Sunday, July 04, 2010

Dad's 1966 Porsche 912

My father, Chuck Kaiser, has a habit (along with my mother) of taking old beat-up things and making them into something amazing. Ten years ago he purchased a trailer of rusty steel for a pittance....he saw something in that pile of Porsche. This is not the first time he's done this. Ever since I was a kid I remember helping Dad work on cars, one of my earliest memories with him is with a wrench in my hands. Restoring rare automobiles is a pastime that he takes more seriously and does better work than many professionals. Cars restored in my lifetime by him include a Cord Hupmobile (1929, I believe), Corvettes, Volkswagens and our beloved 1941 Ford Pickup restored from a rusty pile of steel by my father, with my brother and myself doing the engine work in auto shop at high school.

I wish I had some pictures of this Porsche before, I'll try to dig some up....but this thing looked NOTHING like it does now. Dad did all the body work, engine by Shasta Engineers and upholstery by a buddy here in Eugene.

Ten years, and never been on the road...the last problems were with the wiring, something I've had experience with. We spent about six hours and fixed it together, and while still not perfect (switches gone bad with age) we had it functioning and I was thrilled to be able to share the first drive with my father.

Jeff and Chuck
Jeff and Chuck
(Click on any pic to enlarge)

Jeff and Chuck
Jeff and Chuck

The shop
The shop

The shop is behind the barn, so we had to drive it around the property to get to the road
The shop is behind the barn, so we had to drive it around the property to get to the road

Whoops.....clutch wasn't adjusted properly...
Whoops.....clutch wasn't adjusted properly...

Hook it up....
Hook it up....

....towed it back to the shop for a quick adjustment....
....towed it back to the shop for a quick adjustment....

five minutes later back on the road
five minutes later back on the road

A few more shots...
A few more shots...










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Returning home

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2 comments:

Betty Kaiser, columnist said...

Thanks, Jeff, for helping get her on the road. Coudn't have done it without you! Now if when we get those breaks restored we can be speedy racers!
Love,
Dad (and mom)

Kate said...

I love the memories as much as I love the car! The pics are great and the smile on Chuck's face is priceless!!