https://www.motortrend.com/new...-restoration-galpin/
I don't read motor trend much, just bumped into that
https://www.motortrend.com/new...-restoration-galpin/
I don't read motor trend much, just bumped into that
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Is it ok for me to say I don't like it
Very cool car...but: The Halibrands are out of place and out of period. Should be two-eared knockoffs on Rudge wheels, or a modern Boyds version of those at 16 inches. Or 16-inch KPZs, widened. It's not a Cobra.
Curious to hear what others think of the chrome bumpers.
A lot of P aficionados have been crapping all over that restoration, from broad complaints to picky little criticisms.
Some even have had the nerve to compare it to those 'turd plastic kit cars'.
Oh, the humanity - there is angst in Ferdinand land tonight...
@JR_1979 posted:Is it ok for me to say I don't like it
I hope so, because I'm going to say it too. Aside from the fact that it's a Speedster, I pretty much hate everything about it.
i'm not a "rag top" man like "48 hrs" det. jack cates...hence my coupe....but this little REAL DEAL speedster was a near every bolt ground up restoration...that said...it's really not my cup of tea either....but a very nice job done by the real PORSCHE mechanic guys.....like they say..."there's an ASS for every seat"
That same steering wheel in Black. Change the square weave to Charcoal or Oatmeal. Go to original bumpers & the wheels need to be baby moons with that color. They never consult me until its too late.
I like certain aspects of it, but the chrome bumpers, the wheels, and the overdone upholstery aren't among them. I know chrome bumpers were an option, but even then they had the rubber deco strips and bumper guards. Maybe with a different color they'd work, but not here - at least not for me.
it comes down to does the owner like it...that is all that matters..
It's a good start. There's not a thing wrong with it that Alan couldn't easily fix.
Send it by , I'll give it some wrenching and a bit of wax on , wax off ~
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"...restored it to perfection in order to enter it in the 2021 Porsche Restoration Challenge. The Porsche dealer envisioned how Galpin would build the 356 during the 1950s in a period-correct restoration it calls "Galpanized."
Okay, so today I learned that I don't ever want to have anything 'Galpanized'.
This looks like another one of those show cars designed to attract attention on a crowded floor of professionally finished cars. A perfect silver over burgundy with baby moons just wouldn't have cut it there. Someone thought it needed to be Galpanized.
Me, I think I would have preferred Emoryized.
Maybe it would photograph better in black and white.
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@Sacto Mitch posted:.Maybe it would photograph better in black and white.
Perhaps, but I'm doubtful.
Now that’s a clown car. There, I said it.
since that's potential $6 figure "clown transportation".....gonna be an expensive birthday party for your little girl if you have to pay the clowns a compatible rate
just sayin'
OK! I'll add my own two-cents worth of "opinion":
The PPG "custom blue-green" paint is downright BUTT UGLY. That's right...Bold and Capitalized!
@Sacto Mitch posted:.
Me, I think I would have preferred Emoryized.
Either that or euthanized...
Tough crowd.
Guys, the paint is beautiful and the tartan/plaid inserts are cute. It's got the righteous Pre-A gauges and beehives for tail lights. Upgraded to a 1600 engine, apparently built by one who cares. Really the only glaring error is the wheels. And wheels are the easiest thing in the world to swap.
I just feel like if he told them this is what he wanted to do, they should have given him a Thunderbird
@edsnova posted:the paint is beautiful
Maybe, but not with that top. Green and red? What is this, Santa's new sleigh?
@edsnova posted:the tartan/plaid inserts are cute.
The tartan plaid interior takes the red/green mistake, and ramps it up to 11.
@edsnova posted:the only glaring error is the wheels.
Perhaps. Or the wheels and the bumpers. Or the wheels and the bumpers and the top. Or the wheels and the bumpers and the top and the seats.
Tough crowd? Perhaps. I can guarantee that if this was the only speedster I had ever seen, I'd have saved a small fortune and half a lifetime of fussing and farting with a ridiculous little clown car.
Maybe it's not so bad.
Maybe it's not so bad? Yeah, it is. The chrome bumpers make it look like a Beetle. The plaid seats are a bad reminder of the VW and Porsche special interiors of the 70s.
And that green? In the 70s 911s were all sorts of Crayola colors. They look "right". This does not. Maybe it's everything in combination, because I like Kevin's green machine in California.
And those wheels? They look equivalent to any wheels other than wide5s on a Spyder. Yup, that bad.
Who cares if it’s a real speedster or a 6 figure car. I have seen many 6 figure car disfigured by someone that has zero design sense. This is a massive fail. Ditch the wheels, paint the bumpers, redo the interior with a complimentary leather choice. This thing is laughable, and I m not alone in my criticism.
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Maybe we're all being a bit parochial in our reaction to this car.
Remember that avocado refrigerators took a little while to catch on, and then, wham, everyone had to have one.
The same with orange shag carpeting.
This is nuanced in a mid-century kind of way that will probably take some time to fully appreciate.
