakes, glass and the interior. The latter had been stored in the loft and was in really good condition. Collecting the parts first would make it a lot easier to then just come back and pick up the shell.

We hired an Indispension flat bed trailer – important for the 356C as it would be sitting on its floorpan. We rolled the body up to the trailer on a skate and then pushed it aboard and strapped it down with ratchets. And then it was time to get the 356 on the road for its first journey of sorts for 20-years and a road to recovery. Or maybe just somewhere else to sit for another 20-years!

So the plan now is to purchase a rollover jig so we can get to the floorpan easier. A pile of Dansk panels has arrived and the first job will be to replace the floor, which is more than a little patchy. It’s solid enough, but the previous repairs haven’t been very well executed and don’t look very ‘factory.’

Beyond that? Well, it’s all going to be a bit of an adventure really and you can read all about it here in future issues. And will we get it done? Well, I’m not making any promises! PW