new member in holland

356 Porsche-related discussions and questions.
Message
Author
arenj bosman
356 Fan
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 7:47 am

new member in holland

#1 Post by arenj bosman »

Hi guys,
After having lurked here for several years, and after finally buying a 356, I would like to introduce myself here. I have been owning, driving and fooling around with old 911's for twenty odd years now, but I could not resist the charm of the 356, and had been looking to buy an A or pre-A for some time. Now that dream has come true, and an early 1954 coupe has found it's way to my garage. It's a huge project, but it seems to be fairly complete, so I am looking forward to the long journey of returning the car to it's original glory.
The car is an early 1954 coupe, delivered new in February 1954 to Copenhagen, with a normal 1500 engine. The original color was sand grey (which I think is fairly rare?), with red upholstery and beige carpet. Unfortunately, the original engine is gone (since 1957 already), and the current engine is a 1960 1600 normal engine.
The car was taken of the road and dismantled for restoration back in 1983 by the previous owner. After getting a quotation for the restoration, he almost had a heart attack, and stored the dismantled car for more than 30 years before selling it to me.
Although I have some experience with 911's, I am a complete amateur with 356's, so I hope to learn a lot from the collective wisdom on this forum.
best regards,
Arjen
Attachments
IMG_4709.JPG
IMG_4814.jpg
IMG_4801.jpg
IMG_4796.JPG

User avatar
Steve Harrison
356 Fan
Posts: 3301
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:39 am
Location: Auburn AL

Re: new member in holland

#2 Post by Steve Harrison »

Early 54,..love it !
Welcome to the forum Arjen. You have a great project there, looks nearly complete. Starting with that puts you way ahead from a lot of projects that are out there today. Looks like it had some work started way back in the past.
I noticed you have the square foot pedals. Those changed by 55, wondering if your car was among the last to get those?
Also, looks like some later tail light bases pictured, and there are a few things I can't make out from the pictures...like what are those two grey things to the right of the door handle? I thought maybe carbs, but they are too small,...what are those? The picture gets a little fuzzy when you enlarge it.
Also looks like you've got two hood handles? C models types? The 54 would have a smaller handle.
All in all, you've got a wonderful project car there, a vertible 'cream puff' compared to what's being restored sometimes these days. Very lucky find, and also to have a lot of it's history is useful. You might consider starting a project thread over in the project section. You will get a lot of encouragement and help here. (I'm surprised Mr. Davies hasn't commented yet,...he loves to work out the production details of the early cars.,...I'm sure he'll have a few questions, haha)

Keep the pictures coming,...and Welcome to the club !!

User avatar
Steve Harrison
356 Fan
Posts: 3301
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:39 am
Location: Auburn AL

Re: new member in holland

#3 Post by Steve Harrison »

P.S. wondering what all those 'extra' holes in the cowel were put there for?

User avatar
James Davies
356Talk Moderator
Posts: 2951
Joined: Thu Aug 15, 2013 9:15 am
Location: Heidelberg, DE

Re: new member in holland

#4 Post by James Davies »

Welcome Arjen! Cool car. Looks a bit rusty, but very complete! That's perfect. Looks like you have a grab bag of extra parts too.

There are several people here with Feb '54 coupes, so I'm sure you will find lots of help. Those of us with '53 coupes can help too, as our cars are almost the same except for the electrical system. Sounds like yours has the '54 paint color too. Nice.

Steve, I believe those extra holes are for custom windshield washer nozzles. Porsche mounted them next to the wiper shafts at the factory (optional in '53 to early '54), but the dealer or owner could have mounted 2 or 3 nozzles in different locations. Also it looks like the car had two radio antennas!

Square foot pedals are correct for early '54.

arenj bosman
356 Fan
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 7:47 am

Re: new member in holland

#5 Post by arenj bosman »

Hi Steve and James, thanks for the kinds words and the welcome.
You are correct, Steve, I did receive several items with the car that surely are not correct. Apparently, somewhere back in time, the car got "updated" to the newer style lights. To me, it also seems the holes in the cowl are for winsdshield washer nozzles, but I have no idea if those were original or not.
Maybe you guys can enlighten me on the dash gauges. The tach and speedo are both Veigels with a 10.53 date stamp, so they seem to be original. There's also a fuel gauge, also Veigel, but nu date stamp on that one. Would that be original?
The temp gauge is VDO, so I doubt if that's original, also no date stamp on that one.
The dash lay-out seems a bit odd to me as well. I always thought the ignition lock should be where there is a large hole now?
Arjen
Attachments
IMG_4874.jpg
IMG_4876.jpg
IMG_4877.JPG
IMG_4878.jpg

User avatar
James Davies
356Talk Moderator
Posts: 2951
Joined: Thu Aug 15, 2013 9:15 am
Location: Heidelberg, DE

Re: new member in holland

#6 Post by James Davies »

Hi Arjen,

Those look like the original Veigel tach and speedo for your car. The late-'53 Veigel tachometers are unique with their angled drive off the back. Earlier ones look the speedo on the back. Those Veigel gauges would have had dished front glass on them too, to reduce glare.

