The 356 Porsche: A Restorer's Guide to Authenticity IV: 4

The book I'm reviewing is The 356 Porsche - A Restorers Guide To Authenticity, copyright 1997. My reveiew is from the perspective of a person without prior knowledge of the vehicle, a non owner but a potential buyer. My specific interest is in the 356C.All of the standard production cars; 356, 356A, 356B T5, 356B T6 and the 356C are covered. The words standard production cars covers the Cabriolet, Coupe, Speedster, Roadster, Convertible Ds, Abarth Carrera GTLs and Karmann Hard Tops. It describes the model changes that occured.The chapter on Exterior body Panels covers fenders (wings), wheel arch profiles, hood (bonnet), bumpers, front body panel, doors, rocker panels, roof, sunroof. Windshields, back window, cabriolet tops, hardtops, cowels, rear deck lid (boot lid).The chapter on Exterior trim covers bumpers, bumper guards, Porsche scripts, headlights, headlight grill, taillights, license pate light, turn signals, foglights, hood handles, horn grills, wipers, windown washers, aerials, windshield and rear screen trim, badges, side mouldings, door handles, exterior mirrors, side windows, rear grills, luggage racks, reflectors, wheels including trim.The chapter on Luggage Compartment covers the battery and fuel tank, fuse cover, spare wheel, tool kit, front hood latch and hinge.The chapter on Interior covers the steering wheels, dashboard, dials, clocks, warning lights, knobs, switches, lighter, dashboard scripts, heaters, radios, glove compartment, ashtray, grab handles, interior lights, rear view mirror, visors, pedals, interior panels, shift lever, headliningThe book identifies differences between European and US spec cars.There are many photographs in this book but other than the front and back covers there are no colour photographs. The main problem with this book is the clarity of the images. Many suffer from dark shadowing so the detail is lost. An example of this is the picture of the "Rear interior area 1951 coupe, prior to parcel shelf" on page 17. Some images are too distant to understand the detail being described. The many diagrams from the illstrations in the Parts book are far too small to be able to read. They generally measure approximately 9cm wide and 8cm high.There is an appendix on Colour Charts but this is covered in words. It would have been benficial to reprint colour charts from orginal sales brochures where still available. They can still be found on a popular auction website. The book author thanks Olaf Lang at Porsche AG for his research so I'd expect permission to be granted.Many pictures lack the image quality probably because they are dated, lack resolution and did not use correct lighting. These pictures could be significantly improved by taking new photos on original cars that are still around today.If this is a restorers guide to authenticity I would consider the engine a major component of any vehicle and this book is devoid of details. Hardly any pictures nor sufficient details.The 154 pages are very informative and it is a good book but let down by the photographs/pictures/diagrams. I would not recomend this book to anyone specifically interested in the 356 engines.

If you are a Porsche 356 Owner or aspire to owning one, you MUST have this bookIt is the Bible of Detail about these cars

Grant service

Ok. Does not cover mechanical aspects. I would not describe it as a restorers guide personally.

Well liked by my husband

what I really liked was the link to the online photo archive gallery which allows you to access all the photo's in the book and blow them up on your computer screen. In order to do this you need the book as reference but the link has to be bought from the publisher.

perfect!