2014 #4 - 356CAR

2014 Issue 4
Ellie Stout in the Vintage Silver Playpen (story inside)
IN THIS ISSUE
Inside the Goodwood Revival
Porsche 908 Flounder
NGK Story
Product Review
Blaupunkt Story
Revs Digital Library
Tech Note
... and more!
1
356CAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
356CAR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
& COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Barney Speckman
President
bmspeckman@aol.com
2130 Belford Drive
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
hm: 925-937-3972
mb:925-367-3940
Ed Morris Vice President
eds356@gmail.com
31 Anderson Circle
Walnut Creek, CA 94595
hm: 925-933-1285
Phil Rowe Director
prowe46@yahoo.com Membership
2660 Night Hawk Way
Camino, CA 95709
hm: 530-748-3547
mb: 925-595-2180
Elaine Cannon
Director
ecannon@surewest.net Treasurer
2931 Lacy Lane
Sacramento, CA 95821
hm: 916-283-6742
Kent Anderson
Director
kentanderson2000@aol.com Secretary, Insurance
19094 Madison Avenue
Castro Valley, CA 94546
hm: 510-538-9590
mb: 510-909-2311
Rich Peters
Director
rich.peters@me.comCo-Events Chairman
419 Georgetown Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94402
hm: 650.343.4356
mb: 650.218.2895
Ron Delmendo
rdelmendo@gmail.com 2713 Henri Court
Davis, CA 95618
hm: 530.756.1011
mb: 530.574.6967
Director
Co-Events Chairman
Jim Reeder, Jr. jlr210@aol.com 5255 Mowry Ave. Suite L
Fremont, CA 94538
wk: 510-793-4030
mb: 510-409-7576
fx: 510-790-2838
Director
Special Projects
1st Saturday 8:30 AM San Mateo Breakfast
Mimi’s Cafe, 2208 Bridgepointe Parkway, San Mateo. Take Mariners Island Blvd. exit just east of Hwy 101 on Hwy 92, head north, turn right on Bridgepointe Parkway, restaurant is on the right. Contact Michael Hodos at mehodos@mac.com or 650-326-1621.
2nd Saturday Sacramento Breakfast
9:00 AM 3rd Saturday 9:00 AM Marie Calendar’s, 5525 Sunrise Blvd, Citrus Heights. Hwy 50 east to
Sunrise Blvd., head north about 4 miles just past Madison Ave, restaurant is on the left. Contact Jim Hardie at jehardie@aol.com or 916-972-7232.
Hollister Breakfast
San Juan Oaks Golf Course, Hollister, 156 east off of Hwy 101, 4 miles past San Juan Bautista, right on Union Road, right to the golf course. Contact Jack Biersdorff at jbiersdorff@aol.com or 831-636-3046.
1st Tuesday Santa Cruz Dinner
6:00 PM Johnny’s Harborside 493 Lake Avenue, Santa Cruz 95062, 831.479.3430
Located in the upper yacht harbor just off Murray Street. Contact Steve Douglas at soquelglen@prodigy.net or 831-239-1291.
5th Saturday Central Coast Breakfast
9:00 AM
Spanish Bay Golf Course Clubhouse, Pebble Beach. Enter 17 Mile Drive via the Pacific Grove Gate, mention the Porsche Breakfast for free entrance. Contact George Breein at gbreein@comcast.net or 408-888-5925
Cover photo: Pete Stout
Michael Hodos
Director
mehodos@mac.comNewsletter Editor
944 Bryant Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301
hm: 650-326-6121
Bob Cannon
Associate Newsletter
a65cab@surewest.net Editor
2931 Lacy Lane
Sacramento, CA 95821
hm: 916-283-6742
2
President’s Message
By Barney Speckman
Upcoming 356CAR Board Meeting
Our next 356CAR Board meeting is scheduled for February 28. In the
past we have been holding these meeting at the Sailor Jack’s Restaurant
in Benicia @ 10 AM and we are tentatively planning to hold the next one
there as well. Be sure to check the 356CAR.org website for any changes
since we occasionally will hold our board meetings via conference call.
As always, members are always welcome to attend the Board meetings
whether in person or via conference call.
I can’t say enough about the fantastic job that Michael has done in bringing
the newsletter to us for more than ten years, all the while continuously
improving it the highly polished professional newsletter that it is today.
Thank you Michael! We will miss you in that role but look forward to your
continuing contributions as an active board member.
Driving Season
Spring is just around the corner so now is the time get our cars tuned up,
polished and ready to drive. Speaking of which, there is an abundance of
evidence to show that the most common driving mistakes most drivers
make on a regular basis are (a) going too fast and (b) not allowing enough
time to react to the potential mistakes of other drivers. Common sense
says the faster we drive the quicker we get somewhere . . . including
potentially hitting another car! So let’s all do each other a favor and slow
down on the road. In short, let’s always remember to be very careful out
there!
Event Planning Well Underway
Rich Peters and Ron Delmendo have already begun work to fill the Events
Calendar for 2015 as you’ll note from the “Schedule of Events” listing in
this issue. First up is what promises to be a fun gathering on April 18 that
we hope will bring many of our Northern California members together.
See the “Spring Train Tour” flyer on page 5 of this issue for details. This
year we are also going to hold another of our biennial “Gathering of the
Faithful” socials. If you are interested in helping with one or more of these
events and/or have event suggestions for Rich and Ron, please don’t
hesitate to contact them.
Barney
North Meets South 2015
This year NMS will be hosted April 30-May 3 in Cambia by the Southern
California 356 Club. Be sure to check our 356CAR.org website for the
latest information. While registration is scheduled to open on or about
January 15, reservations at the Cambria Pines Lodge can and should be
made NOW. Be sure to ask for the 356 Club rate.
facebook.com/356car
(you can browse our Facebook page without being a member- check it out!)