That Beck fuel gauge is a factory-installed item, which you can tell because it is marked up to 50 liters. Aftermarket Beck gauges had fractional markings - 1/4 full, 1/2 full, etc. But I doubt it was installed that large hole in the dash where the ignition switch usually is (as you note), but perhaps. Never say never. Generally these fuel gauges in early '54 were installed on a small bracket attached to the steering tube by the emergency brake. The extra holes drilled in that dash indicate some customization by a previous owner, so I suspect he also relocated the fuel gauge. Perhaps your Kardex or Certificate of Authenticity from Porsche mentions a fuel gauge and 8-day clock (glove box hole)? The fuel gauge would also have a little finger pump. mounted near the ignition switch

The oil temp gauge is not original. Your car would have had a twin-needle Störk or Moto-Meter gauge. Those gauges and the Beck fuel gauge were not dated as far as I know.

arenj bosman
356 Fan
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 7:47 am

Re: new member in holland

#7 Post by arenj bosman »

Thanks, James, much appreciated.
Arjen

Vincent Gillespie
356 Fan
Posts: 439
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:33 am
Location: United Kingdom

Re: new member in holland

#8 Post by Vincent Gillespie »

Hello, You couldn't have come to a better place for priceless info and advice. I'm in the middle of restoring a '55 and any question I have had from what's this number mean to how do I do this? has been answered in fantastic detail allowing me to achieve whatever job I am on. It's also great to read thoughts & opinions on, let's call them, 'The Philosophical Musings of 356 Restoration'

V
V. Gillespie

Norm Miller
356 Fan
Posts: 2506
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 9:14 am
Tag: Official curmudgeon
Location: Ft Collins CO

Re: new member in holland

#9 Post by Norm Miller »

Steve H,

Me thinks the 2 pieces next to the door handle might be the e-brake adapter/adjusters where the cable housing attaches to the body.

Norm
 

User avatar
Jim Liberty
356 Registry Member
Posts: 4313
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 3:47 pm
Tag: Jim
Location: Orange Co., CA
Contact:

Re: new member in holland

#10 Post by Jim Liberty »

Hello, and welcome to the best web site anywhere for early Porsches. I have recently restores a '52, '54, and '55. Reach out any time if you think I can be of help. Not an expert, but learned from many mistakes.

...............................................Jim.
Jim Liberty

arjen bosman
356 Fan
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:03 am
Location: holland

Re: new member in holland

#11 Post by arjen bosman »

Hi Jim, thanks, I will most likely be asking you some questions in the future.
Yesterday, I received an email from the previous owner of my car, telling me he had found the last few parts that were missing from the car, such as the starter button, some trim pieces and the missing brake drum. Nice!!
Arjen
arjen bosman

User avatar
Steve Harrison
356 Fan
Posts: 3301
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:39 am
Location: Auburn AL

Re: new member in holland

#12 Post by Steve Harrison »

Yea, wow that dash sure is interesting. Lot's of extra holes to provide endless hours of autoarcheological investigating. I like that clock placement in the glove box door, over to the side a bit and not directly under the pull knob. Many of them are done directly under the pull knob, and I believe that was the factory's preferred location if you ordered the clock. But when I was laying out to cut the hole for my clock, I decided on the same location yours is in. I found that if I centered it under the knob it made grasping the knob to pull the door open kinda hard to do. I just noticed the four extra holes around the radio/blanking pod hole,..never seen that before.
That's super nice that the previous owner got those things to you, the starter button alone is a great find,...those are scarce. What color are the knobs for your car?

arjen bosman
356 Fan
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:03 am
Location: holland

Re: new member in holland

#13 Post by arjen bosman »

yes, still many questions to be answered on this car, that's for sure.
But I think it will be fun to dig into this.
The knobs are ivory colored, as is the steering wheel.
Arjen
Attachments
IMG_4982.jpg
IMG_4983.JPG
arjen bosman

User avatar
Steve Harrison
356 Fan
Posts: 3301
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:39 am
Location: Auburn AL

Re: new member in holland

#14 Post by Steve Harrison »

Did you get the broke piece of the horn ring too? They can be fixed.

arjen bosman
356 Fan
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:03 am
Location: holland

Re: new member in holland

#15 Post by arjen bosman »

Steve, yes, I did get that piece as well.
I never would have thought this is fixable, do you have an address/company that could do this?
Thanks, Arjen
Attachments
IMG_4986.jpg
IMG_4985.jpg
IMG_4984.jpg
arjen bosman

Post Reply