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wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/10/20 6:28 p.m.

 

Taking the trans all the way down so I can send it out for the shifter modifications at the shop. 

 

This is a cracked end gear. This part is NLA, the shims are NLA. So because of a 100$ in parts I likely need to toss the transaxle. Calling around tomorrow to see if anyone else has the parts in the stash of stuff. 

 

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/12/20 10:50 p.m.

So I got a set of end gears shipped to the house NOS for some cash. At the same time I ordered a superdif to put them in and more spyder gears so I can do the 4 gear transaxle for strength. 

I also get a wiring harness with the car which is great did not know it came with the kit. But no relays. 

In other news I have coming in no real order. 

  • Full Stainless steel brakes lines precut with t junctions. 
  • Really good quality rubber lines to go to the brakes themselves. 
  • Full transmission seal kit. 
  • Better end plates for the transaxle 
  • More gaskets then you can shake a stick at
  • New cotter pins. 
  • New end gears. 
  • A bucket of bolts. Like all the 13/10mm locking and non lockers I think I need. Like 50$ in stainless bolts and locking washers. 

Things I still need to figure out. 

Handbrake if required. 

Some small electrical stuff like the relays I need for lights and other bits and bobs. 

So if all this comes in then I think short of fluids, paint and the materials I need to saftey wire things I have 95% of all the components that I need. I am sure that I am missing something but right now I feel like I am in good shape. 

Painter came back with a very fair 600$ labor quote if I do the final blockout, deliver it on wheels and tires and I tape it up. It's a friends and family deal and he wants photos for shop. 

 

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/13/20 12:27 a.m.

So since parts are on the way I broke down the differential tonight. Its pretty clear that this was a really high end rebuild that somebody just slammed a broken part into at some point to get back on the road or sell the box. German bearings, properly installed pins, super clean case. Shims were perfect. 

There is ZERO metal in the box and zero parts in the bearings except this opne piece that I know I did when I had to bash the end gear out with a hammer.  (Middle of the ring gear) All the internals except for this one end gear were perfect. Now its definitely been broken before I got it because I can see wear marks on the axles shafts where there were self clearance inside the tube which would only happen if the end gear was out of spec and allowing the axle to float around and chew everything. 

 

Now everything else looks good, and I went all the way through the box and transaxle now. Between the 4 spyder upgrade and the end plate cover upgrade and a few other things this thing should be pretty stout. There is no way I can get enough tire under the car to actually break it I think but we shall find out. 

 

ultraclyde (Forum Supporter)
ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) UltimaDork
7/13/20 6:12 a.m.

$50 in stainless bolts? So it only has 5 bolts? Lol. 
 

looking cool. This does not help my vague desire for an acvw related vehicle. 

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/13/20 8:43 a.m.
ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) said:

$50 in stainless bolts? So it only has 5 bolts? Lol. 
 

looking cool. This does not help my vague desire for an acvw related vehicle. 

VW stuff is cheap, now that you say that though I imagine its not actually going to be stainless whem they show up. ~30 total nuts and washers.

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/13/20 7:45 p.m.

Pretty sure mine is the primered one in the background being test fit for the windsheild and doors. 

 

NOT A TA
NOT A TA SuperDork
7/13/20 8:50 p.m.

That's a great pic!

TurnerX19
TurnerX19 SuperDork
7/14/20 9:07 a.m.

In reply to wearymicrobe :

I wonder if Porsche themselves had that many in build at any one momentsurprise

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/14/20 9:17 a.m.
TurnerX19 said:

In reply to wearymicrobe :

I wonder if Porsche themselves had that many in build at any one momentsurprise

This is only like 1/3rd of their shop. Its like a candy store store there. They do so many 456's though to the 550's due to the price difference and wellmost people not fitting in a 550 I woudl think.

Ian F (Forum Supporter)
Ian F (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
7/14/20 10:18 a.m.

Damn you... I know jack squat about ACVWs, but now I want a 550. 

Patrick (Forum Supporter)
Patrick (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/14/20 3:43 p.m.

I will admit the giant amount of vw stuff i have here made me go check 356 and 550 replica body pricing.  

preach
preach GRM+ Memberand Reader
7/14/20 7:05 p.m.

I'd do a 904. Probably my favorite car.

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/15/20 4:06 p.m.
preach said:

I'd do a 904. Probably my favorite car.

