Sass spoke to Cam & Kevin, along with Porsche Club of America’s executive director, Vu Nguyen, and Porsche Cars of North America’s spokesperson, Tony Fouladpour, about the intense competitive nature of the Porsche Parade, and about the cars Road Scholars brought to Illinois, saying that “They stood out in sea of red, silver and white cars.”

To read the full article, click here or visit NYTimes.com.

The 24th annual 356 Club’s Dana Point Conours was another success story for the Road Scholars team. With our 1958 356A Speedster and 1952 Cabriolet coming in second and third overall in the Restoration Group.

1958 Porsche 356A Speedster: Full Restoration Class 299.2 out of 300 (2nd place)
1952 Porsche 356 Cabriolet: Full Restoration Class 298.9 out of 300 (3rd place)

It was stark contrast  in atmosphere from the Porsche Parade, with more 356 camaraderie and attention to authentic details on the cars. The Dana Point Concours is a must see for any 356 enthusiast and a really fun event to attend in a beautiful setting.

Here is a nice blog feature about the 2010 356 Club’s Dana Point Concours:
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/12/porsche-clubs-24th-annual-dana-point-concours-shines-through-th/

At last week’s 2010 Porsche Parade, I had the pleasure of meeting Hans Peter Porsche (shown above in the white hat and Porsche polo shirt.)

He was interested in the award-winning restoration work we did on a very special 1958 Speedster.  Because this Speedster has a blank Kardex, our customer was able to  make all sorts of additions to the car per factory options.

With German TV cameras rolling, and tons of on-lookers, I showed Mr. Porsche the highlights of our restoration which included:

• Exterior color Orange  — Paint Code 5711– a special order color from 1957-59
• VDM Wood Steering Wheel
• Date stamped 1958 Rudge wheels
• Radio with a Hirschmann Antenna
• Hella “In the body” fog lights
• GT gas tank*
• Sport exhaust
• Sport exhaust tips*

* The GT gas tank and the  exhaust tips are factory original replications by RS Restorations. The 80 Liter tank is made with turnplate (lead coated sheet metal) and has original fixtures from 356A-B tanks.  The tips are factory correct roll & flange.

July 8, 2010 - Proud, excited, exhausted, and overwhelmed…..Those are just a few words to describe how the team here at Road Scholars is feeling this week.

After almost a year of double-checking details, researching records, matching parts and scraping our knuckles, we were ready to take not one, but four cars to the 2010 Porsche Parade.

Although we were confident going into the show that we would probably win at least one award, we were humbled and amazed when all four cars finished in the top 4 or above.

Here’s a wrap-up of the show:

This 1973 911T was awarded:

• 1st in Street Modified Class (295.3 out of 300)
• Division Winner Street Modified Class

We are proud to announce this is the second year in a row we’ve won the Street Modified Class Division at the Porsche Parade.

See more Road Scholars 2010 Porsche Parade Awards

We are so proud and grateful that Dr. Jackson selected Road Scholars to restore this 1963 356B.  Read more about Dr. Jackson’s story and the history of this car here.

We are also very proud to announce that it won 1st in the Restoration Touring Class 233.4 out of 235 at the 2010 Porsche Parade.

See more Road Scholars 2010 Porsche Parade Awards

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Over the years, Kevin and I have played with some very special air cooled Porsche’s. Recently,we had the chance to spend the day with a special 911 that I had always been curious about from Porsche lore, especially, since not many Porsches after the seventies interest us.

 The brain child of Jurgen Barth, the 1991 964 RS Leichtbau (light build) continued the lightweight tradition of Porsche street performance cars.  After all, the 964 RS was the handy work of 40 engineers at Weissach’s competition department that were also responsible for the company’s racing program.

Not many modern 911’s project a presence like this car. There are no graphics to proclaim its model designation or pedigree. The 964 RS projects a feeling of focused purpose that brings to mind 911R and Carrera RS functionality.  One has no doubt that this car is a hand built competition-inspired automobile.  The technical specs on this car speak from themselves:

• No sunroof .
• Aluminum doors, hood, fiberglass whale tail, plexiglas sliding windows.
• Stripped out cabin, stiffened wielded body shell, Matter roll cage.
• Carrera Cup suspension, Carrera Cup motor and centered racing clutch.

*     And even the magnesium pie plate wheels are cool.

 Strapping oneself into the driver seat of the RS, it’s hard not to feel the moment of the occasion. From the Porsche decal hood emblem, to the poor fitting  aluminum doors, to the thrashing exhaust note, this car reeks of purpose.  The daunting torque converter adjusting dials on the dash look terrific and make me think of Walter Rohl’s ability to understand the dialogue between man and machine – not something  I will be attempting since I plan on many more years of restoration work.

In anticipation, I turn the key in the ignition and watch the dash board light up. With one more turn, the engine ignites into a serious cacophony of noise.  I peak up through the sliding Plexiglas window at Kevin and he is grinning ear to ear.  It’s obvious that the stainless steel exhaust manifolds and expansion boxes, one per side, allow a lot of airflow out of the twin pipes.  After warming the engine oil up, I give the the throttle several jabs for good measure and it’s oince again hard not to smile. The fly wheel and motor really rev on this car.  It has an early car connectivity and tactile feel through the pedal. 

