My second 356:
1956 Speedster 82,426. After putting the '57 1600N coupe on the
track, I decided a Speedster would be more competitive. The Speedster
was purchased on March 5th, 1963 for $700 with no engine. At first I
drove the car to the track, but that became impractical. I remember
driving it home from Wisconsin in the rain and feeling a wave of water
roll over my feet when I hit the brakes on route 41. Then a friend flat
towed it, finally it rode a trailer. Had to buy a tow car.
Tip-off that a Speedster was the car for me:
Lighter cars accelerate faster.
My age when I acquired my second 356:
32.
Engine type:
It carried the 1600N case that came in the '57 coupe with a roller
bearing crank that would easily turn 7,500 and probably went beyond
that, racing being what it is. Isky 1010A cam. Prior to
using the roIler crank I lost a (shell type) rod bearing at Meadowdale
in the hairpin. Roller cranks could tolerate temporary loss of oil
pressure. This was about the time the extended push-rod tube
showed up.
Miles driven per year:
About 20 hours per year. The roller crank was overhauled after each
season by Jacob Preisig, who was raised in Germany during WW2. Jacob
had jars of oversize rollers he brought from Germany, so instead of a
grind the crank received a polish and oversize rollers. Jacob once
offered me a 4 cam engine for $500, which I didn't feel I could afford.
This decision is now on the list of things I would have done
differently.
Favorite destination:
Meadowdale, Wilmot, Milwaukee State Fair Grounds, Lynndale, Blackhawk
Farms. Grattan was rather narrow for passing, Elkhart Lake OK, but I
liked shorter tracks that are better suited to this displacement. I had
short course and long course transaxles, switching them was a pain.
Fantasy road trip:
Take a few laps around Meadowdale, even without the wall, but the
pavement is gone now.
Most inconvenient mechanical failure:
Losing #4 exhaust rocker at Blackhawk Farms; best race of my life up
to that time, three cars separated by about as many feet. Some years
later Vic Skirmants told me I should have used the "A" short rocker,
unlike the alloy ones, "they don't break". Earlier a flywheel divorced
itself from its hub, another time a cast iron pressure plate broke up,
replaced by a steel "Carrera" plate, and the rod bearing failure
mentioned above.
Car I'd have if I couldn't have a 356:
904-6.
What I like most about my car:
Being able to hear that engine with no top to obstruct the sound.
Most unique feature:
Probably the Chassis Engineering rims The company appears to be
defunct, and I've never seen any others. Some won't like them. Dual
circuit disc brakes, 12V. Not a lot of Speedsters with
windshield washers, I'll probably take some heat for those, but I how
else do I clean the windshield?
Most recent repair:
Go to
http://www.paintwerks.net; click on the "Restoration Gallery", then
click on the gold "Speedster" emblem. There are a lot of pictures,
drill down to the bottom to see Dave Zimmer's finished product. Prior
to Dave's sheet metal work and paint job the car spent two months in
Franklin (S-W of Milwaulee, WI) at Restoration Specialists where it was
dipped to remove all coatings, then shipped to Michigan where it
received a PPG Electrocoating, a process that coats everything! The
right door was severly damaged in an incident at Wilmot, its replacement
came from a '55 Speedster #80,660 found in an Evanston junkyard by the
son of a friend; the yard couldn't sell us the car since they had no
title, it had been abandoned and police-towed, so we stripped it. That
junkyard 1500N engine powered the '57 coupe for several years, and it
may see time in the Speedster with 1720 cc.
Longest drive so far:
Towed to SCCA national at Mid Ohio track; engine smoked in about two
laps! Disgusted I had traveled that far to find I had an engine
problem, I decided I needed a dyno. Bought a used 150hp Stuska dyno; it
was like turning a light on.
Next project with this car:
Putting it back together, right now it's just a shell, no trans, no
front suspension. It's a stunning car, thanks to Dave
Zimmer.