My new project ...

[mycar]

No too shabby for a modern.

The Nardi is rather lovely. I always think they can look a bit lumpy, the rims can be a bit thick when compared to the woodenVDMs but that one there's a beauty.

Congratulations on your new car Andy , I had missed this thread completely, 5 pages and driving already has caught me on the hop

I look forward to further developments.

Cheers.

(Slopes off to revisit the "lowering your 356" articles on the Registry.)

[Lightweight_911]

No too shabby for a modern.

The Nardi is rather lovely. I always think they can look a bit lumpy, the rims can be a bit thick when compared to the wooden VDMs but that one there's a beauty.

The more modern wood rim Nardi wheels - '70's onwards - have a much thicker rim (& are typically
significantly smaller in diameter) which renders them far less attractive (& nowhere as nice in feel) in my opinion.

[Lightweight_911]

Time to bring this thread up to date ...

[Lightweight_911]

When I'd ordered the 'faux' Elephant-grain vinyl for the seat centres I purchased enough extra material to re-cover the door panels too.

Since the window winder mechanisms had been deleted (all windows now being plastic with the exception of the windscreen) there was now a gaping hole in the door panel where the winder handle had been.



Using heavy duty lining paper, I made a template for each door panel



- then cut out the appropriate shape from the Elephant-grain vinyl.

After unpicking the piping around the perimeter, the new vinyl was trimmed as necessary & the overlap glued to the back of the panel. All that remained was to re-staple the piping.

Although the door window-lifting straps in original GT's seem to be invariably tan, I thought those in my car would look better black so took them out & dyed them ...




I cleaned up/re-used the original elasticated/pleated door pockets



& re-installed the re-covered panels, opting at this stage to leave off the arm rest/grab handles.

Before:




& after:

[stretch]

Lovely job Andy. Cheaper than the 4k pair over the pond i bet....!

[Lightweight_911]

The registration number issued by the DVLA (HVK 264C) wasn't particularly memorable so I bought another cheap C plate which was slightly more interesting (& easier to remember !).

I had a new 'raised digit' rear plate made up & opted for a (slightly smaller) stick-on plate for the front, positioning it below the bumper.

When the body was in bare metal I'd opted to have all external trim holes (badges, sill trims, door mirror, etc) welded up.

I wasn't going to use any metal emblems/badges on the body, instead I planned on using some subtle (grey) decals.

I spent a fair amount of time identifying some suitable fonts & then got them transferred to self-adhesive vinyl - this is the first stage:

[Lightweight_911]

Meanwhile work continued with cleaning up various areas of the wiring & making a few additions ...

- the fusebox was removed & cleaned, all associated wires cleaned & then re-installed

- under-dash wiring cleaned

- a cigarette lighter socket was wired up (to be concealed in the passenger side carpetted map pocket)

- a period Hella push button horn switch was added to the outer steering column behind the steering wheel

- & a battery cut-off switch - accessible from outside - was added (utilising the redundant petrol heater location in the osf lower inner wing)




Wherever possible I prefer to use 'less than perfect' /used - &, ideally cheap ! - original parts rather than perfect new parts & to this end decided to install a well-worn original Talbot Berlin mirror that I already had ...

After careful measuring (& with the help of an assistant) I decided on the ideal position, then 'bit the bullet' & drilled the door.

Luckily, once fitted, the position turned out to be spot on.

[Lightweight_911]

I mentioned earlier in this thread that I'd written to the previous owner in California ...

After a couple of weeks I had email contact from Shirley Smith (now 76) who, it turned out, had owned the car since 1996 - not only that but she had inherited it from her husband when he died (in '96) & he'd owned it since 1973 !!

We've exchanged a few emails since & she is going to send me all of the paperwork she still has (including invoices for an engine rebuild) along with a selection of her late husband's photos of the car at various stages.

Apparently she'd offered these to the buyer (Californian 356 dealer Bob Campbell) but he wasn't interested ( ) - presumably because he'd already negotiated a sale to Ritchie King (Karmann Konnection).

[bjmullan]

Fab as always Andy. Will be great to see the old pictures of the car

[Lightweight_911]

By this stage the forthcoming DDK trip to the Spa 6 hrs was looming, so there was just time to install a new speedo cable (bought from Speedograph Richfield) & do a few local trips to check that everything was working.

I was a bit concerned about being left 'trailing in the dust' on the Spa trip as all of the other cars had at least twice (& some as much as 4 times) the meagre 75 bhp in the back of my car - but I needn't have worried ...

A combination of better than anticipated performance allied to dismal weather conditions much of the time meant that I was never that far behind.

I covered around 850 miles from door to door & the car proved to be very stable under all conditions & surprisingly comfortable - albeit with a fair amount of (mainly) wind noise at speed on the autoroutes.

The only minor problems encountered were a(nother) speedo cable breakage (100 miles after leaving) & the red charge light coming on 10 miles from home on the return journey.

I pulled over to the hard shoulder & checked the fan belt which was still present & tensioned correctly so carried on home.

After a few preliminary checks on the charging system the next day it appeared that the dynamo was at fault, so the fan/generator assembly was removed & the brushes inspected.

These proved to be badly worn - the lower one to the extent that it was no longer perpendicular to the commutator & hence not making correct contact.

A new set of brushes were located at autoelectricians Vehicle Elelctrics nearby & were duly fitted.







The voltage regulator was checked/cleaned - along with the associated wiring (& mounting plate)





- & the whole lot re-installed


A quick trip 'round the block' with a digital voltmeter plugged into the cigarette lighter socket revealed that the dynamo output was now back to the correct level (up to 14.4 volts).

[Lightweight_911]

That more or less brings things up to date.

Here are a couple of pictures taken by Thomas (Bootsy) at our rendezvous en route to Hull for the start of the Spa trip a couple of weeks ago:

[jeremyg]

I love your car Andy. And how great that Shirley has some paperwork/history and photos for you. And just how crass was it for the dealer she offered it to to say he wasn't interested in it?

Tell me something. You talk about keeping up with the others on the Spa run. I'm assuming (from your posting name) that you know the feel of an early 911. Are you beginning to have some thoughts yet about which gives you most enjoyment on the road.? Your 356 or a 911? I drive an (admittedly uprated) A, and am always struck by how delicate, yet powerful, it feels compared to my 911. Of course the 911 is more powerful, but it's really about what's more useable in the real world perhaps. The 356 is so light on the road, and gives so much feedback, that in most modern road conditions it's a complete joy. Any thoughts yet?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hot66]

Photos don't do this car justice .... It's stunning and sits just right. For me it's the perfect 356

[Gary71]

It's a lovely thing. Makes me regret not pushing my biding on that pre A in the DDK auction so many years ago!

[Lightweight_911]

Photos don't do this car justice .... It's stunning and sits just right. For me it's the perfect 356

Thanks James