356 Registry Website Book Review:
Buying, Driving and Enjoying the Porsche 356
by James E. Schrager

I have recently received and enjoyed James Schrager's excellent new book, "Buying, Driving and Enjoying the Porsche 356". This is the first in what one would presume to be a long future series in RPM Autobook's catalogue. Just out in April of 2001 and available now from the publisher, or your usual 356 book vendor, or if you must, from Amazon.com.

The 144 page softcover book ($24.95 list) is busting with information especially targeted to the newly interested in the 356. The 356er will notice a lot of familiar names and pictures, as the editor and publisher is they Registry's own Gordon Maltby, ably assisted by a notable handful of long-time 356 Registry members and contributors. The book has nearly twice the number of pictures than pages and the two-column layout makes scanning the approx 7"x10" pages quick and easy. Each chapter has many subheadings which makes finding a particular relevant passage effortless.

For someone starting off on a 356 journey, the first half of the book is a roadmap. After touting the wonders of the 356 (a subject which by itself has filled many books), Schrager proceeds in an intimate, friendly and methodical style through valuing, deciding on models, locating and test driving the prospective candidate(s), with each chapter revealing gems of info gleaned from Schrader's long experience in 356es,as a contributing columnist to the 356 Registry Magazine, and his columns in Sports Car Magazine.

He wisely instructs the neophyte traveller to pass by the "pre-A" 356es and exotic Carreras for the mainstream models, and also cautions against project cars, though admits there are satisfactions to be gained by the project car. If this book were directed towards the Porschephile or toward the classic car collector, these admonitions would fall on deaf ears, or even be inappropriate. However, given that the focus of the book is for the new owner, who wishes to drive and enjoy a reliable car without undue maintenance expenses, this advice to steer clear of exotica and the early models (for which parts are increasingly rare), is exactly the advice a prospective 356 owner needs.

He discusses the differences between drivers which can be put "right" for a recoupable investment, vs. cars which might look good but have more wrong than can economically be put right. Here I might differ with Schrader on a very few minor points. As enthusiasts we want these cars to be restored properly and respectfully, but a 356 can be purchased at great value just for driving even if the wheels are Brazilian, the paint a modern mixture and while carrying a small load of bondo in the nose. Not all cars need to be redone if mechanically sound and pleasing to the owner. Considering the cost of almost all 356es versus a recent model used car--especially sports cars--a good looking but "incorrect" 356 can provide the owner with a lot of pleasure and may not be a bad investment for that need. Perhaps it is not, however, an enthusiast's place to suggest where to cut corners--but more to hold the prospective owner to the deserved standards of the car. So the criticism is a minor one, and I doubt advice against buying a driver which is nonetheless an expensive restoration candidate would deter the frugal 356 buyer/driver.

What to Look For

For the new buyer, Chapter 5, "What to Look for in a 356" is worth the price of admission. There is a numbered list, with pictures for each one, enumerating all the most important and telling things to look for when buying. For those of us newer to the hobby, we probably relied on the kindness of an uninvolved friend or even stranger--or perhaps only armed with Harry Pellow's chapter from "Secrets" and went for a look in our Brooks Brother's Suit and with a rolled-up WSJ to kneel upon. This chapter will give the new buyer a great advantage in knowing what and where to look and the Important Questions to ask. We all know the minutae of changes between year and model, the special vocabulary and the right numbers to look for to tell one 356 from another, but keeping it all straight in your head when you're just starting out, or when you're looking at a car on which you might spend your own hard earned Sacagaweans is tough. Schrager lays out the models and the body styles, changes, models and engines in clear and concise fashion.

Following the descriptions and guides to purchase, the third quarter of the book is dedicated to the owner, new or experienced, in support of the "Driving and Enjoying..." part of the book's title. Maintenance and technical tips make up the next three chapters. The Concours pursuant may not wish to heed everything descried in these pages, but if you drive your 356 (and shouldn't we all?) the tips are practical, economical and well described. I might have put the chapter on how to sell your 356 at the very, very back of the book, but knowing where to look as a seller can also put you in touch with those who may be selling that part you need, so it is forgiven.

Many of the tips and descriptions barely brush the surface, such as the 5 paragraphs given over to distributors, or 3 to mufflers, but recalling that this is an introduction, and that the intent is to arm the new owner with a vocabulary and grounding in the the myriad of options and aftermarket parts, then this is an excellent, broad and clear offering. Once the toe of the new owner has successfully dipped into the 356 waters with Schrager's book, they might find themselves fully immersed in this venue, the Registry, their local club, etc., where they can learn even more and forever thus.... There are many other books to turn to after this introduction, some of which are listed elsewhere on this website.

Garage Stories

The next section of the book has Jim's "Garage Stories", which I liken to stories from the Maestro's archives without the polemic and digressions. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of The Maestro's stories, but here the 356 material is presented in a more straightforward fashion. I may re-re-read The Maestro for entertainment, but with Jim you don't have to carry a highlighter to keep track of the 356 lessons therein. What I get from these stories--and from the "Chasing Wild Geese" chapter on the trials of finding The Right 356 to buy--is a sense of what a real 356 buyer/owner may go through, and its interesting and reassuring. While Pellow's forensic analysis of the 356 corpse has no peer, after a long night with the ABCs and a whisky, I sometimes feel like the victim of a Mob contract--I don't want to turn the key on my car for fear of what will certainly, eventually, happen to it! Schrager's stories all have happy endings, as do most of each of our own 356 stories. He's not the Maestro; he doesn't have people lined up outside his shop door, basket of "was-a-356" in hand. There may be noises which cock my head, or paint blisters which portend thing$ to come, but things get sorted out in the end and I still have a car to drive. The 356 newbie needs that kind of reassurance if he/she is going to buy one and then actually drive it around in the real world.

The book closes with a series of reprints of tech articles from the Registry and from Sports Car Market magazine, along with the du riguer production charts. Something I'd not seen outside the Registry DIY is a glossary of terms. Again, excellent for the novice. Ammended to that is a description of the various paint names. A difficult task, describing color, but Schrager takes a good stab at it. I can now imagine Bali Blue vs. Aetna Blue, or at least be in the ballpark when I ask the owner about their blue car or check a Kardex against what's in front of me.

Lastly there is an 8-page "spotter's guide", with no less than 41 pictures (many of cars owned by folk on this list, I would bet). I can use this to coach my friends when they tell me about a 356 they saw in their neighborhood. "It's just like yours, but it was a little different, you know?" With this help, my kids might stop pointing at everything from a TT to a '65 VW and calling it a 356.

If the 356 Registry's Repair and Restoration guide belong in every glovebox of every driver, and Brett Johnson's books belong on every restorer's workbench, and Pellow's Secrets belongs propped up on every engine stand, then I think we now have a new book which belongs in the hands and dreams of every prospective and new 356 owner. I will bet that this book will be mostly bought as a gift. Given away by the 356 enthusiast looking to draw someone into the fold. It will be a great, great help to anyone on this list trying to convince that friend, neighbor or relative that these tubs of ours are worth every bit of the love they engender.

You can order from the publisher at: http://www.rpmautobooks.com/CatalogRPM.html