356A questions & opinions

[911quest]

This past weekend I picked up two project 356's a 54 Pre A & a 56 cab... I have a couple question about the cab it is rough two piece rough and the windshield frame has been cut off and as of now missing. My thought is turn it into a speedster as in the deal I did get a speedster deck lid I know the speedster and cab have a different body shape in the back and the speedster didn't have roll up windows like a D or cab but what other differences in the door that don't pop out in pictures do I need to take into consideration?

Thanks,
Tony

[JTR70]

Hi Tony,
First, thanks for joining us and welcome to our forum! Nice find on those two cars, was this your first 356 purchase? Concerning the Cabriolet if your mission is to have a speedster or speedster conversion an original open car chassis is not the platform you want to start with. At this stage in the game an original open car chassis is too valuable not to be built back into stock configuration. If you want a Speedster a coupe donor chassis is the way to go. You don't want to use a pre-A chassis either as it would be smarter to leave it stock plus they don't have the road manners of a 356A or later chassis due to the suspension upgrades. The best platform for a coupster is any 1956-59 356A coupe chassis. In a pinch a 1960-61 356B T5 chassis could work but a few detail changed would have to be made like the rear seat pan for instance but it could be done. Justin

[356JAGER]

Guys,
IMHO, if you want a 'Speedster' to use, get a clone car. It's much less costly and user friendly. The outlaw with a P chassis number will require a much larger investment, but then if you're doing it for the personal satisfaction/self flagellation factor.. , at least the labor is free. Keep us posted Tony, sounds like an interesting find.
( I'd keep the pre A for a hobby and sell the cab for likely well more than then cost of an excellent Beck, Vintage or some such. Heck you can likely get enough for a Beck 550 and change.)
Best
Joel

[911quest]

Justin,

Thanks for the info.... I'm a 911 guy that has always loved 356's and had a chance to pick these up. I wouldn't think about cutting the PRE A. My biggest concern about the cab is windshield frame being MIA. Here are a couple pictures when I say rough I mean rough....

[Trevor]

Congratulations Tony, those are two really cool cars. Share some pics if you feel comfortable.

If it makes you feel any better when I bought my 57 coupe it was in three pieces

[911quest]

A few pictures of the rough little cars...

[911quest]

Justin thanks for the email on how to upload pictures. I will have to grab some pictures of the front half of the cab....

[JTR70]

Thanks for posting these shots; glad we got you dialed in with the picture loading.
Too bad the rear of the cab clip has been lobbed-off at the firewall(firewall would be speedster correct) that's yet another strike against using it as a speedster donor. The now missing rear inner closing panels for the engine compartment and the tail-skin could have certainly been used as they are the same for a speedster. The Pre-a looks crispy; How rusted out is it around the suspension points and the rear seat pan area? I assume the floors and longitudinals are long gone. Very cool find though! Justin

[911quest]

The Pre A is crusty but luckily it wasn't sitting in the dirt it was up off the ground. So the suspension points and torsion tube are solid.

I do have the rear tail light section for the cab... I think my plan is do the the Pre A and store the cab for a while and see if the rest of the parts show up.

[JTR70]

Sounds like a plan Tony. Let me ask you what would be your build plans for this coupe? Mild-hotrod or bone stock correct? I don't know what sort of parts cache' you might have received with this car but if all you got was that pair of crusty front seats in the trunk then the rust is going to be the easiest of your challenges on this build. Dressing a bare Pre-A shell is a very expensive and difficult proposition these days and almost suicide in my opinion.
You will easily spend 10K alone putting that dashboard back together correctly with the proper gauges, eyebrows, knobs, ashtray, ignition switch with separate starter button etc. etc. Then there is the steering column with parking brake/mount assembly. Figure at least a grand for that. Then there is the pre-A pedal assembly; minimum 750.00 on that. A correct 400mm steering wheel that's not cracked and rust swollen with good spokes goes for about 2K these days. Then there is the horn button a descent one is at least 450.00. Do you have the hood? A nice unkinked pre-A hood is around 1,500.00. Complete bumper assemblies will set you back about 4-5K. If you want the correct 16 inch wheels 5K for a good basic set. If you need them all correctly date coded and matched the price goes up from there. The rear glass reflectors which you have one of but is broken: 750 for a descent pair and upwards of 1,500 fully restored by Victor Miles. Rear shine down license plate light assembly about a grand for a nice core with good lenses that's not all bent up. Then there is the sun visors and the rearview mirror; figure at least 1,500+ for those items. I could go on and we haven't even got to the drivetrain yet. Please don't take this the wrong way Tony, I am not trying to discourage you in the least. My only intent is to warn you of the expenses that lie ahead in the pre-A parts hunt. We'll be more than happy to help and give advice along the way as best as can. Justin

[911quest]

Justin,

To answer a few of your questions first I'm not a concourse guy golf greens are for playing golf.... I do have a source for the gauges and dash parts I actually have another dash for the car that hung in a friends garage before he passed away. The car will be somewhere between an outlaw and an original car. I do have the hood and deck lid and an other set of doors. My plans for the drive train are probably a 912 engine I haven't decided if I want to just use a VW transmission in the car or try to adapt a later 356 gearbox. Finding a 519 that isn't overpriced is nearly impossible shouldn't have sold the one I had.My plans are to get it mounted on the rotisserie this weekend and will go from there if it takes me five plus years I'm cool with that. the plus side I do have the column & ebrake handle assembly... and the pedals are present.

[911quest]

Haven't done much still trying to get the garage at our new house set up to start work on the '54. I did come across this its a old Registry magazine ad curious if anyone knew this guy and if he is still kicking....

[JTR70]

Hard to tell because of the resolution of the pic is that Richard Stuart?
Is the ad for the car you now own?

[911quest]

Yeah its for the '54 52488.

The guys name was Rich Stuart I was just curious if anyone him.

Thanks,
Tony

[JTR70]

The name sounds familiar, no luck with the phone # provided on the ad?