HomeGarage - Chassis Number History

Chassis Number History

Using the Chassis Number History

How to Search

The Chassis Number History can be searched by very small details by clicking "Click here to toggle additional questions" in the shaded bar below the top search box. The top search box criteria is very broad and self explanatory. If you wish, you may choose to click "search" without any limitations and view every car in our system. Please experiment to learn how the search function works. It's fun!

Interpreting the data

We like to think that we are more accurate than Wikipedia however the truth of the matter is that even Porsche AG is not always accurate when providing details about the cars that they manufactured. Our data has many sources, individuals, hearsay, Porsche, and Reutter. Any member can enter any data that may or may not be false.

DO NOT USE THIS DATABASE AS A TOOL TO VALUE ANY CAR! THIS DATA IS NOT CERTIFIED BY THE PORSCHE 356 REGISTRY!

Understanding the Chassis Number History

Each record is organized under the following headings:

Current Configuration
This is how the car is today per the current owner inspection and description.

Kardex/CoA Sourced Records
This information comes directly from the Porsche records only.

Reutter Factory Sourced Records
This information comes directly from the Reutter factory records only.

Legacy and Member Records (Admin controlled)
This information has been accumulated by multiple people (Bill Block, Eric Cherneff and others) for many years from various sources, which are noted in many cases.

MarketWatch data (Admin controlled)
This section is for ads and auction results.

Engines and Transmissions Owned and Wanted
This is where you can find engines and transmissions that the owner of the car may be willing to sell or that you may want to buy. This section is searchable so that members can find each other.
There is an additional webpage here with listings of engines that members have offered to sell and engines that members want to buy.

How to Add Your 356(s) to the Chassis Number History

Some Background

The Chassis Number History (CNH)is a database of member's 356 information stored online, entered by the members. Over time, as technology advances, the data has been migrated to newer platforms.

How did we get to the current CNH? When the club migrated to ClubExpress ("CE") in 2022, two databases were consolidated from the old website to a standard "collectibles" database on CE, which avoided customization costs.

VIN Database: ~19,000 historical records collected by volunteers over decades
Members Cars Database: ~3,000 member-submitted records

All these legacy records were preserved in CE as "administrator-controlled historical records" and were tagged as to where they came from. They remain fully searchable by chassis number and visible to all members researching a car's history, but can only be edited by the club leadership. These records show "no owner" on the record, although they may list an owner in the text fields.

The new website database was named "Chassis Number History" because it captures multiple snapshots of the same car over its lifespan. One chassis can have multiple records showing its journey through time - through various observations and owners and even public market transactions.

The database continues to grow with information from multiple trustworthy sources. The club is working to adding over 1,000 auction results of 356 cars accumulated by Jim Wayman, and is actively seeking additional reliable data sources. Because information comes from multiple locations and historical periods, it cannot be depended upon as 100% accurate. However, this members-only resource provides a unique opportunity to share detailed documentation of your car with fellow members and to look for clues to the past of 356's by chassis number.

Members have an opportunity: you can create comprehensive records under your own profile to fully document your 356's provenance, including:

- Kardex factory data

- Reutter production records

- Extensive photo album (restoration progress, historical photos, current condition)

- Detailed configuration and history narratives

- Certificate of Authenticity information

Why have multiple records? When anyone searches a chassis number, they see the complete timeline - legacy records, previous owners' documentation, and current owner records. Administrator control of historical records reduces the risk of "providence laundering" by preventing modification of past documentation, though members retain full control over records they create themselves.

A note on search behavior: Searching by member name shows only records created under that member's profile. Searching by chassis number shows all records for that car across time.