Upcoming Events
Just a reminder to regularly check the newsletter’s “Schedule of Events”
and the 356CAR.org “Calendar” section for dates and details of upcoming events. While we do periodically send out email announcements and
reminders of major events, there’s a lot going on this year and we would
hate to have anyone miss out on any activity.
Are you getting your 356CAR emails?
Featured Articles
Be sure to see the following articles in this issue: The story behind this
issue’s wonderful cover photo; an insider’s report from The Goodwood
Revival; the history of two companies whose products are found in nearly
every 356: Blaupunkt and NGK; the evolution of the now-famous Porsche
908 Flounder Spyder; the Revs Digital Library that is now publicly available
online.
356CAR Newsletter Advertising
Welcome to new advertiser and long time 356CAR member Steve Heinrichs whose new book The Porsche 4-Cam Motor and the Early Years of
Porsche Motorsports – From the 356 and 550 Spyder to the 904 GTS will
soon be available and can be reserved now.
356CAR relies on Constant Contact email
and event services to keep you up to date
on events. These flyers supplement information in the newslettter. If we don’t have your
email address you will miss out! Update your
contact information at 356CAR.org website
member’s page:
www.356car.org/member.html
(All information remains private)
California Automobile Museum
356CAR board of directors have decided to again support the
California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. For our members
this means that you will have a one-time yearly free admission to
the museum located at 2200 Front Street in Sacramento. Just
tell them you are a member of 356CAR and enjoy the museum!
Badges & Window Stickers
356CAR name badges and grille badges can be ordered directly from new
Membership Chairman Phil Rowe. Also, a few 356CAR window stickers
are still available for free to members in good standing. Contact Michael
Hodos for your copy while the diminishing supply lasts.
356CAR Newsletter Editor Retirement
As I previously announced, after more than a decade as editor of the
356CAR Newsletter with this issue Michael Hodos will formally step aside.
Vice President Ed Morris is working with other members of the Board to
identify a qualified replacement. We are optimistic that we will soon be in
a position to introduce the new newsletter editor. If you are willing to assist the new editor with articles and technical materials please contact me
to find out how you can help.
3
Schedule of Events For 2015
March 7
7 AM
March 8
8 AM
April 18
1:30 PM
Event dates and locations are subject to change.
Always check www.356car.org for the most
up-to-date event information.
32nd Annual Porsche Literature, Toy/Model, and
Memorabilia Swap Meet
At the Los Angeles Airport Hilton Hotel, 5711 West
Century Boulevard, 9 AM to 2 PM. Admission $10 at
9 AM or “Early Bird” admission $30 at 7AM. Over 300
tables of collectibles. For vendor information contact
Wayne Calloway, 1504 East Cedar Street, Ontario, CA
91761 or call Wayne Callaway at 909.930.1999. See
www.LALitandToyShow.com for additional information
and related events throughout the weekend.
August 14
Second Annual Porsche Werks Reunion
See www.werksreunion.com for additional information.
August 13-16
SoCal All-Porsche Swap Meet & Car Display
The Phoenix Club 1340 South Sanderson Avenue,
Anaheim 92806. The 356 Club of Southern California
will have both indoor and outdoor vendor displays as
well as large outdoor areas for swap meet participants
and car corrals. Admission is $10. For additional
information contact Jeff Trask at NO911NV@aol.com
or 949-697-4499 or Pete McNulty at pmcnulty98@aol.
com or 949-400-9319.
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. ~550 vintage vehicles
with Shelby GT3560 Mustang the featured marque.
Ford Motor Company is supporting the effort by designing a paddock display to showcase the history of the
marque, its racing successes and the cars that made
it famous. See www.mazdaraceway.com for additional
information.
September 20
Drive Your Porsche Day
Watch www.356CAR.org for additional information.
October 3-4
12th Classic Sports Racing Group Charity
Challenge Race Weekend at Sonoma Raceway
Take a tax-deductible three-lap ride for charity in the
vintage racecar of your choice for a good cause.
See www.csrgracing.org for additional information.
October 9
4 PM
356 Registry Reunion
Carmel Valley. Refreshments, dinner and socializing limited to 160 Porsche 356s. Location to be announced.
See Porsche356Registry.org for additional information.
October 9-11
Rennsport Reunion V
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Three days of vintage
racing, concours and a number of additional activities celebrating each of the six decades of Porsche
race cars and Porsche history. See www.pca.org for
additional information. Advance tickets available by
phone through Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca at 831242-8200.
East Meets West Spring Train Tour
Western Railway Museum, 5848 Highway 12 Suisun
City, CA 94585. Groups will rendezvous in Sacramento,
Walnut Creek and Novato then caravan to the museum.
For more detailed information see the event flyer in this
issue and at 356CAR.org. For additional information
contact Nell Raymond at nell@nellrock.com or 408.
660.6144.
April 30 - May 3 North Meets South 2015
Cambrian Pines Lodge. 2905 Burton Drive, Cambria,
CA 93428. Special room rates have been confirmed.
Ask for 356 Club rates. Event registration is scheduled to open on or about January 15. Watch 356CAR.
org for registration information.
August 8-9
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This is the relaxed
kickoff to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
August 13-16. Admission is $20 per day. See www.
mazdaraceway.com for additional information.
August 11
Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours On The Avenue
See www.carmelconcours.com for additional ionformation.
August 11-12
10 AM-6 PM
Automobilia Monterey
Embassy Suites, Seaside. The largest automobilia
show in America and the only time during the vintage
weekend where you will find ~50 international dealers
in a single venue selling original posters, photographs,
etc. See automobiliamonterey.com for additional
information.
