Rod Emory of Emory Motorsports ripped out the four-speed from this Porsche 356, swapped in an automatic, and doesn’t care that you’re crying about it.
Porsche 356’s in good condition are reaching upwards of $100,000 on a good day. So when Rod Emory posted on Instagram that they were ripping out the four-speed manual from this Porsche 356, swapping in an automatic transmission, and deleting the clutch pedal, commenters cried foul! According to Rod Emory (May 22, 2018) a customer challenged Emory Motorsports to build an Outlaw that would be OK in L.A. traffic. That meant building an automatic Outlaw. Check out the post for yourself below!
And not the automatic 356 in question, but a reminder of just how sweet these Porsches turn out.
According to Rod,
Ok… haters gonna hate. But that’s ok. #2pedal #356outlaw Yep, I put an automatic transmission in a 356. Why? Why not. Had a request and thought it would be a fun one to pull off. Sure it uses up a little power (but since stock it had 75hp and now it has 200 I think we can afford to sacrifice a little), sure it might take a little fun out of shifting but it sure will be great in this LA traffic.
The transmission he swapped in isn’t something special, it’s a lowly three-speed automatic from a Volkswagen Vanagon. In the Instagram post above Rod specified that this is a VW 090 3-Speed.
According to German Transaxle.com, these compact autos only cost around $1,800. Its simplicity in construction and robustness has made this transmission a favorite for drag cars, road racers, and daily drivers.
If you know anything about these Outlaws it’s that power comes from a bespoke Porsche 964 flat-six with two cylinders literally lopped off. What results is a flat-four that fits cleanly in the back of these Porsche 356s and delivers the aforementioned 200 HP and 175 lb-ft. Redline is a healthy 7,000 RPM. In a package that weighs very little, that power is more than enough for a bit of fun on the weekends not to mention the daily commute.
Check out their 2.4 flat-four at full sing on an engine dyno below.
Porsche 356’s are few and far between so to see one stuffed with anything but a manual hurts a little. Then again, like one commenter mentioned, it’s an Outlaw.
These Porsche 356’s go against the grain anyways. Putting an automatic in one of these classic Porsches is very…Outlaw in nature.
And it’s not your car anyways so don’t even worry about it.
I’ll be keen to see the final product. Surely, it’ll look great and will be a blast to drive to work in daily.
