Surprisingly solid for being 50 years old.....was advertised as a 59 but the VIN and engine show a 58 model that was sold in 59....build date in 57.

Time to break out the

Fix it up tastefully,

Bag that sticker on the dash for sure dude.

One of the best 356 rust repair guys anywhere is in Piru, just in case you wanna do it right ........................ The Cap'n

Silver
Red Interior
Mesh Headlight Covers
Mobil Pegasus' on each front fender.

Resist all urges to put a wing and 22" wheels on it.

Looks like a fun project

U R NUTZ!
Ya really needed a little something else to do with your spare time?

nice project,
I would have left the vinyl roof, just to piss off everyone.

The radio has alot of value.
I know where to get you a new horn ring.
The rest of the parts you need are on the registry.

Looks like a nice little car, much better floors than mine...lol mine has none.

The fenders are a really piss poor design where the water/sand gets wedged in there...they all rot there...

good luck, if you need anything, let me know..

Rich

If I want to run Fuchs, I'm gonna have to do a bit of a flare on the rear...or maybe run the Mahles....I like idea of silver and the red leather interior.

Wow Mike, That does look like a pretty solid tub. Gonna look good...

....and coming from the "Salt Belt" of Northern New Jersey.

Sweet, dude. I love 356 gauges.

Damn... I can't believe I let a 1956 get away a few years ago. Could have had it for a song, but I didn't know crap about 356s or their value.

What's the plan for it?

Drop the Fuch and Mahles... get custom made steelies with the proper offset. You don't want to flare that.

Close to a stock resto with a few Outlaw flavors added in....

mike... outlaw dude.

no bumpers....mesh light covers, silver, widened to 7" wide 5 steelies.... rally lights... and a stinger

That looks pretty solid. Floor pan and longs. How is the front end? Mike how long did it take to find one in this condition? By the way did you get the paypal for the side stripes I thought I ordered them.
Buck

Yup.. on the way....

The seller finally accepted 6250. He started around 20....dropped to 15, then 10....1200 to deliver. Just got keys remade, stripped everything of it last night and before....gonna tray and fire the motor tomorrow. The master cylinder is toast...prolly need brakes lines and wheel cylinders.....seat are all broken up....I've seen and fixed worse...

It's too nice a platform to make an outlaw out of it. Besides, you've already got an outlaw.
Just my .02, keep it REAL close to stock.

i have some lightweight fiberglass A bumpers if you want blades.
restoration design is making metal ones now according to their website too.


I know a place that will make carrera alu/steel wheels for it as well.

I'm so jealous. I don't think I would like driving a 356, but I sure as hell want one. SEXY!

cool, now drop a cheby v-8 in it and make it go like stink....

or a subaru....

For once, I say stock resto with a "little" flavor... Then sell the stupid thing!

Well battery is in, it turns over but it needs a cap and rotor...local wrench has one in stock....all the lights work, windshield wipers etc......might need a fuel pump kit. Master cylinder on order....hope to see it turn and fire tonight.....

Yet another re-birth!!!

Silver is played out in the 356 world. To me its like red corvettes and 911's. Red is waaay to common. I'd pick something more unique. I painted my '58 A coupe silver for about two years. After I saw so many silver I changed the color to a blue green color. Not Porsche correct but looks very period correct.

Just my thoughts...

Rich,
I believe that is a VW bus radio. It is for a pre' 67 bus. It is a Saphire radio for a bus. The buttons are the dead giveaway. These are much more affordable than a period correct Blaupunkt or Motorola for a 356.
-Mark

Anyway, enough bitching. Congratulations on the coupe. You got it for a helluva deal. If you not a member yet I would suggest joining the 356 registry. They have a talk digest daily. Very archaic but full of good information. I wish they would go to a forum like this site, the samba.com or hoodride.

Whats you VIN? Mine's 102797.

best of luck,

Mark

I wouldnt know one from the other.
I would sell it and put in a new radio.
I will in mine.

Mike, did it run????
Its worth more when it runs.

Do all the math on this one, sometimes selling a running driving project nets more money than investing in the restoration and then selling it...
Its an odd market.

