JP Werks, the Midwest’s premier air-cooled Porsche specialist, is among the handful of shops nationwide that can properly preserve the heritage, performance, and originality that the Germans intended. We provide complete factory-style service, restoration, and machining exclusively on air-cooled models, maintaining engineering integrity with meticulous attention to detail, without modern shortcuts.
From routine maintenance to bodywork to full mechanical restoration, JP Werks offers a complete suite of services. Explore our services or get in touch, whether the project is large or small.
Daniel Journey, owner and lead technician at JP Werks, has spent his life working on old Porsches. Drawn to his father’s shop at an early age, he absorbed both technical skills and a philosophy grounded in patience, correctness, and mechanical respect. By fourteen, he was the shop’s dedicated 944 technician, leaving high school already a highly capable air-cooled mechanic.
After studying automotive restoration at McPherson College, he went on to work at top Porsche restoration shops, including Road Scholars and Vintage Car Works. There he gained extensive experience in mechanical work and engine rebuilds on concours restorations, including the 904, 906, 910, 911R, and 550 Spyder.
After his father’s passing in 2022, Daniel returned to Kansas City to carry forward JP Werks. With concours-level experience, an expanded facility, and a skilled team, the shop now handles everything from 356 to 993 models—approaching even the most significant air-cooled projects with the highest level of care.
Porsches should be repaired and restored exactly as the Germans intended. We follow factory procedures, using original workshop manuals, period-correct tools, and authentic parts. And when an original part can be salvaged, we take careful effort to preserve it.
Many shops work on air-cooled models, but they often use inferior aftermarket parts, are unaware of factory specifications, and utilize unnecessary modern shortcuts. Beyond affecting drivability and reliability, neglecting your car’s originality can significantly affect its value down the line. At JP Werks, as stewards of preservation and heritage, we avoid anything that would jeopardize its integrity on the scrupulous air-cooled market. Discover the difference passionate expertise makes, and unleash the driving excellence you and your Porsche deserve.
• Routine factory-style maintenance
• Major maintenance
• Full mechanical restoration
• Engine and gearbox rebuild, restoration, and preservation
• Rust repair and paintwork
• Pre-purchase inspections (PPI)
Speciality Machining
• Engine case lineboring
• Cylinder head rebuilding
• Thread repair / head stud inserts
The Porsche bug bit Mark Journey in 1976 when he traded his 1962 Corvette for a 914. He completed Porsche factory training, learning the German’s exacting approach to maintaining air-cooled models. He quickly emerged as the top technician at Major Cadillac-Porsche in Kansas City, so trusted by customers that they sought him out directly for side work. The dealership owner, driving by, saw Porsches lined up for service outside his home, and fired him for moonlighting. He used this job loss as an opportunity, and opened JP Werks in 1986, taking with him clients who trusted him over the dealership.
With help from the local Snap-on tool salesman Daniel’s father soon found a proper commercial garage in Merriam, Kansas. He continued building a reputation for correct, factory-standard Porsche repair, quickly establishing JP Werks as the preeminent air-cooled specialist in the Midwest. Mark instilled the same factory-style skills and mindset he learned from Porsche into his son, Daniel, from a young age. Mark passionately wrenched on air-cooled models until his passing in 2022.
Daniel, after mastering his craft at Porsche workshops across the country, resurrected JP Werks at a new expanded garage in Kansas City. In a short time, Daniel has continued his father’s storied legacy and already cemented his shop as the new formidable player in air-cooled Porsche restoration nationwide.
Born in Mesa, Arizona, Dave has been working on engines since the age of eight, starting with small engines and tuning his first motorcycle—a Honda XR80. He now does Porsche service and engine rebuilding, focusing on 911 engines and 914 models. He plans to study automotive restoration in college to deepen his craft before returning to JP Werks.
A Kansas City native, Rob started working alongside his father in a semi-truck repair shop at an early age. Primarily specializing on the mechanical side of restoration, he also has experience ranging from detailing to bodywork to engine rebuilding, filling a multi-talented role at JP Werks. Outside the shop, Rob keeps busy with several motorcycle projects and his VW GTI.
Our customer Eric Grant brought his beautiful 1976 911 Targa into the shop in January 2024. The car hadn't run in 5 years. We put together a plan, and in a few months we got it running better than ever. He produced this video about his trip through the Colorado mountains just a few months later.
Our customer WC Fox has owned his beautiful and powerful 1979 Porsche 930 Turbo since the early 1990s. He grew up as a barefoot surfer/car enthusiast in California, but recently moved to Missouri where he's traded in sandy shores for winding Missouri roads.
Daniel Journey
913-369-0459
Daniel@JPWerks.com