March 2014

Golden Empire Region

Porsche Club of America

The Grapevine Newsletter

2

Hear it through the Grapevine

Featured Stories Pages

A Farewell Profile of Greg Fullmer’s 914/6 GT 6

Development and Evolution of the Porsche 914 13

Social Outings & Members Page

GEM Social Meeting Dinners 4

Farewell to ‘Doc’ Altvatter 4

A New Porsche 930 in the Club ? 5

Event Calendars

Our GEM Event Calendar 14

Porsche Parade in Monterey, Event Schedules 16

Members Project Pages

Anton’s Suspension Upgrade 5

Spencer Harris, The Porsches in the Barn Story 20

Out of Town Events

Festival of Speed 2014 10

Concours in the Canyon, Cal Inland 12

Miscellaneous Out of Town Events 26

Pomona Swap Meet Schedule 28

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Porsche Club of America

Golden Empire Region

Board Members and Chair Persons

Social Coordinator

Tammy Harris

Webmaster

Anton Khatsanovich

Newsletter Editor

Michael Thomas

gemgrapevine@gmail.com

Autocross Co-Chairs

Greg Fullmer and

Charles Rook

Safety Chair &

Insurance Coordinator

Mike McGregor

Membership Co-Chairs &

Communication Co-Chairs

Loren Stumbaugh and

Anna Stumbaugh

PCA Membership While our cars are very exclusive, our club is not.

Did you know that you can add a family member

or other interested person as an affiliate

member, at no additional cost? The family or

affiliate member must also be 18 years of age or

older.

For all of the details contact our Membership

Chair:

Loren Stumbaugh

Porsche Club of America

Golden Empire Region

Membership Chairman

Loren7025@gmail.com

Please join us online at our newly remodeled

Website and on our Facebook Group page.

http://gem.pca.org/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/

PCA.GoldenEmpireRegion/

And please send any Newsletter comments

or content contributions to :

gemgrapevine@gmail.com

Secretary

Spencer Harris

President

Omar Olivas

Vice President

Linn Christopher

Treasurer

Betsy Wadman

Past President

Pat Wadman

Secretary

Spencer Harris

President

Omar Olivas

Vice President

Linn Christopher

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Loren Practices his Skateboard skills at PF Changs A Good Time was had by all at the March Social Meeting

at PF Changs on the Patio. Let’s do this venue again !

Our February Social Meet at Senor Pepe’s Mexican

Restaurant. This group is all about the food

Omar and Linn please sit down. There’s more tacos on

the way guys !

The third Tuesday evening of each month is all about good friends and good food. Everyone is invited to come

out and join us, member or not. Come be part of the Porsche lifestyle with us each month. Our next Social

Meeting for the Month of March, will be Tuesday the 18th, 6:30 pm at Tony’s Pizza , 4750 Coffee Road.

Check for other dates and locations online at GEM.PCA.ORG

Doc’s gorgeous Guards Red 911 SC

And it is with sadness that GEM bids Robert “DOC” Altvatter farewell. Doc and his fami-

ly are moving north to Bend, Oregon. Doc’s move north will allow him to breath some

cleaner air and spend more time with his son who lives there as well. I hear the skiing

is great up there. So Doc can put his Ski Patrol skills back to use. We all wish you the

very best Doc, hope to bump into you at some of PCA events in the future.

Doc is a great example of how “It’s not just the Cars, It’s the People”

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Omar finds success using the Bigger Hammer

approach. He must read Spencer’s wooden sign

Bang Bang Maxwell’s Silver Hammer ?

Anton showing us the Mods for his 911

Looks like Omar’s house has a Porsche infestation

And you thought all the Golden Empire Region did was eat !

Say Hello to the Golden Empire Region latest GEM !

Ken Keenan is the proud new owner of this magnificent 1987 930 Turbo. He says the car drives completely different

from his 997 and his 944. The 930 has no power steering and has long linkage shifts. But he indicated when that

turbo kicks it, “Damn” !! He states he will have to get use to the “feel” of driving it. State of the Art in it’s day, Ken

says how we take for granted how easy our modern day Porsches are to drive and handle. Congratulations Ken !!

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The Golden Empire Region has recently lost

an icon. Greg Fullmer’s 1970 Glockler 914/6

GT has found a new home. The love of

Greg’s life, that he has affectionately

referred to as Princess and Baby is now

rumored to live somewhere in Southern

California.

So GEM felt that a finally tribute to the this

unique Porsche is only fitting. Join us for a

journey that begins in Zuffenhausen, crosses

an ocean, and takes us to Bakersfield.

As Greg will quickly tell you, his 914/6 GT

was a truly unique Porsche born to race.

Designed around a modified racing body, a

modified racing engine, and a full sports

suspension, this little GT could go head to

head with anything in it’s class and win.

There is an ever changing personnel staff

within Porsche’s design departments. And

there is never a shortage of fresh ideas

flowing from within it. Greg’s 914 GT is the

story of one such program. Much of the

experimentation done in Zuffenhausen

focused on the constructing race cars. Rac-

ing development programs not only pro-

duced Porsche victories at race tracks

around the world, but also served as the

perfect test bed for designs that were

placed into Porsche’s street car.

In 1969 and 1970 the Porsche racing depart-

ment built 12 Porsche 914/6 GT cars for

factory entered races, or better know as

Werks cars.

In 1970 Porsche entered a 914/6 GT in the

grueling 24-hours of Le Mans race. It

finished 6th overall and won its class.

Which was a remarkable accomplishment

by any standard.

Birth of a 914/6 GT

Some mystery surrounds the production of

Greg’s 914/6 GT. Around ’69 The body and

engine began to take shape in Porsche’s

Zuffenhausen factory, which is located

within the northern district of Stuttgart Ger-

man. However, the car’s complete assembly

may not have taken place at this facility.

Documents show that only a total of 47

914/6 GT were produced at the factory with

the M-471 racing option. And out of those

only 12 factory Werks racers were produced

In addition to these fully assembled, ready

to race Werks cars the factory also offered a

GT kit that was delivered in conjunction

with a regular 914/6 car. The kit was sup-

pose to be installed designated Porsche

dealers. It is unknown exactly how many

GT kits were sold, nor how many kits were

fully adapted to the cars. It is estimated that

around 200 to 250 kits were sold.

So many of the 914/6 where sent out in

pieces to the racing teams that had ordered

them. They would then undergo an exten-

sive build-up into a GT rally/racer at a dedi-

cated dealer’s location. Why would Porsche

do this? Because of a limited workforce and

high production demand at Porsche’s facto-

ry during this time. (Click for Reference)

It is possible that Greg’s car too may have

left the factory as less than a completely

assembled 914/6 GT rally/racer.

