cooleyjb

Ferrari was the one where the numbers related to the engine. I'm not certain that BMW was.

For example. 512 was a 5 liter 12cylinder
365 GTB4 was a 3.65 liter v12

and so on.


There is a 987 it's the boxster. There are cars for many of the numbers. Many of them were concepts and racers.

If you are interested in 928's the bay area has many of them, including a few that race in ITE. Mark Kibort is one of the more visible 928 racers in Northern CA and would happily tell you everything about his car at any of the races he's at is my guess.

Bull

Porsche has historically used the Project number as the model designation, starting back with the 356 in the '50s. The internal Project Number for the first in the 911 series was 901 as said above, but Peugot sued as they had copywrited all the three digit numbers with a 0 in the middle and ending with a 1. Their models were 301, 401, 501, etc. in the '60s and '70s. The 911 was designed first, then the 4 cyl derivative was designed, becoming the 912. If a project number was used on a design that never was brought to market, it was not reused, so there are some holes. Many numbers were used for race only cars, so you don't see them except on a track.....904, 906, 908, 935, 936, 917, 910, etc.

Bonster

VERY cool information, folks! I've always wanted a 356 -- not to take to the track, but just to have one for a leisure Sunday drive (drove?). Wasn't the 356 badged "Roadster"? Or do I have my cars switched up again? I always thought the Kharman Ghia was a bit of a knock-off of that Roadster . . . except the Ghia had problems, if memory serves.This is a lot of fun, learning a car's history.

As a side note, here's a little bit of trivia that I bet you already know: a Porsche ('77 911 Targa) student once told me that the tip of the crest of the Porsche insignia is supposed to be pointed at the valve stem. I thought that was cool. She knew that because she used to take her car to the Concour's every year. Pretty neat 'small stuff' you can learn.

Bull

Bonster, you should get a good 356 driver, and you will have a ball. They are bullet proof when properly maintained, which is easy to do. My first Porsche in College was a 356 (3 years old...no, unfortunately the car not me!) and I have owned many since then. When driving through the open country on a Sunday morning, you know what the man was thinking when he said "it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slowly". And, they aren't that slow if you know how to drive!

We have recently owned a '63 356B Super Coupe, and a '61 356B Roadster (won the Porsche Parade Concours one year with the previous owner).

Here is the '61 Roadster:

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/scan0009_copy1.jpg

So, for the original Porsches, the 356 series (actually, the Gmund cars made in Gmund Austria before the "factory" was relocated to Germany were the originals in 1948) they were known as the 356s, or "pre-A cars" up to 1954, the the 356A Series from '55 to '59, followed by the 356B Series from '60 to '63, and finally followed by the 356C Series for '64 and '65. There were many models in each series, Normals, Supers, Super 90s, Cabriolets, speedsters (356A only), Convertible D ('59 only), Roadsters ('60,'61, and about 200 "Twin Grill Roadsters" in '62), and in '64 and '65, they were "C" and "SC" models. It gets even more complicated when you move to the 356 Carreras, which were road ready race cars, 1500cc Carreras in '54-'55, then 1600cc Carreras for '56-'61, followed by the few Carrera II models, with 2 Liter engines. All Carreras were dry sump, twin overhead cam engines. Fairly advanced for their day and the precursor to the dry-sump 2 liter 911 engine, albeit 6 cylinders, of '64-'65 intro.

Don't worry, the glassed-over eye look will go away in a few minutes (I have caused it many times!), and you will again return to the real World!

DaveM993

you definitely come across as the 356 type...

Bonster

Yup, Bob, that's my dream car alright. I've wanted one since the first time I saw one back in about 1984. It's no wonder I own two Miatas (roadsters by definition). And believe me, I know exactly what you mean about that quote. If I had the opportunity to own a 356, it would likely be a garage queen except to take it out on fun runs now and again. Cars like that need to be protected. It's such a rare treat. The '61 red you posted was absolutely beautiful!

Question . . . how hard is it to get parts for the 356? And is it hard to work on? I do most of my own work . . . mostly because I don't trust anyone to touch my babies. Is this a DIY type of car? THANKS for clarifying that the car of my dreams is, in fact, the 356 "Roadster." I will pine forever until I can finally own one of my own.

Bonster

If the comment, "You definitely come across as the 356 type" was aimed at me, you are absolutely correct! When I bought my 1991 Miata (new), I had the 356 in mind. But the car was out of my range at that time. I spent close to $14k on the '91 Miata back then (inflated, about $25k now). I didn't even know how to change the oil back then, so I was scared away from buying a vintage car at the time. Maybe I should look into selling the '93 daily driver Miata and look for a restorable 356. Depends on the price, of course. Most of the equation depends on how easy it is to work on.

Bull

I think Dave was trying to "type" me....good luck!

Actually, my wife, the College Student , makes me do those things....seen here with here Niece (no crumb gobblers here!):

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/sc...ized_copy1.jpg

Bonster

Wow . . . I wish I could get a guy to buy me nice cars like that. Your poor wife, she must be so upset that you got her a 356.

Bull

How do you know she didn't buy it for me?????

Bonster

When you said "my wife, the College Student , makes me do those things" I took it that she was why you bought a 356. By the way, earlier I called it a Roadster. Turns out it's actually a Speedster. Whoops.

Bull

I was just kidding...we buy things together...whenever she tells me to!

It is a Roadster. Speedsters were produced from 1954 to 1958, and were 356A models, with no roll up windows, a remove and fold top, etc. Very light weight.

In 1959, Porsche made the follow on to the Speedster, called the Convertible D, still a 356A, but with roll up windows, fold down top, etc.

From 1960-1962, Porsche produced the Roadster model, which was a 356B with roll-up windows, fold down top, etc.

During all of these years, Porsche also producted a Cabriolet, which was a much more plush car, with a multi-layer top, etc. The Speedsters, convertible D and the Roadsters were light weight models and cost the least of the Porsche models in the day, while the Cabriolets were the most expensive of the production models, with the Coupes falling in the middle. Today, the Speedsters and Roadsters bring the most money (2 to 3 times a Coupe value) due to lower production numbers and many being used/wrecked in racing in the '50s and '60s.

Bonster

I looked up prices for the 356 . . . unfortunately, it's not in my range at this time. I saw one for sale that was listed at over $100k! Hopefully there will still be a few around by the time I can go into collector mode.

Bull

Out your way, but a bit South, there are usually some nices examples at www.europeancollectibles.com

Bonster

Cool! Next time I'm in SoCal I'll have to make a point of visiting their showroom. I was surprised to see a 914-6 going for $22k. I guess they were more rare than I realized.