How about a comparison between the 356 and a 1950s Karmann Ghia? The body on a Ghia has that same construction as the 356, all one piece, hand crafted construction.
Lovely cars, both of them. I have actually never driven a Beetle, but I have been behind the wheel of a 356C. Personally I haven’t had much people mistake a Porsche for a VW. However there have been quite a few self proclaimed ,car people’ who believe Porsche to be glorified VW’s. It never bothered me though. Great video as always and looking forward to the next one:)
+Freerk de Ruiter I haven't driven one either. Maybe I will get that chance sometime. Franny has owned four classic Beetles, so she obviously knows them very well. Heidi
+Freerk de Ruiter hi Frank. We have a four part series of videos of the history of how we got our 356. If you haven’t checked out, please do. It’s a family car and changed hands a lot, and a pretty interesting story. They were released this last summer. We do plan on having some other videos on the other cars in the garage, but I am not sure when. Thanks for the suggestion. Heidi
Very usefull. A must if you do some serious maintenance or restauration yourself. But better to lift also the ceiling of your garage unless you are friend with Snow-White...
Nice cars, but you comparing apples and oranges. If you compare a 1958 VW vert to the '58 Porsche 356 you'll find many-many simular parts on those cars, like same headlights, internal door handles, bumper bars etc.
The window cranks are different and are the bumper verticals up front aluminium in the VW? The basic construction is very different as is the engine. The transmission case is similar, but the internals are different. They are still very different cars... Although, there may be a few similar bits here and there...
But, both designed by the same genius, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. How many designers can lay claim to giving birth to not one but two iconic companies and cars? And then having son, Ferry, who designed the iconic 911? Geez…
Paul Zink actually, if I might correct you. Ferry designed the 356. It was his son Butzi, who just passed away six years ago who designed the 911. So, father, son and grandson. All have the same family first and last names, which make it confusing. I had to double check myself. You are correct, Pappa Porsche (the Dr) did found VW and Porsche. Heidi
Jeff, you have a good excuse. Your making your own channel videos! Glad to hear you enjoyed. Thanks for checking in. We have some checking up to do on your channel too.
You definitely love what you do. It shows up every time you talk about these beautiful machines. As an air-cooled lover myself, I really enjoy your videos so much! Cheers from Argentina.
Is that a 1974 Porsche 2.7 Carrera in the garage? Edit never mind I see it is the 3.2 Also I see on your webpage you no longer show your VW Bug convertible, did you sell it?
This comparison between the 1958 Porsche 356 and the 1969 Volkswagen Beetle is interesting. Both these cars had similar engines, four cylinder, horizontally opposed, air cooled. Both of these cars were engine in the rear with rear wheel drive. The engine in the Porsche 356 was a better built more powerful engine with an oil filter. In the nineteen sixties my father used to call the Volkswagen Beetle the poor mans Porsche.
The Ghia is pretty much the same as a beetle (they run on the same chassis). I always wanted a Giha Cab. I love the lines. Eva gets mistaken for a Ghia now and then and she is ok with that ;) F
These are incredibly informative videos that these ladies share with the world. They should be teaching car school, and I would be student 1. I'm a 2011 997.2 C2S owner, and I'd love for them to tell me about everything my car that I've no clue of!
+Arne D hey Arne. The car is too new for us ( but I have my eye on a 2011 Boxster Spyder). Won’t be anytime soon though. Keep watching. You will learn from our 996 stuff. Heidi
I know. It's funny, I know our hosts are going to the 356 East Coast holiday and I was thinking, Judy might not only get recognized for being in our video, but also for her amazing cooking! Heidi
Jerry Aistrup Yup, that is a good point. You can also see this in the 356 replicas built from Beetle chassis. To do it properly you need to cut that extra bit out. You can really feel the difference in wheel base between the two cars I think. Franny
My dad had a '68 VW with that auto-clutch thingie... First year for the hight back seats (which promptly got stolen...). They smell just like you remember them too ;)
Great comparison, loved the comparative details side by side. Was all that was wrong with the red 356 a tune up essentially, or did you find other issues as well?
+Tim Gossett not super sure (no). So, there may be a few more things to do. Jerry has told us that the car is running much better after the tuner up. Heidi
Thanks ladies. I learnt to drive in a '57 VW Beetle - 1200cc, no synchro in first, no power and really lousy brakes. I really would have preferred to learn to drive in the 356!