The original color of the car was Canary

Yellow. The Glockler shop painted the car

to the Light Blue Metallic that it is now.

Greg has stated that the car received a very

detailed repaint job at the Glockler facility.

He expressed to me that he believed Glock-

ler must have disassembled the car to

repainted it as thoroughly as they did.

However, after some research I believe that

Greg’s 914/6 may have left the Zuffen-

hausen factory in pieces. And once the car

was at the Glockler shop it was repainted

and underwent it’s final assembly into a GT.

However, I need to state that this is purely

conjecture on my part.

Stuttgart to Frankfurt to Munich

But we do know that Porsche filled this GT

order for the German Porsche dealer,

Mahag. As back then, Mahag is still located

in Munich, Germany. The Mahag dealership

was a pipeline that Porsche used to distrib-

ute many of it’s high performance race cars.

As suggested previously, Mahag may have

had the 914/6 GT components for Greg’s car

sent directly to the German auto stylist

Glockler. Glockler was a VW / Porsche

dealer and racing shop located in Frankfurt

Germany. It was owned by race car driver

Walter Glockler.

Walter Glocker was one of the earliest post

war VW dealers. And he is also credited with

many early Porsche racing car modifications.

Glockler may have been one of Porsche’s

designated dealer for the finally assembly of

some of these racing car.

Auf Wiedersehen

Our Little Car’s Birth Certificate

A Farewell Tribute to one of

GEM’s most Unique Porsches

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Not only was Glockler one of the first to

race Porsche automobiles, he was also one

of the first of all Porsche owners to take a

standard Porsche and make substantial

changes to it in order to make it more com-

petitive on track. The mid-engine Glockler-

Porsche Specials that he built were the

inspiration for Porsche’s mid-engine 550

sports racer. (Click here for Reference)

To improve the 914’s air dynamics, Glockler

replaced the car’s frontend and front hood

with his own unique design.

Note the contrast between the two 914s

above. The 914 GT was to be used to

compete on many of the world’s great

tracks. Often of these racing events were

endurance type races that would run

continuously throughout the day and into

the night. These cars needed a very good

head light system for the high speed night

time driving.

Glockler’s redesigned front-end provided

better lighting for night driving. It also

reduced air flow drag by the redesigned

front hood with no lighting and placing a

large air dam at the bottom front of the car.

Other Clockler style/performance cues

included extended steel wheel arches, 6”

and 7” alloy rims, larger track (wider wheel-

base) limited slip differential, special adjust-

able left and right sports seats, sports

muffler, front oil cooler, roll bars, S-brakes,

and a special European am/fm radio with 8

track tape player. Greg stated that the

radio and volume control knob is located on

the far right side of the car, completely

away from easy access of the driver.

It was also at this time that his car received

it’s beautiful new paint color. Listed as

‘light blue metallic’, this has become the

color that all of us identify Greg’s car with.

Perhaps you may think that I’m forgetting to

mention the very distinctive rear spoiler.

Nope, that’s wasn’t Glockler’s idea. The tail

comes later.

Greg has stated there are only two other

known 914 GTs with the Glockler frontend

beside his. These two highly modified thor-

oughbreds were raced throughout Europe

on such famous tracks and road courses as

Sicily’s Targa Florio, Germany’s Nurburgring,

and even France’s very prestigious Le Mans

circuit. And as illustrated earlier, the 914

GT campaigned very effectively for Porsche.

After the Glockler restyle, the car was

returned to the Mahag dealership. Where

the Mahag CEO would enjoy it as his own

personal toy for the next year.

In July 24th 1970 the car was sold by the

MAHAG dealership to someone in Germany.

Records show it was serviced at the Mahag

dealership for the next year

Greg’s 914/6 GT Engine

All of the unique body redesigns and beefed

up suspension modifications are useless

without something to push the car around

the track.

Greg stated that his 914/6 GT had Porsche’s

2.2 S engine in it. But not your standard 2.2

S engine. This engine was a real hot rod. If I

remember correctly he stated the engine

had all of the components of a 2.2 S but the

engine used carburetors instead of fuel

injection. It also had several other high per-

formance features build into it. Including

racing cams used in the 901-20 engines that

powered the legendary 906. Engines have to

breath and the more air that can pump into

the engine, the more power it can produce.

And that cam is all about pumping major air.

The engine had an 11 to 1 compression

ration. Greg stated that was as high he

could run with gasoline. A higher comp

ratio would require the use of racing fuel,

which he did sometimes use.

The 914 GT crosses the Pond

In 1972 the 914 GT was imported into the

US by the Porsche/Audi dealership Wester

in Monterey, California. A doctor, Marvin

Taves from Reno, Nevada purchased the

car. He raced it at various California tracks

such as Sears Point and Laguna Seca.

In 1977 it showed up for sale on consign-

ment at the Beverly Hills Porsche dealer-

ship.

Greg stated that several potential buyers

passed on buying it because the unfamiliar

Glockler frontend confused people into

thinking it was not a genuine 914/6 GT.

Ron Webb and his wife Barbara, who just

happen to be founding members of the

Golden Empire Region of the PCA,

purchased the 914 GT in 1976 from the

Beverly Hills dealer. Joined by Greg and his

wife, Ron and Barbara trailered the car to

race tracks throughout the state, Arizona

and Nevada for many years to PCA and POC

time trial and autocross events. A clipping from a German newspaper listing

Inside the Glockler VW & Porsche

1952 Glockler-Porsche Roadster

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Above is a photo the way the car came from

the factory. Note that there was no spoiler

at this time.

Placing the large distinctive rear tail was the

idea of Ron Webb. A company at the time

was producing those. Ron believed it would

make for better handling at the autocross

events. Greg stated that it did, however,

the large rear wing also slowed the car’s

speed on long open tracks such as Fon-

tana’s, Las Vegas, and Phoenix’s Speedways.

Ron and Barbara retired to Richfield, Utah in

1992, where Ron died in 1998. The GT was

stored at his Utah home for five years until

Greg acquired it in November of 2002.

The Greg Years

Greg had been attempting to buy the car

from Barbara after Ron’s death. And about

four years later he was successful. Greg

stated that the car was quite dirty when he

picked it up. But in no time at all Greg and

Rick Higdon had it all shined back to it’s

original luster.

Rick and Greg spent a lot of time tracking

the car through PCA, POC , and SCCA spon-

sored races. Greg spent much time racing

Autocross, Time Trials, and road courses.

