Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 152136
Engine No. 73117
Transmission No. 28131
This 1959 Porsche 356 A 1600 Cabriolet left the Porsche factory on
9 June 1959, finished in Ruby Red (5702) over a Black upholstered
interior. According to its Kardex, the 60-horsepower, Type 616/1
'Normal' engine that was fitted when new is still powering this
Cabriolet today. Ordered through Gl�ckler Porsche, its Kardex also
shows the original owner as Master Sargent Theodore D. Simmons, who
took delivery of this hardtop Cabriolet through Porsche's tourist
delivery program, likely during deployment in Germany. He is
believed to have brought the car back to the United States to his
home in National City, California.
Following the Master Sargent's ownership, the oral history of this
car begins with a dental student selling the 1600 Cabriolet to
Charlie Werp of Omaha, Nebraska, in the early 1960s. Werp would
tuck his final-year 356 A Cabriolet in the basement of his
residence for the next 40 years while the young electrical engineer
focused on his new career at an engineering firm. The next owner, a
friend of Werp's in Texas, owned it for a short period before being
acquired by Lance Pittack, a well-known Porsche enthusiast and the
owner of Woodhouse Porsche of Omaha, Nebraska. Remaining in
remarkably good condition overall, Pittack enjoyed the car for
several years before commissioning a complete restoration of his
Cabriolet, a task that those at Woodhouse Porsche completed with
relish.
Beginning in 2010 and finishing two years later, the technicians at
Woodhouse Porsche started by carefully disassembling the car before
stripping it to a bare metal shell. While the body was being
refinished in its original striking shade of Ruby Red, the numbers
matching engine and transmission were disassembled and rebuilt to
factory specifications, along with a suspension and braking system
overhaul. The interior was retrimmed with period-appropriate black
leatherette upholstery complemented by oatmeal-colored German
square weave carpet. The original interior color perfectly suits
this Cabriolet's Black hardtop, which is indirectly noted on the
Kardex as a second body color, '5701schw.' When fitted to the car,
the hardtop Cabriolet takes on a coupe-like appearance with a
refreshing color contrast between the two. Additionally, a new
wiring harness, body seals, and numerous other parts were
reconditioned or replaced to return this 356 A Cabriolet back to a
condition as close as possible to when it left Stuttgart nearly 65
years ago. Invoices on file and available for review reveal that
over 1,500 hours of labor and in excess of $135,000 were spent on
the two-year restoration, and today, it remains in exceptional
condition, with believed to be only 53,663 original miles according
to the seller, with very little added since completion.