4
East Meets West
Spring Train Tour
Saturday, April 18th
Join us at the Western Railway Museum
for a day of Historic Trains, Museum
Tour and Wild Flowers. Bring a Picnic
and plan to spend the day with 356ers
from all over Northern California.
Admission $10/person
Meeting Points:
Sacramento - Starbucks Coffee 1461 Meadowview Rd.
Sacramento, 95832 (I-5 Exit: Meadowview) Meet at 9:30 am
East Bay - Countrywood Shopping Center, 744 Bancroft
Rd. at Treat Blvd. Walnut Creek, CA 94598, near Panera
Bread. Meet at 9:30 am
Marin County - Vintage Oaks Shopping Center/Starbucks
Coffee. 132 Vintage Way, Novato, CA 94945 (101 at Rowland Blvd East) Meet at 9:30 am
Sound familiar?
THErE’S a PlaCE for CollECTorS liKE You.
WElComE HomE.
CLASSIC CAR INSURANCE
888-460-6040 | HAGERTY.COM
5
Western Railway Museum
5848 Highway 12
Suisun City, CA 94585
Contact: Nell Raymond
nell@nellrock.com or 408. 660.6144
The Goodwood Revivial
By Elaine Cannon
How do you describe The Goodwood Revival
from a newbie’s viewpoint? Try this . . .
C
lose your eyes and become a time-traveler. Suddenly you are in post WWII outside London. Men
are dressed in their uniforms and the women are
in their below-the-knee suits with Victory Curl upswept
hairdos and conservative shoes. Or maybe you prefer
the 50s. Rock and Roll has hit England and the girls
have full skirts, crinoline petticoats and saddle shoes
and everyone is dancing to jive and the jitterbug. Or
maybe you want to see what it was like in the 60s with the Mods
in their skinny suits driving around on Mopeds with the girlfriend
on the back or you want to see the Rockers with their motorcycles, denim jackets and white tee shirts. Brighton Beach was
the place to be and it is not far from Goodwood.
While the vintage clothing and accessories are only part of the
fun of Goodwood, that’s what made it so fantastic for me. A
little more about clothes and then I’ll move on. EVERYONE
dresses in period outfits. If you don’t, you look very out of
place. While they allow clothing from the 70s, neon jumpsuits
and dreadlocks are hard to look at even now 40 years later.
So this is how this trip started for us. Stephen and Vicky Childs
have been part of the Members Club of The Goodwood Revival
for 20 years and invited us to go with them this past September. Mark and Sharon Smedley are also Members and have
been attending for 12+ years. The six of us planned to meet
on Thursday, September 11 in Bogner Regis, a little town on the
coast close to the Goodwood estate. Bob and I were doing a
3-week trip so we spent the first 4 days in London enjoying the
sights. Packing for a trip like this is challenging. We travel light.
We take one suitcase each around 25 pounds and a carry-on.
We have learned over the years that it is better to wear the
same clothes over and over than to be lugging suitcases up
and down steps, through railroad stations, over cobblestones,
etc. But since we needed vintage clothes that would also work
for 2+ weeks of normal travel it became a bit more challenging.
Guys can get away with wearing the same outfit each day. A
tweed jacket, shirt, tie, newsboy hat and comfortable shoes and
you are good to go. Ladies need to look in your closets for a
skirt, top, pants and maybe a dress that looks a bit vintage and
then just add vintage accessories (hat, gloves, purse, glasses
etc.) and you are set.
Because the Childs and the Smedleys are Goodwood Club
Members and are pros at the Revival weekend, we just followed
along. We stayed at a hotel a few miles from the estate and
rode in a 60s VW bus to the event. We had a fantastic parking
area in the Member’s area along with others in their vintage
vehicles. The safari equipped car next to us had a real tiger skin
draped over the front and the owner watched the races from
a chair on top of the car. Other people set up tables, chairs
with fine china and wine glasses to enjoy the races. We would
arrive, show our passes and the first stop would be breakfast
at the Member’s tent. An English breakfast is feast with eggs,
sausage, ham, beans, blood sausage, toast, muffins and coffee.
After all, you need strength for the day ahead.
Elaine in full vintage attire at Goodwood
Steven Childs, Mark Smedley, Vickie Childs, Sharon Smedley and Bob Cannon
enjoying a proper “Full-English Breakfast” trackside
6
Some of the many unique characters seen
during the Goodwood Revival
Our next task was to secure a table
outside under an umbrella. The daily
weather was fantastic by English standards; the sun was shining and it did get
warm. Then it was off to see the sights!
Because everything is authentic, transportation around the racetrack is via tractors
pulling wagons with seats. The front seat
had a sign warning that on rainy/muddy
days you could expect to get wet. We
got off near the grandstand area and got
our first real look at all the people and
restaurants and shops. Again, everything
is authentic from the time period so there
were Vespa shops, hair styling shops, a
vintage Tesco Grocery store selling dishwashing powder and other staples.
Porsche Classic’s recreation of a vintage racetrack workshop.
Porsche used a Quonset hut building for
their vintage garage. There were three
356s in front with technicians to answer
questions. Magnus Walker was their
guest of honor and he was available for
photos and autographs. I loved the little
energy drinks Porsche gave out that were
in cans similar to the new Porsche motor
oil containers.
At Goodwood you could buy a vintage
outfit, a fur coat, luggage books and
just about anything else from the era. I
especially liked the Goodwood store
where you could buy a logo shirt, driving
gloves, a cashmere scarf or a mechanic’s
suit. Just bring out your credit card and it
could be yours.
