A NEAR-VIRGIN IN OFF-WHITE
Copyright 1997, by Harry Pellow, All Rights Reserved.

It was still the First Month of the 1997 New Year. And it had been one Hellova month. The Porsche gods had summed up the Maestro's 1996 performance and rewarded (?) him with a whole buncha Phone Calls, Letters and E-Mails about Impossibly Rare Porsche Problems for him to solve.

.....And solve them he did- with the help of the Porsche gods. Thanks guys. Take a bow and exit, Stage Right.

.....But it was a week ago or so when a not-so-proud owner of a not-so-proud 356 SC Coupe made that Fateful Call to the Maestro's Hot Line, (408) 727-1864 for a needed part.

.....The 356SC Owner had been to the Maestro's Shop before- once for a new fuel pump to replace his leaking Original, a second time for a .050 Distributor to replace a bad Original and a third time for a new muffler. The Maestro had even lain his hand on the engine once- to set the .050's High Speed Advance.

.....This time, the SC's Owner needed but a single Valve Adjuster- y'know- the threaded thingie with the "Ball Cup" on one end to fit over the pushrod, and the screwdriver slot in the other end for adjusting the valve gap.

....."Just out of Curiosity", asked the Maestro. "Why did you need just ONE adjuster?"

....."Uh, well, I broke one of the adjusters." Said the VOP

....."You BROKE an Adjuster. How you do that?" inquired the Maestro.

....."Uh, well, I MISSED A SHIFT!" said the VOP.

....."Oh," said the Maestro. "That'll do it."

....."It did".

....."So let me guess," said the Maestro. "I bet the Valve Adjuster that failed was on an Exhaust Valve."

....."Why THAT'S AMAZING, Maestro. It WAS an Exhaust Valve Adjuster."

....."Not so amazing, said the Maestro modestly. "A Mis-shift- like ifin you hit FIRST when you really wanted THIRD- can be disastrous! (The Calculation of the Astronomical RPM produced by the car's Momentum trying to rev the engine up to absurd speeds is left to the Student, the Foolish or the Foolish Student).

.....Suffice it to say a First-instead-of-Third missed shift and 8000+ RPM will result in SOMETHING striking SOMETHING. (Just a couple of months ago, a New 912 Owner of 2-weeks suddenly lost power on the Freeway, and called the Maestro. The Maestro went out to save the 2-week-old 912 Owner, but when he heard the Starter spin something, and the pulley, she-a no-a move-a he knew that Something Serious was wrong. And yes, Disaster Fans, all EIGHT dowel pins of the Crank/Flywheel had been cleanly SHEARED off, and the new 912 Owner was outa luck and in for an overhaul!)

.....But this 356SC Owner was lucky- his engine STILL RAN after the missed shift- all that happened was the Adjuster for #1 Exhaust broke- obviously the Weakest Link in the Piston/Valve/Rocker/Pushrod/Cam Follower/Camshaft/Case System. This time. (Next time, or in YOUR case, it'll be something else that fails.)

.....The guy came over to the Shop and the Maestro gave him a nice clean Adjuster whose threads hadn't been boogered up by overzealous VW mechanics overtorquing the lock nut. The guy was so grateful he kissed the Maestro's Ring. The Brass Rat loves that.

.....And all was well for a couple of days, until the guy called back with:

....."Uh, Maestro. I'm the guy who missed the shift and broke the Adjuster. I replaced the Adjuster, but the engine still has a nasty noise inside."

.....

....."Uh, oh," said the Maestro. "Sounds like it wasn't just the Adjuster that's broken inside your engine."

....."Yeah, said the guy. And I just don't have the Time nor the Money to fix it."

....."Yesssss, said the Maestro, "And does that mean you would like to avail yourself of the Maestro's Computerized Buy/Sell Matchmaker List that matches Those Condescending to Sell with Those Desperate to Buy? (Of course, Those Condescending to Sell usually want Ridiculously High Prices and Those "Desperate" to Buy are willing to pay purely Paltry amounts of Money. But occasionally, a Seller be Reasonable and a Buyer be Willing and a match be made.)

