Categories
Porsche Restoration

Reader Restoration: 1965 Porsche 356 Outlaw

Shane Balkwitsch wrote in with this outstanding project that he’s undertaken, and looks nearly complete. Hamilton Classics is assembling this very promising 356 outlaw, with some interesting specifications. As you can see in the ‘before’ shot above, this was no small matter of a paint refresh and some tweaks to the motor. When the car was found she hadn’t been on the road in more than 25 years. As is so often the case with these types of long dormant cars, the disassembly happened and then…. 20 years in a garage.

Shane has documented the progress very well as he keeps tabs on the project remotely. The Internet and digital photography must make these sorts of projects so much easier to keep up with. I’d imagine that in the past, you had to send your car to the specialist that would restore the body, then you’d see it again months later; with nothing but phone calls and an occasional mailed photo along the way. Today owners can receive frequent updates on the status of their projects—perhaps to the dismay of restorers, who must feel they are spending as much time photographing and emailing as beating panels.

The new paint looks marvelous and has a bit of a story of its own. Shane wanted to imbue the car with some Porsche history, despite the updates and mods. What better choice for a color then, than the original shade of silver grey that bedecked Porsche No. 1—the first example Porsche produced in 1948. A phone call to the Porsche Museum later, the paint code was in hand (K45-286). It’s a lovely shade, even if you don’t know the story as it passes you by on the freeway.

Still to come on the project, engine upgrades to boost the factory 95hp motor upwards of 150hp. That, coupled with the modifications that have already been completed to strip weight from the car, are sure to provide no shortage of smiles when Shane travels to Texas to drive her for the first time. Have a blast, Shane! And we wouldn’t mind seeing some photos of her maiden voyage.

More information on Shane’s project site.

Categories
Automotive Art

The Evening Before the Race

“Richard arrived the evening before the race, at the moment when cars were making practice runs. Inez was in the passenger seat beside him.”

Bob Peak for Cosmopolitan Magazine, Feb 1964. Via This Isn’t Happiness

Categories
Historic Racing Photos Racing Ephemera

Miss Sebring 1958

via Good Old Valves

Categories
Historic Racing Photos

The Greatest Parking Lot Ever?

This photo of the Alfa Romeo TZ Zagato coupe we featured earlier is jaw dropping. Photos like this remind us that these highly coveted, highly priced vintage sportscars were once just simple tools. This damp dirt lot, with it’s disorganized pile of racecars waiting for an event, holds untold tens of millions of dollars worth of sportscars in today’s eyes. GTO, 904, Cobra Daytona Coupe, this Alfa.. The racing season of 1964: when every race’s pits was Pebble Beach.

Categories
For Sale

Available in NY: Alfa Romeo TZ Zagato Coupe

I love when a basket case returns to such marvelous shape.

After a hectic racing season in 1964, this lovely machine was unceremoniously retired; boarded up in an Italian garage; and hibernated for 35 years. That story is nothing new; many of the cars we’ve showcased here have shared a similar fate. Thankfully, when the car was rediscovered in 2002, having been completely disassembled along the way, it was lovingly brought back to the condition you see her in today. Better yet, the restoration was almost entirely carried out using the original parts—miraculously not misplaced once removed from the car. And although the original engine was separated from the chassis, it was quickly found a reunited with the frame. The FIA has signed off on the authenticity of the bits and pieces when the car was stripped down a subsequent time for inventory and vintage racing preparation.

She’s presented today in the livery she wore in ’64. It was a busy year for the Zagato, with appearances at the Le Mans 24 Hours race, the Nürburgring 1000km, the Tour de France, and other stops on the World Sportscar Manufacturer Championship. This green is so very out of the ordinary for Alfas, and it’s always refreshing to see an Italian in colors other than red. It makes a rare machine seem even more unique and precious. This flat tail era of sportscar design, particular in Italy, sits at the very pinnacle of sportscar design. Somehow it combined an attitude of brutish utilitarianism, but manages to remain elegant; even delicate.

She’s ready to race. The engine has been swapped for a vintage racing prepped motor (the original is crated and included in the sale). The running gear has been refurbished from nose to tail. Something I wasn’t familiar with, but is a fantastic setup for vintage racing, is the parallel exhaust system. Side pipes for unmuffled events, and a rear exit exhaust for sound limited races.

Alfa Romeo TZ Zagato Coupe

This jewel is surely eligible for some of the best events worldwide, and I hope that the new owner has the car out there competing with the GTOs, 904s, and the rest of her competition sisters on the vintage racing stage. More information on the dealer’s information page.

Categories
Grand Prix Historic Racing Photos

The Deerstalker Chronicles

Imagine the following scenario. You’re a Formula 1 driver preparing for Sunday’s race when a Belgian race fan approaches you with a deerstalker in hand. He explains that he’s a Pedro Rodriguez fan and that, because of Pedro’s love of the deerstalker, would you take a photo wearing one in tribute to the Mexican great.

This improbable request is exactly what Luc Ghys asked of many F1 drivers. Even better, many of them took him up on it. According to Luc, only Graham Hill and a hurried Jacky Ickx turned him down. What an incredible collection of photographs. What a marvelous, if idiosyncratic, tribute to Rodriguez. Click over for the complete collection.

Categories
Video

Ready for LeMans

People thought I was crazy when I said I wanted to run a Willys MB Jeep at La Sarthe. Just wait until you see my pit crew.

Ok. Ok. That’s actually the Canadian Army’s Technical Services Division performing a complete Jeep disassembly and rebuild in under 4 minutes. Amazing.

via.

Categories
Track Maps of the Past

Track Maps of the Future: USGP at Austin

Despite my frequent complaints about the degrading state of track map design; this map of Austin, TX’s proposed Formula 1 track that will play host to the new United States Grand Prix isn’t half bad. In fact, I quite like it. It even manages to show the 133 feet of elevation change quite nicely which is something that most track maps fail miserably at. I can forgive the sterility of the execution for it’s video game charm. Thumbs up all around. Now let’s see if the track materializes.

And if it will also host Moto GP (fingers are crossed here).

Of course, they threw in a crappy looking map as well. It must be mandated somewhere.

Categories
Gear

Goodwood Revival Coveralls

I’d love a set of these Goodwood mechanic’s coveralls. But I don’t want to wear them to the Revival. I just want to wear them out to the mall and to happy hour. That would be a good look, don’t you think?

Available at the Goodwood Store.

Categories
Historic Racing Photos

Reader Photos: Back to Havana

Maurice Trintignant in Fangio’s car

A few weeks ago we were fortunate to receive a handful of photos from racing driver Mandy Alvarez of the Cuban road racing scene experienced as a child in Cuba. Our luck has grown, because Mandy has dug back into the archives for another round of marvelous shots of racing on the island.

With Fangio kidnapped by the revolutionaries, it fell to Maurice Trintignant to take the driver’s seat in Juan Manuel’s Maserati. He finished 11th. It’s hard to imagine climbing into the racing seat, now knowing the fate of your teammate, but the show must go on.

de Portago passes Fangio

At the ’57 Grand Prix Alfonso de Portago (#12) passes Juan Manuel Fangio (#2). Fangio later took the lead—and the race—when de Portago pitted and was unable to continue. Man, do those street lamps look awfully close. It’s photos like this that remind us that drivers were a whole magnitude of bravery higher than we see today. Even Monaco is surrounded by walls for the weekend.

Thanks again, Mandy!

We’d always excited to share more reader photos with Chicane readers. Drop us a line at tips@thechicane.com.