The 356 Speedster– the dream of all generations.

Finding a 356 in perfect condition is a real challenge… and needs a huge budget that is why in July 2018 Jacek and his friend decided to build a 356 Speedster replica.

The first stage was the purchase of the Beetle from 1965 which suited for the base. They Bought it in quite good condition in Masuria. After bringing it home on August 1, 2018, the construction process began with dismantling everything from VW to a single bolt.

The first step was to replace the ‘Napoleon’ floor panel. Afterwards they shortened the chassis to the required body size which took all weekend but the end result was amazing. All the body elements were peeled off to bare metal and painted with 2-component epoxy primer while the lower part of the chassis was additionally protected with bitumen. Hopefully the chassis will last for decades.

The second stage was setting up the suspension. The guys bought everything practically new and the front disc brakes, produced specially for the construction of the 356 replicas, were installed. The rear brakes are performance class drum brakes. All cables and fuel lines are new, too.

The second stage was setting up the suspension. The guys bought everything practically new and the front disc brakes, produced specially for the construction of the 356 replicas, were installed. The rear brakes are performance class drum brakes. All cables and fuel lines are new, too.

The third step was to dismantle the engine and overhaul it. New engine parts including rings and pistons were installed and everything was cleaned. The block has been sandblasted and now it looks like new. The cover plates were painted orange. The engine was rebuilt to 1600 cc with two carburettors. Power is transmitted via a 4-speed manual gearbox. The gearbox was dismantled, checked, all the damaged elements repaired or changed and assembled back.

March 8, 2020. The chassis with the engine and gearbox was ready and that was the time to start the bodywork. All elements required careful processing and fitting. It was a very laborious process that took tens of hours and sacrificed many weekends.

On February 24, 2020, the process of matching the body with chassis began. The car went to the painter, where the color of gray was selected and they decided it should go together with an orange-blue tartan referring to the famous Gulf, combined with iridescent caramel leather.

At this stage the replica landed in CarBone. Painted, put on the chassis was ready to step into our upholstery shop. We started by covering the floor panels with deafening mats and brown boucle carpets and matching floor mats on top of it. The dashboard, which is mainly a part of the body painted in the car’s color, was given a leather cover with the upper part and the gauge cluster dash in tan leather with a decorative double stitching.

VW seats were chosen to go into this car. We reshaped and restored them from the ground up, fitting the foams and inner materials to resemble originals as much as possible. New upholstery combining the tan leather with a Gulf themed tartan was designed and put on the front and back seats. A nice addition is the central piece of back seats which is a hidden hutch giving access to the second trunk. Designed from scratch with fabricated elements, with no off-the-shelf parts, was a challenge but turned out amazing!

Tan leather door cards are an interpretation of our signature door cards available in the store for classic 9.. models. A leather strap covering the hinges is a cherry on top.

A completely new folding roof together with its cover were also entirely made in house. We wanted it to be as close to the original Speedster as possible… and we made it!

Original Porsche parts such as Gauges, a tachometer and a speedometer as well as a beautiful 16-inch original Porsche steering wheel found its place in the build. But our work didn’t end here. In the trunk you can find that the tool bag and the fuel pump cover are both upholstered in the same Gulf themed tartan present in the interior.

Apart from the upholstery, the replica demanded tons of small elements like hinges, locks, handles, rear seat bases and many, many more that were designed and fabricated by our talented team. Every detail of the car was thoroughly planned and executed which in the end results in a very unique build that we’re proud of. We hope we will be able to surprise you with more engaging builds like this in the future. Stay tuned!