....."Yes", said the guy. "I can't afford to rebuild the engine and fix everything. Yes, I want to sell it."

....."And what price range shall I place you in?" asked the Maestro.

.....The VOP mentioned a Most Reasonable Sum. Well, not that reasonable, considering the condition of the engine. But certainly worth a look-see.

....."Any rust?" asked the Maestro cautiously.

....."Uh, yeah. It's got a little rust in the bottom of both doors."

....."Oh, that's too bad," said the Maestro his excitement waning. "Did it come from back East?"

....."No, it's supposed to be a California Car."

....."Really," said the Maestro suspiciously. "A California Car with bad door rust? Was it near the ocean? Or the mountains?"

....."Matter of fact, it WAS near the Ocean- it originally came from Carmel by the Sea."

.....Ah, Carmel- that Idyllic village by the Monterey Bay where many 356's frolic in the mist in the midst of Million Dollar estates.

....."And Originally it was a real "SC" too- but the engine in it now is a 356C. Sort of."

....."You sure it really WAS an "SC" originally?" Asked the Maestro, having heard this song and dance routine many times before.

....."Oh, YES- I've got The Certificate of Authenticity from Reno. It shows my Original engine number was 813,xxx."

....."That's an SC all right. (In fact, his Center of Higher Reasoning was just then looking up that engine number inside his somewhat twisted brain. As it flashed through the Indexed Data, it realized that on the Maestro's shelf sat a Real "SC" engine within TWENTY engine numbers of the Original SC in this car. Is this a Sign?)

.....So, the Maestro decided to take a little look-see at this here 356SC.

.....As soon as there was a break in the rash of phone calls, the Maestro hopped into his trusty winter driver and sped on down the road to Funnyvale. There on a nice suburban street, barely under a carport was the 356, looking a little sad out there unprotected and all, completely exposed to those Four Strong Winds That Blow Lonely.

.....The Maestro wandered up to the car from her rear. He could see the ugly, oxidized white paint from afar. Getting closer didn't improve her appearance any.

.....Until he saw her License Plate- it was the highly-sought-after, Original California Gold & Black plate- the ones issued only up until 1969. This one had a letter combination suggesting that the plate was issued about 1968, which meant- that this 356 HAD BEEN IN CALIFORNIA since at least 1968! That's the good news. The Bad News was to come shortly.

.....He walked over for a side view. And yes, there it was- the Unmistakable Sign of the Dreaded Door Rust- announcing itself by a Neon-Brown line of Cancerous Bubbles that quite nicely outlined the bottom door seam, about 2 inches above the actual bottom of the door.

.....It was a Classic Study, a Ph.D. Thesis, of the Synergistic Combination of Sitting Salt Water, Capillary Action and Imperfect Rustproofing.

.....He got down on his knees, not from the shock of seeing the rust- he's seen that before. And worse. Much Worse! (After all, the Maestro came from Upstate, New York, the Mother Country of All Rust.)

.....But still, he had to eyeball the Undercarriage. Might as well eliminate her as a Candidate right now.

.....Expecting to see a whole lotta holes and/or poor Rust RE-pair, he was SHOCKED and AMAZED to find an almost Virgin Pan. With Good Jack Points. And no previous rust repairs. And, Most Importantly, NO Rust. (Another tribute to California Cars- even when the DO rust, they DON'T rust in important places!)

.....The Maestro now perked up a bit and REALLY began to eyeball this Beastie. It was like finding another Good Old Girl (who, ironically, was also White with the same door rust. And boy, was she a good car!)

.....He checked her ID number on the inside of the Driver's door. It checked out to be a 1965 356C, about a thou or so from the end. Had the SC Electric Tach too- one that redlined at 6200 and went to 7000 RPM

.....She still had the Original Carpet- or should I say the "Threads" of the Original Carpet. Looks like we mustave had a little water leak from the Monsoon rains a month before.

