The Official 356Talk Forum

Brett Johnson wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:12 pm So far, no Conv. Ds have them.

That's because Drauz didn't get those parts.

I have always wondered a bit about how Porsche dealt with it's several main suppliers. I assume that there was only one supplier for all the sheet metal pieces, that Reutter, Karman, Drauz, etc., ordered panels directly from the same supplier, despite slight differences in the assembled bodies. (I think I have read that there are differences in the windshield gaskets between Reutter and Karman bodies.) Porsche itself must have also ordered and stocked repair panels. Years ago I saw several of those odd rear panels in stock at Carlson Porsche in Palo Alto. I suspect that there was a mix up over the backup light introduction which resulted in those panels with the incomplete backup light mount. Perhaps by that time Drauz already had sufficient supply to complete their order. Do the odd panels appear on both Reutter and Karman built cars?

Karmann built no cars during that period.

Cab. 151763 mfg. date 2/59
No raised area

Back about 1980 I had a pair of Conv D's. I was assembling the parts required for the restoration and went down to Stoddard's. Chuck himself assisted me in picking the parts. For the door latch posts, he dropped the stairway to the loft and disappeared for several minutes, but returned with a pair of NOS pieces. He said that these were unique to the D, and if I had not actually been there the shop would have shipped Cab reproductions (and these would have required modifications). The panels also had inner panels attached to them, and both had Drauz tags. This leads me to think that some or many panels may have been made by the suppliers and not from a common panel supplier.

My D, number 86717, has a very clean, unmolested and undamaged rear panel and it DOES have the raised rectangular area on the lower rear. There is no evidence of damage and/or repair to the underlying structure and when it was down to bare metal it clearly looked like a factory panel. Don’t know how that fits in the “No Conv. Ds have them” discussion, but it is what it is.

What was the build date for your car?

86717 = July 17, 1959

Coupes and cabriolets got them April/May 1959.

Correct, July 17, 1959.

My Coupe was built and delivered also on July 17, 1959. 108438

Hi Brett
Here are a few more data points for you.
1959 RHD 106621 no raised area
1959 RHD 107123 no raised area
1959 RHD 107156 no raised area, but soon to receive one (sorry Brett if this confuses future editions of your book)
1959 Convertible D 86254 no raised area
1959 Convertible D 86490 no raised area
Here is a rear end that I’ll be using on 107156, it must have been an NOS panel that was poorly welded onto the rear of a T2 in the past, it was only tack welded in a few spots around the lower engine lid opening not factory spot welded. There are a few interesting details:
The lower edge is not bent vertically downward like T2 rear and front panels but is bent inward.
The exhaust cut outs seem to be narrower than the opening on my other 59’s.
And the PORSCHE badge mounting holes and inner fixing plate is for the longer ‘B’ badge.
Regards
Drew
United Kingdom

My '59 Coupe 108707 Born 11th August, belated Happy 60th Birthday has raised area.
KTF
John