Ever wonder what people do with REAL 356's??

I just got this from the New England Typ356 club email network and thought I would pass it along. It's about 5 356 drivers who are driving (not trailering) their original, steel cars out to Lake Tahoe for the West Coast Porsche holiday.

The following is from a club member, Peter Crawford, giving us all an update on their progress:

On tuesday morning of this week, five adventureous Typ 356 members headed out to the West Coast Holiday at Lake Tahoe. We will call them "The Five Amigo's"-Bill Collins, Rainer Cooney, Sid Wilde, Hans Pruesner, and Bob Williamson.

No amount of planning could have prepaered them for the odessey that was before them. After the first day and 800 miles, with incredible heat and humidity, the group spent the night in Toledo Ohio. Day one was a piece of cake.

Yesterday (wed) the guys found themselves in the middle of Iowa and tornado alley on Route 80. Bill, who doesn't hesitate to drive his coupe to Montreal for a quart of milk, called yesterday's portion of the drive "his most eventful and scariest trip of his life." They pulled off I-80 as the storm hit at the "Little Sioux" exit, trying to find a bridge to hide under. No luck. If this town sounds familiar, it's because this is the location where 4 Boy Scouts were killed last night from a tornado.

The rain came down so heavy that they could not see anything. Happily, all survived the ordeal. The cars however, are waterlogged, as 2 1/2 inches of rain fell in 15 minutes. In addition, there have been two blowouts, and two broken fan belts so far. Once at the motel, they could not find a restaurant that was open or a bar serving adult beverages to calm nerves. They had to settle for a twelve pack of beer and sub sandwiches.

The guys left Lincoln Nebraska this morning, heading to Colorado Springs. The weather map is now clear. We wish them safe travels. I will update their progress in several days.

Peter S. Crawford
Tourmeister 1999-2007
President 2002-2003
Typ356NE

All I can say is, "Whew!" Gordon

Keep that one going, please. Those are my kind of folks.

Amazing. Gordon, do you know where the trip originated?

I guess I don't know what the big deal is! I drive my '62 B Coupe down to Colo Spgs and on into Taos, NM, and don't even consider how far it is. (500 mile round trip) These cars, just like our reproduction Speedsters, were made to be driven. I only know two people in the Rocky Mountain 356 Registry who are afraid to drive them very far for fear of hurting their "value". They shouldn't own them. Remember, cars are made to be driven ... they are not religious objects.

Happy Trails,
Dusty

Warren et al:

I'm not quite sure where all of them live, but Rainer Cooney drives an original, 120hp, steel Speedster and runs Meister Restorations in Alton Bay, NH, near Lake Winnipisaukee (mid-state). Bill Collins lives in Southern NH.

These guys (and a few others) make a West Coast trip every Summer, usually for some sort of Porsche get-together. Many of the club members are out every weekend driving in New England tours of 2-4 hours over windy back roads (I've run with them many times - they do NOT drive slowly - in fact, they're moving some of the Sunday trips to Saturday so they don't get behind slow-moving "Sunday Drivers").

They think nothing of driving a couple of hours for coffee and then coming back. The trip they made to Banff, Alberta, Canada a couple of years back was the stuff of legends. A failed generator forced one member to run ALL DAY on battery power til they could get to a place for proper service - it never went dead. Everyone was amazed at how long these cars go without a generator. Bill Collins drove all the way, solo, out and back (2+ weeks, as they came down the Coast to SF and then headed back East) and THEN turned around and drove his daughter's Subaru Forester out to Phoenix for her. Whew!

The story is just starting this year....I'll pass along whatever news I get.

Gordon

I've seen a few original coupes on the road (356A's) & I've never seen anyone baby them. The RPM's are usually through the roof. In fact, the last time I saw one, I had a hard time keeping up with him in my 911 targa! I usually keep the rpm's low in my car. Looks like I need to step on it a bit, as this is what these cars are made for!

When last we left our fearless travellers, Collins, Cooney, Pruesner, Wilde, and Williamson, the group had literally been two miles from a catagory three tornado in Iowa. I don't know about you, but it doesn't work for me.
Happily, they all survived the ordeal without a scratch.
Thursday the group left the bad weather behind, and headed for Colorado Springs, a mere 600 miles. Clear cloudless skies. The cars and drives would have a chance to dry out. The evening was spent near the Air Force Academy. It was also the first night they were able to eat a real dinner.
Friday they were in the Rockies. The group made it up Pike's Peak (19,000') without incident. The 19 mile climb was only hindered by snow clearing near the top. Then up the Monarch Summit, only 11,000. The night was spent in Ouray, Colorado. Saturday's drive took them up two more passes, a stop at The Four Corners, through Indian Country, and the final destination in Flagstaff Arizona. For those who attended our Spring Tour several years ago in Stowe, VT, you will remember that Bob Williamson won the "Best Dressed Cowboy" Award for his unique costume. Well it seems that Bob saved the outfit, and is now wearing it on the drive West, so he can "fit in" with all the locals. Bill tells me that the only problem is the fake six shooter and the chaps that Bob is wearing is causing some concern when they stop in any local bar. Seems some of the locals have taken a liking to Bob. Must be the leopard skin chaps.
This morning the group is driving to Phoenix to pick up their wives, and then back to Flagstaff. Tomorrow morning they will be heading to the Grand Caynon to watch the sunrise.
Our best wishes to the group for a safe and peaceful trip to Lake Tahoe.

Peter S. Crawford
Tourmeister 1999-2007
President 2002-2003
Typ356NE

I agree, what is the big wup here?? I had two of these 356 Coupes for a total of about 15 years, I guess. Drove 'em every day, including a six week "sabatical" from right coast to left coast and back. Take oil, a few fan belts and some tools. The go, go, go.

Awwww nutz! I'm in Reno right now - short drive to Tahoe. Unfortunatly I need to leave tomorrow morning after work. If not, I'd skip up there and met up with them!

The spirit of the roadtrip LIVES!

angela

Kelly, Angela just buttonholed it. These cats could be in Sunbeam Tigers, or Triumph Spitfires ... Hell, Sprites for that matter.
Point is, really, that they're out there driving their artwork on the Great American Road Trip. They could have taken something new, but they're rolling the dice instead.
You GOTTA respect that, right? More than half the thrill is the taking of the risk. The remainder is actually getting away with it!

BTW, I'm in St. Louis again. I'll be here until July 3rd. We've been taking my son on several such trips in Mom's Buick. Nowhere near as exciting as doing that in the Hoopty, but hey. We're clobbering the sights. Lincoln's hometown, flooded rivers, Hannibal, Mo., KC later this week ... So if you see somebody driving my car around while I'm here, it's probably my friend Matt.

Cory,
Sounds like a fun trip. Be sure to take him up the Arch. The cars up are almost as small as the Hoopty!

Are you and BERT going to make it out here to Colorado in September? That would be a trip to talk about in your car and we would be sure you found roads to make your mouth water.

Happy Trails,
Dusty and the Lovely Miss Sharon

We're hoping so, Dusty. We're not sure yet, but she wants to solo out there and meet up with some folks en route.
Arch, you say? Yessir, we went. And while we were there, we saw this "Jesus Crossing" sign.

Cory,

Yes, I DO get it, mi amigo. And your son's name is Morgan too? I guess I forgot that. Cool trip, dude. There will be lots of pix to peruse. Maybe better you should have taken a boat. Wow, that's a lot of water where it's not suppoesed to be.

I see the sign but I was told he was really standing on Elvis' head!