Jay Leno Drives an Upgraded Porsche 356C

Jay Leno invited Anand Rajani to his garage to show off his 1964 Porsche 356C. Anand fell in love with the 356 since he first saw one and after purchasing one for himself realized the power didn’t quite match the looks. So he put the original engine into storage while replacing it with an upgraded 356 engine built by John Willhoit from Willhoit Auto Restoration. What John built him was a stroked 2.1 L 356 engine which produces 145 horsepower and 145 ft-lb of torque on factory carbs.

Over the past 12 years John has continued to work on the 356 engine, increasing the size from 1.6 L into a 2.1 L (2132 cc). John starts with an original 356 crankcase and adds 91 mm pistons and cylinders. The forged pistons are from JE Pistons and weigh 60 grams less than stock. The engine also has a proprietary 82 mm crank with Honda rod bearings made by Scat Crankshafts. Then Carrillo rods are added which weigh 115 grams lighter than stock. The custom heads have everything on them modified except the casting to help move more air. All told a 2.1 L 356 engines from John will set you back around $35,000.

Source: Jay Leno’s Garage