.....The Maestro casually eyeballed the Paint Color Code. "Hummh, 6401. Now where have I heard that before?" The Maestro's Center of Higher Reasoning popped out that easy puppy as "Slate Gray" which happened NOT to match the Refrigerator White the car currently was!

.....Fortunately, it was possible to check out the Original Paint Color for BOTH door panels were off. (The guy was trying but failing to fix both Window Regulators which had long since ceased functioning- meaning that BOTH windows were now UP- permanently! And had been for YEARS!)

..... There were also no inside door handles! (Having no inside door handles meant that when you drove the car, ifin you didn't bring along at least ONE inside door handle, and you got inside the car with the windows rolled up, you'd be STUCK INSIDE THE CAR until some kind passerby let you out! Or until you found some way to open the damn door withOUT the handle! Great mod for kidnappers.

.....(Trick: since the upholstery piece is off, reach inside the door and grab the cable that activates the door latch. Pull. Feel the Joy of the Freedom we felt in the '60's.)

.....The Maestro glanced at the Color on the now-readily-visible inside of the doors and at first thought- "Oh, no, Horrors! It's Monkey Vomit Green," a color he REALLY hates and a color, ironically, many of his best Porsche were.

.....But no, when he shined The Light of Day on the Interior it was obvious that the inside of the doors were both "Slate Gray"- a color the Maestro likes, along with Silver, Black, Red, and Yes, even White. Anything but Monkey Vomit Green.

.....On his tour of the body, the Maestro checked out the gaps and seams. Not too bad. Damn nice gaps on the front and rear hood. Good gaps on the Driver's Door. Not so hot gaps on the passenger's door.

.....He eyeballed the all-important engine. Of course, the Original SC Engine was long gone. In its place was a 356C engine- sorta. The Main Case Halves checked out as a 356C, but it had a Replacement Third Piece that someone had scratched meaningless numbers into. Sigh.

.....But there was something about this car that tugged at the Maestro's heartstrings. He's always had a soft spot in his heart for injured and homeless 356's. And it HAD been a while since he's had a new 356. And neither Trusty Rusty nor the Maestro is getting any younger. And those four-wheel Disk Brakes sure are nice to have,... Maybe Mrs. Maestro would let him keep this one.

.....The wheels in Maestro's somewhat twisted mind began cranking out a Scenario.

.....So, the Maestro called the guy back and says- "Y'know if I might take a test drive, perhaps we could we could work something out."

.....The guy was amenable to that, so the Maestro hurried on back to Funnyvale in his Winter Driver to drive the faded white Three Fifty Six.

.....The engine fired up, but what a racket. Loud tapping/knocking noises. Unhappy noises. Expensive noises. The Maestro got out the right hand that he always keeps at his side and checked the many muffler/J tube and cylinder head connections for any exhaust leaks. (An Exhaust leak sounds JUST like Rod Knock, but isn't. Fortunately.)

.....Bad news. Couldn't find any exhaust leaks. The sound was Internal.

.....The Maestro carefully drove the wounded steed around the block, checking things. The transmission shifted pretty good- no funny noises, and 356C's with the 12 bolt Ring Gear and Differential Carrier are tough as nails and good for 250,000+ miles- a trip to the Moon.

.....The brakes felt pretty good- MUCH better than Trusty Rusty's aging drums.

.....The Maestro tried the various switches. Yep. Horn Works. Lights work. Turn Signal lights light but don't blink. Then he reached for the radio which was a Sony AM/FM/Cassette, running on 12 Volt.

.....(Running on 12 Volt? How it do that on a 6 Volt car? Ah, because there be a 6 to 12 volt converter in the front trunk- screwed down to the plastic front trunk covering, that's how.

