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Reply to "Porsche 356 Registry Article"

Ed wrote: "It was rebodied in fiberglass by a friend of the owner—a Mexican boat builder—because the aluminum body was flaking off it and the guy who ended up with Porsche 550-01 did not know anyone who could work in aluminum. "

To the best of my knowledge, both the Spyder Factory (SF) in New Hampshire and Wray Schelin in Massachusetts (and probably a few others) have done laser scans of original 550 Spyder bodies with the intention of duplicating bodies and parts.  Both have scanned at least two each and turned the scans into a composite "typical" database because, as we know, the Spyders were all hand made and no two bodies are identical.  

Both places have used the scans to produce shaping "bucks" made from hardwood (often Mahogany) to guide the craftsmen as they create the parts, with the SF creating a more refined (and slightly adjustable) buck for their builds.  This is Rainer Cooney at the Spyder Factory demonstrating how the process works (that's me peeking just over his shoulder!)   The wooden buck looks like a piece of art all by itself.

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The entire process of building a 550 body (or even a Speedster body part) out of metal is an exacting, time-consuming process and the number of people still doing this world-wide these days can probably be counted on two hands or less - Maybe 4 in this hemisphere.

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Last edited by Gordon Nichols
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