Why Preserve a Porsche 356? -
Obviously a more ambitious undertaking than a later model Porsche and not for
the faint of heart or the financially strapped. A passion for the history
and craftsmanship of an early Porsche is the reason most owners became involved
with their car. A 356-series Porsche is truly a hand-built piece of fine
art where the coachbuilder signed their work by prominently displaying their
badge on the cowl to reflect the pride in craftsmanship that went into each and
every car. Whether built by Gläser, Drauz, Reutter, D'leteren or Karmann,
under the sheet metal skin was found the Porsche mechanical heart and soul of
the car. Visually, the drivetrain and suspension of the 356 cars shared
much in common with the Volkswagen with the torsion bar suspension, swing axle
transaxles and air-cooled pancake 4-cylinder engine but racing's
high-performance demands mandated engineering enhancements that put the 356 a
class by itself. Keeping an "antique" 356-series car on the road isn't
easy or cheap but the gratification that comes with sorting one out and keeping
it purring is easy to justify if you "get it." The 356-series is truly a
"Swiss watch" with many precision parts which must all function perfectly in unison
to achieve top performance.
Replicas Are Welcome Too - We have many customers who have chosen to enjoy the thrill of open-air Porsche 356-style motoring but at a significantly lower investment. We have installed both Porsche 356 & 912 flat-4 and high-performance Volkswagen engines into Intermeccanica, Beck, Vintage and other makers replica cars with enthusiastic responses from our customers.
Engine Rebuilds: Economy or Concours? - While we're always happy to spend your money on original parts, we are also able to build vintage Porsche 356 engines using more economical aftermarket and custom fabricated crankshafts, pistons/cylinder sets, cams and push rods. Our goal is to provide a reliable yet "guiltless use" alternative for the owner who is more interested in function over originality. Externally these engines look, sound and perform virtually identically to their concours "cousins" but they will not "break the bank" the way that acquiring NOS or used original Porsche parts for the rebuild would. Just promise us that you'll run it and not park it in your garage and admire it!
Carburetors as an Art Form - Perhaps the most crucial element in achieving top performance and reliability in a 356-series Porsche is mastering the complex carburetor set-ups. Re-plating hardware, machining and bushing throttle shafts, oversize boring worn throats and retrofitting with oversized butterfly valves are some of the techniques we use to restore (or recycle) worn-out units to original performance. We also have the metering tools and expertise required to tune and synchronize tricky Zenith, Weber and Solex multi-carburetor set-ups found in these cars so not only will they look like new but they'll work that way too.
Transaxle Rebuilds - Antique Porsche 356 Transaxles are still quite reasonable to rebuild and we can find the necessary parts to restore them to their original functionality. We are more than happy to perform core drop-off rebuilds as well as do the removal and reinstallation for you.
Repairs and "Freshening-Up" - If you’ve purchased an already restored or well-preserved original Porsche 356-series car needing a little “freshening-up,” we’re more than happy to take on these projects for you as well.
Contact Jack: No repair project is too small or too large, discuss the possibilities with Jack Morris by calling him at 206.789.0182 during normal business hours M-F 9AM to 5PM.
