JPP

I posted pictures of this Speedster last Spring when my buddy and I loaded the pieces to the car into a 10 foot moving van and drove it from NorCal to a Resto shop outside Dallas. Car was stolen in the '60's after being raced all it's life, cut in two across the longitudinals for clips, then recovered by police and sold at auction in pieces. Here's the before pic's:







And here's what it looks like now. Note special made Cellette bench for this type of restoration that holds it all together to factory specs while cutting and welding.









Located a BBAB Speedster transaxle this week so should be rolling on all fours in the next couple of weeks. 20 years ago, this car would have been tossed out and left to rot, not anymore

AOW162435

Jon,
Beyond awesome! I love it.


Andreas

brucec59

Wow! Can't wait to see the "after" pics. Amazingly small amount of rust (based on repaired areas) for a body that has been sitting for so long.

Wilder

Very cool project.

JPP

Cardex on this car shows original paint was Silver with no interior color/material recorded, stock choices would be Black, Red, Tan or Green with the piping in silver. Also, this car was the hotrod model, a 1600Super with 75horse at 5KRPM. We're sourcing a '58 Super case now and will build to 130hp street spec. Lots of new and improved technology and materials today to make these into little rocketships

H.H.Chinn

That's a beautiful resurrection of parts, definitely a labor of love. I've worked with restoration shop here in Kent that does 356 restorations and have seen similar projects turn out to be stunning examples.
What are your plans for it? Restoration as an "Outlaw" or stock?

Spartan

Very cool project keep us updated!

JPP

Thanks Andreas. You being a 'metal man' I thought you'd appreciate..

Mark in Baltimore

Too cool. Almost brings a tear to my eye (or maybe a drop of 100 octane).

groovzilla

brings back memories of my visits to dink farmers shop in ukia, ca. when i restored my '59 super sunroof coupe...so much fun!

roche

to reiterate what was said above, it's really amazing what seamingly hunks of 356 junk are now being restored. i've seen an "A" coupe (1954-1959) that was cut in half like the speedster above sell for $25k.

JPP

Hey Harlan. I was driving up Yesler yesterday and noticed the 'Red Doors' that were the background for your Avatar in the past...

What shop in Kent? Always nice to have more resources, would you mind sending me a p.m. with info?

I've owned a few Speedsters over the millennia and despite this cars sordid past, it is one of the straightest, most rust-free tubs I've seen as well as having all numbers matching panels with literally no bondo or filler. Unfortunately the original engine and transaxle were long gone years ago so it will never be an all original car by concours standards, that boat has sailed. That being said, having the freedom that that provides to be able to blend originality with new technology to create a real drivers Speedster that can be enjoyed guilt-free is nice. Some of the ideas being bandied about are going Carrera GS/GT with a louvered engine lid, Sebring style center exhaust, Carrera style bumpers, and body colored Spyder or Talbot mirrors. Here's a 57 GT with all the goodies:

I also like the idea of a stock body and bumpers (sleeper) with a lot of horsepower and suspension mods for aggressive street use. It will probably be some blend of the two, but as always, budget will dictate the final outcome ..

roche

hey JP-

i don't mean to hijack your thread but your plan with the speedster sounds about the same as what i'm going to be doing to my coupe over the winter. i'm pulling the engine and transaxle for a "refresh" and clean, pulling the interior to take it back to the COA correct black and am thinking about taking it back to its original color-orange.

i really like the center exhaust and louvered decklid-but i don't think i'd do that to my original decklid-all the numbers match. i want to upgrade the suspension and maybe lower it a bit...and maybe a 1720 big bore kit.......

check out emory motorsports....i really like their creations and i get ideas from some of their cars.

good luck with the project!

JPP

Nice, William! That was my first P-Car, '59 Super Sunroof, Silver with green Leatherette and corduroy inserts. I bought it in Santa Rosa, Ca from a Dentist who ordered it new. 50K original miles, still had the original factory Conti spare tire and gloves to wear so not to get your hands dirty while changing a tire. I still remember the kids staring at me when I pulled into my highschool parking lot in it. They thought I was crazy to pay $1500 for a 'glorified volkswagen' when I could of had a new Camaro

JPP

No worries, Roche, sounds like a great winter project. I used to get parts from the Emory boys when they were in L.A. They bought all the N.O.S. stock from Vasek-Polak and a few other big racing dealers and had it all for sale. If I only had a time machine ... FYI theres a guy I met last Spring at the annual L.A. VW Toy and Literature show/Dunkles Swap Meet event that does louvered lids with the Carrera style heavy wire screen on the bottom, to order. You could buy a coupe lid (much easier to source than an open car lid) and send it to him or he has a few lids on site. I'll try and look up his info and send it to you. Have any pictures to post? I know I'm not alone here .....

Here's a source for handmade aluminum Sebring Stingers: http://www.vw-online.co.uk/acatalog/...nd_912_25.html



Here's the engine lid info: http://www.gtwerk.com/


Amazing what's being fabricated out there ....