Should you ever have the desire to compete in a top international concours you will need an encycolpedic - some might even say obsessive - knowledge of how you chosen car is built.
Events such as Florida's Amelia Island and Meadow Brook Hall in Detroit attract the elite of the world's professional restorers, all of whom enter fierce debates over the finer details of their cars' specification.
Gary Kempton runs GK Restorations near Tallahassee in Florida's panhandle (see Time team on pages 82-85 of the July 2002 issue.)
His customers' cars are prepared by a team of craftsmen whose efforts bring new meaning to the word "perfection." These automobile artists eat, sleep and drink Porsche restoration with a passion. They can probably tell you who manufactured any given nut and bolt, and certainly what kind of protective plating it should have. In what can often be a pressure-cooker enviroment such as this, though, there invariably comes a time when even guys like Gary Kempton need to let off steam. Every so often, then, he likes to forget about the notebook, and simply follow his own dreams on his latest personal project. It was yet another Porsche, of course, and this time it was a rare 1956 356A Speedster Super.
At first sight the car seems much like any other beautifully presented but otherwise quite ordinary Speedster. Look closely though, and you very soon realise that it's something quite different. In fact, it has recieved one of the most subtle and lovingly executed customising jobs you will ever see.
Within purist circles such a car might be thought of as an illegitimate offspring, if not the work of the devil himself. Indeed, customised 356s are frequently known (and only half-jokingly) by those who seek to uphold the faith as 'outlaw' cars.
They are, in short, rebels; those that do not - will not - conform to what some might consider the accepted norm. But the fact is that such automobiles have a small but extremely dedicated following (see also the sidebar on page 73).
To this writer it doesn't seem important that this near 50-year-old treasure wouldn't get past the first page of a concours judge's clipboard. What's far more important to me is that it will stop you in your tracks - and it's guaranteed to make you smile.
One of Gary Kempton's team brought the Speedster out into the Florida sun for us to photograph, and we had to look twice to make sure our eyes weren't deceving us. It was as if we were looking at a mirage - the radiant Adria Blue metallic paintwork appeared to be shimmering before our eyes.
The almost hypnotic hue is referred to as a 'flip' finish by Kempton's paint expert, Keith Powell, and seems to change colour according to the light. In bright sunshine it takes on a sky-blue colour, but in darker light it changes to a mint green.
The closest comparison I can make is to think of the silver undersides of a fish's body - the colour is almost translucent. "It's a factory colour," says Kempton. "We've just given it a modern twist." And that principle of subtle improvement has been applied throughout this remarkable car.
In keeping with its present incarnation, the Speedster has enjoyed a fairly unconventional life. It spent its first 15 years racing in SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) events, while in later years it languished disused in a back yard and was gradually cannibalised for spare parts.
By the time Gary Kempton found it the Speedster had been comprehensively trashed but crucially all the various serial numbers matched. At some point the doors had disappeared, though, and Gary spent a long time tracing the correct items.
But there was never any question of simply throwing away the derelict Porsche. "There's no such thing as a Speedster that's beyond redemption," says Kempton with feeling.
Today the car in an expression of everything that is great and good about Porsche 356s, and as a result is anything but a slave to originality. "I suppose it is a bit of an outlaw," Kempton agrees sheepishly, as though trying to preserve some semblance of 356 political correctness.
But by the standards of some outlaw cars Gary's speedster is quite restrained. He hasn't chopped the body around, for instance, although he has removed the side trim. And his car has been transformed by shoosing only those parts which were availible as a factory option during the entire production life of the 356.
Take that hard-top, for instance. It's an extremely rare Glaspar item made in California and originally sold as an option through Porsche dealerships world wide. It certainly makes touring in the Speedster a far more practicable proposition than the rudimentary fabric soft-top of the original.
Likewise instead of the 75bhp, 1600cc pushrod flat-four originally fitted to the Speedster. Gary Kempton's car has the 356C's 95bhp SC engine. Not only does this give extra power, but it also upgrades the Speedster's old - and sometimes tempermental - six-volt electrics to a more reliable 12-volt system. This particular car also benefits from a capacitive-discharge ignition that ensures a strong spark throughout the rev range.
The clutch and transmission have been replaced with those from the 356C. The stronger clutch and Porsche's famous all-synchomesh, four-speed type 741/2C gearbox transform the early car's manners, and add a further element of durability.
Given such a relatively large increase in power over the original, plenty of attention has been paid to the braking system, too. Top of the 356 range in the early 1960s was an uninterupted view of the three main dials.
There's always some dilemma when it comes to customising a car as desirable as a Porsche - an particularly a rare model with potentially high value. But Gary Kempton's approach has ensured that if ever the car needed to be returned to its original specification the task could be carried out without too much trouble. The difficulty is understanding why anyone would want to do it.
As cars like Gary Kempton's Speedster demonstrate, there's no right or wrong way to enjoy a rare automobile. But having fun with it is certainly a good starting point.
