Tom bought the 356 twenty-eight years ago when he was eighteen. He bought it in Hawaii after he crashed his MG. He and a buddy gas welded the floor and longitudinal with coat hangers and then they covered everything with tar. The tar was not a bad idea considering how much time elapsed before the 356 got to RESTORE. We did a bottom everything plus door and lid fit plus exterior finish.

Tony forgot to set the emergency brake and his Coupe rolled out of the garage and hit a tree. 356RESTORE repaired the left rear fender and repainted the car

The previous owner over steered into a bridge abutment on a wet Texas road. The hit was in the driver's side door and the driver was killed. This happened in 1963 and the 356 only had 14,000 miles. A mechanic bought the wreck for the transmission and left the remains outside his shop where it was used to store hay for the horses. Thirty years later the mechanic's son brought the Roadster to 356RESTORE. With a lot of time on a frame machine and a left side clip this 356 was restored.

The 356 was stored on a hill with the sunroof open. It rusted from the inside out! It got a partial left front floor pan, bulkhead, and strut.

Abby's Dad was driving his wife to the hospital for the birth of Abby when he damaged the left front fender. All was okay and sixteen years later Abby learned to drive in the 356. She drove the 356 through high school and then while she was in college her Dad died. She was left some money and decided to restore the 356. Other shops wanted $30-$40 thousand for the restoration. 356RESTORE did a total restoration for $16 thousand.

Cleve only drives his 356 in the winter! It is his ski car and has 350,000 miles on it. He brought it to 356RESTORE when he pulled on the seat belt and the rear pan came up. This 356 got a bottom everything and continues to hit the slopes.

Dick did all the cleaning to the bare metal. 356RESTORE did the welding and Dick did the grinding, paint, caulk, and undercoat. For $700 Dick restored his 356.

Joe is a machinist and did most of the metal work on his Speedster which was rebuilt on a donor chassis. He got frustrated when it fell off the rotisserie and panels wouldn't fit. 356RESTORE finished the metal work and painted it Silver Metallic. With its new blue interior the Speedster has won awards at local shows.

The 356 split window went through a lot of hands and had good metal work and beautiful light blue paint. All it needed was final assembly. 356RESTORE finished the job and gained a lot of knowledge about the early 356s.

This was my first full restoration of a Porsche 356. I did it for my wife and she sure looks good in the "Ruby Red Twin Grill. This 356 was so rusty it broke in half in the dip tank (before media blasting). I rebuilt the Roadster on a C chassis and worked on every panel. I learned a lot.

This was the first "shop car". A complete restoration. Bought for $2,000 and sold for $16,000. We called it the Mousemobile as it had been stored in a mouse infested warehouse.

This was a lot of rework of a poor previous repair. Door gaps were off and doors wouldn't shut. We did quick repairs but customer expected near Concours for minimal bucks. Taught me to ask "what is your expectation?"

I drove 60 miles north to do body work on a '63 and '64 Coupe at a mechanic's shop. After I did a left fender he measured the distance from headlight bucket to hood seam. It was off 1/4 inch from the right. It looked OK but I redid it and he agreed it looked terrible. I put it back and it looked OK. Later I measured many 356's and found these kinds of difference. Made by hand!

This was when I was making house calls. Instructed Bob on procedure. Drove to his place; cut out the rust and welded repairs. He did the grinding and primer, filler and caulk work.

Mark bought a sunroof clip and we put it in his project 356. We spent more time restoring the clip than cutting the hole and welding it in. We crimped the opening, welded in short sections and leaded it in.

This was a metal work and paint job. When I called it Ron's '64 Coupe in my newsletter, Ron called and said I better call it Ron and Marcia's or we would be in trouble. Delivered in Ivory paint over four years ago, it is finally on the road.

A complete restoration. Sold to a young enthusiast–mid twenties–at a discounted price. Now in New Jersey and being driven.

A project the owner couldn't find time to finish. Did the meal work and delivered in primer. Still not finished after eight years.

We did the typical rust repairs and returned the Cab in primer. The owner put it back together over a period of years and was calling often about missing parts. Taught me to take detailed pictures of the car as received.

A complete restoration in Ivory/Black. Had it 95% done and sold it for $26,000 to an enthusiast who had the skills to finish. He detailed it to Concours level, did mechanical upgrades and sold it for $34,000. He then went looking for a Speedster project.

