| I'm the proud new owner of this beautiful 1961 356B T5 1600 Karmann Hardtop ("Notchback"). I am the third owner. The second owner had this car from 1965 until Oct 2002, and kept every single receipt for all work done to this car dating back to 1966, which includes an oil change and valve adjustment every 3000 miles, without fail! The car is mostly all original, a few replacement parts here and there. The engine still the original engine (P*605929), and it runs perfectly. There is nary a lick of rust anywhere on the car (original pan as well), and it's clear the car was garaged for all those years.
The previous owner told me that not long after he bought the car, it was stolen and taken for a joyride while he was working as a musician in the San Francisco Playboy Club (gotta ask him for some stories about that, too). The police found the car undamaged the next day, except for a broken passenger wing window. He apologetically told me he never got the right replacement window for it (it's Plexiglass). I'm not sure I want to change it, or I won't have reason to tell anyone the story about why it's a little jiggly when you open it. In the glovebox, I found the original owner's manual and body maintenance booklet (slightly mildewed, but hey)! On top of all that, I found the original tool kit (minus the pouch it came in) in a ziplock back under the spare tire.
Needless to say, I'm tickled to have such a rarity in the history of the 356 (only 1048 or so "Notchbacks" were made I'm told), and one that is in such immaculate shape. My 1960 VW Beetle is probably upset to see me tooling around in my new car, but maybe he likes being the company of another classic piece of German engineering. I only hope I can care for this car as well as its previous owner did...for the next 36 years.
Jon Knoles
jonknoles@msn.com
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