Inside the Earls Court Motor display
7
The grounds also include a huge amusement park,
a roller rink and picnic areas. By this time I was
glad that I had forgone vintage shoes and just worn
comfortable walking shoes! There was a cavalcade
of cars in the Art Deco design Earl’s Court Motor
Building with cars up to the early sixties. The “newest” from Porsche were some early 911s with great
period advertising about how they would be best
one ever seen on the track or on the road.
The pits had displays of various vintage-racing cars
and some exact replica kiddies pedal cars. We
didn’t see it, but one of the highlights is a race on
the track’s front straight for the kids. From our
seats at the Member’s tent we could watch the
races on a big screen TV or walk to the fence surrounding the track. And these people really RACE!
They are driving incredibly expensive cars but this is
no-holds-barred racing. At one point two cars tried
to go through a chicane, neither gave way and one
car went veering off with a fair amount of damage.
To add to the authenticity of the event periodically
there would be an air show with vintage planes doing
fly-overs. The whole place would get very quiet as
the Lancasters and Spitfires and Hunters recreated
what it must have been like to live in England during
WWII. The pictures give you some flavor of the
event but don’t do it justice.
Vintage pedal cars ready for the kids’ big race..
Unfortunately, we didn’t see or meet Charles March
(Earl of March) who created The Goodwood Revival
in 1998 on his estate. The Goodwood Road Racing
Company is just part of a 3,000-acre organic farm
with two eighteen-hole golf courses, the Goodwood
aerodrome and flying school, and a 91-bedroom
hotel. Lord March’s estate covers 11,500 acres of
beautiful Sussex countryside. Needless-to-say, The
Goodwood Revival is a very unique experience in the
world of vintage motor sports. There is something
for everyone, all with a unique British accent. We
had a wonderful time thanks to the Childs and the
Smedleys.
Goodwood has a little something for everyone - along with vintage clothes you could get your hair done
JItterbug dance fest out of an Airstream Trailer
Part of a parade of WW II jeeps, trucks and tanks
8
Blaupunkt
The German audio company remains in the game after more than 90 years.
By Terry Shea
A
couple of years back USA
Today changed its identity.
Away went the original
globe motif and in its place was a
simple blue dot. Perhaps someone should have told the Gannett
Corporation that the very symbol
had already been in use since 1923
as a symbol of quality in its own
right by the German radio maker
Blaupunkt.
Many Blaupunkt car radios were
known by the city names given to
them by the company, a branding
tactic they still employ to this
day. Initially the names included
German cities like Frankfurt,
Hamburg, Bremen and Köln, but
they later branched out into a
more global stance in monikers,
adding the likes of London,
Stockholm, Melbourne, San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Toronto
to the mix. The blue point that
had become a symbol of quality
to German consumers almost
overnight had become the same
for both new car buyers and
those who installed Blaupunkt
aftermarket systems.
When five investors founded the
Ideal Radio Telephone and Apparatus Factory in Berlin in 1923
radio was in its infancy in Germany.
Ideal’s first products were headphones and engineers marked
those with the best quality and approved for sale with a blue dot. As
Ideal’s reputation for quality grew
customers began asking for “the
ones with the blue dot on them.”
The blue dot treatment continued
as the company began making
radio receivers. Before the 1920s
were over the Blaupunkt name
(the German term for “blue point”)
would end up on the products
themselves.
In more recent years Bosch has
pioneered other in-car technologies such as the first traffic-information system accessible via
the FM frequency in the Seventies. In the U.S. very few radio
stations opted to participate and
thus the technology never truly
caught on here. Although they
didn’t invent it, Blaupunkt introduced the first mobile navigation
system for cars in 1989. The
TravelPilot IDS relied not on GPS,
but very accurate wheel sensors to determine distance and
direction from a known starting
point. More recent iterations of
the TravelPilot in-car navigation
systems use GPS.
Blaupunkt gets credit for offering
the first regular production car
radio for the German market in
1932 with the introduction of the
Autoradio AS5, though by that time
radios had already been offered
for several years in American cars.
By the end of 1933 Blaupunkt
would become a part of the Robert Bosch Company, its name changed to
Blaupunkt-Werke as a subsidiary of Bosch.
With stiff competition in the consumer electronics market putting the
squeeze on profitability at Blaupunkt, Bosch sold off the subsidiary in
2009 to Aurelius, a German private equity firm noted as a turnaround
specialist. Though production seems to be entirely in Asia today, Blaupunkt continues to manufacture car audio systems along with home audio
players, home security systems, navigation units, tablet PCs, televisions
and, yes, headphones. Though not all of its product lines are distributed
in the U.S., Rockford Corporation handles U.S. distribution for both aftermarket and OEM sales.
Like most German companies, Blaupunkt contributed to the war effort in
World War II by making field radios as well as primers for anti-aircraft guns.
So critical was this armament work that when Allied bombing attacks in
Berlin became more accurate and more destructive Blaupunkt went underground, given space by the Nazi authorities in the bunker-like, reinforcedconcrete catacombs below the Berlin Olympic stadium. After the end of
the war British occupying forces also found the remains of a secret radar
factory under the stadium complex that had been run by Blaupunkt for the
Luftwaffe but the contents had been spirited off by the victorious Soviet
troops that were the first to enter Berlin. And also like so many German
companies during the Nazi era Blaupunkt reportedly used slave labor.
When the war was over Bosch re-established Blaupunkt’s factory in
Hildesheim, a little south of Hanover in northern Germany. As postwar
European auto manufacturing ramped up again in the 1940s and particularly in the 1950s and 1960s Blaupunkt quickly became a prominent
supplier to German and other European automakers including Porsche,
BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Ferrari and Maserati. But its product
line was not only auto related. The company still made headphones along
with home radios, stereo systems and television sets.
For fans restoring their vintage European cars to factory spec, the resale
market for Blaupunkt radios remains strong, particularly on the strength
of the quality built into them in the first place that backed the blue dot on
the faceplate.
