DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Last year while trolling on the 356 registry forum I caught sight of an inmteresting little car being marketed by California Classix

It had been on E bay a couple of times but failed to hit reserve
There was also some whining that the dealers had reneged on a private deal to sell to a registry member.
All of which would probably raise red flags but when I looked it up I was strangely drawn to it.

The glowing prose on the listing (pure dealer speak) drew me in further.

Lovingly called Die Ratte this 1956 beehive 356 had sat under a tree in an orchard for 25 years before being recommissioned by a long time Porseche technician and run as a rat rod.

Allegedly she had been subjected to a comprehensive mechanical refurbishment but retained a "certain patina".


so after all those decades under the California sun steadily burning through layers of paint and baking the interioor how did she look?





and inside:



dash:




Those Beehives!



Das Powerhaus:




Well it all had me hooked

Functional heater, good brakes
and a nice video of her being driven down the freeway

underside shots and prose offered a car that was surprisingly solid a bit weak around the jack spurs but "otherwise we have no complaints"

So I hit the bid sat back and waited.
Finally a week later got an e mail (during my daughters Jazz concert at school) saying that I was the lucky winner.
So a few fumbled e mails later on the i-Phone and I could hardly believe my luck

The next 6 weeks were spent organising a new interior from autos International in red vinyl, dealing with the guys at California Classix and arranging delivery to Long Beach and shipping by Kingstown (great guys who give a damn fine service).

This was all back in March of last year, and we had to wait till May in order to collect her.

Keeping Mike and Paul Smith in the loop it was suggested that Paul could come with me to collect the car and take her straight back to his workshop for an initial check.

Plus there was also the little matter of selling this in order to cover the funds for Die Ratte:



A 1958 DS19 with original paint and only 27000km on the clock (weep).
Luckily I found a highly motivated buyer only too desperate to cross my palm within a day of putting the word out

So one day in May last year we shipped up at Thames Port to pay duty (5%) and take her back for the first inspection.

Initial impressions were not too bad
Paul observed that the mechanics were in great shape, correct Porsche parts used and we even slapped trade plates on and took her for a spin.

The motor was fine in Pauls view about 60HP,
The underside was a different story though.

I know what you are thinking, what did I expect?

Well I thought it might be a bit dodgy here and there, but reality was after the interior was stripped out it was now quite apparent that the rear window or rear quarter windows had been leaking for some time. There wass quite heavy corrosion to the rear floors and the perimeter inner sill area. Water had also laid in the rear seat bucket area and this also had holes on its perimeter. Someone had made an effort (a long time ago) to hide the holes in the rear floor pan by smearing filler over the floor and we could now see this with the seats removed. None of this wasregarded as a disaster and could be dealt with but it did mean mean that there was no chance of getting the car repaired within a month and we felt a Hedingham dead-line for September was more realistic.
Added to this the rear inner wings had gone completely and the longs needed repair too.

So much for dealer talk and "no complaints" that was all bull but I guess you learn your lessons the hard way and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


Some horrors:











I just had to keep reminding myself why I fell in love:




Fortunantly Paul knew just the man for the job
A superhuman who was an animal with metal work and wouldn't be fazed by the size of the job

The stripped car was duly despatched to Wayn from Canvey Island

Lovely. What colour are you considering for the respray? ( )

Dunno what colour is Ankor Wax?

Hardly in keeping with the James Bond image.

So what's the plan? Slam it, fit BRMs and a roofrack?

Ankor Wax, don't do it! Had that gunk all over a 181 and watched as it slowly collected dust, flies, grit and every colour and density of bird crap. An absolute bugger to get off or keep looking anywhere near decent. Stuck to the car every time I leaned against it. May as well have poured treacle and a bag of sand over the poor thing. A few coats of clear with 40% matting much more effective!

Nice!

I remember seeing it on evil bay. Looks great and I can see how you fell in love.

Keep us up to speed with photos of the progress.

Good luck

The plan is definitely not to slam it or fit BRMs or even a roof rack.

More to follow, later...

Like your Style Marcus! Always up for a cool project.... which reminds me, have I missed the latest on your Abarth Zagato?

Interesting Marcus. Good to get the checks done on arrival. I would lose those front and back excuses for bumpers though. ( Personal preference only of course. ) Probably much better with out any at all.
As you have chosen red interior that dictates to a degree the exterior choice?

Interested to know your next moves!

Mitch
You havent missed anything on the Abarth

Just not a lot of progress and no pictures from the restorer.
I will try and get an update shortly.

But meanwhile over to the Rat...

So back to the plot
Wayne started by replacing the rear inner wings but ended up having to do the whjole of the rear tub and parcel shelf.
replacement panels were sourced and welded in

It was clear that by August we were going to miss the Hedingham deadline as the car was still in bits with much bare metal





new metal







A whole rear tub done:




More later

We're due some updates here; someone told me it was at the trimmers?

looks a cool car , the history and patina add to its story and individuality ... although those rims dont do it any favours.

Ye - come on Marcus - lets have some more pics