Karmann Produced 356C

[Ron LaDow]

My car is under restoration and needed one of these "plugs" replaced. I found them on eBay and the same seller has them listed on The Samba.

Whoa! Mike, please stand up over there! Folks, a round of applause for Mike!
Seriously, I've never seen 'em before. Nice job.

[Mike Wilson]

Glad to help out, Eric.

Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

[Doug McDonnell]

And sold by Registry member who needed them for his car per old threads. Must have decided to have them made. Tom Perazzo.

[Mike Wilson]

That's what are community is all about: helping each other out. It's all about the cars and the people we meet along the way.

Just this morning I was at a local gathering sponsored by Pelican. Lots of newer Porsches but also a few 356's including our own moderator's C cabriolet. Seeing old friends and meeting new ones including one guy, Robert, from Austria. He was in San Diego for business, Googled events and found this one. He's restoring a '54 coupe. Talking cars and trading information about our cars, restorers, parts, our projects, etc.

Communities have their issues, their problems, their differences but we are still a community with one basic and essential common thread: the passionate love of the 356.

Can I hear an "Amen!"?

Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

[Doug McDonnell]

Amen!

[Eric McKinley]

Update.

Just had an email from Tom Perazzo, the gentleman who makes the plugs.

He is also planning on making the Karmann drain hole plugs, none in stock at the moment, however he is in the process of making the tooling.

[Mike Wilson]

Eric:

Are those the ones for the front and rear windshields and the quarter windows? My car, now in restoration, had the ones still in the front and rear winshields but the holes had been covered up below the quarter windows.

A big thanks to Tom as I will be able to reinstall them after paint.
And thanks to You, Doug, for the Amen from the pews!

Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

[Eric McKinley]

Mike if I am not mistaken the ones you are talking about are actually rubber that perish over time.

I believe Tom could be talking about the longtududinal holes.

However to be sure I will get complete confirmation from Tom and report back.

Maybe someone could add a comment to confirm if I am correct about the rubber bungs.
Or maybe if these can be purchased.
I have heard of people simply filling the holes, however the quarter window holes on a C do drain to the outside, unlike the front and rear window holes.

[Doug McDonnell]

Longitudinal holes are just that,no rubber.See Tom Perazzo's excellent photos and description here: http://forum.porsche356registry.org/vie ... inal+holes Reading old threads it sure sounds like front and rear windshield holes should be filled with sealant unless you want to have water leakage into the car.

[Mike Wilson]

Looking at my car which is stripped and under-going restoration, the holes on the lower sills below the quarter windows were filled in at some time in the past. When I pulled the front and rear windshields, the original plugs were in place. What is interesting is that the holes were not at the lowest points on the window frames. That means that the water couldn't effectively drain out. As a result, I had some rust on the lower right edge of the rear window. Thankfully, no other damage due to lack of drainage. The game plan is to fill the original holes and drill new ones at the lowest points achieving effective drainage.

Have any of you that have gone through restorations also encountered this? What did you do?

Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

[Eric McKinley]

Mike,

I could be wrong but those holes I think you are taking about in the rear window actually will allow water into the car. If I am not mistaken you will have water around your rear seats.
The only holes that I could see that actually drained water to the outside were holes located at the quarter windows.
As Doug also mentioned the holes at the front and rear window, a lot of people close these completely with silicon, or you could close with a new rubber plug if your lucky enough to find something that makes a good seal.
Do you have a picture of your original plug that was in these holes?

[Ron LaDow]

The only holes that I could see that actually drained water to the outside were holes located at the quarter windows.

Those are not confined to Karmann bodies. My '65 "Porsche" (#130666) had them.

[Mike Wilson]

Thanks for that additional info, Ron. Eric, I think I did take some pics if the plugs. I'll dig them out.

I have heard it is better to plug the windshield holes as they don't drain to the outside. Next time I visit the car (it's an hour's drive away), I'll run a wire down the holes to see where they lead.

Thanks for the input, Guys!

Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

[Dave Wildrick]

Thanks for that additional info, Ron. Eric, I think I did take some pics if the plugs. I'll dig them out.

I have heard it is better to plug the windshield holes as they don't drain to the outside. Next time I visit the car (it's an hour's drive away), I'll run a wire down the holes to see where they lead.

Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

Mike, the windshield and rear window (windshield) holes both drain water to the inside if the rubber plugs are gone. I wondered why I could never stop the rear windshield from leaking into the jump seat bottoms on my 64C Karmann coupe no matter how much silicone rubber I used on the outside of the rubber gasket. Figured it out when I replaced the gasket.
In the front windshield, with the rubber plugs out, you can shine a light through the holes and see that water would drop straight to the floor. I siliconed both the front and rear windshield holes.
I'm sure Porsche had their arcane reasons for drilling these holes, but they probably never expected the rubber plugs to last over 50 years.

[Mike Wilson]

It seems to me the prudent thing is to completely seal the holes in the front and rear windshields. As you can see, they were not really plugs but had holes in them allowing water to drain...to the inside! What were they thinking?!

Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe