factory replacement bodies - Body-in-White?

[larrym]

question inspired by recent thread on 914World & old thread on 356 forum (links below) - maybe of relevance to 912 community?

in all my yrs of association with Porsche's (PCA since '76 when i got my second Porsche which i still have) there was always a rumor that a person with a pile of cash could send a pile of junk to Germany & Porsche would send it back whole & as-new - maybe in a couple years .... i think the collection of disparate knowledge bits in this 914 thread generally confirm that rumor

(my question is primarily about "older Porsche's" - not about USA cars that are "salvage-titled" after insurance settlements - a different, more recent scenario)

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Re bodied cars and Kardex

whom among us has some definitive knowledge & explanation of the detail and extent of obtaining such replacement factory bodies?

What was the process?

In Germany - How did Porsche "certify" the refurbished car to the 'authorities" TUV after it had been "de-registered" as not-road worthy in its K-brief?

In other countries?

[WFBowen]

As far as the Porsche factory refurbishing cars this is what I've been told mostly by a late friend of mine (Gene Asbury) who worked at the factory in the customer drive away program (aka European Delivery) in the late 50's. As a manufacturer, Porsche had the where-with-all to make any level of repairs to its cars. I was told that at least up until the 911 cars, major repairs to cars which failed TUV (especially severe accident and rust) were required to be fixed by the factory (Porsche,MB,BMW & all) or an authorized agent for imports. There's always been some confusion regarding Porsche's factory restoration facilities. I've seen a few 356's over the years that were factory restored and while nice, they're not really up to concourse levels. This said, I think that these cars were repaired to an acceptable level, but didn't necessarily get full-blown 98point restorations which makes sense when you consider that, when new, Porsches were not delivered in concourse condition, with small paint drips, some orange peel, etc. in newly delivered cars (again referring up to the late 60's.) And finally, as a manufacturer, Porsche had the right to reassign chassis numbers as it repaired severely damaged cars. And, as I understand, if you had the $ you could have your car shipped over for restoration with certain model year limitations (i.e., probably couldn't expect to have a 1949 Gmund roadster restored in 1969.)
Back in the late 60's I had the opportunity to become acquainted with several Pacific Northwest racers including Todd Webb who was campaigning the 67S-Rally in C Production. This was one of a very few '9552' optioned cars (Rally sport packages) and began life as a so-called body in white.
As it pertains to race cars, a BIW is merely a complete body pulled from the assembly line without any undercoating, sound deadening, carpeting, primer, etc. The fact that they're described as white usually refers to the lack of equipment on the car as opposed to the actual color, although most "special" race cars get basic white paint as it's the easiest to paint over with new livery. In the case of this particular Porsche much of the glass was replaced with plexi and there were rumors of thinner gauge steel panels. There was always a good supply of complete engines, gearboxes and spares. SCCA techs always questioned various equipment on the car, but the special order option sheets from Porsche always seemed to suffice as explanation.
Hope this helps the discussion.
Bill

[larrym]

excellent information - Thanks! -

i'm now reminded of a thread on 914 world where pics of a body "under the knife" at Zuffenhausen with new component sectons beside it were posted

- i'm aware of a car that seems to fit this situation and meets the "period correctness" aspect together with a previous owner's statements and somewhat circumspect TUV documentation

Originally Posted by WFBowen

As a manufacturer, Porsche had the where-with-all to make any level of repairs to its cars. I was told that at least up until the 911 cars, major repairs to cars which failed TUV (especially severe accident and rust) were required to be fixed by the factory (Porsche,MB,BMW & all) or an authorized agent for imports.

.... as a manufacturer, Porsche had the right to reassign chassis numbers as it repaired severely damaged cars.

a BIW is merely a complete body pulled from the assembly line without any undercoating, sound deadening, carpeting, primer, etc. The fact that they're described as white usually refers to the lack of equipment on the car as opposed to the actual color,

Hope this helps the discussion.
Bill