Rich

VIN is 103992, original engine and trans. The radio is definitely an old VW relic....I stared at one like it in my 56 and my momz 63 for many years.

The engine spins and I have spark at the coil but it's not translating to the plugs....new cap and rotor....but it's a two man job on some of this stuff and I'm waiting on some help to come over this morning.

As to the Registry, yeah I'm a paying member.....they barely put up with me since I have a replica...that has gasp....fuel injection and a hair dryer (turbo). They are a funny list. I think the youngest person there is like 35.....

They are a funny bunch. But have the best newsletter out of any club I've belonged to. I've been a member since I was 25. I'm now 34. I also know several guys in their late 20's early 30's that are members. I'd say the average age of the members seems like 55+.

I'd be curious to see a poll on that.

This is the 914world website! I am not interested in all of this 356 talk! Purely out of jealousy on my part! Good Day!!

Yeah I agree....are you on the 356 talk list? They keep a pretty tight leash on the eccentrics. That one guy that has the Convertible "D"? MiamiAir.....that guy makes Miles seem normal.....

Yes, I'm on the outdated daily Digest they send. I wish they would get a forum up and running.

Oh & I thought it was the Speedster D... : )

Mike... seriously... what are you plans... going completley stock?

With the price those damn things command I'm not sure I could do anything but bone stock.

Well it doesn't have overider bars....front or rear....
Click to view attachment

And I really don't like them anyways.....I've found that the Fuchs are too big, so prolly a 15x5.5 chromey w/o hubcaps, a 185-195/60 or something like that......

Click to view attachment

I like this color scheme and tire combo.....maybe red stripes...with viny I can change anytime I like.

Restoring to stock can be much more expensive than a mild outlaw and you might not get your money back out of it.

I'm seeing paint as the BIG $$, followed by interior work. I want red leather with black trim and then I'm thinking off having the upholstery guy use the old carpet as templates as the repro/replacement stuff is WAY spendy. Black carpet with red trim....

Wheels, chromed and 15x5.5 are available for 69 each.....the oem 1958 dated ones should bring me some bucks....I have a set of five.

The handles and widow trim...pitted and flaking, I'm thinking of anodizing or powder coating black....leaving off ALL other trim pieces, like on the hood and under the doors and filling the holes.

Cool find, Z. Here's one for inspiration - You could even do do replica decals to show the world your Guatemala-ness! Bonus points if you can name the movie that phrase came from.



Click to view attachment

I thought Miles was normal


Very nice find



I like this color combo;

I'm 33 joined around 24-25. Convertible D is the predecessor to the Roadster. IIRC 58-59 was Conv. D and 60-61 was the Roadster. Speedster was a slightly different creature with a lower windshield, no REAL windows only side curtains. All three had the same body lines which differ from the Convertibles and coupes. MUCH better lines in my opinion.

Here's my fake that makes the "purists" piddle in their Depends....
Click to view attachment

Too easy....Birdcage....

Thanks for remembering the title - I remembered the line but not the movie.

Back to the color - Like someone else mentioned - silver is really common for the 356 and replicas. How about finding a really obscure '58 color? What was the original color? What's the color under the hood - looks like baby-poop yellow????

Original color is .......








































Silver.....

damnit i miss that fucker... why do you have to keep showin pictures of it lately. and what'd ya do let the lid fly off when you were cruisin the coastal? or are you showin off the turbo setup to everybody!

i dig the new one... outlaw - all the way.

Dude....I'm here to help.....

What kinda wheels are those?

they look like panasports...minilights.
But its got five bolt disks on it...from a C

The drum brakes really are a nice setup.
If you go disks, look at using beetle setup, the new stuff.
It will bolt up on the rear, but the front is a bit different.
At some point the 356 and the beetle have a different spacing in between the tubes on the front beam.
I think its late b/c but Im not sure.
Measure center to center on the front beam of both a beetle and your car. If they are the same, you should be able to use the dropped spindles from anyone and they should fit.
You dont need dropped spindles, cause it will adjust, but the offset of the steering linkage makes it worth doing, plus all the bearings come with those kits...the disks and calipers are ghia or type 3...so simple to get.

Rich