George bought this uncompleted project for way too much money. It was misrepresented. Tom Conway in Boulder and I finished the metal work at a reasonable cost. When George had back surgery I put together a weekend blitz with club members and we finished his 356 so he could drive it to his first club event.

This was a restored '65 Cab in beautiful Slate Gray. Unfortunately Guy found rust holes on the engine compartment and rear interior. It was challenging to make repairs without damaging the paint. Yes, I admit to pop riveting a few repairs where I couldn't weld. Paint, seam sealer and caulk will make this work.

Another house call but not too far away. Again, poor previous repair to a finished car but this was in critical structural areas. We found flattened tin cans, lots of bondo and even a shop rag. Ugly, ugly, ugly, but now nice, nice, nice.

Did the typical rust repair on this 356. When it was time for final payment the owner didn't have the money. Talked to other shop owners–they said never release a car without being paid. Since I didn't have storage I returned the car without doors, hood and rear lid. Eventually I was paid and the owner picked up his parts.

Usually we don't have to use the rotisserie, but the bottom of this Pre-A needed everything. Returned to owner in primer; just now getting back on the road.

This 356 needed typical rust repair and poor previous repair correction i.e. brazing warpage. This was a house call. I don't think the owner has finished it yet.

Did minor repair on this 356. Owner drove it to Florida.

Alan was a house painter. The deal was I would restore his Roadster and he would paint our house inside and out. The barter worked OK except I stopped when I reached the agreed value of the paint job. After we resolved this he called and sent me a note on how much he loved his 356.

Purchased for $4,000; complete running car. Did a complete restoration to driver level i.e. polished original chrome, used as many original parts as possible. Sold for $15,000 and has since been resold.

Jon bought the partially completed car in San Diego and had it transported to my shop for finish. The flatbed delivery truck used the rear shocks as a chain point. We also found a bent tranny hoop and had to pull the engine. Jon installed the hood seal; it took him five hours but it is probably the most beautiful hood seal in the world.

Typical rust repair and restoration. The 356 went to Arizona and was sold after four years when the owner realized he didn't have the skills or knowledge to maintain and enjoy the car.

This one was more fun than most. Ron and his twin brother Rick were private detectives and had great stories. Rich was driving Ron's Coupe when it was totaled. Ron had just insured the Coupe and called the insurance company. "Check to see if my Coupe is covered? It is, good; give me claims." With the insurance money they bought a project Cab which we completed.

Beautiful black Coupe. Just minor rust repair. 356 since sold to cover health and living expenses.

Can't remember what I paid for this; I think it was part of a two car plus parts deal. Completed the metal work and gave to my painter for $4,500 in credit on shop car paint work. He will do the paint on it and we will do the reassembly for more credit.

Metal repair at the rear and final assembly was all that was needed. Bill became a good friend and introduced me to vintage racing. He won a spot at the SCCA runoffs in the '70''s in a Datsun. He recently retired and is setting up his own shop call the Tub Farm.

The only project that left a bitter taste. This was a complete restoration for a New York original owner. The 356 was shipped out and I never met the owner until he flew out to drive the car back to IL. The 356 would be stored at a family farm until his son was 16; at the time his son was eight. The owner was in his sixties. As an original owner he knew it all and wouldn't take my recommendations. When he got the car to IL he wrote me a formal letter stating all that was wrong with the restoration. I paid a shop In IL to resolve the issues. I no longer do out of state 356's.

A New Jersey 356 but actually moved to Denver, a terrible Bahama yellow color. Did minor rust repair and provided a lot of advice.

This was a project I never got to. Gave it to my mechanic for $4,000 in mechanical work credit. He was going to do the metal work but traded it straight for a running '63 driver that needed minimal work. The other guy wanted a disc brake 356.

I think this was minimal work. Just a few days. Can't remember details. Kit had a small collection of cars including a real nice "Woody".

Dr. Jack parked this 356 at his place in Vail after driving it for a few years. A mechanic told him he had engine problems. We pulled the engine and trailered the 356 to my shop. Did a complete restoration. Dr. Jack was the nicest customer I've had. He took Barb and me to dinner in Vail and everyone knew him. He also flies a vintage airplane.

