Struck Silver or
A Silver Bullet comes to Silicon Valley

I got my '59A Coupe at a horse show. Well, because of a horse show, actually. I'm in San Jose, CA, and this '59 Normal Coupe was in Vancouver, CAN. I'd been shopping for about a year and seriously for several months in the spring and summer of 1999--almost exclusively via the internet. Friends in far places ran down leads for me, eliminating the rust buckets and turkeys. I'd discussed this car, #107628, with the owner via email, but thought it was too far away to seriously consider. I had in mind a driver, and I knew my budget would support only a coupe. I further went down my "must have" list, crossing off price-boosters like "matching numbers" and "one owner". The short list was that it had to be either a late "A" or a "C", and in silver. I was further advised to "get the best body I could afford", as mechanical rebuilds are much cheaper than rotisserie restorations. Not as many choices, but I was determined to get into a car by the end of summer.

Then Cheryl, my wife, told me about the plane ticket she'd bought for me to accompany her to a Haflinger horse show in Linden, WA. Turns out that Vancouver was only an hour away! Fate was intervening. So on the second day of the horse show we took a break from Haflingers and went to see the car.

The seller told me the car was a head-turner and he wasn't lying. The Mercedes Silver paint, of a current vintage, was applied a year ago, with a very deep clear coat. The car had nerf bars in the pictures I'd seen but he had applied some reproduction Intermeccanica bumpers in the interim. Though fiberglass, and with a fairly poor fit in the back, I accepted them on the condition the nerfs came too, so I could switch if I had a change of heart. They're staying...for now.

The car has no indications on the chassis plate that she was a Super leaving the factory, but she is now, as she sports a 1961 616/2 motor. In early '99 the engine had a top-end rebuild and the third piece was replaced, ostensibly because of a warp resulting in an oil pump leak. I have the third piece which was replaced and investigation continues. Agreement was reached with the seller and I would return the following weekend to pick up the car. I should mention that Cheryl also purchased a Haflinger mare at the horse show, so it was a heady return flight to San Jose.

My best friend, Patrick Oehlsen helped share in a 20-year dream when we drove the car back from Vancouver the following weekend. An 18-hour trip from Seattle to San Jose with no plates (returned at the Canadian border) and a taillamp out. The state troopers were blind to the silver bullet, even though we had several 90mph stints. Most of the ride was slower, as we didn't want to push an unknown engine too hard. Mileage was an incredible 38.5 over the 1100 miles. No doubt due to the fact that it is all downhill from Vancouver to the SF Bay area. Look at any map.

As with any driver there are a myriad of details to sort out and keep up on, but I drive it every day to work and have put on 2500 mi. since October. The Porsche Gods gave me their benevolent approval (as if a 1100 mi. shakedown run without incident wasn't enough!) when I found the CA plate "356 A" was available. Her first Registry event was only six days after I'd got her home. I met some other Registry members at the IDY356D on Skyline road on 9/19/99 and she was introduced around. I've also had my first on-road "surprise"; a worn generator hub and an overtight belt (rookie mistake) conspired to scatter the back half of the generator pully on the freeway last month. Thanks to the Maestro for prompt proffering of appropriate parts and my first 356 Field Surgery was completed successfully. Thanks also to Bob at 356 Products who helped me discover a lot of what's on my "to-do" list. I'm going to continue to upgrade/fix/ replace parts in an "outlaw" vein; previous wrecks and replacements means she'll never be a concours contender. But she'll be on the road every day; a silver blur in the fast-paced Silicon Valley.