Der White's
	356 Porsche
	Removable Hardtops!

We're all familar with the Removable Factory Hardtops made for 356 Porsche Cabriolets beginning in Model Year 1958, which started in September 1957 with the introduction of the T-2 body, and the first Cabriolets with vent windows. From that point on, removable hardtops became a regularly offered factory accessory for 356 Porsche Cabriolets. But a few years earlier, a number of after-market manufacturers started making removable hardtops for the Porsche 356 Speedster. Little is known about most of these companies other than they existed in the 1950's and 60's and advertised in major car magazines such as Car & Driver, Road and Track and Sports Car Graphic. And few know that there were more than one or two non-factory hardtop manufacturers, some in Europe, and many in the USA. This website will present some interesting information about both the factory hardtops, and those made by after-market manufacturers.

1. Porsche Factory Hardtops, Stuttgart, Germany.

Factory Removable Hardtop on a 356-A Cabiolet.

The Removable Hardtop Option was first available for the 1958 model year, and was listed in the 356-A factory Accessory Catalog dated February 1959 at a price from the factory of around $170.00. A factory booklet (shown below) was published in March of 1958 giving instructions for installing and removing the hardtop. In most cases, removing and installing a factory hardtop is a two man operation. The hardtop is quite heavy and cumbersome and difficult to work with for one person, but it is possible for one person to remove and install a hardtop if that person is really determined. How do I know! The 356 B/C Factory Workshop Manual also has directions with pictures for installing and removing the hardtop, see pages B48 to B51. No mention is made of the hardtop in the Owner's Manuals.

The above is the inside portion of the Factory Sales Brochure dated 10/57!

The early removable hardtops had fixed rear quarter windows. This changed later in the 356 series, with rear quarter windows that "popped out" like those on 356 Coupes.

356-A Cabriolet with Removable Hardtop.

Comparison of 356-A Carrera Cabriolet w/Hardtop and a 356-A Cabriolet.

Freddy Rabbat's 1959 356-A Carrera Cabriolet with  Factory Removable Hardtop!

356-B's and Hardtops!

Did you know that you could have ordered a factory removable hardtop for your Cabriolet THAT HAD A BUILT-IN SLIDING SUNROOF? Yes!  It was available for the 356-B T-6's and was shown in the September 1961 factory accessory catalog. Bet you don't see many of these around! One of these special removable hardtops would be the "Ultimate Option"!

356-B T-6 with Removable Hardtop.	Sales Brochure 1/62

356-B with Removable Hardtop.

356-C's and Hardtops!

All 356 Porsche factory hardtops were made by Reutter!	See the "bolt plate" and the "pop-out" window!

Each Reutter removable hardtop has an individual serial number plate, and a "Farbton Nr." or "Color Number" plate, just like each 356 Porsche chassis. And NO, the removable hardtop serial number is not the same as the chassis number! Check it out!

356-C with Removable Hardtop.

Exploded-View Part Diagram:  Page 8/5 from 356-B T-6 Parts Book!

There is no Exploded-View Part Diagram which shows the Removable Hardtop with either the Sliding Sunroof Option or the Pop-out Rear Windows. There is reference in the 356-C Supplement Parts Book to the various parts these two options included with part numbers and descriptions, but no part diagram.

Research produced little information about the colors available for the factory removable hardtops. Pictures in vintage magazines and the factory sales literature mainly show black and white tops. However the deluxe dealer "Color and Color Sample Book" not only shows all the various paint, carpet and convertible top colors, it also shows all the colors available for the removable hardtop. Essentially, these available colors are a limited selection of the normal body colors. Below is a listing:

Above is the "FARBMUSTERKATALOG" or "Color Master Catalog of Colors, Carpet and Upholstry Samples" for 356-C's!

#6401  Slate Grey   #6402  Ruby Red #6403  Sky Blue #6404  Light Ivory #6405  Champagne Yellow   #6406  Irish Green #6407  Signal Red #6410  Dolphin Grey #6411  Togo Brown #6412  Bali Blue #6413  Black

There's a lot of confusion regarding the term "Hardtop" as it applies to 356 Porsches. On one hand the term "Hardtop" was used to refer to an Optional Removable Hardtop made available by the factory as an accessory for 356-A Cabriolets beginning in Model Year 1958. On the other hand, the term "Hardtop" referred to a Cabriolet that was ordered with a removable hardtop instead of a soft convertible top. Even later, the term "Hardtop" was used to refer to an entirely new model which was otherwise known as the "Notchback" or "Hardtop 61" or "Karmann Hardtop" which looked like a Cabriolet with a permanently welded-on removable hardtop. Below is a history grid showing the time sequence of this confusion. A comparison of a 356-B with a Removable Hardtop and a "Hardtop 61" or "Notchback" reveals the obvious. They look very much alike!  

