• 1956 Porsche 356A - now living in the UK.
• Chassis No. 58764 Engine No. 64505

I thought that I would introduce `Silvia' to you all. I purchased her last November `99, following the ownership of a 150 bhp Chesil Speedster for 8 years. At last I have the real thing even if it is not as fast!! With 82,000 miles on the clock (I do not know how many times round the clock that reading has gone!). She was imported from California last summer '99, I am aware that she was originally green with a tan interior, now she is silver with a red interior. There seems to have been a bit of front end damage underneath which is probably why she is missing quite a bit of trim around the front of the car.

As you can see from above, a lot of trim is missing but basically she is quite a respectable car that I can drive for a while and sort out bits as I go along - Not literally of course!! The main aim is firstly to put all missing trim back on and straighten and tidy up what I have got.

I have fitted Koni Adjustable shocks all round and am looking closely at the engine to make sure it is sound. So far I have done several long journeys without any major issues.

As FSL stands for `Fix Silvia Later' I am going to do just that, unless I find bargain parts that I can fit without having to take her off the road!! Being a `left hooker', and driving on the left hand side of the road I am keen to fit mirrors as soon as possible!! Also as it rains a considerable amount I would like to install the window trim too, to help stop the leaks.

There is a rather nasty radio / cassette player in the dash which does not work and just drains the battery when she is not used over the winter! The electric aerial does not seem to work either but this could all be related.

I found these pictures on the Internet recently (not very flattering) when she was for sale, so will class these as the `before' pictures. Once I have done significant work and got my hands on my mate's digital camera. I will then show you how she has turned out.

I enjoy looking at the pictures on the `members gallery' but would have thought that there would have been a lot more, even if they are progress report pictures.

Anyway, I hope that this gives you an idea of the sort of car I like and hopefully I will be able to update it with the `after' photos in the near future !

My plan is to get as much work done for the 17th September `Drive Your 356 Day' and I plan to go to the Goodwood Revival Meeting, hopefully I will be able to update this letter with some extra pictures of that too.