Name this car....

[wlaidlaw]

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As usual, open to all.  

I went and test drove an early one of those Nova cars for my nephew who is a Beetle and Beetle specials enthusiast. This one was based in Worthing so not too far for me to drive to try it compared with my Nephew who lives in Devon. I told my nephew to run a mile. There were rust holes in the floor pan, the steering seemed half seized, the brakes barely worked and with a very tired 1300 engine, the performance was glacial. It was also exceedingly noisy, both engine and gearbox noise. You had to prop the canopy open with a broomhandle to get in and out. When I told the seller I would not be recommending its purchase, he got very stroppy and said it was just like a 356 Porsche. I took him for a short run in my 997 Turbo S with its GT2 560HP engine to show him what a real Porsche was like and told him that I regularly drove a 2.2L 356 Cabriolet A, showing him a picture of it, so I knew exactly what they were like. That rather silenced him. 

Wilson

 

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Edited Thursday at 06:57 PM by wlaidlaw
typo

[pippy]

On 10/23/2025 at 7:57 PM, wlaidlaw said:

...I regularly drove a 2.2L 356 Cabriolet A...

Would you care to expand on that detail Wilson?

Philip.

[wlaidlaw]

Philip,

My brother bought this well restored 356 Cab A around 2010, where the original engine (1500 or 1600?) had been replaced by a poorly built 1900 engine, which rattled like a bunch bolts in a galvanised bucket. This obviously put off a lot of buyers, as it did not reach reserve at auction and my brother negotiated a good deal after the auction. The engine was removed by Phil my brother's car manager and mechanic and sent to Willhoit (http://www.willhoitautorestoration.com), who deemed it an unusable base for a rebuilt/modification other than the crankcase. Wilhoit then built up a new 2.2L engine in a relatively low state of tune at around 140 BHP for classic rallying. These engines can be made to produce up to 180 BHP but then become quite peaky with a narrow power band which then requires a CR gearbox. The 140 HP 2.2L is a lovely engine, which ticks over very smoothly and pulls like a train from 1500 RPM. I think it runs a pair of 42 DCNF downdraft Weber Carburettors, which were felt to be more in keeping with the age of the car rather than the fuel injection that Wilhoit usually fit. My only dislike about this car was the sloppy and long travel gearchange. I strongly recommended replacing it with a Rennshift short travel change from James West or similar, like my 911RSR used. You have to be conscious about the potential for lift off oversteer with the swing axles at the back and it is very much a case of slow into a corner and fast out, once you have seen that the corner does not tighten up. My brother has now sold this car as he much prefers his 1973 factory lightweight Porsche 911 RS, with a 3.5L engine for rallying. 

Wilson

[pippy]

On 10/25/2025 at 10:13 AM, wlaidlaw said:

...the original engine (1500 or 1600?) had been replaced by a poorly built 1900 engine, which rattled like a bunch bolts in a galvanised bucket......Phil my brother's car manager and mechanic and sent to Willhoit who deemed it an unusable base for a rebuilt/modification other than the crankcase. Wilhoit then built up a new 2.2L engine in a relatively low state of tune at around 140 BHP for classic rallying...

Ah! Thanks for the explanation, Wilson, as I was imagining that somehow someone had shoehorned-in a 1970 - '71 era 2.2L engine from a 911!

Whilst I can easily understand the 'draw' of the factory Lightweight RS for your brother's preferences it has to be said that the 356 A Cabrio is an extremely attractive car. Lovely to see one which isn't finished in 'Silbermetall'. Makes for a nice change!

Philip.

EDIT : How Bizarre!!!...

Apropos engine rebuilds;

My now long-gone Porsche 914 had been imported from the USA by a chap called James Calvert who had (has?) a buisness called Stateside Tuning whose primary speciality was building 'higher'-performance air-cooled engines but which also had a side-business selling examples of this model. Jim was (is?) a fairly talended 914 campaigner in his own right on the 'Historic' scene and at the time I acquired the 914 he held a number of Track-Records for his Class.

On arrival to the UK 'my' car had been duly given the warm-over treatment with, amongst other things, a conversion from the stock factory Bosch injection system to run a pair of twin 40 IDF Webers which made it a hoot to drive albeit with appauling fuel consumption around town...

Curious to discover whether Mr. Calvert is still around I chanced upon something which came as a complete surprise; a www sales-advert dating to 2021 for 'my' old car!

https://greatworthclassics.co.uk/1972-porsche-914-4

Interesting to see that the carb filter-covers are still the Dellorto ones. Sometimes I wish I'd kept the thing but SWMBO really didn't like it......

Another very peculiar coincidence is that the dealership which was selling the car is based in Greatworth; a village of 708 people one of whom (at the time) is still to this day my #1 client and for whom I was shooting all last week!

'Small World' Indeed...

Edited yesterday at 12:17 PM by pippy

[wlaidlaw]

When I was having my 911 RSR being rebuilt from a "car" bought from a scrap yard for competition cars in Bakersfield, California, the engine builder wanted to use a pair of PMO IDA 50-3 Weber copies (made in Australia) for the 3.3L engine but I wanted fuel injection. I wanted to avoid mechanical injection, as that then necessitates adding two stroke oil to modern petrol, to avoid premature pump wear and from memory of my 1972 Kremer K3 2.6L 911S, gives just as bad fuel consumption as Webers/PMO's. I therefore opted for Bosch Digitronic digital fuel injection with a gas flowed inlet manifold and plenum chamber and big valve gas flowed heads. This turned out to be an excellent choice, as I got over 30MPG even rallying and the engine would pull from as low as 1000 RPM all the way to its 7200 red line, where it was producing 300 BHP - more than the contemporary 3.3L Turbo and without the lag. 

Wilson

[stuny]

I imagine somebody here will get this one fairly quickly.  All the usuals, please.

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