Cliff Holle won the restored 356 class at the Traverse City 2013 Porsche Parade and also won a Weissach trophy for scoring over 293 out a possible 300 points.  He is the second owner of this 10,000 original mile T1 A coupe.  The Porsche was built by the factory as a show car for the 1957 Geneva Auto Show.  Purchased by Jack and Ruth Gullickson while at the factory, the coupe was shipped to Max Hoffman in New York where Jack and Ruth were now formally celebrating their honeymoon.  They picked up 101246 in New York and drove it cross-country and then back to home near Chicago.  Back home “Baby” was actively used in rallies in the late 50s and early 60s.  Unfortunately after a couple of years Jack became ill and the 356 went idle.  For over 30 years it was stored in various dry and usually heated garages.  Cliff Holle was a long-time friend of the family and was given the first option to purchase the Gullicksons' Baby.  He bought the Porsche in 1999 and moved it to his storage facility.

It was used little over a thousand miles over the next few years when Cliff would drive to work on Sunday mornings or just go for an evening ride in the country.  These little trips endeared the 356 to him and he knew he was going to keep it.  He moved to Australia to be with his new wife so 101246 went back into gentle storage for another 10 years.  In 2011 he returned to the U.S. and joined the Midwest 356 Club where he met Pat Yanahan who had a strong opinion on what to do with an “old” Porsche.  Pat advised Cliff of the intrinsic and collectable value of this particular Porsche.  The paint was beyond saving even after several fellow restorers and paint experts reviewed the exterior paint.  Having been built as a show car, 101246 had factory installed fog lights, Telefunken radio, chrome wheels and a total leather interior.  Everything matched the factory Kardex.  Most of the chrome was still in showroom condition as was the carpeting so Cliff made the decision to make every effort to conserve the Baby and bring her back to original condition while preserving as much as possible.  After totally stripping the exterior paint as well as the undercoating the remarkable discovery was no rust anywhere.  A two-year project ensued in Pat's garage with several Midwest 356 Club members contributing to the delicate conservation.  Regular work breaks were prompted by Rascal the neighbor dog who always brought his tennis ball for a few minutes of playing catch.  The factory color silver paint was matched exactly to the color on the hinge cover plates.  Silver before 1959 was a dull low metallic rather than the later bright high reflective system.  This was a lengthy process since the entire body was sanded between each coat of paint and clear coat.  A tiny color was added to the last coat of clear to match the factory color exactly.  The lead edging on the doors were protected so the gaps are near perfect.  Pat restored and dyed all of the interior leather to factory color.

The Baby garnered much attention at the PCA Parade as well as the Geneva Concours where it also won best in class.  Cliff's plans are to drive it to both 356 and PCA events next summer.  Midwest 356 Club members who contributed to the project were Gordy Smith, Tom Funk, Paul Masanek, Bob Hindman, and Hank Weil.

30 years of storage and no damage



Bottom pan with no dents



Cliff cleaning engine



Pat inspecting first running of engine



Re-dyed all leather interior



Pat and Cliff at Parade prep area



Ready for judging



Judging done, awaiting results<