classic porsche:PW MASTER
19/10/09
15:59
Page 37
PRE-A 356 part of the fun... What makes the restoration of this particular car so exciting, though, is the way in which Paul tried to get inside the head of the people who built it in the first place. That’s what set this apart from the vast majority of such rebuilds. As he says, ‘A lot of thinking has gone into this project. I tried to think of myself in the mechanics’ place so I could figure out how they did certain things. I read a lot of old magazines and studied as many books with early factory pictures as I could lay my hands on. This meant travelling to lots of automobilia auctions in search of original photographs to study in detail.’ But why did he set his standards so high? Paul explains: ‘I have attended Techno Classica Essen, and several other large classic
boots on the transmission, but in a much smaller scale. They took so much work - I needed four, and it took me close to three hours to make each one from scratch! ‘I spent an awful lot of time studying parts,’ continues Rui, ‘in an effort to discover their origins. Thankfully, as many mechanical components are identical to those used on the contemporary VW Beetle, there have been times when I’ve been fortunate enough to find NOS parts, such as the torsion bars, king-pins, brake master-cylinder, wheel cylinders, linkpins, track-rods, and front and rear shocks (the rear shocks actually date back to the wartime era, and are stamped with the very early VW cogwheel logo!). I learnt that many of these parts were not painted, being left as raw metal covered in grease. Of course, I have
make it look like a two-piece windscreen. ‘All the glass is in fact new, but not marked - I chose not to etch-mark the glass because I have yet to find out if it used to be made by Sigla or Sekurit. Working out what to do about the window rubbers was a case of using logic. I struggled for a time to find out where the join should be, and it wasn’t before Tom Birch in America sent me a picture of an original windscreen, with the rubber and glass intact, that I realised my ‘screen had to come out again. The join in the rubber should be at the top and not the bottom. I also found the same with the rear window, by using a magnifying glass while looking at a photo in the Porsche archives. It all makes sense when you think about it: it’s raining, you stop, water runs down the window and gathers at the
going to restore a car well you should aim to “If you’re return it to its factory-original condition ”
events, just so I could see for myself what the experts call a quality restoration. I usually came away disappointed. You see, the true quality of a restoration is only found when you get down on your hands and knees and look underneath. I usually crawl all over a car at a show, and can’t really understand why so many people don’t give much thought to what’s underneath that shiny bodywork. Most restorations - even so-called high-quality ones - lack real attention to detail. I guess I’m strange in that I believe if you’re going to restore a car well you should aim to return to its factory-original condition as accurately as possible in every area. Anything else is only second best.’ The problem here - and this isn’t unique to early Porsches - is that there are many parts which simply aren’t available, no matter how diligently you search. Many smaller parts have to be fabricated after studying drawings and photographs. Paul Rui had to make the tiny hose-clamps for the fuel lines: ‘They are identical to the clamps used for the axle
done it in the same fashion.’ It seems glass and Mr Rui don’t get along too well, though. ‘I managed to crack three sets of windshields and had to order several sets of window rubber from Tom Birch, as he is the only person who makes them. Unfortunately, they are not cut to the right length, so I had to cut them myself, but ended up cutting them either too short or too long, so the glass broke when I tried to install it! Eight times I had the glass in and out, before I was satisfied with the result. I learned that it’s not recommended to tackle this job on your own, like I did - the experts say at least three people are needed to do the job properly but, if you are like me and only trust yourself, you have a problem. ‘Several people try to do it the easy way,’ says Paul, in a disapproving manner, ‘by using the one-piece windscreen from a “bentscreen” 1953 model. They then cut the central sealing strip from the earlier car in two and use silicon - that’s horrible on a 1950s car - to stick the pieces on either side of the glass to
bottom of the seal. Now, if the join is at the bottom, water will seep into the car. Simple logic, you see. Porsche never did use any glue on the early seals...’ After even a few minutes talking with Paul Rui, you start to get the feeling that trying to restore a Pre-A 356 by yourself is a truly daunting task. But even if you entrust the task to a professional, there’s still no guarantee you’ll end up with the right parts being used, not because of any intentional corner-cutting, but simply because so few people really know the minutiae of older Porsches. Paul gives another example: ‘Bumper trim comes in various shapes. Mine has a groove down the middle, which is right for the period. Others don’t and the two are often confused. Also, these early cars have a thin aluminium trim to finish off the valances, The proud owner with the fruits of his ten years of obsessive research. Original Hella headlights are fragile and almost impossible to find in this condition
CLASSIC PORSCHE
37