The thing is, at my age, I may not have enough time left.
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Gotta' love that stink bug green. Always a hit with the "in" crowd.
It'll be next year's blue. Pretty soon, every third car you see will look like a smashed stink bug. But it only works if you pair it with a red and blue kaleidoscope tartan plaid.
I can't hardly wait.
I'm not budging! I'll stick with freaking BUTT UGLY
Now how I would set up a Speedster, but barncobob is on point, to each their own.
I kind of like the color and the tartan interior but DEFINITELY HATE the wheels and the chrome bumpers.
MY first impression of this color combination was that someone got blood on a bowl of mint chip iced cream.
I admire the workmanship but abhor the color choices, bumpers and wheels.
And nobody should care what I think.
@LeadPedal i'm in full agreement with every word of your comment...my point was ,this is a real deal car...restored by some knowable mechanics at this PORSCHE dealership...even if the style choices made by the designer were made possible soon after after sprinkling some LSD on his cherrios
@Stan Galat posted:I hope so, because I'm going to say it too. Aside from the fact that it's a Speedster, I pretty much hate everything about it.
I like the color. Had the interior been brown with tan plaid inserts, and body-colored bumpers, I could even live with the wheels. But I think the kidney-hole Halibrands would look better. Even in gold.
@DannyP posted:Maybe it's not so bad? Yeah, it is. The chrome bumpers make it look like a Beetle. The plaid seats are a bad reminder of the VW and Porsche special interiors of the 70s.
And that green? In the 70s 911s were all sorts of Crayola colors. They look "right". This does not. Maybe it's everything in combination, because I like Kevin's green machine in California.
And those wheels? They look equivalent to any wheels other than wide5s on a Spyder. Yup, that bad.
I whole heartedly agree, except for the interiors. I loved them. But IMO Porsche did them tastefully. My 912 had the grey/black psychedelic checkerboard “Pascha” inserts from a 70’s 911.
I appreciate (and admire) the craftsmanship. What strikes me is that this is an actual Speedster and the builder followed his own path much like we all do with our replicas.
I would argue a period correct rebuild would look rather mundane…well compared to a mint green Speedster with red and plaid interior that is!
@TheMayoMachine posted:I would argue a period correct rebuild would look rather mundane…well compared to a mint green Speedster with red and plaid interior that is!
The Mona Lisa is just a common portrait of a rather plain looking woman with an odd smile.That didn't stop me from waiting in line for an hour to spend 2 minutes 15 ft away from it at the Louvre. I don't think the portrait would have been improved if she were sporting dreadlocks under a trucker's hat and Def Leppard t-shirt, with clowns on a trapeze in the background.
@dlearl476 posted:I like the color. Had the interior been brown with tan plaid inserts, and body-colored bumpers, I could even live with the wheels. But I think the kidney-hole Halibrands would look better. Even in gold.
I guess every pot has a lid - but the longer I look at this thing, the worse it gets.
The 356 is already a ridiculously small and not very manly looking, and has a size-tiny lawn mower engine in the back. Saddle that little girl scale car with a color that looks like the car came in a Malibu Barbie playset with a Don Johnson action figure, and I'm just taking a hard pass.
To my eye, a 356 or Spyder needs a very solid, very cold, very "manly" color to avoid looking like a child's toy. All the mint greens and powder blues and whatnot may as well be pink.
I'm hoping Motor Trend does a spread on more of the cars in this contest. Basically Porsche North America challenged all of their dealers to find a vintage Porsche and do either an all out restoration or resto-mod. PNA kicked in a fair amount of money to each dealer provided they spent at least $20K on the restoration/resto-mod project. From what I remember at least 20 some dealers were participating in the contest. I'd really like to see what some of the other dealerships did.
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I don't know about the 'manly' colors thing.
I've seen this car work well in strong colors (bright red, apple green) and 'softer' colors, too - some lighter grays, pale olive green, and even the ivory I went with, which (I think) was the most popular color for the original 356 by a wide margin. It also works in 'industrial' colors - a lot of silvers, greyish blues, and matte metal finishes. It even looks good beat up and weathered a little.
What it doesn't like is to be all gussied up. It gets by on its shape. It doesn't need a lot of makeup.
We call it a clean, simple shape, although it isn't really. There are no slabs. There are endless curves. One rolls into another, and then another, and another until you've worked your way all the way around.
It's an optical trick that's very hard to pull off. But, there it is in this tiny jelly bean that leaves everyone smiling. Like the Mona Lisa, its appeal is its simplicity, that somehow isn't quite so simple. We're left charmed, but we don't quite understand why.
When you try to do it up in orange tangerine flake, you lose almost every time. You're adding the unnecessary. You don't have to yell if everyone's already listening.
If there's one thing this car doesn't need, it's more cow bell.
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That's it, Mitch. Perfectly summed up: "less cowbell".
"Less cowbell". Perfect and apt description. Indeed. Two thumbs up, Mitch.
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