Vehicle Description
Known as "Beastie Boy," this 1958 Porsche 356A outlaw was featured
in the May 2009 issue of Excellence magazine and was professionally
built by and owned by known Porsche restorer and customizer Dink
Farmer. Farmer's top-flight metal-working skills are expressed
throughout the car down to the smallest details. Instantly you will
notice the chopped roofline and widened front end and rear quarters
connected to the covered and louvered rear quarter-windows and a
louvered rear deck/engine cover. The front fenders and frenched-in
headlights were raised to accommodate a modern 911 suspension.
Custom front turn-signal indicators and taillights with chevron
motif, reminiscent of a 1940 Ford. The doors were sectioned 6
inches with rounded corners similar to a Ferrari 206 Dino. 911 door
handles and housings were modified to leave just the push-button
mechanism to open the doors. Lightweight plastic windows are raised
and lowered via GT-style straps. Farmer raised, reshaped and rolled
the rocker panels to resemble those of an E-Type Jaguar while
adding air scoops for the rear brakes. The front cowl was carefully
reshaped and modified to accept a real Speedster windshield frame.
Farmer fabricated a new rear cowling to accommodate the
rear-mounted spare. Power and performance capabilities are far
beyond original specifications. Open the Carrera RS-style rubber
hold-downs on the rear handcrafted lid to expose a very unique
engine compartment. The original 4-cylinder engine was replaced
with a 911T 6-cylinder engine breathing through a pair of
triple-choke carburetors delivering the newfound power through a
911 rear transaxle. Among the suspension upgrades are 911
components that include a limited-slip differential. Braking is
handled by a disc brake setup front and rear. To compensate for the
extensive modification the car's rear was widened by 4 inches. The
handcrafted interior is trimmed in tan leather and features
custom-upholstered, Speedster-style lightweight bucket seats and
sculpted door panels with matching leather headliner, compliments
of Dan Acker Leather Works in San Francisco. The dashboard is
copied from a 1950 Mercury and was made from a fresh piece of sheet
steel, formed on Farmer's English wheel with modern instruments
frenched. A custom floor console houses switches and control
buttons. Other interior updates include the banjo-style steering
wheel and relocation of the spare wheel rear seating area. A fuel
cell is found underneath the front trunk lid, while an electronic
ignition system fires the fuel/air mixture. The car rides on an air
bag suspension that allows you to set the ride height as desired.
Hoosier tires on Minilite-style alloy wheels provide road contact.
Exterior graphics and pinstriping are hand-painted by graphic
artist Don Bridge of Ukiah, CA.