.....The Maestro's never liked 12 volt converters much- he's had several fail on him over the years. So, when he turned the Radio on and got nothing- no little light come on on the radio, and most importantly- NO TUNES either, he discounted the worth of the radio to Absolute Zero. Guess I'll have to stuck in that ever-faithful 6 volt, AM-only "Sapphire I" radio again. Sigh.)

.....Despite the other defects, (like having only ONE windshield wiper, and that water had leaked into the car and turned the carpet fibers to wicks), the car drove pretty well- although the Symphony of Cacophony- those ominous, woeful sounds coming from the Overrevved engine- clearly indicated engine work was in order Real Soon Now.

.....The Maestro returned from his test drive. And he and the owner entered into the Negotiation Stage.

....."So, whaddya want for it?"

....."Like I said, I gotta have $X,000."

.....The Maestro's Center of Junkyard Engineering produced a Risk Assessment of the Situation, Estimating the Worst Case Junk-out Worth.

.....(Well, let's see- the Engine probably has a Grand in parts inside, the Transmission's Ring & Pinion and 12-Bolt Carrier are worth a Grand- if they're OK. The Disk Brakes oughta be worth a Grand. And you got the rest of the car, so you wouldn't get hurt too badly at $X,000.)

....."Yeah, well," said the Maestro to the Owner. "It doesn't have the Original "SC" Engine. The engine it DOES have is sick and needs an overhaul. It's got rust in the doors and the Interior ah, shall we say needs a little work. How about $X,000-1,000?

....."No, I can't do $X,000-1,000. The best I can do is $X,000-200.

.....The Maestro, sensing some willingness to bargain says, after a pause:

....."Well, tell you what- I'd be willing to go to $X,000-700.

....."Nah, said the owner, I can't let it go that cheap."

.....

....."OK," said the Maestro, sensing resistance but trying one last time.

....."How about $X,000-500 then?"

....."Yeah," said the Owner. "That sounds OK."

....."Oh," said the Maestro, suddenly realizing that he had just bought himself a car- once again without consulting Mrs. Maestro. There'd be Hell to pay if the Maestro were wrong. Would it be a Turkey or a near-Virgin in Off-White? That was the Question

.....The Maestro convinced the owner to drive the car the last mile to the Maestro's Shop, since that would be the Right Thing to do.

.....He agreed. And both boys convoyed over to The Shop. The car placed inside, the paperwork done and the owner returned to his humble abode by the Maestro, richer by far in the Coin of the Realm.

.....The Maestro hurried back to the Shop to examine more closely his White Beauty and begin the Rejuvenation of the damsel in distress.

.....First he decided to see just how bad the paint really was. He got out his special Meguliars cleaner wax that worked so well in the past and began at her top- the roof. He did a small area and watched as the oxidized Refrigerator White changed to a pleasant Off-White beige.

.....Whoa! She's responding. So he continued. And did a little more of her roof. She responded some more. The many little "dots" on the paint that looked like rust coming through were just hummingbird doo-doo or tree droppings for they dissolved nicely in the cleaner wax. Soon, the roof looked like it just had a new paint job!

.....So the Maestro tried the front hood. It too cleaned up like the roof. So he tried the front fenders. Viola! Presto Chango into nice-o White-o.

.....Then the doors. They looked better too- except for that Real Obvious, ugly rust scar at the seam at the bottom of the doors.

.....The Maestro cleaned off the very dirty wheels to find Original, unpitted Chrome Wheels with Original Hubcaps. Likewise unpitted. A dose of cleaner, a lot of elbow grease and the wheels looked like new,

.....This is turning out better than I thought, thought the Maestro. Am I this lucky?

.....The Maestro's hypoglycemia decided that now would be a good time to break for lunch, which the Maestro wisely did. He always listens when his hypoglycemia talks.

.....As he was imbibing his sandwich, and absorbing needed nutrients, the Maestro thumbed through the Records the previous owner had nicely saved.

