The last photo above is a view up through the oil sump plate, which is on the bottom of the engine. In other words, this photo is of the INSIDE of the engine. Clean as a whistle!
I removed all the engine tin and re-painted it. On my last 356 I went with powder coat paint, but not this time. The engine has less than 5k on a fresh rebuild, but I thought the engine tin needed to be freshened up. I did not split the main block, just cleaned it up a bit. I did have to rebuild the fuel pump & carbs as they had been out of service for a long time.
The muffler was in good shape but I took it down to bare metal and repainted it with hi-temp paint. Came out very nice!
Is Miss April a car with matching numbers? You betcha! The proof is in the Kardex. Below is a copy of the Kardex for the car and I have typed in a translation to English. I also blocked out the ignition key code just to be safe. Miss April matches the Kardex exactly, having engine 717276, trans 85770, Irish Green paint 6406, Fawn interior code K, and chrome wheels
How many date codes and date stamps are on the engine for Miss April?
In the Originality Section, you'll find two articles I wrote for the 356 Registry magazine. First one is about manufacturer date codes and the second article is about those codes and stamps on one of my previous 356's, Miss June. My current car is Miss APRIL.
To answer the question above- check out this list and the photos below. These date stamps make sense for a car that completed assembly on 2/16/65 as shown on the Kardex.
Note: Here are some other date codes not in the engine compartment
In the Originality Section, you'll find two articles I wrote for the 356 Registry magazine. First one is about manufacturer date codes and the second article is about those codes and stamps on one of my previous 356's, Miss June. My current car is Miss APRIL.
To answer the question above- check out this list and the photos below. These date stamps make sense for a car that completed assembly on 2/16/65 as shown on the Kardex.
- Coil- 501 (January 1965)
- Generator 502 (February 1965)
- Distributor- 412 (December 1964)
- Yellow Wire Bosch Condenser- 404 (April 1964)
- Carburetors- both 10 64
- Air Filter Housings- Both are 1 65 (very hard to read in the painted photo, see photo with the date stamp exposed)
- Oil temperature sender- 1/65
- Voltage Regulator 410 (October 1964)
- Fuel Pump 964 (September 1964)
Note: Here are some other date codes not in the engine compartment
- Horns- both are 501 (January 1965)
- Headlights- both are A45 (45th week of 1964)
- Gas tank, FR65A (January 65)
- Fuel Sender 10 64
- All instrument gauges & clock are 9 64
- Windshield Wiper motor 4 11
- Window Winders- both are 11/64
- Lemmerz chrome wheels 4 @ 11/64, 1 @ 1/65
- Air Diverter Valves- A5 (Possibly January 65)
Not to sure if adding this link will work for non 356 Registry members. Let's hope so. Here is a link to an article on the Registry website I helped with. Subject is the color of 356 C fan shrouds.
Cold start video- Notice in the video that the generator light, oil pressure light, and parking brake work as they should. The engine is tuned so that when warm it idles rock solid at 900 RPM. The video shows that it also will idle smooth at lower RPM's. Video also has a quick demo of the radio working.
Transmission
Not a whole lot to say about the transmission at this point. It is working fine, is full of SWEPCO trans fluid. Here are a few shots of the transmission. Be sure to watch the Driving Video and see the smooth shifting. It really is like the proverbial knife through hot butter! Click on any of the shots to enlarge.
