Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

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Bob DiCorpo
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Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#1 Post by Bob DiCorpo »

Would anyone know for sure if T-1 cars originally had slotted screws holding on the door panels and if so, were they dome shaped with a washer just like the T-2 phillips head screws? Thank you, Bob
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Chuck House
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#2 Post by Chuck House »

They had Phillips screws on the door panels.
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Joris Koning
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#3 Post by Joris Koning »

Chuck House wrote:They had Phillips screws on the door panels.
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Bob DiCorpo
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#4 Post by Bob DiCorpo »

Chuck and Joris,
Thank you for that info. Would you be able to tell me if that was true of the threshold screws? Thanks, Bob
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Chuck House
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#5 Post by Chuck House »

On the T1 threshold, the carpet strip had Phillips screws, however the outside sill trim strip on my early original T1 has slotted screws, although I believe later ones were also Phillips head.
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Jim Liberty
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#6 Post by Jim Liberty »

My rule of thumb, and it is just that is that all Pre-A cars get ALL slotted screws. I believe this carried over to the early T-1 cars as well. I source mine at a boat supply store. They carry most all sizes in stainless steel. I have Larry Thomas tumble them in ball bearings to polish them to near chrome finish.
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Chuck House
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#7 Post by Chuck House »

A picture is sometimes worth a thousand words. Here is James Dean's Speedster when it was new (built Dec. '54). Notice the shift pattern sticker still present on the windshield. You may have to zoom in, but it's pretty clear the screw holding the garnish rail is a phillips head. I also have a Dec '54 built Speedster which has its original door panels/screws and they are phillips. Porsche started using phillips on the door panels at least as early as early in the '55 model year.
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#8 Post by Jim Liberty »

Chuck, is it just the door panels. And, is it all of them.
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Bob DiCorpo
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#9 Post by Bob DiCorpo »

My idea when I originally asked the question about slotted screws was based on the premise it seems a number of others have, that since the Pre-A and early A tool kits did not come with any phillips head screwdrivers, then these cars probably had no phillips head screws. I have since changed my premise to, Porsche more than likely geared the tool kits to mechanicals on the cars and not necessarily the decors. Bob
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David Nicholls
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#10 Post by David Nicholls »

The screws remaining in my April 1956 A Coupe, Chassis 56209, when I dismantled it were all slotted.
Countersunk, round head, slotted.

Stainless screws can be polished on a buffing wheel.

Chromed "real" steel screws as were original, are obtainable, for a price.
They are noticeably better than stainless.

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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#11 Post by Craig Richter »

Nice little trim pieces around the side curtain post receptacles. Comments?
 

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Curt Dansby
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#12 Post by Curt Dansby »

Hi Guys
These are pictures - albeit not very good ones of the Art Vandelay '53 car with @ 19 k miles that was at the Williamsburgh ECH. Jim Kellogg and I happened to be studying the car at the same time and we had some discussion about the screws. The Garnish Rails had Phillips head screws and the remainder of the panel screws were slotted. A basic web search shows that Phillips head screws were invented in the US and first widely used by GM in 1936. Why not use Phillips everywhere? Perhaps they cost more but there was a productivity gain to use them selectively?

Note the alignment of the carpet trim rail screws.

C
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#13 Post by Jim Liberty »

I think I'll stick with all slotted on my Pre-A cars. I just can't see the mentality of using both at the factory.
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#14 Post by Norm Miller »

Craig Richter wrote:Nice little trim pieces around the side curtain post receptacles. Comments?
I had to make these on a 55 I restored.
I believe they were used thru the T1, and T2 had the chrome tubes set flush to the garnish.

If memory serves me.
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Re: Slotted Screws on Door Panels?

#15 Post by Craig Richter »

Thanks Norm. I've never noticed those little trim washers before. Maybe they're missing on a lot of early Speedsters today? My friend Charley had a '55 (only a few #'s off mine) that was about as perfect as could be, and I don't remember seeing those little surround pieces. He sold it years ago (one of his big life regrets) so I can't go check. The tubes on my Speedy aren't even chrome, and I've been planning to replace them with some nice chrome ones, which is a little story in itself. Over many years (like 15) I've been looking for these posts. I ordered 4 (four!) sets, from all over the world, before I finally found a set worthy of all the work to install. No wonder restoring early cars takes so long!

Yes, I've come to realize that I could have cut them out, had them chromed, then re-welded them back, in something less than 15 years. Procrastination is so easy...
 

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