Porsche 356 Registry Original Article : 356 Essential Books

356 Essential Books

by Chris Markham

No, not three hundred and fifty six separate books to add to your library--though some days it may seem that there are that many to choose from. This is but a brief subset of all the 356 books in and out of print, offering up a list of particular interest to someone just getting started in the hobby.

Putting in "Porsche 356" in Amazon.com (now that it includes used and out-of-print books as well) yields 26 titles. Add in the manuals and such not usually listed in Amazon and there are probably about 35 books with significant 356 content, and likely a dozen more of general Porsche variety which have worthwhile 356 content in the form of early factory history and/or early pictures. So call it an even fifty Porsche 356 books which might--or might not--grace your bookshelf. Of course, you could go much further. Entering just "Porsche" into Amazon.com yields 243 books. Closer to the magic 356 number, but no cigar. I do not doubt that Porsche books will eventually number 356 as enthusiasts of the marque continue to buy books on the factory's new cars as well as histories of the company's production and racing heritage. Regular 356 Registry book reviewer Bill Block will have material to last another 25 years of columns, at least.

Introduction

The below list of "356 Essential", or more properly, "Essential 356" books in this article is a very personal list. It is the list of a neophyte--I rediscovered my youthful interest in 356es just 3 years ago and purchased my first 356 two years back. It is the list of an enthusiast--I jumped back in with a passion once I rediscovered my love for the 356; I volunteered with the 356 Registry, I have been to two Holidays, I attend the local club breakfasts, swap meets--the full Monty, as it were. It is the list of someone who is both hungry for all kinds of information about 356es and for specific information, now that I have a car which needs some work now and will need more work later. I want to know the "right way" of the purist and concours participant and original owner, and also the "outlaw way" as well as the differences, exceptions, nuances and ommissions which the factory managed to introduce into these fine coaches of ours.

This then will be a broad list. Essential because it covers some of everything, and is, in my opinion, the list of books that you'll go to again and again after spending time with your 356, or in preparation for spending time with your 356. There will be some old hands who won't need some of the intro books. There will be some who don't turn a wrench who won't need the shop manuals. To those folks, I say again that this is a personal list, and I'm a bit of a gourmand, eating all things 356 with equal gluttony.

Books not on this List

There are some who will scream that there are some obvious books which should be on any list of this sort and how could I possibly miss them? Am I ignorant or just apathetic? The answer to that question is, "I don't know and I don't care". Seriously, the reason is very likely that I haven't come across that book. I don't have a large collection (though it appears to be growing faster than my car is being restored, a telling application of limited funds), but what I have I generally like. I say generally, as there are a couple about which can best be said, "There are some nice pictures". Bill Block wrote in a recent column that books with pretty pictures are a nice afternoon diversion, unless you're anal retentive in which case they can be a week-long diversion, spent looking for the mistakes in text and caption. I've little experience to tell what's Right or Wrong, and so my list leans heavily on the advice of experts. What I can tell you is why I like a particular book, so that you may better judge whether its worth your afternoon--or week. Some of these, I guarantee, can occupy a lifetime. A book collection grows as the tastes of the reader grows and are refined. I am certainly still growing, and welcome reviews and recommendations. Please tell me, or share with us all.

The other reality is that while I could list every 356 book made, this is supposed to be an "essentials" list. Some just don't make the cut, or have another book that covers the same material better, or more thoroughly, or in a more accessible style.

There is another list on this website, in a "Tech" page: http://356registry.org/Tech/book-faq.html. Those are Bill Block's recommendations. Do we need another, different list? Well, I cannot contest Dr. Block's list at all, and there is of course some overlap. My list is offered in the context of a relative newcomer to the hobby and it is with that perspective our choices may differ.

Most or all of the below are available from Block's Books, the 356 Registry Goodie Store, RPM Autobooks (www.rpmautobooks.com), your better local bookstores, and, if you must, giant online discount book retailers. Where the books are out of print or self-published by the authors, it is noted in the description.

The List

This then, is my own personal list of Essential 356 books. First is just the list, which you can check against your bookshelf or use to make a shopping list. Following that and linked into the list are more details about each title. Within each section, Learning, Identifying, Fixing, are ordered what I feel are the most essential. This doesn't mean I think the topmost book in each is the best. I mean that its the one you should first look to acquiring and/or reading:

The Details

Following are details on each of the books listed above.