Bruce bought this project at the height of the market and paid too much. He was determined to finish the project. A friend helped him with the welding and it was really rough. I had my helper at the time do the repairs and paint as I was too busy with other projects. I provided Bruce with advice and parts. He finished the 356 including the engine rebuild and it is now on the road. Another good friend.

The same Bob I helped on the '64 Coupe mentioned earlier. He was buying metric hardware for his '64 and the clerk asked what for. Bob said for an old Porsche and the clerk said, "I know where there is one." Bob got it and we did the repair and paint.

A Champagne Yellow Coupe that needed typical "rustoration". Years later his wife gave him a gift certificate for detailing work. The shop kinked the hood and we got to repair it again.

This was my second 356. I had it restored in Minnesota and got to participate in almost all the repair work. This is how I learned how to do lead work and make an electric sunroof work. Recently freshened it up and did paint repair. Don't get to drive it as much as we would like but took it to the Durango Holiday.

Same Norm as the street/race car '64. This however is a rare steel-bodied factory race car. Never driven on the street. Freshened this 356 for the Monterey Historic Races in 1998. Did minor repair, made a rear valance and replaced the '63 engine with a two piece case engine. Ran slow up to the Corkscrew at Laguna SECCA but passed cars on the way down!

A guy called. "Would you look at my cars?" "Sure, what do you have?" "Three Speedsters." "Sure!" Two had been stored outside for 20 years. I said I would restore one for him in exchange for the other. A handshake deal. We did a complete restoration including a lot of metal work and painted his the original white. He also got the one with Rudge Knockoff wheels. Cal turned into a very good friend.

This is the one I got for doing Cal's. Also restored and painted the original White. It has the soft top, hard top and fiberglass racing tonneau. It also has Coupe seats in addition to Speedster seats. It was sold and went to Italy.

Owned by a dentist who sent it out to Aspen to be restored by a friend of his brother. After four years and $42,000, the Speedster wasn't done; the restorer lost his shop and walked away. We finished the 356 including a repaint of Aquamarine Blue

Another Vail car. I evaluated this one eight years ago but Rocky didn't have the time or funds. Seven years later he calls for the restoration. After we finished he drove it to the Durango Holiday.

Another mountain car from Minturn. Complete restoration and New Aquamarine Blue paint with black interior. Forgot to weld up the mirror hole on the door. Bruce reminded me because he was going with a fender mirror. Had to repair the door. Bruce put in a roll bar and uses this 356 in Autocross. Now in California.

This was one of the few insurance jobs we've done. The 356 was stored outside in Basalt, CO under a pipe and canvas car cover which was tied to the rear deck lid. The wind came up, the deck lid was twisted and the pipes beat the car. This is when I learned about "betterment" i.e. insurance only paid for 70% of the paint job since it couldn't be better than it was before the accident.

BJ is my son and a few years ago moved from Minnesota to Colorado. He now works with me in the shop. After a year of developing his welding and restoration skills we thought it would be good for him to restore a 356 from start to finish with hands off by me–just coaching. We found a '64 coupe just ten miles away which had been stored outside for 12 years. It had the typical rust which BJ repaired and it is now painted the original Ivory and has a black interior. BJ and his wife, Jen, had the option of selling the finished 356 or keeping it. They kept it and call it "Marshmallow."

This was just supposed to be a scratch and shoot; a color change from Black to Auratrium Green. It have us a lot of problems as today's paint reacts with yesterday's paint material. We had to paint it three times!

Scotty mentioned earlier actually raced against this 356 in 1954 and 1955. It is also only three serial numbers different from another Pre-A Coupe he owns. So he has sisters. We were able to save the floor pan, longitudinal, and rockers. Major metal work was to the rear which had very, very poor previous repair. Heavy brazing, warpage, and bondo 3/8 inch deep.

This was a California 356 but none of the numbers matched. Typical rust repair and is now ready for paint. I think the original color was Aquamarine Blue but I went with another color. It sold in late 2001.

Mentioned earlier, we returned this Roadster to Rhome and told him to fit everything to the car before it was painted. We were concerned that due to the heavy damage, parts might not fit i.e. windows to top, bumpers, etc. Rhome never not around to it and it came back for us to assemble, paint and reassemble. Only a few parts didn't fit and the 356 is now in original color of Royal Blue.

This was another full restoration. Typical rust repair. Jim rebuilt his engine with European heater systems using the Maestro's books. This 356 is now a daily driver.

