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.

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

We are very proud to announce that this car won the Zuffenhausen Award in the Full Restoration Class at the 2010 Porsche Parade in St. Charles, Illinois.

It scored 297.2 out of 300 and placed 4th in its class.

See more Road Scholars 2010 Porsche Parade Awards

This beautiful car was shown in the Full Restoration Class at the 2010 Porsche Parade in St. Charles, Illinois on July 4th.

We are proud to announce that this car received a Gmund Achievement Award with a score of 298.5 and placed 2nd in its class.

See more Road Scholars 2010 Porsche Parade Awards

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In the fall of 1959 Porsche introduced an updated model, the 356B with the factory’s newest engine package, the Super 90, eponymously named for its 90-horsepower DIN.  The new T5 body was a modernized evolution of the 356 body style with added comforts, while the Super 90 engine offered the highest output yet available on the street Porsche pushrod platform.  Porsche shipped the first new cars out as factory demonstrators to their field representatives and the orders started coming in.  So it was  that the very first Super 90 ever made was shipped to southern California, chassis #108921
 
     In September 1959 the workers at the Porsche factory returned from holiday anticipating the start up for the T5 356B.  Their first two cars were 1600 Normals but the third was special; it was the first Super 90.  Whisked away for testing, # 108921 was then sent to Porsche’s prime Southern California market to one of their biggest dealers, Vasek Pollak.  It was there that our good friend Paul Rissinger drove this car and was so impressed he ordered one.  Other enthusiasts agreed, and the Super 90 was a hit.  A few months later Emil Pardee from Palo Alto Cailfornia was in Stuggart with a friend and visited the factory.  The day was spent demonstrating the new Super 90 and then trying to buy one, but to no avail.  Back in Palo Alto Mr. Pardee received a phone call from then Porsche Sales Manager, Wolfgang Reather, that they had a demonstration car available in Southern California.  Emil was told it had been in an accident but would be soon repaired and he could take delivery very shortly.  And he did.
 
     Fast forward 50 years and Road Scholars entered the picture when we received a call from a Broker on the west coast that knows of our passion for rare Porsches.  The car was described a nice solid car that could be restored if needed but ran well.  We were so excited about it being the first Super 90 and having a sunroof that we bought the car, intending it for a client with a number of rare and special 356s.  But, we bought it WITHOUT INSPECTION.  (Yes, we know – our mothers reminded us.)  Upon the car’s arrival storm clouds gathered.  What appeared to be a good driver was actually showing signs of damage in the front trunk – bent inner fenders, kinked access panels, and – to top it off – one headlight was about an inch higher than the other.  Screwed again!  How can these “experts” miss this degree of damage and bad repair work when describing a car to you?  (Yes, we know.  Our mothers reminded us of THAT too.)  The only place for a car needing this much metal work could go is to Ralph Brawley’s Coach Craft. 
 
     We spent the next week carefully striping down the car to a bare shell and, thankfully, found a few neat details. The car was not originally Ivory; it was Heron Gray.  The previous owner had stated the car was “off-white,” so we assumed Ivory, but in the nook and crannies of the tub we found abundant Herron Gray.  Further, the door hinge posts are hooded and many shims were used to hang the door, sure signs of early production. 
 
     At Coach Craft, Ralph and Hans Sahling  had seen much worse but it had been a while.  We started by ordering the sheet metal, nose and fenders came from the usual providers and the structural pieces came from Al Zim.  Hans got the sheet metal for the nose and fenders, judged them to be useless, and threw them into the yard.  Great, so now what?  We had a terrific T-5 available so we scanned it, had a 3-D cad drawing made, and then new body bucks. The car was then media blasted and another issue came to light.  The front axle beam was pushed back two inches on the left side and up over an inch.  All the bent sheet metal had been simply brazed together some 50 odd years ago, not fully straightened or replaced or squared.  Front left tire wear must have been awesome.  The body also had a few minor rust issues that you would expect in a 50 year old 356.  So the car was placed on a jig and the cutting, welding, and straightening started.  Once the chassis was repaired correctly and dead straight, Hans turned his attention to the body.  The nose and fenders were and formed over our bucks, the hood was reskinned and de-kinked, and the doors made from scratch.  The rear section was removed, rust repairs done underneath, straightened, and replaced.
 
     So, now “we” have tens of thousands of dollars in just metal work, but the first Super 90 is straight and true for the first time in 50 years.  With the complete owner history and very good records from the 60’s we have been able to put together an interesting tale that could have ended badly for this car.  Our client who has many truly special 356s in his collection did purchase this car ands we are restoring it for him.  Soon he will have one more truly special 356.  Were it not for his passion, this little piece of Porsche history, the very first Super 90, easily could have been lost.

Introducing: RS Exclusive Reproduction Parts

These are pictures of the exclusive repprduction parts that we took to this years the LA Literature & Toy show and the SoCal All-Porsche Swap. They were a hit with the crowd and we are not going to have them very long. Please download our brochure for product details and pricing. download the brochure

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)