If you took the train from downtown Stuttgart, Germany, back in the early 1950’s, and hopped off in suburban Zuffenhausen, you might have heard the industrious hammering as skilled artisans shaped sheet steel into a racing legacy. Rod Emory has created a shop that loosely resembles the early years of that Zuffenhausen facility, packed to the brim with original 356 Porsche bodies, engines, transmissions, and all the critical components to properly revitalize these classics. But Emory is not in the business of making them just as Dr. Ferry Porsche originally designed. Oh, no. Emory is making them better.
Photo: Chris Greenwood
“Our vision is to form these cars into something unique, one-of-a-kind. Hot Rods, of a type,” stated Emory. “We have the utmost respect for the Porsche brand. We understand the Porsche legacy and are deeply invested in their classic design cues. We look to build on that original passion creating cars that are more aerodynamic, cooler looking, more comfortable and much quicker than the cars that rolled from the factory so long ago. A lot has happened in the last 70 plus years that we can tap for the good.”
Photo: Chris Greenwood
It’s no small wonder that Emory ended up where he is. His grandfather, Neil, was a well-known hot rodder from the 1940s and ‘50s, his Valley Custom Shop resided less than five miles from Emory’s current shop location in North Hollywood, California. That hot rod perspective carried over to Rod’s father, Gary, who first worked at Chick Iverson’s Porsche dealership and later built the very first Baja Bug while working at his own shop, Parts Obsolete. With family at the core of everything he does today, Rod Emory employs not only his son, Zayne, to help execute the construction of the 15 cars produced by Emory Motorsports every year, but also his daughter, Jayde, who handles the inventory and merchandise, while his wife, Amy, is in charge of the back office.
Photo: Chris Greenwood
What Is Emory Motorsports?
A walk around the Emory Motorsports facility is truly a trip back into history, a collection of classic pre-1964 Porsches of all kinds in various states from raw bodies in need of substantial work to show ready cars, draped in cool colors with supple leather interiors and jewel-like gauge clusters. However, the evolution from raw to remarkable does not happen without substantial attention from the boss man himself.
“Each car receives a lot of my personal time,” states Emory. “They aren’t making this era of Porsche any more so each body, to get it ready to become an Emory Outlaw, has to be lovingly preserved before we determine what it will look like when complete. For that reason, I take it on myself to be involved in the process as it begins and then work with my team to build out each car.”
While it may seem that donor cars of the type they seek would be hard to find, Emory has a keen ability to find the less-than-stellar examples of the legendary brand. From the start of the 356 production in 1948 though its end in 1964-66, there were roughly 76,000 vehicles produced. That leaves a lot of cars still out there in the field to be found. For the purists in the world, modifying these cars may seem like sacrilege. But when you consider that all of the cars restored by Emory have extensive damage or rust, these cars have really been saved from certain death. Emory’s dedication to the brand is building what he believes Porsche could have designed if they created a 356 Porsche for the 21st century.
“We spend a huge amount of time researching, designing and ultimately executing a vehicle that stays true to the Porsche styling,” noted Emory. “From my very first Porsche build, a 1953 356 bent-window couple, to the most recent one, we are constantly working to integrate interesting elements from historically significant cars into each unique Emory Outlaw. Such was the case with the Emory Special No. 1, where design cues pay respect to the works cars, but with more modern parts and performance enhancements. The finished car is incredibly reliable. Shortly after it was completed in 1998, I took it on a 5,000-mile tour with my wife and six-month-old son, Zayne, while towing a small camper. That trip provided even more motivation to move forward with Emory Motorsports.”
The Rod Emory Porsche 356
While it is clear that the final designs of each Emory Outlaw differ subtly from Porsche’s design language, the powertrains are what really make these sports cars live up to today’s enthusiast’s requirements. Emory knew that the car’s original performance specifications could be significantly improved upon. For that reason the company has co-developed a more modern 4-cylinder engine for his Outlaw that retains a significant amount of Porsche DNA.
“We felt that today’s owners required a considerably more potent powertrain in their cars despite the fact that they still only weigh 2,000 lbs,” stated Emory. “To that end we developed a reliable four-cylinder engine (called the Emory – Rothsport Outlaw-4) based on the flat six-cylinder engine design. Our engines come together at Rothsport’s Oregon shop, starting with a sand-cast aluminum split case that is machined to final specs. Then we add a super-strong billet crankshaft, billet cam towers and custom camshafts to a recipe of OE parts that in base form make about 200 horsepower with 180 ft.lbs. of torque.”
