1953 Fashion Gray 1500S Cabroliet's ?

[Ryan emmel]

I've been doing some research on what 1953 Fashion Grey 1500 S has been restored in the united states. I have tracked down 1 other but no luck finding any others. The vin on this the car I'm going to be refinishing is 600 36 and would be nice to find out how rare this is and were it compares to the others in the US, and should be nothing but a concours restoration.

[James Davies]

The following cars still exist and are (or were originally) Fashion grey (modegrau):

11742 1500 coupe (currently eggshell green)
50431 1500S coupe
50432 1500S coupe
50498 1500 coupe
50598 1500 coupe
50651 1500 coupe
50894 1500S coupe
51430 1500S coupe
51623 1500 coupe

12317 1500S Gläser America Roadster
12328 1500 Gläser cabriolet
15040 1500 cabriolet
15111 1500S cabriolet
60036 1500S cabriolet <-- yours
60048 1500S cabriolet
60415 1500 cabriolet
60455 1500 cabriolet
60511 1500S cabriolet

I don't know how many of them are in the United States, but certainly several of them. Regardless, it's a great color and looks fantastic on these early cars. Is the car we are discussing the one being done by the Metal Surgeon in this project thread?

Is Fashion grey the original color of 60036? Dark blue or maroon dash?

[Ryan emmel]

Thanks for the info on this , greatly appreciate it. Yes The Metal Surgeon is doing the metal repair. The color is originally Fashion Grey and Azure Blue is the dash color . Also the top was originally black but every fashion grey car i research with blue interior has a blue top. It's nice to see and work on a car thats in a league of very few.

[Ryan emmel]

The following cars still exist and are (or were originally) Fashion grey (modegrau):

11742 1500 coupe (currently eggshell green)
50431 1500S coupe
50432 1500S coupe
50498 1500 coupe
50598 1500 coupe

50651 1500 coupe
50894 1500S coupe
51430 1500S coupe
51623 1500 coupe

12317 1500S Gläser America Roadster
12328 1500 Gläser cabriolet
15040 1500 cabriolet
15111 1500S cabriolet
60036 1500S cabriolet <-- yours
60048 1500S cabriolet
60415 1500 cabriolet
60455 1500 cabriolet
60511 1500S cabriolet

I don't know how many of them are in the United States, but certainly several of them. Regardless, it's a great color and looks fantastic on these early cars. Is the car we are discussing the one being done by the Metal Surgeon in this project thread?

Is Fashion grey the original color of 60036? Dark blue or maroon dash?

If you don't mind me asking , how did you find out all the information of the others ?

[James Davies]

Lots of research and fastidious note-taking. =]

I have a '53 1500 Super coupe I am restoring, so I'm keenly interested in finding out specs and details of other existing cars for reference purposes. Old period photos and untouched, unrestored cars in the present are the only way to figure out how Porsche originally made these cars. And there are not many left that are untouched and well-documented. And there are lots that have been restored incorrectly based on incomplete information.

[Ryan emmel]

Yes sir , good workmanship is a dying breed. Thanks

[James Davies]

Here's another old thread if you'd like some fun reading.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22321

[Alan Hall]

My Father's fashion gray '53 1500 super Cabriolet shortly after he got it in 1955. (60048)

[James Davies]

Very cool Alan. Looks like the previous owner took off the turbo rings - I can see the lonely holes left behind. Is it also a "USA de Luxe" model per the Kardex?

Looks like it has a black top too. Was it a maroon dash or dark blue dash?

[Alan Hall]

James,
USA deluxe, black top, maroon dash, reddish brown upholstery...leather front seats and door panels, leatherette rear seat and rear side panels. Hex nut sunvisors, red tip antenna. And yes the turbo rings were gone by the time he got it.
Alan

[James Davies]

Cool Alan! Textbook USA de Luxe. At the risk of a thread hijack, I have another few questions for rounding out my '53 knowledge if you don't mind:

- Boomerang hinges on the driver seat with a recliner on the passenger seat? Do the recliners have a date code? Boomerangs?
- 40 PBIC carbs with 26mm venturis? How about the air correction jet? 200? 160?
- Oil filter canister? Orange Fram type? All the documentation says canisters were fitted from the factory for 528 motors, but perhaps it started well after the start of '53 model year production.
- Tool kit with red canvas bag or grey vinyl bag? This was a mid-53 changeover I think.
- Backup lens on shinedown light - any k1431 or Hella markings on it? Early '53 had none, later seemed to have them, though its murky.
- beehive bulb holders, are they zinc plated with gloss black on the surface facing outwards? And the single pole ones at the back, do they have screw terminals where the screw comes in from the top? Later ones had the screw come in from the side I think, though I'm not positive. My car came with both.
- Sealed beam headlights, are the adjusting screws cheese head or flat head?
- Which radio did yours come with? Telefunken ID52V seemed to be the most common, but I've seen Becker Monza and mine has a Blaupunkt A51EM which is original to the car.
- red or blue blinky SWF turn signal stalk?
- Gear shift knob apple-shaped?
- Cylinder heads have ovalized intake ports?
- Oil filler/breather - is the canister part 2 pieces (body and lid) or 3 pieces (bottom, body, lid)?
- Intake manifolds - are the flanges and balance tubes brazed or welded? I've seen both.