Hi Peter, I had a few Beetles ('71, '72). They taught me a lot and got me to where I needed to go. They weren't fast, but I could keep them running. Brilliant little cars. F
Boy! Second comment today asking for that! I wish I knew someone with one. I really love the Giha :) I will have a more in-depth video of these two coming out soon. This time with some driving! I'll try to find a Giha. F
Greetings from Brazil !!! I1m another Tonella's watcher that became Heidi and Franny's watcher. So i have a question, the carburators on the 356 are also Solex? I can mount they in my type 1 beeetle ?
Hi Leonardo, The 356 came stock with Solex, Zenith, and Dellorto (no webbers). So, the big question, can you fit them to a beetle Type 1 engine? Well, the 356 carbs are two barrel/throat so it would be best to use short stack intake manifolds and go with dual carbs. Webbers might be easier to fit and I think you can get them new. The carbs on our 356 are almost 60 years old at this point and even after several rebuilds, they are a little long in the tooth. Newer carbs would be less work to get running properly. It also depends on how well you engine breaths. What cam you are using, valve size and what exhaust. Larger carbs can make the car run worse if they are too big because they are designed for greater flow through. I would guess that with the right cam and exhaust and properly matched dual carbs you could get maybe 10-15hp increase. Like the Super vs. the Normal 356. Does that help? Franny
Awesome it's help a lot, here in Brazil Webers are a little bit overpriced, but there many solex models to choose, i'll study the best option. Thanks a lot for reply!!! :D
I have a possibly very strange question, could the generator stand for a 356 be used on a beetle engine? I found a car at an auction that had no business having either a Porsche or vw engine in it.... and the part number I found comes back to a 356. I have zero knowledge on either family of motors.
Heidi and Franny's Garage thanks for the info. I bid on the little Fiat but didn’t win. I bet a 356 motor in that little bianchina would have been amazing.
Might have been more similarities (especially visuals), if you'd been comparing a VW of about the same vintage as the 356 (For one thing, the door hardware was nearly identical and the Porsche headlights were right out of the VW parts bin!).
Interesting to note that the 1958 Porsche 356 started at just over 3.5 thousand dollars, while the beetle was under 1.5 thousand. "A bit more expensive" doesn't quite describe double to triple the price. What mostly the same engineers can do with the mostly the same set of tools to make an economy car vs a sports car is indeed a very interesting comparison.
Loved the vid ladies. I'm a Bug guy from way back. My folks had a 61 bus w sunroof and the only new vehicle my parents ever bought was a beautiful orange 73? Bus w the monster sunroof that as the youngest of five kids I spent most of every ride standing on the seat half in half out of the Bus. Ahh the good old days of potential death lol. Keep up the great work and thank you 😊 By the way all five kids had a Bug at one time or other. Mine was a gloss black 69 w extended glassed fenders and monster wide tires, tricked out motor from a 74 Super Beetle and you guessed it , a sunroof 🌞. Bye now from S. Jersey
You ladies have me hooked on your vids now. I have a '68 Beetle I am working on and I've been enjoying watching what I have to look forward to when it's back on the road. My normal daily driver is a 2016 1.8L, 5-speed Jetta.
How is it that the speedo on the Bug was an older design but had a fuel gauge ? Was it modified ? Did some one put in a speedo dial from an old car on to a modern speedo with a fuel gauge. I would love to know coz I would like to do that myself if it is possible. Thanks
peyeum thanks! That looks like a photo of a very small car. Is that yours? The icon on RU-vid is so small I can’t tell if it is an Isetta or a KR200 or something else? Heidi
I just found your channel through RU-vid recommendations and I love it! So I started going back through your list of videos and I'm excited to subscribe. I love DIY channels that help everyday people work on and enjoy their favorite cars. Obviously you're a little bias towards Porsches but the content really seems authentic. Look forward to watching them all!
Wow! I bet that is pretty! The back end is quite a bit different the cabs. I always think that is interesting. I'm betting your Speedster can get out of its own way pretty well ;) Franny
We do not own the beetle, but it was repainted and I think it is an original color for the classic beetle in ivory. Go to samba.com and I think there are 3 or four different colors for ivory (L62) (car is 1969) under type 2. Check it out there. Hope that helps.
Wow, great video! Very well explained in just the right amount of detail, and on two of the most beautifully maintained older vehicles I can remember seeing (at age 71). Impressive at all levels.