356-B with Removable Hardtop compared to 356-B Hardtop 61.	Comparison of Coupe, Cabriolet & Hardtop

Time Sequence Comparison!

The Rare 356-B T-6 Twin Grill Notchback!

A beautiful example of a 356-B T-6 "Twin-grill" Notchback!

Here's another beautiful example of a 356-B T-6 "Twin-grill" Notchback, owned by Mark Roth!

When you look at the lines of the cars in the beautiful pictues above, your REALLY begin to appreciate the Notchback!

Reutter and Factory Ads for the Removable Hardtop!

Reutter Ad.	Porsche Ad.	Reutter Ad.

2. Glasspar, Santa Ana, California, USA.

Glasspar Brochure, front cover, undated	Glasspar, famous as a boat maker, manufactures Hardtops for the 356 Speedster.
Glasspar top required Side Curtains.	Glasspar Hardtops for 356 Speedsters first appeared sometime in 1955.

The  original Glaspar Company was mentioned in the book "Excellence was Expected" by Karl Ludvigsen:  "Hardtops had been in the Porsche picture earlier (than 1958), but not for the cabriolet model. They had been built privately by and for owners of the Speedster to replace its less-than-elegant standard canvas top. California's Glasspar began offering a fiberglass hardtop for the Speedster in 1955, and by early 1957 it was approved by the factory, and offered for sale through all Porsche distributors. It was priced at $285 in the United States and a little more than $300 in Europe."

Glasspar is best known for pioneering work in the production of fiberglass boats. If you "Google-up" Glasspar, you can find the whole story. Producing removable hardtops for sports cars must have been just a sideline, as apparently they are no longer in the business. Further investigation has revealed that Fibersteel now  continues to make Glasspar hardtops as "High Quality Reproductions", and they are formally authorized to do so by the original manufacturer. Below is a "non-advertisement" for Fibersteel, who provided the pictues shown below.

This is not an advertisement!

FIBERSTEEL.Com 145 Irwindale Avenue, Azusa, California 91702 U.S.A Contact:  Russ Rodriguez  (626) 334-0404 Or Email:  russ@fibersteel.com GLASSPAR HARDTOPS!    Our High Quality Reproduction Glasspar Hardtops Are Exact in Every Detail. We Spare No Expense     in Tooling and Manufacturing This Top. That’s Why We Were Awarded Legal Permission and Assistance From Mr. Bill Tritt, the Founder of The Glasspar Company. Below are a couple of examples of Fibersteel's current Hardtop for Speedsters!

3. Erich Meinhart Autozubehor, Munich, Germany.

The fine print in the above ad says that hardtops are available for Roadsters and Conv. D's for 990 DM, and for the Speedster for 1150DM. Ad comes from the January 1963 issue of Christophorus magazine published by Porsche.

4. H. L. Oesterle, Munich, Germany.

Removable Hardtops for Speedsters, Convertibles, & Roadsters!

5. Hubert Hoch, Neuss-Reuschenberg, Germany.

The Hubert Koch Hardtop is probably a Glasspar unit. Check out the small picture in the ad above, with the pictures in the
Glasspar folder in Item #2 above. Also note the wire wheels on the Speedster in the above picture.

6. Plasticon, Pasadena, California, USA.

7. Steven's Plastics, Los Angeles, California, USA.

8.  Astro Fiberglas Company, S. El Monte, California, USA.

9. Plastics Dynamics Inc., Compton, California, USA.

10. DerWhite's own 1965 356-SC Cabriolet with Factory Removable Hardtop!

Click here for 356 Porsche Factory Technical Manuals FOR SALE!

Click here to see DerWhite's NEW Sales Literature Book!

"DerWhite's 356 Porsche Sales & Technical
Literature......the Book!"

Size 8.5 x 11 inches, Hardbound, 356 Pages, All Color!

Click here for more details about DerWhite's New Book!

Contributions to this website from: 
Dr. Brett Johnson
Freddy Rabbat
Russ Rodriguez (Fibersteel)
Mark Roth
Doug Brown

This website was researched and created by:

Charlie White
Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Email: derwhite@aol.com

This website was designed for educational purposes to document the history of advertising materials for 356 Porsches 1950-1965, and was created on 9/23/2007, and will be continuously updated with additional material. Come back and see!

             
The images on this website are copyrighted. Some images come from various places on the internet. If you are the owner of an image and wish it to be removed, contact the author at the above email address. These images may not be used for any purpose without the written permission of the owner.
 
Copyright @ 2007, DerWhite Productions, Phoenix, Arizona USA