This was a family 356 but was parked ten years ago when a missed shift caused engine damage. 356RESTORE did a complete restoration and the owner did the undercoating and final assembly. The 356 went to San Diego as part of a retirement plan but after a year is now back in Denver.

The owner wanted a restoration but 356RESTORE was too busy. Another shop stripped and discovered huge rear end damage. Their metal work estimate went from $5,000 to $12,000. The owner pulled the car. We bought it, put on a rear clip and did other rust repair. Changed color from green to black to match the interior. Sold it for $15,500 to the wife of the previous owner as a birthday surprise for her husband.

We called this 356 "Frankenstein". It was stripped and abandoned in Carbondale, Colorado. Keith got it for free on a police tow. Every panel was replaced or repaired and many, many parts provided. We even made a Cabriolet door from a Coupe door. Keith will paint it Ruby Red.

This 356 had been painted five years ago but never reassembled. We did it in 55 hours.

Very rusty but complete Cabriolet. Engine rebuilt but not started in six years. Stored outside with just a car cover. Restored and sold.

Owner was moving from Denver to Oregon. He had two project carts for sale and didn't want to move them. The '57 had been stripped and needed the typical metal repair. restored and sold to a Boulder resident.

At a vintage race, a BMW hit Norm in the right rear fender. Since it hadn't been observed both cars continued to race. If observed, they would have been black flagged and the BMW probably suspended. We fixed the dent and did a close match with spray paint.

Typical rust repair. Jack and his son did some of the work at our shop. After restoration the 356 was hit in a parking lot and Jack quit driving it.

Was togo brown and ugly. Typical rust repair but some problems reassembling as the Notchbacks are different in areas and we didn't take pictures. Painted ivory; Barb said we turned an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.

Only about 15 hours body work required. Major effort was turning it into a Carrera PanAmerican replica. Did lots of mechanical work including drop spindles, Skirmants rear compensator, new motor mounts, and a new transmission hoop. Painted silver and Norm had the graphics reproduced so the 356 is an exact replica of car number 153 at the 1952 Carrera PanAmerica.

From Hawaii. Previous owner turned it into a racecar with front Carrera brakes and a large fuelsafe tank for endurance races. It was painted ivory with green and red stripes: the colors of the Mexican flag. The crankshaft broke at our first race. Repaired and raced for three years. Being converted to a street outlaw.

A disassembled but complete project 356 with a recent engine rebuild by a well known mechanic. After media blasting found no collision damage and minimal rust damage. Decided to restore it as a show car. Painted bali blue with a red interior. Sold for a real good price, and since resold at an even better price.

Typical rust repair. Found a sunroof handle on the internet. Sold to a previous customer as it was painted aquamarine blue and matched his 1960 Convertible D that we had restored in the same color.

Rob did the disassembly and handstripped most of the 356. Had work done (poorly) at various body shops over the years. Metal work included the damaged rear panel, grinding of previous welds, repairing bumpers, and cutting holes for the torsion bar access. We had the paint done with a lot of rework to previous body work. Rob did the reassembly at our shop and drove it home.

Disassembled the 356 and had it media blasted. Over 160 hours of metalwork and finish. Had the 356 painted and returned to Chris for reassembly.

This 356 was in above average shape. The battery box and floorpans were original and not rusted. Longitudinals were only rusted at rear. The rest was minor rust and dent repair. The 356 was restored and painted Oslo blue. Gene had extra parts he sold us for credit.

This was a challenge! The whole read end was missing, but Roland had replacement panels. The panels may not have been original to the 356 as the fit was terrible. We did the repair and returned to Roland. As he reassembled he found more issue and we made further repairs.

This was my first Porsche but without the Carrera engine. I bought it back after trading it away years ago. It how has the Carrera engine and we decided to restore it to original condition and sell it. We have done the floor pans and replaced the right door and lockpost. It should be for sale in 2005.

This was a very rough 356 so we decided to make it an Outlaw. We have chopped the top to fit a Speedster windshield. We plan to re-arch the wheel openings similar to the America Roadster and add a roof scoop and block off the rear grille. Another shop project we work on between other projects.

The third roughest 356 we've done. Barb's '62 Roadster was number one, and Keith's '60 Cabriolet was second. Major repairs included a complete front clip. The doors were really rough, and there was the typical rust damage: floor, battery box, closing panels, longitudinals, and rear seats. Painted ruby red and Ted drives it a lot.

