DerWhite's 356 , 911 & 912 Porsche KARDEX   v.  Certificate of Authenticity!

What exactly is a Kardex?

What exactly is a Kardex and what was it used for? Why do 356'ers always talk about having a Kardex? And what is a Certificate of Authenticity and how is it different from a Kardex? Well, first off, a 356 or early 911 or 912 Porsche Kardex is a paper data card on which is recorded information about an individual 356, 911 or 912 Porsche. It is part of an information system used by Porsche in the 1950's and 1960's that was developed and marketed by what is now Kardex, AG, an international company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Today, the Kardex Remstar International Group is one of the leading suppliers of products and services in the logistics of dynamic data storage and retrieval systems.

Dr. Brett Johnson described the Kardex in his article shown on the 356 Registry website as follows:

Marco Marinello of Elevenparts in Zurich, Switzerland, another recognized authority on 356 Porsches confirms this:

If you examine an original Kardex carefully, you will see that this is true. It shows the car's Chassis Number, the Motor Number, and the Transmission Number. In addition, it may show the Ignition Switch Number and the Ignition Key Number. Of interest is the fact that the Kardex may also show if there has been a motor change or a transmission change with a place on the card for the new serial numbers. Also included may be Paint and Interior Colors and Numbers, the Service Book Number, and the Date of Guaranty Expiration.

The Kardex may also record whether it is a Special Model and may list the Optional Equipment originally supplied with the car. Further down on the card there is a box for the Dealer name, City and Country; and the name and address of the First Buyer. The rest of the document deals basically with Warranty Work completed on the car. Below is an early example of a Kardex from late 1958. There are several versions of the Kardex each with its own edition date and differences.

On the Kardex shown below, the serial numbers have been changed to protect the innocent! By looking at this Kardex, you can see the various serial numbers, the date the car left the factory, and the accessories that came originally with the car. You can also see that the dealer was Otto Glockler of Frankfurt, Germany and the first buyer was a John W. Romig. If you checked the serial numbers, you could determine what year and model the car was, what engine option it came with, and the original interior and exterior colors.

In both Kardexes below, you can see several dates. The first date "Ausgel. am" shown as 10.2.58 is the date the car left the Porsche factory. It is not the build date, just the date the car was shipped. The second date "Abnahme-Besch." is the date the car was delivered to the buyer. The third date "Garantie bis" is the date the factory guaranty on the car expires. Note that the factory guaranty in 1958 was only six months!

The Kardex wasn't the only record kept by Porsche during the 356 era. There were other production records some of which did not survive. Marco Marinello explains:

Kardex, edition 9/57!  Serial #'s changed to protect the innocent!

Kardex, edition 11/60!

Translations of the words on the Kardex from German to English!

Translations contributed by Dr. Brett Johnson and Marco Marinello.

Alphabetical Interior Color Codes used on Color Charts & some Kardexs.

Recently questions were raised about the alphabetic interior color codes found on some Kardexes. These Porsche factory codes also show up on factory color charts. So in addition to factory exterior paint color codes, there are factory alphabetic interior color codes to identify the available colors of interior upholstery, i.e. seats, door panels, dash tops, etc.

The above table shows the regularly offered factory interior color codes for 356 B's and 356-C's 1960 to 1965. This is NOT to say that there weren't other interior colors available as special orders, throughout the B/C production period. Most know that if you had the GELD, you could probably get any color you wanted!

Click here for 356 Porsche Factory Technical Manuals For Sale!

Certificates of Authenticity!

Certificates of Authenticity are a creation of  Porsche Cars  of  North America, Inc., the USA distributor  for Porsche AG, Stuttgart. In the past you could write a letter to Porsche in Germany, and they would send you a "copy" of the Kardex. This became very popular  with  356'ers who  were eager  to  document  their cars  and learn  what  they were  like  when they left the assembly line. At some point, this practice came to a halt, as Dr. Johnson explains:  

Today, those of us here in the USA probably can't get a copy of the Kardex for our cars from the factory! Instead, Porsche Cars of North America, Inc. will provide you with a Certificate of Authenticity. This document is a transcription of some of the original Kardex information onto a fancy certificate provided upon request for a fee. Since one can't get a copy of the Kardex any longer, receiving a Certificate of Authenticity is probably the next best thing, although you do have to pay dearly for it!  Below are three examples of Certificates of Authenticity. The first is dated in 1996, the second is undated, and the last is a German language version provided by Porsche Deutchland GmbH dated 2007. There may also be other versions of this document.