.....He went Back in Time to 1990 when the Second Owner first sold the car to the Third Owner who Sold it to the Fourth Owner who sold it to the Maestro that day.

.....The Maestro began checking the Second owner's History. Let's see, receipts for new Michelins in 1987. A Tune-Up in 1986. A muffler in 1985. A Tune up and carb overhaul in 1984. A Battery in 1980. Another tune up in 1977. Smog exemption certificate for multi-carburetored engines in 1975. Transmission overhaul in 1974. Another tune up in 1973. And an Engine Overhaul in 1971.

.....Ah- that's the engine overhaul! Besides the usual "Bearings and gaskets sets", the Invoice had listed a "pair of Used Cases" for $50! That must have been when the Original SC engine died and they replaced the Case with the 356C and the Replacement Third Piece.

.....And what's this- a NEW "SC/912" CRANK in 1971 too!

.....Whoa!

.....And here's where the Second owner bought it- in 1969. Oh, and that's when they changed the plates- so THAT'S why the current plate was issued in 1969! The Original plate had indeed been issued in 1965, but when the ownership changed, so did the plates. (Though both plates were the Black & Yellow type.)

.....And, sho' 'nough, when the Maestro checked the Special Little Box on the old California registrations- the one with the "*" above it (The "*" means the California Sun)- that tells what year the California Sun first shown on the Car, he came up with a blank.

.....And a Blank there is exactly what you WANT to see!

.....For a BLANK in the "*" box means that the car is an Original California Car- one that was first registered in California when Brand New. It's the Birth Certificate of a California Car!

.....And THIS 356 had it!

.....The Second Owner also owned the 356 for almost 20 Years! She (and it was a she) lived in Carmel- that artsy-craftsy city by the (Monterey) Bay. And that explains the rust in the doors! A little salt in the fog that condenses on the glass, runs down the doors and sits in the bottom seam for 20+ years WILL cause this kind of door rust. Q.E.D.

.....But the REST of the car where there be no sitting salt water and decent undercoating there be no rust!

.....The first owner had bought it for his business (nice perks ifin you can get it), and that's why the license plate changed- Back then, ifin the vehicle was licensed as a commercial vehicle and thence changed to non-commercial, that meant a plate change. That's why the '68 plate on the '65 SC.

.....Lunchtime discoveries over, the Maestro returned to finish off the wax job.

.....Half an hour later, the body looking better than it had in several years at least, the Maestro finally got to check out the engine.

.....He started with the "What to Do When You Get It Home" Section in "Secrets of the Inner Circle", and began to give it a tune up.

.....First the Valves.

.....He found #1 Cylinder on the .050 distributor- one the Maestro had set the timing on a mere month before- and cranked the pulley over until the rotor pointed to the #1 plug wire and the "OT" mark on the Pulley was lined up with the timing notch in the Third Piece of the Case. Hence, #1 Cylinder at Top Dead Center.

.....The Maestro prostrated himself on the ground and popped a valve cover off with his Naked Hand. He got out his Calibrate Arm he always keeps at his side and wiggled #1 Exhaust Valve.

.....And BOY did #1 Exhaust Valve WIGGLE! About a quarter Inch of wiggle!

.....Uh, Oh thought the Maestro. Looks like I've just put my finger on the problem!

.....That much "valve gap" usually means Something Is Very Wrong- like the Valve is stuck in its guide (maybe from being BENT by the overrevving), or the Cam Follower head is broken off. Or the pushrod badly bent.

.....But then the Maestro noticed something VERY unusual.

.....Can you guess what it was?

.....Roll that "Jeopardy" Theme Song.

.....He noticed that the Valve Adjuster LOCK NUT WASN'T TIGHT!

.....In fact, he noticed that the Valve Adjuster LOCK NUT WASN'T THERE!

.....In fact, he FOUND the Valve Adjuster Lock Nut in the Valve Cover!