We evaluated this 356 for a potential buyer. It was missing the engine, gas tank, instruments, interior, and many other parts; I told him not to buy it. later, the owner offered it to me. I said, "No, I had too many projects." he said, "For $800?" I said, "OK." We did the metal work and race mods and moved the engine and parts from the shop '57 Racecar. This one is faster than the '57 and one of the oldest racing Porsches.

A guy called and asked if we could replace a Cabriolet windshield. We said yes and ordered one. When he drove over for the installation we learned the story. He and his wife were driving home from an evening out; she was driving. In an upscale part of town, they stopped at a light and were carjacked. His wife was dragged out of the 356 and he was kicked as he rescued her. He told the bad guys, "You won't go far, it's got a Lojack." Of course it didn't and the 356 was found a few blocks away. The only damage was the windshield.

This 356 had the typical rust plus an ugly front clip. We replaced the front clip and did the other repairs. Painted oslo blue. Mike did his own engine rebuild.

This 356 required the typical rust repairs. George owned a shop with access to powder paint and chrome and did this work. He also had a painter. We did the metal work and finish and then reassembled the 356.

Rob moved from Denver to Virginia. The day his 356 arrived he got hit by an SUV in the passenger door. He was lucky he wasn't killed. He sent pictures and we thought we could rescue it. We bought it, had it transported back to Denver, but as it came off the van we knew it would have to be parted out. The good metal is being used on restorations.

David built a very nice dolly to work on his 356. When he decided to have us do the metal work he turned the dolly into a trailer and towed it 500 miles from New Mexico. The dolly was a problem to work on his 356; not as high as a rotisserie and not too low enough to get a good position to weld. David towed it back to New Mexico for additional work.

Mathew thought he got a bargain, but after media blasting, just about every panel needed replacement or repair. A good customer, paid cash and brought treats. We did a few outlaw mods and painted it silver.

Fritz has a really nice 356 but he wanted a color change. We did minor body work and had it changed from red to champagne yellow. The tan interior needed work as it was all wrong.

A very pretty 356. Red with a professionally done interior. But every time Matt was under the car he could see metal damage on the rear panel. After blasting, it was obvious the 356 needed a rear clip. We also did some minor metal work and Matt is having his 356 painted aquamarine blue.

This Cabriolet was missing an engine, a softtop, and lots of parts. We did the metal work and since we had too many shop cars we sold it as a project to a friend. He and his father would finish it as a father/son project. When his father died, he lost interest and we bought it back.

One of our customers in New Mexico found this 356 for sale and told us about it. We contacted the owner and he was in a rush to sell it as he was moving. We bought it along with other 356 parts and picked it up within a week. Needed the typical floor pans, longitudinal, closing panels, and front door repair. We painted it the original Irish Green and it sold on Ebay for $29,400.

This was another must-sell situation. Rough underneath, but gaps excellent and an original sunroof. Just starting on this shop car.

All complete but disassembled by Scot. Very little metal work, but Scot rolled it into the garage door opening with the passenger door open. Ouch! Will be painted pasha red. The back of the original dash has the original paint which we can match.

We get this 356 in exchange for restoring Scot's '55 Coupe. it has been media blasted and will need a lot more metal work that Scot's.

The owner bought this 356 from the estate of a friend. He did the disassembly and we did the metal work and had it painted ruby red. The owner is doing the reassembly.

A new owner of a T-6 Coupe was detailing his 356 to go on a sports car rally. He backed the 356 out of the garage with the door open and damaged the door. He drove it right over and we were able to bend some metal and get the door to work. He sold the 356 soon thereafter.

Original owner, well maintained 356 in slate gray. Called with a small problem of rust under the passenger side quarter window. We removed the window, cut out the rusty metal, and made a patch. We made a close match on the paint, and the repair is hardly visible under the window.

Bill drove down from Wyoming, and we cut out the rusty parts of his front closing panels and replaced with good metal. Got Bill back on the road in three hours

Gerry was a neighbor and we installed a roll bar so he could run the 356 in the Carrera Pan America redoux.

The 356 had a replacement front clip but it was done wrong with overlapping seams. We cut through the overlap and butt welded the front clip correctly.