Reprinted with the generous permission of Hemmings Sports & Exotic
Car and the assistance of Managing Editor Nancy Bianco.
9
Ellie and the Vintage Silver Playpen
By Pat DeWitt
L
ast summer Clint and I
decided that we wanted to
be a part of the Porsche
Parade and to share our wonderful little 1955 Pre-A coupe race
car with the hundreds of Porsche
enthusiasts gathering in Monterey.
The little silver bent window coupe
has been raced at Laguna Seca
Raceway and other racetracks
annually since I finished the restoration in 1991. I found her in an ad
in the SF Chronicle. I called about
the ad and she sounded like a good
prospect for a vintage car. The
owner insisted that she was road
trip ready so we went to Eureka to
claim her and bring her home.
Photo Credit: Bob Heathcote Photography
Pat DeWitt’s award winning Pre-A racecar.
Two days later we were getting her
ready for her next life. It sort of reminded me of the story about
Black Beauty, a well bred horse who had been worked to near
death and found a new owner who restored her with love and
attention into a fine animal again. As the restoration moved on
it was clear that the car had been painted at least three times.
Fortunately, lots of paint often equals no rust. I was relieved to
discover that it looked like original color was silver! Better yet,
there were some scraps of the original interior that was a Regal
Red. Yes, silver over red . . . what could be better? Eventually
the kardex from Porsche confirmed the color. She won her
first Concours class and at her first race the Sonoma Historics
where she was awarded a silver bowl for Presentation and Performance. A few years later a letter came from Brian Redman
inviting her to the first Rennsport Reunion at Lime Rock Park in
Connecticut. At Rennsport IV at Laguna Seca she appeared in
several of the short films made by Porsche to introduce the new
911.
Fast forward a few years to the Historical Display at the 2014
Porsche Parade where we had the pleasure of offering Panorama Editor Pete Stout’s 2 year old daughter Ellie a place to have
a look at a race car from the driver’s seat! Her eyes sparkled
and her smile was ear to ear. Her father Pete resisted at first.
After all these were Concours cars and she was only two years
old!
Ellie having fun at the Porsche Parade. Photos by Pete Stout
Clearly Ellie was fascinated with being inside the car. She
couldn’t see out while sitting in the Speedster seat so she
calmly pulled herself up with the steering wheel. Not surprisingly it was natural for her to grip the wheel at the 10 and 2 o’clock
positions. A curious smile came across her face and then she
played to the crowd that had gathered to watch this 2 year old
explore the two front seats.
Dad Pete, ever the Editor, recorded the whole experience with
his trusty camera. She spent about half an hour inside the car
and never touched the dash controls, ashtray, rear view mirror,
horn ring or the very fragile turn signal lever. I think anyone can
see the look in her eyes as she stands in the seat and is lost in
thoughts about driving the car someday. Her parents say she
is going to be a car girl! Pete, you better start saving for her
Porsche. I know from experience that they cost much more than a pony!
10
The Porsche 908/02 Flounder
A
Dan and Mary Reese’s beautiful Martini livery 908.02 at the Daytona Rennsport Reunion III in October 2007.
mong the long litany of purebred competition Porsches manufactured and campaigned at premier-level throughout the 1950s
and 1960s into the 1970s, the lean, lightweight, handsome and
sophisticated 3-litre flat-8 engine Type 908 cars have special significance.
They are the design that first elevated Porsche from being consistent
class winners in FIA World Championship of Makes endurance racing to
becoming consistent challengers almost everywhere for outright victories
and top title honors.
The Porsche 908 was introduced in 1968 as the next step in the progression of 2-litre 906 and 910, as well as 2.2-litre flat-8 907 series of models
designed under the daring and far-sighted Technical Director Ferdinand
Piech. The FIA introduced a 3-litre engine capacity limit for fifty purebred
Group 6 sports-prototype cars in the 1968 season while initially allowing
a 5-litre limit for fifty Group 4 production-run sports cars (soon reduced to
twenty-five cars.)
Where the previous Porsche 907 Coupes used air-cooled 2.2-litre flat-8
engines developing around 270bhp, the replacement 908 Coupe model’s
new air-cooled 3-litre flat-8 engine initially produced a claimed 350bhp
at 8,400 rpm. Although these were relatively lightweight engines, being
traditionally air-cooled and with only 2 valves per cylinder, they could
not match the outright power output of contemporary 3-litre Formula 1
engines. On the other hand, they were also tuned and developed to survive a minimum six hours or 1,000kms endurance racing on some of the
world’s toughest and roughest circuits while also requiring the reliability to
survive 12 hours racing at Sebring as well as full 24 hours at Daytona and
Le Mans.
Initially Porsche’s 908s were configured as closed Coupes seeking maximum speed through low aerodynamic drag on fast circuits. While a beautiful and effective long-tailed Langheck Coupe version was also developed
for ultra high-speed at Le Mans, Spa and Monza, for 1969 the works concentrated upon an ultra-lightweight, stark and austere open-cockpit Spyder
version, handsomely styled, fast enough and extremely nimble – the
Porsche 908.02. The weight saving from Coupe to Spyder could be as
much as 100 kg (220 lbs.) but racing fortunes into 1969 proved variable.
All three open-cockpit works 908.02s failed in the early-season Daytona
24-Hours, while at the Sebring 12-Hours 908.02 problems opened the way
for a Ford GT40 victory.
