Tour De Forge

A number of 912 owners joined the 356 California Alta Region for their March 6 breakfast, drive and a tour of Chuck Forge's shops, garages and laboratories. Chuck is an electrical engineer, races Porsches and has been the owner of John Von Nuemann's 356SL since 1957.

Electronics Lab

	Chuck on the left is an engineer's engineer.
	Chuck's 4 bay garage is above a complete electronics lab. This bench is just one of several centers.

Race Cars

Chuck is also a car racer.

	John Von Nuemann bought this car from Max Hoffman in 1952. It was one of three that were imported at the end of 1951, all coupes. Von Nuemann raced his new coupe but the car was not competitive. He cut the top off the car, turning it into a stripped down roadster that he called a 'speedster' and then achieved racing success with the car. Von Nuemann claims to have pressured Max Hoffman to import a low cost roadster. From that effort came the America Roadster and the Speedster. Here we see the 356SL with Chuck's Fuhrmann engined Carrera coupe reflected in it's paint. Chuck restored the 356SL 'speedster' in 1981 and frequently races it at historic car races.
	The Carrera label on the '56 silver coupe shows this car to be a rare example.
	The characteristic fan shroud of a Fuhrmann 4 cam engine. This engine was the mainstay of Porsche racing for a number of years. It was very powerful for its displacement and is one of the most complex 4 cylinder engines ever designed.
	F Production 914-6 SCCA race car.
	Convertibles including a '62 Super 90 Roadster.
	'58 E Production Speedster. This one is a bit tired compared to the others.

The Shop

	A distributor test machine in the foreground.
	Gas and electric welding, a band saw and materials.
	Projects in every corner.
	Even spilling on to the floor
	Shelves I
	Shelves II
	Shelves III

Visitor Cars

In addition to Chuck's cars, there were some interesting cars brought by visitors. Unfortunately I know very little about them.

	A pre-A 356. Note the bent windshield.
	A Convertible D
	1970 914-6. Although the sign in the top of the windshield says "24 HEURES DU MANNS" this car probably did not race at Sarthe, but did race in Europe and at the 1998 Monterrey Historics.
	Eye candy.

Last modified: Sat, 06 Mar 2004

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