My '54 Coupe, that we call "Curb Appeal"

[mr. warehouse]

[mr. warehouse]

March 27th 2013 -

From Mr. Fox

Please do not share, these are probably going in the mag.

[mr. warehouse]

April 2013 (4 years after buying the car) -

Curb Appeal is featured on the new Vintage Warehouse shirts now....

Get them here - http://www.vintagewarehouse.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=700

[mr. warehouse]

May 20th 2013 -

I got a couple sneak pics this morning of the AirMighty issue.

[mr. warehouse]

July 29th 2013 -

Mike convinced me Saturday that it would be better to find out if there were any problems (knocking under load, etc.) with the engine sooner than later, so we took it for a +/- hour long drive.



The only issue we had was my (still) inability to keep my foot out of it, and the header to head nuts came loose in a couple spots on the final stretch home. I tightened them up, and good as new.

Now it's *really* getting parked until 10/18/2013

[mr. warehouse]

September 10th 2013 -

Here's some shots from the feature in AirMighty. I assume they are OK to post now that it's out.








Really the pictures make it look nicer than it is.
Driver quality polished up a bit.

[mr. warehouse]

Everyone has seen the one with Jeff's trailer and the girl, but here it is again....

[mr. warehouse]

October 30th 2013 -

Wedding get away complete.





That last picture came about while having dinner with some friends one night. I mention the 356 was going to be our get away car at the wedding. One of my buddies asked if my wife was going to push it.... Next thing I know my wife says, "That would be a great picture", so it happened. She is a great sport!

[mr. warehouse]

September 6th 2014 -

A lot going on, but no progress really.

Since day one my Pro Street trans had made some "noise" and I knew it had to come out. I didn't want to mess with it until after my wedding (almost a year ago now) With a baby due (in less than a month now) I figured I should probably get my projects done before I didn't have time to do so.

I decided to pull the current engine and trans a month or so ago.









I sent the trans to be repaired and have the R&P changed to a 3.44 along with the 4th switched out to a .77 match my Salesflap because it does so well cruising on the freeway.

While the 200+ hp engine was "cool" it turns out what I really wanted was a more "stock" engine I could hop in a go for long leisurely drives in with no hassles. I planned on buying another 1720cc Porsche engine but not having a core was not cost effective. So I toyed with the idea of using a more streetable 2276cc I had in my shop. I even went so far as to dress the engine to make sure the exhaust, shroud, etc. would fit and work.

It did....



Then I had a customer see the shroud / fan set up and want it for his bus project, so it went away to him.

Back to square one.
Maybe I'd drop the compression in the 200hp engine, get rid of the SuperFlo heads and run these "regular" Street Eliminator heads instead...



Not sure that would really help out my situation though....

So for now, my 356 is sitting in the corner, no engine, no trans, waiting......



Once I get the trans back I'll make it a roller.

[mr. warehouse]

[mr. warehouse]

July 2nd 2015 -

Not sure what is going on with Rancho the last year (too busy to keep is what I am hearing) but they still have my transmission. So I ordered a "Freeway Dominator" from another re-builder about a month ago. It arrived today.



Specs:

3.44 ring and pinion
4 spider dual clip sSuperdiff
HD side plate
Tg welded gears
Hard keys
Seel forks
New sliders/operating sleeves
New pinion bearing
New mainshaft bearing
Re-bushed gear carrier housing
New syncros
Welded crosshaft
Late style pinion bearing 12 volt case
Bus 3rd gear and bus fourth gear
Added oiling groves and vent the case for high speed use

3.80 1st, 2.06 2nd, 1.21 3rd, .82 4th

Even with the .82 instead of .77

MPH with a 25" tire (195/65/15) looks OK

3000rpm-65 MPH
3500rpm-75 MPH


Now you are caught up, except Justin has me second guessing myself...
Anyone want a 912 engine? Runs but needs some TLC.

[JTR70]

Sorry about that Greg. I would just refer you back to your credo: "I build my cars to make me happy, not you" If its a 912 you want to run I say do it! I'm caught right in the middle; I have a streak in me that sweats the factory details like all the trim and hardware on the body has to be correct however, once I get into the drivetrain all bets are off so don't mind me. Looking forward to your updates which ever route you decide.
Enjoyed the last series of posts! Thanks again for sharing them!
The new trans looks nice and thanks for the specs on the final drive ratios in regards to tire size. I'll keep this in mind for my project.
Justin

[mr. warehouse]

Re-visiting this build has me motivated again, and re-thinking what exactly it is I want to do. I do know the car will be rolling by the end of the month. No sure what engine I'll be working on to put in it though.....

[molleur]

Looking very nice. I am enjoying following your build, thanks.
My vote would for the 912 engine.

[GT3]

This has to be the quickest Pre-A coupe around. I'll be following your next move with interest.