DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

So last week I caught the train to Southend & collected the car.

The journey back to the Midlands (~ 165 miles) went without a hitch (apart from the speedo packing up after 3 miles !) but as it's ~25 years since I last owned a 356, it was something of a novelty to drive a flat 4 again ...

As mentioned previously, I'd had the rollcage modified with the addition of a welded-on horizontal harness bar & had sent the period-style 4-point harnesses to Sue at FDTS to be re-webbed accordingly:





I have a long list of jobs to do on the car, the first of which was to swap the std black plastic 356C wheel over to the early '60's Nardi woodrim wheel that I'd previously carried out a sympathetic renovation on:






During the process of checking the car over I was pleased to find how much of the car was still original - things like the headlamp assemblies with their diagonal beam-adjusting screws (only fitted to later 356C models), all 3 of the larger gauges & original plastic under-bonnet cover over the fuel tanK, etc.

The car had spent it's whole life in Southern California being originally delivered to Porterville & ending up with the last owner in Burbank.

The car had been looked after for at least the last 15 years exclusively by Markham Motor Works in Burbank who are highly regarded within the 356 world in the States so that's a good sign.

I've written to the last owner - a lady who's now 76 - so we'll see if she gets back to me.


More later ...


.

Lightweight_911 wrote:
I've written to the last owner - a lady who's now 76 - so we'll see if she gets back to me.


More later ...


.

You old smoothie!

Subtle, tasteful and very cool.....just love those seats!

Superb Andy.....


......as usual!

The car has a 12 volt electrical system but I couldn't tell whether this was the original option or a later conversion, so during the process of removing/cleaning the dash gauges I checked the part number for the clock - it's the 6v version so a conversion.

The current dash layout features 2 additional gauges - an ammeter & an oil pressure gauge & these are both dated early '70's so chances are that's when the conversion was done:










Luckily (& surprisingly for a 50 yr old car) it seems that the loom hasn't been hacked about - another sign that the car has been well looked after.


Some time ago I'd acquired a pair of yellow Hella headlamp lenses & a pair of chrome headlamp grilles so swapped these for the original clear (but pitted) lenses to see which I preferred.

First the original clear lens:



- followed by the yellow lens:



- & finally the grille:




Here's one of each:





I'll probably flit between the two but I'm leaning towards the yellow lenses as it adds a splash of colour ...

+1 for the yellow

An interesting 'touch' discovered inside the glovebox ...

Very nice Andy. Some cool period patina. Yellow for me.

"L-35"?

It's actually L - 85 - Champion L 85 spark plugs ...

Great-looking car Andy. Love the lowered look with bumpers retained - the GT bumper trim makes all the difference. Also love the yellow light lenses and the interior! Best wishes, Robert

Another vote for the yellow lens.
I don't normally like the yellow lens look
but I think it works well with the colour of your car.
I hope the previous owner lady has loads of old
documentation for your car. Judging by the notes in the glove
box you would think someone kept a note book on it?
Your car keeps looking sweeter the more you do to it, so don't
stop.
Karl

Lightweight_911 wrote:So last week I caught the train to Southend & collected the car.

The journey back to the Midlands (~ 165 miles) went without a hitch (apart from the speedo packing up after 3 miles !) but as it's ~25 years since I last owned a 356, it was something of a novelty to drive a flat 4 again ...

As mentioned previously, I'd had the rollcage modified with the addition of a welded-on horizontal harness bar & had sent the period-style 4-point harnesses to Sue at FDTS to be re-webbed accordingly:





I have a long list of jobs to do on the car, the first of which was to swap the std black plastic 356C wheel over to the early '60's Nardi woodrim wheel that I'd previously carried out a sympathetic renovation on:






During the process of checking the car over I was pleased to find how much of the car was still original - things like the headlamp assemblies with their diagonal beam-adjusting screws (only fitted to later 356C models), all 3 of the larger gauges & original plastic under-bonnet cover over the fuel tanK, etc.

The car had spent it's whole life in Southern California being originally delivered to Porterville & ending up with the last owner in Burbank.

The car had been looked after for at least the last 15 years exclusively by Markham Motor Works in Burbank who are highly regarded within the 356 world in the States so that's a good sign.

I've written to the last owner - a lady who's now 76 - so we'll see if she gets back to me.


More later ...


.

Larry Markham sourced and fitted the engine in my 356. I believe he is retired but was very respected

Car lust just kicked in, yo.

That looks absolutely stunning! If it's a vote it's clear with grilles for me, but either way you have to be happy with that car.