356 Outlaws: A Different Breed Of Porsche
The Porsche 356 Outlaws are the sexiest cars that Porsche never built. So Rod Emory did it for them. Sort of.
Meet the Porsche 356, but different. Some call it sacrilege, other call it design evolution. Either way, the Porsche Outlaw doesn't give a toss. It's called 'outlaw' for a reason. 356's Outlaws are the brainchild of California-based automotive master craftsman Rod Emory, together with his father Gary and their small crew of eight men. While they're often referred to as 'hot-rodders', they certainly don't make ludicrous monster on 4 wheels that can't drive anywhere because they're too loud and can't clear a speed hump because they'll lose their bumpers. That won't happen to the 356's from Emory Motorsports, first because they don't have bumpers, but also because the Outlaws are a way of honouring Porsche. Rod Emory himself puts it like this: “I try to make our 356s look as if they were built in Porsche’s special build or race department—if Porsche had continued building the 356 model into the late 1960s and ‘70s and had not moved onto the 911.”
Rod Emory
Most children grow up playing with Legos, car-loving kids maybe grow up with toy cars, but Rod Emory grew up fitting different Porsche parts together from his fathers workshop, Porsche Parts Obsolete. He started on his first restoration when he was 14, and finished it by age 16. Rod and his dad fiddled away endlessly on Porsches, which some of his fathers more purist customers considered a grave form of sacrilege. “We were drilling holes in the nose, putting fog lights on, putting hood straps on. People started calling us outlaws.” And so a legend was born.
via Bloomberg.com - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-05/how-emory-porsche-customizes-incredible-vintage-porsche-356s
Their heresy resulted in the two being outlawed from car shows, but Rod and his dad were fine with that. Over time, more outlaws joined them, and as a result the parking lot was more of an attraction than the actual show. The Outlaws took pride in their outlawishness, and even put a badge based on the German five-mark coin on their cars as a bagde of honour.
From Standard To Outlaw
Emory has access to stock 356's from all over the known world, mostly ones that aren't in pristine condition or don't have all the proper documents, so they won't fetch much in auction, but some customers would rather source their own. Rod and his crew then make them tougher, sexier and more luxurious by lowering them, removing the bumpers and reworking the interior. But their treatment doesn't just affect the skin. Underneath the glorious vintage shell they modernise and upgrade the Porsches, giving it up to three times the horsepower the original had by fitting 911 engines with two cilinders removed to fit the 356 engine bay, replacing the drum brakes with disc brakes and lots more, ruffling the feathers of Porsche purists around the world. At the end of the day, it'll never be a record setting car, but that's not the point of this car. This is one for driving, and for simply looking at. Because this is pure art.
They do try to stick as close to the original as they can though, with typical German early 60's upholstery and using as much original Porsche parts as they can find. And they keep the original body shape and lines. The price for this glorified Beetle? Starting at around $200,000. Yes, I know, that hurts, but every 356 Outlaw is designed and built according to the customers wishes, and, I assume, wealth, but seeing as they take, on average, 18 months to build, you can kind of see where the price comes from. Looking at it, I'd say it's worth it.
via - https://armeniabirding.info/porsche-356-coupe.html
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Comments (5)
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Rod Emroy is amazing guy, and does fantastic job. I never knew about him until he came in The Smoking Tire podcast.
I admire his respect and passion for the cars he works on, and it really shows in my opinion. Would love to meet him some day.
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