With the initially 4.5-litre flat-12 Porsche 917 introduced at that year’s
Geneva Salon it seemed that 908-02’s days were numbered, but in the
white heat of racing development the 3-litre sports-prototypes simply
clicked. In the BOAC 1000 kilometer race at Brands Hatch in England the
works 908.02s finished 1-2-3 in defeating the new works Ferrari 312P
V12. Further Porsche 908.02 victories followed in the Targa Florio, the
Spa 1000 Kms and in the ADAC 1000 kilometer at the Nurburgring where
an overwhelming 1-2-3-4-5 flotilla finish by the Porsches demolished all
opposition!
While the big 917 Coupe endured lengthy teething troubles, the opencockpit 908.02s secured for Porsche the 1969 World Championship
of Makes. At Le Mans the closest yet finish to the 24-Hour Grand Prix
d’Endurance had seen Gerard Larrousse in a 908 Langheck Coupe narrowly beaten to the finish by Jacky Ickx’s Gulf-JW Ford GT40. The winning,
or from Porsche’s point of view losin, margin between the 908 Coupe and
the GT40 was barely 120 meters.
But in time for the Nurburgring 1000 kilometer race that year a new
more aerodynamically-bodied version of the 908.02 Spyder known as the
Flunder or Sole (as in the species of flat fish) was introduced. The new
variant’s re-profiled body paneling, molded in ultra-light and thin glass fiber
had a cleaner nose line with smaller central oil-cooler air intake, waist sills,
a higher waistline, flattened wheel-arch humps and more tightly-enclosed
rigid cockpit surround leaving only the tiniest regulation opening for the
driver and above the notional passenger-seat space. For Le Mans with its
ultra-fast 3-mile-long Mulsanne Straight a further development emerged
in a Longtail or Spyder Langheck variant. This proved so effective that it
was nearly as fast in practice as the works team’s three Longtail Coupe
cars. The star pairing of Jo Siffert/Brian Redman preferred this Longtail
Flounder for the 24-Hour race itself. To reduce this 908-02 LH Spyder’s
sensitivity to side winds, two prominent tail fins were added to the new
extended rear body section.
But while Siffert/Redman were out of luck at le Mans that year, failing to
finish, the Longtail Spyder configuration would reappear there in 1970 and
go on to be part Porsche’s historic and trend-setting 1-2-3 race result,
finishing 3rd behind two 4.5 liter Porsche 917s and winning the prestigious
3-litre sports-prototype category.
Excerpted from SportsCarDigest.com with the generous permission of
editor Jamie Doyle.
11
NGK
By Terry Shea
F
A major industrial city and a center of
Japanese military aircraft production,
Nagoya was bombed heavily by the U.S.
during World War II. But NGK Spark Plug
came back as did all of Japan. By the
late 1950s, just as Japan’s domestic
industry began ramping up exports, NGK
entered other markets, establishing its
first overseas presence in Brazil in 1959.
Seven years later, a U.S. sales office
was opened. From then on NGK began
opening offices and factories around the
globe, rapidly growing into the largest maker
of spark plugs in the world.
rom exporting antiques, to ceramics, to
firing Formula 1 engines, NGK’s roots
go back a long way. While the NGK
Spark Plug Co. has existed since 1936, its
history goes all the way back to 1878 when
Ichizaemon Morimura and his brother Toyo
formed the Morimura Brothers company to
export Japanese and Asian artworks, primarily ceramics, to the United States.
After centuries of near complete isolation,
Japan had only opened its doors to foreign
trade in the 1850s. When Toyo Morimura set
up the company’s store in New York it was the first
Japanese company with a retail presence in the Big
Apple. The growth of that export enterprise would reach
to nearly $5,000,000 per year in 1908 by which time the company had well over a hundred employees just in New York. Even
before that, by the turn of the century the company had already
grown into a big wholesaler in Japan as well as New York.
When Honda first joined the Formula 1 circus in 1964
they used NGK plugs and when Honda topped the podium
with Richie Ginther at the wheel in Mexico City a year later
NGK plugs fired every one of the RA272’s 12 cylinders.
NGK remained involved in Formula 1 and in 1998 achieved
its 100th victory with Mercedes-Benz. In 2007 every race
winner in F1 used NGK plugs. Since at least 2011 both
Mercedes and Ferrari have been using NGK spark plugs.
Tragedy struck in 1899 with Ichizaemon’s oldest son and Toyo
both dying within two months of each other. Ichizaemon, a big
believer in commerce as a tool for improving the entirety of
society, doubled down and got into manufacturing china and
other ceramics when he founded the Nippon Toki Partnership
Corporation which would later go by the name Noritake. With
1,500 employees at the Nagoya factory and Ichizaemon’s
insistence on only producing the highest quality products the
china factory soon became a major exporter to the U.S. which
saw giant retailers like Woolworth hawking its wares. At a
time when “Made in Japan” was synonymous with inferior
goods Noritake china stood out as a symbol of quality.
Today NGK has factories in several countries and sales and
distribution centers in many more. Beyond Japan those
manufacturing locations include the U.S. and Germany
where it also operates R&D engineering facilities. Under
the NTK banner the company also sells oxygen (lambda)
sensors and knock sensors. In the U.S. NGK operates
facilities in California, Michigan, West Virginia and Illinois.
Worldwide, NGK is said to be the world’s largest supplier of spark plugs, producing a half billion plugs annually. Likewise, they are also the largest supplier of
oxygen sensors. A far cry from a small retail store
on 6th Street in New York, NGK today is a worldwide
name in the auto industry.
In 1909 the entrepreneurial Ichizaemon established a
sort of mission statement that declared that his companies would work “for the peace, happiness, justice and
humanity of the people of all countries.” Like Robert
Bosch, who gave almost the entirety of the shares
in his eponymous company to a charity foundation,
Ichizaemon gave significant contributions to the health
and education fields including laying the seed money to
establish the first infectious disease lab in Japan, as well as
significant donations to many universities. He even created
the first private grant-offering organization in Japan in the
form of the Morimura Homei-kai.
