OVERVIEW
1959 Porsche 356 A Coupe
VIN: 105816
This 356A Coupe was finished at the Porsche factory on December 4th 1958. It was destined for the US, and would be imported by Hoffman to New York.
24 years ago Porsche aficionado and restorer, Julio C. Picchio, purchased the car near Salt Lake City. The car was put into storage, and he would spend the next 9 years adding to his impressive collection of Porsche parts so that he would be able to build the car exactly as he wanted it. With a job that took him all over the world he was able to assemble a staggeringly impressive collection of original new old stock parts for the build. In fact he was so particular about the vision for the car that once the restoration was begun it would take 15 years to finish the Coupe.
The little Coupe proved to be a real find. It was completely numbers matching in both the engine and transmission, as well as all the body panels including the doors, hood, and engine lid. To add to that it had 60mm Carrera front brakes, plexi windows, and an 80 liter GT fuel tank.
Stripped down to its tub the 356 received a painstaking rotisserie restoration. The body and paintwork would take 3 years in themselves, and would be completed by the exacting father and son team of Norm and William Cox in Tempe AZ. Picchio hunted down the formula for Silver Arrow silver and had PPG make up a few quarts. After the painting process no undercoating or sound deading materials were used so all of the hundreds of factory spot welds are visible to the naked eye just like the original GTs.
The interior was done by Tony Garcia of Autobahn Interiors in San Diego, who has done all of Picchio’s eighteen 356 restorations. The correct green Connelly leather was found in Argentina. The original aluminum GT seats were found in Switzerland and covered in the green leather with silver piping. The original factory roll bar was sourced in Germany. The vintage Heuer rally watches came from Picchio’s father’s personal collection. Original Carrera gauges were found and restored by North Hollywood Speedometer. The car even has the rare Carrera twin stalk combination turn signal/hi beams/horn switch. All the windows are in Plexiglass, and the Coupe has a factory Sigla windscreen.
During a trip to Australia Picchio had a new 80-liter GT fuel tank made using the original tank as a pattern. It is topped with a correct knurled cap with 4-hole fin. The wheels were sourced from Ray Fulcher and are 15x5 2 piece alloys with C&C centers and forged and polished rings. They are shod with a set of 185x70-15 Pirelli CN36s. The 60mm Carrera brakes remain on the front with scoop and vented braking plates on the front and rear.
Now we come to the engine, or engines, in the case of this amazing car. The original numbers matching engine was rebuilt by Air Power Racing in Utah. They installed a 1750cc big bore kit and performed some headwork, but kept the rest of engine relatively stock. Output is 95hp. But Picchio was looking for a bit more punch from the Coupe so he had Pat Higgins, Porsche mechanic and former wrench for George Follmer during his Can-Am days, build a new motor for the car.
The new engine is based on a late 912 block with the largest oil galleries. It is built up with ported and polished 912 heads, J&E pistons, brand new 912 rods (polished and shot peened), ported and polished intake manifolds, and Solex 40 PII-4 carburetors rebuilt and upgraded by 356 Carburetor Rescue. New matched oil gears were fitted as well as a Precision Matters remote oil filter. Finishing off the powerplant is a custom stainless steel exhaust with removable baffles.
The result is a blueprinted, bulletproof engine that is just shy of 1800cc with compression of 9.5:1 and power in the neighborhood of 135hp. Higgens would also rebuild the original transmission, which is fitted to the car.
After all of this work you may now be able to fathom the 15-year build for this exceptional Coupe. Aside from being a former PCA Concours Chairman, Picchio is also a pilot and he wanted this 356 finished like one of his planes: no corners cut, no exceptions.
The Coupe comes with it original tool kit, floor jack, owner’s manual, COA, Kardex, and complete restoration documentation. It also comes with a pint of the Silver Arrow silver PPG paint.