Jim Schrager's new book, "Buying, Driving, and Enjoying the Porsche 356". You really should have this even before you buy your 356, but don't skip it just because you have one.

In a post to 356Talk in April of 2001, I wrote a gushing review of this book (reprinted here). Since then I've read the book again and I would write the review the same way again. Really, really great general information for the new or prospective owner. It's like having one of the experienced 356 Faithful at your elbow at every step of initial ownership. The next best thing to making friends at a 356 event.

Porsche 356 Driver's Manual, Porsche, pub. This is the "owner's manual" that came with your new car, and if the Porsche Gods smiled on you, one came with your recent 356 purchase. Some 1964 reprints are available at reasonable prices ($60-80) for the A models, and original B/C books show up in varying forms of cleanliness and dogearedness on eBay and swap meets for less than that. You should have one, and you should read it, and it should be in your glovebox so your car knows you Care. Fluid levels, maintenance procedures and Where and What things are for the new owner are here.

"Emergency Breakdown and Troubleshooting Guide" 356 Registry, Publishers. ($30.00) You only get this when you join the 356 Registry. The $30 is your membership fee, the booklet is a freebie for joining. Yes, the booklet is good and fits in the glovebox, so you'll have it for every trip (after you read it cover to cover), but better than that is that your 356 Registry membership, which will serve you more tips and advice and community every other month. Invaluable.

"356 Porsche : Technical and Restoration Guide" edited by Dr. B. Johnson and the 356 Registry magazine editors. ($19.95) These are excerpted tech articles from the first 20 years of the 356 Registry Magazine. Though the index is wanting, a browse through various sections will usually yield just the information you want from someone who has "been there, done that". This is another one which will just tickle you with tons of good stuff if you read it like a novel (and having done so will help you when you need to find the specific info when needed in the future).

"356 Electrics" by Joe Leoni ($35 or $70 for both, per model). Specifically for your electrical issues, you should immediately get these self-published foils ($70 for both vols.). Contact him direct at 356electrics@prodigy.net. His booklets, looking very much like business viewgraphs, are printed on 80 pound water-resistant paper, comb bound and protected with a plastic cover. They'll need a bit of extra care on the bookshelf, but don't let the fact that these booklets are self-published and desktop printed keep you away. The They are, in a word, exemplary. They are the best presentation of specific 356 information for a shadetree mechanic you'll find--Harry Pellow's "Secrets" notwithstanding (and I'm a great fan of der Maestro). They're the circuit diagrams you wish the factory had made, in color, with specific wiring exceptions for your model car from real-life examples (noted by chassis numbers on the page!). There are circuit explanations, as well, along with some simple testing and troubleshooting procedures. You don't have to be a sparky to understand this material, but if you want to tune the output of your voltage regulator, well that's in here, too.

The Stoddard catalog ($5.00, refundable with first order). There are certainly others in the 356 community who an give you a better price on the exact same part than will our friends from Ohio. Let your philosophy of economics, fealty or karma be your guide when you pull out your wallet. That said, the Stoddard catalog, with it's parts explanations, organization and reproductions of the Factory Parts Books exploded illustrations is what you'll go to to figure out what you need to buy from the discount guys. And, of course, Stoddard does have some stuff the other guys don't. Chances are it will be the exact thing you need. It is from the Stoddard price list that you'll learn the invaluable 356 restorer's skill of sorting by the second column of part numbers, ignoring the first triplet. Note that there are better sources for the lists of chassis numbers matched to years. Johnson, Pellow, Schrager and this website all have more accurate lists. Available only through Stoddard, http://www.stoddard.com/catalogs.html

"The Maestro's Little Spec Book and Emergency Breakdown Procedures" by Harry Pellow ($19.95 list). Harry Pellow has been writing books, entertaining and enlightening 356 enthusiasts the world over with the stories of The Maestro since the 70s. His ISBN catalog lists five titles, and there's a constant new stream of real-life Maestro stories on his website. So why the "Little Spec Book"? It gets on my list over Harry's other offerings by virtue of it's density of information. That's not slighting any of the other works: if you're rebuilding your engine, Harry's 5 vol. video tapes and the immortal "Secrets of the Inner Circle" should be your guides. If you want to be a 356 swap meet engine part expert, then the "ABCs and 912s or Porsche Engine's or Porsche Engines and the Survival of the Human Race" should be on your bookshelf (or computer disk--print versions are only available used). But for the meat and potatos, to keep in your hip pocket to identify that replacement motor or to solve that mechanical failure (in a far-away place) in a most Maestro-like fashion, you need the Little Spec Book. The bulk of the book is a dump from Harry's famous Engine Database. Collected over years, it's hard data, not paper factory records or anecdotes about when an engine was built based on its serial number. That wouldn't make a very long book (even with thousands of entries), so Harry offers nice technical selections from his other books as tips and articles. Available from HCP Research: http://www.hcpresearch.com/books.html