Reprinted with the generous permission of Hemmings
Sports & Exotic Car and the assistance of Managing
Editor Nancy Bianco.
As Noritake’s ceramics business blossomed the company
began branching out. Starting in 1909 Noritake began making ceramic electrical insulators, and in 1919, it spun off its
insulator division to create Nippon Gaishi Kaisha Insulators,
Ltd, or simply NGK Insulators. As spark plugs became an
increasingly profitable and growing part of its business NGK Insulators spun off NGK Spark Plug Company in 1936. The following year
Toyota would be formed just a few miles away in a suburb of Nagoya.
12
Revs Digital Library Now Available Online
S
tanford University’s new Revs Digital
Library provides a web-based tour
through the world of the automobile –
its past, present and future.
In 2011, Stanford University and The Revs Institute for Automotive Research, Inc. in Naples,
Florida established a partnership designed
to provide access to the historic collections
curated by the Revs Institute. As a result of
this partnership, the new Revs Digital Library
provides access to hundreds of thousands of
images related to the history of auto racing and
the cultural significance of the automobile.
The digital trove is a Stanford University Libraries project for the Revs
Program on campus. Thanks to a gift from Revs Institute president Miles
Collier, Stanford Libraries recently launched the online site, which includes
nearly 200,000 images from 12 collections documenting automotive
history. The website expands research opportunities for scholars and
students.
The overall collection at Revs currently includes nearly one million images
and is constantly growing. New image collections will be added as they
are received, digitized and processed, said Gabrielle Karampelas, the
director of communications and development for Stanford University
Libraries. The content will be stored in the Stanford Digital Repository.
Launched in 2011, the Revs Program is a multidisciplinary center dedicated to the study of cars. Collier said that when his organization looked
for a partner to develop a digital library site, they soon discovered that
Stanford Libraries was the best choice.
“Stanford’s digital map project and their work in documenting the development of Silicon Valley were projects we looked to as emblematic of the
Stanford University Libraries’ ability to help us achieve our goals,” said
Collier.
Additionally, Hearst Publishing Corp. recently transferred its entire archive
of Road & Track magazine to Stanford University Libraries, which will
preserve and digitize the collection for future research.
The Revs Digital Library can be found at revslib.stanford.edu. In addition to
database access, Revs can also provide high quality images for publication or research.
For more information, email library@revsinstitute.org or visit revslib.
stanford.edu.
[Source: Revs Institute; Stanford University]
Reprinted from SportsCarDigest.com with the generous permission of
editor Jamie Doyle.
Editor’s Note: As an example of what’s available in this voluminous resource, go to revslib.stanford.edu then click on “Model” and then “Porsche
356”. You’ll find some 190+ vintage images of our favorite make and
model of car!
13
Tech Note – DIN Wiring Codes
A
ll German cars conform to a common specification dictated by the engineering association known as Deutsches Institut fur Normung or DIN for
short. DIN standards date back to 1917 to include the colors of wiring in automobiles. Every color or color combination stands for an electrical function, brown representing ground being the most well known.
If portions of your 356 wiring harness has been replaced years ago and you are wondering where all the wires connect, you can get a head start with
the basic color and then the trace color.
You might ask, “Where can I find a Porsche 356 wiring diagram?” You can find wiring diagrams for Pre-A thru 356C in the appropriate Workshop Manuals
and Drivers Manuals but they are in black and white only.
While a large-scale 356B color diagram is still available, it is in effect a universal version that doesn’t apply to many 356 models. So how are you supposed to know which color wire goes to which switch, light, horn, etc.?
Here are the correct DIN wire codes for our 356s:
LIGHT GREEN - Leads from oil pressure sender and ignition points
GREEN/BLACK STRIPE - Leads from oil temperature sender
RED - Leads from batteries to generators and to light and ignition switches
BLACK - Leads from batteries to starters and from light and ignition switches to ignition coil
BROWN - All ground wires
The stripe over the main color further delineates the
function.
For colors relating to specific functions see Joe
Leoni’s Book at http://blocks-books.com/BLOCKSBOOKS/356_Electrics.html
Also, use Wikipedia.com to search DIN 72552 for
terminal numbers and additional information.
LIGHT BLUE - Leads to generator light and turn signal indicator light
WHITE - Leads to headlights
WHITE WITH YELLOW STRIPE - Leads to fog lights
YELLOW - Leads to low beam headlight
GREY - Leads to tail lights, license plate lights, etc.
While parts of this article originally appeared in the online Stoddard Newsletter, the information included here contains a number of corrections provided
by preeminent Porsche mechanic Clark Anderson.
14
Product Review – J-B Weld
By Michael Hodos
A
t a recent San Mateo 356CAR Breakfast a new
member asked a small group of us if we could
suggest the best way to repair a hubcap emblem
off which one of the attachment prongs had broken.
About half of us instantly answered in unison “J-B Weld”
to which the other half responded, “What’s J-B Weld?” Of
course, the first half then replied almost in unison, “You’ve
never heard of J-B Weld?” So for those who have never
heard of and/or used J-B Weld, here goes . . .
The J-B Weld Company had its beginnings in the mid1960s. Sam Bonham, at the time running a machine
shop, discovered a way to create what he called a
“tougher than steel” epoxy. In 1968 Sam’s future wife
Mary persuaded him to sell his invention and found the
J-B WELD Company. Initially they sold just to automotive
shops in Texas. The company now does business in all
states in the United States and in 27 other countries.
J-B Weld epoxy adhesives are generally considered to be
among the strongest, easiest to use two-part bonding
products available. They are known for their ability to
bond to a wide variety of surfaces (metal, wood, fiberglass, PVC, ABS, concrete, ceramic, glass, and fabric to
name a few), even in the toughest environments.
