I have a theory. Actually it's more of an observation. Here goes. I believe that the car you fall in love with when you get your driver's license, will always be your favorite. I've tested this theory on friends, and it works pretty well. But it's not just an American thing. It's true overseas too. Take my friend Jean Nicou for example. Jean is from Sweden where Volvos and Saabs used to sell like Fords and Chevys did here – despite styling changes that appeared about as often as Halley's Comet. But Volvos and Saabs weren't even on Jean's radar when he came of driving age. He needed something different.
True to the theory (see paragraph 1) about the time Jean got his driver's license, a red 1958 Porsche Speedster arrived in town. The year was 1960 and Sweden didn't have many Speedsters. Actually it didn't have many Porsches, period. So when Jean saw this curvy car that had the throaty sound, and the whole basic "no frills" thing that Speedsters did so well, he knew this very un-Volvo-ish car could be the one.
Jean found out that the Speedster's owner was a sailboat racer, as was Jean. He saw the '58 at sailing races from time to time when he towed his boat down to compete in the near-freezing coastal waters. For some reason, in Sweden this is not considered crazy. His fascination turned to infatuation after he got a ride in the Speedster. Man, was he hooked. Right then he decided he would own the car someday if he could. Turned out that his chance would come soon.
In March of 1961, Jean spotted the Speedster roaring toward shore across the frozen ice of the Baltic Sea. The owner was using the ice as a shortcut home from one of the small nearby islands. Heavy partying had apparently been going on out there, which explained the crazy dash across the thinning Spring ice. As the Speedster swerved this way and that, the tires splashed through about an inch of saltwater that was above the ice. It was a sign that Spring was approaching. It was a sign that the driver was pretty drunk. It was also a sign to Jean that the Speedster needed to be rescued.
Back in the 60s, Stockholm had just one Porsche dealer – Scania Vabis. Jean knew a salesman there who he had met when Jean's dad took delivery of a new 1947 Volkswagen some years earlier. With the help of the salesman, Jean tracked down the Speedster's owner. To no one's surprise, the owner was hospitalized in bad condition after too much partying when Jean located him. The Speedster, meanwhile, had been hidden in a barn (what is it about Speedsters and barns?), probably to escape the owner's creditors. So the owner decided it would be better to sell the '58 to Jean than to have someone come and take it away. So on May 29, 1962 Jean bought his Speedster and the journey began.
For the next three years Jean used it as his daily driver as he finished school. He even made a trailer hitch for it, so he could tow his sailboat to races. The car was already rusty from the salty sea air, the salty roads in winter and the salty sprints across the coastal ice. Jean had a lot of fun with his Speedster. An enormous amount of fun in fact. But in 1965 a '57 T-Bird caught his eye as a more powerful car to tow his boat. To buy the T-Bird though, he would have to sell the Speedster – which he did. As he watched it speed away as Speedsters do, Jean fondly remembered his years with the '58, and although he saw it around Stockholm for a few years, eventually it disappeared from view.
Fast forward 14 years to 1979, and Jean once againcaught a glimpse of his beloved '58 in Stockholm. He inquired at the department of licensing and after a few months of politely checking back, they tracked down his old Speedster in Gothenburg. It turned out that the owners were a lady police officer and her husband, who was a car collector. They didn't really want to sell the car, but they were looking for an engine for a Carrera Speedster they also had. Luckily for Jean, he knew a fellow who had an extra Carrera engine (you can never have too many). Jean bought the engine, swapped it for the '58 and he was reunited with his old car.
Fourteen years apart had taken its toll on the Speedster. It had been abused by a number of owners and even spent some time as an ice-racing car, complete with spiked tires. The '58 would be safe now in Jean's garage but with the demands of career and family, it would be another 10 years before the Speedster would see daylight.
After consulting with some 356 friends in the U.S., Jean decided to send the car to a restoration facility in Reno, Nevada that had a good reputation for doing 356s right. His '58 was loaded into a 20 foot ocean going container for a trip to the U.S., where it would be restored from top to tires. When Jean's car arrived, the shop was already working on a 356 from Harry "The Maestro" Pellow and a couple of 356s from a well-known comedian that were in various stages of restoration. Things looked promising.
The '58 was stripped down to bare metal, and what emerged could only be described as Frankenspeedster. Big, ugly metal scars snaked throughout the pan and body, the result of years of rust, accidents and patchwork repairs. But work was begun and for a time there was real progress being made. That was good. But then things went south when the restoration shop moved many miles out of town, and worse yet when it was then shut down by Sheriffs waving a warrant and drawn guns – a sure sign that business was not "as usual".
