Well, I’m confused! The seller of this 1962 Porsche 356 advertises it as a Model S and I can find no such reference. It looks like a 356 B, Porsche’s newsroom website does not reference such a designation for a ’62 356, and the VIN, 210298 decodes as a 356B. So, “S” is for sunroof maybe? That’s this Porsche’s calling card. Probably not, more than likely it’s for the engine, the “S” power upgrade; let’s look more closely. This Porsche is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $36,100, reserve not yet met.
We cover Porsche 356’s with some regularity but I believe this is the first that I have encountered that is finished in black and sporting a power sunroof. It’s listed as a garage find, but one that has been parked only since 2006, and in an air-conditioned garage no less. So unless someone forgot about it, the “garage find” tag is a stretch. This Porsche is a repaint, having originally been Champagne Yellow, and that may be one of the reasons that black seems rare – it’s not original. The finish is fair and presents pretty well but the underlying body has rust-through in the lower edge of the bonnet and perhaps the bottom of the driver’s door, just to mention what can be easily observed. The underside has a few foibles with noted rust in one or two places. Beyond that, the structure of the car seems straight with no signs of damage or other trauma.
Back to that pesky matter of the “S” model, assuming that the seller is referencing the engine, that would mean an 87 HP, 1600 CC flat four-cylinder in place of the standard 69 HP motor. And the seller adds, “The engine is a proper “S” and numbers coincide to be the original. The car runs, drives, shifts and stops very well“. So there you have it! Though I’m not sure about that white fan housing…Shifting happens via a four-speed manual transaxle.
So, how’s the interior? I don’t know, the only image is of the sunroof and the headliner and it’s not too hot, most of the fabric is either going or already gone. There is one shot of the odometer, however, showing 80K kilometers or 49K miles. Since there is no mileage documentation, the 49K mile indication is just a reading at this point.
And of course, this Porsche’s headline trait is its electrically operated power sunroof and we are told that it “works perfectly“- the first of these that I have encountered. Note the top switch, it is very similar to the convertible top switch that two of my ’60s era Impala convertibles employed.
The seller claims, “Typical rust is present, but is a very easy repair project. This car is a great restoration candidate or can be enjoyed right now“. That seems to be true, certainly, it’s a better restoration candidate than yesterday’s 1955 Corvette which was claimed to be an “easy restoration”. But the seller is on to something here, why not just buy it, drive it and enjoy it as is?
I really like these cars, so do many other people. That’s why one even in this rusty condition, commands a premium.
The 356Bs had designations of “S” and “Super” denoted by an emblem just to the right and slightly up from the license tag. Whoever repainted this car took all the emblems off. One of the models had the Solex twin port carbs. Carbs on this one are box stock Zeniths that came on the base engine. I donated my collection of factory fact and specification books to a friend so don’t have anything to back that up. I’ll admit that the yellow for those years wasn’t much to crow about but I think I’d have put something on it with a brighter color. Bet the emblem holes are still there full of body filler.
Thx for the clarity!
JO
The 356 B Super had Zenith carbs. The Super 90 had Solex carbs. The chassis and engine number are those for a 356 B Super Coupe.
While the switch for the sunroof may be from another make, the sunroof itself appears to be a factory installed part.
Thanks Chas H .
Re the power sunroof. I am not sure if the factory put in power sunroofs back when they made B’s..I believe they were hand cranked “Golde” sunroofs. This is where it gets interesting and may relate to this car. I have a 1956 A..with a power sunroof. When I bought the car around 1978 I was told it was factory installed..and it looked it. A few years later the cables broke and I went by American Sunroof Corp in LA to see if they could fix it. There one of the older gents solved the mystery. He said that a Prosche dealer back in 1956 was having hard time selling closed roof coupes in Southern California so he brought in “two or three’ brand new, unregistered cars and had ASC put in sunroofs..my car being one. So, in my car and maybe this one, it is a real “dealerinstalled” sunroof put in when the car was brand new. Mine still wroks fine and is slightly smaller than a factory “Golde”. Mine needs a new headliner too and you can see how well my sunroof was inslalled and not a roof clip as some surmise. Someone will snap up this B and hopefully fix the dreaded rust!
I had a 63 356B Super 90 with an electric sunroof that been brought over from Europe by its previous owner. Even when I owned it (1972-74) it was rusting badly but it was a wonderful car. Traded it for a 68 911 which also was rusty. Finally called it quits on German exotica in 1975 and bought a Honda Civic CVCC 5-speed (new).
I repair Obsolete, Discontinued, and Difficult-to-obtain parts professionally.
My Investigation of THE SWITCH for the sunroof confirms it is a very rare BOSCH switch that is also used in Aston Martin, Fascal Vega, Lamborghini, to operate their windows. It is SO RARE- that we are remanufacturing it to its last detail. The only difference in the Porsche switch is that there is a “Retaining Detent function” that “holds” the toggle in position so that you can allow the sunroof to travel without “holding” the switch in position. How it releases that detent ( except by manual operation) y is a mystery to me. Likely many burned out sunroof motors were experienced! HA!
The speedometer is in km/h, so this car was probably sold new outside the US. The factory Kardex are available, and it could be interesting to search its history on them.
I believe a 1962 B (early T6 body style) had 75 HP and the earlier poster was right – it would’ve had the 32 NDIX Zenith carbs. Anyone know if it would have a 6 or 12 vote system?
My 63 was 6 volt.
“S” would be 75..I had a B Super 90 with..yes 90 hp. This would have been six volt but may have been converted like many..my 56A is 12 volt.
Back when these, as used, were priced like a spiffed up VW, I almost bought one for a song. It was almost a give away price for a fairly nice little car, but I couldn’t justify it with a wife and three little kids to take care of. I half heartily ran it past my wife who amazingly said, “If you want it, just buy it, it is not like it is going to break us.” I just kept going to work in my Volare, lucky me, huh? Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to act responsibly. Oh well, would have upset my WWII veteran of a father. He wasn’t too fond of anything that came from that place. Now I think of it, that was why I decided to not get it. Respect for your Dad is more important than any car.
Nothing wrong with a Volare. All that “rich Corinthian leather” made those cars truly special.
In high school my best bud had a blue Volare. We got into more trouble than we should have in that car…and also dodged some trouble (just barely). Brings back memories.