www.porscheroadandrace.com The Remarkable Molly Porsche 356 Published: 19th February 2021 By: Porsche Road & Race Online version: https://www.porscheroadandrace.com/the-remarkable-molly-porsche-356-2/ Molly ready for the Peking to Paris rally in 2007 © David & Julie Harrison She was manufactured in 1958, and much of her early life is unrecorded. But in 2004, a customer of Gantspeed Engineering, Lincolnshire, England, asked the workshop’s owner, Robert Gant, to find him a right-hand drive Porsche 356A. This customer wanted to try his hand at a bit of classic rallying, and for his very first event, he had entered the 2007 Peking to Paris rally! Well, if you want to learn to swim, there is nothing like diving in at the deep end to start the ball rolling, so to speak. www.porscheroadandrace.com Molly poses for a snap in Russia during the Peking to Paris rally 2007 © David & Julie Harrison Robert Gant set to work to source a suitable car and as it happened, a South African right- hand drive 356A project car came up. This was an incomplete car with VW engine and transmission, and so a deal was done and this became the starting point for the project. The body was duly stripped and media blasted back to bare metal, revealing a very rusty bodyshell that told a sad tale of botched repairs over the years. All the rusted sections were cut away and new panels installed, at this stage most of the car was being held together by mole grips. It was at this point that the car received its nickname, Molly Mole Grip, later shortened to Molly, which has stuck with her to this day. www.porscheroadandrace.com The finish of the Tiger Rally in 2012 © David & Julie Harrison The bodywork was completed and painted and Molly was given a late model Porsche industrial engine in place of the VW unit it had when the project started. This Porsche engine was used as the basis to build a low compression 1720 cc engine, built with endurance in mind and not speed, and able to run on poor quality fuel. A 356 SC transmission was sourced and this was fully rebuilt and adapted to the 356A gear selector mechanism, and the suspension and brake components were prepared for the rigours of the rough roads the car would be subjected to. www.porscheroadandrace.com Molly ready for the South American adventure, the Vintage Cape Horn rally in 2013 © David & Julie Harrison Careful consideration was given to the instrument and switch gear layout and the installation of all the navigational aids. Once all of this was decided, a purpose build loom was made and installed with a relay and fuse board panel accessible by the navigator. The electrics were upgraded to a 12-volt system. Additional equipment included the installation of a front-mounted oil cooler, spare voltage regulator on a quick release connector, underbody guards, a roof rack to carry an additional spare, and a long range fuel tank. www.porscheroadandrace.com Molly negotiates a steep hill in the Vintage Cape Horn rally, Argentina in 2013 © David & Julie Harrison Molly was then run in, dyno tested, de-bugged and made ready for her first event, the Peking to Paris rally, a mere 12,247 km from 27 May to 30 June 2007. The rally would pass through eight countries including China, Mongolia, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and finishing in Paris, France. All was going well with Molly until somewhere in the desert, the engine started to lose power as the air filters had become clogged with sand. It was suggested that the air filters should be removed, but this resulted in a very sick engine as so much desert sand had been ingested! There was little option other than to load Molly on a recovery truck and transport her to a Porsche main dealer in Russia. www.porscheroadandrace.com Molly climbs a steep incline in Patagonia during the Vintage Cape Horn rally, 2013 © David & Julie Harrison Frantic calls to Gantspeed followed, and within a few hours Gantspeed staff were on a flight with enough hand luggage to rebuild the engine! Fortunately, the Porsche main dealer was extremely helpful, keeping the workshop open all night whilst the engine was frantically rebuilt. There was no time for the luxury of a road test, and following a few final adjustments, the crew jumped in and set off at full speed. Molly eventually caught up with the other cars and a trouble-free drive to the finish ensued where she would earn a bronze medal. Perhaps Molly was showing some of the tenacity that the little vintage Porsche would draw on in the years to come. www.porscheroadandrace.com Driving through a lava during the Vintage Cape Horn rally, 2013 © David & Julie Harrison Shortly afterwards, Molly’s owner moved to Monaco, where a few years of low-level, untroubled daily use lay in store for Molly in her new home. But for Molly, the Peking to Paris rally was just the start, as the little Porsche 356A changed hands in 2010, and what a life she has led since then. Life for Molly in the UK Her new owners, David and Julie Harrison, had the car for 12 to18 months without really knowing what to do with it, and any thoughts of classic endurance rallying were not even on the horizon. But it didn’t take long for Team Harrison to be talked into doing their first rally, www.porscheroadandrace.com and over the next ten years, they would subject Molly to the most challenging life one could imagine. An obligatory photo of the driver crossing the Tropic of Capricorn on the Classic Safari rally in 2014 © David & Julie Harrison Since taking ownership of the Porsche, David and Julie had competed in the following rallies, completing every single one. These classic endurance rallies have been organised by the: Endurance Rally Association, Rally Round, Historic Endurance Rally Organisation (HERO), Bespoke Rallies, Rally Story, Tour de Force Rallies and the Global Rally Organisation. www.porscheroadandrace.com Year Rally/event Distance 2012 Tiger Rally, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia 5595 km Vintage Cape Horn, Argentina, Chile. Molly won two stage gold 2013 6300 km medals, and finished 10th overall Classic Safari, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, 2013 Namibia. Molly won a special award as the only car not to need 9125 km mechanical assistance throughout the whole rally! 2014 Morocco Rally – Molly was part of the overall winning team 1677 km Icelandic Saga Rally – Molly was 1st in class and won the 2015 2090 km Concours de comfort et d ’equipment Samurai Challenge Rally, Japan, visiting the four main islands of Japan in 23 days. Molly won the world famous Sado Island Cup, 2017 4500 km finishing 1st in our class and 7th overall. Our car was the only car not to require any mechanical work throughout the rally Vietnam to Myanmar and back, 3 February to 12 March, through south Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and finishing in North Vietnam. This was an endurance rally, travelling 2018 8000 km many roads/tracks never used or even seen by Westerners. Molly had no serious mechanical issues just a brake pipe joint needed tightening www.porscheroadandrace.com The Midnight Sun Rally, 25 May to 12 June 2019, starting in Gothenburg in Sweden, then through Finland, driving to Nordkapp 2019 Europe (the northernmost point in Europe that can be accessed by 5500 km car) and finishing in Bergen, Norway. There were no mechanical issues, this was a reliability rally with no competitive stages Southern Africa, 29 October to 25 November, starting in Cape Town through South Africa to Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), then 2019 through the mountains of Lesotho and finishing in Durban. There 6500 km were no mechanical issues, this was a reliability rally with no competitive stages www.porscheroadandrace.com The dry hinterland during the Morocco Rally of 2014 © David & Julie Harrison www.porscheroadandrace.com The engine bay after the fire in Morocco (2014), no air filters left © David & Julie Harrison Molly’s awards Year Award/event Molly was invited to be on display at the Goodwood Road Racing Club 2012 member’s day, outside Goodwood House Molly was invited to be on display at The Classics at the Castle, Hedingham 2013 and was awarded a Vic Elford rosette In the past decade, Molly has covered some 61,702 kilometres of competitive endurance www.porscheroadandrace.com rallying, that is one and a half times around the world! Molly on the Icelandic Saga rally, 2015 © David & Julie Harrison View from the passenger seat David Harrison’s wife, Julie, is not content with sitting around in her retirement. You can only water the flowers so many times, and read so many books, before boredom sets in. So, here is a little peek into what drives Julie to sit in the passenger seat of a 1958 Porsche 356A, putting herself through the bone-jarring discomfort of thousands of miles…for the enjoyment of it! Seriously…? I’m not super organised – except on a rally… www.porscheroadandrace.com I hate getting up early – except on a rally… I’m not very brave – except on a rally… Are you getting my drift…? Driving through lava fields and monkey puzzle tree forests high in the Andes, running for help in a game reserve in Africa after putting the car in a ditch, following tracks in sticky 40ºC heat all day in the Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia hoping we’re not lost, moving rocks and tiptoeing the car round giant potholes in Laos, soaking up the spectacle of cherry blossom at the foot of Mount Fuji, floating in a hot air balloon above Burmese temples.