Driving the car in normal traffic to it’s new home, it’s readily apparent that this is a serious machine.  Accelerating through the gears is glorious and you catch yourself wanting to change gears for the pure pleasure of it.  The Recaro’s upright seating position, Momo steering wheel in your chest, connecting to an unservo-ed competition rack, make you realize that this is not a car for the faint of heart. 

I arrive at the car’s new home and hand over the keys to the new happy owner. My blood is pumping after the 35 mile drive on back roads and I feel lucky to have exercised good judgement while driving a customer car.  

In conclusion, some fun-loving Porsche race engineers made some very special parts to create the ultimate R Gruppe hot rod.  With only 20 hand-made examples leaving the doors of Weissach, this special 911 truly represents the Porsche lightweight ethos.  Oh, did I mention that this car is chassis 001?

5/5/10 The 1958 Speedster has been painted Glasurit Orange (Paint Code 711) and properly undercoated. Now it’s in the process of final assembly and preparing for the long summer show circuit.

3/12/10  The 1958 Speedster is in final primer and has been broken open by our painter. This means the car will sit for two weeks in final primer while the chemicals evaporate from the primer and assures an excellent foundaton for the Glasurit paint.

History: Our customer that we restored the Slate Grey Carrera 2 Coupe  (295.5 Point Zuffenhausen Award winner), wanted Kevin to find him a special 356 speedster to add to his collection. Kevin found a three owner 1958 Speedster that had spent it’s whole life in California. The car had been used by it’s last owner as a race car and installed a roll bar in the interior. He also cut away excess metal away from the rear valence to fit a race exhaust as well. The car arrived to us with it’s numbers matching doors, hood, and engine lid with no significant damage from it’s years as a race car. 

Although, typical open top 356 metal work was necessary.  We had to replace the entire floor pans, driver’s side rocker, both longitudinals, rear quarter metal repairs, lead the doors for concour fit, and create the rear exhaust valence. It’s very hard to find Speedster’s that are this good and haven’t completely rusted out. Also, this Speedster has a blank Kardex, which makes this car very special. Special in the fact that our customer can make all sorts of additions to the car per factory options (like a GT gas tank, clock in the dash, rudge wheels, etc) The car will now be epoxy primed and the rest of the detail metal work will be completed. Next month our customer will have the difficult decision of what color to paint the car.

Story Update 7/4/2010

Dr. Jackson Wins Touring Restoration Class: 1st in Class 233.4 out of 235 at 2010 Porsche Parade.

Dr. William Jackson, today a very well-known and respected collector of Porsches and Porsche memorabilia, sat down to chat with us Road Scholars boys. Some hours later, we had gained a significant appreciation for why October 12th, 1963 was a good day for Porsche enthusiasts, and ultimately us too.

That was the day that young medical corps Army Captain returning from Korea had trouble with his Alfa Romeo Spyder just as both it and the new 1964 Porsche 356C models were arriving at Gardner Motors in Fresno California. Captain Jackson liked Alfas, this Spyder being his second, but on that Monday it had acted up for the last time. After viewing the new models, Bill was drawn to a striking Symrna Green “leftover” Super 90 in the showroom. Captain Jackson has preferred green cars his entire life. A deal was struck, and the Super 90 was on its way back to Fort Ord where it enjoyed many a winding Northern California road until Dr. Jackson’s duty with the U.S. Army was complete. Used everyday for almost 10 years, the B coupe was always well cared for, even through frequent skiing trips. Dr. Jackson still has the studded snow tires to prove it.

Dr. Jackson’s love for all things Porsche made him one of the early collectors of the marque. His stories are fascinating. There’s the one of him reading Road and Track and finding an RSK for $6,000 in the classifieds. Then there’s the one of Bill buying a 904 in San Francisco and driving it home to Denver. As we listened to the stories we realized the only reason we are in business was Dr. Jackson and a few like him, who literally started this hobby. Bill Jackson was among the first and most discerning of Porsche collectors. Along the way he added a Gmund coupe, two America Roadsters, many four-cam Carreras, and a bevy of 550s, RSKs, RS60s, 904s a 911R as well as a Abarth Carrera and the 2.1 liter Martini “Baby Turbo.”  At one time his collection included several RS60s. At the time, many of those old racecars were washed up, eclipsed by ever-improving technology. Long before those Porsches became collectible, Bill Jackson felt a special affinity for them, for the engineering prowess they represented, for the triumphs they had wrought, and for the thrills they had afforded Porsche fans.

So it was that Dr. Jackson saved large numbers of Porsches until the rest of us figured it out. Bill preserved the proud history of the small sports car company that built the giant-killer racecars, and then became the giant. Because of his passion for Porsche, his cars and his memorabilia have survived the decades. All the while, newly arrived collectors, dealers, and restorers hounded him to sell to them or to let them restore cars for him. After several decades, the scope of maintaining all the cars became too much. Dr. Jackson sold off most of his collection, starting some time back and continuing to the present year. All the while the 1963 B coupe with the Super 90 engine stayed home, still enjoying an occasional romp in the mountains.

Road Scholars is very proud to have been chosen to restore the first Porsche belonging to one of the first Porsche collectors. Thank you, Dr. Jackson for having the foresight to help save our branch of automotive history—-one car, one poster, one sales brochure at a time. Your passion helped create a worldwide love affair for all things Porsche.

See you at the PCA Parade in July 2010 in St. Charles, Illinois. Your car will be ready.

With great respect, Kevin and Cam (Pictures of Dr. Jackson’s Super 90 before restoration)