  Click here for 356 Porsche Certificate of Authenticity Order Form!

English Version dated 1996.		English Version, undated.		German Version dated 2007.

 If you have a different version of a Certificate of Authenticity, I'd like to add it to this website!  

The Certificate of Authenticity provides basic information about the car including the Model, Year and Type, the Engine Number and Transmission Number, and the Interior and Exterior Colors, Codes and Fabric Type. Some certificates include what they refer to as a "Birth Date/Delivery Date" The term "Birth Date" may be misleading. Marco Marinello says the following about this:  

In addition, most Certificates of Authenticity show a listing of the optional equipment that was ordered with the car. However, not all Certificates of Authenticity provide the same information, OR EVEN COMPLETE INFORMATION! Some provide very little information beyond the serial numbers. It should be recalled that the Certificates we receive here in the USA are provided by Porsche Cars of North American, Inc. whose people do the translations of the German terms into English. It has been reported on a number of occassions that the Certificates were not complete, some even erroneous!

Sometimes the translations in the Certificates result in English terms that don't make a lot of sense. For example, one Certificate made reference to a "Corduroy linen bag"! Well, what's that? That must be a really rare accessory! Another made reference to "Broadened Brakes". Not sure how to intrepret that. Still another included a "Left Turn Signal Switch"! Does that mean the car only makes left turns? Still don't know what that's all about! But these are the problems when German terms are translated into English. Marco Marinello, who has been providing lots of great information, and who has translated many of the German terms, sent me an email with the following comment about German words and their translations:

So is the Certificate of Authenticity worth the trouble and the money? An open question. For some seeking to document their cars, this may be the only way to do so, errors and all, on the theory that something is better than nothing. For others it's a waste of money! Who needs it? To each his own, I guess. If you want a Certificate of Authenticity, Dr. Johnson says:

German Accessory Words!                  English Translations!

Dealer Purchase Order Forms!

Another source of information about a 356 Porsche is the Dealer Purchase Documents, usually consisting of a Purchase Order, various receipts, and maybe a title application. Many purchase order forms show a lot of detail about the car like the year and model of the car, the engine and chassis serial numbers, and a listing of accessories. The listing of accessories on a Dealer Purchase Order may cause confusion as it may not differentiate between factory supplied accessories and dealer supplied accessories. In any case, an original Purchase Order provides a lot of interesting information about the car when it was first delivered to a buyer. Below are several examples including a factory purchase order, a European dealer order, and a USA dealer order.

Factory Purchase Order dated 2/15/65.		Euro VW dealer Purchase Order dated 6/7/61.

It is interesting to note that the factory purchase order above is in English, and the price is "Ex factory". Additionally there is a line where there is a choice of speedometer in MPH or KM, and a choice of European or sealed beam headlights. Both purchase orders above list quite a few accessories. You can use the table above to translate them into English! In the USA dealer purchase order below, there are only two accessories, chrome wheels and the reclining seat option. It also mentions "seat belts not installed" and "black head rest, not in stock".

USA Porsche/VW dealer Purchase Order dated 4/25/62.

Contributors to this website:  
Dr. Brett Johnson, Marco Marinello, Freddy Rabbit, Dale Moody,
Bill Block, Dave Wildrick, Mike Smith (UK). Tom Farnum, and Perry Lee.

"DerWhite's 356 Porsche Sales & Technical
Literature......the Book!"

Size 8.5 x 11 inches, Hardbound, 356 Pages, All Color!

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Research and website creation by:

Charlie White

Copyright@2007, 2014 DerWhite Productions, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Website created 8/23/07, updated 3/2/14.