The Sheriff's department got in touch with the owners and the owners' reps of the cars in the shop, and told them to come and claim the cars. Sierra 356 Club co-founder, Glenn Lewis and I brought a car trailer down and loaded the stripped Speedster onto it. We then loaded up the boxes of parts that were with the car, all the time hoping that everything was there.
We also helped Harry Pellow load his unfinished car onto his trailer and sent him on his way in his Sheevrolay pickup, over the Sierras to the Bay Area. Then we helped a guy try to find the Carrera engine that belonged to a Speedster he was there to pick up. The car belonged to a friend of the comedian's and thought it was rescued, we never did find the engine.
The '58 moved into our garage for a while (probably the only time we'll have a Speedster in our garage), until we could help Jean find a restoration shop where this kind of fiasco would never be repeated. On a referral from one of our local club's Temberr we contacted Wayne and Nancy Baker of Personalized Autohaus in San Diego. Wayne was a former IMSA racing standout whose shop was turning out beautiful 356 restorations and vintage Porsche racers. So a call was made, a trailer was sent, we loaded the boxes of Speedster (the first Boxster?) and the car made its way from Reno to San Diego in the spring of 1991.
But about then, the Swedish economy took a downturn, which made dealing with the U.S. dollar very challenging. Being a patient man, and wanting to give his Speedster every advantage, Jean had the Bakers store his '58 until the time was right. Thirteen years later, Jean gave Wayne the green light in the spring of 2004 to begin the restoration.
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In primer at Personalized Autohaus
Swedster engine "before" and "after" Rebuild and Restoration
The condition of Jean's Speedster tested his loyalty to it a number of times, as the work needed was about as extensive as anything the Bakers' shop had faced. But work continued and Jean was able to visit the '58 a few times during the restoration to see the progress and to make some decisions with Wayne. Everything was done to put the car back into exactly the configuration it had been when originally delivered in Stockholm, right down to the unusual corduroy for the seat upholstery.
To make sure he was getting it really right, Jean even went back to the Porsche dealer in Stockholm - Scania Vabis - which still had the original records on his car from 1958. Turns out that the salesman with whom Jean had met to find the car in the 1962, was still working there and remembered the red Speedster.
As the restoration was being completed, the question of where to unveil this marathon expression of 356 devotion was debated. It was decided that the September 2006 West Coast Holiday in Aspen/Snowmass, hosted by the Rocky Mountain 356 Group would be the best event. The club was known for their excellent holidays and a good turnout was expected. So the plans were made, reservations were set and we all agreed to meet in Colorado.
A few days before the event, Wayne and San Diego 356 Club member John Turk loaded up Jean's '58 along with five other 356s into Wayne's racing transport truck and hit the road for Aspen. We hadn't seen Jean for a good long while, and when we arrived we connected with him and his daughter who had joined him from New York to share the moment for which her dad had waited 27 years.
Being there to see Jean reunited with his Speedster as Wayne pulled the car cover off was worth the wait. Jean's smile was the smile of a 17-year-old, and the Speedster was more gorgeous than he'd ever seen it. The week was full of great drives, events, meals, get-togethers, tech sessions and car showings. Probably the highlight of the trip was a winding mountain drive over 12,000 foot Independence Pass, with over 100 beautiful 356s. They added a colorful accent to the fall landscape in the mountains between Aspen and Snowmass. And even though some of the cars were 50 years old, not a one missed a beat.
Jean shared driving duties with his young daughter who helped us all see these great cars with a fresh enthusiasm and delight. More than once, she made the point that she really wants the car to stay in her family for a long time.
As the holiday drew to a close, the 356s were loaded back up into the truck as we said our goodbyes to others who were driving their cars home. Jean's '58 will stay in San Diego for now, as he has many great events, holidays and west coast drives he wants to do in the years ahead. And eventually when the time is right, his car will return home to Stockholm, after its long and incredible journey. For those of us who followed its amazing story, we will always remember it fondly as – The Swedester.*
Geoff Daigle
Bainbridge Island, WA
* This original story with same or similar photos has been also published by 356 Registry Volume 31, Number 6
Special thanks to ...
Owner: Jean Nicou
Painter: Kevin Walton
Upholstery: Tony Garcia Autobahn Interiors
Engine Restoration by Personalized Autohaus
Photos by Wayne Baker Personalized Autohaus and archive
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