While the engine in the original Emory Special is a more sedate 195 horsepower 2.24-liter four-cylinder engine, for those needing more power, Emory Motorsports has a number of different engine configurations on up to a 400-horsepower twin-turbo powerplant. Emory Outlaws use the original Porsche 901 manual transmissions with custom gear sets to provide the ultimate in drivability. While they have installed a few Sportomatic transmissions in special situations, a manual transmission maintains the purist vibe. Their position is that if you can’t wheel a manual, these cars are probably not for you.
While that may sound strangely blunt to some buyers, it is clear that anyone who is drawn to Emory Motorsports is well aware of the amazing craftsmanship and high degree of personal attention Emory gives to each car and each customer. With a four-year backlog of builds, people are clearly willing to wait for mostly period-correct custom Porsche for good reason.
Hand-Hammered Panels and Custom Engines
A walk around the Emory Motorsports facility delivers an interesting contrast of building techniques. The shop is equipped with a host of modern and vintage metal working-machinery, including some of the thunderous hammer presses used daily by Emory metal finishers are nearly 100 years old but are in perfect running order. English wheels, planishing hammers and the like stand ready to massage sheet metal into the exact shape required by the technician.
In direct contrast is the fact that most of the technicians are younger guys who love what they do and have learned the Emory way through close contact with the man himself. As noted, Emory spends most of his time at the facility working shoulder-to-shoulder with his guys, who are dedicated to delivery of perfection.
“Our bespoke engines are assembled and dyno’d with our partner in Oregon to our exacting standards,” proudly notes Emory. Our cars are painted in a shop near Palm Springs and the final assembly with custom interior happens here in North Hollywood. Everything happens here by design. I know my guys are dedicated to creating the best possible cars. I think it shows in every car we deliver.”
Emory-Rothsport Outlaw-4 Big-Bore “Super” – 260 Horsepower
- Sand-cast 2-piece aluminum engine case
- 2.6-liter displacement
- Mahle 102.7 mm pistons
- Proprietary 78.4 mm stroker crankshaft (made in USA)
- 3.8-liter RS-spec heads
- Compression ratio – 11:1
- 6061 billet aluminum camshaft housing (made in USA)
- Custom ground camshafts
- Carrera chain tensioners
- Jenvey Heritage fuel-injected throttle bodies that resemble Weber 48 IDA carbs
- Twin coil-on-plug ignition
- Motec engine management
- Custom stainless exhaust headers with heater boxes (made in USA)
- Early 911 fan / ring
- Proprietary fiberglass engine shroud (made in USA)
- Heater air duct (made in USA)
- Dry sump with full-flow oil system, remote filter and coolers
- Mobil 1 oil
1964 Porsche 356 Emory Special Silver Cabriolet
The Emory Special Cabriolet is the first 356 ‘Special’ built by Rod Emory, created from a seemingly unsalvageable donor 356. It was finished in 1998, just prior to the Monterey Historic Races and was followed by a celebratory cross-country tour on the occasion of Porsche’s 50th anniversary. Every last surface on the exterior has been modified using design cues from Porsche’s competition cars. The interior features race-inspired minimalism with practical refinement. The Emory Special used a “911-4” twin-plug prototype that is a thing of beauty and sound.
Specifications
Engine:
- 2.25-liter 911-4 prototype
- 195 horsepower
- Twin-plug ignition
Transmission:
- 901 five-speed manual
Brakes:
- 944 Turbo S disc brakes
Suspension:
- 944 Turbo S rear suspension
- Front and rear swayers
Body:
- Silver paint
- Rolled rocker panels
- Raised wheel arches
- Flattened front hood
- Hood handle delete
- Bumper-less body
- GT-style mirror
- Competition fuel filler
- Removable steel cabriolet top
- Cabriolet windshield frame, laid back
- Custom side window inserts
- Trailer hitch
Wheels:
- 16-inch 964 RS America spare wheels widened to 7 inches
Fuel:
- 18-gallon custom tank
Interior:
- RSR driver’s seat and passenger-side 911 Sport seat
- Custom child seat
- Tan German square-weave carpet with rubber floor mats
- Roadster dashboard
- LeCarra wood-rim steering wheel
- Hollow doors with open-access storage
- 2-point competition harness
- 904 triple-gauge cluster
- Flower vase
- Chassis-stiffening tubing
Weight:
- 2,000 pounds
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