And became very competitive in his class

claiming many track victories. Greg and

914 GT became familiar figures at many well

known tracks like; Laguna Seca, Sears Point,

Willow Spring, and Buttonwillow. They

could also be found together at many of the

areas high speed tracks such as Fontana,

Phoenix, and the Las Vegas speedways.

Greg said the car drove wonderfully. The

stiffer suspension that the car was built with

help keep the car from flexing and held it

tight to the road.

The Missing Engine Case

The original engine that shipped with the

car was removed to be protect it. Greg had

found another engine that he felt more

comfortable using for racing. A 911 2.7 S

that was actually more powerful than the

original. And it would have been a less ex-

pensive loss if it were to be damaged from

racing. He also thought it would a good time

to have the original 914/6 engine rebuilt.

The original GT engine was taken to a shop

to be rebuilt. However, Greg had other pro-

jects in the works and decided later to wait

on the engine rebuild. He said he picked up

the original engine from the rebuild shop.

But the engine was now in pieces and

contained within several boxes. The boxes

were all tucked away for a few years in a

storage unit.

Time passed and for what ever reason he

began searching through the boxes,

perhaps planning to rebuild the engine at

this time. That’s when fear struck him.

Within the boxes of parts, the original

engine case was no where to be found.

Greg says Rick Higdon and he looked all over

the storage units again and again. But failed

to find the engine case.

The engine case has never been located and

Greg fears that the engine case may have

accidently been switched for another, with

someone driving around in a Porsche, com-

pletely unaware of how valuable the engine

in their car really is.

The PCA Concours

Racing for top time and speed occupied

much of Greg’s time. However, Time Speed

Distance (TDS) Rallies and Concours were

two other events Greg enjoyed entering his

car into. And of course, anything this car

was entering into it usually won.

Showing a car that has just completed a

race somewhere the prior weekend requires

a lot of repairs, a lot of body work, and a lot

repainting. Rick stated working to repair the

bruised car was sometimes a 24 hour pro-

cess. He said this was how he learned fiber-

glass and body work. With a grin, Rick says

“ya, the cars get pretty messed up racing

around tracks”. Rumor has it that a few

well placed racing stickers can some nasty

paint chips before a concours :))

But in 2004 all of Greg’s and Rick’s hard

work paid off. Greg won the coveted Sam

Wang Award. This award is presented to a

PCA member who has performed the best

in four PCA event categories that year. The

four event categories include; Autocross,

Time Trial, TDS Rallies, and Concours.

Greg, with Rick’s help placed first in all

classes except Rally, in which he placed 3rd

for the entire year of 2003. Way to Go !!

Greg with Ex-Wife & Rick receiving Award

Hey Rick, you missed a spot !

A view of the car without the distinctive rear

The more familiar view of the car with the rear

Greg Piloting the 914/6 GT through

Laguna Seca’s iconic Corkscrew turns

Now Aim for the 2nd tree on the Left :)

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An Email received by Greg from an acquaintance advertising his car for sell in late

1971. It translates the German sells ad shown on the previous pages.

Thank you Greg for sharing your Magnificent 914/6 GT

racer with all here in the Golden Empire Region of the

Porsche Club of America. It will be missed by all ……

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Get ready for Southern California’s

biggest Porsche Event of 2014 !

Registration is now open.

It can be done online

MotorSportReg.com

Visit the Auto Club Speedway Website

Visit PCA Zone8 / Festival of Speed Website

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By the late 1960s, both Volkswagen and

Porsche were in need of new models; Por-

sche was looking for a replacement for their

entry-level 912, and Volkswagen wanted a

new range-topping sports coupe to replace

the Karmann Ghia. At the time, the majority

of Volkswagen's developmental work was

handled by Porsche, part of a setup that

dated back to Porsche's founding;

Volkswagen needed to contract out one last

project to Porsche to fulfill the contract, and

decided to make this that project. Ferdinand

Piëch, who was in charge of research and

development at Porsche, was put in charge

of the 914 project.

Originally intending to sell the vehicle with a flat four-cylinder engine as a Volkswagen and with a flat six-cylinder engine as a Por-sche, Porsche decided during development that having Volkswagen and Porsche models sharing the same body would be risky for business in the American market, and con-vinced Volkswagen to allow them to sell both versions as Porsches in North America.

On March 1, 1968, the first 914 prototype was presented. However, development be-came complicated after the death of Volkswagen's chairman, Heinz Nordhoff, on April 12, 1968. His successor, Kurt Lotz, was not connected with the Porsche dynasty and the verbal agreement between Volkswagen and Porsche fell apart.

In Lotz's opinion, Volkswagen had all rights

to the model, and no incentive to share it

with Porsche if they would not share in tool-

ing expenses. With this decision, the price

and marketing concept for the 914 had

failed before series production had begun.

As a result, the price of the chassis went up

considerably, and the 914/6 ended up

costing only a bit less than the 911T, Por-

sche's next lowest price car. The 914/6 sold

quite poorly while the much less expensive

914/4 became Porsche's top seller during its

model run, outselling the Porsche 911 by a

wide margin with over 118,000 units sold

worldwide.

Volkswagen versions originally featured an 80 PS (59 kW) fuel-injected 1.7 L flat-4 en-gine based on the Volkswagen air-cooled engine. Porsche's 914/6 variant featured a carbureted 110 PS (81 kW) 2.0 L flat-6 en-gine from the 1969 911T, placed amidships in front of a version of the 1969 911's "901" gearbox configured for a mid-engine car. Karmann manufactured the rolling chassis at their plant, completing Volkswagen pro-duction in-house or delivering versions to Porsche for their final assembly.

914/6 models used a similar suspension and brakes to the 911, giving superior handling and braking superiority over the 4-cylinder Volkswagen models along with higher pow-er output. A Volkswagen-Porsche joint ven-ture, Volkswagen of America, handled ex-port to the U.S., where both versions were badged and sold as Porsches, except in Cali-fornia, where they were sold in Volkswagen dealerships. The four-cylinder cars were sold as Volkswagen-Porsches at European Volkswagen dealerships.

Slow sales and rising costs prompted Por-sche to discontinue the 914/6 variant in 1972 after producing 3,351 of them; its place in the lineup was filled by a variant powered by a new 100 PS (74 kW) 2.0 L, fuel-injected version of Volkswagen's Type 4 engine in 1973. For 1974, the 1.7 L engine was replaced by a 85 PS (63 kW) 1.8 L, and the new Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection sys-tem was added to American units to help with emissions control. 914 production end-ed in 1976. The 2.0 L flat-4 engine continued to be used in the 912E, which provided an entry-level model until the 924 was intro-duced.

