1955 Porsche 356 Coupe

Neil Emory owned Valley Custom Shop and for years, his son Gary ran the parts department of a major dealership. He enjoyed adding small custom touches and personalization to his own cars, as well as customers', and he even created a small badge with a Maltese cross to replace the Porsche 356's stock rear torsion bar. His cars were called 'Outlaws.'

Gary's son Rob, also inherited an enthusiasm for the Porsche marque. Together, they began creating a pair of highly modified 356s. Their first creation was a cabriolet built for Rob's use and the other was a 1955 coupe that was intended to be Gary's personal vehicle. In 1998, the cabriolet was completed in time for Monterey's tribute to Porsche. After seeing the cabriolet featured in Excellence magazine, Florida airline pilot Jeff Hathorn called and requested a car just like it. He purchased the Emorys' coupe and financed its completion. The car was given a roll cage and sub-frame, and the body was cleaned to minimize drag, with included adding a removable roof panel. The suspension was lowered to help enhance the handling and performance. At all four corners, disc brakes with Brembo calipers from an early Boxster were installed, along with 16x7 'Special' Wheels.

This 1955 Porsche 356 Special Coupe was offered for sale at the 2007 RM Auctions where it was estimated to sell between $100,000 - $150,000. The car is powered by a 1507cc four-cylinder overhead camshaft engine capable of producing 137 horsepower. The engine is one of Dean Polopolous engineered four-cylinder SOHC 'Polo' engines that was based on a sectioned 901/911 five-main-bearing six-cylinder that had the central pair of cylinders removed. It is fitted with a Velasco billet steel crankshaft, J&E pistons in Mahle cylinders, Elgin camshafts, and twin plug heads. There is a pair of Weber 48 IDA downdraft carburetors and a custom Bursch exhaust. There is a 901 four-speed gearbox with custom gear ratios, 904 mainshaft, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes with Brembo calipers.

The car has been treated to a restoration, modifications, and updates since new. The body has been modified to reduce aerodynamic drag. The interior has been strengthened with a 1.75-inch tubing roll cage. To reduce frontal area and improve the handling and performance, the suspension had been modified and lowered. Non-essential items have been removed from the interior, reducing the vehicles overall weight.

This car, the 'Emory Special', set a new unofficial one-way E/GT class speed record of 151.52 mph. Afterwards, the engine was completely rebuilt, the body was stripped and repainted, and the chassis was set-up by Heritage Motorcar Restorations in St. Petersburg, Florida.


At the 2004 Brumos Porsche Octoberfest Concours, the car won first place. It has also participated in the Daytona Rennsport Reunion in 2004.

At auction, the car was sold, selling for $159,500 and surpassing the vehicles estimated value.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2015