Ok, that was too many questions, but I'm still trying to learn. =]

[Alan Hall]

Hi James,
I'll try to answer what I can-
- Boomerang hinges on the driver seat with a recliner on the passenger seat? Yes. Do the recliners have a date code? Not sure, seats are together and I don't recall. Boomerangs? Same situation.
- 40 PBIC carbs with 26mm venturis? Yes. How about the air correction jet? 200? 160? 160 (although it could have been changed).
- Oil filter canister? Orange Fram type? Fram, dealer installed I think as it is a USA type Fram with wing-nut top. Orange w/ black top
- Tool kit with red canvas bag or grey vinyl bag? Most of the tools were gone when he got it, and I don't recall if there was a tool bag with what was left.
- Backup lens on shinedown light - any k1431 or Hella markings on it? No markings.
- beehive bulb holders, are they zinc plated with gloss black on the surface facing outwards? Uh, how about rust.
And the single pole ones at the back, do they have screw terminals where the screw comes in from the top? Later ones had the screw come in from the side I think, though I'm not positive. My car came with both. (I will have to check)
- Sealed beam headlights, are the adjusting screws cheese head or flat head?
- Which radio did yours come with? Telefunken ID52V seemed to be the most common, but I've seen Becker Monza and mine has a Blaupunkt A51EM which is original to the car. The radio was taken out before he got it and put in previous owners '55. My father installed a radio out of a 1938 Pontiac! I suspect original was the Telefunken ID52.
- red or blue blinky SWF turn signal stalk? Red
- Gear shift knob apple-shaped? I'm not sure based on your "apple" description, but I think so. It was the early dimpled knob with the longer skirt.
- Cylinder heads have ovalized intake ports? Oval
- Oil filler/breather - is the canister part 2 pieces (body and lid) or 3 pieces (bottom, body, lid)? 3-piece
- Intake manifolds - are the flanges and balance tubes brazed or welded? Welded

[Brad Ripley]

You forgot to ask --
Plexi sun visors -- bottom edge straight or curved? If curved, which way?
Beehives -- logos and/or markings K-numbers?
Windshield -- if still original -- any markings SIGLA or ?
Headlights -- look like sealed beams -- date codes on back ? codes on front glass ?

[Alan Hall]

Brad,

Plexi sun visors -- bottom edge straight or curved? Straight
Beehives -- logos and/or markings K-numbers? No logos or K markings
Windshield -- if still original -- any markings SIGLA or ? Don't remember what the original windshield was but do recall it had a lot of distortion, in fact you can see that in the photo. Was replaced fairly early on with a U.S. replacement, SHAT-R-PRUF, which had much less distortion.
Headlights -- look like sealed beams -- date codes on back ? codes on front glass ? They were sealed beam, I know the glass has been replaced, more than once. The original glass had the vestigial oval in the center. As I recall they are Bosch units, black on the outside of the housing. Next time I have them out I will check for date codes.

Alan

[James Davies]

Thanks Alan! Good info. What I expected, though I still don't know when the oil breather canisters changed. And yeah, tell me about the rust on those beehive mounting assemblies. I need to do some surgery on mine. Luckily the NLA repros are exactly the same, down to the markings even. One can transplant the single pole bulb holder into the repro beehive mounting assembly if you like playing with a solder gun.

The headlights in the photo above are Hella sealed beam, first used in 1953 model year Porsches. Can tell by the adjusting screw location. These buckets would have been black on the backside, had the lever adjustment mechanism, and the chromed brass ring would have had a rolled lip where it overlaps with the glass, a single rivet holding on the bottom fastening tab and "Hella" engraved above the rivet. Stamping on the bottom of the bucket would be the Hella logo, then "Typ 180E 25-2 SB" and I'll even guess on the date code "07 L". Glass would have been marked "∆ | 1" on the bottom inside rim and "60370" at the top.

My '53 had one of those SHAT-R-PRUF front windshields when we got it too. We managed to shatter it unfortunately. Need to get a new one. Brad, do the SIGLA windshields currently supplied by Stoddard/NLA have the old-timey SIGLA stamp or modern DOT markings? Will need to get one of those from you.

No K markings on my July '53 beehives either, though the reverse light glass has the familiar K1431 on it. Alan, are your rear beehive lenses the same color inboard and outboard,and have either a "1" or a "2" marked on the inside tip indicating single or double pole?