Rare 1955 Porsche 356 undergoes full body restoration in Geraldine
The “genius” of a South Canterbury car restorer has played a large part in the rebuilding of the first Porsche imported into New Zealand. South Canterbury company Geraldine Auto Restorations has restored the body work on the rare 1955 Porsche 356 Continental Pre-A Coupe, the first Porsche imported into New Zealand. The restoration has been praised by the owner of the car, Paul Glasier, and has made a lot of progress on putting the car together since it arrived back from Geraldine. The car has a rich history, having been raced in New Zealand by the late Sir Stirling Moss and previously owned by former world speedway champion Barry Briggs and Kiwi television presenter Dougal Stevenson. It was raced extensively by Alex Stringer and was later sold and in 1975 suffered a massive engine fire in Auckland.
Publicado : Hace 2 años por Doug Sail en Auto
South Canterbury company, Geraldine Auto Restorations, has restored the body work on the first Porsche imported into New Zealand.
The “genius” of a South Canterbury car restorer has played a large part in the rebuilding of the first Porsche imported into New Zealand.
The work on the rare 1955 Porsche 356 Continental Pre-A Coupe by Paul Glasier and his crew at Geraldine Car Restorations has drawn the highest of praise from Wellington-based owner Jon Pottinger.
“It has been very pleasurable working with the owner on this car, so very excited,” Glasier said after the car, which had undergone a full bare paint body restoration, headed back to Wellington.
“I was sad to see it go because you spend a lot of time on these cars, but you've got to let them go.”
Pottinger said the "genius" of Glasier was recommended to him for the body restoration.
“We chatted for a while ... a lot of places don't have the proper gear for such a restoration ... he's done a fantastic job ... it's got beautiful bodywork,” Pottinger said.
Glasier said the business had probably done eight Porches, but this was the first pre-A they had worked on.
“We ended up fabricating the whole front end, sills and doors and just making them all line up and fit.
“When we finish fabricating the panels, we sit them on making sure they align, and then we cut and weld them in place and then file finish.
“There's a lot of hammering, a lot of sanding and just perfecting the metal into where it should be.
“Then we start with the prime painting process. We put an acid primer over it first which eliminates any rust and then a filler primer over the top which we then block down and then start blocking it together, preferably straight.
“And then the painting side of it comes along, and we keep sanding and blocking until we've got it perfect.
“Once it has been top coated, we still sand that back with 1500 grit and then up to 3000 grit and then polish.”
Pottinger said he had made a heap of progress on putting the car together since it arrived back from Geraldine.
“I've rebuilt the transmission, the motor is 70-80% ready. I hope to run it in a few weeks ... I have everything ... the upholstery is ready.
“I am quietly putting it together with the help of friends and hope it will be ready sometime early next year.
“And after all this effort, I'm going to drive it around. It is a pretty rare car.”
Pottinger is unsure of the car’s value, but a “matching numbers” 1955 Pre-A 356 1500S Continental identical to his car sold for NZ$404,820 in Monterey in the US last year.
The car has a rich history, having been raced in New Zealand by the late Sir Stirling Moss, and previously owned by former world speedway champion Barry Briggs and Kiwi television presenter Dougal Stevenson.
Australian importer, Hamilton, bought two right-hand drives and a 1955 model was sent to NZ. It was raced extensively by Alex Stringer.
It was later sold and in 1975 suffered a massive engine fire in Auckland.
Pottinger is a former A grade automotive engineer and said he had “always liked Porsches”.
Pottinger, a mechanical technician on the Motor Show with Stevenson, bought the car from the presenter in the early 1990s. He said it was in average condition and running on some Volkswagen wheels and missing many of its original parts.
“I've been hunting as many of the original parts I can from around New Zealand. I've managed to get a number of engine parts and the original brakes from various sources.”
Pottinger said the Porsche had sat “quietly in the corner” of his Powerhaus workshop for many years until he sold the business in 2009.
“Now that I'm pretty much retired, it is time to restore it.”
Temas: Porsche