The Porsche 356 Visualized

An excellent resource for sorting out the various Porsche 356 models is “The 356 Porsche – A Restorer’s Guide to Authenticity” by Dr. Brett Johnson. It’s normally available in hardcover and softcover versions on Amazon.com.

From the Correcting the Department of Corrections:

John Denver did in fact own a 356 cabriolet; he was a 356 Registry member. He was drunk one night (as usual) and drove it into a tree. Ticked off a lot of his fellow owners by blaming it on the brakes.

Freeman is not what I would call famous to the average person, although he is prominent within the Porsche circles. Still, I would not expect him to be listed next to Steve McQueen.

“Only the earlier model 912’s used the 356’s engine”. I suppose you are technically correct, but the first 5 model years out of 6 used them: 1965, ’66, ’67’ 68 and ’69. The 1976 912E was a last minute fill in for the late arriving 924 so the Type2 was used so they could continue to have a price leader. Seems silly to say that “only the earlier model 912’s” used them, especially when there was a 7 model year gap between them.

“the 356 motors used in the 912’s are fragile as __ which is why many a 912 owner replaces his/her engine with either a Type 2 VW … ” HUHHH???????? It’s hard to even reply to this but here goes: NOPE.

“Only the very earliest 356’s were hand built. Once back in Germany they became a production cars built on assembly lines…” Yes, I suppose you could say that since they were being pushed by hand on car dollys along a factory floor from station to station it was an “assembly line”. But, like in Gmund, they were still being being built by hand in Zuffenhausen. The difference was that while being built by hand in Gmund they sat stationary. Further, I guess if by “built by hand” you mean the manual hammering of the aluminum body panels as in Gmund vs steel being stamped at the Reutter factory, well, OK, but even the Porsche factory produced film about 356 production in 1960 was called “Made by Hand” and everything Petrolicious claims in the “Handbuilt” section is absolutely true.

I suppose if you write things with enough punctuation and with enough vigor then people will think you are correct, but as a good friend of mine in the 356 hobby says “Fiction becomes fact real quick if you don’t nip it in the bud”

On to Petrolicious…there are a couple things that could be tightened up such as “Convertible D” is not really a body style but a model. “Roadster” would be more appropriate there. Also, Gmund was not where the family’s summer home was, that was Zell am See. Gmund is where the German government sent them to protect them from the Allied bombing.

The infographic is a very cool idea. The good news is you can research what both TJ and I are saying and when you verify the truth, make changes to it and repost. I for one would love to have such a poster for my “Porsche Cave”!!

Can anyone recommend a resource that outlines all the specs and differentiating factors between the pre-A/A/B/C? ie books, websites, infographics etc?

Yes folks, the resident sociopath TJ Martin, has once again infected this site with his utter BS. (Sigh)

Ok .. from the Department of Corrections ;

1) John Denver .. the Dean of Green in his day owned a Porsche 930 Turbo .. not a 356 . Along with a 100+ gallon gas tank on his property just in case the gas needed to fuel his 930 became unavailable . This I know first hand

2) As stated on the ‘ Outlaw ‘ page . Dean Jeffries … not Emory created the first Outlaw 356 which then set the trend for all to follow as well as being credited by everyone in the know for coining the phrase ‘ Outlaw 356 ‘

3) You’re missing one of the most prominent members of the Celebrity 356 owners club . Freeman Thomas . Who gave credit to his love of all things 356 when designing the original Audi TT

4) As well as missing the most prominent use of a 356 in a Hollywood movie . That being ” King of the Mountain ‘ A horrible movie with some of the best automotive action scenes available .

5) Frank Lloyd Wright never owned a 356 [ FLW Foundation ] If you knew anything about the man .. you’d know why . He did own multiple Mercedes , Lincolns etc … but never a Porsche . His only connection to Porsche being designing Max Hoffman’s NYC Porsche/Mercedes showroom … for which FLW was paid in part with ..a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing .. in his beloved Cherokee Red !

6) Only the earlier model 912’s used the 356’s engine . With Porsche later using the Type 2 VW engine in the 912E [ as a side note .. the 356 motors used in the 912’s are fragile as __ which is why many a 912 owner replaces his/her engine with either a Type 2 VW … or if very well heeled .. a POLO Porsche flat four made from a flat six ]

7) Only the very earliest 356’s were hand built . Once back in Germany they became a production cars built on assembly lines [ ” Porsche ; Origin of the Species ” ]

8) Suffice it to say your racing accomplishments list is .. err .. severely lacking .

Honestly … I’m kind of surprised about this article . I mean … it was an ambitious undertaking and all .. but errr … far from the mark when it comes to accuracy

Tell you what though . Do a feature on Dean Jeffries and the real origins of the Outlaw 356 species [ pun intended ] and all will be forgiven