I thought long and hard about that but given my height and the honesty of some of the suppliers of the 904 packages I did this one first. 

I am having a lot of fun with the VW stuff, they really are like Lego. After spending so many extra hours due to the weight of big block chevy stuff that I have been doing this is fun again. 

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/16/20 6:26 p.m.

Shop I am getting mine from just put a finished one up for sale. 2.9 liter Type 4 and well everything and the kitchen sink thrown at it. Not what I am building. I like the street body and the original street mirror and its silver. 

 

Slippery (Forum Supporter)
Slippery (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
7/16/20 7:35 p.m.
TurnerX19 said:

In reply to wearymicrobe :

I wonder if Porsche themselves had that many in build at any one momentsurprise


wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/17/20 3:45 p.m.

Superdif is reassembled. Drilling the side plates for better oiling tonight, end gear is still not here so I cannot button up the box but with 4 spider gears and the better diff it should hold together. 

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/20/20 6:18 p.m.

Not much to report. But end gears got here. Which is nice. 

 

So I finalized the ring gear with all the new gaskets and it looks really good. Slapped on the axles and tubes and painted a bit more. I am now at a stopping point until the kit gets here in a week or so. Calling on Wednesday to see about picking a ship date and then the real fun begins.  

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/20/20 9:45 p.m.

So apparently this can go in as a unit. 

 

So new pads, new seals and some more paint. Waiting on some small things like the clutch alignment tool and some fluids now which I ordered tonight. 

 

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/23/20 11:45 a.m.

Ok so I am not sold on the color I chose anymore. Nardo seems a bit to modern, been doing some digging in the Porsche world for 356 colors that would have been available on the 550 for a private car. FYI ALL of the factory cars were silver, there were a few whites made a red with white hood for the Swiss racing teams and at least 2 blues. There are no blues with red interior.  Right now I am leaning more and more towards building a street 550 spyder on the outside and just full race parts under the skin with everything hidden going towards raw performance and function with no regard for authenticity. Though there is a part of me that wants a ratty worn patina exterior as well. 

 

Now having said that I only ordered the seat covers in Red and I an have them restitched in any color I want. I did the carpet in black and I intend to pull it all out anyway and do an aluminium interior in the long run. 

 

So there is this blue , 356 aquamarine blue. 

1957 Used Porsche Speedster Replica at Hubbard Auto Center Serving ...

 

There is another rare color called cloudy blue 

 

Color For Cloudy Blue : Portfolio Border Reivers Porsche 356 Gsgt ...

 

And the factory 550 blue IE #60 and 90. 90 being owned by Seinfeild 

 

1955 550 Spyder @ New Country Porsche Greenwich - YouTube

 

Other option that has been floated is to gild the entire car in aluminum. The way signmakers do gold. It would cost almost nothing but time and I could make it look worn in with scotch pads and then clear coat so the car looked like it was unpainted metal. 

 

 

Ian F (Forum Supporter)
Ian F (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
7/23/20 11:49 a.m.

I vote for the factory 550 blue.  Assuming votes matter. The other two just seem rather generic. 

The gilded aluminum idea sounds interesting.  

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter)
Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
7/23/20 11:50 a.m.

Id say a charcoal gray,  almost black would look amazing on that body.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/23/20 12:31 p.m.

i dig the 356 aquamarine 

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/23/20 12:34 p.m.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

i dig the 356 aquamarine 

The wife likes that one as well. 

 

there is also Mexico blue. 

 

Who Needs An 'RS' Badge When You Can Get This Mexico Blue Porsche ...

 

 

 

Someone else online suggested stainless steel car wrap just to get it going so I can shake it down. Its pretty cheap to buy. 

 

3M Scotchprint Brushed Metal Vinyl Wrap - Brushed Aluminum ...

white_fly
white_fly HalfDork
7/23/20 1:00 p.m.

You could brush the aluminum, right? My vote is for brushed aluminum.

What was the shop asking for that completed 550?

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
7/23/20 1:41 p.m.
white_fly said:

You could brush the aluminum, right? My vote is for brushed aluminum.

What was the shop asking for that completed 550?

I think 65K all in. They have used customer cars in the 40K range all day long if you want them but not California registered cars. Most are trade in with people ordering a better version of what they already have. Lots of people moving towards the 250-300hp range subaru powered ones now. 

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