The 914 was Motor Trend's Import Car of

the Year for 1970. A 914/6 GT piloted by

Frenchmen Claude Ballot-Lena and Guy

Chasseuil won the GTS class and finished

sixth overall at the 1970 24 Hours of Le

Mans.[3] Brian Redman used the 914/6 to

scout the course in practice runs of the

1970 Targa Florio circuit.

Two prototype 914s, dubbed 914/8, were

built during 1969. The orange 914/8 was the

first constructed, at the instigation of Ferdi-

nand Piëch (then head of the Racing Dept),

to prove the concept. Powered by the full-

blown, 310 hp (222 kW) 908 [flat-8] racing

engine, it was based on a surplus 914

handbuilt development prototype bodyshell

hence the many differences from the stand-

ard vehicle (e.g., the quad headlights). The

second, silver, road-registered car, powered

by a carburetted and detuned 908 race en-

gine making 260 hp (194 kW) was then pre-

pared as a gift to Ferry Porsche on his 60th

birthday. Also based on a spare prototype

shell (chassis no. 914006), it was much clos-

er to the standard car in detail. By all ac-

counts Ferry didn't like the car very much

and it sits in the Porsche Museum. Neither

car saw a racetrack except for the purposes

of testing. The 914/8 was not considered for

production as a regular model. Another fac-

tory prototype, a 914/6 (chassis no. 914114)

surfaced in the US in 2001. Together with a

surviving prototype Sportomatic 914/6

(chassis no. 914120), reputedly in Southern

Germany, they form a unique and fasci-

nating piece of Porsche history.

Development and Evolution of the Porsche 914

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February 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Bakersfield

Golden Ox

Breakfast meet

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bakersfield

Golden Ox

Breakfast meet

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Drive to

Simi Valley, Ronald

Reagan Library

16 17 18 P F Chang’s

Social Meeting and

Dinner 6:30 PM

19 20 21 22 Bakersfield

Golden Ox

Breakfast meet

23 24 25 26 27 28

March 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Los Angeles

Literature Show &

Restoration Tours

2 Anaheim, Ca

All Porsche Swap

Meet & car Display

3 4 5 6 7 8 Riverside, CA

Walter’s Empire

100 Gimmick Rally

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Bakersfield

Breakfast Meet &

16 17 Willow Springs

Streets of Willow

DE and Autocross

18 Tony’s Pizza,

Social Meeting 6:30

4750 Coffee Rd.

19 20 21 22 Bakersfield

Golden Ox

Breakfast Meet

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Bakersfield

Golden Ox

Breakfast Meet

30 31

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April 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 Fontana, CA

Festival of Speed

6 Fontana, Ca

Festival of Speed

7 8 9 10 11

Long Beach Grand

Prix Weekend

12 Breakfast

Long Beach Grand

Prix Weekend

13

Long Beach Grand

Prix Weekend

14 15 16 17 18 19 Bakersfield

Breakfast

20 21 22 Social Meeting

and Dinner

Location TBA

Announced

23 24 25 26 Bakersfield

Breakfast

27 28 29 30

May 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 Bakersfield

Breakfast

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bakersfield

Breakfast

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Bakersfield

Breakfast

18 19 20 Social Meeting

and Dinner

Location TBA

Announced

21 22 23 24 Bakersfield

Breakfast

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Bakersfield

Breakfast

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Porsche Parade 2014: Monterey, California!

Monterey is the site of our 59th Porsche Parade, to be held this June 15 through 21, 2014. This is PCA’s annual extravagan-

za of competitive and social events. Only minutes away from the beautiful Pacific Ocean, we’ll be treated to drives on the

famous Pacific Coastal Highway, to some of California’s legendary vineyards, and through the hills and valleys of northern

California. Of course, Parade has a long history of friendly competition and that will continue this year with the always

challenging Concours d’Elegance, TSD rally, autocross, and the tech-quiz.

Registration

Registration will open on April 1st (new date!), and there will be a link to register on pca.org and parade2014.pca.org. This

Parade will be very popular, but we will accept ALL entries. We can accommodate all entrants for each of the banquets

and all competitive events, as well as most activities. Tours on some days will sell out, however.

Upon checking out of Parade registration, you will receive an email with the link to our host hotels and discount codes. We have blocked rooms at five area hotels, and we do expect hotel rooms to fill up quickly. Check In

Parade entrants should check in for Parade on Sunday, June 15 between 9 am and 5 pm. This is the only time when all the

event chair-people will be all together in one place to check you in, answer all your questions, and make sure you have the

banquet seats you want, pick up your meal tickets and are classified properly for the competitive events you’ve entered.

That is when you get your Parade goodie-bags and volunteer t-shirts. Late check-in is available throughout the week, but

we recommend getting to Monterey on Sunday.

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Banquets

We have five banquets, our Welcome Party on Sunday the 15th, the Concours banquet on Tuesday, TSD banquet on

Wednesday, AX on Friday, and our Victory banquet on Saturday. You can sign up for all of them, or individually, through

registration.

Competitive Events

The Porsche Concours d’Elegance is the showcase of the week’s activities and gets started early on Monday, June

16th on the beautiful fairways of the Monterey Hyatt. We have classes for every Porsche and stage of preparation—from

“Full” preparation to “Street” class where only the interior and exterior, including wheels and tires, are judged.

The Mobil TSD Rally on Tuesday June 17th takes us in and around the beautiful vineyards, hills, forests and beaches of

the area in a rally that’s sure to become the stuff of legend. We’ll be offering the TSD Rally School on Monday evening, June

16.

The Michelin Autocross is on Wednesday and Thursday, June 18 and 19 at nearby Marina airport.

Whether you study-up or just show up, the Technical/Historical Quiz on the morning of Friday, June 20 is always a great

way to show what you know about our favorite cars… or to face what you don’t.

Events and Activities

Parade Kids

The Parade Kids program has become a favorite of our family of enthusiasts, with many of the kids forming enduring

friendships and looking forward to Parade each year. The 2014 Parade Kids program will have plenty of fun and adventure,

true to the California spirit of fun, adventure, and learning in Monterey.

Hospitality

The Hospitality area is always one of the best places to hang out at Parade, whether you’re perusing the various vendors,

partaking in the planned Beer or Wine tastings, or just looking to visit with friends before heading out to dinner.

Gimmick Rally

The Gimmick Rally will held Thursday, June 19th, and is designed to provide a scenic and entertaining outing for everyone, children included. The route showcases the 17-Mile Drive, the Lone Cypress, Carmel and its famous Mission, historic John Steinbeck sites and much, much more. The choice of this year's gimmick will be unique, and provide both fun and chal-lenge, along with capturing the amazing scenery and character of the Monterey Bay area. Tours

Throughout the week you will have an opportunity to go on a different driving tour each day. In addition, most driving

tours will run more than once during the week in the event you commit to another activity on a particular day. All tours

include a variety of points of interest and a destination.