Factory Workshop Manual (B shown) Factory Workshop Manual and Factory Parts Book ($35-$85 reproductions). The reproductions are by Charlie White and are of good quality and well presented. I would bet that these days more 356 owners have a Charlie White reproduction than the factory edition. If you want to hold out for the Real Thing, they come up on eBay occasionally, or at your local 356 swap, but be prepared to pay 3-figures for one. The pictures of this page are of the originals, Charlie's come in a nice binder as an option. Repro or original, you must have the 356 Workshop Manual. There are measures and charts for HP and torque and gear ratios-to-speed along with other factory arcania for the sturdy constitution, like rebuilding a transmission. Even if you don't do your own work, you'll know what's being done when someone else does it for you. The Workshop manual is valuable for the new owner who doesn't even (yet) own a 14mm wrench as it has pages and pages of illustrations of the insides of your car. Knowledge is Power and there just isn't any better source of power than from the folk that first put your 356 together.

Factory Parts Book, Porsche, pub. The Factory Parts Books will help you identify that widget which is next to the thingamabob and give it a number that will eventually lead to the replacement part. It also helps you figure out if the whatchamacallit is from a Cabriolet, or a Coupe, or was only offered on the 1960 T5 Roadster. If you have a project car, or you know that someday you'll be in your garage up to your elbows in baggies of parts with smeared magic marker labels, you Will Have This Book. You can reach Charlie and find more information on his website: http://hometown.aol.com/DerWhite/DWsBCWSM.html

Porsche 356 Technical Manual, Henry Elfrink ($22.95) This was the "layman's" shop manual before the factory manuals became widely available. Many of the procedures are better explained here than in the factory shop manual, because they address the generic foreign auto mechanic or shadetree mechanic rather than the Porsche Service Center personnel. Today this is a great supplement to the factory manual reproductions as some of the pictures are reproduced more clearly on the offset press than in Charlie's reprints. Basic tune-up procedures are covered here, too. Chances are good that if your 356 didn't come with the Driver's Handbook, it came with a dogeared and greasy copy of Elfrink in the trunk. Just be sure to cross-check with the Factory book or another source before you dive in. Available at Block's Books, at many Porsche automotive supplies and on eBay always. Often reprinted.

"Porsche 356 Authenticity, 3rd Ed." & "Porsche 356 Defined" by Dr. Brett Johnson ($24.95, $29.95, respectively). These two books should be seen as companions. Where Schrager helps you with the basics of determining what model of 356 you have/want, Dr. B's books will help you find out which of the hundreds of parts on your "B" really belong on an "C", or were inherited from an "A", or, just maybe, YOUR car is the "transition" car where the new part was First Used. Wow. It could happen--it does all the time with these handmade cars of ours. What does "square weave" carpet" look like? Is my back seat two-piece or one? Which side of the speedo does the tach go on? Should I have an interior light on the dash? Ivory knobs or black? These are the detailed questions that Honda owners are spared, but which make 356 life a constant education.

Excellence was Expected, by Karl Ludvigsen "Excellence was Expected" by Karl Ludvigsen (out of print, $150-$400). Scheduled for reprinting in an updated 2-volume form in 2002, the original "Excellence" book is the definitive history of the Porsche marque. The detail in this 600+ pages book can be nearly overwhelming. Names of production managers, details of differences between designs in two editions of the same RSK race car, explanations of races and real estate purchases, etc., etc. But its thuroughness and impeccable pedigree make for a refrence work that, once found and acquired, will find a place on the bookshelf, if not the bedstand. More broad than a mere 356 book, it is an encapsulation of Porsche's efforts everywhere up to 1977. Available only at swap meets, used book sellers and automobile book specialists, your best bet for this book is to avoid the "signed, slipcover edition" which can bring $400 and prod your long-time 356 enthusiast friend to sell you their second copy of the third printing for $200-$250. A lot for a book? Sure, but it's a lot of book, and like the cars about which it is written, worth every bit of it. A recent search of biblio.com turned up 7 copies for sale, with a median price of $350.

