DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

well, i never thought i'd own a Porsche, it just isn't really me, but the beauty of the 356 was too much. I've just imported, unseen, a T5 1961 Coupe (the best of the lot) from USA. It is in Ivory with a tan leather interior and an SC engine.
I'm a bit of a serial car restorer, i have to admit, but this is a keeper, and, at my age, i want this to be my first and only Porsche project. I was expecting to buy a car which i could run for a while and restore on a rolling basis, but it was not to be: it has rather more rust than i expected, and it has had a poorly-repaired front ender (despite me asking the vendor about this specifically). Good job i like spending lots of time in the garage!
To cap it all, i can't even start it, despite it being described as having a strong motor which starts easily....oh well...
So, i hope there's lots of kind 356-owning souls out there, as i might be a bit of a nuisance.
Anyway, the interior is all stripped, horrible bitumen stuff removed to reveal the holes under.
My plans for the car are right hand drive and 12V conversion, front discs, proper seatbelts, complete rewire, maybe even fuel injection etc etc. As this is a "maverick" club, i hope i won't be slated for making alterations and modifications along the way, some might even be an improvement. I never restore a car to standard spec, its so boring....out with those "correct" parts, i say!
i'll start a project thread soon.....

(It'd be good to hear from any fellow 356 restorers in the Surrey area....also, looking for a right-hand Pitman arm).....Adrian

Welcome aboard, sounds like you're diving in at the deep end. I look forward to hearing more about the project

Hi Adrian,

Welcome to DDK, plenty with 356's owners on here to offer advise and guidance.

What part of Surrey are you located?

Garry

Welcome Adrian,

Good luck with you project and the right hand pitman arm!
Pics are always great too.

Hi Adrian and ,welcome, to DDK. your at the right place for the knowledge for sure look forward to your seeing restoration.
any pics?

Welcome aboard. Are you Adrian 'Newie'??

Adrian,

welcome to the forum - I'm sure it'll be useful. good luck making it an outlaw - I'm slowly progressing down the same vein.

I notice that you mention that you want to make it RHD. is there any particular reason why you want to do this? - I only ask as generally these kind of things devalue the car in the end.

its your car and your project and your decision. but I'd give driving 'on the wrong side' a go for a while before you go to the expense and hassle of the conversion.

oh and as everyone says - whack a few pictures up, we like pictures on 'ere.

disco

i think i was pushed in at the deep end by that yank i bought it from!...but, to be fair, its almost impossible to know the extent of rust until you remove the interior and that bitumen stuff

i just sold a LHD Renault 4, but ....i never felt able to overtake anything, so i'm pretty set on RHD..... there's quite a lot of room for a steering rack...anyone know anyone who's done it successfully?

Garry, i'm from Fetcham near Leatherhead, we could keep in contact....Adrian

Another vote from me for keeping lhd

Nothing wrong with LHD Adrian ,all our last 7 vehicles were LHD and now a preference

how about: its a sports car, so i might be doing some overtaking......pushing on around left handers on cambered roads would not be comfortable....last, but not least, i wouldn't want my long-suffering wife to be in the firing line of oncoming traffic.....i'll probably think of some more


now, any leads on a steering rack conversion??

good for you Adrian! - like I said its your car so do what you want with it, if you've got your heart set on a conversion then you should crack on. - might be worth speaking to Mike Smith at PRS, they've probably done this kind of thing before and will, I'm sure, help you find the parts you need.

cheers.

Disco