Correct luggage straps (Leitz luggage rack)

For those who obsess about exactly how their 356 left the factory!
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Guido Kwikkers
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Location: ex-Haarlem car, soon in Germany

Correct luggage straps (Leitz luggage rack)

#1 Post by Guido Kwikkers »

Where can I find the correct (exacte duplicates) of original luggage straps?
Were they originally from brown or black leather made?


Thanks in advance

Brad Ripley
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Re: Correct luggage straps (Leitz luggage rack)

#2 Post by Brad Ripley »

The straps to hold skis came from a German leather company http://www.stukegmbh.de/ They are red leather 400 x 15 mm.
As for the straps to hold luggage on the rack, they only came from Porsche. I do not know what company made those. They came in tan and black, lacquered only one the top side -- frankly poor quality. The straps for the inside of the car were different, and different for 356 than for 911. There was a Chat post with photos a 3- 4 years ago on this forum.

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Richard Milstead
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Re: Correct luggage straps (Leitz luggage rack)

#3 Post by Richard Milstead »

Guido,
The straps for securing luggage onto the luggage racks apparently came in two different forms, I believe roughly aligned with the early Reutter) and late (Lietz) luggage rack styles although there was some overlap in those as well. They were distinctly different as Brad points out from the "ski straps" which were also used with the luggage racks and the "luggage straps" used to secure suitcases inside the passanger compartment. I believe from inspection of original examples of the "Lietz" style luggage straps and the interior luggage straps, that they were both made by the same firm (Seeger). Also as Brad points out they came in either black or brown and were of poor quality.

I am attaching pictures from Porsche's Accessories Catalog/Brochures showing both the early and late versions of the luggage rack straps (including one where the "Lietz" style is used on a Reutter rack) as well as the sets of the "Lietz" (later) style and the "ski rack" types from my collection. Hopefully this will give you an idea of what they were like.

Dick Milstead
Attachments
Ski Rack Straps 1.jpg
My 65 Cab ready to travel - Luggage Rack Straps with Skai Dur Suitcase.jpg
356 Luggage Rack Straps.jpg
Porsche Picture of Reutter Luggage Rack with Straps from Oct 62 Catalog.jpg
Porsche Picture of Reutter Luggage Rack with Straps from Oct 62 Catalog.jpg (49.06 KiB) Viewed 2230 times
Porsche picture of Lietz Rack with Straps and Skai Dur Vinyl Bag.jpg
Porsche picture of Lietz Rack with Straps and Skai Dur Vinyl Bag.jpg (66.94 KiB) Viewed 2230 times
ntrack1.jpg
ntrack1.jpg (21.9 KiB) Viewed 2230 times
Dick Milstead

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Guido Kwikkers
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Location: ex-Haarlem car, soon in Germany

Re: Correct luggage straps (Leitz luggage rack)

#4 Post by Guido Kwikkers »

Is someone reproducing these lugage straps for the leitz and the ski's?
Would be nice to complete my restoration

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Richard Milstead
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Re: Correct luggage straps (Leitz luggage rack)

#5 Post by Richard Milstead »

Guido,
It has been a long time since I looked for such items. Generally, at the time I was, no one was really doing a good reproduction of the luggage straps although the "pretty close" ski straps were available with the racks themselves as they would have been originally (i.e. they came with the rack). Nobody would make a true reproduction of the luggage straps anyway because they were so poor in quality so, at the minimum, if you wish to actually use them they should be made of good leather. Typical modern dyes used in such reproductions also do not reproduce the coating well. It was a surface coating with a somewhat shiny surface finish not strictly a dye. Also the ones I found , including a set I bought for myself about 15 years ago, did not terminate the long straps (ones without buckles) correctly. Instead of using a loop of leather at the end of the strap through which the free end passed to secure it around the rack like the originals, they used another short strap and buckle arrangement similar to what was done originally on the shorter straps. This may have been the way later (911 era) examples were done but, as the pictures I posted show, that is not how the 356 ones were made.

All of that being said only someone as anal as myself would notice and, if you really want to use them, get ones made of decent leather that generally function the same way. One caution, I believe there was a vendor who was making them a few years ago who made them wider that the originals with the belief that they somehow worked better and were more secure that way. The problem is that the straps are supposed to slip through the little brackets welded on the rack. Those straps were too wide to do so.

Good luck in your search.

Dick MIlstead
Dick Milstead

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Guido Kwikkers
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Location: ex-Haarlem car, soon in Germany

Re: Correct luggage straps (Leitz luggage rack)

#6 Post by Guido Kwikkers »

I know in Germany reproduction of the luggae straps is being planned. Will check how they are doing.

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