.....WHOA! Said the Maestro. Dare I think? Could it be this simple?

.....Expertly, he spun the lock nut back on the Adjuster desperately seeking same and adjusted the valves for #1 Cylinder. They adjusted.

.....He did all the valves, of course, finding more than one or two a bit too tight. Was THIS be all that's wrong? This was getting downright scary!

.....So, he got out his 12 Volt Magically Adjustable Timing Light and dragged along a separate fully-charged 12 volt battery to power the Magic Timing Light,)

.....And fired the White 356 up.

.....She fired up. In fact, she fired up pretty damn well. With no noise! Would it be THIS easy?

.....The Maestro shown his Strobe Light of Timing Truth onto the Crank Pulley. The .050 proudly showed 33 degrees of High Speed Advance. Idles about 5 or 6 degrees advance. Not bad. I couldn't have done it better myself.

.....

.....The Maestro went to the Carbs and found them to be 40 IDF Webers which was good, and began adjusting. All four mixture screws adjusted! Which was better.

.....Oh, this is too easy. I KNOW this is too easy.

.....So the Maestro decided to go for a Drive.

.....As he backed the 356 out the Shop's door, he noticed a little clutch chatter. And when he took off, he noticed a little more clutch chatter- and an overly tight clutch cable.

.....But the Big Bad Engine Noises- That Symphony of Cacophony- all its musicians mustave gone on strike- cause the Bad Sounds were ALL GONE!

.....It WAS the valve adjuster's lock nut- or, more specifically, the LACK of the Adjuster's Lock Nut that allowed the Adjuster to unscrew itself, caused the Quarter Inch Valve Gap and orchestrated The Sound of Chaos.

.....The Maestro was now humming a happy tune as he drove out the driveway on his Test Drive- until he glanced at the instruments- and saw that:

.....The Big Red Light was "on"!

.....The Big Red Light is the Generator Warning Light. Which means that either the fan belt had just come off or the generator/regulator wasn't charging the battery.

.....Oh, GREAT, he thought. I wonder what's wrong with the Charging System?

.....Just then, the Big Red Light went OUT! And the Maestro thought- "Uh, oh. I bet she's IS Haunted!" Don't laugh. Haunted 356's happen. Quite often in fact- especially those 356's owned for loooooooong periods of time by Members of the Female Persuasion. Like this one had been.

.....With no Red Light to stop him, the Maestro went off for a decent Test Drive. It was then that the Maestro began to notice Bad Vibrations from the engine.

.....Now, where have I felt this bad vibration before? Chicago? Boston? Oh, yeah- it was at an 356 East Coast Holiday when an Owner of a 356 asked me to drive his car. I did, but never revved it over 4000 Rpm. "Why don't rev it up higher" asked the Owner. "Because," say I. "It has a Real Bad Vibration inside and I'm AFRAID to rev it up!" Turned out, the Flywheel and Pressure Plate were badly out of balance.)

.....This one had that feeling.

.....The Maestro returned from his test drive with the White SC still running pretty well, though there be Rumbles Down Below.

.....He pulled in the Shop's door turned the engine off and got out. Then he reached inside, grabbed the key, and turned, expecting that lovely opposed Four Banger to fire right up,

.....

.....Nothing.

.....Not even a "click".

.....The Maestro, amazed by this Negative Contact on that Starter, Good Buddy, tried again. More Carefully this time, he turned the key to "off". Then back to "on" and then "Start".

.....Again Nothing.

.....So he stick his brain-filled head inside the car and eyeballed the instrument cluster on the dash.

.....There WEREN'T ANY Ignition Warning Lights showing on the Dash!

.....Unbelievingly, he got his whole body INSIDE THE CAR. Turned the key back to "off", Turned it back to "on". Then to "Start". Still Nothing.

.....Humnmnmmh, he said. Yep, I was right again- it WASN'T gonna be THAT easy.

.....Quickly, he pulled the release knob for the front hood, got out, and opened the hood. And eyeballed a Brand New Battery with all the recently-connected connections connected quite rightly.

.....Even the 6V to 12 Volt Converter for the non-working Sony Stereo looked hooked up OK.

.....Hummmmh.

.....So he returned to the Driver's Seat and eyeballed the underside of the ignition switch.

.....And what did he find?

.....He found that TWO WIRES HAD POPPED OUT OF THE IGNITION SWITCH!!

.....RIGHT THEN! SECONDS AGO!

.....Did those two wires pop out at the Gas Station and leave the Maestro stranded? No!

.....Did they pop out at Jay's, leaving the Maestro embarrassed?

.....Nope. The two wires popped out RIGHT IN THE MAESTRO'S SHOP. Right AFTER the Test drive!

.....Now, THAT'S a Certain Unmistakable Sign of a GOOD 356- one that ONLY breaks down in your driveway- or better yet in the Maestro's Shop- where it can be FIXED! Is that "Haunted" or what?

.....So the Maestro used his patented Trial & Error Technique to find out where the two wires went on the ignition switch and put them there.

.....Then he turned the key again. This Time he had Lights. He had Camera. He had Starter. (And yes, it did start when he turned the key, wise guy.)

.....By now the Maestro was really IM-pressed. Here the Porsche gods had delivered unto him a Near-Virgin 356 with Disk Brakes no less, giving him nothing but easy-to-fix problems to fix (so far). Right into his lap. There really are Certain Unmistakable signs.

.....The Maestro decided to end the day on that note and happily turned out the Shop's lights, called wifey-poo and set the Laser Disintegrator to "Kill".

.....But as he was about to leave, he remembered that the keys were still in the White Porsche. So he headed back into the darkened shop.

.....But, when he turned the corner what did he see?

.....He Saw an Eerie Glow!

.....A Twilight-Zone type Eerie Glow!

.....An Eerie Glow he's NEVER seen before!

.....And the Eerie Glow was coming from INSIDE his White SC!

.....The Maestro was more than a little shocked by this strange apparition. Was this PROOF that the 356 WAS Haunted?

.....Was it The Lord?

.....Or a UFO?

.....Or was it the Re-Virginization process of the Porsche gods, seldom seen by Mortal Man?

.....Will MILLIONS of people suddenly flock to the Maestro's Shop to be re-Virginized, when they hear about the Miracles being performed inside??

.....No.

.....The Eerie Glow was the 356's INTERIOR LIGHT. It was ON! Which means it was WORKING! The Maestro's never had a 356 before whose Interior Light actually WORKED! That's why he didn't know what that strange glow was.

.....So he returned to the White SC, got the keys and closed the Driver's door. That turned off the interior light.

.....And the Maestro went off into the night. Happy. 'cause he: KEPT THE 356 FAITH! P.S. The next day, the Maestro hurried back to his shop to see what Miracles the White Porsche would perform that day.

.....He didn't have to wait long.

.....The Maestro fired the Heinz 57 engine up. It started easily and quickly settled down to a fairly smooth idle.

.....His right hand automatically reached out to the Radio switch- this one a Sony AM/FM/Cassette installed rather nicely in the dash. He turned the knob clockwise to "on"

..... Nothing. No "Tunes".

.....He pushed the on/off knob. Nothing. No lights came on on the Sony. More importantly no SOUND came from the Sony either!

.....Sigh. Said the Maestro. "Guess I'd better get out that old Sapphire I AM-only radio ifin I want any "Tunes".

.....But the Maestro decided to give it the old college try anyway and checked the wires under the dash. All of them went somewhere.

.....So he opened the front truck and eyeballed the 6-12 volt converter Yep. Sure looks like a 6 to 12 Volt Converter.

.....So he began to trace the wires from the Converter to the Battery.

.....Along the way his hand found a bulge in the wire- it was the fuse holder. .....KEEP THE 356 FAITH!
 

 

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