I know, right? I'm really tired of the "Nice Beetle" comments. That is the quickest way to say you haven't driven 356. The two are great in their own right - it's important to understand that they were meant for different jobs.
Great comparison and video, as always 😀👍 Another different between engines, aren’t the valve’s angles in the combustion chambers, making the 356’s almost hemispherical, enabling higher compression rates ?
I remember a summer job I had in 1997 the boss had a beetle and hew sent me out on an errand in it. I was finished with the job and was ready to go back and I could get the car into reverse. I had to get out and push it backwards by myself. It was the easiest car I ever had to push. :)
Thanks Peter, Yes, they are different, but both special and just built to different philosophies :) It was really interesting to see them side by side. Franny
Nice video, surprisingly you guys seem to be the first to do this on RU-vid. Congratulations! Just one small very minor suggestion, I think you’d get more respect with out naming the cars. I hate to see or hear someone assume my wife, (whom is a doctor) is too stupid to understand an auto related subject. Usually this occurs at a dealership or a tire place. I believe they think her woman’s brain can’t comprehend the subject. So she’s called “Sweetheart” or “Sweetie”. I think your video is great but try to dispel the women and cars myth. Thank you again and as a longtime Porsche fan and owner, ‘(72 -911RS, ‘70 - 914, ‘88 - 911, ‘62 -356, many many VW’s, 1989 - 930 ) I enjoyed and even learned something’s, thank you!
Hi Don. I appreciate your concern. We get a lot of ‘grief’ about things in the hardware store, tire stores, and other male dominated places. Just happens as women. I am used to it. Surprisingly, the car dealerships and tire shops know us and do not give us grief. In fact, our local hardware store knows to get out of our way if we are in a hurry. Kind of funny. As far as car names go, our cars our our kids. I get what you are saying about the car names, and I respect that. Many people call Miss Eva by name now. She is quite well known locally. We deliberately called her that to get my family to stop calling the car the ‘por shhh’. It just stuck and we named all the cars. It’s much easier to say, want to drive Moo and not say, want to drive the 911? Which one? Turbo, 95, or 86? Get it? It is hard to think of something clever that your wife could say when they call her sweetie. At least it is a nice thing. Could be worse! Thanks for commenting. Hope you subbed. Watch miss Eva’s story and you will understand our naming the car. Heidi
what a fantastic presentation! can't get enough of this here. good job on this one. don't know why I haven't come across your content before. nice. nice. nice.
+mechanic808 it’s a good point. We just did a tune up on Jerry’s car and it is running great now. That fell on me. I did not film the work Franny and Jerry did on the 356 very well, so we didn’t use the footage. Sorry. Heidi
I have owned several VW Beetles...kind of, lol. All of mine (three) were Baja Bugs. The most fun was a 1962 with a stock 1200 (I think) engine with the top chopped off with no interior except front seats and fiberglass fenders and front deck lid and the entire rear of the car chopped of with nothing more than a pipe frame engine guard (I bought it that way the POs girlfreind had rolled it and destroyed the top so he cut it the rest of the way off and Bajaed it) I reinforced the pan and it was like a go kart with some CRAZY oversteer, it was SO much fun on the gravel and dirt. I currently own a 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo (951) I would love to find an affordable 356 Speedster (wouldn't everyone!) I love these cars so much. Of course my ultimate dream car is a 550 spyder...even the replicas are out of my reach though, lol. Thanks for the video!!
Hi Jack, That sounds like a crazy car - crazy fun! How is that 944? I had a friend who gave me a ride years ago and it was a beast! Neat car. I'd love to get a good 718 RSK replica. We have a friend with a 55o replica (Beck I think). We need to get that on the channel!
Oh yes! I try to tell people it's all about light weight and a good suspension, but alas all I hear is horsepower, lol. A 718 RSK is like a unicorn that would be way cool! Yes the Beck replica is a dream car for me. My 944 Turbo is not stock, it has the Lindsey racing dual port waste gate running sixteen pounds of boost with a manual boost controller and a tune, up to about three grand it's pretty docile at that point the boost kicks in like a sledge hammer and it almost feels like hitting the nitrous button, lol. It's invisible hands pushing you back in the seat and away we go! I am pretty sure fifty to a hundred is as fast if not faster than zero to fifty. I have had people compare it to a fighter plane, lol. Of course they nor I have ever been in a fighter plane!! I just found your channel I am subbing now! Thanks for the content!
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