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Michelin Drive and Compare

Another great event at Parade is the Michelin Drive & Compare and this is your chance to take a couple of thrill laps

around the course in two identical Porsches with two different types of tires.

Golf Tournament

Please join us on Wednes- day, June 18 for the annual Porsche Parade Golf Tournament. We will be

playing at the Pacific Grove Golf Links, on the tip of the scenic Monterey Peninsula, overlooking

Point Pinos and the Pacific Ocean, just a short 5 mile drive from the Hyatt.

Parade of Porsches

The final driving event of Porsche Parade will give you an opportunity to Parade your Porsche and take

in the spectacular scenery of Monterey and Pebble Beach. You’ll take in breathtaking views of the coast and hills sur-

rounding Monterey and provide a great view to the locals of all our beautiful Porsches cruising by.

Art Show

The art-show is one of Parade’s “must see” events, providing a great venue for our talented and creative members to show off their vision, creativity, imagination and skill. This Parade event continues with categories in fiber arts, jewelry, painting, crafts and photography (both amateur and professional divisions). All Parade entrants may participate, includ-ing children. We have an expert judging committee as well as our favorite people’s choice award. Take some time during the week just to see the amazing talent of our PCA artists and craftspeople from around the country. Driver Education

One of the most asked questions about this year’s Parade: will there be a High Performance Driver Education event at

nearby Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. The answer is yes-June 21-22. For more details, be sure to visit the Parade web-

site. Space will be limited!

5K Run/Walk

One of the best ways to finish off your week at Parade is the 5K run/walk. The event will be held the morning of June 21st,

with age classes from 10 years to 80+ years and awards for top male/female in each class, T-Shirts, and a commemorative

item for each participant. Please join us!

R/C Cars

The R/C contest has become a favorite in recent years with kids young and not-so-young. If you have a “ride” get entered.

If not, then come and watch. It’s a blast!

Goodie Store

Everyone who’s ever been to Parade knows this is a must-do on your shopping schedule. Whether it’s for this year’s logo

designed outerwear, special jewelry, Porsche-themed books, or to add to your miniature car collection, the 2014 Porsche

Parade Goodie Store will have a great array of products.

Volunteering

For “normal” people, vacation is the time to relax and be served. Porsche Parade is 99% volunteer supported! That's how all of us from all over the country get to know each other, by working a couple of four hour shifts during the week with other PCA members. As a thank you, you will be eligible to attend the exclusive Volunteer Party Luncheon on Saturday, June 21st—there are numerous door prizes too! Prior to Registering for Parade

Ensure you have an account for the member-only portion of www.pca.org You will need to login to register for Parade.

Check to see that all your information is up-to-date and current, especially your e-mail address. All pre-Parade materials

are sent to you via e-mail, and are posted on the Parade website http://parade2014.pca.org .

19

Tech Academy

The fifth annual Parade Tech Academy will be held Friday, June 20th, immediately following the Tech Quiz. Once again,

we have an exciting mix of our outstanding PCA Technical Committee and outside speakers. By attending more than one

session, you become eligible for "Tech Academy Accreditation" of various levels, depending on the number of sessions

you attend:

Five Sessions equals a "Doctorate"

Four Sessions earns a "Masters"

Three Sessions takes a "Bachelors"

Two Sessions starts you with an "Associate"

Registration Fees

Everyone signing up for Parade must pay an entrant fee of $169, which covers the entrant and co-entrant.

Fees for the four major competitive events are:

Concours -- $30 per car,

Autocross -- $30 per driver,

TSD Rally -- $15 per car, and

Tech/Historical Quiz -- $15 per person.

Entrant fees for guests are as follows:

JPP/CAFP -- $20,

Child age 13-15 -- $15,

Child under age 13 -- $10.

Adult guests -- $40.

Additional fees apply for banquets and for selected other activities.

Advance Registration is mandatory -- there is no on-site registration during Parade. Parade registrations are not trans-

ferable. Fifty percent of your registration fee and 100 percent of your banquet fees will be refunded if your e-mailed can-

cellation request is received on or before June 10. There is no refund for cancellations made after that time. You may

make changes to your registration at any time before June 10.

Questions!

If you have questions regarding Parade, please consult the Parade website at Parade2014.pca.org. If you are unable to find your answer there, email Kathleen Behrens, Parade Registrar at registrar@pcaparade.org or call 503.579.3423 (please leave a message).

20

The Porsches in the Barn

The Find

I first met Bill and Martha at the PCA Golden Empire Region Christ-

mas party my wife & I hosted in 2011. I knew they owned a 1953

and a 1958 cabriolet from looking over the club membership list a

week earlier, but we had never met and I had never seen the cars. I

greeted the couple as they arrived for the get together and immedi-

ately took them to the garage to show off my restored ‘55 Continen-

tal Coupe. Bill offered that he hadn’t driven his 356’s for over 30-

years. Further, he commented “…these old Porsches are worth over

$100,000 all fixed up like this one…” Knowing the time and cost

associated with a bare-metal restoration I agreed and told him that I

would be interested should he ever want to sell one of his cars. He

replied that his daughter would probably want one of them and his

son the other. I remember hoping that my son and daughter would

want one of my Porsches to keep and continue our family tradition of

Porsche ownership, care and restoration.

The Porsches in the Barn By Spencer Harris

Last month here in the Grapevine I started new column which

will, from time to time profile Porsche projects that our GEM

membership is working on. Bringing old Porsches back to life

will be the focus of these columns.

Last month I introduced you to a few of the member’s projects.

As a member’s project progresses I will update the membership

on that progress. Hopefully we can produce a running log

within the Grapevine of member’s cars from the fixer upper

stage to the finished products.

So this month it is a real treat to share an amazing story from

Spencer Harris. Spencer takes us on a journey from discovery

to the beginnings of very detailed restoration projects of two of

his Porsche 356s.

Spencer stated he was motivated to write this article after fin-

ishing the book The Cobra in the Barn, by Tom Cotter. A con-

densed version of the story you are about to read was previous-

ly published in the 356 Registry Magazine.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Spencer very much

for providing this piece all ready written. It make my job so

much easier when I receive a piece that is already written, and

all details are supplied.

