I’ve just completed my first year of Automotive Restoration studies at McPherson College in Kansas. Like many other students, my school year was cut short due to the outbreak of the Corona Virus. Here are some photos showing our last couple of days together before we all headed back to our homes around the nation and world.

One activity I’m involved in through the C.A.R.S. club is Judging, a group of AR students led by Wyatt Miceli and Brian Martin. Through the club, we judge at various car shows during the school year, leading up to our annual C.A.R.S. show. For practice, we usually judge the schools cars using the same criteria which we use out in the field. Because we had to leave, we ended up having on more meeting where we got out the schools cars, cleaned them, judged them, and drove them around campus in order to exercise them. I was in the schools 1964 356C coupe, which was great fun.

Though I would be taking the 356 home to Virginia on an open U-Haul trailer, I still wanted to wash it as it was fairly dusty and buggy from general driving. A good friend and classmate of mine, Stephen Duncan-Peters, was a huge help in this process as he let me use his supplies and gave me tips on cleaning the various surfaces. Here, he is cleaning up a set of forged Alcoa wheels which he got for his two door Tahoe. Be sure to check out his blog at stephendp.com

I was able to pick up a UHaul trailer the next town over and got all loaded up. I had never towed anything before in my life, so needless to say I did some practice runs on less busy neighborhood roads. I was delightfully surprised at how light the 356 felt back there, but then again I was well under the towing limit of my LX470.

Gas stations were definitely a challenge in terms of approach angle, but after the first few I got the hang of it.

Since I was driving from Kansas to Virginia, and I was really in no hurry, I made a stop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I knew their car museum would be closed, but when I arrived I felt lucky to even be able to enter the gates of the speedway. For a moment I felt like I was arriving for a vintage racing event, a dream of mine. After I pulled across the street to take this picture, I went in to the store that this parking lot belongs to. It is an Indianapolis Motor Speedway memorabilia shop with items dating back to the 1950s. The owner and his friend were there, and because I am curious and eager to expand my knowledge of automotive history, I started talking to the two about their connection to the Speedway. As it turned out they had grown up nearby and started working as mechanics for the race as teenagers and continued to do so from the early 50s to the late 70s. They told some truly incredible stories. I hope to do a video segment with them next time I pass through Indianapolis later this summer.

I arrived back home and my father was able to drive the 356SC for the first time in many months, and with improved mechanical characteristics as a result of the work I performed while out at school, which I will highlight In future blogs.

I’m always interested in hearing about vintage Porsches that are for sale. My email is CameronSLuther@gmail.com