Driving in it's Purest Form by Dirk-Michael Conradt "Driving in its Purest Form" by Dirk-Michael Conradt ($49.95) Less broad than Ludvigsen's book (see above) but no less detailed, and in a slightly larger format which makes the pictures larger and better, "Driving" focuses specifically on the 356 and it's internal development and acceptance by the world. This book is really the standard for the 356 owner. I'm not waxing on and on about it because it really just is absolutely required and the book against which all other 356 picture books are compared. If you're passionate about early Porsche racing cars and very interested in historical details, then also find an affordable copy of "Excellence". If you've an open car, get "Speedster" (below). But by all means, if you like 356es, you must get "Driving in its Purest Form".

"Porsche Speedster: The Evolution of Porsche's Light Weight Sports Car" by Dr. Michel Thiriar ($49.95). If you own an open 356--not just a Speedster--you have to own this book. If you own a 356 coupe, you'll still love it for the photos, the production details, and the writing of someone obviously infatuated with 356es. Writing from a distinctive European perspective about a car which other historians describe as being invented specifically for the American market, this coffee table book is full of historic detail, pictures and collectibles that are just not covered in any other book on the Porsche marque. Thiriar follows a model: the Sauter Roadster, America, Speedster, Roadster through it's production, so the book has a back-and-forth chronology that gives a sense of how distinctive each model in the 356 line is. You can cut 356 production across years, across "Technike Programme" (the "T" type of a car), and across model in order to see its development. Thiriar does an excellent job of showing the similarities and differences across all dimenstions.

"Secrets of the Inner Circle" by Harry Pellow ($29.95) available from HCP Research. This is an essential book if you have visions of collecting 356 engine parts and then assembling them into a running engine. It is here that Pellow first revealed the ability to take an external engine number and fit it to a formula to determine the year--and even week!--that it was built. The formula was derived out of database analysis of actual engines which were taken apart and had their build dates (stamped within the case, not visible from the outside) examined and recorded. The database contents are presented and the secret formula are reiterated in "The Maestro's Little Spec Book" (see above). But this is just one "Secret" in this detailed disassembly and assembly manual. With the right tools and knowledge of how to use them--as measurement is everything in assembling a well-running motor and that's no secrect!--anyone can use this book to get their Porsche motor back on the road. I know dozens of 356 owners who have assembled their own engines using just this book as a guide.

About the "Stories". In "Secrets", as in all of Pellow's books (he even sneaks some into "The...Little Spec Book"), are tales told from the first person perspective of The Maestro. If you catch Pellow at a swap meet, he'll tell you that the famous Maestro is someone who "works at my shop". The personna of The Maestro allows Pellow to relate anecdotally the Interesting Problems he encounters in the course of 356 repair and rebuilding. The gems of hard-won knowledge which can be found in these stories are sometimes obscured by the telling, but The Maestro always has a point to make. On occasion the point doesn't have anything to do with 356es, but the Maestro is entertaining nonetheless. Some may not agree, but then there's the other 200 pages of Pure Porche Power to turn back to. One last plug: aside from the 356 Registry, The Maestro Stories on Pellow's website is one of the most developed single sources of 356 technical information anywhere, and it's free. (For other information sources on the web, see our Links of Interest page.)

"Porsche Spec's Information Please...", Porsche, pub. ($40). Third English Edition. This very small softcover book--about the size of a Palm Pilot--is packed with specifications for the mechanic. Torque specs, clearances, sizes, fasteners, measured engine statistics. If you're rebuilding your engine, or even doing a tune-up or other maintenance which requires you remove some parts and put them back, you should have a copy of this book to be sure that your engine hangs together. Note that The Maestro's Little Spec Book corrects some errors found in this manual--both are recommended. I've no explanation for the title--probably works better in German. Available from some Porsche parts suppliers in reprint, or find used.

I hope you've found this list useful. I know I have, and still do, regularly.

Updated 03/30/02

356 Essential Books

Introduction

Books not on this List

The List

Learning about your 356:

Identifying parts, pieces

Fixing der Porsche

The Details