And now, on to the Porsches in the Barn …

Michael Thomas

Newsletter Editor

21

When my first cousin finished his dental internship and landed his

first job as a dentist in Sebring, Florida, he bought a brand new, red

’62 sunroof coupe for around $5,000. At the time in the Southeast-

ern US you could buy a pretty nice home for $5-grand, and I remem-

ber my Grandmother remarking that “…Gene has lost his mind

spending that kind of money on a car...” (Mammaw is also fondly

remembered for bragging occasionally that she “…never drove a car;

never wore long breeches and never chewed tobacco…”). Just shy

of my 15th birthday, my Mom, Dad and I visited Gene at his folks’

place in Knoxville, Tennessee, and I was completely mesmerized by

the shiny, new sports car in the driveway. My cousin walked out the

door; tossed me the keys and said “Hey, bud, let’s go for a ride”. We

laughed the whole drive about the expression on my Father’s face as

I navigated the little coupe out the driveway and onto Kingston Pike

(Thunder Road), in West Knoxville. Thankfully, I never got over the

experience. Throughout high school and college, I made my annual

spring-break trip down to Sebring for the 12-hour race. Gene was

always on one or more committees, so I got to see some pretty

unique production and prototype cars over the years. Every couple

years, Gene would trade for another Porsche and I would test-drive

his newest acquisition during my visit. He quit trading after he

bought his 914-6 in 1970, and that model was indeed the most fun to

drive. When I graduated from college in 1971, I sold my VW bus

and bought a topless ’57 speedster. I’ve bought and sold a dozen or

so 356’s over the years always hanging onto my Continental

(acquired in ’72) which now lives in a Car-Capsule bubble in my

garage and does a couple local shows a year.

The following October, I asked my wife Tammy to phone Martha to

say ‘hi’, and casually ask if Bill may have changed his mind about

selling one of his Cabriolets. Martha phoned back a day or two later

and told Tammy that Bill was ready to sell his cars. Bill has a regu-

lar golf game on Mondays and Wednesdays; something going on this

weekend; previous commitment next Tuesday; so Tammy and Mar-

tha set-up a meeting at their place the following Thursday morning to

look at the cars. I was ecstatic. I have to chuckle when I recall grill-

ing Tammy about that phone conversation. “…Cars? Are you sure

she said cars? Did she say wants to sell or ready to sell? Is he going

to advertise the cars? She didn’t say anything about how much?

And multiple times – Don’t mention a word to anyone – especially

to any of our friends in the Porsche Club…”

The previous owners are retired school teachers, both in their eight-

ies. Bill told me he had put both of his kids through college buying,

repairing and selling Volkswagens. The 356 cabriolets were their

personal drivers. Bill drove the ’53 with the “MI XTC” personalized

California blue plate and Martha drove the ’58 with a plate reading

“HR XTC”. I never really pushed the owners about when or where

they acquired the Porsches, as I got the impression that they had

bought and sold many cars over the years and probably didn’t have

any records. When the couple retired from teaching they bought a

ranch in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains with a small two-room

cabin and several out-buildings. They parked the cabriolets in two of

the storage sheds along with a ’58 A-coupe (now beautifully restored

and owned by their daughter, Linda). For the next few years they

lived in the small cabin and built from scratch a handsome two-story

home using an old Chevy one-ton to haul building materials from

Bakersfield (1-hour away) and across the final 4-mile stretch of dirt

roads and cow pastures to their new home. Over time the Porsches

were forgotten and their VW Jetta and Beetle took their place as pri-

mary drivers.

The days ‘til the next Thursday dragged by, but my mind was racing

with dreams, schemes and recollections! I had sold my last open 356

in 1975 (a Convertible-D rolling chassis for $1,000), and watched

along with everyone else as prices went up and up and up. The most

I had ever paid for a 356 was for my first one - $1,200 for a ’57

Speedster – no top, no frame, no side curtains, but the most fun I’d

ever had behind the wheel of a car! I only paid $900 for my Conti-

nental Coupe back in ’72. I bought a Speedster shell listed in the

Pano for $100 in the early ‘70’s, and didn’t even bother picking it up.

A friend ran an E-Production Speedster in SCCA events and I let

him have it for the same $100. I could never make myself pay the

kind of money people were now asking for D’s, Roadsters, Cabs or

OMG-Speedsters! Now, I just might be able to have another 356

convertible!

The Deal Ordeal

I’m in the oil business and enjoyed living and working overseas for a

dozen or so of my 35-years in the industry. I’ve negotiated and exe-

cuted contracts with Americans, British, French, Dutch, Canadian,

Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, Thais, Malays, Nigerians and Gabo-

nese (W. Africa), so negotiating business deals, while sometimes

challenging, is something I’m accustomed to. I’m normally quite

comfortable preparing for negotiations and putting a deal together –

or knowing when to walk away. Tammy would probably say I was

my usual cool, calm, collected, business-as-usual self, but I readily

admit my excitement was veiling my nervousness. The shock of

seeing a pair of 356 Cabriolets neglected and wasting away also

helped conceal my anxiety.

Spencer’s 1955 356

Continental Coupe

22

Thursday morning, October 11, 2012, we’re loaded and out the gate,

headed for Pozo Flats – about an hour northeast of our Almond ranch

in Shafter, California. I’ve loaded my floor jack, ½ inch ratchet &

socket to turn the engines over, 14v flashlight with extra battery,

floor creeper, hand tools, gloves, coveralls – I’m ready to crawl un-

der a couple of 356’s and check them out. I’ve thought through my

strategy and have a number in mind – if I can buy one of the cabrio-

lets for $40k or less, I’ll do it. I know to the penny how much I put

into the restoration of my ’55 coupe; I’ve calculated a percentage

increase in the cost of parts, labor and machine work; I therefore

know how much I would have in a bare-metal restoration – and I

know how much the restored car is worth in the current market. Eve-

rything after all is relative. I could have bought an A-Cab thirty

years ago for under $4,000; spent $6,000 on a restoration and the car

could’ve sold for $15,000. So, now everything’s just multiplied by

ten. Am I making 10 times more today than I was in 1982? Do I

have ten times more money in my retirement account than I did in

1982? What if he only wants to sell both cars? What if he wants

$40k for each car? Do I want to have that much invested in a couple

of 356’s? What if the 356 market crashes? That’s precisely what

happened to the Enron employees – no diversification! Does Tammy

know how to cook Hamburger Helper & Pork ‘n Beans? Nervous?

Nah, not a bit!

