Your 356 does get a stocking hung on the mantle- right? It needs a little something from Santa. The perfect thing is a fan belt that has the original appearance and all the correct details-- the same as came on your car from the factory! Don't have a modern fan belt staring at you when you open the engine lid! Great for tool kits too!

I have designs that match original belts for everything from Pre-A (get rid of those silly cogged belts) through all 356 models and also early 911.

10% off all orders this Thursday 11/28, through Sunday 12/1.

Already have yours?  Tell a Porsche friend!  More info on the belts and other items are in the Classifieds Section

And.... Have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Some time ago Jim Kellogg posted on 356 Talk about original square weave carpet.  He noted that the replacement carpet being provided had fewer loops than the original German square weave.   The carpet I had in my 356 at that time was provided by a famous interior shop in San Diego, it looked good, and I forgot about the post.

Now comes the time to get carpet for Miss April.  I got a sample from the same famous interior shop and I also got a sample from K&H, the shop I have selected to do the interior.  Guess what?  The swatches are NOT the same.  The loops from K&H are smaller and there are more loops per square inch.  I took a photo of the two samples side by side- see below.  It is hard to see in the photos, but the K&H sample is on the right.  The rows and columns are not as heavily defined as in the other sample.  If you count 10 rows of the sample on the left, there will be 11 rows in the same space for the sample on the right.  Tighter, slightly smaller loops.
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I also have for reference, some photos of clean, unused tan carpet from the factory.  Compare carefully to the shots below.  K&H has it right!

These folders and their contents are really hard to find.  The folders are a paper-like material, and fragile, so getting them in this condition is so rare.  These are from the dealership in Modesto, Calif. and I guess did not get much use.
Happy to add them to the library!  
​Note, the two folders and contents are NOT the same thing.

Having done the bodywork and paint, and now having sent off for the interior, I was thinking maybe I am near the halfway point on the expense of restoring the car.

Wonder if that means it should look like the 356 in this photo-

​ps- Just added my Porsche umbrella to the Classifieds page.
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Was messing around with my temperature sender this week.  I removed it to instpect for the date stamp and was happy to find it's original.  Decided to clean it up, and wow, these little pieces really shine up!  Just a little brass polish and it came to life!

Also made great progress this week as I selected the company to produce the carpet and all vinyl pieces for the interior of the car.  It will be K&H Upholstery of Garden Grove, California.  I will be boxing up the seats and other pieces this weekend and ship to them next week.

​Fawn vinyl and tan carpet as original and on the Kardex- here we go!

I had one of these maroon covered PORSCHE lighters before, and they are just a fun little accessory once offered by the factory.  Picked up this one for under $100 so not a major investment.  Left my hand (or my left hand) in the photo so you can tell the size.

Yes, I am at it again.  The binder below is a fun one and I learned something new about Porsche.  The binders were sent to dealerships for keeping of information that would be reviewed with the sales staff and for updates. The book is divided with nice looking tabs, and this particular binder comes to me with French language tabs.
Here's where I learned something.  Note that this book has an image in the front section showing the customers as King and Queen, and the lowly salesman showing them a 356- clearly a 356 era book.
But, then why, I thought, would there be a tab for Porsche Aviation?  I knew of the Mooney aircraft in the 80's, but this binder is from the late 1950's.
A little research, and I found out that Porsche did provide engines based on the 4 cylinder 356 engine for aircraft.  Read the story about early aircraft engines here:  
Page loads a little slow.  Make sure to read down to the 678 engine (based on the 356).
Fun stuff!