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"Personal Preference" — Bruce Baker
"The best thing to aim for is what Porsche built."
By Bruce Baker
Brakes & Wheels
I believe original drum brakes in 'as new' condition are more than adequate to stop your 356, but I still like to add the redundancy of a dual master cylinder on the cars I restore. I have great success with Brad Ripley's relined original drums, as they give accurate linings of extra thickness so the bimetal corrosion so detrimental to the badly worn 43+ old original linings is eliminated by slightly machining the affected aluminum away and insulating with space-age bonding chemistry. They have been available long enough now to be considered proven by many street and vintage racing miles (Some customers have gotten the drums done, put them away for "originality" and still put CSP brakes on for current driving.)
Most of my 356s have had disc brakes. I trust 'em more and they just bolt on. I just came across an old home movie showing me with my second Speedster, a '57 in about '67, with C discs and magnesium American Racing Torque-thrust D wheels and 5.00/9.20x15 Firestone racing tires...on the street. Roll bar. Nerf bars, too. I vaguely remember getting seats with adjustable backs that looked like Speedster seats, but were more comfortable.
Tires
Of course, that was an anomaly. I traded Michelin X-stops from car-to-car and they never seemed to wear out. A/B/C cars got the 165x15 tube-type, and they handled just fine. I'd put them on my A now if they were in stock again.
All of this is old news. These specs are tried and true since I got into 356s in '65. We didn't use seat belts much then, but we do now. Tires have improved, and I like Yokohamas, but appropriate sizes are getting scarce. I got used to staggered wheel widths from my 911s, so 4.5 up front keeps the 356 steering lighter and 5.5 in the rear keeps the dreaded 'TTO' (trailing throttle oversteer, or just plain old oversteer) under better control.
Seats
356s always had great seats that you sat 'in,' not 'on.' As performance increases, there are seats that stabilize your body more, but I never bothered with them, just Speedster buckets, if anything, other than that one pair of, I believe, Scheel seats.
Suspension
A "street setup" is really just small changes, if any, to the way the factory set up the car. Maybe lower it a little, dual circuit braking system, check the alignment (eighth inch total in front toe, zero to eighth inch at the rear), largest original stock swaybar but with new rubber bushings.
The most surprising result would be from replacing the rear torsion bar bushings. Gives the ride a nice "newness" and better control. I like Koni shocks, but there are others that work well also.
Engine and Transmission
The transmission is fine as delivered, but I have had some with 'Speedster gearing' (BBA) that I added a longer (D) 4th gear to that work well as a compromise, with only a slightly longer drop from third to fourth that you can live with...BBAD.
The engine "formula" is getting easy to build. Latest iteration of any component is great for longevity: case, heads, crank, rods, and a cam that is somewhere between a C and an SC. 'Grunt' is best achieved from Zenith carbs, a C cam and a 'big bore' set of barrels and pistons. That's what I like for 'around town' driving, as more spirited driving at higher RPMs (read: Solex/S-90/SC) is becoming harder to find a venue for, especially on the public roads around where I live and work.
Actually, the best thing to aim for is what Porsche built. If that's accomplished, you have a fun vehicle. I like to modernize the safety aspects and some of the above, but if it gets too far from "original" it's not a 356. I'm older, the cars are older...safety is an important consideration, occasional driving or daily driving, street or race track.
Vintage racing? That's another whole topic altogether. Racing seats are safer, better fuel control (no A in-cockpit fuel valves to kick loose) and more power, better handling...that can take pages to describe the changes to a "stock" 356 and that conversion makes use rather 'limited' except on a race track.
Below, Bruce Baker "in good company" at Watkins Glen
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