In fact, my wife’s family owns a very large farm in central
Wisconsin and to the best of my knowledge there isn’t a
single piece of farm equipment on the place that hasn’t
been repaired with J-B Weld . . . tractor engine blocks
included! Not surprisingly, the J-B Weld advertising tagline
is: Any Project. Any Surface. Any Time.
While normal setting time at room temperature is 15-24
hours, I usually let jobs set up for a couple of days just to
be on the safe side.
By the way, one feature of J-B Weld not often mentioned
is that it seems to store almost forever in unmixed form.
The tubes I have been using in my garage have got to be
at least 15 years old and they still work as intended when
mixed and applied according to the directions.
So next time you have a hubcap emblem with a broken
prong, rest assured that J-B Weld is all you need! In all
likelihood the repair will far outlast the solder that was
originally used to secure the prong to the back of the
emblem in the first place!
J-B Weld packages like the one shown typically cost less than $10 at your local hardware store. For most of us
that represents a near lifetime supply!
15
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
M
onterey, CA -- Get your period-correct historic racecar travel
plans lined up early for the 2015 Monterey Pre-Reunion on
August 8-9 and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion on
August 13-16. The 2015 featured marque will be the Shelby Mustang
GT350. Cars are accepted based on authenticity, race provenance and
the historical accuracy of mechanical preparation and livery. This is a
distinguishing hallmark of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion events
that adhere to a strict code of authenticity.
The race groups for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion on
August 13-16 include:
Pre-1940 Sports Racing and Touring
1927-1951 Racing
1955-1962 GT
1963-1966 GT over 2500cc
1973-1981 FIA, IMSA, GT, GTX, AAGT, GTU
1981-1991 FIA Manufacturers Championship; IMSA GTO/GTP
1955-1961 Sports Racing over 2000cc
1955-1961 Sports Racing under 2000cc
1970-1984 Sports Racing under 2100cc
1947-1955 Sports Racing and GT
1961-1966 GT under 2500cc
1968-1976 Formula 5000
1967-1984 Formula One
1966-1972 Trans-Am
Race groups for the Monterey Pre-Reunion on
August 8-9 include:
1947-1955 Sports Racing and GT
1955-1962 GT
1955-1961 Sports Racing under & over 2000cc
1958-1963 Formula Junior
1961-1966 GT under 2500cc
1961-1967 USRRC
1963-1966 GT over 2500cc
1966-1972 Trans-Am
1968-1976 Formula 5000
1970-1979 Sports Racing under 2000cc
1973-1991 FIA, IMSA, GT, GTX, AAGT, GTU/GTO
For additional information visit www.mazdaraceway.com and click on the
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion image. Advance tickets for the
Reunion are now on sale at the same website. Advance tickets for the
Pre-Reunion are $25 per day available for purchase only at the paddock
admission gate or ticket office.
Sonoma Raceway Vintage Race Schedule
V
intage race weekends
make up one-third
of the major events
planned for 2015 at Sonoma
Raceway in Northern California.
The Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival starts off the
raceway’s season on May
30-31, and the Classic Sports
Racing Group Charity Challenge closes the season on
October 3-4. In between are
four events for the NASCAR,
NHRA drag racing and the
IndyCar series.
Tickets for all 2015 Sonoma Raceway major events are now on sale.
For tickets or more information, call 800-870-RACE (7223) or visit www.
racesonoma.com.
16
Need more garage space?
See Leigh Rutledge and Bill Hambrick
for Sacramento’s finest homes....
356 owners who know the
needs of car enthusiasts!
916-612-6911
leigh@leighrutledge.com
916-600-6528
bill@billhambrick.com
DUNNIGA
N
Realtors
17
John’s Mobile Engine Service
Expert Vintage VW & Porsche Repair
Parts & Service
Bead Blasting
650-574-4643
18
1753 Leslie Street
San Mateo, CA 94403
Has Your 356CAR
Membership Expired?
Please take a look at your mailing label.
Your 356CAR membership renewal was due in June.
Memberships are $15 a year for the 356CAR eNewsletter or $21 a year for the hardcopy 356CAR Newsletter. An electronic version of the newsletter is now
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356CAR Membership
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first name 356CAR Club Membership
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Club name badges with magnetic attachments are
available to each active member and one additional
driver for $9 per badge plus $2 mailing. Badges are
normally mailed within 30 days of payment receipt.
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Badges may be ordered online @ 356car.org (members page) or contact: Phil Rowe prowe46@yahoo.com
to make the necessary arrangements.
email
preferred meeting location
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Capitola
San Mateo
Hollister
Central Coast
Move to paradise with everything
you could wish for, just 2 hours from Lake Tahoe
- all for $200,000 to $650,000 for beautiful wellbuilt homes, many with 3 car garages. HOA dues
only $104/mo. and Kaiser is 5 minutes away.
Call or e-mail me - Rick Bradley, original owner of a
1960 Porsche 356 and charter 356 Registry member about moving to Del Webb’s 10-year-old Sun CityLincoln Hills, between Roseville and Rocklin.
RICK BRADLEY
REALTOR®
E-Mail:
rickwbrad@msn.com
916.408.0431 Home/Office
916.786.4600 Business
916.786.5287 Fax
RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE
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Roseville Office
2270 Douglas Blvd., Suite 120
Roseville, CA 95661
DRE # 01874661
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19
2660 Night Hawk Way
Camino, CA 95709
Leaded Glass
Stained Glass
Sandblasting
Awards
Glassware
Cabinet Doors
20
Rachel Nelson
(530) 677-5188
by appointment CSL# 797540
www.originalglassgirl.com