The GPS in my truck showed the route from here to there; mile by

mile; intersection by intersection; turn by turn; and then 4-1/2 miles

of white screen with blue line down the middle. We’re at the little

arrow and they’re at the little star at the end – no names, no roads,

nothing but fields, cow pastures,

horse corrals, gates, cattle guards,

Live-Oak trees and huge granite outcrops every couple hundred feet

threatening the doors and fenders of my F250. We encountered a

couple of forks in the ‘road’ with ranch names on signs pointing left

or right, and had to give them a try just to hear the GPS announce

“recalculating” – kind of a test I like to run on the GPS lady to make

sure she really does know where we are. A couple hundred yards

from Bill & Martha’s place, I spy the silhouette of either a Beetle or

a 356 coupe in an open field next to an upside down ’56 Buick, a

dilapidated water tank and some other junk. A bit closer, I recognize

the twin beehive taillights and announce “this has got to be the

place” followed immediately by “I hope to God that’s not one of the

cars.”

Bill met us in the driveway and directed us to the parking area be-

tween the house and the barn buildings. A dozen laying hens cackle

and flutter about as my diesel engine stirs up the dust near the fenced

coup and hen hutch behind the house. Their home is a beautiful two-

story house nestled between two Live-Oak covered ridges – the view

is breathtaking. Native creatures include deer, boar, coyotes,

jackrabbits, possum, foxes, and bobcats. The terraced vegetable gar-

den off the rear patio would rival the average Albertson’s produce

aisle. Bill’s “driving range” is positioned to the South of the patio

and aimed down the floor of the valley – much further than I can hit.

A bucket of range balls and an assortment of clubs wait nearby – hit

all you want – you pick ‘em up. Tammy wants to talk about the

chickens (she’s always wanted to raise chickens on our place). Then,

she wants Martha to show her the garden. I’m trying to be polite and

dying to have a look at the cars. Finally, after several subtle nudges,

winks and nods we make our way across the acreage toward the three

storage barns.

Now Bill looks as though he’s spent the last few hours on a cotton

combine with an open cab. He explains as we make our way across

the field that he has spent the morning “cleaning the cars up”. Cool,

I’m thinking maybe we can actually start these babies up. On ap-

proach to the first barn, I see a pile of VW & Porsche rims, pieces of

engine tin, an old-style VW/356 tow bar and other assorted German

car components. I have a cursory glance at the 356 coupe shell in the

field (’55 coupe) and take a mental inventory – top crushed beyond

repair; front clip removed; passenger door missing; maybe some sal-

vageable parts. Bill and his son had bought the coupe and used the

front clip to repair his daughter’s ’58 coupe many years ago. After

salvaging what they needed they had left the car where it now sat.

The sliding door was already open and inside the barn we get our

first peek at the ’53 Cabriolet. Looks like Strawberry Red with a

white convertible top. Old VW seats and body panels are stacked

higher than the cabriolet on one side. In front of the 356 are several

pushrod engines and shelves stacked deep with engine tin, cylinder

heads, steering wheels, headlight assemblies, more rims, bumpers,

trim moldings, carbs, etc. Hey, there’s the passenger door off the old

coupe outside. Four flat tires and thirty plus years of dust have ren-

dered the 356 rocker panels to ground level. Debris & critter nests

cover the floor to near seat level – I immediately scrap the notion of

crawling underneath to look at the floor pans – I am genuinely

shocked! I use a broom-stick-handle to poke through the debris on

the floors – sounds like there’s metal underneath. “We drove the

cars in here in 1980” swears Bill. I don’t even want to try to turn the

engine over for fear of causing more damage than thirty years of

neglect. I check the engine serial number to confirm it’s a Porsche

engine, and check the other engine cases in the front of the building –

two more Porsche engines on rotted old wooden pallets. I am amazed

at the collection of stuff and more so at the condition of the car.

First look at the 1953 356 Cabriolet

Bill and Martha, right

Tammy Harris, left

23

The second barn 100 feet down the hillside houses the ’58 Cabriolet.

This building is open on one side exposing the rear of the car to the

elements though; faded paint is the least of my concerns. There’s

much less stuff stored in this barn, so the car is much more accessi-

ble. More piles of debris and evident nests in the floorboard – the

floor jack and coveralls are definitely staying in the pickup today! I

check the floors with the broom handle; confirm the Porsche engine

number and wiggle the steering wheel a bit. Tammy’s busy looking

at old pottery pieces elsewhere in the building and Bill’s in the mood

to chat with her about the old cabin down the way where they lived

while they were building their house. This time she didn’t pick up

on my subtle hints, so I finally gave her a serious glare and made a

sharp, zipper motion across my lips. She got the message and decid-

ed to go look through the garden with Martha, and leave Bill and me

to talk about the cars.

After confirming with Bill that he would sell both cars, I admitted to

him that I was shocked and surprised at the condition of the vehicles.

I truly did not know the value of 356 Porsches in the condition these

were in, and would not for the world insult him or his property. “I

do know how much effort and cost is involved in restoring these

cars, and I’m thinking the cars are worth maybe $10,000 each – may-

be $15,000 apiece.” “I would entertain an offer in that range” Bill

replied immediately.

I thought my knees were going to buckle. My heartbeat was surely

nearing redline. I started looking more closely inside the ’53 interi-

or; I double checked the engine serial number; no need to kick the

tires – they were already flat; “I’m going to buy two 356 Cabriolets

today…” I thought to myself. “How about $25,000 for both cars”

offered Bill? Bingo! More intense poking around looking at stuff

I’d already looked at twice and thinking of a counter offer. Asian

business people customarily practice negotiation for just about any

transaction – large or small. To pay the asking price without trying

to get a better deal is to “lose face” (and oftentimes an insult to the

seller). To haggle a bit and negotiate a price that both parties agree

to is to “save face”. No one is offended; no feelings are hurt; both

parties get what they want; the seller moves the product with some

profit and the buyer gets a discount. Much more fun than walking

into a store having their monthly, going-out-of-business sale where

everything’s already marked down 40%. “OK” I counter, “I’ll give

you $25,000 for everything Porsche; both cabriolets, the old coupe in

the field, the extra engines, parts, everything made by or for Porsches

– plus I want the old wooden sign hanging from the rafters that reads

NOLITE ID COGERE CAPE MALLEUM MAJOREM”. We shook

hands and headed back to the house for lemonade.

After a pleasant visit on the patio, Tammy and I hacked a half-bucket

of golf balls part way down the range and hiked down to gather them

up for the next players. I wrote Bill a check for a deposit and Martha

promised to dig up all the registration and title paperwork on the

cars. We got our calendars out and figured out a day we could return

and pick the cars up in two weeks, October 26. As we’re back in the

pickup and making our way across the dirt track toward the highway,

Tammy asks “You didn’t really buy those cars did you?” “Of course

I did” I replied with confidence, “That was a much better investment

than anything we have in our accounts at Wells Fargo.”

