Vehicle Description
1964 Porsche 356 C
VIN: 219940
The first owner of this 356 coupe was Gerhard K Cotts of Arlington,
VA. He originally bought the car in October of 1964. The next owner
would purchase the 356 on March 3rd 1967 from Joe Heishman's
Porsche for the sale price of $3162.50. John G. Sullivan of Pacific
Pallisades, CA bought the 29,633-mile coupe while attending the US
Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Sullivan originally wanted a 912,
but he was about $1000 short of the purchase price, as he was about
to graduate from the Academy. In military fashion he kept exacting,
hand written records of every fill up, service, etc during his
decades long ownership.
After 17 years of dutiful service Sullivan would retire the car to
his Los Angeles garage, where he would keep it stored, driving it
infrequently until 2003. Following a brief resurrection in the mid
2000s, and until selling it in 2014 he would cover only another
1000 miles.
In 2014, Dr. Anand Rajani of Fresno, CA would purchase the
amazingly original 356C, looking to do a full restoration. At this
point the car had only one repaint, and still retained its original
interior, engine and transmission. It was rust and accident free;
an excellent starting point to build an amazing 356.
Beginning almost immediately the car was taken down to a bare metal
tub, and a full nut and bolt restoration was performed. Every
system, including the brakes, suspension, fuel, steering, engine,
and transmission were restored to stock, original condition. The
interior was fully redone in beautiful red leather.
After the restoration was complete Rajani wanted more performance
from his stock 356. He approached renown 356 experts, Willhoit Auto
Restoration, for assistance in the upgrades. Putting the restored
original engine aside, Willhoit built a completely new power plant
for the little car. Starting with a late 356 block they built up a
2132cc engine with JE forged pistons, Carillo rods, 91mm pistons,
custom Scat crankshaft, and propriety heads with stainless valves
and hardened seats. The result is a potent motor with 145 hp at
6000rpm, 140 ft/lbs of torque, and 10:1 compression.
In order to handle the 50% increase of power over stock the
suspension was upgraded and improved. Willhoit increased the
torsion bars size front and rear, added Koni shocks, WR 17.5mm
front swaybar, stiffer rubber bushings on the suspension, all of
which remarkably improved the handling the of the car. To finish
off the sporting experience a WR short shift kit was installed.
The car has seen very few miles since its restoration and
improvements. Since arriving at Canepa the 356 has been fully
concourse detailed and tuned. Staying consistent with this car's
Outlaw aspirations we made a few changes of our own: The car was
lowered one inch, and shod with new 185/70R15 tires on chrome 5�
inch rims. The bumper overriders were removed and Carrera trim was
installed. Hella driving lights were installed with a proper period
switch. An original period GT emblem was sourced and installed on
the rear. The front grills were removed. The exhaust tips were
extended.
For an excellent intro to this exceptional 356 you can watch its
featured appearance on Jay Leno's Garage:
https://youtu.be/VFeSTvohf94
