Karosserie Gläser, under the post-war leadership of Erich Heuer, may be best-known for its small series of “America Roadsters” built for Porsche in 1952, a project that would eventually send that small firm into bankruptcy. Concurrently, Gläser was also hand-building a series of 356 Cabriolets for Porsche, but was unable to finish the last few before closing its doors. Those Cabriolets were returned to Porsche and its primary coachbuilder, Reutter, where they were completed and delivered. Here is one of those final late-series Cabriolets, fully restored to its original glory.

Chassis number 12375 is described as being the 66th of 73 Cabriolets built by Gläser on Porsche’s Model 52 “bent-windshield” platform. According to its factory Kardex, it was originally equipped with a 44-horsepower, 1.3-liter air-cooled four-cylinder engine and was completed 25 February 1953. Other than its original color, a ravishing Strawberry Red (Code 524), and a notation that it was serviced by Tollinger on 23 May 1953, no other data was supplied.

The car was sold new in Los Angeles, California to Mr. Frank Atkinson, who is described as the consummate LA gearhead. He owned a number of Volkswagens and Porsches, becoming very involved in southern California club racing in the 1950s under the aegis of the Pasadena Sports Car Club. Racing took its toll; Atkinson soon blew up the original 1.3-liter engine and then a replacement engine, finally installing a larger factory replacement unit, case number KD 033831, in 1954. This 1.5-liter engine was lightly modified.

Mr. Atkinson enjoyed this rare convertible for an astonishing 64 years. In 2018 it was offered for sale. Its second owner entrusted the tired old Cabriolet to noted 356 expert Jim Liberty of Costa Mesa, California, who undertook a two-year, bare-metal, nut-and-bolt restoration. The nose was painstakingly reshaped by Liberty Motorsports, but the rear body, which had been hit and repaired many times, was beyond saving; it was replaced with a new clip from Trevor Marshall’s Hammerworks. Fresh Strawberry Red paint was applied, and a new tan leather interior was crafted by Universal Upholstery in Costa Mesa. The carpeting is red-trimmed oatmeal German square-weave, and there are correct rubber mats underfoot. The tan-painted dashboard is fully instrumented and contains a premium Becker Mexico signal-seeking radio with a hand-cranked Hirschmann antenna. There is a tan, fully-lined folding top, Keiper seat recliners, and the engine bay is lined with quilted insulation. It is supplied with the original owner’s manual, spare wheel, wooden fuel stick, jack, and a tool roll.

It is estimated that fewer than 30 Heuer-Gläser Porsche Cabriolets survive today; for the avid Porsche collector, this concours-quality example, boasting just three owners from new, would be the crown jewel of any top-quality Porsche collection.