We picked up the Cabriolets on October 26th with the help of a friend

from work and his adopted son. Ronnie and Matt laughed when they

saw the license plates on the cars (MI XTC and HR XTC). They told

Bill & Martha that Ecstasy was the name of the date-rape drug, and

you probably couldn’t get that plate from DMV these days. We had

opted not to take our 7 ft. tall enclosed trailer for the pickup due to

the narrow dirt road access; so we took our open trailer and a second,

rented open trailer for the trip. After airing the tires, the ’53 was

rolled out of the storage shed and onto the trailer with very little ef-

fort. The emergency brake was seized on the ’58, so I had to crawl

underneath and loosen the adjustment nut before winching the car

onto the trailer. Other than finding a jackrabbit asleep in the front

floor of the ’53, there were no surprises. Neither car has the original

engine; the ’53 had a 1956, 1600N and the ’58 a 1962, 1600N. Both

cars were mounted with 15” wheels and there was no sign of the

original 1300N engine or 16” wheels from the ’53. Otherwise the

cars are 99% complete, dry and relatively rust-free.

1958 356 Cabriolet

The Pickups & the Fix-ups

24

We delivered the 1953 cabriolet to a restoration shop in San Diego

on November 26th for a bare-metal restoration expected to take 18-

months. The Certificate of Authenticity from Porsche, NA shows

the ’53 was delivered with Black over Tan leather and a 1300N en-

gine. Though not specified on the COA the serial number confirms

that the car originally had a small “mail-slot” window. I’ve pur-

chased a reproduction European Beech wood frame and acrylic lens

from Ted Capp in Washington, Reinhold Plank shipped me a rubber

seal from Italy and Tony Garcia at Autobahn Interiors in San Diego

will install the tan Connolly leather, black square-weave carpet and

black German canvas top & interior. I will install a period correct

1500N or 1500S engine. I have a spare set of 16” rims which will

be chromed and installed with baby moons. This car will be a full-

on concourse, show-only car with maybe an occasional parade lap

or two. Way too many idiots out there texting & driving to risk a 60

-year old 1 of 389 Porsche (389 ’53 Cabs with mail-slot windows).

Spencer has updated me on the

‘53’s restoration status. The 356

may have been a happy camper

but Spencer was not.

Since Spencer’s original writing

of this article, Spencer and the

San Diego restoration shop has

had a disagreement. And the

‘53 356 was taken back home to

Shafter.

Spencer has stated that he still

plans on providing a concours

quality restoration for the car.

In fact I believe that the ’53 may

already at another shop in the

process of being restored.

Keep us up to date on the pro-

gress of these two Spencer.

I’m restoring the 1958 Cabriolet myself and it is currently stripped,

sealed and waiting for body & paint at Pete Perez’ Paint & Body, a

well-known local hot rod builder (expected start late August). Good

news is there's amazingly, minimal rust, so there’s lots of good met-

al to attach to. Bad news is several signs of front-end and rear-end

collision damage with multiple repairs using brass, bondo and lead.

After checking/straightening the chassis we're going to replace with

NEW panels: entire floor pan, complete front nose panel, front fend-

ers, all panels inside front trunk, all battery compartment panels,

front diagonal member, both longitudinal and rocker panels, both

lower door skins and door bottoms, complete rear end body panel

and all fender braces. The COA shows Silver Metallic over Red

leather with optional silver metallic luggage rack and USA bump-

ers. Tony (Autobahn) is currently working on the top frame and

interior from the ’58 and will install red leather, red square weave

with red cloth binding and black German canvas top. I have an

original luggage rack which I’ve sandblasted and powder coated

metallic silver. Bob Chase (Grey Eagle) is making the over-riders

which were missing from the car when I bought it. Walt (CE) is

building a ’62 1600S motor with 86mm JE pistons, ported 912

heads with 40mm intakes, Carrillo rods, Scat crank, re-ground ‘C’

cam and Solex 40 PII carbs. I plan to drive the ’58 in PCA and

Registry events and probably show in wash ‘n shine.

Recent Developments

After Ten Hours

of Sand Blasting

Click for more 1958 356

Cabriolet restoration pix For more 1953 356 Cabriolet

Restoration Photos Click Here

This Little ‘53 Cab goes to Camp This Little ‘58 Cab stays Home

25

Tammy and I went back two-weeks after picking up the cabriolets

and rescued the ’55 coupe from the field. This shell was not a roller,

so I took half-dozen two-inch round, wooden poles to position under

the shell and winch it onto the trailer. This ordeal took nearly as

long as loading the two cabriolets and all the other parts on our earli-

er trip. As we were making one last trip through the barns and pick-

ing up a few items we had left behind, Bill announced “This coupe

was not part of the original deal, so here’s what I’ll take for it. I paid

$50 for the ’55 when I bought it, but I used the front clip on my other

coupe, so I want $40”. Well, it was part of the original deal, but I’m

certainly not going to argue over $40 and I wouldn’t unload it for

$400. It cost me more than 40-bucks to drive up to his ranch and

back. Two twenties changed hands; another handshake and every-

body saves face! I’ll be using the handbrake assembly from the old

coupe on my ’53; I salvaged the rear clip, deck lid, three beehive

bases, both doors, the complete front suspension, steering box, pedal

and shift assemblies - and hauled the rest to the scrap yard.

I paid 40-bucks for a wooden sign that reads

“don’t force it, get a bigger hammer” in Latin.

Down the Road

I don’t plan on making a hobby or second career out of hunting down

barn finds. I will continue to enjoy watching 356 sales on eBay and

the Registry website. I consider the auction and sale results a market

index equivalent to the Dow Jones Industrial Average - narrow but

indicative of the broader markets. Both indices could imply the dif-

ference between steak and pork ‘n beans. If another ‘find’ drops out

of the sky into my lap, I will definitely pursue it, but I’m too busy

farming and drilling oil wells to look for any more projects to pile on

my plate right now. Tammy & I are looking forward to completing

the restorations, retiring from the oil business and traveling with our

356 collection to PCA and Registry events around the country. Our

daughter Carrera lives in Knoxville, Tennessee where she’s working

on her PhD at my alma mater. Our son Spencer, Jr. lives in New-

foundland, Canada where he builds houses in the summer and freez-

es the other 10-months, so we have plenty of excuses to travel out-

side of California.

Having said all that, if you happen to run across an old 356 Porsche

in someone’s barn – shoot me an email. I still can’t get this silly grin

off my face!

Spencer Harris

Harris Farms, Shafter, CA.

spencer_harris@hughes.net

A pretty rough looking ‘55 356 Coupe

Picking up the Pieces

For more pictures of the “Find” Click Here

26

Upcoming Activities Out of Town

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